Spate of House Fires Raises Doubts About the Honor System
Public Safety and the local fire department have been busier than usual
this month responding to fire- and smoke-related incidents in Smith houses.
Northampton Fire Department (NFD) firefighters were dispatched to Morrow
House on October 2 to put out a wastebasket fire. Since then Public Safety
has responded to several more incidents:
- At 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 6, paper burning in the third-floor microwave
oven triggered an alarm in Baldwin House. NFD officials responded.
- At 8:43 p.m. Thursday, October 8, a campus officer entered Capen House
to find two candles burning in the window of an empty second-floor room
with an open door.
- At 1:43 p.m. Wednesday, October 14, campus officials entered Cushing
House after a strong burning odor was reported on the second floor. A student
was reportedly attempting to dry her wet bandanna in the microwave oven.
- At 5:21 p.m. Thursday, October 15, NFD firefighters were called to
Emerson House to put out a fire in a second-floor trash can. Five candles
were found in the room.
- At 6 p.m. Monday, October 19, the NFD was dispatched to the third floor
of Wilder House, where a candle had set fire to a curtain and a mattress.
Director of Public Safety Sharon Rust says the increase in fire- and
smoke-related incidents this fall has been "a little unusual."
She can't explain it but urges students who smoke cigarettes to not throw
smoldering butts in the trash can or leave them unattended. "Would
you do that in your own home or apartment?" she asks.
Given the frequency of candle-related incidents, Rust also insists that
students honor the college's policy prohibiting candles in student rooms.
"[Students] shouldn't have candles, period," she says. "If
candles keep popping up in rooms, maybe we need to do more than say they're
not allowed."
Associate Dean of Student Affairs Nancy Asai agrees. "We've come
to the point where the honor system isn't working," she says. "We
need to hold students accountable."
To that end Asai has asked the SGA Judicial Board to decide what punitive
action should be taken against the student who caused the recent Wilder
House fire by leaving a candle burning while she went to dinner. The student
could be required to perform community service or conduct seminars on fire
awareness, says Asai-or be suspended. Five years ago a student was suspended
for a semester after starting a fire in Baldwin House and causing major
damage by leaving a burning candle unattended despite having repeatedly
been warned not to. Asai hopes that suspension can be avoided this time
and that "students will learn from these recent incidents." She
adds that it sometimes takes something as serious as a fire to demonstrate
the validity of house policies.
The college tries to do its part in preventing fires and assuring the
safety of students, says Asai. Fire awareness and safety seminars are held
every year to inform students of fire prevention and what action to take
during fires. A fire captain is elected within each house, given special
training and appointed to oversee the safety of residents in the case of
fire. And the college conducts health and safety inspections once a year,
usually in January, to maintain student compliance with safety policies.
During those inspections prohibited materials such as candles are confiscated,
she says. (Page 68 of the 1998-99 Smith College Handbook lists other flammable
materials prohibited in student rooms, including incense, scented lamps,
paper lamp shades and halogen floor lamps.)
Northampton Fire Chief Brian Duggan hopes to hold educational seminars
on campus in the near future. "We want to couple public education with
fire prevention," he says. "We want to make sure students are
aware of some of the dangers" of burning candles and cigarettes.
Who Are You?
This is the first in an occasional series.
Name: Len Berkman
Department: Theatre
Title: Anne Hesseltine Hoyt Professor of Theatre
Hometown: Brooklyn, 22 years; now Amherst/Northampton
(which I think of as unidentical twin homes)
Other positions you've held: Dramaturg at the Sundance
Institute, New York Stage & Film Co., the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast
Repertory, and other U.S. theaters.
Why did you choose your field? Pompous answer:
In my teens, I discovered theatre as an antidote to loneliness and a gateway
to the world. Flip answer: In my teens, I fell in love with an actress and
wrote my first plays. Real answer: both of the above.
Projects you're presently working on: Continued
revisions of my one-act play, Quits, being staged at Smith on November 13-14;
redrafting of my latest full-length play, I'm Not the Star of My Own Life;
and an essay for the journal Parnassus on the poetry of Glenna Luschei.
Favorite things about Smith: People and teaching
(both equally) and learning.
What do you do in your free time? Hear music, take
walks, write letters, imagine things, tape friends' TV shows so I can watch
an hour of them in 40 minutes.
What would you be doing now if you weren't working?
Spending time with my wife, phoning our sons, laughing with friends and
looking at our garden, the transit of seasons, the migrating birds, the
dramatic sky.
Favorite place to hang out: Rao's, Wildwood Cemetery
and our back porch, all in Amherst.
Favorite food: Okra.
One thing you would change if you could: Me.
Three words to describe yourself: Intense, clownish,
active.
What would you prefer others see in you? My inner
wrestlings, my actual shyness.
Three books you'd bring if exiled to the island
in Paradise Pond: Maurice Sendak's Very Far Away, Marguerite Duras' Four
Novels (my way of cheating on your three-book restriction) and Henry James'
The Awkward Age. I would try not to get any of these books wet.
Pet peeve: Acts without meaning (that I perform
regardless).
What makes you cry? Beauty, thoughtfulness.
What message would you like to give the world?
"Think again."
Do you know someone on campus who is interesting,
entertaining or just has a lot to say? Are you such a person? If you have
the perfect candidate for this series, tell Eric Weld at extension 2171
or eweld@colrel.smith.edu.
Event to Weigh Activism Versus Scholarship
"Queer Activism, Queer Studies," a major
symposium examining the links between gay and lesbian scholarship and advocacy,
will be held at Smith November 6-8. The program has grown out of a Campus
Climate Working Group roundtable discussion on homophobia held last year.
Since last fall a faculty, staff and student group has been working to organize
"what is shaping up to be an extraordinary event," says Marilyn
Schuster, professor of women's studies and one of the symposium's organizers.
"We are bringing 13 major activists, artists
and academics to campus to engage in what promises to be a spirited discussion,"
Schuster adds. "The format will encourage give-and-take among participants
and between participants and the audience."
The relationship between activism and the academy
is among the hot topics in queer studies, an emerging academic discipline
that focuses on analyses of sexuality and gender.
On Friday, November 6, a number of leading figures
in gay and lesbian culture will gather at Smith for the three-day symposium.
They will include independent historian Allan Bérubé, author
of Coming Out Under Fire: Lesbian and Gay Americans and the Military During
World War II; activist Urvashi Vaid, director of the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force's Policy Institute; author Lauren Berlant; and cartoonist Allison
Bechdel.
The symposium opens at 3 p.m. Friday with a panel
discussion designed to define the issues in queer studies. Panelists Bérubé
and Vaid will join Michael Lucey -- author of Gide's Bent and founder of
the gay studies program at the University of California, Berkeley -- in
addressing such topics as "Queer Studies in the Factory Town"
and "The Future of Queer Activism."
Events resume at 10:30 a.m. Saturday with "Art
and/as Activism," a discussion featuring filmmaker Cheryl Dunye, director
of The Watermelon Woman; poet Carl Phillips, author of In the Blood, Cortege
and From the Devotions; and media critic Sasha Torres, editor of Living
Color: Race and Television in the United States. Among the topics for consideration
are the history of black lesbians and queer sex on television.
"The Science Debates and Citizenship,"
a panel beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday, will consider the significance of
seeing sexuality as being either genetically determined or a lifestyle choice.
Discussants will include Anne Fausto-Sterling, author of Myths of Gender:
Biological Theories About Women and Men; Chai Feldblum, law professor and
drafter of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Americans with
Disabilities Act; and geneticist Dean Hamer of the National Cancer Institute,
co-author of The Science of Desire and Living With Our Genes.
At 4 p.m. "The History of Politics and the
Politics of History" will include speakers Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy,
co-author of Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian
Community; Lisa Duggan, co-author of Sex Wars: Sexual Dissent and Political
Culture; and Cathy Cohen, editor of Women Transforming Politics.
At 8 p.m., following remarks by President Ruth
Simmons, the symposium's concluding address will be presented by Lauren
Berlant, professor of English at the University of Chicago and author of
The Queen of America Goes to Washington City: Essays on Sex and Citizenship.
The book has been described as "a stunning and major statement about
the nation and its citizens in an age of mass mediation [that] will challenge
readers to rethink what it means to be an American and seek salvation in
its promise."
All symposium sessions will take place in Wright
Hall.
In conjunction with the symposium, cartoonist Allison
Bechdel, creator since 1983 of the biweekly lesbian comic strip Dykes to
Watch Out For, will present a slide show and discussion at 7 p.m. Sunday
in Stoddard Auditorium. Bechdel's cartoons -- part documentary, part soap
opera-are syndicated in more than 50 gay and lesbian and alternative newspapers
and have also appeared in many other magazines, comic books, 'zines and
anthologies. Six collections of her work are available from Firebrand Books.
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Film Festival Visits Smith Screening Sites
This year's Northampton Film Festival, coming November
4-8 to theaters near you, will feature more than 50 new and award-winning
independent films, a number of which will be shown at Smith -- though not,
alas, free to Smith students.
Highlights of the festival include a staged reading,
festivals-within-the-festival of Jewish and gay/lesbian films and question-and-answer
sessions with filmmakers. A full schedule and ticket-ordering information
are available on the festival's Web site (www.nohofilm.org).
For those who want to keep their film-viewing close
to home, here's some information about festival offerings to be presented
at Smith.
Saturday, November 7
The first of the Smith screenings will be of The
Return of Paul Jarrett, in which one of the last surviving American veterans
of World War I returns to the scenes of his battles in France to be feted
by local residents (9:30 a.m., Stoddard Hall). It will be followed after
lunch by The Brandon Teena Story, the true tale of a young woman who dressed
and passed as a man in a small Nebraska town (1 p.m., Stoddard).
The afternoon will conclude with two- and three-film
screenings. The first will pair Counter-Puncher, the story of an innocent
black man with a criminal past who fits the description of a criminal perpetrator,
and SlamNation, which chronicles the National Poetry Slam (the "Olympics
in Verse") and which won the Valley Advocate's Best Documentary Award
(4:15 p.m., Stoddard). The second screening will combine Conditional Love,
which takes a humorous look at Canada by way of interviews and archival
footage from the '40s through the '70s; Ground Zero/Sacred Ground, an animated
film exploring the juxtaposition of and cultures surrounding two New Mexico
settings -- an ancient Native American pictograph site and, 35 miles away,
the place where the world's first atomic bomb was detonated; and Letter
Not About Love, which creates a double portrait of two poets, one Russian
and one American, by tracing a five-year correspondence between them (4:15
p.m., Hillyer Hall).
Sunday, November 8
Sunday morning's Smith screenings will include
some reappearances. SlamNation will be shown again, this time with The Dirt
on Mom, an animated short comedy in which Dad comes to grips with his wife's
success and the UFO his neighbors keep in the basement (Stoddard Hall, 10
a.m.). And Ground Zero/Sacred Ground will be reprised with Next Time, the
story of an unlikely friendship that blossoms in a laundromat (10 a.m.,
Wright Hall).
Double- and triple-screenings will set off the
afternoon's offerings. Mah-Jongg: The Tiles that Bind, a loving look at
the role mahjongg plays in both the Jewish and Chinese cultures, will be
paired with Tryf, about two Jewish lesbians and their relationship to each
other, to Israel, to Judaism and to their extended Jewish-lesbian "family"
(1 p.m., Wright). Have You Seen Patsy Wayne?, a "mockumentary"
about a woman who believes she is the love child of Patsy Cline and John
Wayne, will be shown with Director's Medium, a comedy that uses elements
of film technique to illustrate the character's ideas of what cinema should
be, and Slaves of Hollywood, a comedy about little guys trying to make it
in Hollywood (1 p.m., Stoddard).
Three late-afternoon screenings will conclude Smith's
part in the film festival. The Tyrant, a short, experimental film about
a man with a rat on his head, will be paired with a repeat showing of Next
Time (4 p.m., Stoddard). Two Weddings -- in which, 55 years after marrying
in Europe during the Holocaust, a couple prepare for their grandson's wedding
on Long Island -- will be shown with A Tickle in the Heart, which follows
the 80-something Epstein brothers, the "Kings of Klezmer," on
a joyous international comeback tour (Wright Hall, 4 p.m.). And Forgotten
Fires, which traces the events that led four Ku Klux Klan members to burn
two African-American churches, will share the screen with The Andre Show,
about the extraordinary bond between filmmaker Beverly Peterson and her
adopted, HIV-positive son (Hillyer Hall, 4 p.m.).
Cromwell Day Will Feature City's Mayor
Northampton Mayor Mary Ford will be the featured
speaker on Otelia Cromwell Day, Tuesday, November 3. She is expected to
address the Cromwell Day theme, "Celebrating Children Across Cultures,"
during her talk at 1:10-1:50 p.m. in Wright auditorium.
Ford is in her fourth term as mayor of a city that
is at once a mill town, an historic area and a cosmopolitan center for arts,
education and retail activity. She took office in early 1992 during a time
of statewide recession and budget shortfalls and has been credited with
a multiple-year strategy aimed at wrestling city budgets out of a multimillion-dollar
deficit while initiating work on major deferred capital needs. Widely known
as a champion of public school quality, she has been honored as Local Elected
Official of the Year by the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers.
Previously Ford served on the Northampton City Council and has worked in
health care and education in both the public and private sectors. She is
a graduate of Oberlin College and received the M.A. from Northwestern University.
Other features of the Otelia Cromwell celebration
will include a worship service in Helen Hills Hills Chapel on Sunday, November
1, at 10:45 a.m.; storytelling from different cultures in Scott and Ainsworth
gymnasiums and Sage Hall on Monday, November 2, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.; a
performance by African-American, Asian and Latino actors Monday at 7 p.m.,
Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre; and several workshops, in sessions at 2
and 3:45 p.m. in Seelye Hall, focusing on the issues and experiences of
children in today's world (see calendar). The day will close with "Get
With the Rhythms of Diversity," at 7 p.m. in Scott Gym, featuring musicians
Tony Vacca, Steve Leicache and Sekou Sylla.
Otelia Cromwell Day honors Smith's first African-American
graduate, a member of the class of 1900.
Vanity Fair List Studded With Smithies
Among "America's Most Influential Women: 200
Legends, Leaders and Trailblazers" in the November issue of Vanity
Fair are many with Smith connections.
The full group, photographed singly and in groups
by Annie Liebowitz and 30 other top photographers -- or in some cases caricatured
by illustrator Risko -- includes practically everyone you might expect,
from Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton and Janet Reno to Madonna, Ann
Landers and Jane Pauley, as well as some less obvious choices (artist Louise
Bourgeois, MTV President Sara Levinson).
Chief (in more ways than one) among the Smith-connected
group is Ruth Simmons, who was photographed with the other Seven Sister
presidents by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (whose relation, Meg Greenfield,
graduated from Smith in 1952). The group's Smith alumnae include writer
Sally Quinn, Ogilvy & Mather CEO and Smith trustee chair Shelly Lazarus,
"French Chef" Julia Child, feminist activists and writers Gloria
Steinem and activist Betty Friedan, Scribner publisher Susan Moldow and
Sotheby's CEO Diana Brooks. Also pictured are several women who have received
honorary degrees from Smith: Elizabeth Dole, playwright Wendy Wasserstein,
chairman of the executive committee of the Washington Post Company Katharine
Graham, chairman of the board of the American Foundation for AIDS Research
Mathilde Krim, president of Duke University Nannerl Keohane; and writers
Toni Morrison and Eudora Welty (the latter of whom also was Neilson Professor
at Smith in 1961-62).
Two of the remaining women (along with the aforementioned
Elizabeth Dole) have been speakers at Smith events: founder of Children's
Television Workshop Joan Ganz Cooney and Nobel Laureate Jody Williams. Others
have more tenuous connections to Smith: Ruth Bader Ginsburg received the
college's first Sophia Smith Award in 1996; Katie Couric has a sister, Emily,
who graduated from Smith in 1969; Nina Totenberg, NPR's legal affairs correspondent,
spoke here during the Sophia Smith Award celebration; Helen Gurley Brown,
former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, has given her papers to the Sophia
Smith Collection; Ruth Whitney, former editor-in-chief of Glamour, presented
Ruth Simmons with the Glamour Woman of the Year Award in 1996; correspondent
Andrea Mitchell interviewed Ruth Simmons for an NBC Nightly News segment
on inspiring women; and Diane Chapman Walsh, president of Wellesley College
chaired the accreditation team that visited Smith last fall.
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NewsBriefs
It's for Your Benefit
Coffee, pastries, health insurance, free massages,
retirement planning, the richest raffle since the United Way, law phone,
tea, Danish, time-off plans, Weight Watchers at Work, nifty givaways, ergonomics,
tuition benefits, financial profiling, child-care options, computer store,
cookies, free health-risk appraisals, wellness programs, flexible spending
plans, banking options, workplace flexibility, discount car insurance, hearing
tests, dental insurance and your friendly HR staff in cool matching shirts...all
this -- and more- - in one place.
The annual Benefits Fair is Thursday, November
5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Alumnae House. The fair kicks off the college's
annual open-enrollment season, during which faculty and staff are allowed
to make benefit changes. This year's fair will feature representatives of
more than 20 programs that Smith offers to enhance work and life. Raffle
prizes include gift certificates for downtown restaurants and the Village
Day Spa and tickets to Smith dance and theater events and RADS Mother's
Day brunch.
Sixteen Consecutive Mum Days
Smith's annual Chrysanthemum Show will take place
at Lyman Conservatory from Saturday, November 7, through Sunday, November
22. On Friday, November 6, Claire Sawyers, director of Scott Arboretum of
Swarthmore College, will give a lecture titled "Celebrating the American
Landscape: Lessons from Japanese Gardens." The lecture will begin at
5:30 p.m. in Seelye 106 and is free and open to the public.
An experienced gardener, writer, lecturer and traveler,
Sawyers has gardened in France, Belgium and Japan. She has written numerous
articles for horticultural journals and was a guest editor of three handbooks
for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Japanese Gardens, American Gardens: A Travelers'
Guide and Gardening with Wildflowers and Native Plants.
After the lecture a reception in the Lyman Conservatory
will feature a performance of shakuhachi, a form of classical Japanese flute
playing, by Matthew Winer in the newly rededicated Japanese tea hut. Guided
walks to the hut will leave the Lyman Conservatory on the half-hour beginning
at 7 p.m. (If the weather demands it, Winer will perform in the plant house.)
A popular college and community tradition since
the beginning of this century, the Chrysanthemum Show will feature a variety
of mums, including some hybrids produced in Smith horticulture classes as
long ago as the 1930s and others begun as seedlings by last year's students.
When Soprano Meets Piano
Jane Bryden, soprano and professor of music, and
Sally Pinkas, Dartmouth College pianist-in-residence, will perform works
of Copland, Pinkham, Wheelock, Child, Griffes, Ives, MacDowell and Beach
at 8 p.m. Friday, November 6, in Sweeney Concert Hall, Sage Hall.
Bryden and Pinkas are frequent collaborators and
most recently performed the world premiere of Professor of Music Donald
Wheelock's 1998 song cycle Lieder über Lieder at the Longy School in
Cambridge. The Wheelock cycle will be included in the November 6 program,
along with two groups of songs -- seven by MIT composer Peter Child and
five by Aaron Copland -- based on poems by Emily Dickinson.
Tots and Tomes
A group of leading children's book authors and
illustrators will be on hand at the Smith College Campus School Friday,
November 6, from 4 to 7 p.m. for a reading and autographing reception. Among
the 23 authors and illustrators expected to attend are Patricia MacLachlan,
Jane Yolen, Mordecai Gerstein, Norton Juster, Linda Shaughnessy, Cathy Weisman
Topal, Shulamith Oppenheim and Barbara Diamond Goldin. The event is co-sponsored
by the school's parent/teacher organization and the National Children's
Book and Literacy Alliance, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to encouraging
children to read.
SportsNews
Tennis
- October 23-25: NEWITT, 5th/21
-
- Soccer
- overall 6-11-0
- October 20: Smith 3, Springfield 0
- October 22: Smith 1, Keene State 3
- October 24: Smith 0, Westfield State 1
-
- Field Hockey
- overall 8-9-0
- October 20: Smith 1, Springfield 3
- October 24: Smith 7, Elms 0
-
- Volleyball
- overall 13-11
- October 20 : Smith 3, WPI 0
- October 23-24 : Hall of Fame Invitational, 7th place
- Smith 0, Bates 3
- Smith 3, Gordon 0
- Smith 3, Bowdoin 0
- Smith 3, Brandeis 2
-
- Equestrian
- October 24: UMass Show, 3rd place
-
- Cross Country
- October 24: Seven Sisters Championship, 5th/6
Back to top of page
-
Will return next week.
Back to top of page
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. Items for this section must be submitted on Event
Service Request Forms.
Monday, November
2
Lectures/Symposia
Lecture/slide presentation: "Korean Modern Art: Between Past and
Present." Youngna Kim, professor of archeology and art history, Seoul
National University. 1998 Korean Culture Program. Sponsor: East Asian languages
and literatures. 4:30-6 p.m., Seelye 201*
"Working with Living Artists." Carl Belz, director emeritus,
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University. 4:30-6 p.m., Hillyer 117*
Fine/performing arts/films
Otelia Cromwell Day event: Storytellers. Locations: Latino, Sweeney Concert
Hall; Japanese, Scott gym; Native American, Ainsworth gym. All programs,
10-11:30 a.m.
Otelia Cromwell Day event: "A Slice of Rice, Frijoles and Greens."
Great Leap, a performance group of African-American, Asian and Latino actors.
7 p.m., Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre
Meetings/workshops
CDO workshop: "Career Choices and Direction." Assess your skills,
interests and values. 11 a.m., CDO
HR Training and Development Workshop: "Financing Your Child's College
Education." (Kathleen Chatwood, ext. 2263.) Noon-2 p.m., Dewey common
room
CDO workshop: "How to Write an Effective Résumé."
2 p.m., CDO
Amnesty International general body meeting. 4-5 p.m., Seelye 102
Debate Society. Learn how to speak in public. Open to all. 4:15-6 p.m.,
Seelye 110
Student Labor Action Coalition general meeting. 7 p.m., Women's Resource
Center (Davis third floor)*
CDO informational meeting: Corporate Executive Board (formerly part of
Advisory Board Company). 7:30 p.m., Wright common room
Other events and activities
- Language lunch tables
- French
- Italian
- 12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room
B'Ivrit Chat with pizza. Rabbi Edward Feld and professors Lois Dubin
and Elizabeth Shanks Alexander will teach you the Hebrew you need to know.
12:15 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel
Open hour with Carmen Santana-Melgoza, director, Office of Institutional
Diversity. 3-4:30 p.m., College Hall 31
Presentation of the major: Theatre. 4 p.m., Green Room, Mendenhall CPA
Presentation of the major: History. 4:30-5:50 p.m., Wright common room
Presentation of the major: Women's Studies. 4:30-5:30 p.m., Seelye 207
Presentation of the major: Chemistry. 4:30-6 p.m., McConnell foyer and
102
Presentation of the major: Classics. Pizza served. 5:30-6:30 p.m., Dewey
common room
Presentation of the major: Italian language and literature. 7-8 p.m.,
Hatfield 105
Tuesday, November 3
Otelia Cromwell Day
Lectures/Symposia
Otelia Cromwell Day: keynote address by Northampton Mayor Mary L. Ford.
(See story, page 4.) 1:10 p.m., Wright auditorium
Otelia Cromwell Day event: Session #1 topics: "Diversity and the
Educational System"; "The Media and Children"; "SAASC
Panel." 2 p.m., Seelye Hall
Otelia Cromwell Day event: Session #2 topics: "Children and Poverty";
"Non-traditional Families"; "Gender Socialization."
3:45 p.m., Seelye Hall
Meetings/workshops
Senate meeting. 7 p.m., Seelye 201
CDO workshop: "Ten Steps to Finding an Internship." 7:15 p.m.,
CDO
CDO workshop: "Preparing For a Successful Interview." 8 p.m.,
CDO
Religious Life
Episcopal-Lutheran Fellowship meets in the house parlor for worship,
lunch and friendship. Noon, St. John's Church, Elm Street
Jewish text study. Discuss fundamental Jewish beliefs, biblical stories
and classical and radical contracts. No previous knowledge necessary. (Sign-up:
ext. 2754.) 5 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel
Other events and activities
Yoga class. Noncredit, for students. Enrollment limited to 40. Sponsors:
Office of the Dean of the College, ESS. 5-6:15 p.m., Davis ballroom
CDO open hours. Peer advisers available. 7-9 p.m., CDO
Volleyball vs. Eastern Connecticut State. 7 p.m., Ainsworth gym*
Otelia Cromwell Day closing event. 7 p.m., Scott gym
Wednesday, November 4
Lectures/Symposia
"Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography." Hershel Shanks, founder
and editor of Biblical Archaeology Review and Bible Review, and president
of the Biblical Archaeology Society. Sponsors: Lecture Committee, Museum
of Art; religion department; Jewish studies; archaeology and ancient studies
programs. Reception follows in Seelye 207. 7:30 p.m., Seelye 106*
Fine/performing arts/films
Concert: The Need (Chainsaw Records), The Haggard (featuring STS from
the Lookers) and Northampton's own The Moves. Sponsor: WOZQ 91.9 FM. General
admission: $3 at the door, all ages. 8 p.m., Gillet basement*
Meetings/workshops
CDO workshop: "CDO Orientation for Seniors." 4 p.m., CDO
CDO informational meeting: The Rev. Gordon Forbes, Westmoreland Volunteer
Corps, will discuss 10 years of service to the needy in Washington. Bring
lunch. 12:15 p.m., Wright common room
Informational meeting/slide presentation: Shoals Marine Laboratory summer
programs. 4:15-5:30 p.m., Burton 101
Religious Life
Catholic Adas gathering and informal discussion/reflection. Lunch served.
All welcome. Noon, Bodman Lounge, Chapel
Hillel at Noon. Donna Robinson Divine, professor of government, will
speak on recent developments in the Mideast peace process. 12:15 p.m., Dawes
House Kosher Kitchen
Al-Iman. Discuss Islamic values and Qu'ran literature. 7 p.m., Capen
House study
Buddhist service and discussion. 7:15 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel
Other events and activities
Red Cross Blood Drive. Walk-ins welcome. Sponsor: S.O.S. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.,
Davis ballroom
- Language lunch tables
- Japanese
- Spanish
- 12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room
Presentation of Minor: Logic. 4:30-6:30 p.m., Burton math forum
Presentation of Minor: Third World studies. 4:30-6:30 p.m., Seelye 102
Dance/meditation/yoga class: "Chill!!!" Dance, play and relax.
Residents of other houses welcome. Bring blanket and pillow. Sponsor: ESS.
(Donna DeLuca, 549-4970, ddeluca@sophia.) 7 p.m., Emerson
Celebration of Sisterhood dress rehearsal. 9-11 p.m., Scott gym
Thursday, November 5
Lectures/Symposia
The reading by British poet Frieda Hughes scheduled for today has been
canceled. Hughes is unable to make her American book tour due to illness.
Liberal Arts Luncheon. Alice Hearst, assistant professor of government.
Open to faculty, emeriti and staff. Noon, College Club lower level
"Can the Goddesses Be a Source of Feminist Theology?" Tikva
Frymer-Kensky, Bible scholar and author of In the Wake of the Goddesses:
Women, Culture and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth. Sponsors:
religious department, Smith/Amherst Hillel. 4:15 p.m., Neilson Browsing
Room*
Lecture/demonstration: "Kinka Drumming of the Ewe of Southeastern
Ghana." Sindhu Revuluri '00. 5 p.m., Earle Recital Hall, Sage Hall*
"Victims, Victors and Virgins: A New Reading of Women in the Bible."
Tikva Frymer-Kensky. Sponsors: religion department, Smith/Amherst Hillel.
8 p.m., Mead Art Museum, Amherst* |
- Thursday, continued
Fine/performing arts/films
Film: Rojo Amanecer (Mexico). Jorge Fons, director. Sponsor: Spanish
and Portuguese department. All invited. 7:30 p.m., Seelye 201
Dance Concert: Dance Department Faculty, featuring visiting artist Nia
Love, called "a major artist" by the Los Angeles Times. Works
by Rodger Blum, Yvonne Daniel and Susan Waltner. Tickets: $6, general; $4,
students/seniors. 8 p.m., Theatre 14, Mendenhall CPA*
Rec Council movie. 9 p.m., Wright auditorium
Meetings/workshops
Information session: Echoing Green Fellowship, a private foundation that
awards $30,000 annual fellowships to students to develop innovative public
interest initiatives. Seniors eligible. (See notice.) Noon-1 p.m., CDO*
CDO workshop: "Using the Internet to Search for Internships and
Jobs." 4 p.m., CDO
Debate Society. Learn how to speak in public. Open to all. 5-6 p.m.,
Seelye 110
Association of Low-Income Students (ALIS) meeting. Resources and a voice
for students with financial need. Refreshments and childcare with advance
notice. (587-3781) 7 p.m., Chapin House
CDO informational meeting: AmeriCorps. 7:30 p.m., Wright common room
Religious Life
Meeting: Newman Association, the Catholic students' organization. Discuss
the canonization of Edith Stein with Catholic Chaplain Elizabeth Carr. 6
p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel
Jewish Text Study. Dinner and Torah discussion. 6 p.m., Terrace Room
B, Valentine Hall, Amherst College
Other events and activities
Yoga class. Noncredit, for students. Enrollment limited to 40. Sponsors:
Office of the Dean of the College, ESS. 8-9:15 a.m., Davis ballroom
Annual Benefits Fair, with more than 20 health and benefit vendors. Food,
fun, prizes. (See story, page 1.) 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Alumnae House
Red Cross Blood Drive. Walk-ins welcome. Sponsor: S.O.S. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.,
Davis ballroom
- Language lunch tables
- Korean
- Russian
- 12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room
Presentation of the minors: Environmental and marine sciences. Minors
will talk about academics, internships and research. Meet faculty. Pizza
served. 5-6:30 p.m., Sabin-Reed 101C
Presentation of the major: Philosophy. 5-6 p.m., Dewey Student Lounge
Friday, November 6
Lectures/Symposia
Queer Activism, Queer Studies Symposium. (See story, page 1.) 3 p.m.,
Wright auditorium*
"Breaking the Code: Deciphering Biological Signals From Background
Small-scale Turbulence." Jeannette Yen, Department of Marine Science,
SUNY Stony Brook. Sponsor: Five College Marine Science Program. 4 p.m.,
Morrill 319, UMass
"Celebrating the American Landscape: Lessons from Japanese Gardens."
Claire Sawyers, director, Scott Arboretum, Swarthmore College. The opening
lecture of the Fall Chrysanthemum Show. (See story, page 1.) 5:30 p.m.,
Seelye 106*
Gallery talk: "Wine, Women and Song: Dining Accoutrements in Ancient
Rome." Barbara Kellum, associate professor of art. 12:15 p.m., Museum
of Art*
Fine/performing arts/films
Concert: "American Musical Landscapes." Faculty Recital. Jane
Bryden, soprano, Sally Pinkas, Dartmouth College, piano. (See story, page
1.) 8 p.m., Sweeney Concert Hall*
Dance Concert: Dance Department Faculty. See Thursday listing. 8 p.m.,
Theatre 14, Mendenhall CPA*
Meetings/workshops
Smith Science-Fiction and Fantasy Society (SSFFS). (Allison, ext. 6683.)
4:30-6:15 p.m., Seelye 208*
Religious Life
Shabbat service. Dinner follows in Dawes House Kosher Kitchen. 5:15 p.m.,
Dewey common room.
Shabbat service and dinner. 5:30 p.m., Alumni House, Amherst College
Keystone weekly meeting. 7 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel
Smith Christian Fellowship (InterVarsity) with other sisters. 7:30 p.m.,
Dewey common room*
Other events and activities
Presentation of the major and minor: Medieval studies. 12:15 p.m., Seelye
207
Reception: Literacy Through Literature, with 23 children's authors and
illustrators in celebration of children's literature. (See story, page 4.)
4-7 p.m., Campus School gymnasium*
Saturday, November 7
Lectures/Symposia
Queer Activism, Queer Studies Symposium. (See story, page 1.) 10:30 a.m.,
Wright auditorium*
Fine/performing arts/films
Concert: Smithereens Arch Sing! A cappella entertainment with the Skidmore
Bandersnatchers. It's fun, it's free, don't miss it! (If it's raining, check
the Arch for location.) 7 p.m., Emerson Arch*
Dance Concert: Dance Department Faculty. See Thursday listing. 8 p.m.,
Theatre 14, Mendenhall CPA*
Other events and activities
"Stories and Art." Free program for children ages 4-7. Listen
to stories, look at and create art. Parents welcome. Space is limited; register,
ext. 2760. Walk-ins welcome if space is available. 10:30 a.m.-Noon, Museum
of Art*
ISO Party. 8 p.m., Gamut
Sunday, November 8
Lectures/Symposia
Queer Activism, Queer Studies Symposium. "Dykes to Watch Out For,
the Slide Show." Alison Bechdel, syndicated cartoonist and creator
of comic strips that have become a cultural institution. (See story, page
1.) 7 p.m., Stoddard auditorium*
Fine/performing arts/films
Concert: Dub Narcotic Sound System (K Records founder Calvin Johnson),
with other Northwest bands D+ and ICU. Sponsor: WOZQ 91.9 FM. General admission:
$4, all ages. 7 p.m., Davis ballroom*
Meetings/workshops
CDO workshop: "Ten Steps to Finding an Internship." 1:15 p.m.,
CDO
CDO workshop: "CDO Orientation for Juniors and Seniors." 3
p.m., CDO
Feminists of Smith Unite (FSU). "Action and Education." 7 p.m.,
Women's Resource Center (Davis third floor)
Religious Life
Ecumenical Christian Church morning worship with guest preachers Bill
Larkin and Maureen Walker and a special visit from the Smith All People's
Gospel Choir, the Rev. Rosita Mathews, director. Concludes Otelia Cromwell
Week. Coffee hour follows. All welcome. 10:45 a.m., Chapel*
Quaker meeting. Meeting for worship begins at 11 a.m. Preceded by informal
discussion at 9:30 a.m. All welcome. Bass 203*
Roman Catholic Eucharistic liturgy. The Rev. Bill McConville, O.F.M.,
Celebrant, Elizabeth Carr, Catholic chaplain. Supper follows. 4:30 p.m.,
Bodman Lounge, Chapel*
Other events and activities
CDO open hours. Peer advisers available. 1-4 p.m., CDO
Ongoing Events
Fall Mum Show. Sponsor: The Botanic Gardens. Through November 22. 10
a.m.-4 p.m., Lyman Conservatory*
"Vitruvius Rediscovered: Architectural Books of the 16th, 17th and
18th Centuries." Early printed texts of Vitruvius' De Architectura
and illustrated treatises by Renaissance and Mannerist architects influenced
by him. Through December 15. Neilson Library
"The American Architectural Landscape." Architectural themes
in 20th-century American art. Through November 15. Museum of Art
"Equal Partners: Men and Women Principals in Contemporary Architectural
Practice." Work by 15 American architecture firms founded and run jointly
by women and men. Through December 13. Museum of Art |
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- Getting Your Word Out in AcaMedia
- AcaMedia, which is produced by the Office of College Relations, is
the official vehicle for making announcements within the Smith College
community. By action of the faculty, students are held responsible for
reading AcaMedia's notices and calendar listings.
-
- Submission Procedures
- Calendar items must be submitted on an Event Service Request Form (ESRF)
preferably on line at www.smith.edu/events/esr.html but if necessary on
the paper version of the ESRF by mail or fax. (Obtain forms by calling
ext. 2162.) The ESRF is to be used for submitting listings for the Five
College Calendar and local media calendars as well.
- Items for the Notices section of AcaMedia should be submitted by email
to Mary Stanton at mstanton@colrel.smith.edu.
When submitting notices for which the intended audience may not be self-evident,
please indicate whether they apply to the entire Smith community, to faculty
and staff only, or to students only.
- Submit news articles or suggestions for news articles to Ann
Shanahan (ashanahan@colrel.smith.edu)
or Eric Weld (eweld@colrel.smith.edu).
- Deadlines
- Copy is due by 4 p.m. Wednesday for the following week's issue. Late
information cannot be accepted.
-
- Five College Calendar Deadline
- Entries for the December Five College Calendar must be received by
November 18. Please send entries to Mary Stanton in Garrison Hall (mstanton@colrel.smith.edu).
-
- 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.
- Campus-Wide
-
- Mendenhall Memorial
- A memorial service for Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, sixth president of
Smith College, will be held Saturday, October 31, at 2 p.m. in the Helen
Hills Hills Chapel. A reception will follow in the Alumnae House.
-
- Mendenhall Shell
- Everyone is invited to join the Smith crew team and Nellie Mendenhall,
widow of Smith's sixth president, at the christening of the Thomas C. Mendenhall,
a new varsity eight, at the Seven Sisters' Regatta at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday,
October 31, at Brunelle's Marina in South Hadley. Races begin at 9:30 a.m.
with the novices, followed by the junior varsity at 10:10 a.m. and varsity
at 10:30 a.m.
-
- Extra SSC Hours
- The reading room of the Sophia Smith Collection and College Archives
will offer extra reference-service hours from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
November 3.
-
- Help for United Way
- November 2-8 will be United Way Week at the Burger Kings in Easthampton,
Northampton and Hadley. The restaurants will donate half the cost of two
burgers and two orders of French fries to the United Way and conduct drawings
for AMC movie passes and tickets to New England Patriots, UMass basketball
and hockey and Springfield Falcons games.
-
- Thanksgiving Concert
- The annual Chamber Music for Thanksgiving concert by Philipp Naegele,
professor of music, and colleagues will be held in the Smith College Museum
of Art on Sunday, November 22, at 2 p.m. To be assured of seating, please
pick up a free ticket in advance at the museum or send a request along
with a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
-
- Give Blood
- Sign-ups are now going on for the S.O.S.-sponsored Red Cross biannual
blood drive to be held in Davis Center November 4-5, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (S.O.S.,
ext. 2756; Sloane, ext. 6074.)
- Faculty & Staff
-
- Faculty Meeting
- The third regular meeting of the faculty will be held on Wednesday,
November 18, at 4:10 p.m. in the Alumnae House. Members of the faculty
who have business for the meeting should notify the secretary of the faculty,
Rosetta Cohen, in writing, no later than Wednesday, November 11. Material
to be included in the mailing with the agenda must be camera-ready and
submitted to College Hall 27 by Monday, November 9.
-
- SmithJobs
- The following were available at presstime. Application reviews for
all these positions will begin immediately. (Ext. 2278.)
-
- Director of educational technology, Information Technology Services.
- Research director, Advancement.
- Nurse Practitioner, Health Services-Infirmary.
- Human resources assistant, human resources.
-
- Students
-
- Echoing Green
- Echoing Green Foundation is a small, private New Yorkbased organization
that provides $30,000 annual fellowships to young people who wish to develop
creative and innovative public-interest initiatives. The fellowships are
meant to promote and support future leaders in community service work.
Graduating seniors and Smith alumnae who graduated up to 10 years ago may
apply for the next fellowship. S.O.S. and the CDO will provide students
with technical support and counseling in preparing proposals.
-
- Carnegie Fellowships
- The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C.,
conducts programs of research, discussion, publication and education in
international relations and U.S. foreign policy. It annually offers up
to 12 junior fellowships to students planning careers in international
affairs. The fellowships provide one year of paid work experience in a
variety of settings, including at Foreign Policy magazine. Applicants must
either be graduating seniors or have completed their A.B. within the past
academic year. No current graduate students will be considered. The monthly
salary is $1,950 plus benefits. To begin the nomination process, pick up
the resource material from the CDO help desk. Prepare an outline of your
response to one of the suggested essay (not research) topics and submit
it with your résumé and a list of your relevant course work
(IR, peace studies, government, public policy, etc.) to the CDO by 4 p.m.
Monday, December 7.
-
-
|
- Students -- continued
-
- Teaching in Japan
- Doshisha Girls' Junior and Senior High School in Kyoto, Japan, has
been hiring Smith women to teach English for more than 15 years. Three
alumnae teach there each year and live in studio apartments nearby. The
school is next to the campuses of Doshisha University and Doshisha Women's
College. Doshisha needs one new Smith teacher for the Japanese school year,
April 1999-March 2000, and two new teachers for the school year April 2000-March
2001. Positions are suitable only for alumnae and January graduates. If
you are interested in the April 1999 opening, contact Jane Sommer immediately
at cdo@smith.edu.
-
- RC/HR Applications
- Applications for residence-coordinator and head-resident positions
for the 1999-2000 academic year are now available in the Office of Student
Affairs, College Hall 24. RC positions are open to recent graduates of
Smith and female graduates of neighboring liberal arts institutions. HR
positions are open to Smith undergraduates who will be seniors in fall
1999 and have lived in a Smith house for a minimum of two semesters. (Jennifer
Matos, ext. 2234.)
-
- S.O.S. Chair Positions
- The Service Organization of Smith (S.O.S.) is currently accepting applications
for two board positions, fundraising chair and fund-drive co-chair. Gain
valuable experience in fundraising or business management while doing something
positive for the community. Applications are available at the S.O.S. office
in the Chapel basement and are open to all students. (Tyreen, ext. 6209.)
-
- Counseling Workshops
- Self-exploration groups meet Mondays and Tuesdays, 4:30 to 6 p.m.;
please call for a pre-group meeting with the co-facilitators.
- "Living Our Lives," a support group for students with bipolar
disorder, has a new meeting time: November 10, 5:10-6 p.m.
- "Continuing Bonds, Evolving Connections," a bereavement support
group for students dealing with the loss of a loved one, meets Tuesdays,
4:30-6 p.m.; please call to register.
- "Women, Food and Body Image," a five-week workshop, meets
Thursdays, 4:30-5:45 p.m., starting November 5; please call to register.
-
- All groups are free (ext. 2840).
-
- Dramatic Writing
- Have you ever wanted to write for the theater? Now's your chance. The
Student Theatre Committee is looking for short, experimental, original
student work. Proposal sheets are available in an envelope next to the
Student Theatre Committee box in the Theatre Building. Submission deadline:
Dec. 10.
-
- January-Grad Gyn Exams
- Students graduating in January will not be eligible to use Health Services
after December 31 and should therefore schedule their annual gyn exams
by December 16. Call extension 2823 for an appointment.
-
- Magazine Internships
- The American Society of Magazine Editors is offering summer internships
to students who have completed their junior year. Interns are placed primarily
in New York City and are paid $325 per week. Preference is given to those
who have worked on a campus magazine, newspaper or yearbook or have had
a previous summer job or internship in journalism. Application forms, available
at the CDO, are to be completed and returned by December 10.
-
- Mellon Fellowships
- The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation offers fellowships to help exceptionally
promising students pay for their first year of graduate school while preparing
for careers in teaching and scholarship in humanistic studies. The application
request deadline is December 7, 1998. Applicants must take the GRE by December
1. For more information, see department chairs or inquire at the CDO, the
Ada Comstock office or the senior class dean's office.
-
- Hillel Retreat
- Five College Hillel is sponsoring a retreat November 6-8 at Sargent
Camp in New Hampshire. The topic for the weekend will be "Alternative
Views of God." The cost is $35 for the weekend. Transportation will
be provided. (Hillel, ext. 2754.)
|
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AcaMedia staff: Ann Shanahan, co-editor; Cathy
Brooks, layout; Mary Stanton, calendar/notices; Eric Sean Weld, co-editor
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: October 29, 1998.
Copyright © 1998, 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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