News for the Smith College Community //February 17, 2000

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Copyright © 2000, 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.

Smith College Notice of Nondiscrimination

Rally Day 2000: A Radiant Constellation of Women

This year's Rally Day will welcome back to campus five outstanding Smith alumnae chosen to receive Smith College Medals, which will be awarded at the February 23 celebration. The event, which annually honors distinguished alumnae, students, and faculty, will take place at 1:30 p.m. in John M. Greene Hall.

Exemplary as professionals and extraordinary in their service to their communities, the Rally Day 2000 honorees were chosen for their demonstration of "the true purpose of a liberal arts education" in their life and work. This year's Smith College Medalists are Helen Edelstein Freedman '63, Diana Eck '67, Elisabeth McLane-Bradley '42, Marilyn Carlson Nelson '61, and Ruth DeYoung Kohler '63.

The five medalists will be joined by Jill Ker Conway, this year's Rally Day speaker. Conway, who served as Smith's seventh president (and first woman president) from 1975 to 1985, is the author of the best-selling memoirs The Road From Coorain and True North. She is a visiting scholar and professor in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This year's Rally Day, which has as its theme "Smith Women: A Radiant Constellation," will also feature something a little different: more than 100 door prizes will be awarded randomly, including $5 gift certificates to Davis Center and tickets to a performance or show at either the Calvin Theater, Pearl Street Nightclub or Iron Horse Music Hall. In addition to the prizes, Rally Day posters will be available for the taking in the John M. Greene lobby.

Here are the medalists:
A supreme court justice in the unified court system of New York City, Helen Edelstein Freedman has spent the last 15 years using the authority of her office to advocate for homeless families with children. Since 1987, Freedman, who has become known for her skill, intellect and steadfastness in presiding over complex legal cases, has also supervised all New York City personal injury asbestos cases. This work has resulted in more than 1,500 depositions, millions of dollars in settlements and judgments, and the formation of the State Mass Tort Litigation Committee. The author of a 1998 book about trial objections, Freedman also serves on state committees working on gender bias, jury instruction and alternate dispute resolution.

Diana Eck, a professor of comparative religion at Harvard University, is also a member of the university's Divinity School faculty. An accomplished scholar, Eck has spent much of her professional life studying the religious landscape of India and the United States. Eck is the founder of the Pluralism Project, a nationally renowned program that documents religious pluralism in the light of post-1965 emigration. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the National Endowment for the Humanities' National Humanities Medal, which was awarded at a White House ceremony in 1998; the Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion; and the Melcher Book Award of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

A lifelong volunteer and a tireless advocate for social justice, Elisabeth McLane-Bradley has dedicated years of energy and effort to the improvement of education, land conservation, housing, and mental health in New Hampshire and Vermont. Working with the Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth College, McLane-Bradley helped establish the first public school ABC (A Better Chance) program in the United States. Her efforts have also led to the establishment of the Upper Valley Community Foundation and its $20 million endowment.

The chief executive officer of the Minnesota-based Carlson Companies, Marilyn Carlson Nelson is one of the most prominent businesswomen in the country. As head of a $7.8 billion enterprise that includes holdings in a national network of travel agencies, hotels, and restaurants, Nelson is also a dedicated community activist. She chaired Scandinavia Today, a nine-month celebration that brought dignitaries and royalty to Minnesota, as well as Minnesota's Super Bowl '92 task force. Nelson has also served on the national board of the United Way and is on the boards of Exxon and U.S. West Corporations.

Ruth Kohler has served as director of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygen, Wisconsin, for the past 28 years. Due to her efforts, the Arts Center -- an activist organization dedicated to commissioning, producing and presenting dance, theater, music and photography -- is now one of the most highly regarded arts organizations in the United States. The founder of Kohler Company's Arts/Industry Foundation and volunteer president of the Kohler Foundation, Kohler has served on numerous NEA panels and task forces and chaired the Wisconsin Arts Board. In 1997, Kohler was awarded the Wisconsin Governor's Award in Support of the Arts.

Rally Day began in 1976 as a celebration of George Washington's birthday. Over time, it has evolved from a primarily social dinner or reception into a daylong college event, at which seniors are permitted to wear their caps and gowns for the first time. The Smith College medal, given to outstanding alumnae, has been awarded at Rally Day since 1973.

A Letter From the President

The following letter was sent to members of the senior class from the president last week.

11 February 2000

Dear Members of the Senior Class,

It is with regret that I inform you that Jodie Foster, your Commencement Speaker, has informed us that she will be unable to speak at Commencement this year. We have tried everything possible to work out her scheduling difficulty so that Miss Foster could still come, but it appears it will be impossible to achieve that. Although I know you will be as disappointed as I that Miss Foster cannot join us, I know you will be pleased with the speaker who is ultimately chosen. I've met with Muneeba Kayani and members of the Senior Cabinet to discuss how to proceed and we will let you know as soon as we have found a suitable speaker.

We are determined to make your Commencement as meaningful and joyous as possible and the Commencement Speaker is a big part of that. We will do our best to make sure that this ceremony is inspiring and memorable for you.

I look forward to seeing you in your "caps" and gowns for the first time on Rally Day and again at Commencement in May.

Sincerely,
Ruth J. Simmons

 

Another Busy Semester for Kahn Institute

Just shy of two months into the new millinneum, it's already been a busy year for the Louise W. and Edmund J. Kahn Liberal Arts Institute.

Throughout the months of January and early February, the Kahn Institute offered the Five College community lectures, science-fiction film screenings and several stargazing opportunities. All part of the Institute's 1999-2000 project, "Star Messenger: Galileo at the Millennium," the early events of this year ranged from MIT professor Richard Binzel's January 27 lecture at Mount Holyoke, "Asteriods: Friends or Foes?" to the February 15 showing of the film The Brother From Another Planet.

Now beginning Friday, February 25, the Kahn Institute will kick off another exciting week in its spring series of events. The week begins with an exhibition by Kahn student fellow Margaret Eaton-Salners '01, "Imagining/Imaging the Heavens." Her exhibition is an examiniation of books -- specifically, scientific illustrations from the Renaissance through today. According to Michelle Aguilar, the Kahn Institute's events coordinator, the exhibition will feature a wide array of images, "everything from drawings that Galileo might have done to things you might see today in the Scientific American, like images from the Hubble Telescope." A reception for "Imagining/Imaging the Heavens" will be held in Neilson Library Browsing Room from 4-6 p.m. on February 25. The exhibition will be held in Morgan Gallery.

Also on February 25 is the Five College Early Music Program's "Music from Florence in the Time of Galileo," directed by Robert Eisenstein. Scheduled for 8 p.m. in Sweeney Concert Hall, the performance will feature the music of Galileo's father, Vincenzio Galilei, and his contemporaries.

The week will also feature two ad-ditional events, including a February 26 reading of Girodano Bruno's play Il Candelaio (The Candlebearer). The play, which was translated by J.R. Hale, was adapted by Kahn fellow Matthew Daube and is directed by John Hellweg. Il Candelaio will be presented in Theater 14 at 7:30 p.m. On March 2, Harold Skulsky, Mary A. Jordan Professor of English, will give a lecture titled "Campanella on Galileo: Defining the Right to Free Inquiry." Like Galileo, Campanella (who was later imprisoned for defending Galileo), made discoveries that contradicted church doctrine, Aguilar explains. Skulsky's lecture is designed "to give an overview of Campenalla's defense of Galileo, to give a sense of context around Galileo and his theories, to [help the fellows and the general public] understand what other people were saying about what Galileo was saying." Skulsky's lecture will be held at 8 p.m. in Neilson Browsing Room.

More events will follow for "Star Messenger: Galileo at the Millennium" throughout the semester, including more lectures, an April 15 Kahn Colloquium Symposium ("Star Messengers: Science, Art and Culture at the Millennium"), and the April 13-15 World Premiere of "Star Messengers," the music-theater production by theatre department lecturer and Kahn fellow Paul Zimet and visiting fellow, composer Ellen Maddow. The production, which draws on the year-long investigations and interdisciplinary collaborations of the Kahn Institute fellows, has already won Zimet and Maddow the 1999 Frederick Lowe Award in Music-Theater.

A Month-Long Celebration of Black History

In 1926, prominent scholar and historian Carter Godwin Woodson, a man committed to making "the world see the Negro as a participant rather than as a lay figure in history," started Negro History Week. Structured around the birthday of one of his favorite people, Frederick Douglass, Woodson's Negro History Week served as a celebration and a remembrance of African Americans' historical accomplishments.

Now, 74 years later, Woodson's week of recognition has turned into Black History Month, an annual celebration that lasts throughout February.

This year, with the theme "Reflecting Black," Smith College celebrates Black History Month with a series of lectures, exhibits, concerts, and conferences. Some educational in orientation, others strictly entertaining, the events are all part of an effort "to encourage the community to look back at the history and to become aware of the major contributions and achievements that black folk have made to the United States and to the world," says Mentha Hynes, assistant dean for multicul-tural affairs.

Though the celebration is of a historical nature, Smith's Black History Month student sponsor, the Black Student Alliance (BSA), has chosen to give it a decidedly contemporary spin. "The BSA opted not to look so much at the historical angle but to do something present-day," says Hynes.

That present-day focus is reflected in the Friday, February 18, concert at John M. Greene Hall. The concert, at 8 p.m., will feature the hip-hop jazz group The Roots, with special guests Run DMC.

The contemporary spin is also evident in BSA's Saturday, February 19, New England Conference, called "Gender in Hip-Hop Culture." The conference, which Hynes declares "very provocative," will feature a distinguished group of speakers, including rap artist and author Sister Souljah, black culture expert Tricia Rose, and James Bernard, writer and co-founder of The Source. With lectures, workshops, and a panel discussion, the conference will focus on the mental and physical consequences of using certain gender terms both inside and outside the home, as well as how gender concepts in hip-hop have played a critical role in the genre's acceptance by mainstream culture -- both in the U.S. and abroad.

"Gender in Hip-Hop Music and Culture" is open to the public; it will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Wright Hall Auditorium and includes a performance by hip-hop artists The Harlem Knights. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the cost is $15 for the general public, $10 for children and seniors.

Other Black History Month events include a Spring Jam in Davis Ballroom, with music from the African Diaspora, including reggae, soukous, zouk and kwaito at 8 p.m. on Friday, February 19, and, on February 23, "Dialogue Circle: An Interfaith Discussion" at 7 p.m. in the chapel's Bodman Lounge. A religious service, "In Celebration of Black History," will be held on Sunday, February 27, at 10:30 a.m. in Helen Hills Hills Chapel.

"Because the church has always been a very important part of the African American experience, we're holding the chapel service, followed by a soul-food brunch," Hynes explains. "The concept of fellowship over spirituality and food is very much a part of our tradition." Following the chapel service and brunch will be a 2 p.m. performance in the chapel by the Absolom Jones Gospel Choir of Trenton, New Jersey.

Michael Eric Dyson, Baptist minister, Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor at DePaul University and author of numerous books on black culture and social justice, will present his "Reflecting Black" lecture at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 28, in Stoddard Auditorium. The event mixes liturgy, lecture, and lyrics into more than 200 public speeches annually. "I preach. I teach. I write. I lecture. Sometimes I rap. It is enormously important not to be limited," he explains. A nationally known speaker, Dyson "first came to the attention of President Simmons when he was a graduate student at Princeton," Hynes says. "She has remained one of his mentors."

Events for Black History Month at Smith are sponsored by the Black Students Alliance, Helen Hills Hills Chapel, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Smith African Students Association and the Office of the President. For more information on Black History Month activities, call (413) 585-4933.

A Banquet Right Out of Galileo's Time

"Star Messenger: Galileo at the Millennium," the Louise W. and Edmund J. Kahn Liberal Arts Institute's 1999-2000 project, is a "year-long investigation and celebration of the work of Galileo Galilei and his contemporaries in the context of their times," according to a project description. Through symposia, lectures, exhibitions and courses, Kahn Institute fellows and members of the Smith community are developing an understanding of what life was like in the Renaissance, what people thought, what they knew, what they believed.

Now, with the help of Residence and Dining Services (RADS) and the Smith College Club, people can also get a taste of what they ate. On Friday, February 25, at 6 p.m., RADS will host "Galileo at the Millennium: A Renaissance Banchetto (A Renaissance Banquet) in honor of Galileo Galilei." Open to Smith community members for $30 a plate, the dinner promises to provide a delicious, authentic sampling of culinary delights from the time of Galileo.

The Renaissance Banchetto "will be a large feast, patterned after a 1600s Renaissance feast," says RADS supervisor Patty Hentz. "All the food will be recreated [to be the way it was in the Renaissance], and all the waitresses will be talking only in Italian. The Smith College Madrigral Singers will be there, singing only in Italian. This is as authentic as you can get in the 21st century." The meal will begin with an antipasto course, featuring Crostini alla Toscana (alle olive: pomodoro fresco: con fegatini), followed by the primo course (Ravioli alla Zucca) and the secondo course (which includes Paduan boiled beef, chicken with vin santo and figs, and salt cod in spicy sauce). Dolce, dessert, includes pears with chocolate sauce or almond cookies with vin santo.

"We've matched wines (like the vin santo, a sweet Italian wine that will be served with dessert) with each food. They will be available to be purchased at the cash bar," says Hentz. Immediately following the banquet, guests are invited to attend
an open public concert at Sage Hall, where the Early Music Ensemble will play at 8 p.m.

Unity House: A Safe Haven on Campus

Officially, it's known as Smith College's center for multicultural programming. But for the women of color who frequent it, UNITY House, a modest building located on Bedford Terrace (next to Duckett), has a host of other uses as well. Mentha Hynes, assistant dean for multicultural affairs, calls the building "a hidden treasure on campus," a hangout, a place for meeting, and a place for studying. Most importantly, it is a place for community -- a safe haven.

The origins of UNITY House can be traced to 1968, when Smith College's African-American students called for the creation of a Black Cultural Center. After seeking and obtaining the approval of then-president Thomas Mendenhall, the students established their center in a small space in Lilly Hall. The Black Cultural Center quickly became a resource for students of all cultural backgrounds and in 1973 was renamed the Mwangi Cultural Center (in honor of 1961 Smith graduate Dr. Florence Ng'endo Mwangi).

The small space in Lilly Hall remained sufficient for Smith's cultural groups for nearly two decades. By the late 1980s, however, Smith's minority enrollment had increased dramatically. Growing in strength and popularity, Smith's various cultural organizations could simply no longer fit into the Mwangi Cultural Center. After months of negotiations between the cultural organizations and college officials, a solution was reached: while each cultural group would maintain an office in Lilly Hall, their main meetings and public outreach activities would be moved to a Bedford Terrace building called the Carriage House. As a symbol of their togetherness and cooperation, the cultural organizations formed an umbrella organization, and renamed the Carriage House UNITY House in its honor.

Today, UNITY is the home of eight cultural groups, including the Asian Students Association (ASA), Black Students Alliance (BSA), EKTA (an organization for South Asian students), Indigenous Americans of Smith (IAS), International Students Organization (ISO), Korean American Students of Smith (KASS), NOSOTRAS (an organization for Latina students), and the Smith African Students Association (SASA). A heavily utilized space, UNITY is used for the cultural organizations' weekly meetings and many of their various events, including barbecues, open mike poetry readings, and karaoke nights. "We had Native American storytelling in November," Hynes recollects. "An alumna came -- she was just amazing. She shared history, told stories, and instructed those who were participating in how to prepare Native American tacos, fried bread, and mint tea." With a TV lounge upstairs, new furniture, two renovated kitchens, and several areas available for studying, the newly remodeled UNITY House also makes a great "home away from home," Hynes says -- literally. "Last semester during finals there was a group of first-year students who resided [at UNITY House], spent the night there, made their house a home away from home. They had a supply of popcorn, cookies, snacks...they went home for meals, then came back to stay."

While UNITY is a space used primarily by and for cultural organizations, Hynes says, "we're making an effort to be more inclusive [with all members of the Smith campus] this year." With a wide variety of educational and entertainment-focused culturally oriented events, UNITY House is truly a "treasure" for all members of the Smith community.

Poetry Center Head to Read

The Poetry Center will kick off its spring series on Tuesday, February 22, at 7:30 p.m. in Neilson Browsing Room, with a reading by poet and translator Ellen Doré Watson, the center's new director and an editor of The Massachusetts Review, a Five College literary journal. Watson will read from her own poetry as well as from her translations from poetry written in Portuguese and Arabic.

Watson is the author of We Live in Bodies and a chapbook, Broken Railings, which received the Green Lake Chapbook Poetry Prize from Owl Creek Press. Her poems have appeared in Field, Boulevard, Ploughshares, The American Poetry Review and The New Yorker.

Watson also received the 1997 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award, a 1998 Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grant and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship to translate the work of Brazilian poet Adélia Prado. Watson has also published seven books of prose translation, most recently Milton Hatoum's The Tree of the Seventh Heaven. And the most recent issue of Modern Poetry in Translation contains several dozen contemporary Palestinian poems cotranslated by Watson.

Watson's reading coincides with the debut of the Poetry Center's Web site, at www.smith.edu/poetrycenter, which features a schedule of events, sample poems and biographical information on past and future visiting poets.

Another new feature the Poetry Center is offering this semester is an e-mail reminder of upcoming events. To be automatically notified of approaching readings, send an e-mail message to poetrycenter@smith.edu, the center's new address. Also, past readings are available on video through the Nonprint Resource Center.

The center also schedules a question-and-answer session with each visiting poet, generally held at 3:30 p.m. the day of his or her reading in Wright common room. And about a week prior to every reading, a packet of the poet's works is available in the Poetry Center office, Wright Hall 130.

A bookselling and signing session will follow Watson's reading. Other readings scheduled for this spring are Jay Wright on March 7, Tomaz Salamun, April 4, and Mary Oliver, April 18.

No Body to Go Uncounted

It was 7 a.m. on Wednesday, February 9, and a little clot of women in their bathrobes huddled on the doorstep of 150 Elm Street as two fire engines and a fire department panel truck pulled up. As it turned out there was no fire; just dust in one of the smoke detectors. But the alarm had sounded and the Northampton Fire Department had responded. That scene is reenacted on numerous occasions at Smith, and it costs the city of Northampton money every time. The city isn't complaining, but soon it is going to be counting -- not fire alarms but Smith students.

United States Census 2000 will come to Northampton -- and the rest of the country -- starting in mid-March, and this year the city is determined to count every man, woman and child who calls Northampton home as of April 1, whether he or she lives in a house, an apartment, a tent, on the streets or in a Smith residence. Although students may not think of the college as their official home, the census does. Every college student in the United States is counted as a resident of the city or town in which he or she spends the academic year.

After the last Census, in 1990, Northampton challenged the count because its own yearly census counted 1,000 more people than did the federal census. The challenge was denied, and local officials are determined not to allow Northampton to be undercounted again. "This is a really critical job for Northampton to do well," Mayor Clare Higgins said recently. "It can affect the number of federal dollars we get, to the tune of $1,400 a person."

To help pay the city back for fire truck visits and other services, it seems little enough for Northampton to ask that all Smith students fill out their census forms and return them. Watch this space for more information -- and more reminders.


ScoreBoard

Swimming/diving
February 4: NEWMAC Championship: 4th out of 10

Squash
February 1: Smith 2, Amherst 1
February 4-6: Smith/Mount Holyoke Invitational:
Smith 3, Hamilton 6
Smith 7, Wesleyan 2
Smith 8, Connecticut 1
Smith 6, Tufts 3
Smith 3, Colby 6
Smith 3, St. Lawrence 6
February 9: Smith 7, Wesleyan 2
February 12: Smith 9, Bard 0
Smith 6, Connecticut 3

Skiing
February 12-13: Boston College Carnival: 6th slalom; 5th giant slalom

Track and field
February 12: Smith Invitational: non-scoring meet

Basketball
February 1: Smith 46, Williams 67
February 3: Smith 63, Mount Holyoke 73
February 5: Smith 48, Babson 68
February 8: Smith 66, Clark 76
February 12: Smith 55, US Coast Guard 72

PeopleNews will return next week.


Sources of further information, if any, are indicated in parentheses. Notices should be submitted by mail, by e-mail (mstanton@colrel.smith.edu) or by fax (extension 2174).


Campus Wide

Softball Clinic
The Smith College Softball Team is sponsoring a softball clinic for girls in grades 5 through 8 on March 4 in the Indoor Track and Tennis Facility. Sessions will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon for fifth and sixth graders and from 1 to 4 p.m. for seventh and eighth graders. The cost of the clinic is $10 per participant. Members of the team will teach the clinic stations. This clinic is a fundraiser to help pay for the cost of the team's spring training trip. If you would like more information or would like to register, please contact Bonnie May, ext. 2713. Space is limited, and early registration is strongly suggested.

Project Survival
From February 14 through 29, the Staff Council Activities Committee is sponsoring Project Survival, its annual food drive that assists the Northampton Survival Center. Please leave a donation of nonperishable food (e.g., powdered milk, fruit juice, canned fruit, peanut butter, water-packed tuna, hearty soup, pasta, tomato sauce, vegetables, baked or kidney beans, white rice, macaroni and cheese) in the designated boxes that will be placed in most campus office buildings. Have a heart and help someone in need.

S.O.S. Annual Fund Drive
Where were you at age 15? Did you know the average age of a homeless youth is just 15 years old? Service Organizations of Smith (S.O.S.) has identified youth homelessness as this year's Fund Drive topic. Donations from the Smith community are being collected by S.O.S. house reps and S.O.S. from February 18 to March 23. All the money collected will be given in the form of a grant to a local nonprofit agency that works with homeless youth. Call Emma, ext. 6506 or Holly, ext. 7379, or the S.O.S. office, ext. 2765, with questions or to donate.


Faculty and Staff

Staff Fiction Competition
The Council Chronicle announces StaffStories, the first annual short fiction competition for Smith staff members. All full- and part-time staff employees are invited to submit original works of fiction of no more than 1,500 words in length for prizes and publication. Contest entries should be mailed no later than March 1 to The Council Chronicle, Garrison Hall. To qualify, send three hard copies of your submission plus a cover page with StaffStories Entry printed in the top left corner followed by author's name, department, e-mail address, campus extension, story title and exact word count. Winners will by notified by April 1 and announced in the April issue of The Council Chronicle. For more information, call ext. 2171.


Students

Free Publicity
Does your organization sponsor really great events at Smith? If you want to reach a lot of students in the Five College area at no cost, why not put your event up on the "Chilipeppers (Hot Without the Sauce!)" Web page? To list your fun, alcohol-free event e-mail the information to cbosch2@aol.com. Information submitted by Tuesday will be posted by Thursday. Any questions, please call Christa Bosch, ext. 6130. (Note: Chilipeppers reserves the right not to publish any event that does not meet its criteria.)

Literacy Project
The Literacy Project, an adult basic education program committed to progressive education, community development and social change, is currently seeking classroom assistants for literacy, math, computer and GED classes. A 15-hour training for new volunteers is scheduled for three Saturdays-February 26, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and March 4 and 11, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers must attend all three sessions. The training will be held in Amherst at a site that is handicapped accessible and on the Five College bus route. Preregistration is required, and space is limited to 15. To register, call Margaret Anderson, volunteer coordinator, 413-774-3934.

CDO Peer Advisers
First-year students who are interested in becoming a CDO peer adviser (PA) may sign up for 10 hours of training this semester to be ready for a paid job in 2000-01. PAs cover the help desk, answer library questions and advise students on career-related matters. You will lead workshops, learn to critique résumés and covers and work with great students. Pick up an application at the CDO help desk. Deadline for applications is March 3. Call Renee Hill with questions, ext. 2582.

Kahn Institute
Informational meetings will be held February 24 in Seelye 211 for sophomores and juniors interested in applying for fellowships for two separate Kahn Institute projects to be held during 2000-2001: "Community Activism," organized by Martha Ackelsberg, government, and Nancy Whittier, sociology, 4 to 5 p.m.; and "The Anatomy of Exile," organized by Peter Rose, sociology, 5 to 6 p.m.

A Program for the Class of 2003
The first meeting of the mentorship program will be held Thursday, February 17, at 7 p.m. in Seelye 101. If you are interested in being a mentor or helping out in any
way, please attend. The mentorship program has been created by the class of 2003 to be run by first-year students annually. It's up to us to make it work! As a mentor, you will be assigned to a student who has been accepted early decision. The program will open to the entire campus once the kinks are worked out. E-mail lwatson@smith.edu with questions.

Scholarship Opportunity
Alumnae Scholarships for the year 2000-01 are available to seniors and alumnae beginning their first year of full-time graduate study in the United States or abroad. Awards are based upon merit within the department of the major. Applications are available in the Office of the Class Deans, College Hall 23. The application deadline is March 15.

Johnston Prize
The Denis Johnston Prize for Creative Writing in the Dramatic Media is an annual prize to be awarded jointly by the Smith College departments of English and theatre to a current undergraduate of any of the Five Colleges. Manuscripts, which may be of any length, should be submitted to the Denis Johnston Prize Committee, Theatre Building, T205, Smith College. Any unpublished script is eligible. Please submit three copies of each manuscript that is to be considered for this award, along with a self-addressed envelope (for returning scripts) with an address that will be appropriate after June 1. The deadline for submission is Monday, April 3.

Reunion/Commencement Housing
One of the wonderful traditions for Smith College alumnae is returning to campus each year in order to participate in Commencement and Reunion activities. Students and alumnae treasure this experience that unites alumnae and graduating seniors. The alumnae association, in coordination with the student affairs office, is responsible for housing nongraduating students following the end of room and board contracts on May 6 at noon. With the large number of alumnae returning for Reunion/Commencement weekend, space for students who are not graduating seniors but who need to remain on campus beyond this date is extremely limited (typically provided for students with a role in Reunion/Commencement or with late Five College exams). Five College students will receive a letter and form at the beginning of March to request housing. Other students who need to be considered for on-campus housing beyond May 6 are asked to submit a "Request for Student Housing" form. Forms are due back by Monday, March 13. Please note these are requests, not reservations for space, and must be considered on a space available basis. Students approved to remain oncampus will move to consolidated housing on May 7 at noon in order to allow preparation of the houses for alumnae. Questions about this process should be directed to Kelly Taylor, reunion housing coordinator, Alumnae Outreach, ext. 2040, or ktaylor@ais.smith.edu.


SmithJobs

The following were available at presstime. Application reviews will begin immediately. To learn more, call ext. 2278.

Associate director/Alumnae Outreach and special projects Alumnae Association. Apply to Search Committee, Alumnae Association, 33 Elm St.
Secretary/receptionist Heatlh Services. Apply to Search Committee, Health Services, 69 Paradise Road
Nurse Health Services. Apply to Search Committee, Health Services, 69 Paradise Road

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. Items for this section must be submitted on Event Service Request Forms.


Monday, February 21

Fine/performing arts/films
Film festival featuring works of women of African descent. Sponsor: BSA. 7 p.m., Seelye 106*

Meetings/workshops
Debate Society general meeting.
4-6 p.m., Seelye 101

Informational meeting for new environmental/humanitarian group. 7 p.m., Dewey common room

SLAC general meeting 8:30 p.m., Women's Resource Center

Religious Life
Silence for the Soul A quiet place for prayer, meditation or reflection.
All welcome. 12:30-1:30 p.m., Chapel

Other events and activities
Language lunch tables
French, Italian
12:15 p.m., Duckett Special Dining Room

Yoga class Noncredit, for students. Limited to 40. 4:45-6 p.m., Davis ballroom


Tuesday, February 22

Lectures/Symposia
Sigma Xi luncheon talk "Brief History of Massachusetts." Piotr Decowski. Open to faculty, emeriti and staff. Noon, College Club lower level

Question-and-answer session with poet and translator Ellen Doré Watson, who will read this evening in the Poetry Center's first spring event. Interested students should pick up a packet of Watson's poems in the Poetry Center office, Wright Hall (see story, page 4). 3:30 p.m., Wright common room

Women's Studies tea "Colliding Feminisms: Britney Spears, Teenage Girls, and the Politics of Reception." Melanie Lowe '90 will talk about teenage girls and the conflicts, contradictions and conceptions of pop music, feminism and "girl power." 4 p.m., Seelye 207

Reading In the Poetry Center's first spring event, poet and translator Ellen Doré Watson will read from her own work and translations from Portuguese and Arabic (see story, page 4). 7:30 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room*

Fine/performing arts/films
Film festival featuring works by women of African descent. Sponsor: BSA. 7 p.m., Seelye 106*

Meetings/workshops
HR workshop "Giving and Receiving Difficult Feedback at Work," Session II. Open to faculty and staff. 9 a.m.-noon, Dewey common room

CDO workshop Finding a summer internship. Learn how to use the library, e-access and other Internet resources. 7:15 p.m., CDO

SGA Senate meeting Open forum. All students welcome. 7:15 p.m., Seelye 201

CDO workshop Job search for seniors. Strategies, tips, and Web resources. 8 p.m., CDO

Religious Life
Episcopal-Lutheran Fellowship meets in the house parlor for worship, lunch and friendship. All welcome. Noon, St. John's Church, Elm Street

Other events and activities
Hillel at Noon Noon, Dawes Kosher Kitchen

Language lunch tables
Chinese, German
12:15 p.m., Duckett Special Dining Room

Special event Meet Smith Medalist Ruth DeYoung Kohler '63 for an informal discussion, slides and refreshments. Ruth Kohler is director of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a highly regarded activist organization that commissions and presents visual arts, dance, theater and music. 4:15 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room*

Yoga class Noncredit, for students. Limited to 40. 4:45-6 p.m., Davis ballroom

CDO open hours Peer advisers available for assistance. 7 p.m., CDO

Rally Day party 9 p.m., Davis


Wednesday, February 23

Lectures/Symposia
WTO teach-in Students who went to Seattle to protest the WTO International Conference will talk about their experience. 4-6:30 p.m., Seelye 106*

Fine/performing arts/films
Film festival featuring works by women of African descent. Sponsor: BSA. 7 p.m., Seelye 106*

Meetings/workshops
HR workshop "Sexual Harassment: The Supervisor's Role in Prevention and Response." Open to faculty and staff. 9 a.m.-noon, Neilson Browsing Room

CDO workshop Résumé critique by a peer adviser. 3 p.m., CDO

CDO workshop How to write an effective résumé. 4:15 p.m., CDO

Religious Life
Catholic Adas gathering and informal discussion/reflection. Lunch served. All welcome. Noon, Bodman Lounge, Chapel

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

Other events and activities
Language lunch tables Spanish, Portuguese. 12:15 p.m., Duckett Special Dining Room

Language lunch tables Classical languages. 12:15 p.m., Duckett Special Dining Room C

Reception in honor of Rally Day medalists Elisabeth McLane-Bradley '42 and Marilyn Carlson Nelson '61. Sponsored by the Project on Women and Social Change. 9 a.m., Seelye 207

Rally Day Convocation "Smith Women: A Radiant Constellation." Smith College Medals and junior and senior teaching awards will be presented, winners of the Rally Day banner contests will be announced, and door prizes will be awarded (see story, page 1). 1:30 p.m., JMG*

Rally Day Medalist Panel Reception to follow. 3 p.m., Alumnae House conference room*

Yoga class Noncredit, for students. Limited to 40. 4:45-6 p.m., Davis ballroom


Thursday, February 24

Lectures/Symposia
Liberal Arts Luncheon lecture "Chinaman, Laundryman: The Significance of Asian-American Proletarian Poetry." Floyd Cheung, English language and literature. Sponsor: Committee on Academic Priorities. Noon, Smith College Club lower level

Lecture "Syria and the Peace Process: A View From Damascus." Sadik Al-Azm, chair, departments of philosophy and sociology, University of Damascus. Sponsor: Lecture Committee. 4:15 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room*

Lecture "Fiction and Fictional Fact: The Ethics of Writing Historical Fiction." Brian A. Kiteley, associate professor of creative writing, University of Denver, and author of Still Life; I Know Many Songs, But I Cannot Sing, and the forthcoming The River Gods: A History of Northampton in Stories and Essays. 5 p.m., Seelye 201*

Reading Sigrid Nunez, Elizabeth Drew Professor and author of A Reflection on the Breath of God and Other Work, will read from her work. 7:30 p.m., Seelye 201*

Fine/performing arts/films
Film festival featuring works by women of African descent. Sponsor: BSA. 7 p.m., Seelye 106*

Film Sponsor: German Club. 7:30 p.m., McConnell auditorium

Theater Alice. Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Adapted and directed by Erin McCauley '00 from Lewis Carroll's classic. Follow a little girl down a rabbit hole and through a looking glass as she grows through her childhood fantasies. 8 p.m., Hallie Flanagan studio*

Concert Avodah Dance Ensemble, a dynamic modern dance company rooted in the Jewish tradition with a multicultural emphasis, will perform its dance midrash repertory. 7:30 p.m., Chapel*

Meetings/workshops
HR workshop "Giving and Receiving Difficult Feedback at Work," session III." Open to faculty and staff. 9 a.m.­noon, Dewey common room

CDO workshop Job search for seniors. 3 p.m., CDO

Informational meeting for sophomores and juniors interested in applying for fellowships for the 2000-01 Kahn Liberal Arts Institute project "Community Activism," organized by Martha Ackelsberg, government, and Nancy Whittier, sociology. 4-5 p.m., Seelye 211

Informational meeting for sophomores and juniors interested in applying for fellowships for the 2000-01 Kahn Liberal Arts Institute project "The Anatomy of Exile," organized by Peter Rose, sociology. 5-6 p.m., Seelye 211

Informational meeting FactSet Research Systems. 7:30 p.m., Dewey common room

Other events and activities
Language lunch tables Korean, Russian. 12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room

Yoga class Noncredit, for students. Limited to 40. 8-9:15 a.m., Davis ballroom


Friday, February 25

Fine/performing arts/films
Film Sponsor: German Club. 7:30 p.m., McConnell auditorium

Theatre Alice. Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. See 2/23 listing. 8 p.m., Hallie Flanagan studio*

Concert "The Music of Vincenzio Galilei and His Contemporaries." Five College Early Music Ensemble, led by Robert Eisenstein. Sponsor: Louise W. and Edmund J. Kahn Liberal Arts Institute, as part of the 1999-2000 project "Star Messengers: Galileo at the Millennium." 8 p.m., Sweeney Concert Hall

Religious Life
Fireside discussion with the Baha'i Club, about the Baha'i faith. 2 p.m., Wright common room*

Shabbat service Dinner follows at 7 p.m. in the Kosher Kitchen, Dawes
House, Chapel. 5:15 p.m., Dewey common room.

Other events and activities
Language lunch tables Japanese. 12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room

Alumnae House tea Gillett and Haven/Wesley houses are cordially invited to attend. 4 p.m., Alumnae House Living Room

Special event "Imagining/Imaging the Heavens." Opening of an exhibition of rare astronomy books and antique star charts from the Mortimer Rare Book Room. Organized by Kahn Student Fellow Margaret Eaton-Salners '01 and the Mortimer Rare Book Room. Part of the 1999-2000 Kahn Institute project "Star Messenger: Galileo at the Millennium." 4 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room*

Special event "Galileo at the Millennium." A special night at the Smith College Club featuring an authentic "Renaissance Buffet." The evening is coupled with several campus activities celebrating Galileo (see story, page 4). 6 p.m., Smith College Club


Saturday, February 26

Fine/performing arts/films
Theater Il Candelaio (The Candlebearer). Readings from the play by Giordano Bruno as adapted by theatre professor John Hellweg and Kahn fellow Matthew Daube. Part of the 1999-2000 Kahn Institute project, "Star Messenger: Galileo at the Millennium." 7:30 p.m., Earle Recital Hall*

Concert Performances by choral ensembles from the five colleges featuring the premiere of music professor Ronald Perera's Three Love Lyrics. 7:30 p.m., JMG*

Theater Alice. Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. See 2/23 listing. 8 p.m., Hallie Flanagan studio*

Other events and activities
Special event Women's Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Team Championships. Fencers from 15 schools competing in foil, epee, and sabre. 8 a.m.-6 p.m., ITT*

Special event EKTA's annual dinner and party. Tickets: $4, dinner and party; $2, party only. 9 p.m., Gamut*


Sunday, February 27

Meetings/workshops
CDO workshop How to find a summer internship. 1:15 p.m., CDO

CDO workshop Interview strategies for success. 2:30 p.m., CDO

Religious Life
Quaker meeting for worship begins at 11 a.m. Preceded by informal discussion at 9:30 a.m. All welcome. Bass 203*

Morning worship in the Protestant tradition with the Rev. Leon Burrows, interim Protestant chaplain, and student liturgists presiding. Prayers and light breakfast in the Bodman Lounge 10 a.m. All welcome. 10:30 a.m., Chapel *

Special event Members of the BSA will join the Ecumenical Christian Church for a festive worship service honoring Black History Month and featuring Gospel music by a student-organized choir and the Rev. Leon Burrows, interim Protestant chaplain, preaching. 10:30 a.m., Chapel*

Morning prayers in the Hindu tradition. 11:45 a.m., Chapel, second floor

Special event "Lift Every Voice and Sing." An afternoon of gospel music presented by the Absalom Jones Gospel Choir of Trinity Cathedral, Trenton, New Jersey. 2 p.m., Chapel*

Association of Smith Pagans meeting. Organization for those who practice nature-based religions. Seekers welcome. 4 p.m., Lamont basement

Roman Catholic Eucharistic Liturgy Fr. Stephen Ross, OCD, celebrant, priest/scholar-in-residence. 4:30 p.m., Chapel*

Other events and activities
CDO open hours Open hours for library research and browsing. Peer advisers available. 1 p.m., CDO


Exhibitions

"Where the World Meets the Sky: Photographs of Ladakh and Tibet." Photographs by Ellen Kaplowitz. Sponsored by the East Asian Studies Program and the Department of Art. Through February 27. Hillyer gallery*

"Excavating the Museum II: H.H. Wilder and Early 20th-Century Anthropology at Smith College" is the second collaborative exhibition installed by students in Patricia Erikson's fall anthropology seminar, Objects, Selves and Others: The Anthropology of Material Culture. By looking at the career of Harris Hawthorne Wilder, professor of zoology, this exhibit examines early 20th-century anthropometry studies and their relation to eugenics debates, the education of women in science and the excavation of Native American burials in New England. Through February 2000. Smith College Archives, Alumnae Gymnasium, Neilson Library.*

"Abstract Impressions" A show of recent prints by Molly Gayley '58. Through March 30. Alumnae House gallery