To Have and To Hold

'Oh, Cute, Earrings'

Who they are: Chana R. Schoenberger '99 of Bethesda, Md. and Adams House. Gary E. Zimmerman '99 of London, Ontario, Canada and Dunster House. Schoenberger concentrated in history, Zimmerman in economics. Both are former Crimson executives.

How they met: By-the-book Harvard romance. But forget the clich‚ first glance in Annenberg Hall. Schoenberger and Zimmerman met Freshman Week, at the President's Barbecue. Rustin C. Silverstein '99, a mutual friend and also a Crimson editor, played Cupid for the pair, providing the initial introduction. Three days after the barbecue they were an item.

He asked, she answered: This past fall, Schoenberger's parents invited Zimmerman to join their family for Rosh Hashanah (both Zimmerman and Schoenberger are Jewish.) Zimmerman declined without giving a good reason, and a fuming Schoenberger headed home for the holiday on her own. But that weekend Zimmerman surprised Schoenberger by showing up unannounced.

Schoenberger's mother, who was privy to Zimmerman's plans, made reservations for the pair to have dinner that evening at the romantic Caf‚ Bethesda. At the restaurant, Schoenberger presented Zimmerman with a Tiffany box: a pair of monogrammed cufflinks. It was their three-year anniversary. Zimmerman hadn't forgotten either. He handed another Tiffany box to Schoenberger.

"I thought, 'Oh, cute, earrings,'" Schoenberger says. Not the case. It was a ring. "We made a pretty big scene in the restaurant," she adds.

When it's happening: June 20 at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. Schoenberger will be holding a small white satin Bible that the brides of her family have carried for four generations. The processional music will be the same as the music at her parents' wedding. Her sister, Elena S. Schoenberger '02, also a Crimson editor, is the maid of honor. His sister, Rachel M. Zimmerman, is a bridesmaid.

After tying the knot: The honeymoon destination is a surprise. But afterwards, the newlyweds will be Big Apple-bound, Schoenberger as a reporter for Forbes magazine and Zimmerman as an analyst and investment banker for Merrill Lynch.

Roof Use Only

Who they are: Dara Horn '99 of Short Hills, N.J. and Eliot House. Brendan M. Schulman, third-year student at Harvard Law School, of Winnipeg, Canada. ("It's not about the green card," Schulman quips.) Horn, a former Crimson executive, was a literature concentrator. Schulman, a former English major, graduated from Yale in 1996. ("I'm marrying the enemy!" Horn says.)

How they met: Schulman and Horn first crossed paths at the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel in January 1997, Where a mutual friend Sara A. Siris '99 had invited them both to join her for dinner. They began dating at the end of February, 1997.

He asked, she answered: On Horn's 22nd birthday, April 28, Schulman told her they were going out to dinner but didn't say where. That evening he came to her door with 22 roses--and an envelope.

"Now our adventure can begin," Schulman proclaimed.

The envelope contained a card with two rhyming clues and a confusing number. "KEM 535.4 .A37 1999," it read. The hunt was on. To Horn, who had recently completed her thesis, it was obvious that it was a call number. And Schulman had recently shown her a Hollis function to look up call numbers. So she looked it up.

The number was listed as court proceedings from Schulman's hometown. Dressed for a fancy dinner, Horn and Schulman got a few odd looks heading to the shelves in Langdell Library. When Horn got to the shelf, she found a different book where hers was supposed to be. Our Life, by Dara Horn and Brendan Schulman, had a hand-drawn book jacket. Horn wanted to open it immediately.

"Not yet," Schulman said, pointing her back to the first two clues. Her instructions were to open her find where she could see the sky. And the book jacket warned: "Roof use only." So they headed to an old haunt, the roof of a law school building where they had watched a sunset together.

When they reached the roof, Horn realized that Schulman had timed their visit so that once again, it was sunset. She opened the book and found another envelope in the inside cover. "Words are the key and you hold the code," the card inside read. Then, five numbers.

Horn flipped the book open. Our Life was actually a dictionary. A hole carved in the depths of its thick pages held a box the perfect size for a ring. Page 1603 was the W's. Page 1627 was the Y's. Page 835 was the M's.

It took Horn until "you" to realize what Schulman was spelling out. At "marry" Schulman was on one knee. They didn't make it any further. But there were five numbers, and presumably four words. What was on that fifth page? Later, Horn discovered that the last page number was in the Q's--for "question mark."

When it's happening: The pair will trade rings in August 2000.

In the meantime: After graduation, Horn will cross the Atlantic to study at Cambridge University on a scholarship. Schulman will clerk for the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Boston.

After tying the knot: Horn wants to be a writer and has been accepted to Harvard and Columbia University Ph.D programs in comparative literature. She is also considering working for a magazine. The couple will likely land in Boston or New York.

The Wheels on the Bus

Who they are: Michael M. Rosen '99 of Berkeley, Ca. and Quincy House. Debra S. Rappaport of Manchester, England and Boca Raton, Fla. Rappaport is a 1997 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her major was political science; his concentration was government. Rosen is also a Crimson editor.

How they met: Rappaport's roommate, Leah J. Solomon '97, introduced them about a year ago on Memorial Day weekend. They started dating the following September.

He asked, she answered: Rosen sent Rappaport on a treasure hunt around Boston, through places that had played significant roles in their relationship. Among the stops: a kosher Chinese restaurant in Brookline, the site of their first meeting; Tealuxe, the site of their first date; and Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, where Rosen was formerly the chair.

Life is a highway: Rosen and Rappaport were riding a schoolbus driven by Solomon on the way back from that initial meeting. "A bunch of us were sitting in the back of the school-bus, singing schoolbus songs," Rosen remembers. Rappaport thought it was funny, but she also thought he was obnoxious.

"I can not wait to get off this bus," she remembers thinking. "I feel so old." She is nearly three years older than Rosen.

But upon subsequent meetings, she discovered that "he's very mature for his age. The age difference dissipated very quickly."

When it's happening: Late June 2000, probably in Florida.

In the meantime: The couple is traveling to Israel, where Rappaport will do policy research on the elderly and at-risk youth for an American-Israeli research institute. Rosen will be on a Jerusalem-based fellowship program that combines studying and an internship program.

After tying the knot: Rosen will probably go to law school, and Rappaport will work or get a master's degree in public policy.

Let's Go...Out

Who they are: Rachel Perez '99 of Green Brook, N.J. and Kirkland House. Robert W. Martin '99 of Inverness, Ill. and Quincy House. Perez concentrated in psychology, Martin in economics.

How they met: They met briefly during Freshman Week--though Perez says Martin has no recollection of it--and met again at Harvard Student Agencies' Let's Go Travel, where Martin was the assistant manager of travel and Perez was a sales associate at the campus store.

"The reason I remembered his name was because my best friend and I had this ongoing joke about the name Bob," Perez says. "But he didn't remember my name and neither did anyone else at Let's Go Travel."

Eventually, he figured it out.

After a chance run-in in Annenberg Hall near the end of the year, they set up a time to play tennis. After playing, they went out for ice cream and talked for two hours.

Talk to the hand: A couple of weeks after Perez got home for the summer, she received a letter from him--with his phone number. They traded calls all summer and at the end of vacation he visited her and they went to Great Adventure theme park in New Jersey.

The day after Great Adventure, the duo went to the beach, to the boardwalk--to a palm reader. She didn't tell Perez anything interesting, but Martin got an earful. In the next month, he was fated to meet his true love, the woman with whom he would spend his life.

"At the time, I thought, 'I'd love to meet this girl,' because I thought he was kind of a player," Perez recounts.

After he left, he called to ask her out. They have been dating for almost three years.

He asked, she answered: On vacation in Santo Domingo over spring break, they were in a paddleboat and Martin was shooting pictures. When he ran out of film, he asked Perez to hand him a new canister from her bag. When she reached in, the canister was strangely heavy--with a ring.

When it's happening: October 21, 2000, in New Jersey.

In the meantime: Perez will work for the local company New Basics as a marketing associate. Martin, who graduated a semester early, will continue his current job at Trilogy Software in Austin, Texas. They are unsure of post-wedding plans.