Psychology class plans Autism awareness events

Posted by Mariel Kennedy National Autism awareness organization Autism Speaks says that doctors estimate that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined.

Rachel Mann Rosan, professor of psychology, and the students in her course "Developmental Disabilities and Autism" are currently planning Autism awareness events on campus for this April, Autism Awareness Month.

The course focuses on a clinical overview of developmental disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs).

Mann Rosan said that students not only gain an understanding of disorders but also learn the roles of assessment and treatment for behavioral issues related to the disorders. Students "get an opportunity to learn about and develop skills in functional assessment and behavior support planning," Mann Rosan said.

"We will have a variety of speaker presentations on a range of topics from the parents' perspective, to research in the area of cause and epidemiology to local clinicians who will talk about various treatment methods. There will also be a showing of a documentary that was released last year called ‘The Horse Boy,'" Mann Rosan said.

The students have also prepared information posters that will be hung around campus and will be presenting these posters in Case on April 14.

Speakers are associated with organizations Saratoga Bridges, ASPIRE NY and the Parent Network.

The speakers were selected and contacted by students in the course and relate to the topics addressed on each informational poster, Mann Rosan said.

Saratoga Bridges is a local resource aimed at serving people with disabilities and their families. ASPIRE NY is a recreational and activity group for teens and young adults with ASDs. The Parent Network is self-described as a community resource for families of individuals with special needs and for professionals who work with these families.

Mann Rosan began organizing Autism awareness events on campus last year. She describes the events as "a way to build upon students' enthusiasm for the topic," adding that she has found that many of her students have personal connections to ASDs. "It seemed that the Skidmore community could benefit from learning more about it," Mann Rosan said.

Last year Mann Rosan and her students were pleased and proud of both the work they achieved and the response from the Skidmore and Saratoga Springs communities.

Last year's events included several lecturers, such as New York State Senator and advocate of autism awareness Roy McDonald, and an Autism Informational Fair.

The Informational Fair consisted of both on-campus and community organizations that provided information about ASDs and community resources, as well as about available volunteer opportunities at Skidmore and in the Saratoga Springs community.

In addition, the fair featured a sale of craft and art items created by local artisans diagnosed with development disabilities and a bake sale that benefited the Autism Society of America.

Above all else, the focus of the events being planned is to raise awareness in the community.

Hannah Miller '14, one of Mann Rosan's students in "Developmental Disabilities and Autism," said, "Autism is a growing issue in our society, but a lot of people don't understand what it is, how it is caused or how they can help. "

Fight Club demonstrates in D-Hall

Posted by Jean-Ann Kubler At approximately 6:45 p.m. March 29, a loud argument attracted attention on the blue side of Murray-Aikins dining hall during the dinner rush. The argument was later revealed to be a staged street theater demonstration by the colleges mediation group, Fight Club.

The demonstration began with two members — Chris Lord '12 and Leanne Dwyer '13 — posing as a couple and pretending to have an argument regarding Dwyer's weekend plans.

Dwyer said she wanted to visit a friend at another college, and Lord, acting as her boyfriend, said he would rather she stay on campus because they had not spent much time together recently.

"In mediation terms there is always a topic — which in this case was the weekend plans — and each person has a need. My need was for independence, while Chris' needs were recognition and to be desired in the relationship," Dwyer said.

A Dining Services manager attempting to make the couple leave briefly interrupted the demonstration, but other Fight Club members in The Dining Hall quietly made the manager aware that it was a demonstration.

As the argument escalated a third Fight Club Liaison, Natalie Petrillo-Alvarez ‘11, stepped between Dwyer and Lord and demonstrated the methods of mediation that Fight Club teaches during weekly meetings.

Petrillo-Alvarez asked the couple to speak calmly and identify exactly what each wanted from the other, rather than getting frustrated and yelling. However, group members and students in the dining hall reported not being able to clearly hear Petrillo-Alvarez's mediation because of background noise in the dining hall.

Even though not many people could hear Petrillo-Alvarez's mediation, Dwyer said she still felt the demonstration was successful.

"What Fight Club has been trying to do lately has been to make ourselves more visible on campus so students start recognizing us as a resource … Once this is accomplished then we actually start to inform students about the real process of mediation." Dwyer said.

"Right now Fight Club and conflict resolution is kind of a new thing. We're just trying to attract attention. We may try to do this again in a different place on campus and improve upon the logistics — hopefully not get interrupted," Petrillo-Alvarez said.

According to club co-president Nick Hara '11 the event was partially inspired by Duke Fisher, a professional mediator who works with Residential Life and Leadership Activities. Fisher organized a mock draft in the dining hall on Jan. 31 as part of the Theater of War in a House of Peace performance series.

"A couple of us participated in the Theater of War demonstration and we saw that sort of street theater as a good way to get the message out. The dining hall is a good way to get the message out to underclassmen who can become involved and further the future of the group."

Fight Club will be hosting a "Fight Week" from April 18-22. The week will feature several events hosted by the club to promote conflict resolution, but an exact itinerary has not yet been announced yet.

Fight Club meets on Mondays at 9 p.m. in the Saratoga Room.

Conversation with Eggers fills Zankel

Posted by Noam Dagan

On March 28 writer, editor and publisher Dave Eggers spoke in front of an audience of 600 at the Arthur Zankel Music Center.

Rather than a conventional lecture, Eggers sat down with childhood friend and Assistant Professor of the Government department Flagg Taylor to talk about their childhood together and Eggers' career.

He showed a photo slideshow of himself and Taylor during their childhood and high school days in Lake Forest, Illinois. The audience responded with laughter as Eggers said Taylor was "the smallest kid in cub scouts — they had to special make his uniform."

The conversation then turned to Eggers' discussion of the process behind writing several of his books.

Eggers' body of work is vast, touching on many different genres and mediums. Some of his best-known works include his memoir "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," "What is the What," " You Shall Know Our Velocity," and his collaboration on the screenplay for "Where The Wild Things are."

He began by discussing the title of his best selling memoir "A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius."

"It's a tough thing to live with," Eggers said in reference to the book's title. Eggers told the audience this title was meant to be a placeholder, but by the time he thought of a new title, it had already been printed.

Eggers said he never predicted the success of his first book and that the title was more of an inside joke than a serious artistic decision.

He then recounted how he came to write "What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng."

Eggers said the project began when he received a letter from Jane Fonda's adopted foster daughter, Mary Luana Williams, the biological daughter of members of The Black Panthers. Williams requested that Eggers write the biography of Valentino, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys program.

Writing the book did not come easy to him, Eggers said, and with great remorse he gave up on the project after three years.

"Two hours after giving it up, it all came to me," Eggers said.

The structure and architecture of the book that he struggled so hard to conceive of finally fell into place, he said.

Eggers also said he decided to incorporate fictional elements rather than keeping the book a biographical account, so he could recreate scenes that would otherwise be impossible to substantiate if it were strictly non-fiction.

Taylor then asked Eggers to explicate his journalistic process and how he gathered research for the book.

Rather than pressing Valentino and his family about the crux of their struggle right off the bat, Eggers said he slowly built a personal relationship with them to understand the grand scope of their life beforehand, "to describe and illuminate the full human being."

In the spirit of being as respectful to Valentino as possible, Eggers said he had the family pre-approve the book before it was published so they could take ownership of their own story, and so "the process could be healing in the end, instead of further violating."

Eggers said after evading near disaster with "What Is the What," he promised himself he would never write about a real person and for a real constituency again for fear of letting them down.

But after Hurricane Katrina slammed the coast of Louisiana, Eggers said he felt compelled to take up a non-fictional project of the catastrophe. "Zeitoun" is the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Syrian-American and New Orleans native who volunteered to stay behind in the flooded city and help rescue his neighbors.

During the subsequent question -and-answer period, an audience member asked Eggers if he was working on any new projects.

Eggers said he was nearing the end of his next novel, and thanked the audience member for reminding him to finish.

In addition to Eggers' literary pursuits, he is also the founder of the independent publishing house McSweeney's, and co-founder of 826 Valencia, a nonprofit tutoring center for underprivileged kids with locations in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Washington, D.C. and Boston.

The mission of McSweeney's is to publish writing that could not get published anywhere else. Eggers said he has designated it "the land of misfit writing." With only a 10 person staff, it publishes two literary journals and 20 to 30 books a year.

The 826 Valencia locations are not only literacy centers, but each sells its own line of quirky supplies, according to Eggers. The San Francisco location, for example sells supplies for the working buccaneer, and the Brooklyn location sells tools for the amateur crime fighter.

The quirky retail does serve a legitimate function, however. Eggers said that since all the proceeds fund the center, customers are more likely to purchase something when they see the children working in the back of the store.

After the question-and-answer period, Eggers stayed in Zankel to sign books and answer students' questions in person. "I give excellent insight and advice about relationships," Eggers said.

College receives 200-acre donation of undeveloped land

Posted by Julia Leef

The college owns and utilizes an extensive amount of land, totaling 865 acres. On December 31st, that total increased when Michael and Margaret Roohan, owners of Granite and Marble Works, Inc. of Wilton, donated 200 acres of undeveloped land to the college. This land, which is located in the town of Greenfield to the north of Daniels Road and next to Nature Conservancy Lands, is to be used to preserve open space, among other purposes.

The Roohans themselves have no prior relationship with the college, and were referred to Skidmore by trustees. Michael West, vice president for finance and administration and treasurer, says that he believes the Roohans decided to donate some of their land after going on a North Woods tour and seeing how the college used its land for research and constructive purposes. "I think they got the idea that this could be something that could work for them," he said.

According to the college's ScopeOnline, an online source for news and events on campus, the land will potentially be used for study and research, much as the 250-acres that are North Woods have been utilized in over 30 courses for academics and for recreation. The donated land itself is undeveloped with wetlands and rock outcroppings, and can only be reached via walking and some logging paths. A committee is being formed under Muriel Poston, acting vice president for academic affairs, to study the land and determine whether or not it would be in the college's best interests to use academically as it has North Woods.

"Views in many areas are spectacular of this unspoiled land," stated the Preliminary Report presented to Faculty Chairs on January 14th in response to the recent donation by the Roohans. The report also stated that phase I of an environmental review, which looks at the historical records of the use of the land, interviews with current and adjacent landholders, a physical walk of the site, potential issues, records from the federal government, as well as hotspots for environmental problems, revealed no negative findings concerning the land.

"From a historical perspective, the site presents an opportunity for past Native American use," the report says, adding that geologists, biologists, botanists, environmental scientists, and wildlife enthusiasts alike, "will see this gift as a significant study opportunity."

An additional hiking trip for both faculty and students is planned for the future, as soon as the ground becomes firm and the snow melts away, bettering the conditions for such an excursion. Once the date is determined, an announcement will be made to the college concerning a tour of the new property, giving people the opportunity to see the land for themselves.

Riley Neugebauer, sustainability coordinator for the college, said that the college is in the process of determining how the new land addition will best benefit students and faculty. "The Roohans' donated the property because they felt that Skidmore College would be a great recipient, for tax purposes, and because they knew it would be a benefit to the college and its students given its location and proximity to existing college land," she said.

"We're very appreciative that the family gave this very generous gift," West said. "When people do get to see it, I think they'll see that it's a very special piece of land." In addition, West has stated that Skidmore will not request tax-exempt status for the donated land, which will thus remain on the Greenfield tax rolls. He also expressed his appreciation to the board, who met specially in December before the winter holiday to discuss the donation, as well as to the cabinet and the president for their support.

The college has always made great use of its land. In addition to North Woods, which provide trails and locations for academic studies, the Van Lennep Riding Stables, comprised of 212 acres, allow students to work and ride both academically and recreationally. The college also owns a small piece of land which it uses as a baseball park, and has property on which the boathouse is located, which provides storage and training use for the college's rowing team. Students have easy access to these facilities, and that availability is apparent in all of the college's uses of its property.

With more land available to it, the college will be able to provide more resources for research and study to both faculty and students. The Roohans' gift is greatly appreciated, and will be used to help extend not only the academic uses of the land, but the natural beauty of it as well.

Senate working group addresses political expression

Posted by Kat Kullman

On March 28 the SGA Senate met with Barbara Krause, the executive director of the president's office to discuss political expression on campus. Though no conclusions were reached at the meeting, the working group will continue to rework the policies to attempt to increase political activism on campus.

Krause and Jenny Snow '11, vice president for communication and outreach, sit on a working group designed to examine Skidmore's policies on political expression on campus. The group was formed last fall after the college declined a visit from former President Bill Clinton, who was publicly endorsing Scott Murphy at the time. Currently, politicians cannot come to campus if they are soliciting endorsements or funding, thus Clinton was unable to attend.

"We're a nonprofit organization, so we can't have partisan political activities on campus. So we have obligations and we can't put our non-profit status at risk," Krause said.

"Students have been the quietest voices on this issue so far, but they were loudest on the Bill Clinton problem. My question is whether it's our obligation to actively pursue a non-partisan view without violating our status?" Snow said.

One of the committee's suggestions to help bring more political figures to campus was to allow student clubs to invite partisan figures to campus. There would be no Skidmore endorsement or banners, and the club would need to pay a fee for the facilities. However, this would be a way to allow more politicians to visit.

"The college itself has to be non-partisan," Krause said, "But if student groups who bring a speaker had a distancing technique, that might be enough."

While some senators said they were in favor of keeping all political figures off campus to keep our non-profit status, others said it is important to change some of the college policies.

"It's important to make people on this campus more aware. It's important for students to realize that your vote does count. I'd love more opportunities to learn more about politics," Senator Becky Anthony '14 said.

Another senator agreed, saying, "We missed out on something when Clinton didn't come. So something needs to change."

Vice President for Financial Affairs Jono Zeidan '12 said the conditions of the speaker should affect who appears on campus.

"At the heart of this [policy] is how these political speakers will affect our votes," Zeidan said. "But that's not always the case. The conditions on which the speaker is coming should affect these policies."

"We care about academic freedom and political discourse, students having free thought. We just need to decide what kind of speakers support this, and what we can do about these policies to make change on this campus." Krause said.

College announces honorary commencement speakers

Posted by Bradley Morris

The college has recently announced that Colin E. Greene, James M. McPherson and Anne Bogart will be the featured speakers at the 2011 commencement ceremonies. Additional commencement speakers will include Erica Bastress-Dukehart, professor of history, Libby Gronquist ‘11, senior class president, and President of the College Philip A. Glotzbach.

Colin E. Greene is a member of the Board of Education International, a leader for equitable access to quality education in developing countries and principal of the largest secondary school in Antigua.

James M. McPherson is the George Henry Davis '86 professor of American History Emeritus at Princeton University, and a Pulitzer Prize winning author.

Anne Bogart is an American theater director and co-founder and artistic director of the SITI Company with an emphasis on international cultural exchange and collaboration.

Each year, the Skidmore Board of Trustees chooses the honorary speakers. The board awards honorary degrees to those who have demonstrated "exemplary artistic, intellectual, scientific or humanitarian achievement or who have made outstanding contributions to Skidmore College," Gronquist said.

President Glotzbach also invites members of the Skidmore community to suggest possible honorary degree candidates for the following year's commencement.

"From these nominations, the Board of Trustees, on the recommendation of the president and the Trusteeship Committee, votes to confer these degrees," Gronquist said.

Prior to consideration by the Board, the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure reviews nominations.

The selection process for the professor speaker at commencement takes less time and uses a different process. Unlike the final selection for the honorary speakers, which the students do not get to vote on, the professor speaking is chosen by the seniors.

"The professor is chosen via [write-in] nominations and survey of the senior class after the nominations are counted," Gronquist said.

Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 21 at 10:40 a.m.

Wittes lectures on security policies

Posted by Jean-Ann Kubler

At 6:30 p.m. March 28 in Davis Auditorium, Brookings Institute senior fellow Benjamin Wittes presented a lecture titled "Detention, Rendition, Drones and Commissions: Continuity and Change in National Security Policy Between the Obama and Bush Administrations." About 80 people attended the event, which many described as "unexpectedly witty."

Wittes' academic focuses include the Supreme Court, judicial nominations and confirmations, and the legalities of the War on Terror. Wittes has published several works about legal issues in the War on Terror. Wittes is also the co-author of the popular legal blog "Lawfare."

The lecture began with an introduction by Professor Scott Mulligan, who teaches the government department course "Terrorism in the Law." Wittes spoke to Professor Mulligan's class, as well as Professor Kate Graney's "International Human Rights" class prior to the lecture.

Wittes said there are four lenses through which the national security policies of the Obama and Bush administrations can be compared: substantive powers claimed, the articulated basis for those powers, how the power is functionally used and how the administrations publicly discuss the powers they claim.

Depending on the lens used to evaluate the administrations' policies they could appear very similar or very different, Wittes said. Through the lenses of the powers claimed and how they are used, the Obama and Bush administrations appear to have strikingly similar policies.

However, the administrations articulate the basis for their powers and publicly discuss them in very different ways, according to Wittes.

Wittes said that despite vague promises of change during Obama's campaign, the current president's national security policies are, for the most part, continuations of Bush policies framed with different rhetoric.

As an example, Wittes said that many people point to the dramatic decline in Guantanamo Bay detainees as a success of the Obama administration even though the decline began during Bush's presidency.

"We really overstate the personalization of these tactics to individual presidents. The policies change with the conflict. The presidents are just along for the ride," Wittes said.

Wittes asked the audience for questions after about 30 minutes of lecturing. During the question and answer period, one audience member asked how citizens can be sure that the Obama administration is not using more covert aggressive tactics in the Middle East.

"We know because sometimes things blow up," Wittes said.

Audience members said they were unsure of how to feel about Wittes' somewhat humorous discussion of serious policy issues. "His intelligence combined with his witty delivery of issues of drone warfare and coercive interrogation techniques kind of gave the lecture an interesting vibe, and I came out of it feeling a little odd," Julia Grigel '11 said.

Despite some audience members' reservation about the lecture, others felt it was necessary that national security issues be discussed on campus.

"It's really important that someone of Benjamin Wittes' prominence is on campus, discussing issues that matter to current political discussions," Ethan Flum '13 said.

Plagiarism surveyed at Skidmore

Posted by Mariel Kennedy According to a study on plagiarism and cheating in American universities conducted by the Cornell University Press, "more than 75 percent of students admit to having cheated; 68 percent admit to cutting and pasting material from the Internet without citation."

Stephanie Seidmon '13, an environmental studies major and Writing Center tutor from New Jersey, is currently working on an independent study with Associate Professor of Social Work Crystal Moore to evaluate plagiarism on Skidmore's campus.

The team has produced a quick survey, which Seidmon states will hopefully show "if the Honor Code works in its pursuit to create trust between the students and the college."

The Skidmore Honor Code, which all students pledge during First-Year Orientation, defines plagiarism as "representing the work of another person as one's own: for example, the words, ideas, information, data, evidence, organizing principles, or style of presentation of someone else. Plagiarism includes paraphrasing or summarizing without acknowledgment, submission of another student's work as one's own, the purchase of prepared research or completed papers or projects, and the unacknowledged use of research sources gathered by someone else."

The Honor Code continues to define examples of minor and major offenses.

Seidmon came up with the idea for the survey after taking a class to become a Writing Center tutor last semester.

Her final paper was a research paper explaining how and why plagiarism on college campuses has increased, specifically mentioning technological advancements.

However, Seidmon states, "What the paper was missing was data for small colleges. Many studies have been done on large universities … but there have been very few conclusive studies on plagiarism at small colleges."

Around the same time Seidmon was researching plagiarism, Corey Freeman-Gallant, the associate dean of the faculty for Academic Advising, spoke on "the importance of reporting instances of academic misconduct."

"In just a few short weeks there were more academic integrity violations reported than are usually reported in a semester. With this lack of information about plagiarism at small colleges and the spike in academic misconduct at Skidmore, I decided to turn my final paper from last semester into an independent study this semester," Seidmon said.

Seidmon and Moore are hoping to determine whether students are adhering to the Honor Code; if the data collected proves students are not adhering, they hope to find a way to "better the academic environment so that everyone respects and upholds it."

The project will be continued after the survey data is collected and analyzed.

"We will continue the project by holding discussions and forums and openly communicating about how we can make students feel most comfortable so that honesty and integrity are upheld," Seidmon said.

The survey will be sent out via e-mail to 650 randomly selected students on Tuesday, March 29.

Seidmon said the survey is short and only takes about five minutes to complete.

The survey asks questions about plagiarism in high school and at Skidmore and students' perceptions on the Honor Code.

Privacy is protected, Seidmon said, as "the survey is SSL encrypted and doesn't collect IP addresses, so there is no way to trace the results back to any particular student."

Seidmon hopes all students who receive the survey will participate.

She urges her peers to "help better the academic community here at Skidmore as well as among other small colleges" saying, "you've got nothing to lose."

Responsible Citizenship amendment fails in senate

Posted by Kat Kullman

On Tuesday, March 22, the SGA senate met to discuss a resolution to amend the Responsible Citizenship Internship Award (RCIA) operating codes' focus on financial aid. The resolution did not pass.

The RCIA is a fund intended for students who have acquired unpaid summer internships and would be unable to accept them without aid.

The award is given to 30 students and provides each with $2,500 for living and travel expenses.

A committee made up of senators and Willingness-to-Serve appointees review the applications and decide to whom the awards are given.

SGA President and senate chair Alex Stark '11 brought the resolution to the senate. The resolution stipulates that two members of senate sit on the RCIA committee, as well as a former RCIA recipient.

It also addressed the issue of financial aid. Currently it is stated in the RCIA operating codes that applicants do not need to be receiving financial aid to apply, although they do need to indicate if they receive aid.

The resolution stated that the importance of financial aid in the awards decision would be left up to the committee.

Jenny Snow '11, SGA vice president for communications and outreach, proposed an amendment to this section of the resolution.

"I think it's inappropriate for the RCIA committee to decide whether the process should be need-based or not. We should decide now whether or not to consider financial aid in the application," Snow said.

Many senators agreed with this, saying the emphasis should be placed on the financial need of the student, not the financial aid they may be receiving.

Several senators said financial aid only refers to the income of a student's parents.

While the parents may be able to afford tuition that does not necessarily mean that the student has the funds to accept an unpaid internship, some senators said.

Others disagreed and said financial aid should be a requirement for the applicants, because the awards would then provide opportunities for less privileged students.

SGA Vice President for Diversity Affairs Sulin Ngo '11 expressed concern about a change in policy. "I don't see here in this document anything that is based on financial need. If you're from a well-off family your opportunities and connections are likely better. For someone with fewer opportunities, this could be it. Financial need, not aid, should be a major deciding factor," Ngo said.

"One of the primary concerns of the award is how it fits into the student's educational and career trajectory. It's all merit-based; when the award was first established there was no mention of financial aid at all.

And either way, financial aid or not, the applicants need to explain why they need the money," Stark said in response to Ngo's concern.

After a close vote, Senate did not pass the amendment, meaning that the financial aid statement will remain in the document. However, the discussion has been tabled and will be continued at next week's meeting.

In other news:

• Senate unanimously approved a supplemental to allocate $300 to the Environmental Action Club for the "Reuse-a-ball" dance happening on April 2. People attending the dance are encouraged to wear only second hand clothing.

Crisis in Japan strikes close to home: With faculty and students abroad, Skidmore feels the earthquake half a world away

Posted by Julia Leef

At 12:46 a.m. on Friday, March 11, just before students parted ways for Spring Break, a seismograph in Dana Science Center picked up tectonic activity.

A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck off the coast of Japan. The disaster left up to 16,000 people dead, rendered millions homeless, and an environmental threat with the severe damage of a nuclear power plant.

While the earthquake affected the world community with family and economic interest in Japan, the Skidmore community felt the shake of the quake.

This disaster has influenced the lives of many professors and students, directly and indirectly, including several professors who were in Japan at the time of the disaster.

Greg Hrbek, Senior Writer-in-Residence at the English Department, was in Tokyo on a writing fellowship when the earthquake hit. According to Hrbek, life in Tokyo was relatively normal following the disaster, with the exception of a few power outages and subway delays. However, he decided not to risk a prolonged stay, and returned to Saratoga. He described being so close to a nuclear accident as "very bizarre . . . I imagine the experience will influence my writing at some point, though it's hard to say how."

"Even though I was only in Tokyo for two weeks, I feel uncommonly sensitive to these events," Hrbek said. "I have been feeling very nervous for the people I met there and I'm hopeful that the signs of improvement are real."

Masako Inamoto, assistant professor of the Foreign Languages & Literatures department, was in Japan evaluating approved study-abroad programs in Nagoya and Osaka. She was in Nagoya at the time of the earthquake, and says that she could feel the earthquake strongly from 300 miles away. She realized later, when she found the trains home to Tokyo suspended, that she realized the severity of the earthquake. Inamoto continued her visits to the Osaka program, observing people lining up for food and joking with each other to help cope with their terrible situation. She also watched as the news featured heart-rending survivor stories, affecting her emotionally.

"It was very difficult for me to come back to the U.S. while Japan is going through this crisis," she said, "but my friends in Japan told me that there must be things I can do because I'm outside of Japan, and that encouraged me to come back."

During her stay, Inamoto says that the disparity between the Japanese and U.S. media reports helped her realized the importance of looking at events objectively and with a balanced view.

She thanked the Skidmore community who came forth with condolences and questions of how they could help. "It makes me realize how fortunate I am to be a part of this wonderful, caring community," she said.

The earthquake also directly affected several students. Several students who wished to study abroad in Japan this semester found that they must look elsewhere for abroad study. On March 16, the U.S. government issued a Department of State Travel Warning for Japan, due largely in part to the radiation levels around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In addition, damages caused by the earthquake and tsunami affected the college's partner universities' ability to run programs safely, according to the director of Off-Campus Study and Exchanges, Coreen Filson.

"OCSE is closely monitoring the situation to determine if students might be able to study in Japan for the fall," she said, adding students will be unable to study in Japan this spring. "We encourage students who are interested in that option to come talk to us. We will accept applications to Japan programs for fall, but recommend students apply to a second program as well."

One of the students affected by these events is Haoran Ma '12, who originally planned to start his pre-orientation on March 28th at Sophia University. He was to study abroad in Tokyo for the spring semester, along with Jennifer Latsch '12, who was unavailable for comment.

Haoran is currently in China, where he is still waiting to hear if it will be safe to study in Japan. "I do not think it was a bad decision to study abroad in Japan," he said, "but it may have come at the wrong time. If it is meant to be [being unable to go], there is nothing I can do."

Haoran is receiving support from Kendra Nelson, the counselor in the off-campus study office, his advisor Darren Drabek, and others.

"I feel sorry about what happened in Japan," he said. "Being an international student at Skidmore, there is always someone that I can talk to when I need help. I know I am not alone."

In addition to those who either were in Japan at the time or had planned to be, many faculty and students have family currently residing there. Soon after the earthquake, Masami Tamagawa, the visiting assistant professor for the Foreign Languages and Literatures department, contacted his family members, who are all safe. Professor Inamoto's family in Japan is safe as well.

Although Tamagawa would like to eventually talk about these events in his Modern Japanese Culture and Society class, he says that it may be too soon to bring up the tragedy with students. "I'll admit that personally I find it difficult to watch the news," he said. "It affects me greatly and highlights for me a concern for the survivors who will naturally be left with emotional scars for a very long time."

Skidmore is not the only college to be affected by these events, of course. Universities all over the world are involved, none more so than those in Japan. According to a recent article in "The Chronicle," more than a week after the earthquake and tsunami, several university students in Japan remain missing, while five have been confirmed dead. Several universities, such as Waseda University, have announced delaying the start of the academic year, and many report the cancellations of contracts by part-time foreign instructors due to the threats of radiation leakage from the nuclear plant. Transportation is difficult and housing for students near impossible until April, revealing the extent to which these damages have affected people in Japan.

There will a vigil in front of Burgess Café on Friday at 5 p.m. Sergio Hernandez '12, is coordinating the event, but was unavailable for comment as of press time on Thursday. Students and faculty are invited to honor those affected with a candle ceremony, paper cranes, and a few words. condolences. donations for the Red Cross will accepted, perhaps the first of many efforts to raise aid for those in need.

Students launch academic journal

Posted by Jean-Ann Kubler

On March 4, a team of 9 students received a grant from Student Opportunity Funds to launch an interdisciplinary academic journal titled "What Iff."

Hugh O'Kelly ‘13, founder and editor-in-chief of the journal, said he was motivated to create "What Iff" by a lack of resources for students to publish academic work on campus.

"It's not that we don't have outlets for writers here. We have the newspaper, Folio, which is primarily for fiction and poetry, and a couple of other subject-specific publications, but nothing for interdisciplinary work or general student scholarship," O'Kelly said.

The journal's editorial team is seeking out work students have completed for classes and are proud of. "I really hope that it gets students more driven about their work and each other's work, as well as a little more notoriety. I also hope it makes more people even more focused on academic work," said Alex Brehm '12, a co-editor.

Other editors became involved because of their desire to combine work from two of their majors. "As an English and Theater double major, I am always looking for opportunities to combine my two interests. I think starting this journal will allow students to read and be exposed to the academic works of their peers in a cool, nontraditional way," said co-editor Adrienne Schaffler '13.

To get students interested in contributing, the editors sent e-mails to the chairs of each academic department on campus, requesting that they inform the students in the department of the new opportunity to have academic work published.

"Not to be too crass about this, but having your work published in any venue is going to be useful for your resume," wrote Katherine Hauser, chairwoman of the art history department, in an e-mail to art history majors.

Despite advertising with department chairs, the editorial teams had not received any submissions as of March 23.

"No students have submitted work yet, but we have received a couple of questions, so there is definitely some interest," O'Kelly said.

The editorial team is working with a graphic artist, not associated with the school, to create a large poster and several fliers advertising the journal. The team said it hopes the advertisements will encourage students to submit. Submissions will be reviewed by all 9 members of the editorial team for quality of writing and diversity of content.

"We're really looking for submissions from as many different departments and view points as possible. We also hope to get science-oriented submissions as well as humanities, though we expect more humanities-based submissions simply because those classes are more conducive to in-depth writing assignments," O'Kelly said.

All submitted works will be reviewed anonymously. When a submission is received, one member of the editorial board will remove the student's name and replace it with a number. After works have been chosen, the student's name will be replaced prior to publication.

The team hopes to publish by May 1. Student Opportunity Funds provided the group with $445—enough to cover the printing costs of 100 80-120 page issues of a 5x8 inch journal.

Second campus dialogue successful, students say

Posted by Jean-Ann Kubler

A second campus climate dialogue, held at 7 p.m. on March 8 in the Case Center Game Room, was more successful than the first, according to attendees. The event was student-exclusive and about 150 students were in attendance.

Led by trained facilitators from the Intergroup Relations program and peer mediators, the second dialogue focused on inclusivity on the campus.

"The event was more structured than the first, with exercises and activities used to draw out and hear every voice in the crowd that wanted to speak," said Alexandra Stark, SGA president. Stark planned the event with SGA Vice President for Diversity Affairs Sulin Ngo.

The event began with a moment of silence for Alexander Grant, the Boston College student who died in Saratoga Spring while visiting friends at the college.

Signs with the numbers 0, 5 and 10 were placed across the room and students were then asked to line up based on how comfortable they felt on campus, with 0 meaning not comfortable at all and 10 meaning very comfortable.

"At first students were mostly lined up near numbers 5 and 10, but as soon as a few students moved toward 0, a lot of other students moved too," said Kaitlin Guerin '14, a student who attended the dialogue.

"The visual of the spectrum was very powerful in displaying just how many students don't feel comfortable on our campus," Stark said.

Students then separated into smaller groups to discuss personal feelings and experiences with inclusivity.

Attendees described the discussions as productive and informative.

"I feel included at Skidmore," said Cesar Ibanez '14, "But it was interesting to see that members of the majority here sometimes feel excluded, as well as minorities."

"It wasn't just about race. Socio-economic class came up a lot. People found that inclusivity was really challenged by class issues," Eliza Straim '14 said.

Guerin said she felt the small group discussions were especially productive for students who are part of the white majority, and was encouraged by other student's stories of feeling out of place as a student of color.

"It's good to know other people feel like you do," she said.

Stark agreed that the dialogue was productive. "When such a crowd shows up to dialogue about diversity, bias, privilege, and inclusivity - to share their personal stories with strangers and to listen to the emotionally harrowing experiences of their peers - I believe is gratifying for everyone there."

The event was schedule to end at 8:30 p.m., but conversations continued until around 9 p.m. because of student interest.

Police seek unanswered questions in Grant death

Posted by Rebecca Orbach

Saratoga Springs police are continuing to investigate the death of 19-year-old Alexander Grant, but as of press time on Wednesday no new information has surfaced.

On March 5, Grant attended a party at 146 Church St. and left at about 11:30 p.m. He was later identified on video surveillance breaking into a medical facility at 3 Care Lane at about 1:15 a.m. on March 6. He appeared to be intoxicated and was wearing only shorts, a T-shirt and one sock. On the morning of Tuesday March 8 Grant's body was found in a Saratoga Springs creek.

The investigation has been hindered by the apprehension of students involved to respond to police inquiries.

Police said the residents at 146 Church St., where Grant attended a party hours before his death, and the friends who Grant was visiting at Skidmore are refusing to cooperate with authorities.

The residents at 146 Church St. have all obtained lawyers and are not speaking to police.

"I can tell you that we're not getting a lot of cooperation from the residents who live on Church Street," Police Chief Christopher Cole said, according to The Post Star. "So we're having to pursue other avenues to determine where he was and what he might have been doing."

The Saratoga Springs Police Department broke up the party on Church Street shortly after midnight on March 6, and police now want to know what substances may have been provided to Grant while at the party.

An autopsy on Wednesday March 9 revealed that Grant drowned in the creek and was suffering from hypothermia before he died. "We are still waiting for a toxicology report, which is still probably several weeks from being released," Lieutenant Veitch of SSPD said.

Police say they are hopeful the toxicology report will determine whether any other substances contributed to Grant's death.

While residents of 146 Church St. have not commented, residents of 150 Church St., where another party was hosted the same night, said they do not believe Grant attended their party.

Residents at 150 Church Street said their party was a separate event from their neighbors' at 146 Church Street. They were celebrating the birthday of their 22-year-old friend and did not invite, nor provide alcohol to minors, they said.

They said neither they, nor their landlord, have been contacted or investigated by neither the police department nor the District Attorney with regard to the incident.

They expressed their sympathy for those who knew Grant and said this is a very sad and emotional time for the Skidmore, Boston College and Briarcliff communities.

Grant's parents, Ken and Deanna Grant, expressed their mourning through a letter to SSPD on March 14.

They began their letter by thanking SSPD for their dedication to finding their son.

"When we came up to Saratoga Springs on Sunday night, we were strangers to you, but during the time of our terrible ordeal, it was not lost to us that we were among a group of deeply caring and highly dedicated professionals. We are fully convinced that the group did everything in its power to help Alex and his family during the ordeal," the letter said.

Despite their gratitude, however, the Grant's say they have not received enough information to have full closure.

"In addition to being deeply distraught at the unfortunate span of critical hours that lapsed before rescue efforts could commence, we don't believe that we have been told everything that we need to know about this by Alex's friends who were present at the time of his disappearance," the letter said.

The Grants also said they are not seeking "vindication or retribution," and it is for this reason that they cannot understand why his friends will not share the information they have with them.

His family has set up the Alexander Maxwell Grant Foundation in his honor. "Its mission will be to set up scholarships for talented, underprivileged young people in the New York City area," they said.

As of press time on Wednesday March 23, neither the residents at 146 Church St., nor Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III could be reached for comment.

Grant encourages civic engagement

Posted by Rebecca Orbach

The college was recently awarded a $250,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to create new programs within the curriculum that will enable students to give back to the local community.

The college requested the grant to "launch a major initiative to advance, institutionalize and sustain a comprehensive program of civic engagement in the curriculum," according to the proposal to the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

The grant will help bolster the work of The Responsible Community Task Force, an entity charged with developing ways to tie community service into the academic curriculum.

Goal III of Skidmore's Strategic Plan states that the college strives to be an institution that "empowers and inspires all of our students to make the choices required of informed, responsible citizens throughout their lives, and that itself acts as a responsible corporate citizen."

The Vining Davis grant will allow the college to evaluate its academic programs and assess potential ways to increase students' involvement in the community.

Furthermore, it will enable the school to train and prepare both faculty and students for advisor and mentor roles, respectively, in the new programs.

Seven faculty members will be named "civic fellows," and will receive funding and training to become experts in the ways in which their areas of study affect the local community.

The goal, Associate Dean of Student Affairs David Karp said, is for these faculty members to convey to their students the public value of each discipline.

The college also plans to develop ways for students who are studying abroad to involve themselves in their new communities around the world.

The college already offers numerous courses that facilitate student involvement in, and research about, the local community.

In Sociology 329, "Criminal Justice," students volunteer at Mt. McGregor Correctional Facility, a medium-security prison. The students help teach inmates conflict resolution skills and assist with inmate reintegration into the community.

In Foreign Languages 221, "Spanish for the Health Professions," students work with service providers in the Saratoga Springs area to explain local health care options to Spanish speakers and to serve as translators in health care situations.

The college will utilize the Vining Davis grant to expand the roster of community-serving classes like these.

Acting President Susan Kress said of the grant, "At Skidmore we stress community involvement on many levels, and we believe that this should be reflected in the courses our students take, no matter what field they pursue. This very important grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations will enable us to prepare students and faculty for new levels of community engagement, which we expect will benefit both the college and the local area."

The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, based in Jacksonville, Fla., are a national philanthropic organization established through the generosity of the late American industrialist Arthur Vining Davis.

The foundations currently provide grants for private higher education, religion, secondary education, health care and public television.

"Civic engagement is a huge topic, many colleges and universities are trying to get better at this and we are too," Karp said.

Administrators will meet on March 14 to allocate the money to different projects.

Gardasil now available to males: Health Services offers 60 male students free HPV vaccinations

Posted by Jean-Ann Kubler

On Feb. 21, Health Services received a limited supply of Gardasil vaccines that were made available for 60 male students free of charge. Gardasil, a vaccination that protects against some types of human papilloma virus (HPV), was approved for men in October 2009.

"[The vaccine] helps prevent against four types of HPV— there are over a hundred types — two types that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer and two more types that cause 90 percent of genital warts," said Patricia Bosen, clinical director of Health Services.

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can be transmitted through any genital contact. Many infected people show no symptoms.

"[The lack of symptoms] means you can get the virus or pass it on to a partner without knowing it. In the United States, an estimated 75-80 percent of males and females will be infected with HPV in their lifetime," Bosen said.

Health Services received the supply of Gardasil vaccines from the Saratoga County Health Department.

"They had extra vaccines and called and asked if we would like them at no cost," Bosen said.

The Health Services staff decided to distribute the vaccine to men free of charge, as most insurance companies now cover the costs for females to receive the vaccination but not males, Bosen said.

The HPV vaccine is administered through a series of three injections during a six-month time frame. Though 175 Gardasil shots were provided, only 60 men will be able to receive the free vaccine to insure they can complete the entire series of shots at no cost.

As of Feb. 8, 17 males had received the first round of the vaccination.

"We will continue to offer the vaccine to both men and women after this [free] supply runs out. The cost to receive each vaccine is $150.00 per shot, and we can provide receipts to students to submit to their insurance carrier," Bosen said.

Gardasil is approved for males and females ages 9-26.

"The FDA recommends vaccination before adolescence and potential sexual activity, but we are offering it to all students not previously vaccinated," Bosen said.

For students who are unable to receive the free vaccine, the cost can be paid in cash, charged to a student account or deducted from a SkidCard declining balance.

Health Services is located on the first floor of Jonsson Tower. Appointments are not required.

Senate allocates additional funds for Power Shift

Posted by Kat Kullman

On March 8 the SGA Senate unanimously approved a resolution to allocate an additional $2000 to the Environmental Action Committee to help fund the club's trip to Power Shift, a movement to promote clean energy that will occur in Washington D.C. in April.

Senate recently granted the EAC $3,000 for this same trip. Initially only 60 students were expected to attend, but due to a large amount of interest in the program, the number has grown to approximately 90 students.

Anna Graves, '14 and Annie Bruckner '11 approached Senate to request the additional funds in order to house the additional students.

"Currently Skidmore is the largest group registered in New York, more than Columbia or NYU," Bruckner said, "This could start really great positive national press for Skidmore. And with this many people we could bring back what we learn to the student body."

Skidmore, in support of this trip, has increased the grant money from $2,500 to $5,000, and is providing buses to transport the students.

Students must pay a $50 registration fee upon signing up. "We're exhausting a lot of resources," Graves said. "We're fundraising, co-sponsoring with other clubs and each student is sending out a letter requesting support. We realize that we need to work for this."

The resolution was unanimously approved. All 90 students will be able to attend Power Shift in April.

In other news:

•Signs for the new gender-neutral bathrooms have been approved and will be installed during spring vacation. All single stall bathrooms on campus will be officially gender neutral upon the return of the student body.

•Senate unanimously approved a supplemental to allocate money from the JSS/Activism Civic Engagement Fund to senators Randy Abreu, '11 and Javi Calderón, '11.

•The senators requested $400 to open a library for a women's shelter in the Bronx. The library will house a literacy program, providing ESL and GED books. It will also provide books for neighborhood children.

Fourth student pleads guilty in Compton's case

Posted by Jean-Ann Kubler

On March 8 Sakhile Sithole ‘13 pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, in association with the assault that occurred at Compton's Restaurant last semester.

Four students, Justin Tavarez '13, Elijah Johnston '14, Korvin Vicente '13, and Sithole were arrested on the morning of Dec. 18, 2010 after an altercation with Saratoga Springs resident Christopher McCarthy. According to police reports, Tavarez broke a plate over McCarthy's head and the other three students joined in the altercation, but details of their participation are not clear.

Tavarez was initially charged with a hate crime, but the charges were reduced on Feb. 1 when additional witness testimony suggested the charge was unfounded.

In a press release issued on March 8, Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy said, "Once the five week investigation was completed by the police department, and the DA's office was able to review all the statements and evidence, the ultimate determination to decline to proceed on the hate crime was the appropriate decision."

Tavarez pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault on Feb. 1 and will be sentenced in April.

Vicente and Johnston also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct earlier this month.

Sithole, Vicente and Johnston will pay $120 fines as a result of their pleas, and will also face possible discipline from the college integrity board. Johnston and Sithole were also briefly suspended from the men's basketball team.

Donation helps fund new crew boathouse

Posted by Andrew Cantor

The college crew team is closer to receiving a new boathouse after a recent graduate's family donated $ 750,000 toward the capital project in February.

Construction will begin on the new boathouse once the college raises $1.5 million more to cover an estimated $2.2 million building cost.

The current boathouse, located about six miles east of campus on the north bank of Fish Creek, houses the men and women's crew teams, as well as the Skidmore Community Rowing team.

The new boathouse will be built on the same site as the old one.

Architectural plans include changing rooms, bathrooms, a meeting room, a workout room, more boat space and insulation.

Jim Tucci, coach of the men and women's crew teams, said conditions in the current boathouse hinder rowers' training and morale.

"The conditions now are Spartan," Tucci said "It's essentially a glorified garage. It can be uncomfortable because it's always cold, and not a good place to warm up. There's no meeting room or large-enough workout facility. As a result training is less efficient."

The co-captains of both college teams agreed.

"There's just not enough room for everything," Korina Burgio '11, co-captain of the women's team, said. "It houses a lot of rowers now, and it's uncomfortable."

"The boathouse is cold and difficult to practice in. We sometimes have to come back to campus to train […] A new boathouse would make everything much more efficient," Jacob Boersma, co-captain of the men's team said.

Gail Cummings-Danson, director of athletics, said the department has considered a new boathouse for almost four years.

Cummings-Danson also said the team is anxious to receive the better facility.

"We have a lot of buildings to be proud of on campus… we have some signature pieces, if you will. Quite frankly, this isn't the case for the boathouse," Cummings-Danson said. "Fish Creek hosts a high school invitational every year. Rowers go by and must think ‘Oh yeah, that's Skidmore's.' It doesn't represent our program well."

Patrick Babbitt '14, a first-year rower, will likely experience the new facility and believes a new heating system will make training easier.

"The boathouse is very cold at 6 or 7 a.m. in the late fall or early winter," Babbitt said. "I can imagine going out or returning from a row would be more enjoyable from the relative warmth of a new boathouse. It would make our work on the water just a little bit easier."

The $750,000 donation comes from Martha Valentine '09's family.

Valentine rowed at the college and now coaches crew at the University of Cincinnati.

"Rowing was one of the best experiences I had at Skidmore. I only rowed for two years, but it was the best," Valentine said. "My parents valued the time I had, and decided to donate to the athletic program."

Cummings-Danson believes the team will ultimately grow and improve with a new boathouse.

"I think it will attract both Skidmore students and some great high school prospects," Cummings-Danson said. "But now, if you're a prospective rower, you see the boathouse once and maybe you wont want to go back."

Student missing after party found dead: Missing Boston College student found dead in creek after 42-hour search

Posted by Rebecca Orbach

The deceased body of 19-year-old Alexander Grant of Briarcliff, NY was found in Putnam Creek in Saratoga Springs at around 11 a.m. Tuesday morning

The creek is three-tenths of a mile from where Grant was last seen on a surveillance video breaking into a medical facility at 3 Care Lane at about 1:15 a.m on Sunday, March 6.

Grant, a sophomore from Boston College, was visiting Skidmore for the weekend and staying with his friend from high school, Mike Perlow '13.

On Saturday night Grant attended two separate parties at 146 and 150 Church St.

Both residences are located about one mile from campus and police reports said there were several hundred people between the two parties.

Neighbor Brandon Scheidt, 25, said he called the police at 11 p.m. to report the rowdiness and three partygoers he watched urinate on his driveway, according to Shawn Cohen of The Journal News, White Plains, NY.

The police responded shortly after midnight, when the local noise ordinance begins, and forced partygoers to leave the Church Street parties.

Police reports say that Grant left the party at some time between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. It is believed he left the party on his own accord; no one saw Grant for the rest of that night.

Early Sunday afternoon, police investigated a break in at a medical facility at 3 Care Lane and discovered a security video that showed Grant, wearing only shorts, a long-sleeve T-shirt and one sock, breaking in shortly after 1:15 a.m. and leaving about an hour later.

At about 5 p.m., while the burglary investigation was still underway, three individuals entered SSPD to report their friend, Grant, was missing. The description they provided of Grant matched the man in the surveillance video and the friends were able to confirm that the person seen in the video was Grant.

After this confirmation SSPD expanded the search and found his pants, a second sock and his identification about 100 yards from the medical building.

Police think he injured himself while breaking into the medical facility. He kicked in a window and officers found blood inside the building and on the broken glass of the window.

Nothing was stolen, he did not enter any of the offices and police speculate he went inside to get warm.

On Sunday, searchers noticed footprints in the snow, but the snow began to fall so quickly on Sunday evening that the tracks were soon covered up.

Searches continued unsuccessfully on Monday with the use of thermal imaging equipment until sunset.

On Tuesday morning, using underwater probing equipment, a search team of Saratoga Springs City Firefighters and New York State Forest Rangers located Grant's body tangled in the underbrush beneath the surface of the water.

He was located in a sharp bend of the creek in about four feet of water. Grant's body was then transported to Albany Medical Center for an autopsy.

The Saratoga Springs Police Department said they believe Grant had been drinking at the parties, but it is too soon to tell whether the alcohol contributed to his death. As of press time on Wednesday a preliminary autopsy conducted at Albany Medical Center confirmed Grant drowned in the creek, and he was suffering from hypothermia before he died.

"It seems to me that SSPD has ruled out foul play. They looked at a videotape at 3 Care Lane that indicates that he was alone and acting very strangely. He appeared to be intoxicated, removing clothing and breaking the glass at the medical center," Jim Murphy, District Attorney of Saratoga County said.

The homeowners at both Church Street residences are Saratoga Springs residents. They will be investigated, Murphy said.

"I know the people who rent the apartment have all had their lawyers contact SSPD… and indicated that they are willing to cooperate, so these meetings are being set up currently," Murphy said.

The Boston College community was disturbed and upset to hear the news about Grant, who was an economics major and a member of the College of Arts & Science Honors Program.

"By all accounts, Alex was a very bright young man… He was popular with his classmates and loved music and time with his friends. The BC community is in mourning and we ask all of our students to pray for Alex and his family during this most difficult time," Jack Dunn, the college's spokesman said.

In a campus-wide e-mail sent on March 9, Skidmore's Acting President Susan Kress described Grant's death as "a grievous loss for two campus communities."

"Our hearts go out to Mr. Grant's family and friends and to the Boston College community," Kress said.

A silent vigil was held at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 in the Case Center Walkway to commemorate Grant's life and death.

Eggers announced as spring keynote speaker

Posted by Max Siegelbaum

On March 21, tickets will go on sale for the Speakers Bureau spring keynote address, "A Conversation With Dave Eggers." The event will be held at 8 p.m. on March 28 in the Arthur Zankel Music Center.

Eggers, renowned for his New York Times best selling memoir, "A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius," is an accomplished author with several published full length novels and a catalog of short stories.

Eggers also co-wrote the screenplay for the popular 2009 film "Where the Wild Things Are."

Eggers is also the co-founder of 826 Valencia, a non-profit organization that serves as a writing and tutoring center for kids in urban areas.

The keynote address will be presented in the form of a conversation between Eggers and professor Flagg Taylor, a childhood friend of the author.

Speakers Bureau president Alexandra Steinhauer '13 said the committee chose between several potential speakers. The possibilities included Billy Collins, a former poet laureate, Maulik Pancholy, an actor who has appeared on the television shows Weeds and 30 Rock, and the New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz.

Ultimately, the committee decided Eggers would attract the most students because of the popularity of his work, Steinhauer said.

Steinhauer also said Eggers has expressed an interest in attending classes on campus prior to his address.

"His favorite part about giving talks is interacting with the students. After the conversation there will an open meeting where students will be encouraged to approach him," Steinhauer said.