Spontaneous interview victims are a lot harder to find than one may assume. You need to catch them alone and bored while participating in nothing more strenuous. My first two attempts at finding random interviewees was unproductive and discouraging; luckily, third time's the charm is a wonderfully accurate phrase.
The first skid-kid I tried to talk to was standing in a t-shirt advertising yogurt, waiting for a sandwich in D-hall. I wish I had known that he would not have had the time to hold a short, friendly conversation because the situation quickly became uncomfortable when he blushed and tried to politely hint that he wanted nothing to do with an interview.
In short, attempt number one equalled ultimate rejection: the word NO. This, I would generalize, is the one word people fear the most in stranger to stranger interactions and maybe even in life. And the cold honest truth of any social venture is that there is no way to guarantee avoiding rejection. The only way to get over "NO" is to not be discouraged.
I introduced myself to another kid in dhall, asked him questions, and in return, got answers - facts. Unfortunately, I didn't want to know what he did, I wanted to know who he was. This was, again, an underlying form of rejection defined by a lack of connection due to my amateur interviewing skills. I thanked my second interviewee for his time and patience but still knew little to nothing of his character. I wanted to know his opinions, inner joys and strifes! I annoyed him for nothing but another half-assed conversation.
After ruminating over my unsuccessful questioning tactics, I decided to take a break and think about what I was doing wrong. I wanted to stop going up to strangers and ask them questions, I felt self-conscious and annoying. Maybe random conversation is a rare phenomenon. Maybe it's hard to find people comfortable with talking to people they don't know and I can't say that I'm not.
Then, one night, I wandered out of my dorm room on the second floor of McClellen no longer able to concentrate on homework, and the two interviewees of my dreams were right in front of my eyes. I met Kermit and his Best Friend Forever (their preferred pseudonyms) at midnight and they told me about...
Before I begin, I should mention, in favor of Kermit especially, that his present state of consciousness during the interview could have been slightly impaired. He was, in fact, slightly incoherent, perhaps simply due to an overdose of sleeplessness. In other words, one could say he was drunk tired.
Also, I might add, that this was an interview of just Kermit, but because his Best Friend Forever is almost like part of him, it was impossible to interview one of them without the other as they literally finished each other's sentences. Their physical image is irrelevant because it is their essence that makes them beautiful people.
And so, what follows is a simple description of this adventure-filled interview. Kermit and his Best Friend Forever have known each other for a whole 7 years. Their relationship thrives off of nonsensical and vulgar usage of unnecessary profanity. Their verbiage, according to Kermit, displays their indescribable brotherly connection as there is very little that could break such a friendship, or rather, bromance.
However, despite their free expression of playful scorn towards each other, Kermit and his Best Friend Forever have always been there for one another; namely throughout their girl problems. These girl stories went on and on along with other childhood stories shared between Kermit and his BFF.
Kermit and BFF taught me about what it means to be best friends. They know each other's deepest darkest secrets. They will attend each other's weddings as best man, they have grown, are growing and will grow old together because their bro-love is so strong that they can "say whatever the fuck they want" around each other and that bond will never be broken. However, they also taught me about what it means to really know who someone is.
It didn't take long for the interview to reach a point at which I no longer had to ask questions and could observe my interviewees in their natural habitat. Then, I realized that the best way to get to know who someone is when they are themselves around you, not by asking stupid questions about the facts. I didn't even need to know their real names!
It's true that Kermit and his Best Friend Forever demonstrate a type of support and relationship to each other greatly envied by most humans, but I don't think this bond is uncommon. It's possible for everyone to be like Kermit and his BFF, and I know they would agree with me. The last thing I asked Kermit was about his philosophy on life, and he told me that one very important principle he lives by is that there is no such thing as a bad thing. He said, "A bad thing is just a good thing that didn't happen." So, isn't every rejection just an opportunity to try harder to be accepted? Isn't every awkward conversation just a connection that hasn't been made yet? Isn't every stranger just a friend that hasn't been found? From this philosophy, we must refuse discouragement; we must be blind to the fear of rejection and plunge into every stranger-stranger interaction knowing that we could find a Kermit and/or Best Friend Forever.
Spontaneous interview victims are a lot harder to find than one may assume. You need to catch them alone and bored while participating in nothing more strenuous. My first two attempts at finding random interviewees was unproductive and discouraging; luckily, third time's the charm is a wonderfully accurate phrase.
The first skid-kid I tried to talk to was standing in a t-shirt advertising yogurt, waiting for a sandwich in D-hall. I wish I had known that he would not have had the time to hold a short, friendly conversation because the situation quickly became uncomfortable when he blushed and tried to politely hint that he wanted nothing to do with an interview.
In short, attempt number one equalled ultimate rejection: the word NO. This, I would generalize, is the one word people fear the most in stranger to stranger interactions and maybe even in life. And the cold honest truth of any social venture is that there is no way to guarantee avoiding rejection. The only way to get over "NO" is to not be discouraged.
I introduced myself to another kid in dhall, asked him questions, and in return, got answers - facts. Unfortunately, I didn't want to know what he did, I wanted to know who he was. This was, again, an underlying form of rejection defined by a lack of connection due to my amateur interviewing skills. I thanked my second interviewee for his time and patience but still knew little to nothing of his character. I wanted to know his opinions, inner joys and strifes! I annoyed him for nothing but another half-assed conversation.
After ruminating over my unsuccessful questioning tactics, I decided to take a break and think about what I was doing wrong. I wanted to stop going up to strangers and ask them questions, I felt self-conscious and annoying. Maybe random conversation is a rare phenomenon. Maybe it's hard to find people comfortable with talking to people they don't know and I can't say that I'm not.
Then, one night, I wandered out of my dorm room on the second floor of McClellen no longer able to concentrate on homework, and the two interviewees of my dreams were right in front of my eyes. I met Kermit and his Best Friend Forever (their preferred pseudonyms) at midnight and they told me about...
Before I begin, I should mention, in favor of Kermit especially, that his present state of consciousness during the interview could have been slightly impaired. He was, in fact, slightly incoherent, perhaps simply due to an overdose of sleeplessness. In other words, one could say he was drunk tired.
Also, I might add, that this was an interview of just Kermit, but because his Best Friend Forever is almost like part of him, it was impossible to interview one of them without the other as they literally finished each other's sentences. Their physical image is irrelevant because it is their essence that makes them beautiful people.
And so, what follows is a simple description of this adventure-filled interview. Kermit and his Best Friend Forever have known each other for a whole 7 years. Their relationship thrives off of nonsensical and vulgar usage of unnecessary profanity. Their verbiage, according to Kermit, displays their indescribable brotherly connection as there is very little that could break such a friendship, or rather, bromance.
However, despite their free expression of playful scorn towards each other, Kermit and his Best Friend Forever have always been there for one another; namely throughout their girl problems. These girl stories went on and on along with other childhood stories shared between Kermit and his BFF.
Kermit and BFF taught me about what it means to be best friends. They know each other's deepest darkest secrets. They will attend each other's weddings as best man, they have grown, are growing and will grow old together because their bro-love is so strong that they can "say whatever the fuck they want" around each other and that bond will never be broken. However, they also taught me about what it means to really know who someone is.
It didn't take long for the interview to reach a point at which I no longer had to ask questions and could observe my interviewees in their natural habitat. Then, I realized that the best way to get to know who someone is when they are themselves around you, not by asking stupid questions about the facts. I didn't even need to know their real names!
It's true that Kermit and his Best Friend Forever demonstrate a type of support and relationship to each other greatly envied by most humans, but I don't think this bond is uncommon. It's possible for everyone to be like Kermit and his BFF, and I know they would agree with me. The last thing I asked Kermit was about his philosophy on life, and he told me that one very important principle he lives by is that there is no such thing as a bad thing. He said, "A bad thing is just a good thing that didn't happen." So, isn't every rejection just an opportunity to try harder to be accepted? Isn't every awkward conversation just a connection that hasn't been made yet? Isn't every stranger just a friend that hasn't been found? From this philosophy, we must refuse discouragement; we must be blind to the fear of rejection and plunge into every stranger-stranger interaction knowing that we could find a Kermit and/or Best Friend Forever.
If you have ever taken Psych 101 or read any recent pop psychology blurbs or articles, you've likely heard of effective but gimmicky tricks. For instance holding a pen with your teeth to trick your brain into generating the positive emotions that typically precede a smile which have the capacity to improve mood, decrease stress levels, etc. Although these findings are significant in our understanding of how behavior affects emotions, these psychological party tricks also tend to be short-lived (maximum of a few hours) and should, therefore, be reconsidered as supplemental tactics to a more long-term strategy.
As we have all experienced the elation of getting into Skidmore, one of the most highly selective colleges, this does not ameliorate the attendant stress of excelling here. We often convince ourselves that we'll be happy as soon as we get through that next paper, test, or presentation. But many of us are also guilty of perpetually pushing that happiness into the future, creating an unnecessary parallel to the cyclic Sisyphus experience - essentially, we make 'happy' unobtainable. So why do we do this? It appears as though the hallmark of this cortisol-ridden cycle is our tendency to confuse stress with productivity and, because we've always been taught to perceive stress as toxic, we create two worlds in which stress and happiness are isolated such that both cannot be experienced simultaneously. This is unfortunate because the combination has actually been found to maximize the beneficial effects of both stress and happiness on our minds and bodies. This tendency to create a stress/happiness dichotomy is also ironic because, though we are inclined to try to defer happiness until our next task has been completed, recent studies have shown that productivity and creativity actually increase when our happiness quota increases.
So how do we increase our happiness quota? Flow and gratitude. MihalyCsikszentmihalyia dubs the quintessential example of the profit of coupling stress and happiness as "flow," where one loses him or herself through engagement in activities in which we excel that are difficult. The difficulty is important because Mihaly finds that by allocating a significant portion of primary mental and physical resources to the task at hand, we lose sight of all of the minor and major negative concerns plaguing our everyday lives. This form of escape is not effortless,but is most definitely obtainable.
Shawn Achor, one of today's leading positive psychologists and CEO of Good Think Inc, offers some scientific reasoning for why it is so essential to make happiness an accomplice in achieving our goals rather than merely an eventual end product. Achor discusses how happiness is one of two primary products of the neurotransmitter dopamine that is released when we are positive. The second product? The illumination of all of the brain's "learning centers." Essentially, by finding positivity now we enable ourselves to be both happier and more successful.
A primary tool Achor offers to achieve this necessary baseline of positivity is gratitude. Gratitude is not reserved for the last Thursday of November in which the traditional, grossly broad 'thanks' are cashed in for turkey and pie. Rather, the idea of gratitude is an exercise that teaches us to manipulate our perceptions such that we bias the ratio of 'good' and 'bad' in the world to tip toward the positive. How? Achor finds that by taking just two minutes each day to think about three things for which we are grateful, we can "retrain" our brains to view the world through a more positive lens, thereby allowing rates of happiness to increase. The result? Increased success. In all, it turns out that deferring happiness is not only unnecessary, it is also counterproductive. Rather, by upping our happiness quotient using techniques such as gratitude and challenging ourselves through moments of 'flow,' we can do better and feel better now.
The "freshman 15" is real. Many new Skidmore students have fallen victim to this college-wide tragedy and it's hard to stop it, especially here at Skidmore, with amazing dining hall food and D-Hall's beautiful, comfortable layout. There's pizza, deli sandwiches, diner food, a great salad bar, the global caf?? and so many different types of cereal it makes early morning decisions very difficult. People living in the dorms are also required to be on the unlimited meal plan, meaning you can get into D-Hall as often as you want. It just doesn't seem fair, but I'm not complaining.
Something I've found interesting about Skidmore is how often we have sundaes. I love the concept of "Sundae Sunday," but there's also a "Sundae Wednesday," and out of respect for the sundaes, it's important to get one on both of the days, of course. My friends and I have started a habit where we try to speedily eat our dinners so we can get in line for our fabulous ice cream creations - I know, it's a great habit.
A friend of mine was preparing for Sundae Sunday for days. She thought of something creative (CTM, right?) where instead of ice cream, she used yogurt and then piled on the toppings. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but she absolutely loved it. This is a healthier Sundae Sunday option that I definitely recommend. I'll stick with the ice cream, though.
You don't realize how good the food is here until you compare it to other colleges. A friend of mine from Union College came to visit and the second she stepped into the D-Hall, she was completely overwhelmed. She stared at the food options in awe and had stacks of plates by the time we were done. Since I have nothing else to compare it to, the food here seems pretty standard, but thanks to her visit I'm now able to appreciate it a lot more.
Another perk of having a bountiful D-hall is the endless supply of coffee, which I can't get enough of. It's not like it's anything special, but it's so addictive and always available. A few days ago, though, they took away the plastic cups so you can't take coffee out of the D-Hall anymore unless you have, or borrow a reusable mug. This brings new levels of anxiety to my newfound coffee addiction, but also motivates me to be sustainable and invest in my own coffee mug.
You always hear about college kids pulling all-nighters in the library, energized on caffeine and sugar to crank out an essay that's due the next day. I used to think this was just a dramatization but a few days ago I became one of those people. I had an essay due the next day and a lot of reading, so first I stopped by the dining hall, drank a lot of coffee, and spent the next few hours sitting in a chair in the library, trying to make sense of what I was writing.
I left the library feeling very accomplished. Not only did I finish my work, I was also a clich?? college student. When I got back to my dorm, though, my roommates were sleeping and I tried to go to bed but my eyes wouldn't close. I lied there, jittery and wired. I had so much caffeine that I couldn't sleep and I woke up the next day utterly exhausted. The moral of the story, I suppose, is to balance the caffeine, especially when it's so readily available in the dining hall.
Although the freshman 15 is very real, it's also possible to be healthy and balanced. Skidmore has many healthy options, making it easy to have a good balanced meal. As can be seen with my past reckless coffee intake, it's all about the balance.
There really is something comforting about Comfort Kitchen. The menu is easy to read and easy to choose from, the staff is friendly, and the food coming out of the kitchen is characterized by an unpretentious goodness that makes eating there all around agreeable. Besides, what is not to love about the checkered floors?
Comfort Kitchen can be found nestled underneath stores with twinkling lights in Saratoga Marketplace. Its decor pays tribute to retro fast food joints while still managing to achieve a 21st century hipster appeal. The menu board at the cash register makes paper menus an unnecessary part of the ordering equation, but also makes the experience feel fast-foody. Likewise, the time between point A: placing order, and point B: eating order, is on par with the fast food empire. It's enough to make you think maybe the fast food model isn't so bad after all.
? But then, you bite into a juicy truffle burger and you see why Comfort Kitchen is playing in a different league than fast food. The black and white checkered paper lining the plastic wicker basket deceives the eyes. This might be the best burger you have had in a while. It is a landmine of truffle bombs. There can be no telling where the lines are between the beef and the Gruyere and the truffle aioli. The three bleed together in one decadently rich vein. The burger's bun does not get in the way it just serves to pave the way for burger glory.
? In comparison, the chicken taco and the carnitas seem staunchly uptight all wrapped up in their corn tortillas. The contrast in taste feels like we were vacationing in Las Vegas with the truffle burger and on our way back, our plane crashed in a decidedly less flashy place. Both the taco and the carnita are blandly rule abiding; the chicken taco has all that you would expect of a chicken taco--you'll find your chicken, your avocado, your red onion, and your cilantro. Likewise, the carnita has all the necessities: slow roasted pork, cabbage slaw,
I know what you may be thinking. You either love, hate, or haveno clue what dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is all about, right? Many of you probably fall into that third category...but I have recently learned some very useful things from a self-help book on DBT that I purchased over the summer. With that said, I'm not going to try and make you a believer in DBT skills, but I am going to point out why everyone should at least consider the impact that these skills can have if you choose to incorporate them into your life. And if you are aware of what DBT skills are and you think you don't need or use them...think again. DBT skills are extremely powerful for anyone to utilize, and no one handles situations perfectly every minute of every day. So, let us start with a brief overview of the history of DBT and what it is all about, as well as specific skills that are taught.
For starters, let's give a brief overview of how DBT was first developed. Marsha Linehan (who has since become a well-known psychologist) created DBT as a treatment for individuals suffering with chronic suicidality. It has since been shown to be effective in treating sufferers of borderline personality disorder (BPD), which is a mental illness in which individuals suffer with controlling intense emotions, have interpersonal difficulties, have a low sense of self, are impulsive, describe themselves as feeling "empty" and take part in self-destructive behaviors. In 2012, Marsha Linehan contributed to the fight to end the stigma of mental illness by having an article published in the New York Times about her own struggles with BPD. In the article, she tells readers how her illness ended up helping her create the foundation of what has since become known as BPD. For anyone interested in reading this article (which I highly recommend), here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/health/23lives.html.
Alright, so now you have a little more insight as to how DBT came to be. Now, let's get down to business. What exactly is DBT? It is a skills-based treatment approach that has two guiding principles: acceptance and change. In essence, individuals learning DBT skills have to learn to accept the situations they are in or how they are feeling at the moment, while simultaneously seeking to change or improve their behaviors and abilities to control intense emotions. This sounds simple enough, but if you take a second to think of a specific example, you'll quickly realize that it can be a lot harder to do than you might think. But it is doable, and with the right amount of support and tenacity, anyone can achieve this way of thinking. Once this is accomplished, you can begin to learn about and practice the four main skills taught in DBT: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
I could go on for another two pages about each one of the four skills taught in DBT, but in the interest of space, I'll have to cut my explanations short as to how they are useful to everyone. First, mindfulness is all about being aware of-well everything, including your thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and actions. But the key to being truly mindful is to be aware without being judgmental. Some mindfulness exercises that many people find useful include mindful breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. Once you learn to master the basics of mindfulness, you can move on to more advanced mindfulness skills such as the concept of wise-mind (my personal favorite). Wise-mind is all about being able to be aware of both your emotional thinking and reasonable difference, and then making decisions that are most appropriate and effective (which usually involve meeting someplace in between your emotion and reasonable mind). The second skill that is essential to DBT is distress tolerance. The point of this skill is to essentially find ways to cope with current stressors or emotions through the use of distraction. For instance, some people find it helpful to go on a walk when they are feeling upset. Others find it helpful to distract themselves by cooking, cleaning, taking a shower, getting work done, or even just talking to a friend on the phone. There is no end to this list, as there are endless ways you can distract yourself from your present situation. Though this doesn't necessarily solve your problems, it can help you calm down so that you can more rationally solve the issue later. The third DBT skill is emotion regulation. Emotion regulation involves several steps, including being able to recognize your emotions, being mindful of your emotions and recognizing when your emotions are negative and how to change them into positive ones. This skill is a bit more difficult to explain but I do know that a good way to start regulating your emotions is really to just stop every once in awhile and ask yourself "How am I feeling at this moment?" The final skill taught in DBT is interpersonal effectiveness. This skill revolves around improving your relationship with others. One of the key ways of doing this is to learn what it is that you want from the relationship. You also need to learn to ask for what you want, solve conflicts in a nonviolent way (both verbally and physically), and to treat others according to your personal values.
What you may have realized by now, is that all four of these skills revolve around one another. You really can't be good at one, without being good at the others. Thus, DBT is a process, but one that is worth sticking to. And for those who feel that you don't need DBT because your life is already what you want it to be, keep in mind that you are likely implementing various aspects of DBT skills without even realizing it. Conversely if you do realize it, keep in mind that you then have the knowledge and ability to pass these valuable skills on to others who may not have them down. Just some food for thought...Oh and by the way here is the source for the self-help book that helped to teach me some of these skills: McKay M, Jeffrey C. Wood J. C. Brantley J (2007). The dialectical behavior therapy skills workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
As the days are getting shorter and colder weather approaches, Skidmore students are preparing for their fifth annual Skidmore Unplugged competition. Through Skidmore Unplugged, all eight residence halls on campus will compete to attain the greatest reduction in electricity usage over the course of three weeks. At the end of the three weeks, a prize is awarded to the "greenest" dorm. This year, the competition will take place from Oct.13 to Nov. 3 and the winning residence hall will receive a brand new water-bottle filling station. In addition, throughout the competition, active participants will be awarded gift cards to Chipotle, Ben&Jerry's, Healthy Living, Four Seasons and the Saratoga Farmer's Market along with other prizes. There will be plenty of opportunities for students to complete surveys, sign commitment cards, and participate in events where prizes will be given out.
The goal of the competition is to get students to see how seemingly small changes in individual actions can make a big impact on energy usage and encourage students to continue to make environmentally-friendly decisions after the competition is over, showing that, ultimately, the actions we take today will affect our future. Natural resources are scarce and we must do all that we can to preserve them while they are still here. As the burning of fossil fuels for energy is one of the leading causes of global climate change, it is important to reduce our electrical consumption as much as possible. Skidmore Unplugged is an inventive way for students to combat climate change, all while taking part in an exciting competition.
In residence halls there are a number of ways to reduce electricity consumption. For example, you can turn off lights before leaving rooms, unplug appliances and electronics when not in use, take shorter showers, spend more time in communal spaces to limit the use of electricity in dorm rooms and open shades and blinds during the day to utilize natural light. Instead of watching a movie or T.V., why not hang out with friends on the green, play a game of trivia, take a walk through beautiful downtown Saratoga or go apple picking at Saratoga Apple? The possibilities are endless!
The Skidmore Sustainability Representatives (S-Reps) will be holding events throughout the competition in an effort to get students excited about taking part in an energy-conscious lifestyle.
"Bringing these events together and to life has been a learning experience for all of us and we hope that everyone will come check out our events!" S-Rep, HulwaKhaleel '16 said.
All of the S-Reps are eager to share energy-saving tips with students and will be regularly updating bulletin boards with unplugged events and sustainability facts.
The competition will culminate in a celebration of Diwalico-sponsored by Hayat and Skidmore Unplugged.
"Diwali is a Hindu festival of lights to honor the goddess Lakshmi and to celebrate the triumph of good over evil by lighting candles to drive away the darkness," Khlaeel said. "We thought it was a fun idea to team up during a time we are promoting unplugging and help the event out by providing solar-powered fairy lights and only using natural energy sources as lighting."
The Diwali celebration will start with a brief prayer and meditation to encourage the unplugging of electronics and to provide relaxation. Indian food will be served at the event along with a candle decorating and henna tattoo station.
Last year, Wilmarth Hall won the competition by achieving an 8.7% reduction in its electricity consumption. The total energy saved by the residence halls was approximately 5,166 kilowatt-hours, which is enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb continuously for 148 days--over four and a half months! This year, Skidmore students are determined to make Skidmore Unplugged the most successful yet!
Ever since news broke that the Skidmore Student Garden was closing due to slightly elevated lead levels in the soil, Skidmore students have been working hard to come up with plans for our new garden due to open in the spring. Soil samples taken from the garden over the summer indicated that lead levels in the soil were slightly higher than normal.The fruits and vegetables harvested from the garden were not contaminated with lead due to the soil's high pH and abundance of calcium, which blocked lead absorption to an extent. Skidmore consulted with various professionals at universities, along with The Department of Health regarding the lead levels. While all deemed produce from the garden safe to eat, Skidmore erred on the side of caution and decided to close the garden and move it elsewhere.
On Sept. 29, a meeting was held to brainstorm ideas for the new and improved garden. The meeting was primarily led by sustainability fellow Levi Rodgers, student garden manager Margot Reisner '14, and Environmental Action Club president JayaBorgatta '16. Reisner explained, "We can start from scratch in a better location." The creation of the new garden will allow Skidmore students the opportunity to share their input and make suggestions on the location of the garden, what is grown, and the garden design. "We want as many opinions as possible," Reisner said. At the community garden meeting, students set their creativity in motion, suggesting the housing of chickens by the garden, purchasing an apiary (a place where bees are housed for honey), placing hammocks around the garden, building birdhouses, and creating moss benches where students can sit and relax.
The possible garden locations discussed included: behind the tennis courts, near Sussman Village housing, behind the admissions building, South green (in front of the library), or the courtyard between Howe and Rounds residence halls. Prior to testing the garden soil, Skidmore had planned to purchase a new fence to border the garden in order to keep out pests. Thanks to a generous donor, the new garden will not only have a brand new fence, but also a new garden shed.
Many students showed interest in incorporating permaculture, a sustainable and self-sufficient form of agriculture, into the new garden. This would allow the planting of a large variety of native fruits and vegetables. Students hope for more community involvement in the new garden, and to possibly hold events such as concerts and garden parties there. One student brought up the idea of holding workshops where skills pertaining to gardening such as canning and basket weaving could be taught. Incorporating the garden in admissions tours and classes is another goal students wish to fulfill.
Lastly, the students broke up into working groups focused on location planning, planting, social development, and garden design. The groups will meet regularly until the garden is up and running and any students interested in helping out or sharing their ideas for the new garden are encouraged to join the meetings and provide their input. While nothing is final until it is approved by the administration, Skidmore students are confident that the new garden will be the best yet. Meetings are held every Sunday at 5 p.m. in Ladd 207.
Walking around campus, it is often difficult to find any two students or faculty members engaging in the lost art of eye contact. As soon as the professor begins wrapping up his or her last comments, those slick, shiny, plastic boxes slide effortlessly from our pockets to their natural position, resting just under our thumbs for optimal use. Sometimes, it seems, even the distance to our pockets induces too much separation anxiety, leading us to situate our homing device on top of the desk in a comforting spot between our professors and ourselves. Although no one is making the argument that the presence of the phone necessarily dictates one's aptitude as a student or status as a member of the Skidmore community, it most definitely sends a message. That message? We would rather be somewhere else.
It should be noted, however, that this sentiment is not synonymous with the "anywhere but here" state of mind. Rather, the former is a product of what cognitive psychologists like Shawn Achor refer to as culturally induced ADHD (The happy secret to better work, 2011). In other words, the rapid increase in the accessibility of superdevices -an obvious reference to Apple's iPhone and its aspiring competitors - coupled with the infinite, pre-existing social networking formats, has redefined sociability as an obligation to multi-task. As a result, we are stuck in an inescapable loop of refreshing, scrolling, checking, clicking, commenting, liking, and refreshing again to see if we may have momentarily piqued the curiosity of our friends who are also running on their social hamster wheels. But what happens if we don't refresh, refresh, refresh? A sense of fear that we are, in some way, missing out. Even using only one virtual social medium at a time seems to induce this effect; if we're texting we might be missing that exhilarating, red notification box on facebook. But if we're on facebook we might be missing a vital snap chat, text, or that retweet we crave to confirm our unrivaled wit.
Researchers like Rosen, Carrier, and Cheever (2013) discovered that this switching back and forth has significant implications in our ability to focus on other things in life - like school. They were motivated to conduct this study from previous findings of the negative impact that tech-based multi-tasking has on college students' ability to contemplate, deeply understand, and remember material. Essentially, because of our dopamine-driven habit of checking and rechecking our phones, we seem to have a hard time devoting the mental faculties required to be fully present and able to challenge ourselves academically. Expanding on this concern, Rosen et al. find that there was a statistically significant negative relationship between the amount of time spent texting or on facebook with college students' GPAs. But can anyone truly be surprised by this finding? In all, Rosen et al. and similarly concerned researchers are simply offering some scientific support to explain the battle we all face every time we sit down to write that paper, a process we fear will be unpleasant and, compared to the pleasure we feel when texting or facebooking, painful. So, instead, we exchange academic immersion for more scrolling, liking, and "lol-ing." And why not? Thinking in terms of a gross simplification of evolution, we endured by engaging in activities that felt good (i.e., "creating" offspring) and avoiding those that didn't (because, at the time, they probably weren't good for us). However, we must now acknowledge the scientific support showing that we no longer know how to differentiate between what feels good for us and what is good for us.
So what do we do? How can we remove ourselves from this addictive cycle of instant (but fleeting) gratification? By taking a step back to reevaluate. By becoming more aware of how, when, and - most importantly - why we are so addicted to these plastic boxes that talk back. Essentially, we do what feels good or, when given options, what feels better. So how do we find something that feels better that isn't in app-form? By going out and remembering what we enjoyed before Mr. Jobs made it oh so easy to "connect." By remembering the powerful relief that tech-free life can provide. By allowing our thumb muscles to relax and by retraining our arms and fingers to reach for others' arms and fingers. By jumping off that social hamster wheel and taking a walk outside. By realigning our spine to support our neck and head in an upright position, allowing us to look forward rather than down. By turning off our phone for a while and really experiencing classes; because there's nowhere else we need, or want, to be in that moment. By looking up at our friends, colleagues, and professors because maybe, just maybe, they will too.
Olive oil at the beginning of a meal has the power to transport the diner across the Atlantic. The food of Spain is deeply rooted in tradition. Loyalty to the classics, not ingenuity, is what is prized on the plate. A taste of "tortilla
School's starting up again, first papers are being assigned, the student population's posture is gradually devolving into that of 2400 homogenous slumped shoulders and, as of midnight last Sunday, everybody's rushing home from their respective classes and social lives to tune into WSPN 91.1: the Skidmore radio station (if you're not doing this, you're not hanging out with the right people)! As an authority on the subject (please listen to me and my roommate at 3-5 a.m. on Saturday mornings), I've decided to educate the masses and instill motivation into the hearts of many to check out the station.
The heads and staff of the radio station are kicking it up to full gear this year, as they explained to all prospective DJs when handing out applications. They only accepted very creatively formatted shows with the intent that anytime a listener leaves their room and comes back after classes, they'll be struck with confusion and general delirium about the language, time period, and instruments used by the DJs of the hour. Ideas thrown around were bluegrass artists playing classical songs, Israeli pop from the 90's, and, my personal favorite, angry girl music of the punk rock persuasion (again, 3-5 a.m., guys). This will no doubt make for a hilariously discordant streaming, sober or not (at 3-5 a.m.) and overall, definitely an "experience" that may or may not make you want to shut down your computer and just go to sleep already.
To everyone asking the same question I'm asking right now - how do one or two people come up with enough material for a semester's worth of shows with such narrowly specified themes? Well, all I can say is time will tell but get ready for a lot of static and dead air time!
Hello readers! My name is Amber Charette and I am a senior exercise science major here at Skidmore. As a peer health educator on campus, one of my roles this semester is to write for Skidnews on various topics related to health and wellness. And since it is so early in the semester, I decided that my first article would be on the topic of perseverance. Though perseverance is something everyone should possess as a trait, I feel that it is especially beneficial for first-years to know this. Almost four years ago, I submitted my college essay to nearly a dozen schools. Below is what I submitted and though I hope its meaning can be understood without me saying, I will close my article by following up on it.
This is it, I told myself. This is my chance. Last year when I competed in the 100-meter dash, I didn't even make it past semi-finals. But this year, this year was going to be different.
My heart thumped and pulsed and raced in my chest as I approached the starting line. I looked around at the mist-shrouded crowd in the bleachers with their raincoats and umbrellas. They looked antsy, impatient. Focus, I told myself.
I prepared myself as I waited for the official to signal the start of the race, first tightening the elastics in my hair, then repositioning my glasses. I could smell the rubber from the track, a smell I had grown accustomed to over the years. It eases my worries now, since it's always there to catch my feet-Left, right, left, right, left, I hummed to myself. The smell of rubber was tainted only by the sweat already dripping from each of our faces, even though the race hadn't even started yet; that, and the hostility you could almost see, touch, taste, hear, smell, emanating from the staggered starting lines. It's time. The official gave the order: Get on your marks, get set, and for what seemed like a never-ending pause, go!
The gunshot was part of my past now. I recall feeling as if my legs and mind were not parts of the same body. My legs moved quickly, mechanically even, sure and resolute, but thoughts ambled through my mind at a tortoise's pace.
It came down to me and another girl with longer legs than mine. The other runners were right behind us, but it didn't matter really. My favorite thing about running is how personal it is. The only person I compete against is myself, my legs, my lungs, my thoughts. As the end neared I felt a sudden surge of energy course through my body and I jolted forward across the finish line. I did it. The pain was irrelevant. I was the fastest of the sixty-five sprinters in the race, but more importantly, I had significantly improved my best time (significant being mere seconds in track-but sometimes the most significant things about ourselves are the details, all the small things that we sometimes pay too little attention to).
I never run for the crowd, my coach, the medal. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great leaving a track meet with medals strewn like glinting pearls around your neck; but it's not so much the medals-the things themselves, those cheap red, white, and blue strands adorned with equally cheap and entirely indistinct medallions-as the sense of accomplishment they represent. I had proved myself to myself. This is an incredible triumph to me because every runner has a point where their times plateau, they don't budge, not even a little, and sometimes they even get worse. It's these moments, moments of static sameness that runners dread most; and it's not because they're not winning, but because they're not improving.
I will continue to push myself to run as fast as I am physically capable of running because then I know I will have dealt with all the details; the space around me won't be an indecipherable blur, but an immaculately detailed picture, not of my surroundings, but of myself. When I run, I'm really stamping out my whole autobiography as it's happening. My footprints are my past and the uncharted track is my future. The time is now and I am somewhere in the middle.
To note, this was where I was at four years ago. Today, I am still running and probably still somewhere in the middle of my journey towards my goals. Over the past few years since coming to Skidmore, I have faced many new challenges, obstacles and set-backs. I have also accomplished new things as well, though. It is four years later and I haven't given up on myself or my abilities. I know that I will always be faced with challenges, but I also know that I will always be strong enough to confront and face them. I found my college essay again after rummaging through my belongings at home this summer. It opened my eyes a bit, and it reminded me how important it is to push yourself to be the best you can be while simultaneously embracing who you are now. My point for sharing this story with you all is to have it serve as a reminder that having perseverance is one of the most important skills for you to possess as a student at Skidmore (or anywhere, really). Practicing this skill will only ensure that you are always trying your best, and you can't really ask much more of yourself if you are doing this.
In the summer months leading up to the start of the new school year, several new food vendors burst onto the downtown Saratoga scene. One establishment that has been receiving hype around campus is Plum Dandy Cookies & Milk. As its name not-so-subtly suggests, Plum Dandy Cookies & Milk is a cookie bakery owned by the same local family as Plum Dandy Frozen Yogurt & Toppings, a favorite among Skidmore students. Plum Dandy Frozen Yogurt & Toppings continues to set itself apart from generic frozen yogurt chains with its unique offerings and fun atmosphere. So when posters advertising Plum Dandy Cookies & Milk greeted Skidmore students upon their return to campus, one could not help but expect that it would live up to Plum Dandy Frozen Yogurt & Toppings' reputation.
Plum Dandy Cookies & Milk perfectly combines upscale modernity with charming vintage inspired details. The interior design is simple with sleek and modern white furniture, while decorative teapots, shelves of gourmet candy and robins-egg blue walls create a stylish retro feel. The electronic music playing quietly in the background and the long white iPad bar in the center of the room also help foster a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere.
On the Friday afternoon I visited, the spacious bakery did not feel too crowded and service was both friendly and swift. Within seconds of ordering I was seated at a table with my cake batter cookie sandwich. Aside from the eight different cookie options on the menu, this cookie sandwich is one of four different sandwiches offered. The cake batter cookie sandwich comprised cake batter frozen yogurt with cookie dough pieces sandwiched between two thick sugar cookies. It was wrapped in brown paper with a teal string tied tightly in a bow, like an old fashioned package. It was clear that Cookies and Milk is highly attentive to presentation, and these simple yet well thought-out details truly added to the pleasure of the overall experience.
As someone who cannot resist anything sweet, this cookie sandwich was the ultimate treat. Just one bite into this colossal cookie sandwich and I knew I absolutely had to finish the dessert, regardless of what my stomach might have to say about it. These impeccable sugar cookies are thick yet exceptionally soft and the cake batter frozen yogurt makes a glass of milk almost unnecessary. My favorite part of the entire sandwich, however, might have been the chewy pieces of cookie dough that become a sweet surprise at the center of nearly every bite.
I should also mention that multiple napkins are an absolute requirement when eating this cookie sandwich. Then again, it is probably best to simply surrender to the fact that as the sandwich melts it will inevitably end up on your hands, face and, if you are a bit clumsy like I am, on the floor as well. But this sweet cookie sandwich is more than worth it.
And what would a trip to Plum Dandy Cookies & Milk be without a glass of milk? With over twenty different types of milk to choose from, even my milk adverse friend was able to find a flavor she enjoyed. I chose the basic Lactose Free milk, which my fellow lactose intolerant dessert lovers will be pleasantly surprised to learn is actually one of three lactose intolerant friendly milk offerings on the menu. Even the presentation of the milk was thoughtful--each glass was served in a vintage milk bottle with a fun, colorful straw.
Every element of Plum Dandy Cookies & Milk seems to have been carefully deliberated, making for a highly unique atmosphere. Ultimately though, it's the taste of those cookies that you will not forget. If you are a lover of all things sweet, I would highly recommend taking a trip to Plum Dandy Cookies & Milk.
An audience of approximately 60 students, faculty and community members were treated to the 25th Annual Fox-Adler Lecture on Thursday, Sept. 19 in Gannett Auditorium, in which guest speaker Isaac Gewirtz talked about the evolution of the Henry W. and Albert Berg Collection in regards to the changing literary perceptions and vales of contemporary society.
Isaac Gewirtz is the Curator of the New York Public Library's Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, and has been for the past 13 years. He also has co-curated several other exhibitions, including the Mark Twain: A Skeptic's Progress and the Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul exhibitions, the latter of which opens at the Morgan Library this October.
"Rare book collections grow out of the reading interests of their collectors," said Dr. Catherine Golden, professor of English and director of the Honors Forum, who introduced the speaker and gave a brief history of his accomplishments. "It is my pleasure to welcome Isaac Gewirtz, a curator, a scholar, a collector and a reader."
Dr. Golden also gave the audience some background on the Fox-Adler lecture itself, expressing her regrets that Norman M. Fox himself was unable to attend the lecture due to health concerns.
The Fox-Adler Lecture is given each year in honor of the Fox family and the late Hannah Moriarta Adler, who loaned her collection of 18th- and 19th-century books to Skidmore College in 1967, which is now known as the Fox Collection. The collection remains at the College permanently through the efforts of Norman M. Fox, who was a friend of the late Adler.
Gewirtz began his lecture with a brief explanation of the collection's various pieces, which hosts approximately 35,000 printed items and 115,000 manuscripts from more than 400 authors, including Charles Dickens, William Makepeace, Vladimir Nabokov, Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Terry Southern and Annie Proulx. The collection also has several non-literary items as well, such as the table, chair, lamp and calendar of Charles Dickens.
Gewirtz explained that the collection's founders, brothers Dr. Henry W. Berg and Dr. Albert A. Berg, initially refused to collect manuscripts from recently deceased authors and most current ones, opting instead to mainly add printed material to the collection (including the purchase of the W.T.H. Howe collection in Sept. 1940), which opened on Oct. 11, 1940 and was dedicated to the memory of Henry W, who had died two years earlier
Dr. Berg later expanded his collection with the purchases of the Owen D. Young collection on May 8, 1941, with a discounted price that allowed Young to become a co-donor of the collection. Through the purchase of both these collections, the Berg had now become rich in manuscripts as well as in printed materials.
Gewirtz shared photos with the audience of some of the collections pieces, including a 1867 photo from New York of Charles Dickens, the last one he ever sat for, and several folios, letters and statements from William Burroughs.
"Of the 1149 research visits that were made to the Berg last year, more than fifty percent of them were devoted to author archives," Gewirtz said, adding that the majority of them had been acquired piecemeal over the decades.
An object of the collection that took up much attention was a prompt copy of Dickens' performance edition of A Christmas Carol which included his notes in the margins of how to perform the piece in regards to tone and expression.
Public readings were rare in 19th century Britain, Gewirtz said, as dramatized readings of an author's work were viewed as ridiculous and demeaning by critics. However, the public flocked to see Dickens' readings of A Christmas Carol at the Steinway Hall, which seated 2500 people and sold out at every reading, the first of which began in 1853.
Gewirtz showed more photos of Dickens' notes, explaining that the author had four major principles when editing a larger work to make it performable: he deleted or simplified complex sentences, deleted sentences revealing character thoughts of mind, which could otherwise be explained through the actions of the performer, made efforts to improve the style of the text rather than just shorten it and deleted passages that created a mood but that did little to advance the narrative.
Dickens, according to Gewirtz, preferred to emphasize family scenes at Christmas time in his performances, as people reacted more enthusiastically to the bright and cheerful scenes.
"We can see Dickens's willingness to reshape what he has written," Gewirtz said, something, he added, that would have been unthinkable to Milton or T.S. Elliot.
Gewirtz also said that, while the Berg collection initially focused on printed works, time has shown the value of manuscripts and unpublished material, which contributes to a textual history of an author's work and life.
"We learn that the published version is not necessarily better than the one that has remained unpublished, just different," Gewirtz said.
The lecture then opened up for questions from the audience, and Gewirtz talked about what has become lost with the popularization of computer-generated manuscripts, as well as the inherent similarities between authors such as Dickens and Burroughs.
"If you look at Dickens' writing about his own work, he talks very eloquently and movingly about how they come out of himself, really," Gewirtz said. "That is very similar to Burroughs and many of the Beats for that matter, who see aspects of themselves in the characters they create. They're sometimes denigrated as writing autobiographies, but if you know their autobiographies that's really not the case. I think Dickens is a monumental figure in the way he takes possession or ownership of that which he creates."
The Berg Collection is available on the third floor of the New York Public Library from Tuesday through Saturday.
As the class of 2017 settles into college, they are undoubtedly sifting through the conflicting emotions of excitement for a new adventure and nostalgia for the close friends, teammates and teachers with whom they have spent the last four, eight, or even twelve years of their lives. To ease the transition to this new environment - full of potential but lacking the familiar comforts of home - Skidmore provides various opportunities to meet new people who, it just so happens, are experiencing the same environmental angst. Whether facilitated by the Pre-College program, Pre-Orientation, Orientation, Scribner Seminar or classes, most First Years are already in the process of solidifying at least a few close friendships. The importance of these friendships extends beyond the mere construction of a new comfort zone, however, as they play a key role in the maintenance of one's mental and physical health. As the semester progresses and workloads continue to increase (even as the daylight rapidly decreases), even the most organized and prepared students will start to feel stressed, over-whelmed, and as though the only thing they have time for in their "free-time" is homework and studying. Luckily, the remedy is already at your fingertips - literally.
Dozens of recent studies have explored the powerful effects of human touch on certain hormone levels, concluding that such contact can tweak our body's natural chemistry in such a way as to provide natural, stress-reducing effects (such as by reducing levels of cortisol, the infamous "stress hormone"). Why is this important? Because although stress can occasionally work for us by tapping into our body's "fight or flight" response the night before that big paper is due, its effects usually inhibit our brain's ability to learn new information. Furthermore, prolonged stress can take a serious toll on our immune system, potentially compromising our ability to be performance-ready for that test, audition, or game. Ironically, one of the negative effects of stress is a decreased ability to plan and manage stress.
So what should you do? How can you escape this cortisol-packed cycle? Hug it out. Recent studies, such as that done by Light et al. (2005), have found that hugging a close friend, partner, or family member for 20 seconds is enough to release a powerful hormone called oxytocin (often referred to as the "cuddle hormone"). Among other stellar qualities, part of oxytocin's good rep comes from its ability to help decrease cortisol levels, thereby reducing stress and providing a much-needed boost to our immune systems. Want to have that natural dose of oxytocin but need a break from people? Take a stroll down the first floor of Tisch for some quality canine therapy, as recent studies have also found that petting dogs can provide similar beneficial effects. Also, keep a look out for "K9 Connections" this semester, a therapy dog event hosted by your Peer Health Educators!
Want to know more? Check out this Ted Talk by Paul Zak, as he discusses how the effects of oxytocin even extend to social interactions between strangers. In other words, all of those team-building exercises you went through during orientation? They've already given you a head start on the adjustment process, thanks to your new best friend oxytocin.
Isaac Gewirtz, a curator at the New York Public Library, will deliver the 25th annual Fox-Adler Lecture at Skidmore College on Thursday, Sept. 19. His talk, titled "Reading the Literary Archive: A Tale of Scholarship and Taste," will begin at 5:15 p.m. in Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall.
Gewirtz's illustrated talk will focus on how the literary archive enhances the study, appreciation, and collecting of English and American literature. The first half of the lecture will be on the 19th century, and the second half will move into the 20th century, drawing on examples from the archives of such authors as Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs. The lecture will include a brief history of the Berg Collection in the context of the evolution of the attitudes of scholars, collectors, and to some extent, educated society as a whole toward English and American literature. He will then demonstrate what Burroughs did to shape his archive and make it work as an intersection between his published writings and his life.
Gewirtz has served as curator of the New York Public Library's Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature since September 2000. The author of "I am With You": Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, 1855-2005, he curated the New York Public Library's exhibition of the same title, as well as the exhibitions Victorians, Moderns, and Beats, New in the Berg Collection 1994-2001; Passion's Discipline: A History of the Sonnet in the British Isles and America (2003); and Beatific Soul: Jack Kerouac on the Road, 1957-2007 (2007), accompanied by a volume of the same title, as well as Kerouac at Bat: Fantasy Sports and the King of the Beats (2009).
He co-curated the exhibition Mark Twain: A Skeptic's Progress at the Morgan Library, co-sponsored by the Morgan and the New York Public Library, and authored a book of the same title. He is co-curator of the Morgan Library exhibition Edgar Allan Poe: Terror of the Soul (opens October 2013) and author of the accompanying volume. His comparative study of the proof copy and first edition of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own appeared in the 2012 Woolf Studies Annual. He has also been the curator of numerous exhibitions at other libraries and the author of several accompanying publications.
Gewirtz received a Ph.D. in early modern European history from Columbia University.
Skidmore's Fox-Adler lecture series is named for Norman M. Fox and Hannah Moriarta Adler, connoisseurs and collectors of rare books. Adler first loaned her extensive collection of 19th-century books to Skidmore in 1967, and after her death Fox and his family took charge of it, later donating it permanently to Skidmore'sScribner Library. Catherine Golden, professor of English at Skidmore, coordinates the Fox-Adler program at the college.
The holiest days on the Jewish religious calendar are approaching: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Religious services for both holidays are scheduled at Skidmore College in the Bernhard Theater, sponsored by Skidmore's Office of Religious and Spiritual Life in conjunction with Temple Sinai, the Reform synagogue of Saratoga Springs. Rosh Hashanah services will begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, and 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5; Yom Kippur services will begin at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, and continue throughout Saturday, Sept. 14, beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding with a break-fast after dark, at approximately 7:30 pm. Rabbis Linda Motzkin, Skidmore's Jewish chaplain, and Jonathan Rubenstein, co-rabbis of Temple Sinai, will lead the services. There will also be a service for the second day of Rosh Hashanah at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs.
In conjunction with the Rosh Hashanah evening service on Wednesday, there will also be a bone marrow donor registration drive co-sponsored by Skidmore Hillel, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, and the Red Cross Club, in the lobby of the Bernhard Theater between 7:30 and 10:30 pm. Thousands of patients with blood cancers like leukemia depend on bone marrow donations to save their lives, and even with a national registry of millions, many patients cannot find a match. The Skidmore groups are asking people to register as potential donors or to make a financial contribution to help defray the costs of donation at: http://www.bethematchfoundation.org/goto/Skidmore
All High Holy Day services are free and open to the public. For further information, contact Rabbi Linda Motzkin, lmotzkin@skidmore.edu, 580-5683.
Posted by Alex Hodor-Lee
Hannah Foster is a ballerina.
Her movement is magisterial: "Her body was just built for ballet-180-degree turn-out, a slender frame and super long limbs, delicate lines, perfect arabesque-she's incredible," dance major Megan Killeen '14 says.
Foster's grace translates when she speaks-her gestures are elongated, her hand swivels with an inherent cadence-as if elegance were congenital. Yet, anyone who knows Foster knows that her perfection is underpinned by her work ethic and dedication.
While many students enjoy nightlife and the college lifestyle, Foster's friends drink to her in absentia, as she sacrifices social life for life dream-and it's been that way since she began dancing at age 3.
"At San Francisco Ballet School it was just too hard for me to commute to the city and do regular high school. So, I tested out of high school when I was 15 and started taking classes at the local junior college." Foster, now 20, says.
Foster graduated 2 years early to commit to the SF Ballet, an hour-and-a-half commute from her East Bay home, located in the San Francisco foothills. "I would get home around 7.30 and do homework while I iced my feet, " a smiling Foster reflects.
At Skidmore, Foster majors in English. "I've always been a huge reader, I used to write little poems in my room by myself all the time. So I knew English would just be natural to me." Foster is currently writing her capstone, a collection of personal essays (already 53 pages). "I'm writing about dance-big surprise!" she says with a chuckle. "I want to explore the dancer's relationship with perfection and how it can be damaging."
"They tell you that you can always be better in ballet-you can always point your foot harder, your leg can be higher, your line can be more clean, you can turn more," she says. "We're always working towards this ideal, every single day. Perfection is impossible." Despite this, Foster is not far from ideal.
After months of weekend commuting to New York and Boston for open call auditions, Foster was chosen out of 80 other dancers to join the Boston Ballet School as a trainee. "It's not a paid job, but it's the first step. Kind of like being an intern! Maybe? Maybe, that would be the equivalent."
Most professional ballerinas don't go to college; Hannah Foster is the exception. "For a ballet dancer to go to college-it's really unusual. I'm feeling a lot of pressure right now because I'm 20, which is such a baby for a college student, but for a ballerina that's late to be starting."
Foster will graduate in May-a year ahead of schedule-and will join the Boston Ballet School in the fall, taking it one step at a time, "I feel like as I get older, I'm trying to think less far into the future. I mean, certainly I've had this vision of being a ballerina since I was 3 years old." For now, Foster focuses on preparing for the competitive world of professional dance, with a mindset she's maintained for the past 17 years, "I'll always have it in the back of my mind: be perfect."
Skidmore Unplugged, an annual three-week long competition to reduce energy usage in the College's dorms, took place from Monday, Feb. 11 to Monday, March 4. This year, the Sustainability Office, in conjunction with the S-Rep program and numerous clubs on campus, hosted a number of events to spur Skidmore's competitive spirit and alter the overall organization of the event. The ultimate winner of the competition was Wilmarth Hall, which recorded a 9% decrease in electricity use.
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, Skidmore students and faculty gathered at the Surrey Williamson Inn to hear selections of poetry and prose read to members of the College community at the Megan Rogers Annual Festival. Professors and students participated in this celebration of literature.
Celebrated feminist, author, social justice activist, and editor Gloria Steinem visited Skidmore College to deliver the keynote speech on Thursday, Feb. 21. She gave a personal lecture that focused primarily on social change and the need for reforming contemporary heteronormative and sexist ways of thinking, particularly in Western society.
The Tang Museum at Skidmore College hosted We the People, a series of events focusing on topics ranging from "Slow Democracy" to corporations to the U.S. Constitution. The spring semester's series of events opened on January 24 and closed on April 4.
Students organized and planned Social Justice Month, which took place during the month of April. Among the events that student coordinators hosted were a series of films covering a wide range of social justice topics, a fair trade market, and a talk from a North Korean defector.
April was also Autism Awareness Month. Psychology Professor Rachel Mann Rosan and students of Skidmore College arranged an event-filled calendar to raise awareness. A number of professors visited and gave enlightening lectures on autism from psychological, scientific and social perspectives. Students also organized a film screening of Temple Grandin, three different panels featuring parents of children with autism, and the Second Annual Autism Awareness Informational Fair, which was hosted by Saratoga Bridges, the Parent Network of the Capital Region, and the Skidmore Psychology Department and presented by Wilcenski & Pleat, PLLC.
Ashley Reynolds '14 was named a 2013 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities dedicated to fostering civic and social responsibility. Reynolds was among 180 students nationally to receive the award, which recognizes college students for their efforts to explore social issues and work toward positive change. Reynolds has helped at a number of agencies, including the Saratoga Center for the Family, the Center for Hope, Shelters of Saratoga, and has participated in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. In addition, Reynolds extended her work abroad to Thailand where she worked with the agency Grandma Cares.
Samuel Schultz '13 won the $20,000 first prize in the third annual Kenneth A. Frierich Business Plan Competition. The competition funds students with winning business proposals to implement their plans. Schultz will start a business that helps parents in China connect with summer camps in the United States. His business, Summer Destinations, will be located in Beijing.
On Tuesday, April 23, the Oscar-nominated documentary "5 Broken Cameras" was shown in the Spa at 7:00 p.m. Hayat hosted the event in conjunction with Social Justice Month.. The documentary, directed by EmadBurnat and Guy Davidi, follows the struggles of one Palestinian village staging non-violent protests against the erection of a wall by the Israeli government. The wall, guarded daily by the Israeli army, runs right through village farmland and separates the people from the Israeli housing complexes built on the other side.
Although both an Israeli and a Palestinian direct this film, they tend to show the fighting from a Palestinian viewpoint, which I found intriguing. Scenes show the Israeli army shooting non-violent protestors of all nationalities, arresting children for no specific reason, and burning farmland in retaliation for the resistance movement occurring in the village. No side, though, is painted as inherently right or wrong, as Israelis and Palestinians alike resist the government's actions. When speaking of the Israeli army, Sofia Naqvi '14 commented, "I still don't think it's the enemy, I just think it's the other side." As difficult as it is to portray this objectivity in light of all of the destruction they are causing to his village, Burmat certainly tries to shed some light on both sides of the argument.
On a whole, this film opened my eyes to a new perspective of the Middle Eastern conflicts . There is just something so intimate about Burmat recording everything he sees with merely a small video camera. Burmat's recording becomes even more poignant throughout when, one by one, his cameras get destroyed while filming in the turbulent environment (hence the film's title). In response to the conflict, Naqvi said, "This movie just made it really personal." The style of the documentary and the hands-on filming process truly captures a personal approach to the conflict.
The film was followed by a lively discussion covering topics such as how the conflict is portrayed in the U.S. media and what impact it is having on the younger generations who are witnessing it firsthand. These issues are complex, but the documentary is so riveting in how it shows the struggle, that I would absolutely recommend it for anyone interested in the conflict overseas. As Naqvi pointed out, this documentary tends to deal with many issues regarding humanity rather than the countless political issues surrounding the topic, and for that reason it becomes all the more powerful.
