AcaMedia: Current Issue


News for the Smith College Community //April 16, 1998

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Envisioning Our Future/Status Report

Workplace Issues

This is the fourth in a series of updates on the progress of proposals and projects emerging from Smith's self-study.

"Our vision for the future is ambitious. Because of our many strengths as an institution, we believe that Smith has the potential to be named to the list of the top 100 employers in the United States. In order to accomplish this, we need to do more than keep up with the pace of the marketplace. We need to set the pace."
--Staff Self-Study Committee Report

An important part of Smith's self-study focuses on improving the college as a workplace. A 17-member staff self-study committee was formed last year to consider how Smith might enhance work conditions for its 900 staff members in 58 departments who admit, counsel, feed, house, assist, transport, hire and supervise students and support faculty members in 575 different kinds of jobs. In talking to more than 500 employees, the committee found a high regard for Smith as an employer. Employees have a positive sense of community and an overall pride in the college and its reputation for providing high-quality education, responding to employee needs and offering professional-development programs for staff. But the committee also found that Smith can better meet staff needs by providing more work-schedule flexibility for employees; communicating better within and between departments, particularly to work sites where computers are not available; encouraging physical fitness and providing greater access to exercise equipment; and establishing a consistent system to voice staff-related job concerns.

Mission Statement
The staff self-study committee has drafted a mission statement defining the focus and common objectives of Smith's staff. Now endorsed by Staff Council, it states that "our mission is to provide Smith College students with exceptional and innovative services and to participate actively in their education and growth." It also offers a list of staff values. Future staff handbooks will include the mission statement and it will also be distributed at new-employee orientations.

Ombudsperson
The staff self-study concludes that employees and students who need help in resolving campus conflicts should have a person to whom they can go, a designated "troubleshooter." The college is therefore seeking an ombudsperson to confidentially hear and investigate staff, faculty and student complaints and ascertain what if any actions should be taken. The ombudsperson will also suggest constructive solutions to solve disputes and offer training in conflict resolution. "The ombudsperson is often someone who can help you get through the red tape," says Chief Financial Officer Ruth Constantine, who oversees the college's evaluation of staff self-study recommendations. "She or he can network with people, build relationships and solve problems."

The half-time position will be filled for an initial three-year term and then be evaluated. It is currently being advertised. The college expects to hire someone by July 1.

Staff Advocate
Some staff members also seek an advocate through whom they can communicate to the appropriate offices such general staff issues as those pertaining to benefits, compensation and performance appraisals. Newly-appointed Director of Human Resources Lianne Sullivan will serve as the key person in that role. Ruth Constantine also ensures that staff issues receive proper attention in college planning groups.

Communication
In an effort to provide better channels of communication for staff members, Director of Campus Operations and Facilities William Brandt has worked with the Office of Information Systems to provide computers with e-mail capability for staff members who have not had access to them. Computers have been or will be installed in every kitchen on campus and in the custodial staff's common room and the break room in Physical Plant, and employees are being trained in their use. "We'll probably put seven or eight computers in Physical Plant for common use," says Brandt, adding that the computer rooms are meant to be used as a "JavaNet-type space where employees can go for e-mail and [campus] news."

To further improve campus communication, Brandt will designate several mailing areas on campus where employees will have personal mailboxes and receive mail at least twice weekly. In addition, mail delivery to campus kitchens has been increased from once to twice a week.

Flexibility
Many Smith employees have family and child-care demands that the traditional full-time work schedule cannot accommodate. The staff self-study recommends that the college consider options such as flextime; part-time jobs; job-sharing; four-day, full-time workweeks; and telecommuting as an alternative to working on campus.

A number of campus groups, including senior staff, have recently discussed ways to bring greater flexibility to the workplace. "We will be working with the college community in the upcoming months to determine ways to provide flexibility options that best balance the needs of the workplace and the people who do the work," says Lianne Sullivan.

Physical Well-Being
Employees in good physical health tend to be happier, more productive, more relaxed and better able to deal with job stress and relationships. The college therefore encourages physical fitness through the Century Club and employee wellness programs as well as through access to the Indoor Track and Tennis Facility and Ainsworth gym. It has also renovated a space in the basement of Albright House as the campus's first "satellite" exercise room, equipped with stair machines, exercise bicycles and other fitness machines. Similar rooms may be built elsewhere on campus if the Albright facility proves popular.

Senior Survey Responses Have Powerful Impact

Each senior should have just received a lengthy survey to complete and return to the second floor of Clark Hall (above the SGA Office) between today and Friday, May 1. Why take the time to complete it? Because what you say will help shape Smith's future.

According to Diane Cuneo, director of institutional research, data from the senior survey help many parts of the college community assess the past and plan for the future:

-- Academic departments get feedback on grad-school acceptances.
-- Senior evaluations of college life help planning and policy-making committees improve college programs.
-- Student perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of academic divisions contribute to curriculum planning.
-- The CDO uses the information to keep current the list of employers and graduate schools interested in Smith students, and to expand the alumnae networking system that helps students and alumnae locate information on internships, jobs and further study.
-- The Alumnae Association uses the information to identify what young alumnae want.

This is the 15th consecutive senior survey. Cuneo believes Smith is the only college conducting regular, comprehensive surveys of its seniors.

This year's survey is in two sections. The first asks for biographical information such as background and future plans; this information becomes part of each woman's permanent alumna record. The second section asks about finances, attitudes and evaluations of the undergraduate experience, and was developed in cooperation with a select group of colleges and universities across the country. Because seniors from different schools will be answering the same set of questions, these data will show how Smith students' feelings about their college years compare to those of students at other colleges. Data from this second section will be kept confidential and used only to construct a statistical class profile.

If you have questions about the senior survey or need a new survey form, please call the Office of Institutional Research at extension 3021.

Conway to Speak of Autobiography

Jill Ker Conway, former president of Smith College, will discuss and read from her latest book, When Memory Speaks: Reflections on Autobiography, on Saturday, April 25, at 3 p.m. in Wright auditorium.

When Memory Speaks reviews the genre of autobiography over the centuries, using the works of such diverse authors as Gloria Steinem, Benjamin Franklin, James Baldwin and Lee Iacocca. It illustrates how autobiographies give readers a personal view into the lives of others and how this experience enlarges and instructs readers' own lives.

A native of New South Wales, Australia, Conway emigrated to the United States in 1960 and received her Ph.D. from Harvard in 1969. She taught at the University of Toronto before becoming Smith's president in 1975. Since leaving Smith in 1985, she has been a visiting scholar in the Science, Technology and Society Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Conway herself is the author of two biographical memoirs, The Road from Coorain and True North, which describe her childhood and adolescence in Australia and her experiences at Harvard and the University of Toronto. Her recent travels around the country to talk about her new book have included an appearance last week on National Public Radio's Fresh Air.

The Conway event, which Smith is cosponsoring with the Broadside Bookshop, is open to all and will be followed by a reception and book signing in Wright common room.

Jones Says Dangerous Beauty Looks Good But Rings False

The movie Dangerous Beauty, recently shown at the Academy of Music, may be a visually beautiful work of cinematography with some fine acting, says Ann Jones, Esther Cloudman Dunn Professor of Comparative Literature and a consultant for the film. But it doesn't offer a realistic view of what it was like to be a prostitute in 16th-century Venice.

"It's beautiful to look at," she says. "It's a luscious costume drama. And it's a good movie for someone who wants an idea of how Venetians dressed. But it gives a cleaned up version of what a courtesan's life was really like."

Directed by Marshall Herskovitz and starring Catherine McCormack (Braveheart) and Jacqueline Bisset, Dangerous Beauty is based on The Honest Courtesan, a literary biography of Veronica Franco by Margaret Rosenthal. The most sought-after and admired courtesan in Venice, Franco wooed cardinals, politicians and powerful figures of state with her beauty and talents. Like most of her kind, Franco made it her business to be well-educated and able to wax intellectual with the most regal of her gentleman companions. She was also an important poet, who wrote erotic and persuasively feminist works read throughout Italy and Europe.

Jones worked closely with Rosenthal over several years in translating Franco's poetry and researching the courtesan's life for The Honest Courtesan, which is written in Italian and English. "Tita [Rosenthal] and I talked a lot about Franco's poetry," says Jones. "We really enjoyed working with each other." When the movie was being produced last year, Jones again worked with Rosenthal as a consultant to Warner Brothers, the film's producers. Rosenthal is an associate professor of Italian at the University of Southern California.

Jones says the filmmakers took great liberties in interpreting Rosenthal's biography of Franco and her poetry. For example, she says, the Italian Inquisition at the end of the movie (without giving anything away here) was staged Hollywood-style, as a grandiose courtroom drama. But in reality, it was just a small hearing with a handful of people present.

Nonetheless, the movie is garnering its share of attention, from a full-page ad in The New York Times to a slew of reviews, some good, some not. Roger Ebert gave it a thumbs up. Eric Lurio of the Greenwich Village Gazette said of it that "Merchant Ivory has competition."

It doesn't matter to Jones how the movie does at the box office. She plans to further collaborate with Rosenthal translating poetry and documenting people's lives from long ago. "There are lots of interesting 16th-century Italian woman poets," she says.

Exhibition Features Rare African Art

More than 100 pieces of contemporary fine art from Tanzania and Mozambique are on display in Helen Hills Hills Chapel through May 3. Tanzanian Ambassador to the United Nations Daudi Mwakawago attended the exhibition's April 15 opening, which was timed to coincide with Smith's celebration of Africa Week.

This unique selection of sculpture, etchings, watercolors and prints on handmade paper was collected by Jean Pruitt, M.M., a Maryknoll Sister who founded an art center in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She has worked for 28 years with internationally known Makonde carvers. Many of the collection's watercolor etchings and woodblock prints have been created on the exceptional handmade paper from the Dar es Salaam art center, site of sub-Saharan Africa's only mill for the production of handmade paper.

The exhibition is part of the Faith and the Arts Series sponsored by the Newman Association and the Catholic Chaplaincy of Smith College.

Student Comes Near Being in (or on) Jeopardy

For three days in March, American studies major Amanda Izzo '99 found herself just beyond the set of television's long-running Jeopardy as an alternate for the show's college tournament being taped in Berkeley, Calif. Izzo would have been a contestant if any of the 12 students selected to participate had not been able to appear.

Izzo tried out for the show last August when it was in Philadelphia auditioning students during a nationwide recruitment tour. "I was watching the show one night and they gave the address to write to for tryouts," she says. She beat out hundreds of other contestants to become an alternate.

Next thing Izzo knew, Jeopardy was flying her out to Berkeley, putting her up in the posh Clairemont resort, and paying her traveling expenses plus a $250 stipend for being an alternate. Izzo never did get on the show, but feels that because she was an alternate her chances of eventually being called to appear are good. She would jump at the opportunity, if only for the free trip, she says. Of the show's host, Alex Trebek, she gives a lackluster appraisal: "He was nice. He was pleasant. I shouldn't say anything bad about him."

Izzo is a long-time Jeopardy fan, a status that probably helped her become an alternate. "I used to watch it a lot in high school," she says, "but since I've been in college I haven't had much chance. I've always had a grasp of useless facts, I guess."

The show on which Izzo almost appeared will air the first week of May.

On Diversity in Higher Education

The following statement has been endorsed by more than 50 higher education associations, including the American Council on Education, the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, of which Smith is a member. It is appearing in leading newspapers and magazines nationwide as part of an effort to affirm the importance of diversity in higher education.

America's colleges and universities differ in many ways. Some are public, others are independent; some are large urban universities, some are two-year community colleges, others small rural campuses. Some offer graduate and professional programs, others focus primarily on undergraduate education. Each of our more than 3,000 colleges and universities has its own specific and distinct mission. This collective diversity among institutions is one of the great strengths of America's higher education system, and has helped make it the best in the world. Preserving that diversity is essential if we hope to serve the needs of our democratic society.

Similarly, many colleges and universities share a common belief, born of experience, that diversity in their student bodies, faculties and staff is important for them to fulfill their primary mission: providing a quality education. The public is entitled to know why these institutions believe so strongly that racial and ethnic diversity should be one factor among the many considered in admissions and hiring. The reasons include:

-- Diversity enriches the educational experience. We learn from those whose experiences, beliefs and perspectives are different from our own, and these lessons can be taught best in a richly diverse intellectual and social environment.
-- It promotes personal growth -- and a healthy society. Diversity challenges stereotyped preconceptions; it encourages critical thinking; and it helps students learn to communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds .
-- It strengthens communities and the workplace. Education within a diverse setting prepares students to become good citizens in an increasingly complex, pluralistic society; it fosters mutual respect and teamwork; and it helps build communities whose members are judged by the quality of their character and their contributions.
-- It enhances America's economic competitiveness. Sustaining the nation's prosperity in the 21st century will require us to make effective use of the talents and abilities of all our citizens in work settings that bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

American colleges and universities traditionally have enjoyed significant latitude in fulfilling their missions. Americans have understood that there is no single model of a good college and that no single standard can predict with certainly the lifetime contribution of a teacher or a student. Yet, the freedom to determine who shall teach and be taught has been restricted in a number of places and come under attack in others. As a result, some schools have experienced precipitous declines in the enrollment of African-American and Hispanic students, reversing decades of progress in the effort to assure that all groups in American society have an equal opportunity for access to higher education.

Achieving diversity on college campuses does not require quotas. Nor does diversity warrant admission of unqualified applicants. However, the diversity we seek, and the future of the nation, do require that colleges and universities continue to be able to reach out and make a conscious effort to build healthy and diverse learning environments appropriate for their missions. The success of higher education and the strength of our democracy depend on it.

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Young But Historically Minded

Nanci A. Young has joined the Smith College libraries staff as college archivist. She comes to Smith from Princeton University's Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, where she had been assistant archivist since 1990. Young has an undergraduate degree from Juniata College and a master's degree in history and a certificate in archival management from the University of Connecticut. Her previous experience has included archival work at Yale University, CIGNA Corporation, the New England Air Museum and the Connecticut Labor Archives.

Selective Insight

B. Ann Wright, chief public affairs officer, is the coauthor of a chapter, "What College Selectivity Looks Like to the Public," in Imaging Education: The Media and Schools in America, published recently by Teachers College Press, Columbia University. Wright wrote the chapter with Richard W. Moll, a former college admissions director who is the author of Playing the Selective College Admissions Game and The Public Ivies.

Folklore Fellowship

Katie Peebles '98 has received a prestigious Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies. Peebles, an anthropology major from Alexandria, Va., plans to study folklore in graduate school. Mellon fellowships are awarded to college seniors and recent graduates of outstanding promise, with the objective of encouraging them to pursue Ph.D.s in humanistic fields. More than 1,600 such fellowships have been awarded since the program was founded 16 years ago; 97 were awarded this year. Another of this year's recipients with a Smith connection is Katherine Zelljadt, Yale '96, whose parents are Margaret S. Zelljadt, associate professor of German, and Igor Zelljadt, professor emeritus of Russian.

Labor Rewarded

Marla Miller, a manuscripts processor in the Sophia Smith Collection, recently received from the Organization of American Historians the Lerner-Scott Prize for the best dissertation in women's history. Miller completed her doctoral work in March 1997 at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her dissertation, "'My Daily Bread Depends Upon My Labor': Craftswomen, Community and the Marketplace in Rural Massachusetts, 1740-1820," examines women's artisanal needlework in Hadley, Northampton, Hatfield, Amherst and Deerfield before industrialization. The citation says that Miller's work "brilliantly employs both the historical methodology of detailed, empirical archival research and newer approaches drawn from the fields of material culture and costume history to provide a fascinating picture of stable and changing gender, class, race, and age relationships in rural colonial New England in the face of a developing market economy."

House Director

Filmmaker Maria Maggenti '86 will be alumna-in-residence at Hubbard House, April 2325. Maggenti's first film, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love, will be shown in Wright auditorium at 8 p.m. Sunday, April 20. During her visit she will be the guest at a tea, open to all members of the Smith community, in the Alumnae House on Friday, April 24, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Maggenti, along with Smith filmmaker Maureen Foley '76, will be featured in the spring issue of the Smith Alumnae Quarterly. The Alumnae-in-Residence Program, which has brought a half-dozen alumnae to campus this year, is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the College.

Midnight Sun Run

Many graduating seniors will take advantage of their release from Smith to travel to different parts of the world, but Libby Kutcipal '98 will be traveling for a cause. On June 20, she will participate in the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, as a member of the Leukemia Society of America's Team-in-Training. "I've run marathons before, but for myself, not for others" says Kutcipal. She became involved with the Team-in-Training after reading about it in an advertisement in Runner's World magazine. The idea of running to raise money for the Leukemia Society of America excited her, and Kutcipal requested a match with an individual child with leukemia. She will be running on behalf of Jared Grabowski, a five-year-old from Westfield, Mass., who has acute lymphocytic leukemia. In preparing for her role on the team, Kutcipal runs daily, and she aims to finish the 26.2 mile Anchorage marathon in less than four hours. More important than this personal record, however, is the money she will be raising for the Leukemia Society of America. Kutcipal has made it her goal to raise $3,500 for the society's research. While she is nearing this goal, she still needs contributions. The Smith Athletic Association has offered to meet every Smith contribution, speeding her to the $3,500 mark. If you would like to contribute, checks can be made out to the Leukemia Society of America and mailed to Libby Kutcipal, box 7732. She will accept checks until April 30.
--Amanda Darling '99

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Calendar Key

Sources of further information, if any, are shown in parentheses at the end of event descriptions. An asterisk following a listing indicates that the event is open to the public. Admission charges, if any, are listed when known.

Monday 4/20

On-campus interviews with Hillary Hartley '97 for nationwide positions at the Information Network of Arkansas. A full-time marketing-associate position and software-developer internships are available. Open sign-up in CDO.
8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., CDO

CDO information meeting: Massachusetts Department of Social Services. Full-time and internship positions available for case managers. Informational interviews follow.
Noon-1 p.m., CDO

Language lunch tables.
French, Italian.
12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room

Hebrew language lunch table. Practice Hebrew, eat pizza.
12:15 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel

Workshop: "The Power of Herbs." Registration required. Part of the Human Resources Training and Development Workshop Series.
1-2 p.m., Graham Hall

CDO workshop: "How to Find a Summer Internship."
1:15 p.m., CDO

Workshop: "Self-Defense." Basic techniques for fighting sexual assault and abuse. With Janet Aalfs, Valley Women's Marshall Arts. Sign-up: Japonica, ext. 4199.
3 p.m., Davis Ballroom

Meeting: Amnesty International.
4 p.m., Seelye 102*

Lecture: "Techniques of Manipulation." Geoffrey Mayo, director of TV commercials and a feature film, will speak on his work and the industry.
4 p.m., Seelye 106*

Meeting: Baha'i Club. Refreshments provided. (Kari, ext. 6362)
4 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel

President's open hour for students.
4-5 p.m., College Hall 20

Women's Studies Honors Tea: "A Feminist Looks at Soaps." Soap operas from a feminist perspective, through an analysis of TV's General Hospital. Refreshments served.
4:10 p.m., Dewey common room

Lecture: "Anger, Work, Culture: A Professional and Personal Journal." Alexis D. Abernethy, clinical associate professor of psychiatry, University of Rochester. Sponsored by the Union of Underrepresented Science Students.
4:30 p.m., Seelye 201*

Meeting for students preparing to study in Latin America.
5-6 p.m., Seelye 306

Meeting for students preparing to study in Africa.
5-6 p.m., Hatfield 201

Meeting: Om, the Hindu students' organization.
7-8 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel

Meeting: Interested in law, acting, debating or all of the above? Find out about joining and organizing Mock Trial for '98'99. Leadership positions available. All welcome. (Nicole, ext. 6558)
7-8 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room

Workshop: "Athletes and Eating Disorders." The Task Force on Eating Disorders will show NCAA films concerning eating disorders and discuss issues specific to the female athlete. (Ashley, ext. 6967)
7:30-9 p.m., Ainsworth Faculty Lounge

Film: L'Amore Molesto, directed by Mario Martone.
7:30 p.m., Seelye 201*

Lecture: "Sojourner Truth's Northampton: African-Americans, Free Blacks, Slavery and Abolitionism." With Manisha Sinha, UMass; Susan Tracy, Hampshire College; Leo Richards, UMass; Louis Wilson, Smith College. Sojourner Truth's life in the context of slavery, the free-black community and the Abolitionist movement. Sponsored by Historic Northampton, the American Studies Program and the Department of Theatre.
7:30 p.m., Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street*

Film: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love. Written and directed by Maria Maggenti '86. Story of first love between a privileged African-American and a white working-class girl. Maggenti is alumna-in-residence at Hubbard House this week; see Friday, 4 p.m. (Ext. 4900)
8 p.m., Wright auditorium

Film: A movie on sexual abuse and healing, shown by SAFE as part of Sexual Abuse Awareness Week.
8 p.m., Seelye 106*

Meeting: Al-Iman, the Smith Muslim students' organization.
8 p.m., Dewey common room*

Meeting: Student Labor Action Coalition.
8 p.m., Women's Resource Center (third floor of Davis)

Tuesday 4/21

Open Campus. Sponsored by the Office of Admission. (Ext. 2500)

Résumé/cover letter deadline for Goldman Sachs Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division. Openings for a full-time FICC compliance-documentation analyst and internships.
8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., CDO

CDO extended hours.
8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.

Sigma Xi Luncheon Talk: "Flour Beetles, Inbreeding Depression and Conservation Biology." Leslie Pray, post-doc biological sciences. Open to faculty, emeriti and staff.
Noon, College Club lower level

Episcopal-Lutheran Fellowship meets in the parish house parlor.
Noon, St. John's Church, Elm Street

Language lunch tables.
Deutscher Tisch, Korean.
12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room

Concert: Music in the Noon Hour. Jane Bryden, soprano; Kenneth Fearn, piano. Works by Debussy, Chausson and Ravel.
12:30-1:15 p.m., Sweeney Concert Hall*

Softball vs. Williams.
4 p.m., Athletic Fields*

Information meeting: "Gallery Assistants Program." The Museum of Art seeks participants to give tours of the museum's collections to school groups and the public. Candidates should have completed Art 100 and must participate in fall-semester training sessions, Mondays and Wednesdays, 4:15-5:30 p.m. (Liz, ext. 2779; Nancy, ext. 2773)
4:15 p.m., Museum of Art

Résumé critique by a peer adviser.
4:30-6 p.m. and 8-9 p.m., CDO

SGA senate meeting, including an open forum at 7:15 p.m. on the student self-study "Purple Report."
7 p.m., Seelye 201

CDO workshop: "Job Search for Seniors."
7 p.m., CDO

Lecture: "Children in Armed Conflict." Kris Bachrach, John McCuen, Kinuko Mitani and Pamella Saffer of the School for International Training.
7 p.m., Seelye 110

Black Women's Film Festival. Cinema from around the world. Sponsored by BSA.
7:30 p.m., Stoddard auditorium*

Meeting for students preparing to study in India.
7:30 p.m., Hatfield 201

Panel discussion: Part of Sexual Abuse Awareness Week.
8 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room*

CDO workshop: "How to Prepare for a Successful Interview."
8 p.m., CDO

Film: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Sponsored by Rec Council.
9 p.m., Wright auditorium*

Wednesday 4/22

Open Campus. Sponsored by the Office of Admission. (Ext. 2500)

Résumé/cover letter deadline. Environmental Sampling Technology, a firm that provides groundwater, wastewater and geotechnical services to the environmental industry in eastern New England, is looking for environmental scientists and engineers.
8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., CDO

On campus interviews for Spear, Leeds & Kellogg or their trader training program and NYSE/AMEX floor clerks. Open sign-up in CDO.
8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., CDO

Hillel at Noon. "Betty Friedan," with Professor Dan Horowitz. Discussion and veggie luncheon.
Noon, Dawes House Kosher Kitchen

Religious activity: Discussion and reflection for Catholic Adas.
Noon-1 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel

Workshop: "Parental Guidance on Finances." Registration required. Part of the Human Resources Training and Development Workshop Series.
Noon-1 p.m., Dewey common room

Brown-bag luncheon. Bring your lunch and hear about bereavement. Presented by Lisa Workmeister Rozas, MSW.
Noon, Wright common room

Language lunch tables.
Chinese; Spanish and Portuguese.
12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room

Office of Institutional Diversity open hour with Carmen Santana-Melgoza.
4-5 p.m., College Hall 31

Faculty Meeting. Tea served at 3:45 p.m.
4:10 p.m., Alumnae House Conference Room

Meeting for students preparing to study in Israel or Egypt.
4:30-5:30 p.m., Hatfield 201

Workshop: "Dance and Eating Disorders." Presented by the Task Force on Eating Disorders. (Ashley, ext. 6967)
7-9 p.m., Gamut Lounge

Religious activity: Buddhist service and discussion.
7:15 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel

MassPIRG weekly meeting.
7:30 p.m., Seelye 107

Black Women's Film Festival.
7:30 p.m., Stoddard auditorium*

Concert: Informal recital by student musicians.
7:30-9:30 p.m., Sage Recital Hall*

Discussion on Hear Me Out, an audiotape on which rape victims share their stories. Part of Sexual Abuse Awareness Week. Sponsored by AWARE.
8 p.m., Dewey common room*

Theater: Spring One-Act Festival. Coordinated by John Hellweg to showcase the work of advanced students in Directing II. Reserved seating: $1. Buy tickets at ext. 3220, Monday-Friday, 1-4 p.m., or at the box office one hour before curtain.
8 p.m., Theatre 14, Mendenhall CPA*

Thursday 4/23

Liberal Arts Luncheon: "Making Waves in Environmental Science Issues." Paulette Peckol, professor of biological sciences. Open to faculty, emeriti and staff.
Noon, College Club lower level

CAD workshop: "Time Management."
12:05-12:55 p.m., CAD, Seelye 307

CDO workshop: "How to Prepare for a Successful Interview."
12:1012:55 p.m., CDO

Language lunch tables.
Japanese, Russian.
12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room

Seventh Annual Art Search and Show for Smith student artists. Visitors will vote on their favorites. Winners receive $300, $200 and $100 prizes. Sponsored by the Fine Arts Council, Unity Organization and the Office of the Dean of the College. All welcome.
3-9 p.m., Unity House

Tennis vs. Amherst.
4 p.m., Outdoor Tennis Courts*

Open forum to discuss the student self-study "Purple Report."
4-6 p.m., Seelye 110

CDO workshop: "How to Write an Effective Résumé."
4:30 p.m., CDO

Informational meeting about graduate fellowships for juniors and sophomores preparing to study abroad next year.
5-6 p.m., Wright auditorium

Religious activity: Beit Midrash. Study Jewish texts and ideas with Rabbi Edward Feld. Pizza served. Smith students welcome.
6 p.m., Appleton 106, Amherst College

Informational meeting: "A Call to Action on the Two-Year Welfare Time Line." Concerned about what might happen to families who will be pushed off welfare when the state's two-year time limit begins December 1? Join us for a candlelight vigil starting at Pulaski Park, followed by an informational meeting at 7 p.m. in Seelye 207.
6 p.m., Pulaski Park, Northampton*

CDO workshop: "Using the Internet to Search for Jobs and Internships."
6:30 p.m., Seelye B03

Thursday -- continued

Open meeting: The Student Task Force on Eating Disorders invites anyone interested in working with us on issues regarding body image, food, eating disorders and related concerns. All welcome. Attending does not guarantee Fall 1998 membership. (Ashley, ext. 6967)
7-8 p.m., Women's Resource Center (Davis Center)

Seminar: "Chasing Seurat With a Monkey on a Leash." Carol Solomon Kiefer, adjunct professor of art, McGill University. Part of the museum's "Art, Culture and Society in the Nineteenth Century: Selected works of French Art" series. Enrollment limited. Free for Smith students and museum friends; others, $5 per session. Register with Smith College Museum of Art.
7-8 p.m., Museum of Art*

Meeting for students preparing to study in China.
7-8 p.m., Hatfield 205

Film: Un Lugar en el Mundo. Presented by the Spanish Cineclub. In Spanish with subtitles.
7:30 p.m., Seelye 201

Animé: Subtitled Japanese animation. All welcome.
7:30-10:30 p.m. Bass 210

Black Women's Film Festival.
7:30 p.m., Seelye 201*

Film: Satya: A Prayer for the Enemy (1993). Ellen Bruno's award-winning documentary featuring personal testimonies by Tibetan Buddhist nuns who survived torture and other atrocities while imprisoned in Tibet. After the screening, Tsultrim Dolma, a former Tibetan nun and political prisoner interviewed in the film, will speak about her experiences. Sponsored by Students for a Free Tibet.
7:30 p.m., Stoddard auditorium*

Speak-out: SAFE will hold its biannual speak-out for Sexual Abuse Awareness Week, an opportunity for women to share experiences of sexual violence. Women only, please. ASL interpreter available. Reception fol-lows in Wright common room at 9:30.
8 p.m., Field House

Theater: Spring One-Act Festival. See Wednesday, 8 p.m.
8 p.m., Theatre 14, Mendenhall CPA*

Film: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Sponsored by Rec Council.
9 p.m., Wright auditorium*

Friday 4/24

Gallery talk: Sussan Babaie, assistant professor of art, on Islamic art from the Museum of Art's collection.
12:30 p.m., Museum of Art*

Résumé critique by a peer adviser.
1-2 p.m., CDO

Information meeting: "Monitoring the Corals of Belize, or How to Backpack Across Latin America." Julie Silverhart '97 and Martha Robbart '97.
3 p.m., Burton 101

Seventh Annual Art Search and Show for Smith student artists. See Thursday, 3 p.m., and Friday, 7:30 p.m.
3-9 p.m., Unity House

Lecture: "Protein Translocation in the Three Domains of Life: Variation on a Theme." Mecky Pohlshröder, Harvard Medical School. Part of the Colloquium in Biological Sciences and Biochemistry Program.
4 p.m., McConnell B05*

Reception and tea with Maria Maggenti '86, writer, film director and alumna-in-residence at Hubbard House. Hear her talk about her Smith experience, life and career. Bring questions. See Monday, 8 p.m., for film showing. (Ext. 4900)
4-5:30 p.m., Alumnae House living room

Lecture: "Is the Antichrist Photogenic? Media and the Christian Right." Heather Hendershot, media studies, Queens College. Sponsored by American studies.
4:30 p.m., Seelye 106*

Meeting: Smith Science Fiction and Fantasy Society.
4:30 p.m., Seelye 208

General meeting: Nosotras, Smith's Latina organization. All welcome.
4:30 p.m., Unity House

Religious service: Shabbat eve services.
5:30 p.m., Dewey common room

Religious activity: Friday-Night Bible Study. Praise and fellowship with Five College brothers and sisters. Sponsored by the Smith Koinonia Fellowship.
6-10 p.m., Seelye 106*

Religious activity: Shabbat Eve Dinner.
7 p.m., Dawes House Kosher Kitchen

Religious activity: Smith Christian Fellowship, a chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA.
7 p.m., Dewey common room

Film: The Second Annual Smith College Media Festival will screen films and videos by Smith students, faculty, alums and staff. Alums in media will discuss the industry. Reception follows. Sponsored by the Smith College Film Collective.
7 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room*

Something on a Friday: Opening-night reception for the Seventh Annual Art Search and Show. Free admission; refreshments served.
7:30-9 p.m., Unity House

Film double feature: Detour (1945), directed by Edgar Ulmer. A hard-luck hitchhiker and a spider woman. Desperate (1947), directed by Anthony Mann. An honest trucker tries to flee racketeers. Part of the Motion Picture Committee's Film Noir Series.
8 p.m., Stoddard auditorium*

Concert: The Five College Early Music Collegium with the UMass Madrigal Singers, directed by Robert Eisenstein. Music from England's Golden Age, featuring voices, fiddles, viols and renaissance winds performing motets of William Byrd, madrigals, masque music, country songs and dances.
8 p.m., Sweeney Concert Hall*

Theater: Spring One-Act Festival. See Wednesday, 8 p.m.
8 p.m., Theatre 14, Mendenhall CPA*

Party: Students for a Free Tibet benefit. Live bands, door prizes. Tickets, $3 at the door. Sponsored by Students for a Free Tibet. (Ext. 6900)
9 p.m.-1 a.m., Davis ballroom*

Saturday 4/2

Twenty-four-hour fast for the release of the youngest political prisoner in the world, nine-year-old Panchen Lama of Tibet, missing since 1994 and presumed to be under house arrest. Students and the Tibetan community call for his release in this nationwide day of fasting. (Ext. 6900)
6 a.m., Pulaski Park, Northampton

Lacrosse: NEW 8 Championship.
Noon and 2 p.m., athletic fields*

Tennis vs. Middlebury.
1 p.m., outdoor tennis courts*

Film: The Second Annual Smith College Media Festival Panel Discussion. Sponsored by the Smith College Film Collective.
2 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room*

Lecture: "Reflections on Autobiography." Jill Ker Conway, former president of Smith, talks about and reads from her latest book, When Memory Speaks. Book-signing and reception follow in Wright common room.
3 p.m., Wright auditorium*

Shadow-puppet play: The hermitage, wilderness and flower-battle scenes from the Central Javanese Wayang Kulit. Performed by the puppeteer Sumarsam and the Smith College Gamelan Ensemble. Children welcome.
4 p.m., Sage Recital Hall*

Party: Spring Cookout. Soul food dinner night for the Smith and Five College community followed by an after party. Sponsored by BSA.
6 p.m., Unity House parking lot*

Film/discussion: Scent uva Butch. Northampton premiere of a groundbreaking documentary on "butch" identity. Admission: $6 in advance, $7 at the door. Tickets are available at Prides in Northampton and Food for Thought in Amherst. (Ext. 7521)
7 p.m., Stoddard auditorium*

Orchestra Concert: Excerpts from Bizet's first and second L'Arlesienne Suites, Gounod's Petite Symphonie for Winds and Beethoven's Symphony No. 2.
8 p.m., Sweeney Concert Hall*

Film: Walkabout (Australia, 1971). Directed by Nicholas Roeg. A teenage girl and her young brother, stranded in the outback, bond with an aborigine. Part of the Motion Picture Committee's Auteur Film Series.
8 p.m., Wright auditorium*

Theater: Spring One-Act Festival. See Wednesday, 8 p.m.
8 p.m., Theatre 14, Mendenhall CPA*

President's Senior Ball. See student notices for ticket information.
9 p.m.-1 a.m., Scott gym

Sunday 4/26

Religious activity: Quaker (Friends) discussion group. Meeting for worship begins at 11 a.m.
9:30 a.m., Bass 210*

Religious service: A special service in recognition of members of the class of '98, with the Rev. Richard Unsworth preaching. Coffee hour follows in Bodman Lounge.
10:30 a.m., Chapel*

Lacrosse: NEW 8 Championship.
1 p.m., athletic fields*

CDO open hours.
1-4 p.m., CDO

CDO workshop: "CDO Phobia." Let us introduce you to our service in a relaxed atmosphere and help you face your fear of the Career Development Office.
1 p.m., CDO

CDO workshop: "How to Find a Summer Internship."
1:30 p.m., CDO

Film double feature: Detour (1945); Desperate (1947). See Friday, 8 p.m.
2 p.m., Wright auditorium*

CDO workshop: "How to Write an Effective Résumé."
2:30 p.m., CDO

Joint Senior Recital: Emily Knox '98 and Sarah Paden '98 perform Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Dorothy Rudd Moore, Monteverdi, Dowland, Poulenc.
3 p.m., Sage Recital Hall*

General meeting: Association of Smith Pagans.
4-5:15 p.m., Gillet House*

Film: Walkabout (Australia, 1971). See Saturday, 8 p.m.
4:30 p.m., Wright auditorium*

Religious service: Roman Catholic Mass with Fr. David Joyce, celebrant, and Elizabeth Carr, Catholic chaplain. A supper will follow.
4:30 p.m., Chapel*

Meeting: Feminists of Smith Unite.
7 p.m., Women's Resource Center (Davis third floor)

Ayamihah Party. In honor of the Baha'i Holy Day Ayamihah. Everyone welcome. Refreshments served. Sponsored by the Baha'i Club.
8-10:30 p.m., Gamut

Ongoing Events

Art exhibition: "Kate Millett, Sculptor: The First 38 Years." Sponsored by the women's studies and American studies programs, the Project on Women and Social Change, Smith Feminists Unite and LBTA. Through May 2. (Ext. 2970 or 586-7282)
Northampton Center for the Arts*

Art exhibition: "Sandy Skoglund: Reality Under Siege," the first retrospective exhibition of the work of the photographer, sculptor and installation artist. Call ext. 2760 for museum hours. Through May 24.
Museum of Art*

Art exhibition: "Olympian Figures," prints featuring ancient Greek and Roman mythological figures such as Heracles. Through May 30.
Museum of Art*

Memorial exhibit: "Margaret Storrs Grierson: 29 June 1900-12 December 1997." Artifacts, photographs and papers from the life of the long-time college archivist and founder of the Sophia Smith Collection. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sophia Smith Collection

Curio exhibition: "The Visionary Cabinet," curiosities created by Marjorie Senechal's History of Science 112a class. Through May 1.
McConnell west stairwell*

Exhibition: "Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora: Myths and Realities." Sponsored by the Smith African Students Association as part of Africa Awareness Week. Through April 18.
Seelye first floor and basement

Art exhibition: "Islamic Works from the Collection." Organized by assistant professor Sussan Babaie.
Museum of Art*

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Getting Your Word Out in AcaMedia

AcaMedia is the official vehicle for making announcements within the Smith College community. We urge all of our readers to let us know of any Smith-related stories in need of telling, any members of the Smith community in need of recognition, or any college events or notices in need of publicity.

Where to Send Copy
-- Submit copy or ideas for news stories to Ann Shanahan at Garrison Hall (ashanahan@colrel.smith.edu).
-- Submit calendar items to Mary Stanton at Garrison Hall (mstanton@colrel.smith.edu, or fax to extension 2174).
-- Submit notices to John Sippel at Garrison Hall (jsippel@colrel.smith.edu, or fax to extension 2178). Text for notices should not exceed 125 words. If its intended audience is not obvious, please indicate whether your notice applies to the entire Smith community, to faculty and staff only, or to students only.

Deadlines
Copy is due by 4 p.m., Wednesday, April 15, for issue 27 (which will include April 27-May 9 calendar listings). Late information cannot be accepted.

Sources of further information, if any, are indicated last in parentheses.

Blue-Pencil Alert
All calendar items and notices submitted to AcaMedia are subject to editing for clarity, brevity and style. Almost none see print exactly as originally written.

Smith-Wide

Outdoor Tennis Courts, Track
Between May 18 and early August the outdoor tennis courts and outdoor track will be closed for resurfacing. They are expected to reopen in mid-August. The Indoor Track and Tennis Facility will be open all summer to Smith ID holders. Summer ITT hours begin June 1 and are as follows: Monday-Thursday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Tennis reservations will be taken at the equipment booth.

Child Care
Smith Child Care Center at Sunnyside has openings for its summer preschool program. Children of Smith faculty, staff and students are given priority. (Ext. 2293)

Accounts Payable Check Requests
The Accounting and Control Unit of the controller's office has revised its weekly check cycle for vendor and reimbursement checks. Effective immediately, requests must be received in College Hall 5 by Friday afternoons for a check to be issued on the following Friday. (Honey Gillman, ext. 2229)

Faculty & Staff

Weight Watchers
Human Resources is planning another 13-week Weight Watchers at Work session. For the first time, benefit-eligible Smith employees will be given a 25 percent discount: the college will pay $30 of the total $117 cost and offer qualified employees the option of paying the remaining $87 by way of 10 weekly payroll deductions of $8.70 each. The first of the hourly meetings in the new session begins at noon, Tuesday, May 12, in Neilson Browsing Room. The group will thereafter meet there every Tuesday noon through August 4. Enrollment information is being distributed in employee mailboxes.

Students

Student-Run Book Swap
A student-initiated, on-line "book swap" has been established to serve those who wish to buy or sell used textbooks. Beginning April 20, students may post buying or selling information about books (including title, author, price and the course in which the book is assigned) at www.smith.edu/org/
masspirg. (Tanja Gohlert, ext. 7116; tgohlert@sophia.
smith.edu)

Child Care/Baby-Sitting
Students who wish to be listed in the booklet for the Smith Summer Child Care/Baby-Sitting Exchange should submit one of the yellow application forms distributed last week or call Charlene Correa at ext. 2297.

President's Ball Tickets
Members of the classes of '98 and '98J planning to attend the April 25 President's Ball for Seniors may purchase tickets in the lobby of the student mail center between 1 and 4 p.m. on April 20, 21 and 22. Tickets are $8 for one, $15 for a couple.

T-Shirt Opportunity
You and your friends can buy the seal for and own the rights to the Absolut Smith T-shirt design, and then produce and sell the shirts and enjoy the profits. The seal has been passed down through four Smith generations. It offers an especially good investment opportunity for first-years or student organizations. If interested, call Bronwen (ext. 7012) or Ashleigh (ext. 6964) by April 30.

Summer Housing
Beginning May 9, summer housing will be available in Sessions Complex for Smith students working on campus in grant, internship and other positions. The $93 per week cost includes a room and Monday-Friday meals. Contracts may be made for as little as one week. Applications are available in the Office of Student Affairs (College Hall 24). Application deadline: Friday, May 1. All fees will be charged directly to residents' accounts or taken out of their payroll checks. Students who have graduated cannot be accommodated.

Housing Summer Intern
Applications for the housing coordinator summer intern position are available in the student affairs office (College Hall 24). Responsibilities include but are not limited to data entry, making fall housing assignments, corresponding with students and assisting with summer housing in Sessions Complex. The position entails 30 work hours a week at $6 per hour, begins in mid- to late April and ends August 14. (Randy Shannon, ext. 4940)

Final Examinations
Information on scheduled and self-scheduled final exams is posted in the houses and on bulletin boards in Clark Science Center, Seelye and Wright halls and the registrar's office. Students should check this schedule carefully and immediately report any conflicts to the registrar. Examinations cannot be repeated. Students who miss exams through carelessness will be failed.

Self-scheduled exams will be distributed at the posted centers during three periods (9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.) on May 5, 6 and 7, and during two periods (9 a.m. and 2 p.m.) on May 9. College IDs will be required at the centers. Please note that there will be no examination period on Friday evening.

Exam Jobs
Students who wish to work distributing final exams should sign up in the financial aid office (College Hall 10).

Fund-Raising Tent Space
The Alumnae Association will provide at no charge tent space to student groups wishing to sell fund-raising items during Commencement and the reunions. Groups are responsible for storage, staffing, adding applicable sales tax, exchanging denominations, and arranging for their own housing. (Only seniors, registered Five College students and Commencement workers will be provided with Smith housing after May 9.) The sales tent will be on the lawn in front of the Alumnae House. The best times to sell are Thursday afternoons, Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday afternoons. To register, call Connie Hanks at ext. 2079.

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AcaMedia staff: Ann Shanahan, editor; Cathy Brooks, layout; John Sippel, notices; Mary Stanton, calendar; Eric Sean Weld, writer
AcaMedia is published weekly during the academic year by the Office of College Relations for the Smith College community. This version of AcaMedia for the World Wide Web is maintained by the Office of College Relations. Last update: April 16, 1998

Copyright © 1997, Smith College. Portions of this publication may be reproduced with the permission of the Office of College Relations, Garrison Hall, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts 01063; (413) 585-2170.
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