Winter Scene 2016

scene Winter 2016

News and views for the Colgate community

Keeping it real Team VIPER in the Arctic What is art?

Sex co-education

scene

Winter 2016

26 Keeping it real

Eugene Young ’81 dishes to old pal Austin Murphy ’83 about working in the world of reality TV.

30 Team VIPER in the Arctic

A Colgate research team traverses Alaska as part of a study to predict permafrost thawing in the Arctic.

36 What is art?

Proving that art isn’t meant to answer questions, but ask them, Machine Project engaged Hamiltonians in

experimental events.

42 Sex co-education

Students work toward a positive sexual climate through peer-to-peer educational initiatives.

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Message from Dean of the College Suzy Nelson

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13346 — Inbox

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Work & Play

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Tableau: “Questions a religion major gets asked”

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Adam Clayton Powell Jr. ’30: Activist, reformer, fighter

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Life of the Mind

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Arts & Culture

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Go ’gate

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New, Noted & Quoted

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The Big Picture

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Stay Connected

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Class News 78 Marriages & Unions 78 Births & Adoptions 78 In Memoriam

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The Commons puzzle, “The Gould ‘Ring’ saga”

DEPARTMENTS

Andrew Daddio

On the cover: Three birds crouch together before learning to fly in “Hatch,” the opening quartet in the dance production Bird Suite. Clockwise from top: Allison Spanyer ’16; Becky Gough, Colgate fitness instructor; Mariko Endo of company SoGoNo. See pg. 18 for more on Bird Suite. Photo by Nick Gilbert ’18

News and views for the Colgate community

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scene team

Contributors

Volume XLV Number 2 The Colgate Scene is published by Colgate University four times a year (autumn, winter, spring, and summer) without charge to alumni, parents, friends, and students.

Austin Murphy ’83 (“Keeping it real,” pg.

26) is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, in his 32nd year at the magazine. Murphy has written six books.

He got his start in sports writing by filing first-person rugby dispatches for the Colgate Maroon.

Max S. Gerber (“Keeping it real,” pg. 26) is an editorial portrait photographer in Los Angeles. He “takes pictures of important people, smart people, famous people, people who wear suits on purpose, and people who are sometimes overlooked but shouldn’t be.”

When she’s not teaching as an associate professor of biology at Mount Royal University in Alberta, Canada, Sarah Hewitt (“Team VIPER in the Arctic,” pg.

30) spends her days scheming up adventures to feed her hunger for science travel writing.

Her pursuits have led to articles for Scientific American, Canadian Geographic, and other publications.

Interim Vice President of Communications Rebecca Downing Managing Editor Aleta Mayne Editorial Director Mark Walden Creative Director Tim Horn Senior Designer and Visual Brand Manager Karen Luciani Senior Designer Katherine Mutz University Photographer Andrew Daddio Production Assistant Kathy Owen

Contributors: Daniel DeVries, Admission Marketing and Media Relations Manager; Matt Hames, Communications Strategist; David Herringshaw, Digital Production Specialist; Jason Kammerdiener ’10, Lead Information and Digital Architect; Brian Ness, Video Journalism Coordinator; John Painter, Director of Athletic Communications; Gerald Gall, Freelance Designer Contact: scene@colgate.edu; 315-228-6669 colgate.edu/scene Colgate University: 315-228-1000

What’s online

Printed and mailed from Lane Press in South Burlington, Vt.

2015 highlights

colgate.edu/videos2015 Colgate’s video journalist Brian Ness selected his five favorite videos from the past year.

Pictures worth a thousand words colgate.edu/photos2015 University Photographer Andrew Daddio picked his 14 most memorable pics from 2015.

13 seconds

colgate.edu/13seconds A lot can happen in 13 seconds. This YouTube playlist features 75 videos that provide a quick glimpse into campus life.

Colgate news

colgate.edu/news Keep up with the latest campus and Colgaterelated news.

Engage online

colgate.edu/scene Visit us online to read articles from the Scene you may have missed, share them with friends via social media, and add your comments.

Andrew Daddio

Go paperless

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scene: Winter 2016

To stop receiving the printed Scene, e-mail Scene@ colgate.edu with your name, class year, address, and e-mail address, and put Online Mailing List in the subject. We’ll send you an e-mail when we post new online editions (colgate.edu/scene).

If you’re moving... Please clip the address label and send with your new address to: Alumni Records Clerk, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346-1398 or call 315-228-7453.

Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the university, the publishers, or the editors.

Non-discrimination notice: Colgate University does not discriminate in its programs and activities because of race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, national origin (including ancestry), citizenship status, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, veteran or military status (including special disabled veteran, Vietnam-era veteran, or recently separated veteran), predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, or any other protected category under applicable local, state, or federal law. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the university’s non-discrimination policies: Marilyn Rugg, Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346; 315-228-7288.

Title IX notice In compliance with requirements under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Colgate University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its educational programs and activities. Colgate’s Title IX Coordinator is Marilyn Rugg, Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346; 315-228-7288; mrugg@colgate.edu.

A message from Dean of the College Suzy Nelson

In recent months, college students

across the

country have been confronting societal problems such as race relations, climate change, and sexual violence with protests and sit-ins. As the fall semester wound to a close, I began reflecting upon this new wave of student activism, through the lens not only of my 20 years of working in student development, but also of our experiences here at Colgate. A rally and speak-out for change regarding issues of positive consent by all participants in a sexual activity that is knowing, voluntary, and includes clear permission by word or action. Our policy was revised in 2014 to comply with the new Violence Against Women Act and again in 2015 in accordance with New York State’s Enough is Enough law (learn more at notalone.gov).

As dean of the college, I am keenly aware of the need for responses to sexual violence that are both empathetic and rational. Our efforts focus on an action plan that includes prevention programming (colgate.edu/ sexualviolenceprevention); increased staff and programmatic support for survivors; and enhanced training for students, staff, and faculty. In December, we undertook an external review of our prevention and support services to identify areas of strength and room for improvement.

At Interim President Jill Harsin’s request, I am chairing a task force of professors, administrators, and students that is charged with refining our plan based on those recommendations.

We’ve built points of agreement for the shared goal of a safe and inclusive community. We’ve created an accountability structure for the commitments that Colgate has made, and road maps that include public communication at regular intervals.

I am proud of how deeply and fully our community has engaged in building solutions to issues such as the serious problem of sexual violence. (You can read about several efforts on pg. 42.)

Campus activism is a sign that Colgate is a strong, intellectually engaged university where students are taking on difficult challenges. The way in which a school responds to student protests affects its ability to address the issues that spark them. As a dean, I am committed to sustained dialogue as a pathway to collaborative problem solving: engaging students with respect, seriously listening to their concerns, and facilitating reasonable and decisive action aimed at making Colgate better for all. Talking with students about their concerns gives us an opportunity to model liberal arts learning in its purest form, with members of the community in discussion on an important and relevant issue, developing solutions to problems, and communicating with care and respect.

All this is not to say that Colgate has all of the answers on this issue, or others; but rather, we have taken an approach — grounded in principles of human dignity and mutual respect — that allows us to face our issues together, as a community.

Andrew Daddio

sexual violence on campus this fall, following last year’s weeklong sitin for racial justice, were manifestations of long-standing issues that Colgate must face — and has been facing, head on, in many ways.

Over the past year, Colgate students have shown that they have an intensity of commitment to political action that mirrors the intensity of their academic commitment. Whether protesting race relations or sexual climate, our students have demonstrated their passion and their desire to create a better Colgate. Their idealism, organization, and courage have caused many to examine important aspects of our campus community;

we have seen professors, staff members, and students take the initiative to make positive change happen. Student activists also inspired the university’s leadership to redouble our ongoing efforts to make our educational experience as inclusive and healthy as possible.

Like other schools in America, Colgate must face the reality of sexual violence. This is an ethical and legal obligation, and our response is shaped by the current legal landscape. The state requires that we use its definition of sexual assault, and the U.S. Office of Civil Rights requires that we use a “preponderance of evidence” standard in determining responsibility. Colgate’s Equity Grievance Policy (EGP) and process, adopted in 2012, adheres to Title IX standards; it is built on the concept of

News and views for the Colgate community

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Inbox

scene

More folklore

Autumn 2015

News and views for the Colgate community

Colgate folklore, facts, and falsehoods Poetry and memory A walk in the woods

Doug Rebert ’75 Hillsborough, Calif.

In Case of an attack An addition to the item on the Newell Apartments bomb shelter status (“Colgate Folklore, Facts & Falsehoods, autumn 2015, pg. 24). My father was one of the village civil defense program coordinators. (I still remember the training for Geiger counters taking place in our dining room with other village residents.) Anyway, the shelter we were instructed to go to in case of an attack was the basement of Case

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Syracuse in football. We wore ours all first term! We also had to wear narrow black ties along with the beanie, which really made for some weird fashion statements. Also, I think the classes after us had maroon beanies, not the green. I had never heard of the green ones before I read the Scene article, but I’m glad we had the maroon ones.

Jerry Rhodes ’56 Cary, N.C.

Cal Crouch ’78 Hamilton, N.Y.

Not a green bean(ie)

Jonathan Carlson

The Scene welcomes letters. We reserve the right to decide whether a letter is acceptable for publication and to edit for accuracy, clarity, and length. Letters deemed potentially libelous or that malign a person or group will not be published.

Letters should not exceed 250 words. You can reach us by mail, or e-mail sceneletters @colgate.edu. Please include your full name, class year if applicable, address, phone number, and/or e-mail address. If we receive many letters on a given topic, we will print a representative sample of the opinions expressed.

Library; we lived on Hamilton Street.

A number of years later, spring term 1971, while attending an art history class in the Jerome Room in the Case basement, the classroom rear door was open to the basement hall. Lined down the hall were piled Civil Defense (CD) barrels of potable water and food stuffs. The CD signs were also still on the hallway walls. I expect you could probably find some of the old buildings and grounds people who eventually had to carry the supplies away for disposal.

Great story in the Scene on the mysteries of Colgate (“Colgate Folklore, Facts & Falsehoods, autumn 2015, pg. 24). I had never heard of most of them. I can add two: 1. There was a story from the ’30s or ’40s, when Colgate was playing Syracuse in football. We were told that one year, Syracuse fans hired a small plane, and the morning of the game, they dive-bombed Taylor Lake and dropped bags with food coloring that dyed the lake orange!

2. When I attended, 1971–1975, there was a rumor going around that Columbia was considering dropping its undergrad program to become the first grad-only school. So they would only have the famous school of journalism, law school, business school, med school, etc. The idea was then that Colgate would enter the Ivy League as a ninth school, and be the eighth school for all sports.

Greetings. In the autumn 2015 Scene (“Colgate Folklore, Facts & Falsehoods, pg. 24), you say freshmen wore green beanies until the 1960s. Not true.

They were maroon. I have pictures of myself and friends as freshmen in the fall of 1959.

Richard Andrews ’63 Perrysburg, Ohio Under the subject of 3 F’s (“Colgate Folklore, Facts & Falsehoods, autumn 2015, pg. 24), it says it is true that up until the 1960s, the freshmen had to wear green beanies. If my memory serves me correctly, our class (1956) wore maroon beanies, not green, so that fact is partially true. I’m even pretty sure that a few of my classmates still have their maroon lids. I recall we had to wear them for the entire first semester unless, for some strange reason, we managed to beat

Enjoyed your article “Colgate Folklore, Facts & Falsehoods” in the autumn Scene (pg. 24). I’m writing to add detail to the note on beanies. I did not know the beanies used to be green.

In any case, I believe my class (1972) was the last to wear beanies. I don’t know about previous years, but our freshman year, 1968, the beanies were maroon, sailor-style (no brim, unlike the one illustrated), with the class year in white numerals. I include a photo of mine (“The Last Beanie”). We were told that in previous years the beanies were mandatory for freshmen, but that for us they would be optional.

They were available at the bookstore.

A very few of us in East Hall opted to buy and wear the beanies. But it was, after all, the late ’60s, and most chose not to observe that quaint tradition.

Jay Dunbar ’72 Chapel Hill, N.C.

Addendum from the archives

Image from Special Collections and University Archives

The beanies started out green and became maroon around 1952–53. The student handbook from 1952–53 refers to maroon beanies. The next earliest handbook we have is 1949–50, and that still refers to green beanies. A few articles in the student newspaper confirm this. An article from 1951 refers to green beanies, and a 1952 article to maroon. Finally, another article reports that green beanies were required as late as 1968.

Let’s talk turkey

The title of the photo of the Colgate pep band in your autumn 2015 issue (“Homecoming of yore,” Page 13) reads “circa 1962.” Thought you’d like to have the details on this unusual photo. This photo was taken Nov. 25, 1976, at Giants Stadium when Colgate lost to Rutgers 17–9 in a controversial game marred by a bizarre penalty against the Raiders that was later noted by the official who made it to be an incorrect call. Colgate was leading 6–3 at the time of this play and might have won the game, in so doing, defeating an unbeaten, nationally ranked Rutgers squad.

The sign saying “Fiji Colgate Loves ABC” was there because this game was televised regionally by ABC — the first time Colgate football had ever been televised by a national network.

The other sign that reads “Rutgers is a turkey” was placed because the game was played on Thanksgiving — moved from its original scheduled date of November 20 due to the interest in televising it and because Rutgers found they could sell more than 32,000 tickets to the game by moving it from its campus site to the Meadowlands [East Rutherford, N.J.].

Be part of the story The Scene is planning an article featuring humorous stories about professors. Do you have a funny memory about a particular professor — something that happened during class or a characteristic for which he or she was well known? (Your submissions need to be publishable and not embarrass the professor.) We also want to know why this person had a positive impact on you. Send your stories to Managing Editor Aleta Mayne, amayne@colgate.edu, or Colgate Scene, attention: Aleta Mayne, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346.

She helped make a Scene After Molly Baker ’91 penned the travel tips column “Maroon’d in Harbor Springs, Mich.,” for the autumn 2015 issue (pg. 53), she visited Colgate with her family. Molly and husband Josh co-directed Colgate’s Outdoor Education Program for 12 years, so they came to show their kids the campus, the house they built here, Basecamp, and then the Adirondacks.

Al Yellon ’78 Chicago, Ill.

In the picture

Image from Special Collections and University Archives

Editorial note: Don Trischett ’49, Saint Augustine, Fla., contacted us to correct the date we used (1932) for this photo of the cheer team in “Homecoming of yore,” autumn 2015 Scene, Page 13. “My memory is a little foggy, but as I remember, that photo was taken either in the fall of 1944 (freshman year) or fall of 1946 when I returned to school after my discharge from the U.S. Navy,” said Trischett, who was head song leader 1946–48. He is pictured second from left.

Bonding with alumni athletes Carmen, my wife of 50 years, and I went up to Hamilton for the homecoming Colgate­-Yale game. On that weekend, the All-Americans Adonal Foyle ’98 and Jamaal Branch ’05 were each being honored. Prior to the game, I watched the teams warm up from the stadium. Branch and his wife,

Adonal Foyle ’98 and Carmen DeMarrais

Melanie ’05, parked themselves next to me. I recognized Branch and we had a great 20- to 30-minute conversation regarding Colgate football, his profession, and life in general. He autographed my program, and his wife and I exchanged cards.

My wife, as is her wont, avoided the game and went to the bookstore. Of course, Mr. Foyle was there.

They struck up a conversation, and Carmen and Adonal ended up in a big bear hug, which was photographed for posterity.

Colgate is unique. Where else could a husband and wife by chance meet two iconic athletes who conversed with us as Colgate friends, without any airs or phoniness?

Despite the loss to Yale, it was a great homecoming!

Michael DeMarrais ’62 Woodcliff Lake, N.J.

News and views for the Colgate community

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work & play

Campus scrapbook A

B

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Superman and friends (a.k.a. the Colgate Thirteen) sing at a tailgate on Halloween. Photo by Gerard Gaskin

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Friends and fine food at Frank Dining Hall. Photo by Andrew Daddio

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A foggy Cranberry Lake awaits incoming first-year students who went to the Adirondacks as part of their sea kayaking Wilderness Adventure led by Outdoor Education. Photo by Nick Gilbert ’18

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Utthita Ashwa Sanchalanasana (lunge pose) during yoga in the Quad. Photo by Nick Gilbert ’18

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Problem solving in the Ho Science Center. Photo by Andrew Daddio

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¡Bailemos (Let’s dance)! Spanish-speaking parents came to La Casa during Family Weekend to meet other Latino students, speak with professors from different departments, learn more about Colgate, and dance during La Hora de Familia.

Photo by Anna Heil ’16

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Happiness is where you find it. Professor Peter Klepeis and his FSEM students gather outside to discuss “The Geography of Happiness.” Photo by Andrew Daddio

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Busy students are a blur in this long-shutter exposure of Dana Arts Center. Photo by Andrew Daddio

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News and views for the Colgate community

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Thousand Islands as part of the Outdoor Nation challenge.

scene: Winter 2016

The ’Gate outdoors

Members of the Colgate community can often be seen jogging, strolling, and bicycling around town, but the stakes were raised when the university participated in Campus Challenge from September 6 to October 17.

Created by the nonprofit organization Outdoor Nation, the challenge was part of an initiative to get people to reconnect with nature and spend more time outdoors. Participants earned points for their schools by snapping a photo to record the outdoor activity and uploading it to the Campus Challenge website.

Everything from bird watching to skateboarding counted in this competition, which was open to all members of the Colgate community, so students, faculty, staff, and alumni from around the world were welcome to join.

With more than 200 participants and 7,530 points accumulated by the time of the challenge’s completion, Colgate finished in the middle of the pack of 57 participating colleges and universities across the nation.

“For a school of its size, Colgate was fairly competitive in the challenge,” said John Simoni ’16, who worked with Ben Harris ’17 to lead the challenge at Colgate.

To draw attention to the challenge, Harris and Simoni hung a hammock outside of the Coop and encouraged people to enjoy the outdoors right there. They also hosted a slacklining event and an outdoor yoga class on the Quad.

Nick Knoke ’16 was the top Colgate participant. Having logged more than 100 entries, he claimed his spot as the most outdoorsy person at Colgate.

“I value any time I have away from the hustle and bustle of modern life because it allows me to step back and digest my recent experiences,” he said.

— Meredith Dowling ’17

Ciccone Commons

Colgate’s first residential commons, which opened its doors on Arrival Day 2015, has been named for Diane Ciccone ’74, P’10. Commons residents made the choice by popular vote after reviewing a slate of important names in Colgate’s history.

“I am humbled and honored,” Ciccone said. “It not only recognizes my lifetime commitment to Colgate,

Students living in the first residential commons, named for Diane Ciccone ’74, P’10

Nick Gilbert ’18

work & play 8

Austin Sun ’18 took this photo of Kaitlin Abrams ’18 in the

but more importantly, it acknowledges the many voices of women and people of color in Colgate’s story — a story that will be woven into the historical fabric of the institution’s commitment to coeducation and inclusion.”

Ciccone is a member of the first class of women to graduate from Colgate. After earning her law degree from Hofstra University in 1977, she went on to a career in law and journalism. She also became a passionate advocate for the Colgate community, both current students and alumni.

A founding member of Colgate’s Alumni of Color organization, Ciccone served on both the Alumni Council and the Board of Trustees, chairing its legal affairs and insurance committee. She has mentored students via the Sister2Sister program and career services, and has supported the ALANA Cultural Center, establishing a library of books by authors of color. In 2014, she received the Wm. Brian Little ’64 Award for Distinguished Service.

The Ciccone Commons is the first of four residential commons that will open during the course of the next several years. The system represents a new approach to “living the liberal arts” at Colgate: led by faculty directors, students not only live and enjoy free time together, but they also take classes and study side by side.

“Residential commons allow classroom conversations to continue into the living room, while increasing the opportunity for faculty leaders to mentor students,” Interim President Jill Harsin said.

Sophomore, junior, and senior students will play a crucial role in

Diane Ciccone ’74, P’10

commons activities, and they will have the opportunity to live in commons annexes located on Broad Street.

“A liberal arts education was never intended to be confined to the classroom — learning happens everywhere,” Dean of the College Suzy Nelson said. “Students are looking for a home away from home and an enriching co-curricular experience.

We’re providing the tools they need to build that community the day they step on campus.”

As with the selection of Ciccone, each subsequent residential commons’ moniker will reflect an important character in Colgate’s story — people who have demonstrated courage in the face of adversity and made an impact on the community.

“Diane’s name conveys exactly what we hope for in our commons: a sense of inclusion, warmth, and deep engagement among students, staff, and faculty,” said faculty co-director Rebecca Shiner, professor of psychology.

Nick Gilbert ’18

Kiese Laymon, author of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America

Books have a special power. When we read, we experience the lives of others very different from ourselves, in intellectual, social, and spiritual ways. When we talk about what we have read, we build empathy and understanding.

When Kiese Laymon, the AfricanAmerican author of How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, shared stories about growing up with his grandmother in Mississippi, in a packed Memorial Chapel in late October, he was for the third time in nine months helping the Colgate community work to address issues of racism, sexual violence, and inclusion on campus.

After Laymon delivered an impactful lecture on oppression last February, his book was chosen through a campuswide vote to serve as the locus for new programs meant to foster relationship building, exploration of social identities, and examinations of systems of privilege, power, and oppression.

A new orientation session called Colgate Conversations took the typical first-year summer reading assignment to a new level. Nearly 50 faculty and staff volunteers, supported by student Link staff, facilitated firstyear seminar class discussions using Intergroup Dialogue (IGD). The IGD method promotes active listening and constructive discussion of difficult topics such as race, gender, sexuality, and class. Students were asked to reflect on their own social identities as they grappled with Laymon’s book, the messages in Dr. Maura Cullen’s popular annual diversity lecture, and a special letter to the Bicentennial Class of 2019 that highlighted women and students of color, reframing Colgate’s history as a “history for all.” These conversations aimed to position firstyear students as active participants in building a more inclusive and just campus community.

Through the Colgate Community Reads program, Laymon’s October appearance became the headliner in a series meant to foster sustained dialogue about his book’s themes amongst many on campus. The series included visiting lecturers, poet Tracie Morris, a dance/art performance, and film screenings like Freedom Riders.

In his reading, Laymon described an emotional talk he had with his grandmother. He disclosed his experi-

Back on campus Connecting for the common good At the first Be the Change: Careers for the Common Good Symposium in October, alumni and students focused on building relationships and advancing careers in nonprofits, education, government, and other enterprises for social good.

“Having dinner and great discussions with students was wonderful,” said Susan Retik-Ger ’90, co-founder of Beyond the 11th, which assists widows in Afghanistan. “I was delighted with how engaged and thoughtful the students were” at the symposium, which was sponsored by the Max A. Shacknai Center for Outreach, Volunteerism, and Education (COVE) and the Common Good Professional Network.

More than 60 students were joined by 14 alumni for the symposium’s Friday-night kickoff, which opened with student poster presentations on efforts such as SAT prep for local high school students, the area’s ambulance service, and Upstate Institute Summer Fellows research. Then, Jonah Shacknai ’78 spoke, emphasizing the random paths our lives can take and the importance of continuing to give back.

A panel of alumni — including Steve Bosak ’90, Janet Daisley ’80, P’17, Bob Dorf ’80, Molly Emmett ’12, Susan Hughes-Smith ’93, Amy James ’83, Betsy Levine Brown ’01, Thomas Levine ’71, P’01, Amelia MassoudTastor ’13, Jordan Press ’00, Elizabeth Stein ’12, Retik-Ger, and Shacknai — shared their experiences and an-

swered students’ questions about positive and challenging aspects of their careers.

“They highlighted the fact that all organizations, whether private or public sector, need similar skill sets,” said co-organizer Jillian Arnault ’10, assistant director of professional networks. “No matter what your focus becomes, those skills can be applied to the common good.”

Saturday morning, in breakout groups, students asked alumni about how their studies and activities at Colgate could be used to pursue a career, and about how they could prepare for their careers.

For Jared Goldsmith ’16, those discussions were the most beneficial part of the weekend. “I got to speak one on one with a couple of recent alumni who work at schools and education nonprofits in Boston, which really interests me,” he said. “It was awesome to talk to people who are passionate and have been successful in the education field even though they only graduated a year or two before I came to Colgate.”

— Jessica Rice ’16

ences with sexual violence, and she in turn told him about hers. He also mentioned how hard she worked at a chicken processing plant in central Mississippi, “a Southern laboratory of race and gender terror,” for 50 cents less an hour than the white man hired after her.

“It’s the will and collective action of people in my grandmother’s generation that allowed me to be here,” he said. “My grandmother’s story is … part of our and my story.” Following the reading, students asked Laymon questions ranging from his opinion

of contemporary musicians to his thoughts on white privilege and white power.

Jabari Ajao ’18 considers Laymon a mentor and source of inspiration.

“Kiese’s works are literary masterpieces that stand in solidarity with the oppressed in America,” Ajao said.

“He creates a space in the academy where my feelings and my culture are represented honestly.”

Concluding the Q&A session, Laymon (who, earlier in October, had surprised English professor Kezia Page’s students by video-chatting with them

Nicholas Friedman ’16

Andrew Daddio

Critical conversations

Poster presentation at Be the Change: Careers for the Common Good Symposium

News and views for the Colgate community

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• •

How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor spoke to Professor Greg Ames’s English class this fall, offering advice to students interested in careers in the arts.

during class), offered this advice to students: “Use your education to get as good as possible at something that is just …is honest … that [gives] healthy choices and second chances to groups of people who do not have healthy choices and second chances.”

Discussing being green at the White House

When Constance Harsh, interim dean of the faculty, participated in a roundtable discussion at the White House on November 19, she was part of launching the American Campuses

Act on Climate day of action.

“Higher education has an important role to play here,” she said.

At the White House event, Harsh joined a select group of higher education presidents, other campus and business leaders, and highranking government officials.

Also in November, in a letter to the White House, Interim President Jill Harsin reiterated Colgate’s commitments to sustainability, which include: Achieving carbon neutrality by 2019, the school’s bicentennial

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iStock.com/jpgfactory

May the force — and the joy of reading — be with you this year. The Colgate Bookstore hosted a Star Wars– themed children’s party with games, prizes, and snacks as part of the global Star Wars Reads Day on October 10. Colgate’s was one of more than 1,000 bookstores, libraries, and retailers that took part in the event, which aims to foster a love for both reading and Star Wars among people of all ages.

On October 24, Hamilton resident, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Art Zimmer celebrated the launch of his memoir, Making it Count: From A to Z, the Life and Times of Art Zimmer, at the Hamilton Public Library. The book chronicles his life from his days as a student at Hamilton Central School and local farmer to his experiences as the owner

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sustainability a part of the curriculum and other educational experiences for all students Incorporating sustainable practices in all phases of campus planning and building design, from inception to implementation Achieving a minimum of LEED Silver standards for all new construction and major renovations Enhancing teaching and learning, creating long-term economic resiliency, building and restoring robust ecological systems, and supporting a healthier and more just society Check out #ActOnCampus on Twitter to see some of Colgate’s sustainability successes.

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Andrew Daddio

work & play

• Making carbon neutrality and

Colgate joins Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success This fall, the university joined the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, an effort to streamline the college application process for all students, with an increased focus on helping those from underrepresented groups, including low-income and first-generation households.

The new coalition brings together more than 80 public and private colleges and universities across the United States. Participants must meet specific criteria designed to increase college affordability, access, and

of more than a dozen multi-million-dollar businesses.

Zimmer signed books, and attendees noshed on refreshments provided by the Friends of the Hamilton Public Library. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book was donated to the library.

There was no Village Green shortage of strikes and spares during senior bowling at the Colgate Lanes.

A group of seniors kicked off the fall season during the first week of October. The semiweekly events — held every Tuesday and Friday — are open throughout the year to all seniors ages 50 and older in the Hamilton area. On Tuesday mornings, the men and women bowl separately; on Fridays, they bowl together. Although many of these experienced bowlers regularly top 100 with ease, the event is open to people of all abilities and newcomers are always welcome to join.

— Meredith Dowling ’17

Groundbreaking news

In October, Colgate celebrated groundbreakings for two facilities that will transform the student experience in two key areas: preparation for success after Colgate, and athletics. In separate ceremonies on October 2, supporters turned shovels and applauded the creation of Benton Hall and the Class of 1965 Arena.

Both buildings were funded primarily by gifts from alumni, parents, and friends.

Benton Hall, to be nestled just below the Academic Quad near the Hurwitz Admission Center in

Taking her business to the next level

James B. Colgate Hall, will serve as the new home of Colgate’s career services efforts, the Office of Undergraduate Studies, and the firstgeneration initiative.

“I want to say thank you to the Colgate community for giving Benton Hall a location of prominence, recognizing that it underscores the significance of student outcomes and distinguishes us with prospective students, parents, and employers,” said namesake Daniel Benton ’80, P’10, H’10.

The Class of 1965 Arena and Riggs Rink will replace Starr Rink as the home of Colgate hockey. It will also house offices and locker rooms for men’s and women’s lacrosse, soccer, and ice hockey.

During a ceremony at what will soon be center ice, key supporters buried 13 pucks and $13. Trustee and former Athletic Affairs Committee chair Michael J. Herling ’79, P’08,’10,’12 noted “the educational value of athletics, and that intercollegiate athletics help promote character traits valuable to personal development and success.”

“It takes enormous commitment to get to the point where we are today,” said Daniel B. Hurwitz ’86, P’17, chair of the Board of Trustees, “from our alumni — and from many who are not alumni — who generously supported the buildings we’re here to celebrate.”

The Class of 1965 Arena will be ready for the first game of the 2016 hockey season in October. Benton Hall will open its doors in 2017.

“As we build Colgate for our next century, these two projects scream to our core: we want it all,” said trustee Stephen J. Errico ’85, P’16,’18, an investor in both facilities. “We want excellent academics, high-quality athletics, and a fantastic career for the students who come through here.”

Miranda Scott ’18 launched The Waffle Cookie just last summer, and she’s already learning the ups and downs of running a business. Scott recently participated in the annual “Real” Elevator Pitch competition, where college students present their ideas to investors during elevator rides up the second-tallest building in St. Louis, Mo. Twenty finalists were invited to pitch to 20 judges on December 6. They had 40 seconds — for each of the 10 rides — to earn the judges’ favor. It was organized by Saint Louis University’s John Cook School of Business.

Scott and her best friend, Serena Bian (a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania), decided to start a social enterprise during the summer break after their first year. The friends, who met at the Cranbrook Schools near Detroit, felt the weight of the city, even though they were in a suburb. “So we wanted to have our social impact benefit Detroit,” Scott said.

“We both love food, we love sweets, and I have a particular liking for breakfast foods, so we experimented and came up with the waffle cookie,” Scott said. Slightly softer than a cookie, the confection is made with a waffle iron and comes in a variety of flavors, from white chocolate chip macadamia nut to lemon.

They began by selling at farmers’ markets and two retail stores. But when the academic year started, they decided that they only had the bandwidth to sell online — they make all the orders themselves.

For every 10 cookies sold, they donate a meal through Forgotten Harvest, a nonprofit that “rescues” surplus food and donates it to emergency food providers in the metro Detroit area. At press time, they’d sold 946 cookies since their online store launched in early October, and they’d donated 94 meals. (During the summer, they sold approximately 450 cookies and donated money to a different nonprofit.)

To get the business off the ground, Scott and Bian raised $3,000 through a crowdfunding campaign. Also, a Colgate parent has invested in The Waffle Cookie. Scott joined Colgate’s Thought Into Action (TIA) Entrepreneurship Institute this year, which is how she learned about the “Real” Elevator Pitch Competition. TIA leaders told students that if any of them were finalists, the institute would pay for the trip to St. Louis.

On December 5, Scott went to the monthly TIA meeting and practiced her pitch on her peers. The ’Gate student then hopped on a plane for the Gateway City. (Bian couldn’t join her because she was on a Wharton Business School panel that day talking about The Waffle Cookie.)

The next morning, Scott met her competitors and stepped into her first elevator. “You couldn’t even shake [the judges’] hands,” because time was so limited, she said. The two judges scribbled notes as Scott delivered her pitch and handed out cookies. “I was nervous at first, but after the first one, I realized that it was super fun,” Scott said. “By the time they were over, I wanted to do ten more.”

The Waffle Cookie may not have won the cash prize, but Scott was mainly in it for the experience, like “learning what other young social entrepreneurs are doing,” she said. And while networking afterward with the judges, Scott received advice from successful businesspeople — one of whom offered her an internship.

Over winter break, Scott and Bian planned to tour a facility in Detroit that would bake and ship their products so they could spend their time on market research and sales strategies. The two would like to open a storefront in Detroit after graduation: not only looking for sweet success, they also hope to make a positive impact on their community.

Andrew Daddio

success for students from all backgrounds. Requirements include meeting full financial need of all domestic admitted students, and a six-year graduation rate of at least 70 percent (Colgate’s rate is 89.6 percent).

“Colgate has always met the full demonstrated financial need of admitted students. We are delighted to join with so many other colleges and universities that share the same principles,” said Gary Ross, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid. “In addition, the coalition includes only colleges and universities with graduation rates that demonstrate an overall commitment to students successfully completing their college or university experience in a timely way.

As a practical matter, the coalition application will provide online tools to all applicants, which may help reduce the stress associated with the college application process.”

The coalition’s free online tools are designed to encourage early planning for high school students, and to help facilitate smoother financial aid applications. At press time, this new platform was slated to come online in January.

— Aleta Mayne

News and views for the Colgate community

11

Tableau

Questions a religion major gets asked

By Julia Queller ’16 As a college student, I rarely make it through a conversation without being asked: “What are you majoring in?” I understand that this seems like a perfectly innocent question, a polite part of small talk. I don’t mind being asked about my major, but I dread answering the question I know will follow: “What are you going to do with that?” Or the less polite version: “What are you going to do with that?”

Without fail, upon finding out that I am a religious studies major, people ask about my post-grad plans for applying my studies in “the real world.” I am confident that other liberal arts students can relate — here’s looking at you, creative writing and philosophy majors. In an era when jobs are scarce and financial security is the new fantasy, those of us whose academic interests do not follow a pre-professional track are forced to defend our majors all too frequently.

Yet, because majoring in religious studies is rare today, doing so comes with an additional set of questions. I have answered some of the most frequently asked questions here.

So, are you going to become a rabbi? (Again.)

Still no. I’ve included this question a second time because of how frequently people ask it. And here’s another answer: religion seeps into everything. It affects every aspect of society, which is why a religious studies student can apply his or her degree to any line of work. The idea that a religious studies major is confined to holding a theological profession is narrow minded and false. I know graduates with degrees in religious studies who are now working in fields ranging from politics and education to arts and medicine.

Can you even do math?

Liberal arts universities pride themselves on providing students with a wellrounded education. Religious studies majors take a handful of math and science classes in the same way that physics majors must take some humanities courses.

Are you super religious?

This question reflects the most common misconception surrounding religious studies. And here’s the most important takeaway: the academic discipline of religious studies and one’s personal religion are not necessarily the same.

On my first day of college in my first-year seminar, Introduction to Religious Studies, my professor vowed to the class that she would never ask about our personal faiths. She likened that inquiry to being as inappropriate as her asking whom we had hooked up with the night before. A student’s personal faith has no place in the classroom unless he or she volunteers the information as a way to contextualize or enhance a point.

What bothers me about this question is the assumption that the academic study of religion is limited to religious students. A similar line of thought would require all women’s studies majors to be female, all Middle Eastern studies majors to be from the Middle East, all French majors to be native French speakers, and so on.

In fact, I have found that many of the students who major in religious studies actually identify as atheists or agnostics. Rather than study a faith from their own affiliation, religious studies students tend to approach the subject from a distance.

But maybe the most problematic part about this question is the way it’s typically asked: in a condescending tone, as if being religious is a bad thing. In response, I find myself downplaying my Judaism for fear of being judged because religion is seen as shameful today.

Do you go to a theological seminary?

No, I attend Colgate, a liberal arts university with no religious affiliation. The religious studies department functions very differently from a theological seminary.

First, our religious studies department covers all religions, rather than subscribing to one and presenting it as truth. And while a religious studies curriculum may cover many of the same topics as a theological seminary would, the method of approach at an academic institution is completely different.

A seminary student reads the Bible as the Word of God; a religious studies student recognizes that the Bible is a guidepost of faith for millions, but treats it simply as an influential text that has shaped various ideologies, become ingrained in society, and generated everything from national laws to wars. When viewing the Bible in this light, the approach looks less like a Bible study and more like an English major’s analysis of a classic work of literature.

12

scene: Winter 2016

Andrew Daddio

Are you going to become a rabbi?

As a Jewish student, I get this question a lot. To me, it suggests that the discipline of religious studies is not considered a worthwhile pursuit unless it results in becoming a clergy member. There is nobility in studying something simply because you find it interesting. A love of learning should not be extinguished because the subject of your passion does not correspond with your career goals.

Julia Queller ’16, from Westfield, N.J., interned last summer for OnFaith, an online publication that shares stories by members of different faith communities. A longer version of this article was originally published there.

This question reveals the prevailing attitude that religion and intelligence are mutually exclusive.

Yes, religious studies majors can do math. And yes, religious practitioners can, too. Religious people can have a firm mastery of the natural world and still appeal to their faith; having faith does not mandate a disregard for the practical, and neither does a study of that faith.

Do you study all religions?

Yes; however, it should be noted that religious studies is not just the examination of various faith traditions. There are specific classes on, say, Buddhism or Catholicism, but there is also another dimension to the discipline. Religious studies is interdisciplinary, and many courses examine the intersection of religion with other areas of study to determine its influence within society.

I personally prefer the classes that review the subject of religion as an entity, rather than those that focus on specific religious traditions. These courses provide a contextualized view of the role religion plays in all corners of the world. For example, I’ve taken religious studies classes that examine the intersection of religion and politics, analyze the psychology of belief in God, chronicle the rise of secularism, compare the treatment of women within religious traditions, discern a religious responsibility to the environment, consider the merit of faith as a response to tragedy, and explore the relationship between religion and modern medicine.

Are you going to become a rabbi?

NO.

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. ’30 A C T I V I S T, R E F O R M E R , F I G H T E R

Politician, pastor, and civil rights activist Adam Clayton Powell Jr. ’30 could command an audience — from the church pulpit to the Congress floor.

An effective leader and agent for change, Powell pushed boundaries in order to better the lives of African Americans — contributing to the early history of the Civil Rights movement.

He first captured the public’s attention as pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, N.Y. Through both prayer and calls to action, Powell addressed socioeconomic inequality from the pulpit. He also organized picket lines and boycotts that led to greater opportunities for African Americans in Harlem.

With a natural charisma and personal magnetism perfect for a career in politics, Powell grew extremely popular with would-be constituents. Seeing the opportunity to effect change, he ran for, and accepted, his first seat in public office in 1941, becoming the first African American elected to the New York City Council. When Harlem became its own political entity through New York City redistricting, Powell campaigned and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives by a wide margin — the first person to represent that neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Powell once called himself a “radical and a fighter.”

These characteristics would be necessary for building the legislative and ideological foundation of the Civil Rights movement. Later in his career, he advanced to the powerful position of chairman of the House’s Education and Labor Committee, where he was instrumental in enacting wage programs for the poor and marginalized. Targeting poll

— From his book Keep the Faith, Baby!

— Natalie Sportelli ’15

Courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives

“Unless man is committed to the belief that all of mankind are his brothers, then he labors in vain and hypocritically in the vineyards of equality.”

taxes and Jim Crow laws, Powell also authored and co-authored bills that President Truman later included in his civil rights program.

Powell’s political career was not without scandal. He was labeled “The Playboy Politician” for indulging his taste for travel, luxury, and women and was known to ruffle the feathers of his peers by challenging the racial status quo in Washington. He made enemies on both sides of the aisle. In 1968, he was accused of corruption and excluded from taking his seat by his peers. The Supreme Court reinstated him in 1969, but he lost re-election in 1970. Powell died two years later.

Despite the controversial ending to his political career, his legacy endures, and his contributions are honored today — nationally, in Harlem, and at Colgate. In uptown Manhattan, Seventh Avenue is also called Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and Harlem’s State Office bears his name. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Paideia Academy serves to educate elementary school students in southern Chicago. At Colgate, the Alumni of Color Organization awards graduating seniors who have enriched the lives of the students of color community with the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. ’30 Award.

13 Page 13 is the showplace

for Colgate tradition, history, and school spirit.

HIST 312A: History of Colgate Jason Petrulis Bicentennial Research Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor in History T/TR 9:55-11:10 a.m., 535 CASE

Peter Klepeis

life of the mind 14

Syllabus

Ethiopia’s northern highlands

scene: Winter 2016

Exploring sacred forests

In Ethiopia, Christian Orthodox churches emerged some 800 years ago. Today, thousands of these sites protect some of the region’s last remaining native forests. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $500,000 in funding to a Colgate interdisciplinary faculty team, led by biology professor Catherine Cardelús, to continue investigating the status and conservation of sacred forests in Ethiopia’s northern highlands.

Sacred forests have survived in spite of changes in societies and the ways in which humans use their land.

“Priests, monks, schoolchildren, and others are constantly walking and working in these forests, using them for everything from worshiping to schooling,” Cardelús said. “I hope to learn from those who already use ecosystems sustainably and leverage their methods to help others.”

To that end, Cardelús has tapped colleagues at Colgate and beyond to conduct an interdisciplinary study that will determine the current ecological health of the forests as well as changes in their structure and the perceptions of nearby populations over time.

She is joined on the project by Peter Scull (geography), Peter Klepeis (geography), and Carrie Woods, former visiting biology professor at Colgate, now at the University of Puget Sound.

The team has also hired two scholars — Izabela Orlowska, an Ethiopia historian, and Alemayehu Wassie, a forester and Christian Orthodox Tewahido priest — to operate full time in the country.

Scull will use geographic information system technology, declassified reconnaissance photos, and satellite images to track changes in the quantity and extent of Ethiopian church forests from as far back as the early 1930s. Klepeis will survey community members’ perceptions of the forests, while Cardelús and Woods will measure the ecological health of the forests by studying the vegetation and analyzing the chemistry of the leaves and soils.

This type of NSF grant specifically spurs such cross-divisional investigation in order to encourage the education of the next generation of scientists. A dozen Colgate students will have the chance to travel to Ethiopia with the team during the next three years. Plans are already underway for a trip to Africa in March.

Cardelús first climbed into Ethiopian forest canopies back in 2009, thanks to a grant from Colgate’s own Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute.

Additional Picker funding backed research that laid the foundation for the team’s NSF application. Preliminary data have led to a series of intriguing questions that Cardelús’s team — and

Course description: This course invites students to revisit Colgate’s history in preparation for the university’s 2019 bicentennial celebration. This semester, it will focus on “Race and Colgate,” analyzing recent discoveries about Colgate’s rich and complicated history of diversity, inclusion/exclusion, and race-making (the construction of race). Through weekly work in archives and primary sources, and through analysis of secondary readings, we will expand Colgate’s history — telling new stories about the people, things, and events that built our university.

Class format: This course is a laboratory for practicing history, with biweekly sessions split between hands-on research in Colgate’s University Archives and a classroom session focused on discussion and collaboration.

Key assignments/activities: Students produce “public history” — a museum exhibition, a digital history website, and a history research paper.

The professor says: “Our student-historians will be helping to bring new stories to light. We have known so little about Colgate’s history of diversity — about our Native American students in the 1820s, Asian students in the 1840s, African-American and Latino students in the 1850s — that every class session brings a surprise.

What’s more, it’s a chance to broaden the number of voices who tell our stories so that the bicentennial belongs to all of us.

“History of Colgate is the first course in a program supported by the president and provost, in which professors teach classes inspired by the bicentennial. These creative classes will also help us look forward to a third century of innovative teaching and research.”

Students roll out online course for kids

A lot of science, engineering, artistry, and culture have gone into that piece of crusty, buttered bread devoured at the dinner table. Those elements are the basis for a new open online course, BreadX, that was launched by Colgate first-year undergraduates for use by students, grades 6 and up, worldwide.

BreadX: From Ground to Global, on the EdX Edge platform, guided participants in scholarly exploration of one of the world’s most ubiquitous foods and its global connections. It started November 15 and lasted 10 days (but is still available online).

Fourteen Benton Scholars in Professor Karen Harpp’s first-semester seminar developed the course, from concept to production and implementation. Content included the origin of bread ingredients, food distribution, cultural perspectives, and the global picture.

“Bread can teach us about culture, science, society, and how we can conquer the challenges that face the world today,” said Jennifer Lundt ’19, of Santa Barbara, Calif.

“This online course is perhaps the first ever designed by students, for students (or at least one of the first),” Harpp said. “This is really a new approach to online education, in that it is a community experiment in global online course design.”

In designing the course, the Colgate

Classmates record a video for the BreadX online course.

students included materials to engage young audiences, with short supplemental readings, fun videos, and discussion points, explained Oneida Shushe ’19, of Albany, N.Y. “One of our goals is to create this caring online community, and one of the ways to do that is to foster a discussion,” she said. “No matter where you [take the course], bread is probably a big part of your life.”

At press time, 297 students had participated in the course; the median student age was 17. “Seeing people from all around the world come together to participate in something we created from the depths of our brains was absolutely amazing,” Lundt said.

Student research pumps resources into Madison County

Thanks in part to research conducted by a Colgate geography and environmental studies student, Madison County will receive more than a halfmillion dollars in federal funding for well-water testing and remediation to take place during the next five years.

Kayleigh Bhangdia ’16, of Poughquag, N.Y., worked with the Madison County Department of Health last summer via Colgate’s Upstate Institute to examine where private drinking wells may be threatened by known contaminated sites, spills, agricultural runoff, and bulk storage locations.

Bhangdia used geographic information systems (GIS), which she learned about in a Colgate course, to examine U.S. Department of Environmental Conservation statistics about spill sites and dangerous groundwater issues. She then overlaid that information onto a map of Madison County private wells, upon which nearly half of the local population relies for drinking water.

“There could be huge distributions of contaminants and no one would know, given the lack of regulation,” Bhangdia said.

Geoffrey Snyder, Madison County environmental health director, said Bhangdia’s analysis also helped to point out locations of potential well and aquifer contamination related to geological conditions.

Madison County was one of just 20 recipients of grant funding nationwide from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The grant will pay for a full-time water resource position, water-quality tests of residential

wells, and the creation of a project committee to improve the county’s capacity to respond to water contamination incidents, according to Snyder.

“The professional qualities exhibited by [Bhangdia] and the high level of GIS skills [she brought] to our health

iStock/pshonka

the NSF — would like to answer.

“A lot of people say that church forests are disappearing, but our research is showing that they are not,” Klepeis said. In fact, according to the group’s early findings, only four forests out of a collection of more than 1,000 have been lost since the 1960s.

In some cases, the forests are actually expanding. But Klepeis also notes that while most forests persist, there are indicators of degradation, such as an increase in canopy openness and an increase in exotic species.

How can forests be holding fast or even growing since the 1960s in spite of villagers’ urgent needs for fuel and other products that woodlands provide? Do younger, more secular Ethiopians look upon forests in the same way as their more religious elders? “ I am keen to understand why and how these forests persist and the mechanisms for the differences in ecological status among them,” Cardelús said. “Why are some more resilient than others?”

These questions, transiting the social and physical sciences, are more than academic. “Scientists, social scientists, and humanists usually work independently and in isolation, which has often led to poor decision making for conservation,” Cardelús said.

“Success would be the development of a conservation model for Ethiopian church forests, and applying this in other regions. After three years, we hope to have the model.”

department, will continue to make these collaborative opportunities of great value to this office,” Snyder said.

“Kayleigh developed strong skills at Colgate that will serve her well as she pursues a career in public health after she graduates,” said Julie Dudrick, Upstate Institute project director. “She benefits from having the opportunity to further develop those skills in a community-based setting, and her work benefits our community at the same time.”

Bhangdia said that “working at the health department was an extremely rewarding experience. I really felt like part of this community.”

Mapping the web

Until just recently, no one had ever successfully mapped Internet data flow in the United States. Working with a team of researchers, Joel Sommers, associate professor of computer science, created a map of the cables that help the data flow. His work was featured in Technology Review magazine.

“Other researchers have tried to map the Internet,” said Sommers.

“However, all of those attempts have [been through] taking traffic measurements or using other measurement tools to try to build a picture of the Internet from the top down.” The problem with previous attempts is that they see a virtualized topology — not the real physical infrastructure.

Because the cables that power the Internet are owned by many different companies, including AT&T and Level 3, the information was in a number of places. By painstakingly putting

News and views for the Colgate community

15

life of the mind 16

A Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies reception in Colgate’s new Center for International Programs

scene: Winter 2016

together ISP (Internet service provider) maps and then cross-referencing against a massive set of public records, the team was able to create one of the first maps of the Internet’s longhaul fiber-optic infrastructure in the United States.

Understanding the topology of the Internet can help protect it, Sommers explained. For example, in 2001, a tunnel fire in Baltimore melted fiber-optic cables, causing Internet outages. Having a picture of the Internet’s true topology can help engineers understand the potential impact of such events on other portions of the network.

Colgate takes next step on international journey

On Oct. 15, 2015, Colgate ushered in a new era for internationalism on campus when it officially celebrated the opening of the Center for International Programs (CIP). The center now serves as a hub for the university’s numerous global initiatives conducted by professors and students.

In its new home on the first floor of McGregory Hall, the CIP brings together the Office of Off-Campus Study, the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs, and also the New York Six Consortium. Additionally, it will be home base for international students studying on the hill.

The space features a wired conference room suitable for international video conferencing, a lounge where students and professors can prepare for — and debrief from — studyabroad adventures, and a kitchen.

Gifts from Ed ’62 and Robin Lam-

pert brought the center to life, and the Lampert Institute is proving to be a pivotal member of the university’s international programs ecosystem.

The institute, led this year by philosophy and environmental studies professor Jason Kawall, is funding student and faculty research at home and abroad. The institute is also coordinating campus events around the theme of food, with related lectures on global food scarcity, nutrition, food resilience in the face of climate change, and more.

The university is building international partnerships that are already resulting in new faculty and student exchange programs. Most recently,

Colgate expanded its three-year relationship with Xiamen University in China.

The CIP is a natural step on an international journey that is as old as the university itself, from its early incarnation as a Baptist seminary, training students for missionary work abroad. More recently, in the early half of the 20th century, the university began to establish study groups led by its professors. Today, Colgate offers nearly 20 off-campus study groups and allows students to use financial aid resources to cover more than 100 other approved programs in 50 countries.

Knowing that two-thirds of Colgate’s student body studies abroad for at least a semester, a Working Group on International and Global Initiatives called for the creation of the CIP in 2013.

Barking up the right trees

By examining young trees in Brazil, Adam Pellegrini ’10 found that previous predictions of carbon emissions in forest regions might have been underestimated by as much as 50 percent — an indication that there could be a bigger environmental threat than scientists previously thought.

Trees burned by fire release varying amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. The amount depends on factors like the fire’s intensity, the local climate, and the tree’s physical makeup. One critical variable is bark thickness, which determines how

Brazil’s Cerrado region, where Adam Pellegrini ’10 conducted research related to carbon emissions in forests

The Nietzsche you never knew

Andrew Daddio

Professor Ephraim Woods, chemistry department chair

he is determined to not overlook critical traits that others might have discounted. “When people are modeling the carbon cycle of the globe, they try to simplify these fundamental plant communities,” Pellegrini said.

“But whether or not you get those key characteristics right makes a big difference.”

— Kimberly Marselas

Shining light on atmospheric chemistry

Deep in the forest, the same chemicals that give pine trees their smell might have a powerful effect on climate change.

Sunlight can convert those naturally occurring molecules into secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles with the potential to change local cloud cover and rainfall patterns. SOAs also help to determine how much sunlight reaches Earth and how much longwave radiation escapes.

Professor Ephraim Woods, chemistry department chair, is training high-powered lasers on aerosols to see if molecules like pinene, limonene, and isoprene can form SOA with the sun’s help. Backed by a $285,500 grant from the National Science Foundation, Woods and his student research team measure the lifetime of the shortlived chemical species that spark these reactions, as well as how much particulate organic matter they create.

The goal is to determine which condi-

tions promote the formation of SOA particles.

A single ultraviolet pulse allows the team to spur a photochemical reaction that might lead to particle growth. If so, they’ve got just a few nanoseconds to monitor the minuscule, highly unstable species using the light of a second laser pulse.

“Our experiment provides a new way to monitor these reactions,” said Woods. “The potential effect of these reactions on the environment is greater the longer these reactive species exist, but how long they last depends on what else is in the neighborhood.”

Woods tasks his students with setting up technically challenging experiments that vary the particles’ organic composition or the pressure at which the chemicals are studied.

“Our students are partners in the work,” he said. “They have become quite sophisticated in their approach to it.”

For Woods, giving undergraduates a chance to collect and help interpret the data is equally as important as his research findings. “Working with student researchers is my favorite part of my job,” he said. “It engages students in problem solving and connects them with a broader scientific community.”

— Kimberly Marselas

Morality, spirituality, and the condition of the soul: these were a few of the topics addressed when Colgate philosophy professors and other distinguished scholars devoted a weekend to the study of Friedrich Nietzsche at the end of September. The conference included lectures by experts from around the world as well as a panel discussion on Nietzsche scholarship.

The event was held in honor of Maudemarie Clark, George Carleton Jr. Professor of philosophy emerita, who retired from teaching at Colgate after 28 years.

Clark knows just about everything there is to know about the German philosopher (and there is certainly a lot to know). For those who aren’t as schooled as Clark, we found nine Nietzsche factoids: 1. His father was a Lutheran pastor, but Nietzsche was a harsh critic of Christianity.

2. Spent part of his life stateless after annulling his Prussian citizenship 3. Was offered a professorship at the University of Basel in Switzerland at age 24 before he completed his doctorate or became teaching-certified

Wikimedia

quickly fire will overheat the inside of the tree trunk and cause the tree to die.

Pellegrini spent weeks climbing trees and scraping bark from 155 species that dominate Brazil’s Cerrado region. His aim was to determine bark thickness among new-growth trees in savanna areas previously hit by fire. Because those trees root in carbon-loaded soil, their destruction might be especially dangerous to the environment.

“Fire is being introduced into areas that didn’t used to experience it,” said Pellegrini, whose work was published in Global Change Biology. “Trees in savannas are predicted to grow more because of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but a lot of the species increasing in savannas are sensitive to fire.”

By identifying which species thrive after fire — and how well their bark protects them from future events — scientists can make more accurate climate-change predictions. Those predictions, in turn, could help land planners and government officials make smarter choices about controlled burns and prevention strategies.

Pellegrini’s research in Brazil likely has implications for other ecosystems, too. As a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow pursuing a PhD at Princeton, Pellegrini is collecting Adam Pellegrini ’10 plant trait data for species from around the globe to develop new vegetation models.

His data could one day be used to quantify total carbon emissions from fires in Africa, South America, or the Pacific Northwest.

While he was an undergraduate at Colgate, Pellegrini worked with Catherine Cardelús, associate professor of biology and environmental studies, to research pollution in Costa Rica’s rainforest canopy. Cardelús noted that Pellegrini’s multidisciplinary approach to studying ecosystems — he has also published on animal behavior and geology — puts him in a good position to dig deeper as a climate researcher.

Although he’s moved onto different ecosystems, Pellegrini said working with Cardelús pushed him to ask “big questions.” In pursuit of answers,

Friedrich Nietzsche circa 1869 4. Taught classical philology (the interpre- tation of Greek and Latin texts) 5. Served as a medical assistant during the Franco-Prussian War 6. Wrote poetry 7. Loved music and was friends with Rich- ard Wagner, the famous opera composer, until they parted ways 8. Believed that a day without dancing was a day wasted 9. Had a mental breakdown — reportedly after witnessing the beating of a horse — and spent the last 11 years of his life incapacitated

News and views for the Colgate community

17

April Sweeney Nick Gilbert ’18

arts & culture 18

Class clowns

“Seeing dance done in this way reminds me of why I want to go into the arts. There is so much room for creativity and play.”

— Allison Spanyer ’16

scene: Winter 2016

Pecking at the feminine ideal

Under the light of a disco ball, dancers adorned in feathers and fishnets performed Bird Suite, a show that explored themes of female sexuality and gender roles. Two Colgate student dancers and a fitness instructor joined members of the New York City professional dance company SoGoNo for the October performances in Brehmer Theater.

“Bird Suite is sexy, fun, and also makes you think,” said director Tanya Calamoneri, a visiting assistant professor of theater who founded SoGoNo in 2003. “I think of birds as being very alien, and a lot of times women get that designation of other, as an exotic creature put on a pedestal.

I started unpacking those metaphors and social tropes in the performances.”

Various aspects of female sexuality were woven throughout. For example, the second act, a duet titled “Flamingo Flamingo,” showed “the metamorphosis of socialization, recognizing the appeal and also the projections that are placed on [women] based on what they look like,” Calamoneri explained. In the third act, “Ain’t No Swan Lake,” four elegant swans sized each other up. “[Bird Suite] questions who we perform for, how we police performances of gender and sexuality, and how we nudge the line of socially acceptable behavior,” Calamoneri explained.

Em Rubey ’18 related her role in this production to her personal experience. “Growing up dancing, I was always in a tutu or skirt of some sort, performing a very feminine ideal,” she said. “It was a great experience to be on stage performing a masculine understanding of gender and exploring the ways female masculinity informs my own performance of gender in everyday life. Through Bird Suite, I realized that, just like performing genders, there are many ways to perform dance.”

Calamoneri said she is “having fun stretching [students’] definitions of dance.”

Allison Spanyer ’16, another student dancer, said: “Seeing dance done in this way reminds me of why I want to go into the arts. There is so much room for creativity and play.”

— Jessica Rice ’16

Typically, when you think of a clown, you conjure up an image of a red nose, exaggerated face paint, and floppy shoes. Steen Haakon Hansen, who visited from Denmark in October, is much more understated than his title suggests. A clown and master improviser, Hansen spent a week in classes and workshops with theater students.

Considered one of the best acting teachers in his field, Hansen began his work with Colgate students by helping them “feel safe in front of other people, so they can let loose,” he said, because improvisation takes courage. “As an actor, you can hide behind a character.

But when you are improvising and you’re not trained, you’re naked. It’s you, and it’s scary.”

Clowns are natural improvisers who “take chances and are not afraid of getting into trouble; actually, that’s their business,” Hansen said.

During the week, Hansen’s workshops incorporated the basic premises of improvisation: for example, saying “yes” to every suggestion presented; and the circle of expectations, “which means that if I say two men are sitting in a boat, the audience will expect something that has to do with two men sitting in a boat and they start to follow that story.”

Imagination and storytelling are key abilities for these loosely structured exercises. “There are no limits, because I believe that there are stories in everything,” Hansen said.

Theater major Tanner Holley ’16 said that the free exploration resulted in “some really funny scenes.” He added: “He taught me to trust that I would save myself, even when I had no idea what I was going to say or do next.” Holley’s academic adviser, Professor April Sweeney, invited Hansen to campus.

One scenario the students explored was a birthday party. The participants secretly assigned characteristics to each other and treated them accordingly — sidling up to someone who is “attractive,” laughing at someone who is “funny,” being nervous around a person who is “dangerous.” Developing relationships with each other in the moment, the students learned to create stories together.

“You have to be a writer, an active performer, and a stage director, all at the same time,” Hansen said.

After each workshop, Hansen encourages students to verbalize their experience, strengthening the lesson for everyone. “You might say something that is very profound to another person,” he explained.

YouTube battles powered by art and technology David (D.J.) Jordan ’17 has created a cult following — with handmade, stop-motion homages to all things anime and gaming.

With more than 9.2 million views and 17,000 subscribers to his YouTube page, Jordan’s PilotTails animations are a labor of love. His 18-minute, 28-second opus Super Saiyans vs. Super Hedgehogs 2, in which action figures from the animated series Dragon Ball Z and Sonic the Hedgehog square off in battle, is composed of 16,620 individual frames (15 per second). When the frames are played quickly in succession, the illusion of movement is created much like a flip book. The special effects in the video were the result of a collaboration with Guilherme Fernandes (a.k.a. Zylladys Live FX), a YouTuber from Brazil.

“It’s really learn as you go,” said Jordan, who first started experimenting with stop-motion photography as a Prep for Prep high school student in his dorm room at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. He has steadily improved his technique with each production, using ever-more sophisticated camera equipment, digital effects, and specialized software called DragonFrame.

“It’s all geeky stuff, but I’m not ashamed about it. Now, a lot more polish goes into the animation. It’s not just knowing how figures work, but how motion works with momentum and the things you don’t see with the naked eye,” Jordan said, adding that his classroom experience with Wenhua Shi, assistant professor of art and art history, has helped improve the quality of his work.

After new 3D printers were installed in Case Library last year, Jordan began designing and printing out individual action figure parts to assemble into a fully articulated model of Samus Aran, heroine of the Metroid video game series, which he used in a screen test battle with a 3D-printed Link from Zelda.

Stop motion isn’t new. The original 1933 King Kong was animated in large part thanks to the technique, and Ray Harryhausen’s creations in Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and Clash of the Titans (1983) made the effect world famous.

Today, films like Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and the claymation of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep continue the stopmotion tradition.

With two influential internships now under his belt — one at the New York City architecture firm Diller Scofidio and Renfro, and another with The Foundation Center, a nonprofit organization where he helped develop computer animations — Jordan said he clearly sees how he may apply his skills to a career after college, working in either animation or architecture.

“I found a similar level of creativity and control with architecture,” said the studio art major. “It’s a concept-to-form idea that I also see in animation. Maybe that will be a more feasible extension of the things I like to do.”

NUTS! tells the outlandish story of John Romulus Brinkley, who offered a cure for impotence in 1917 by transplanting goat testicles.

Andrew Daddio

Penny Lane goes to Sundance A new documentary film by art and art history professor Penny Lane premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. NUTS! tells the outlandish story of John Romulus Brinkley, who offered a cure for human male impotence in 1917.

The New York Times, citing the festival’s lineup guide, reported, “In keeping with a recent trend in documentary filmmaking, nontraditional, sometimes controversial storytelling techniques will be on full display [at Sundance]… . The director Penny Lane, for instance, uses animated re-enactments and ‘one seriously unreliable narrator’ to trace the ‘mostly true’ story of a man who found success selling a goat-testicle impotence cure.”

Lane traveled the hemisphere in search of background information for NUTS! Her expeditions — and the film itself — were funded by the New York State Council on the Arts, Creative Capital, the Tribeca Film Institute, the Colgate University Research Council, and a Kickstarter campaign that yielded $80,000.

Her previous credits include Our Nixon, a documentary featuring home movies shot by President Richard Nixon’s aides, and The Voyagers, a short film about “two small spacecraft, an epic journey, taking risks, and falling in love — also, Carl Sagan.”

David (D.J.) Jordan ’17 takes a photo of a 3D model he created to test for use in his stop-motion animation projects.

Movie makers and shakers Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

With so many Colgate alumni in the film industry, there’s a chance that a Raider played a role in getting that film on the screen. We bring you three alumni in the film news this fall.

Adam Paul ’89 founded and directed the St. Lawrence International Film Festival, held in four cities from October 22 to 25. Spanning the U.S.-Canada border, it was the first festival to be truly international. Held in Canton and Potsdam in New York and Ottawa and Brockville in Ontario,

the festival attracted approximately 1,000 people — no small feat for an inaugural year.

The opening gala included a 35thanniversary screening of The Blues Brothers at the Canadian Museum of History, which included a special guest appearance by Dan Aykroyd, the film’s co-creator and one of its stars.

The other events featured 25 films (most of which were premieres), seven panels, and eight special screenings.

“We presented a world-class event to a region that had never seen anything like it before. Now we’ve got to do it again!” said Paul, who has already begun planning next year’s events.

R. Stephen Suettinger ’96 is the director, co-writer, and producer of A Year and Change, an independent feature film by his production company, Pebble Hill Films. It was featured in several 2015 festivals including L.A.'s Dances with Films.

Recently acquired by Vision Films, A Year and Change is now available on video-on-demand services such as Amazon and iTunes, as well as DVD. “After nine years of working to get this story told, we’re elated that we finally have the opportunity to get A Year and Change in front of audiences,” Suettinger told IndieWire.

The movie tells the story of a vending-machine proprietor who decides to change his life after he falls off a roof during a New Year’s Eve party.

Trey Nelson ’98 wrote and directed his first feature film: Lost in the Sun, an action and drama open-road adventure that stars Josh Duhamel.

When a young boy’s mother dies, Duhamel’s character offers the boy a ride to his grandmother’s house. The two quickly bond, but the man is a petty crook who soon involves the boy in a string of crimes across the nation. Lost in the Sun was released in theaters and video on demand on November 6.

— Meredith Dowling ’17 News and views for the Colgate community

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Bob Cornell

go ’gate The men’s soccer team took the 2015 Patriot League regular season championship after beating Lafayette 3–0 on Beyer-Small ’76 Field. The Raiders outshot their visitors 13–9, including a 9–4 edge in shots on goal.

Raiders are third nationally in grad success rate

Colgate student-athletes moved up one spot to third in the latest NCAA Division I Graduation Success Rate (GSR) release. For the fourth-straight year, the Raiders are at 98 percent, placing Colgate alongside peer schools Columbia, Davidson, Duke, Harvard, Holy Cross, Loyola-Chicago, Notre Dame, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.

Colgate recorded 100-percent graduation success rates from 23 of its 24 NCAA-sponsored teams — three more teams than a year ago.

The NCAA’s GSR includes transfer students and student-athletes who leave in good academic standing. The GSR measures graduation over six years from initial enrollment.

competitive DII central New York college teams within a two-hour radius: Colgate, Hamilton, Siena, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Cortland, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and Le Moyne. By the second season, Colgate was playing competitively, in a threeway tie for the 2013 league championship with Hamilton and RPI. At the playoffs, the Raiders lost to top-ranked Vassar in the first round.

“Determined to never have a tie again, we redoubled our efforts and training last season and went

undefeated,” Coach Anne-Marie Lemal Brown said.

The Excelsior conference joined the National Small College Rugby Organization, which paved Colgate’s pathway to the 2015 nationals. “For the second year in a row, we held off the other teams, including a strong Cortland squad made up entirely of senior players,” said Brown. “We were the only team to beat them in the regular season and only by the slimmest of margins (29–28).”

The Raiders met Cortland again for a competitive championship match on Colgate’s home turf on November 1. “Both teams wanted [a win] badly,” Brown said. “Colgate was in the zone, putting together everything we had been working on all season and dominating in the first half — something we had never done before. In the second half, both teams hammered away at each other, trying to score.”

Through teamwork and athleticism, Colgate prevailed.

Following this victory, Colgate beat the University of Rochester in the first round of playoffs on November 14. Then in the championships, the Raiders beat Denison University — qualifying them for the final four and a trip to the NSCRO National Championships in North Carolina.

On December 5, the team faced Lee University from Tennessee. The first half was an all-out battle, but Colgate came out in the second half and dominated for the win. In the title match the following day, the Raiders confronted Minnesota State Univer-

Flanker Erica “Texas” Hiddink ’17 charges up the rugby pitch with the ball during a match against Lee University (Tennessee), flanked by support players Kelly Baxendell ’18 (left) and Ciara Pettinos ’17 (right). Hiddink was MVP at the regional championships and named to the All-Star team at the national championship.

The women’s rugby team faced off against the University of Minnesota in the national championship game in Charlotte, N.C., on December 6. They brought a perfect record into the contest, but lost the big game 44–24.

Named to the All-Star Team were McKenna Valley ’17, Erica Hiddink ’17, Maggie Nelsen ’18, and Natalie Smith ’17. Co-captain Kate Hardock ’16 won the Heart and Soul Award.

Colgate is part of the Excelsior Women’s Rugby Conference, formed four years ago to bring together

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Jessica Schoen ’18

Women ruggers finish second in the nation

Raider Nation: Fan spotlights Fred and Sally Miers

Norwich, N.Y. Game: Football vs. Fordham (W, 31–29) on 10/31/15 What brings you two to the game today?

Fred: We’re season ticket holders.

We live in Norwich, and we love coming to Colgate.

How long have you both been coming to games?

Fred: Forever. We both grew up in Norwich, so we’ve been coming here since high school.

Bob Cornell

What do you think makes a good Colgate fan?

Sally: Cheering for the team.

Fred: We like the atmosphere; it’s so friendly.

The second-best postseason run in Colgate football history came to an end with a 48–21 loss to No. 10 Sam Houston State in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Huntsville, Texas, on December 12. Colgate’s season ended at 9–5, but not before the Raiders bagged an eighth Patriot League title, along with multiple playoff victories. Colgate’s seven-game winning streak ended against a team that advanced to the national semifinals for the fourth time since 2011. Only Colgate’s 2003 national championship finalist team had a better postseason run than this year’s squad.

sity–Moorhead in their third trip to the championship. It was an exciting matchup, with MSUM finally overpowering the Raiders for the win.

Reflecting on their success this season, Brown said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have recruited a full roster of new players with strong athletic ability and devotion to the team. Women’s rugby is rapidly growing in popularity at college campuses all over the country. I have noticed a big change in the level of competition since I started coaching seven years ago. The sport’s popularity is sure to grow even more after rugby returns to the Olympics this summer in Rio.”

Alumna wins U.S. Rowing Fan’s Choice Award

Colgate support helped guide Lauren Schmetterling ’10 to being named U.S. Rowing’s 2015 Fan’s Choice National Team Member of the Year.

One of five finalists for the award, Schmetterling trailed in early voting. But with the help of the Colgate Raider community, she vaulted to the top spot and was honored at the Fifth Annual Golden Oars Awards Din-

ner on November 19 at the New York Athletic Club.

A three-time national team member and three-time world champion, Schmetterling sat in the four seat of the U.S. women’s eight that brought home the 10th consecutive World/ Olympic Championship at this year’s World Rowing Championships. She also finished in the eight and four at the 2015 World Rowing Cup II in June to round out her gold-standard year.

U.S. Rowing’s Fan’s Choice Awards showcase top performances over the current year. This year’s winners were nominated by and voted for based on their contributions to the sport and achievements on the water.

Julia Smaldone ’16

Hometown: Manhasset, N.Y. Game: Men’s soccer vs. Loyola (W, 1–0) on 10/31/15 What brings you to the game today?

I’m a senior and it’s on my Colgate bucket list to go to a sporting event for every team.

Have you been to any other sporting events today?

Yes. I went to the Patriot League Championships for cross country, and I was at the football game and volleyball game before this.

Bartley Bryt

New York, N.Y. Game: Women’s volleyball vs. Navy (W 3–0: 25–18, 25–16, 25–18) on 10/31/15 What brings you to the game today?

My daughter [Natalie Bryt ’17, pictured] wanted to go. I have never been to a Colgate volleyball game before.

What do you think makes a good fan?

Somebody who has a lot of school spirit.

— Interviews and photos by Jessica Rice ’16

Men’s lacrosse earns sportsmanship award

Colgate University and Head Coach Mike Murphy are District 2 recipients of the James “Ace” Adams Sportsmanship Award for the 2015 season. The honor comes via the U.S. Lacrosse Men’s Collegiate Officials Committee.

Initiated in 2006, the awards are presented annually to the college or university in each of the 11 officiating

News and views for the Colgate community

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go ’gate

districts whose coaches, players, and fans exhibit the best sportsmanship throughout the season. Both varsity and club programs are eligible. Winners are voted among members of the National Intercollegiate Lacrosse Officials Association.

“I know sportsmanship is very important to the NCAA, and to have our team recognized for this special award is fantastic,” Murphy said.

The award exemplifies the tradition and sportsmanship in lacrosse displayed by Ace Adams, who, at the time of his 1992 retirement, had the most wins of any active Division I coach. This year’s winners were recognized January 22–24 at the 2016 U.S. Lacrosse National Convention in Baltimore.

Lacrosse player combats rare syndrome

This season, Lauren Gorajek ’16 will be leading the women’s varsity lacrosse team as co-captain, but last year, her lacrosse career had almost hit a dead end.

The trouble began last fall when she noticed that her left arm was sore,

swollen, and turning purple. After a visit to Dr. Merrill Miller, team physician and director of Health Services at Colgate, she learned that it was a serious blood clot. In just two days, the clot grew to be seven inches long.

Gorajek was rushed for additional testing to University Hospital in Syracuse, where she was diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome, a rare disorder that occurs when there is injury or irritation in the veins of the neck and chest area.

Most people with this condition end up taking blood thinners for the rest of their lives, and as a result, they cannot play contact sports. The risk of severe bleeding after sustaining even a minor injury is too great.

Gorajek, however, could not imagine giving up lacrosse, so she found an alternative: the removal of her first rib, the one right below the collarbone.

Following the rib removal surgery, she was cleared to play in less than two months despite the prediction that it would take six, and she went on to have a great season. She played in all 16 games, scored 20 goals, made three assists, and even landed a spot on the

Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

“Not once did I think about quitting,” Gorajek told Lacrosse Magazine.

“I truly believe that it was my family and teammates that made giving up not an option.” Her parents were both lacrosse players and her sister recently played for Bowdoin College, so it is no surprise that lacrosse means so much to Gorajek.

Her teammates, who rallied around her and visited her in the hospital during the rough months, have renewed appreciation for the sport as a result of this situation.

As Coach Heather Young told Lacrosse Magazine, “Seeing LoGo [Gorajek] endure and overcome this has made us all more grateful for the days we get to spend on the field together.”

Alumna races in cycling championships

Bob Cornell

Cotterell Court was at capacity when women’s basketball took on the nation’s No. 1-ranked UConn Huskies, including Breanna Stewart (#30, left), a standout player from central New York who will likely be a member of the 2016 Olympic team.

The Huskies prevailed 94–50.

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Professional athlete Kathryn Bertine ’97 competed in two major cycling events this fall: the UCI World Championships and the Caribbean Championships.

From September 20 through 27, Bertine raced in Richmond, Va., at the 2015 UCI World Championships. She finished 34th in the individual time trial, and also did the team time trial as well as the road race.

Bertine biked Barbados October 17 to 18 as part of the Caribbean Championships. Racing as a dual citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis, she came in first place in the time trial and second in the road race. (Bertine acquired dual citizenship in 2008 in return for helping their cycling federation support women and future Olympians.)

For the duration of the 2015 season, she raced for the U.S.-based professional team BMW/Happy Tooth Dental.

Bertine has just recently signed a contract for 2016 with Cylance Pro Cycling.

The year 2016 will mark Bertine’s fifth season racing professionally, after entering the sport as an amateur in 2007.

“I am living proof that there is an entire world of athletic potential available to us beyond college,” Bertine said. “Back then, I had no idea pro cycling existed. Now, at 40, I’m on the eighth-ranked team in the world; you can still be doing this when you’re an ‘old lady.’ It’s been an unexpected but amazing journey.”

Bertine, who is a Colgate rowing alumna, has also figure skated professionally and competed as a pro triathlete.

Paying tribute to an athletics legend With The Dunlap Rules, Fred “Tiger” Dunlap ’81 honors his parents, Fred ’50 and Marilyn Dunlap, who impacted the lives of many people in the Colgate community and beyond. Fred Sr. was Colgate’s head football coach from 1976 to 1987 and served as director of athletics from 1976 to 1992. The book is available at gocolgateraiders.com and the Colgate Bookstore. Here, Tiger shares some insights.

L to r: First-year rowers Caleb Tansey, Matt Oakley, Ben Halligan, Ryan Kiel, and Peter Rex earned gold medals at the Philadelphia Frostbite Regatta in November.

As a writer, she has made a commitment to bringing visibility to female sports. She has authored three books, all sports memoirs, in addition to having a successful career as a journalist for ESPN. “Most people associate professional sports with a

Go figure: Celebrating 125 Years of Raider football 8 Patriot League championships including 2015

9 wins this season, for the 9th time in program history

1932 unbeatable team: 9 wins, 0 losses

1918 wartime put the kibosh on sports 63 Raiders have gone on to play in the NFL, 3 to the Super Bowl

137 wins in 18 seasons gave Coach Dick Biddle the most career victories at Colgate

85 players on the 2015 squad 6'-6" is the height of the tallest player this year: tight end John Quazza ’16

634 total victories 41 Colgate jersey number of president

and CEO of the Green Bay Packers Mark Murphy ’77, former Colgate athletic director who played in two Super Bowls with the Washington Redskins

lavish lifestyle; however, in women’s pro sports, many of us have to work at least part-time jobs to supplement our contracts.”

— Emma Loftus ’16

Three golds for men’s rowing

First-year rowers pulled in big victories during one weekend of two regattas in November. The Raiders competed at the Philadelphia Frostbite Regatta and the Bill Braxton Regatta for their final fall competitions.

At the Frostbite, two Colgate boats won Freshman Four races. Colgate A crossed in 7:02.46, manned by Ben Halligan (coxswain), Caleb Tansey, Peter Rex, Ryan Kiel, and Matt Oakley.

Colgate B also captured gold, in 7:32.64, as Matthew Froelich (coxswain), William Holding, Robert Sasse, Christopher Munoz, and Charlie O’Connell were on board.

Colgate’s Varsity Eight finished third behind Temple and Washington (Md.). The Raiders posted a time of 6:20.09, with a crew of Halligan (coxswain), Tansey, Rex, Kiel, Oakley, Liam Emmart ’19, Shane Buchanan ’17, Clarke Cady-McCrea ’17, and Justin Manzi ’17.

At the Braxton, Colgate’s Freshman Eight captured first-place honors. The crew of Halligan (coxswain), Tansey, Rex, Kiel, Oakley, Emmart, Holding, Sasse, and O’Connell registered a winning time of 6:36.45.

The Varsity Eight again placed third, this time behind Temple and Marietta. The Colgate crew of Halligan (coxswain), Tansey, Rex, Kiel, Oakley, Emmart, Buchanan, Cady-McCrea, and Manzi crossed in 6:23.76.

Q: Tell us about The Dunlap Rules.

A: [It’s about] my parents, who are 85 and 87 years old.

They’ve been phenomenal mentors to me. The book is written in a vignette style, with each chapter being a separate story. The book hits on a lot of different themes: leadership, management, parenting, and dealing with stresses and conflicts. The prevailing theme, however, is showing how my parents’ methods, which were applied in a sports environment, could also be effectively transferred to the business world, where I made my career.

Q: How did you get the idea to write this book?

A: On Dec. 26, 2014, my parents were visiting for Christmas, and Dad was sitting with my wife and me and talking about the past, as we always did. As I listened to him that morning, [I realized] that the bigger story of Marilyn and Fred had to be told.

Q: What messages are you trying to relay to your readers?

A: Depending on each reader’s orientation, certain themes and sections may resonate more than others. Vicky Chun [vice president and director of athletics] read the book and said, ‘This book is not just about your parents, Tiger. It’s about the environment of Colgate University. It’s about going to a school that regards academic excellence and athletic excellence and puts a demand on a high-quality student to deliver on both fronts. It’s small-college athletics with high aspirations.’

Q: What has been your parents’ reaction to the book?

A: When I told them what I was planning to do, they were thunderstruck that anyone would write a book like Fred “Tiger” Dunlap ’81 that, and even more so that it would be their kid doing it. As I made progress and shared segments with them, their excitement continued to grow. Since receiving the final manuscript, they have read the book cover to cover five times. And Mom keeps prodding Dad to read it to her again.

Q: Tell us about your career.

A: I went into the health care industry right out of college. I spent the first 17–18 years working in sales and operations with larger companies. In 2000, I moved into private equity. I was a turnaround guy, taking over troubled health care companies, trying to reorganize them and make them grow. In 2008, I became chairman and CEO of XLHealthCorporation, based in Baltimore, Md. We repaired the company and grew it substantially. That progress resulted with a sale of XLHealth to UnitedHealth Group in February 2012. After assisting with the integration, I retired in July 2012. I spend my time as an investor in private equity and also dedicate much of my time to writing — a love of mine since being an English major at Colgate.

Q: What have been your other writing projects?

A: I have been writing an informal investment blog for the past two years, and have two other blogs as well. I have four other book projects well along the way. But The Dunlap Rules took total focus to pump out a 490-page book in eight months. Now I will be refocusing on those other projects, and I expect to finish at least one of them in the coming year.

News and views for the Colgate community

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new, noted , & quoted

Books, music & film Information is provided by publishers, authors, and artists.

Eclipse of the Assassins: The CIA, Imperial Politics, and the Slaying of Mexican Journalist Manuel Buendia Russell H. Bartley ’61 and Sylvia Erickson Bartley (University of Wisconsin Press)

Tracking a Cold War confrontation that has compromised the national interests of both Mexico and the United States, Eclipse of the Assassins exposes deadly connections among historical events usually remembered as isolated episodes. Authors Russell and Sylvia Bartley shed new light on the U.S.-instigated “dirty wars” that ravaged all of Latin America in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s and reveal how Mexican officials colluded with Washington, D.C., in its proxy contra war against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. They draw together the strands of a clandestine web linking the assassination of prominent Mexican journalist Manuel Buendía; the torture and murder of U.S. DEA agent Enrique Camarena; the Iran-Contra scandal; a major DEA sting against key CIA-linked Bolivian, Panamanian, and Mexican drug traffickers; CIA-orchestrated suppression of investigative journalists; and the criminal collusion of successive U.S. and Mexican administrations that has resulted in the unprecedented power of drug kingpins like “El Chapo” Guzmán. Eclipse of the Assassins places a major political crime — the murder of Buendía — in its full historical perspective and shows how the dirty wars of the past are still claiming victims today.

Fighting Hitler from the North Jersey Suburbs James C. Berrall ’56 (Belle Isle Books)

For children residing an ocean apart from the imminent dangers of World War II, the war’s effects were nonethe-

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less felt in a way that shaped a generation. Author James Berrall focuses a nostalgic lens on the American homefront during the second great war, offering a child’s-eye view of the commotion and peculiarities of wartime. Drawing on his boyhood experiences, Berrall recalls everything from popular contemporary songs and radio programs to the looming anticipation of air raids and military invasions. A portrait of an era, Fighting Hitler from the North Jersey Suburbs chronicles the formative years of both a young man and an emerging superpower.

A Tunnel in the Pines

Lucia Greene Connolly ’76 (North Country Press) It’s the last week of school before summer vacation. Best friends Andrew and Wills realize they’ll have to come up with a plan to avoid getting sucked into the same old stuff their parents sign them up for every year, like soccer or computer camp. This summer, they want adventure. So they start a club with some neighborhood kids, adopting Andrew’s Darwinian science project as their guiding mission. They’re forced to accept Wills’s overbearing older brother, Taylor, and his hulking sidekick, Strat, as members. But something’s wrong with Andrew, and the test to determine who will join their club seems to be rapidly spinning out of control. When outsmarting the older boys proves challenging and the club’s underground initiation goes haywire, surviving it tests the strength of both friendship and brotherhood.

Connolly called the book a “true Colgate effort,” because son Luke ’09 designed the cover, for which daughter Sophie ’07 painted the art.

Moon Patrol

Devin C. Hughes ’87 and Shane Clester (CreateSpace) Moon Patrol is a space-exploration adventure and humor picture book series for young and early readers, focusing on themes of inclusion and diversity. The main character, Axis, travels the galaxy helping the helpless, righting wrongs, and solving problems. He encounters a race of aliens who have altered their DNA to eradicate any diversity or specialty, leaving their world in ruins. Using his magical space-age guitar, Axis adds color and variety to the planet. He helps show the aliens the importance of diversity and the value of having different cultures in a society. The book promotes the story of us all, ensuring that children’s bookshelves contain diverse, non-majority narratives of kids of all different races.

(For more on Hughes, see pg. 60.)

Amending the Past: Europe’s Holocaust Commissions and the Right to History Alexander Karn (University of Wisconsin Press)

During the 1990s and early 2000s in Europe, more than 50 historical commissions were created to confront, discuss, and document the genocide of the Holocaust and to address some of its unresolved injustices.

Amending the Past offers an in-depth account of these commissions, examining the complexities of reckoning with past atrocities and large-scale human rights violations.

Colgate history professor Alexander Karn analyzes more than a dozen Holocaust commissions — in Germany, Switzerland, France, Poland, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, and elsewhere — in a comparative framework, situating each in the context of past and present politics, to evaluate their potential for promoting justice and their capacity for bringing the perspectives of rival groups more closely together. Karn also evaluates the media coverage these commis-

In the media sions received and probes their public reception from multiple angles.

Arguing that historical commissions have been underused as a tool for conflict management, Karn offers a program for historical mediation and moral reparation that can deepen democratic commitment and strengthen human rights in both transitional regimes and existing liberal states.

Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between Jennifer E. Smith ’03 (Poppy)

In Jennifer Smith’s new young adult novel, it’s the night before Clare and Aidan leave for college. They only have one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of 12 hours, they’ll retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night will lead them to friends and family, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye.

The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

From the Bottom Up: How Small Power Producers and Mini-Grids Can Deliver Electrification and Renewable Energy

Co-authored by Bernard Tenenbaum ’66 (World Bank Publications) Most sub-Saharan African countries try to promote rural electrification through both centralized and decentralized approaches.

This book focuses on the decentralized approach. It provides practical guidance on how policy makers and regulators can help small power producers and mini-grid operators deliver both electrification and renewable energy in rural areas.

Also of note:

Unfinished and Uncollected (Shearsman Books) by George Economou ’56 is an addendum to his versions of the canonical Cavafy poems. This book includes completed versions of the master’s unfinished poems and a number of Economou’s own uncollected poems and translations, giving us a picture of both poet and translator, as well as a shadowy image of Cavafy himself.

Music Theory for Beginners (For Beginners) by Colgate music professor R. Ryan Endris was developed for anyone interested in learning to read and write music, a task that can be quite daunting for novices.

Loch Kelly ’79, a psychotherapist and meditation teacher, has written a meditation training guide with tools for “unhooking” awareness from our chattering minds and dropping into our awake heart space; expanding our sense of intimacy and interconnection; and embodying inner peace, clarity, and love with his new book Shift Into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Hearted Awareness (Sounds True).

In Love, Animals, & Miracles: Inspiring True Stories Celebrating the Healing Bond (New World Library), author Bernie S. Siegel ’53 has gathered stories about how relationships with animals can serve as a source of love, wisdom, and miracles.

The Nonfiction Self-Publisher’s Beautiful Book Cover Kit: For Irresistible Book Jackets & Copy (self-published) by Rose Sneeringer ’82 gives book cover design secrets, examples of book cover art, and professional advice to help self-published authors create a covetable cover that will catch readers’ interest.

“If a brake is to be put on income inequality, the government will have to act.”

— Jay Mandle, economics professor, in his Huffington Post article “A New American Socialism”

“The problem is not any one app, nor technology in general, but instead the issue [of] how we promote civil discourse on a diversity of thoughts and opinions regarding topics that have considerable emotion attached.”

— Douglas Johnson, psychology professor and director of Colgate’s Center for Learning, Teaching, and Research, quoted by Inside Higher Ed on how social media and technology have affected professors’ professional and personal lives

“My teaching philosophy involves making the classroom a fluid and malleable space that places the scholarly world of Africana Studies in dialogue with a lived social, racial, and political world.”

— Tracey Hucks ’87, chair of Africana Studies at Davidson College (its newest academic department), as quoted on the college’s news blog

“It’s sometimes very difficult to filter out the truth from the romance of the stones; that’s something you have to look at [in] the archaeological record and legends.”

— Anthony Aveni, professor of astronomy, anthropology, and Native American studies, spoke to National Geographic about the Mayan celebration of the autumnal equinox

“The Sahrawi students will no longer be silent.”

— Jacob Mundy, professor of peace and conflict studies, quoted in an article for Al-Fanar Media about protests on Moroccan university campuses

“Not only is this site important for local and state history, it is important for national history as well.”

— Henry Marshall ’17 spoke to the Oneida Daily Dispatch about Nichols Pond, a possible historic battle site in Madison County that he’s been studying

“It had always been a dream of mine. It was always here.”

— Natalie Kozlowski ’19, of Utica, reflected on joining Colgate’s women’s soccer team in the Utica Observer-Dispatch

News and views for the Colgate community

25

KEEPING SPECIAL EDITION

BY AUSTIN MURPHY '83

E V I S U L EXC

e n e sc

W E I V R E INT

EUGENE YOUNG

|

WINTER 2016

IT REAL

J. LO'S SHADES OF BLUE

UPS AND DOWNS OF REALITY TV Photos by Max S. Gerber

A

As a dozen or so Colgate students gathered in his Los An-

geles office last January, brimming with eagerness, Eugene Young ’81 recognized a certain irony in the moment. His visitors had come to California to immerse theselves in the entertainment

Young family, 1968

industry.

“

WE BROKE THE OJ STORY.”

Young is a friend of Ryan Seacrest (the terrifically coiffed and alarmingly ubiquitous TV host and cultural colossus) and the former president of Ryan Seacrest Productions, a major player in the world of scripted and unscripted — aka “reality” — TV. As the undergraduates picked his brain, Young was happy to hold forth, despite regarding himself as an unlikely career counselor.

“When I was their age,” he recalled recently over brunch at Pasadena’s Urth Caffé, “I was the king of having no idea what I was going to do after graduation.”

Full disclosure: I’ve known Young since college; he is a friend and former fraternity brother of mine. We were both footballplaying, aspiring lawyers from large families. I veered into journalism; Young’s ambitions for a career in jurisprudence were euthanized after he learned the results of his law boards, which were, he gamely recalls, “worse than my SATs.” The self-deprecation goes on. Asked to name his favorite professor, he mentions the late Harry Behler, whose students sometimes referred to him as “Harry the Hook.” If you deserved a C, the man gave you a C. “I helped him earn that nickname,” said Young, who may have been a better tight end — he captained the football team in ’80 — than bookworm. Yet, in the end, his chronic absences from the dean’s list failed to obscure his gleaming, overt gift: As one of seven children of Audrey and Bill Young, he became a connoisseur of narrative and anecdote. He could always spin a yarn — and never failed to appreciate a good one.

Following a brief period of post-college drift, Young found his true calling: telling stories. That’s been a constant for him, even as the companies have changed: on January 4 of this year, following Ryan Seacrest Productions’ merger with the Endemol Shine Group, Young announced his plans to join the Levity Entertainment Group (LEG) as its chief content officer. His job for LEG, producers of Iron Chef on Food Network and Black Jesus on Comedy Central, will be similar to what it was for RSP: cultivating and creating ideas for TV shows, then selling those series to networks.

“It’s a high-risk business,” he said, “and there’s massive fear.

Hollywood is ruled by fear.” The network gatekeepers, he added, “are going to point out every reason why they’re not going to buy. In the development of your story, you need to be prepared for every objection. Who is the audience you want to speak to?

How does it speak to that audience? You want to make sure that you can describe what it is, in one sentence. You need to be able to put it on a billboard.”

In one sentence, then, where did Young acquire his instincts for knowing what makes a good story? “I learned from the master,” he said, between sips of decaf cappuccino served in a large, handleless bowl that I am confident the 20-year-old Gene Young would have found ridiculous. His father, Bill, was a legendary sales executive at Kimberly-Clark, the paper products behemoth, for 46 years. Bill passed away in 1987; to this day, sales awards at the company are named after him. “My dad was a terrific storyteller

WAIT — WHAT? ELABORATE, PLEASE.

— because he had to be,” Gene explained. “You’re at the A&P, you want the floor manager to move the Kotex from the bottom shelf to the middle shelf, you’d better be pretty damned entertaining.”

That would serve as a fair motto for RSP, which took reality TV by storm in 2006 with Keeping Up with the Kardashians and has since demonstrated a keen eye for the zeitgeist. Shortly after Caitlyn Jenner’s groundbreaking interview with Diane Sawyer, the ABC Family network unveiled the critically acclaimed RSP series Becoming Us, about a pair of Midwestern teens who are dating and whose fathers are both transgender.

Upon bringing Young on as president of his company in early 2014, Seacrest praised him as “an extremely talented and accomplished television executive with a keen understanding of the business — not just where it’s been, or even where we are, but most important, where it’s all going.” Elaborating to me, Seacrest added, “Television isn’t an easy business. You need creativity, stamina, and resilience. Eugene has great intelligence and energy, which has fueled his career and success.”

You also need a thick skin, it would appear. Although Young has been deeply involved with some of reality TV’s biggest hits, it has also happened, on occasion, that he’s dug into the batter’s box, swung from his heels, and whiffed completely.

“I produced I Want To Be a Hilton,” he allowed. “As it turned out, Americans had no desire to be a Hilton.”

THE ROAD TO HOLLYWOOD

Before drawing Young out on “where it’s all going,” it was fun learning where he’d been, and how he arrived at this juncture in the History of Television. His three-decade journey in the biz has provided, in addition to a rich lode of stories, a front-row seat on the evolution of the medium.

News and views for the Colgate community

27

“

A year after graduation, Young enrolled at Boston University’s school of film and television, after which he was recruited by ESPN and CNN. “Sports had always been a part of my life. I wanted to get into news,” he said. CNN it was.

Not long after Young signed on, the space shuttle Challenger broke up 73 seconds into its flight, followed a few months later by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. “It was an extraordinary time,” recalled Young, who worked the night shift for two years. The gig was memorable for other reasons, too: “Ted Turner had an office upstairs,” he said. “Once in a while he’d come down and just walk around in his bathrobe.”

Young was plucked from CNN by Atlanta’s NBC affiliate, which had recently hired a talented news anchor named Kelly Mack from a station in Jackson, Miss. “She’d jumped from the ninetieth market to the eighth. I was her producer on the five o’clock news.” Before very long, he was more than that. They began dating in 1986 and eloped in ’91.

In 1994, the couple busted a move to Los Angeles. Kelly anchored the news at KNBC.

Gene, hardboiled by almost a decade of producing news in major markets, joined KCBS, of which time in his career he says, offhandedly, “We broke the OJ story.”

Wait — what? Elaborate, please.

“Our consumer reporter, David Horowitz, lived in Brentwood. He was out with his dog at five in the morning and walked, literally, into the crime scene,” Young recalled.

“Horowitz called the news desk. We actually got a reporter inside, with a truck, before they cordoned off the area.”

For hours, KCBS was ahead of the competition in covering the grisly double murder.

When Simpson took to the highway in his white Ford Bronco for the infamous lowspeed chase, it was the KCBS helicopter pilot who spotted him first and provided treetoplevel footage seen ’round the world. Everything was pointing toward an Emmy, until the

HOLLYWOOD IS RULED BY FEAR.”

28 28

Winter 2016 2016 scene: Winter

chopper pilot radioed the news that he was low on gas.

“He peeled off,” Young recalled. “A competing station called and said, ‘Hey, do you want our signal?’ I had to put their signal on my air. It was the most humiliating moment in my journalism career. That was reality television before reality television.”

Even then, the TV business was in flux. This was the Dawn of the Newsmagazine show — ushering in exposé vehicles and 60 Minutes wannabes such as 48 Hours, Dateline, 20/20, Hard Copy, Current Affair, and Extra!, a show replete with so much buzz it required its own exclamation point.

Hired by Extra! to be its showrunner, the dynamic, enterprising Young positively embodied that exclamation point, thriving in the fastpaced, competitive newsmagazine environment. He was not above engaging in “gotcha” journalism, if it advanced the public interest … and Extra!’s ratings.

Specifically, he recalls an incident involving an enormously popular Fox special hosted by a “Masked Magician.” Sensing an opportunity during “sweeps” month, Young sent a reporter and crew to Hollywood’s Magic Castle, a renowned gathering place for illusionists, prestidigitators, and magicians of all stripes.

Many of them, it turned out, resented the Masked Magician

for giving away trade secrets.

So, within minutes, Young’s crew had the man’s name and address. “We showed up at his house unannounced — ambush TV! — and knocked on the door. I had to get a shot of him without the mask,” Young recalled. When the fellow answered the door, Young asked, “Are you the masked magician?” Startled, the unmasked magician did not deny it.

The night that Fox aired the special, Extra! blew the magician’s cover in a show that began two hours earlier — but only after warning the audience of its intent.

“Spoiler alerts before anyone knew what a spoiler alert was,” said Young, still exultant nearly two decades later. Of course it was unkind, stealing a rival network’s thunder.

Then again, the people had a right to know. Also, as Young recalled with a grin, the segment pulled a big number.

From Extra!, it was not a giant leap to full-on reality TV, which was then in its infancy.

Young got in on the ground floor through his friendship with a Dutch entrepreneur named John de Mol, a trailblazer of unscripted programming and a cofounder of Endemol, which created Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, and Fear Factor. Young was hired as creative director of Endemol USA. He served as the intel-

“

RDINARY PERSON FINDS HIMSELF OR HERSELF IN O AN EXTRAORDINARY SITUATION, UNDER PRESSURE TO DECISION DETERMINES MAKE AN EXCRUCIATING DECISION. THAT TRUE CHARACTER.”

“About 90 percent of our pitches are rejected,” Of every six pilots filmed, one makes it to a series. One in five series makes it to a second season.

lectual property czar, “generating, developing, marketing, and executing all of our shows, scripted, nonscripted, and digital,” he recounted. “I was the company’s pitchman to the networks, and then had to produce the shows.”

After five years at Endemol, he was hired away to do the same job for Fremantle Media, where he worked on American Idol, America’s Got Talent, Family Feud, and The Price is Right.

THE ALCHEMY OF REALITY TV

Harry the Hook would’ve revised his opinion of Young, had he known that his former, mediocre pupil would go on to earn two advanced degrees.

(Five years ago, Young added an MBA from Claremont Graduate University.) While all that education helps, his chosen field remains mysterious and fickle. Reality TV is part art, part science, divining which shows will fly and which will fall to earth with a resounding splat, like Who Wants To Be a Hilton? “You think someone’s a natural,” said Young, “then the camera starts rolling, and they

freeze up. Or you’re lukewarm on someone, and they end up being unbelievable.

“About 90 percent of our pitches are rejected,” he reported. And that’s just the start of the winnowing. Of every six pilots filmed, one makes it to a series. One in five series makes it to a second season.

One show that did make it to the pilot stage was a wince-intensive close-up on a California urologist who specializes in repairing damaged or malformed male genitalia.

At brunch, Young causes a mild stir by recounting — with his characteristic, animated enthusiasm — a procedure RSP had captured on video: “On this banana,” he suggested, “think of the brown spot as the scar tissue.

The doctor cuts out the banana’s bruise, and replaces it with cadaver cartilage.”

As eavesdropping diners turned in our direction, Young plowed ahead, providing backstory on the hapless patient’s injury, incurred, it turns out, during lovemaking.

Cruel as it sounds, the couple’s future may depend on the success or failure of the procedure. “Is this relationship going to last?

Are they going to make it?” Young becomes serious — solemn, even — as he intones: “It’s not a show about penises. It’s a show about people.”

So, Members Only (yes, that’s the working title) isn’t exactly Brideshead Revisited on the BBC. But, the mid- and lowbrow fare Young brings to market is far more popular, and profitable.

It’s easy — and, frankly, appropriate — to heap scorn on many of the genre’s offerings. (See: Born In The Wild, Outback Jack, My Fair Brady, Dating Naked, and scores of others.) There can also be something noble and redeeming about meeting people, learning their troubles, and recognizing ourselves in them.

“What’s really cool about the job,” he said, “is that we meet people from all over America, rich and poor, and we get them to tell us their stories.” Tolstoy observed that each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. In a sense, Young has devoted his career to capturing as many strains of that unhappiness as possible. Sometimes, there’s a happy ending.

One of Young’s gifts is the ability to get people to trust him with their stories. As one of seven children, he’s empathetic and a good listener. And as social chairman of Kappa Delta Rho, he presided over a record haul of pledges, including me. Although people are generally reluctant to share deeply, to make themselves vulnerable, “they tell me,” he said. “I don’t know what it is.”

TRUE CHARACTER

So, what kind of legs does reality TV have? Young gets some insight from his and Kelly’s daughters, Quinn (23) and Willa (21), who consume media differently than their parents. “Their

generation doesn’t stick to a planned network calendar,” he noted.

(The day before, Willa had insisted that he watch a video of the comedian John Oliver’s takedown of the poultry industry.) “Kids want what they want, when they want it.”

This trend has discombobulated the old model for measuring how many people are watching a show, which has led to declining ratings and hurt the bottom lines of production companies. “So,” he concluded, “there’s some chaos right now.”

How and when stories are seen and on what smart, shiny device: all that is changing, in flux, and will keep changing. What remains constant is our biological imperative to tell stories, and our desire to hear them. In the end, Young believes, there’s less of a gulf than you might think between Members and Brideshead. “Every movie and TV show, every great novel does the same thing: ordinary person finds himself or herself in an extraordinary situation, under pressure to make an excruciating decision. That decision determines true character.”

Toward the end of brunch, Young shared that “Our big new show this season is Shades of Blue on NBC, starring J. Lo and Ray Liotta and directed by Barry Levinson.”

Like his old man, Gene Young is always selling. But before I have the chance to ask him for more details, he’s already embarked on another story.

News and views for the Colgate community

29

T E A M V I P E R IN THE ARCTIC

Professor Mike Loranty

Lindsay McCulloch ’16

Article and photos by Sarah Hewitt

The entire forest, growing in a shallow layer of soil, sits on ice and frozen dirt that is tens of thousands of years old.

Hear audio from the trip: colgate.edu/viper

30

scene: Winter 2016

he research team wades through a field of waist-high, vivid pink fireweed that’s alive with the buzzing of bees. Smoke from nearby forest fires partially obscures the bright sun, and the smell permeates the air.

It’s the team’s first day of fieldwork, and they are a 20-minute walk from the edge of the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. Colgate professor Mike Loranty is following GPS coordinates that lead the group to a narrow trail at the edge of a shady forest. The students, each wearing a pristine pair of muck boots, are about to enter the boreal forest for the first time. Loranty swats at a mosquito and announces that it’s about to get “buggy.” The students grab brand-new bug jackets from backpacks filled with equipment and pull them on over unseasoned field gear. With the hoods zipped up, the jackets look like hazmat suits, making one wonder: just how bad are the famed Alaskan mosquitoes? One by one, the seven team members disappear into the forest of pencil-like black spruce trees that are punctuated by white spruce and aspen.

The contrast goes beyond the trees. Although it’s July, and the air temperature is 80 degrees, just a few inches below the surface of the ground, it’s frozen solid. This is permafrost. The entire forest, growing in a shallow layer of soil, sits on ice and frozen dirt that is tens of thousands of years old.

Meet Team VIPER (Vegetation Impacts on Permafrost), which includes three Colgate students: Lindsay McCulloch ’16, Karl Uy ’17, and Alaina Norzagaray ’18. Along with Loranty, an assistant professor in geography, they are joined by Alexander Kholodov, research associate at University of Alaska Fairbanks; Katie Heard, a field assistant from Woods Hole, Mass.; and Buffalo, N.Y., high school teacher Stan Skotnicki.

Together they will travel more than 500 miles, through forests, mountains, and desolate tundra, from the warmth of the interior to icy winds blowing off the Arctic Ocean, all in the unending daylight of midsummer. Over the next five weeks, Team VIPER will collect data from 24 sites across Alaska.

The students aren’t the hardy Arctic explorers of bygone days. McCulloch is the only one who has field experience, and that was in the jungle; life in

Alexander Kholodov

Together they will travel more than 500 miles, through forests, mountains, and desolate tundra.

Karl Uy ’17

Alaina Norzagaray ’18

Katie Heard Stan Skotnicki

the mountains and the tundra is new to them all.

Yesterday, they practiced spraying an imaginary bear with an empty can of bear spray. Today, they each have a can latched to their backpacks for the very real threat of being charged by a grizzly.

Loranty guides the group to the first research site, where they dump out their packs, which hold 330-foot-long measuring tapes, rulers, pencils, colored Sharpies, shears, handsaws, calipers, a long metal depth probe, a soil core sampler, tin foil, stacks

of paper, and plastic bags. It’s everything they need to study Arctic vegetation and permafrost.

On the ground and under the ground Permafrost is ground that’s been frozen for at least two years. The thickness of the permafrost layer increases further north, extending up to 2,000 feet below the ground in some spots. It’s been there for thousands of years, but it can’t withstand the warming climate — it’s starting to thaw.

Permafrost stores organic carbon from plant and animal matter that hasn’t decomposed. When carbon is sequestered in permafrost, it is essentially no longer part of the global carbon cycle — the means by which carbon moves through the environment and the atmosphere. But as permafrost thaws, microbes break down the organic material and release methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The carbon that took thousands of years to accumulate in the permafrost is now rapidly being released back into the cycle, which will amplify global warming. But how quickly permafrost thaws is influenced by the area’s geology, hydrology, and the soil and News and views for the Colgate community

31

vegetation on top of it. Different combinations of vegetation and soil have varying capacities to protect the permafrost from thawing. And that’s why

The top layer of soil thaws each summer. This is called the active layer, and includes both the upper organic layer and a deeper mineral layer. The organic

Loranty is here — to study how vegetation influences permafrost temperature.

Before they can begin, however, the team has to learn how to set up the sampling site. Loranty hands one end of a measuring tape to Norzagaray, and he uses a compass to direct her northward as she unravels 65 feet of tape. She lays down the first transect — the straight line along which they will take permafrost and vegetation measurements. She wades through pools of muddy water, climbs over branches, and pushes through prickly bushes and dead tree snags as she unrolls the tape measure. The muck boots quickly live up to their name.

Uy and McCulloch lay out two more transects, parallel to the first, 50 feet away. Finally, they set up the vegetation plots and soil sampling sites at either end. Now they can start.

layer mostly consists of decomposing organic matter like moss, as well as roots. The mineral layer is dense and claylike. Directly beneath the active layer is the permafrost, and they measure its depth using a thaw depth probe. But that’s only one of the measurements.

For the next five hours, Loranty moves among the group, explaining how to: measure the basal diameter of a tree; use the densiometer to estimate forest canopy cover; classify woody debris, soil depths, and tussock diameter; differentiate between organic soil and mineral soil; dig soil samples; clip and classify vegetation; and use a GPS. All this, while keeping an eye out for bears.

Working within the three transects, the researchers can calculate an average of all the vegetation at that site. They quantify the trees, shrubs, mosses, li-

How quickly permafrost thaws is influenced by the area’s geology, hydrology, and the soil and vegetation on top of it.

32

chens, and grasses as well as the properties of the soil they grow in to derive an ecosystem inventory. They then relate what they find to the temperature and depth of the permafrost below. “Hopefully, all of this will give us a good picture of what’s going on at this site,” Loranty said.

The data they are collecting in Alaska is only the beginning of a larger, National Science Foundation–funded, trans-Arctic project. For the next four years, Loranty, Kholodov, collaborator Sue Natali from Woods Hole Research Center, and colleagues in Russia will collect similar data at sites in Siberia. Combining satellite images with the data they collect on the ground across the Arctic, they will develop a three-dimensional snapshot of the Arctic ecosystem. They can use this data to develop a model that will help predict which parts of the Artic will thaw faster than others.

It’s up to Team VIPER to gather the first data points of the project across a wide swath of Alaska.

They’ve learned the ropes in Fairbanks. Now it’s time to head north.

The Dalton and beyond Signs of civilization dwindle as the team turns onto the start of the Dalton Highway, 84 miles north of Fairbanks. The Dalton Highway was built in 1974 to supply the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and for 414 miles, the mostly gravel road courses through some of the world’s most spectacular scenery. Until 1994, tourists were required to have a permit to drive past mile 211, a spot with the inspirational name “Disaster Creek.”

Today, travelers just need a decent truck and nerves of steel. Massive, speeding semi-trailers spew gravel as they zip around blind corners and over hills. But

West Dock Deadhorse the team’s big red truck — dubbed Clifford — and Kholodov, who’s driving, are up to the task.

The group stops for a lunch of salmon burgers at Yukon River Crossing. It’s the first of only two opportunities along the highway to replenish resources (and buy bumper stickers declaring “I crossed the Arctic Circle”). The Arctic Circle — actually 60 miles north of Yukon River Crossing — may be only a line on a map, but it holds an unmistakable mystique. When the team arrives, everyone jumps out to scramble on top of the official sign and passes around cameras for obligatory group and solo shots. Turns out, crossing the Arctic Circle really is worthy of a bumper sticker.

For most tourists, this marks the turnaround spot. For Team VIPER, the Arctic adventure is only beginning.

Eight hours after leaving Fairbanks, they reach their destination: Coldfoot (population: 10). Coldfoot is the world’s northernmost truck stop, and the second and final chance to get supplies. Here, the field site is in a mountain valley, and it’s misty, windy, and rainy. These are excellent conditions — as Loranty and Skotnicki later discover — for fishing for Arctic grayling in the Middle Fork Koyokuk River in the evenings. The team stays two nights in the hotel (a series of attached trailers), and heads north again.

Each field site is unique. One warm afternoon, the group is working in a wide, treeless valley at a site named Old Man. The ground vegetation is mostly spongy moss, inviting and soft. The next day, they’re at Chandalar Shelf, deep in the rugged Brooks Range, where the ground is damp, with deep tussocks and dense shrubs. It’s windy and cold, but nothing detracts from the breathtaking views. It’s hard to resist just watching the clouds roll over the mountains.

Working together, they have quickly learned the ins and outs of Arctic research. Now, when the team unloads gear at a site, everyone calls out their preferred task. McCulloch grabs a soil saw, tin foil, and bags, and settles at one end of a transect to start cutting soil samples. Uy places the vegetation plot frame on the ground, and clips vegetation, his favorite job. He can already distinguish evergreen from deciduous shrubs, placing lichens, mosses, and grass all into their correct pre-labeled paper bags.

Arctic education The students are all in different class years, with varying experiences and ideas of what they want to do in the future. But they have one thing in common: they’re excited to be here. They each approached Loranty about taking part in this project the previous year. Uy, whose smile and singing never faded the entire time, said he’d been anticipating this trip for six months.

Uy’s journal entries, which he read aloud to the team, told the story of daily discoveries about himself and the world. After his first hike in the mountains, he wrote: “To know I came so far when I thought I could not make half this hike sends my tired and thrilled spirits soaring… I will never forget this climb, for it will be irreplaceable as my first experience of the sheer majesty of the Earth and the effort and audacity it takes to see it… This is one of the best weekends I’ve lived out.”

Franklin Bluff Sag

Happy Valley

Galbraith Lake Chandalar Coldfoot Old Man Yukon Crossing

Kutizin

College Bonanza-burned Healy

Fox Birch Lake

Gulkana

Black dots = major cities

FOR MOST tourists, this marks the turnaround spot. for team viper, the arctic adventure is only beginning.

Yellow dots = field sites

Meanwhile, McCulloch has been working on her own side project in Alaska, separate from Loranty’s, looking at the ratio of living to dead roots in the soil. Loranty helps her work through the process and they discuss ideas as they dig through soils together. But ultimately, he leaves it up to her to decide what direction her project should take. After only a few days in the field, she’s already directing the rest of the team how to separate roots and what size samples she needs. “It’s nice to have ownership over something,” she said.

Loranty’s approach is that the students should have the space to learn and figure things out for themselves. He rarely tells anyone directly what to do, because he just expects them to work hard in the field and do what needs to get done. Each day, the team gets more streamlined and Loranty is pleased with their progress.

In between jokes and endless movie quotes, he talks about his experience as a graduate student and now professor, and how he’s had to become a sort of jack of all trades. On the surface, he is the definition of laid back. But he is also a former competitive road and mountain biker, and his ambitious spirit feeds into his work.

His background is in geography and remote sensing — far removed from picking grasses. But anything he needs to learn, he does. From programming in UNIX, to plant physiology, to ecosystem ecology — he’s built an arsenal of skills that he can now teach. “Teaching something is the best way to learn it,” he said.

Loranty likes the idea of letting students make their own discoveries and follow their curiosity.

“They’re really capable and resourceful, so they can take things and run with it.” He added, “I’m here so that if they’re off in the weeds somewhere, I can correct the course.”

At one point, McCulloch is elbow deep in freezing mud, and Norzagaray and Uy are chatting while they separate mosses from lichens. Loranty suddenly pops up and, only half joking, yells out, “You’d better be looking for bears!” Needing little prodding, Uy starts singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” loud enough to give any bear second thoughts about approaching. He continues to sing while they pack up their gear and head back to the truck. They still have a long way to go.

Toolik and the tundra The Trans-Alaska pipeline snakes alongside the highway. The underground ice and permafrost cause powerful shifts in the landscape, making trees fall and structures collapse, so huge stretches of the 48-inch diameter pipe are perched on stilts. At mile 235, the team waves goodbye to the last tree as they speed past the tree line. This far north, only grasses, moss, and shrubs grow. There used to be an “official” last black spruce, thought to be more than 270 years old. But in 2004, a vandal cut it down. The “Last Tree” signpost, however, remains intact. For the next 180 miles to the shores of the Beaufort Sea, there’s not a spruce in sight.

The mountains finally part at the northern edge of the Brooks Range, and the stunning, open expanse of tundra stretches to the horizon. “You can see forever,” Loranty said. “Everything is so big up here.”

The 240 miles from north of Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay, the end of the road, is the longest stretch of road without services in North America — unless you’re a scientist. About halfway, there is a polar oasis: Toolik Field Station. The motley collection of buildings sitting on the southeast edge of Toolik Lake includes lab buildings, a recreation center that hosts Saturday night karaoke, equipment workshops, garages, and a series of Weatherport tents that serve as bunkhouses.

The cafeteria produces endless gourmet food, and the homemade ice cream means the “Toolik Ten” — the 10 pounds you gain during your stay — is no exaggeration. It’s the Club Med of field stations, albeit Club Med with outhouses and water-use

The Arctic is a complex ecosystem, and Toolik is the perfect place to exchange ideas and observations with other researchers.

34

restrictions that limit you to two, two-minute showers a week and laundry twice a month. But, you can always supplement your washing schedule with a visit to the exquisite lakeside sauna and a swim in Toolik Lake. “I like to describe it as summer camp on steroids,” McCulloch said.

From Toolik, the team collects data from multiple sites on the tundra. One site, called Happy Valley, is only 100 yards off the road. But the team checks two and three times to ensure that they have everything they need — nobody wants to make the trek more than once. This site has tussocks. These mounds of grass that grow in clumps are close enough together that, from a distance, they give the illusion that walking across the tundra will be an easy stroll across a grassy plain. But the grass sprouting from the top of each tussock obscures the cold, squelching, knee-deep water and mud that collects between them. “The most dangerous thing I’ve had to deal with are tussocks,” Uy joked

as he stumbled, yet again, and sank into a particularly deep fissure. Every step is a slog.

After the bold beauty of the mountains, the tundra’s appeal is more subtle. Long-tailed jaegers soar overhead. Harrier hawks hunt, while little brown sparrows and longspurs flit along and disappear into the grass. The ground is covered in flowers: bright-yellow Arctic poppies and snow buttercups, white puffs of cotton grass, tiny blue Arctic forgetme-nots, and the aptly named pink River Beauty. The growing season is short, but the flowers make the most of it. As do the mosquitoes.

With her bug jacket zipped up, Norzagaray grabs the thaw depth probe to measure the depth of the active layer — the soil that thaws during the summer months and provides water and nutrients for the growing vegetation. Taking 21 measurements along each transect, she pushes the metal probe into the ground. In some places, the probe thunks into permafrost only 6 inches down. But elsewhere, she plunges it 30 or more inches before it stops, and it takes all of Norzagaray’s strength to pull it out again. “[It’s] like pulling the sword from the stone,” Loranty said.

Crouching nearby, almost disappearing in the shrubs, Kholodov prepares to measure soil temperature and insulative properties. Each site is located

know there are other people who want to do the same things as you. It’s cool.”

They even run into a recent Colgate graduate there. Salvatore Curasi ’15 majored in political science and geography, with aspirations for law school. A trip to Siberia with Loranty in 2014 convinced him to exchange a business suit for field clothes, at least for now. He’s using remote sensing skills he learned at Colgate to pursue a doctorate at Notre Dame University.

The end of the road next to a borehole ranging from 15 to 200 feet deep.

The boreholes are fitted with sensors to measure permafrost temperature.

As Kholodov digs near the borehole site, he explains how different vegetation can insulate the underlying layers. “In general,” he said, “boreal forest is a very good ecosystem to protect permafrost.” The snow in the winter and the thick moss in the summer temper the warming impact of the air. But, he added, a thick layer of organic soil, or the presence of tussocks, can also lead to colder permafrost temperatures. He records the temperature, moisture content, and conductivity of the soil layers. The more conductive the soil, the less insulation it provides, so a thick, air-filled organic layer is a better insulator than the dense, moist mineral layer below.

The group spends hours in Toolik’s Lab No. 5, processing the soil and vegetation samples. They dry and weigh the vegetation, allowing them to

For hundreds of miles, the magnificent landscapes of the Brooks Range and the North Slope elicit countless superlatives from the group, while they discuss their favorite spots along the way. But at the end of the road, mile 414, they are greeted by row upon row of machinery and spare parts used in the oilfields of Prudhoe Bay. It’s an almost post-apocalyptic scene, and a jolting reminder of the reason for the existence of the Dalton. There are no restaurants here. The only store sells junk food, work clothes, and odd souvenirs at exorbitant prices for the few tourists who make it this far.

Here, Team VIPER finishes the last few sites. The wind blowing in from the Arctic Ocean keeps the temperatures near freezing even in midsummer.

Along the way, the group has together climbed cliffs, hiked mountains, swam in Arctic lakes, and seen musk ox, moose, and rainbows. But each student came on this adventure with his or her own personal goals. They were neophytes in the forests of Fairbanks, but by the time they reached the open

by the time they reached the open tundra of the north Slope, the arctic had changed them. estimate its overall mass and the relative proportions of grasses, shrubs, lichens, and moss growing in each location. Next, they measure carbon content of the organic and mineral soils. They put the dried and weighed soil samples in a muffle furnace at 930 degrees F, which burns off all the carbon. When they weigh the samples again, the difference tells them how much of each sample was carbon.

Finally, they all pitch in to help McCulloch with her root system research. While one person washes soil samples through fine sieves, the others spend hours hunched over tables, helping her tediously tease apart roots, separating them into living and dead, and categorizing them by size.

The Arctic is a complex ecosystem, and Toolik is the perfect place to exchange ideas and observations with other researchers who have experience there.

“You’re with people who love what they do and they’re passionate,” McCulloch said. “It’s really nice to

tundra of the North Slope, the Arctic had changed them. For Norzagaray and Uy, new to the rigors of fieldwork, they had proven something important — that they could do it.

“Being here has made me feel more a part of the world,” Uy said. “I’ve enjoyed every moment of it.” If Norzagaray could pass along a message to others, it would be this: “If an opportunity comes your way,” she said, “even if it’s not something you ever thought of doing, jump on it. It might turn out to be a lifechanging experience that will shape what you want to do and who you want to become.”

The students have only begun to scratch the surface of Arctic research. Some may continue, while others might ultimately take different career paths. But no matter what field they find themselves in, they won’t soon forget how it feels to reach down through the cool soil and touch the solid icy permafrost with their fingertips.

News and views for the Colgate community

35

WHAT IS ART PERFECT STRANGERS COME TOGETHER TO TAKE ART OUT OF THE GALLERY AND BRING IT INTO THE COMMUNITY.

BY ALETA MAYNE

36

scene: Winter 2016

Andrew Daddio Andrew Daddio

BEHIND THE SCENE

MANIPULATING THEIR RAKES DIFFERENTLY AT FIRST AND THEN IN COORDINATED, GRACEFUL SWEEPS, FOUR STUDENTS PERFORMED ARCHIVE

OF REGIONAL RAKING ON THE 100 BROAD STREET LAWN. THOSE PASSING BY ON THAT DUSKY HALLOWEEN EVE PROBABLY WONDERED WHY A CROWD WAS GATHERED ROUND WHAT NORMALLY CONSTITUTES A FALL CHORE.

The only sounds in the first act were leaves swishing, geese honking overhead,

and cars driving by on Broad Street. Then, leaf blowers provided a drone effect.

Lastly, rakes that were rigged with microphones produced a melodic soundtrack synthesized by the event’s orchestrator: artist Chris Kallmyer.

Kallmyer was one of 11 artists in residence during the two-month-long

Perfect Strangers: Machine Project and the Hamiltonians. Together with the Colgate and Hamilton communities, these artists conducted experiments that facilitated discussions and posed philosophical questions, including: What is art?

How often do you have a chance to save the day with a broken metal utility handle? Strangely, that ended up being the case when I had the pleasure of working with artist Chris Kallmyer.

Kallmyer works with sound, exploring a participatory approach to making music using everyday objects. On the lawn outside of Persson Hall, he was testing a rake that he had modified by attaching a microphone to it. The raking would send vibrations up the bamboo tines and would be picked up by the microphones, which would then be processed through synthesizers, producing unique soundscapes correlating to each movement.

I shot a portrait of Kallmyer, as well as images of him raking up huge piles of leaves that would later be used for the performance.

But, after less than 15 minutes, the wooden handle of the rake snapped where he had drilled the hole to mount the microphone. He wasn’t sure that it could be replaced because he had bought the last two bamboo rakes at the local hardware store.

I remembered that I had a metal utility handle in the corner of my garage. The plastic mount had broken, but it seemed like it would still attach to the rake with a clamp and screw. I went and got it for Kallmyer.

When I showed up that night to shoot the performance, Kallmyer had the metal handle firmly attached to the bamboo rake, and he informed me it was also a telescoping handle.

The handle made it through the performance without a hitch. Because it was too large for airline travel, Kallmyer left it with the art department. As a side benefit, it can also be comfortably used by unbelievably tall individuals!

— Andrew Daddio, university photographer

News and views for the Colgate community

37

PERFECT STRANGERS COME TOGETHER TO TAKE ART OUT OF THE GALLERY AND BRING IT INTO THE COMMUNITY.

BY ALETA MAYNE

38

scene: Winter 2016

Andrew Daddio

News and views for the Colgate community

39

Machine Project is a Los Angeles–based

organization “that works with artists to develop new projects often involving performance or participation with the public,” explained founder

Computing with the dead.

In an homage to John Vincent Atanasoff, the inventor of the digital computer who was born in Hamilton, N.Y., Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain spun an electromechanical installation using music and light.

Mark Allen. Its troupe has traveled the world, performing in various combinations and sites, but this fall was the organization’s first collaboration with a whole town.

Events ranged from interpretive dance, to protest

songs, to intuition workshops. “Machine Project is part of a larger genre, which is sometimes called social practice,” said art and art history professor DeWitt Godfrey, who invited the group to Colgate.

“Artists use the relationships between people or within communities as a kind of material — not just a setting, but actually how people interact with each other and what that says about who we are.”

Godfrey met Allen almost 10 years ago, through

a program at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. “I was really taken by his description of what he was doing with Machine Project,” Godfrey recalled. “It seemed to me that it would be an engaged public art happening that would be valuable Zoe Zhong ’17

for Colgate and our students, as a way of taking art out of the gallery into the community, to see how art works in that context.” This fall, the timing was right, and Godfrey’s department colleague Professor Lynn Schwarzer agreed to be a coordinator. Machine

Endeavor Foundation Artists in Residence program.

DEFINING THE UNDEFINABLE

A first-year seminar called Art in Community, taught

really focused on the things that might not seem at

specifically for Hamilton and Colgate. Allen invited

by Godfrey, was organized around Machine Project’s

first to be art, that don’t fit people’s regular criteria.

artists whose work could be done outside of a studio

visit. “We started with talking about what art is,”

If art is having a séance over experimental music

and who he thought would connect with different

explained Ally Shahidi ’19. “[It’s difficult to try] to

at Merrill House, then what is a painting? What is a

audiences. “It’s like making a mixed tape,” Allen said.

put a definition on something that’s completely

sculpture? It requires you to shift your categories.”

“You think about how one project moves into the

undefinable. That’s what Machine Project is — they

next. You want transitions that are logical, but then

push the boundaries on where the definition of art is

(in one case, a collective of two artists), interviewing

you want real diverse ways of interacting.”

and what falls in and outside of that category.”

them about their work and helping as an assistant

when needed. “We’re not just presenting culture —

Project was supported by the Christian A. Johnson Almost all of the projects were tailored

There was something for everyone, said Godfrey.

The class looked at historical studies, discussing

“This thing we call art occupies an impossibly

wide spectrum,” Godfrey emphasized. “We were

The 10 students were each paired with an artist

“You’re not required to like it all. It’s like a concert

how art has evolved over time, and used Machine

we’re helping to produce it,” Godfrey said.

hall in a particular season.”

Project as a case study — talking about how it fits.

Both as a participant and an observer, “you

realize you’re being asked some very interesting, and maybe even profound, questions about how art can function,” Godfrey said. “What does art tell

WE’RE NOT JUST PRESENTING CULTURE — WE’RE HELPING TO PRODUCE IT.” — Professor DeWitt Godfrey

40

scene: Winter 2016

us about the world that other constructions of knowledge don’t?”

Lynn Schwarzer

SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE THERE’S SIGNS

Lynn Schwarzer

Hanging in the windows of businesses around town, bold-colored logos were designed by Tiffanie Tran for the 40 storefronts that signed up.

“How you bring a group of artists into a community, and have [both groups] feel as though it’s a mutual kind of greeting and exchange was an interesting process,” said Schwarzer. The signs represented that reciprocal welcome.

AN ORIGINAL DUPLICATE When Mercedes Teixido (pictured above) said she wanted to work in a library Mark Williams

setting, Schwarzer asked Hamilton Public Library director Hilary Virgil to help welcome Machine Project.

Hosting several sessions throughout the building, Teixido listened to

participants reading passages, or just talking, while she used a contraption to make artistic interpretations of what she was hearing. The apparatus was based on Thomas Jefferson’s polygraph machine, which he used to copy his letters. “[Jefferson] used it primarily to make duplicates,” Virgil explained, “but Mercedes takes it in a different direction entirely. She makes it an art form, using the spoken word.” The library was a natural setting because of the readily available reading materials.

At one of Teixido’s events, people lined up to participate. “Because the

library works with such a diverse population, it was a great opportunity to make [Machine Project] widespread — introducing it to children, teens, adults, and

Mark Williams

elderly folks,” Virgil said.

News and views for the Colgate community

41

Visit colgate.edu/machineproject for videos and more photos from Perfect Strangers: Machine Project and the Hamiltonians

Some of the songs were silly, like the first-graders who sang about their favorite games, including Hungry Hungry Hippos. Others addressed serious issues, like white privilege. “It was supposed to be fun, but also, if they were able to express something that was bothering them, [my] most idealistic version of [the project was] that conversations about uncomfortable things start,” Goldman said.

IN PROTEST OF THE PROTEST SONG

He recalled that, even as a Colgate student, he

was making music and liked to push boundaries. “I did a rock opera here, with a couple of friends, called

Adam Goldman ’94 also engaged multiple generations — but in song — at the

Glam: the Story of All the Young Dudes,” Goldman

elementary school, the homecoming tailgate, Hamilton Center for the Arts, and

said mischievously. “It was about glam rock and we

the Palace Theater.

were very straightforward about what that scene

was like, from what we read.”

Through his project, “I’d Rather Listen to a Bad Song,” the professional

musician helped participants make protest songs. Goldman’s project was

motivated by taking a famous quote by folk singer Phil Ochs and turning it on

music — like David Bowie being a gender-bending

its head. Ochs famously once said: “I’d rather listen to a good song on the side of

polysexual back in the early ’70s,” Goldman

segregation than a bad song on the side of integration.” Goldman flipped it: “I’d

explained. “And Prince in the ’80s, just being the way

rather listen to a bad song, as long as it was about something that I could get on

he was.”

board with,” he said.

interested in frilly, high-gloss music.” After earning

Goldman set up a song-making booth at various locations, asked people what

Glam rockers made “different kinds of protest

Goldman added that he “was always more

they wanted to protest, and then worked with them to develop lyrics. Then, they

his master’s at California Institute of the Arts (where

sang while he played a musical track.

he met Machine Project’s Mark Allen), Goldman played in an electronic band called Fol Chen for 10 years. They released three albums under Sufjan Stevens’s label, Asthmatic Kitty. Goldman eventually burned out from touring and found more enjoyment in composing/producing. He now produces records for other artists from a studio in his house and is currently working with Andrew Bird, a solo musician who first gained fame with the band Squirrel Nut Zippers. “[Musicians] come to me if they want it to be a little bit weird; but I also understand the mechanics of pop music,” Goldman said.

He is also getting back to his filmmaking roots,

which were inspired by Professor John Knecht at Colgate. Goldman is making a documentary about the history of luxury tourism. “It’s a reminder that you need to exercise all the brain,” he said.

42

scene: Winter 2016

MEANINGFUL MOVEMENT

learning experience for the audience, who joined in a

Hana van der Kolk first came to Colgate last

group dialogue after the performance.

March to meet with art department professors.

When the professors learned of van der Kolk’s

art can have some real agency in helping to mediate

social justice performance work, they told her

and articulate these high-intensity issues in ways

about the September 2014 campus sit-in sparked

that make them accessible outside of language.”

by race issues.

Zoe Zhong ’17

“I got the sense that people were still [affected

Godfrey added: “That was a great example of how

OPEN-ENDED

by] that experience even though it happened in the

Machine Project proved that sometimes art is

fall,” said van der Kolk, explaining that it inspired her

intended to ask questions, not answer them.

project proposal.

art world,” said Emily Wortmann ’19, one of Godfrey’s

Students applied — seven were accepted — and

“It opened my mind to other possibilities of the

van der Kolk spent three intensive weekends with

students. “Everybody just thinks of art as what you’d

them this fall. “I melded two projects from the

find in a gallery, but it can be so much more — it can

past as a starting point and invited the students to

be an interaction. And even if you didn’t think it was

specifically think about race, gender, and difference,”

art, you had an interaction or experience that you

she said.

otherwise never would have had.”

The first weekend, she invited activist Angelica Clarke to help her co-facilitate “a

“As I told my students,” Godfrey said, “[the

preparatory situation where we did a lot of work around conscious communication,

meaning of this] might not all come to you

responsibility around media intake, and discussions around power and privilege,” van

immediately, but let it sit there and it’ll be the kind

der Kolk said. “Then we wove in movement exercises that would help the students

of thing that all of us years from now will go, ‘Oh,

embody those ideas.” The next weekend, the group practiced performance exercises

remember that time?’”

and “skills [for] developing greater intimacy with themselves and each other.” And the third weekend, they “generated the performance from the material that had arisen the first two weekends.”

The students were initially “anxious about the level to which we would have to

open up to each other, or the level of discomfort we were about to endure,” Sharon Ettinger ’18 said. However, through exercises and dialogue, they found unity, she added. “We opened up the space through [talking about] our personal backgrounds, childhood memories, pop-culture interests, and ultimately, our individual conceptions of privilege.”

Van der Kolk said that the final performance “came from their own bodies, from

various experiences of experimenting and improvising together.” She had also asked the students to write about their experiences around privilege, and to look for other writers who inspired them, so they planned some readings throughout.

During the final rehearsal days, student activists on campus were again speaking

out — this time against sexual assault (see pg. 3). One of van der Kolk’s rehearsals was affected by a gathering in the chapel where survivors told their stories. “Two women in the group went to support their friends, and the rest of us ended up going to support them, too,” van der Kolk said. “The students kept apologizing [because it delayed rehearsal], but I told them that this is ultimately what this is about — having

Lynn Schwarzer

community so that we have the strength to speak truth to power.”

Van der Kolk taught the students how to use artistic practice as a way to work

through issues. “We came together to simultaneously speak out and fully hear each other, finding solace in facing discomfort and thus tackling this discomfort in unity,” Ettinger said.

“They thought about their identities on campus, but more broadly, how they could

articulate the concerns that they have as members of the community and some of the tensions that have surfaced,” Schwarzer explained. “[That experience] gave those students a significant engagement with ways of thinking about art as identifying and

Carmina Escobar, from Mexico City, gave "sonic massages." She used the vibrations of her voice on different spots in recipients’ bodies and selected her pitches depending on their bone structures.

solving so much more than you could ever have hoped for.” It was also meant to be a

News and views for the Colgate community

43

Anna Heil ’16

No longer just willing to stand by

Performers deliver monologues based on interviews with Colgate students for This Is Not a Play About Sex.

Sex co-education Students work toward a positive sexual climate The issue of sexual assault on college campuses has become a national conversation, and many members of the Colgate community have been working broadly to build solutions here on campus. While there is much to be done (read more on pg. 3), a recent survey showed that Colgate students already have a good understanding of the definition of sexual assault, and they know how to access university services in the event of an assault. Credit goes, in part, to students who have engaged in peer-to-peer education, talking to each other in ways that only classmates can. Here are three examples.

44

scene: Winter 2016

It’s a common situation: a group of students are having fun at a party. But, when they notice that a friend may be overly intoxicated, their actions could dramatically change what happens next. For example, simply asking a friend or peer, “Are you OK?” can have a substantial effect on the trajectory of the evening.

Scenarios like this are presented to students in Bystander Intervention Training: a two-hour session that empowers students to look out for the well-being of their peers as well as protect their own safety. Students learn how to identify and safely intervene in dangerous and unhealthy situations.

The program was introduced in spring 2014 as part of the university’s increased efforts to prevent sexual assault and gender violence on campus. It also includes conversations about bullying, sexual harassment, and intimate relationship violence.

“The real This year, for the strength of the first time, special trainings were held program is that it for first-year seminar is student led.” classes in the beginning — khristian kemp-delisser of September (in the past, sessions have been offered throughout the semester). This targeted approach increased the number of first-year students who participated, to a total of approximately 600 (at press time). The sessions were facilitated by 20 trained students.

“The real strength of the program is that it is student led,” emphasized khristian kemp-delisser, assistant dean and director of LGBTQ initiatives.

Colgate’s Bystander Intervention Training is based on a model from Duke University called PACT (Prevent, Act, Challenge, Teach). A team of Colgate staff and faculty members brought the program here, and it quickly garnered interest from the campus community. Those participating in the initial sessions provided feedback for tailoring the program to Colgate’s campus climate.

With Bystander Intervention Training, students are taught to be more aware of their — and their friends’ — actions, explained kemp-delisser. “People make decisions and continue behaviors based on the reactions they get from others,” he said. With more people talking about what’s appropriate and what consent means, there will be increased understanding.

Each training includes a discussion of the university’s definition of sexual consent, videos showing scenarios in which students should intervene, and ways to safely navigate the situation.

“Although the background information we give on consent and rape culture is crucial to all sexual encounters, the Bystander Intervention program is unique because it works to prevent those dangerous sexual encounters from occurring in the first place,” said Rosemary Tootell ’16, a Bystander Intervention intern.

The program also underlines the fact that these incidents can affect anyone. “The goal,” Tootell said, “is to make students of any grade, gender, or status feel comfortable intervening in a situation where one of their peers could be hurt.”

— Lauren Casella ’16 and Aleta Mayne

The stage becomes a safe space

Learning from Love

The audience was struck silent after four women took to the stage in October and delivered narratives about the challenges and uncertainties in navigating how to help a friend who survived sexual assault. When the women finished by holding hands and speaking in unison, the power of the performance was palpable among those watching.

This scene was part of This Is Not a Play About Sex, a show that strives to explore important truths about humanity through an examination of sexual expression and experience on campus. The show — now in its fourth year — is written, directed, and performed by students.

Christina Liu ’13 created the play in 2012 as part of her senior capstone project. Through interviews with fellow students, Liu realized that most people were looking for two things: permission to be their authentic selves, and deeper connections with others.

“This is not a play about sex,” Liu recently told the Scene. “These are stories about vulnerability.”

The play is composed of a series of narratives based on true Colgate stories, and although the narratives remain the same, this year, the directors chose to involve more people in each scene to emphasize the importance of connection and community.

Originally performed in a small studio, the play has grown so much in popularity that it now takes place in Brehmer Theater — nearly 1,000 people saw it this past year. The strength of the show, and the positive reception that it has garnered, is just one way in which the Colgate community is acting on conversations.

“Activism takes many forms, and the cool thing about activism in art is that you plant seeds,” said Charity Whyte ’16, this year’s artistic director. “Art can speak to hearts in ways that policy can’t.”

When Providence Ryan ’16 first saw the play, she immediately felt its impact.

“I was in this place at Colgate where I felt like I didn’t understand the people around me, and they didn’t understand me either,” Ryan said. “And then I saw this one monologue in the show, and I was like, ‘That’s me.’ I thought that I was alone, but then I saw that another Colgate student had a similar life story, and that was huge for me. It made me understand who I am, and it helped me see that there are people to talk to at Colgate and that I could reach out to help other people, too.” As this year’s executive director of the play, she hopes that others have been inspired in the same way.

Liu said that the success of the play indicates that more movements like this — where art is used to express, explore, and share truths — need to happen: “It is a constant reminder that we are desperately looking for space where we can genuinely hear from one another.”

— Meredith Dowling ’17

Andrew Daddio

Allison Burstein ’18 has trained more than 200 of her classmates, friends, and acquaintances on campus to identify the warning signs of domestic violence.

“Activism takes many forms, and the cool thing about activism in art is that you plant seeds.”

Anna Heil ’16

— Charity Whyte ’16

University of Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love was killed by her ex-boyfriend in May 2010, just weeks before she was to graduate.

Five years later, and 500 miles to the north, Allison Burstein ’18 is working hard to make sure the same tragedy doesn’t befall her friends and classmates.

Last summer, the Bronxville, N.Y., native went to the offices of the One Love Foundation to offer her services as an intern. The foundation was formed by Love’s parents to promote awareness and prevention of domestic violence among college-age students.

“I initially thought I could volunteer my time or be trained to be a facilitator and do a couple workshops,” she said. “But when I got there, they expressed a greater need for more hands on deck, so I ended up going pretty much full time.”

Under normal circumstances, anyone wishing to participate in One Love programming would need to corral a critical mass of campus volunteers and connect with foundation employees in Bronxville via Skype during the 9-to-5 workday. But thanks to her unexpected promotion, Burstein has turned Colgate into a rarity among the more than 250 colleges and universities that engage with the One Love Foundation. She is an on-site foundation staffer, capable of presenting the organization’s 40-minute scripted film on relationship violence, conducting the follow-up session (known as the One Love Escalation workshop) with fellow undergraduates, and training others to do the same.

During the criminal trial of Love’s ex-boyfriend, the Love family learned that fellow UVA students and teammates had known about the abusive nature of Yeardley's relationship, yet no one had reported the dangerous behavior. The One

Love Foundation, originally a fundraising initiative, consequently shifted its focus toward education.

As a peer educator, Burstein can play a particularly powerful part in that effort.

“We hear things a lot better when they’re coming from someone who’s on the same level,” Burstein said. “When you care passionately about an issue and you are also a Colgate student, other students will show you the respect of caring about that issue, too.”

Although the film and workshop discussion appeal to all kinds of students, they resonate particularly with athletes. Heather Young and Mike Murphy, Colgate’s women’s and men’s lacrosse coaches, respectively, decided to make the program mandatory for all their players. “We felt that it would be great to have them attend the escalation talk together,” said Young, “especially since our teams are very close friends and some date each other.”

“You can find some little bit of Yeardley’s story that has happened to you, could happen to you, or has happened to a friend,” Burstein said.

“Because the grassroots of this organization are in lacrosse, I think it struck home more [with that team].”

Burstein also conducted workshops with the women’s volleyball team and the men’s football team before classes began last fall.

She has held workshops with the softball team, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, and the men’s basketball team.

In all, she has trained more than 200 of her classmates, friends, and acquaintances to identify the warning signs of domestic violence on campus and take prompt, appropriate action — which could have saved Yeardley Love’s life. With a long list of students — athletes and nonathletes alike — hoping to be trained in the program, Burstein is thrilled at the positive reception.

“My goal,” Burstein said, “is to get everyone to participate in a workshop and have it continue on after I graduate.”

— Mark Walden

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Andrew Daddio

News and views for the Colgate community

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stay connected

Alumni programs, volunteer opportunities, career networking, and more

2016 Alumni Council Election

The Nominations Committee of the Alumni Council has selected the following slate of alumni for election at Reunion 2016. The candidates, chosen from approximately 300 nominees, have strong records of varied Colgate volunteer service, a consistent history of giving financial support to Colgate, and meaningful personal or professional accomplishments or contributions to the greater community.

Complete information about the election and challenge petition process, as well as full biographies of the nominees, are posted at colgate.edu/2016candidates. Paper copies are available by calling 315228-7433, or by sending an e-mail to alumni@colgate.edu.

Figuring out how to respond to these new conflicts is an urgent challenge. Those who turn to terrorism are quick to point out that traditional wars kill huge numbers of civilians, and such terrorists often claim to act in the name of those victims and against outside aggression. For their part, government officials seek greater leeway to engage in such acts as assassination and preventive war, citing the potentially enormous stakes created by increasingly dangerous weapons.

These and other challenges ensure, sadly, that our need to get clear on the morality of war is not likely to disappear anytime soon.

These are just a few of the points we covered in Los Angeles at the home of Ray ’70 and Helen Hartung. The people who attended were, as I expected, extremely sharp, very passionate, and deeply thoughtful. I’d have been happy to keep on talking with them for hours, and I hope I get a chance to continue the general conversation with them again, before too long. It was clear to me as well how seriously engaged they were, as thinkers and responsible citizens, with the issues we were discussing.

Faculty dispatches David McCabe (philosophy) and Nina Moore (political science) spoke at alumni events during the fall semester. McCabe traveled to Los Angeles to discuss just war theory, and Moore sat down with community members outside of Chicago to explore America’s immigration debate. Upon their return, they shared with the Scene what they discussed.

As expected, there was incredible energy and an impressive amount of brainpower in the room at the Indian Hill Golf Club (Winnetka, Ill.) on October 16. The questions began before my presentation on the potentially transformative impact of modern immigration was fully delivered.

And they ran the gamut. What is the relationship between public opinion on immigration and economic cycles? Isn’t the failure to abide by immigration laws the real issue, moreso than who is arriving? Why is it necessary for such a rich country to have a border at all? What is the likelihood that the Republican-controlled Congress will enact immigration reform? How does America’s response to immigration pressures stack up against that of other countries? And a question that drew applause came from a young alumnus seeking U.S. citizenship: What about those of us

We’re often told that war is hell, but that’s not exactly so. No matter the mayhem and destruction that war entails, it remains subject to moral norms whose force all of us recognize: it is wrong, for example, for a country to go to war against another to convert its citizens to “the one true faith,” or to target the civilians of another in hopes of coercing surrender, or to use nerve gas as a means of subduing enemy soldiers.

These and other moral norms are contained in the long-standing tradition of thought known as Just War Theory. But contemporary conflicts, fought less and less between comparable states, and involving more and more stateless entities whose actions directly violate those norms of war, raise new and challenging issues.

Era I: Priit Vesilind ’64 Era II: William Baker ’70 Era III: Patricia Spindel ’79 Era IV: Edward Witz ’89 Era V: Richard Burke ’92 Era VI: Chad Cooley ’00 Era VII: Robert Sobelman ’08

Two if by sea Alumni and student crews represented Colgate at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Oct. 17–18, 2015. With members of the Boston alumni club cheering from the shoreline, the men’s alumni and collegiate eights showed contenders from dozens of universities that Raiders kill giants just as readily on water as they do on land.

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row2k

RVP Mid-Atlantic: Elizabeth Levine-Brown ’01 RVP Mid-West: Stephen Rock ’85 At-Large: Max Haspel ’95 At-Large: Andrew Sweet ’93

David McCabe Director, Arts and Humanities Richard J. and Joan Head Chair in Philosophy

From right to left: Ben Halligan ’19, Justin Manzi ’17, Matt Oakley ’19, Caleb Tansey ’19, Peter Rex ’19, Clark Cady-McCrea ’17, Jacob Schechter ’19, Ryan Kiel ’19, and Shane Buchanan ’17

The key to professional networks

Zoe Zhong ’17

who finished college, have important skills to offer, followed all of the rules and regulations, and yet are seemingly overlooked in the current public debate about unauthorized immigrants?

The gracious hosts for the event, Chris ’81 and Becky Bair ’81 Hurley, could not have organized a more lively and thoughtful conversation about a topic

Professor Nina Moore, pictured last year at an event for her book The Political Roots of Racial Tracking in American Criminal Justice

that the public has identified as among the most important issues facing the country for more than a decade. The class years represented at the event (1958 through 2012) were just as wide ranging as the perspectives shared.

It was especially rewarding to know that the evening not only provided an excellent forum for serious intellectual engagement and serious mingling, but also a chance for the 62 attendees to make a matched donation to financial aid at the university. The gathering captured the essence of the Colgate spirit, and the premium that the university places on lifelong learning. It ended with a call from one audience member to rally behind the young alumnus who was eager to become a U.S. citizen and put his Colgate degree to work!

Colgate maroon meets kelly green It’s no blarney to say that Colgate made history — and experienced it — when the men’s hockey team traveled to Belfast for the Friendship Four tournament. The matches, or “fixtures,” as they call them on the Emerald Isle, were held during Thanksgiving weekend and marked the first time that a competitive NCAA tournament has taken place outside North America.

Seventeen members of the Colgate community traveled the country together before the start of the tournament, stopping off at iconic locations in Dublin, Galway, and Belfast. After enjoying the view from the Cliffs of Moher and the seventh floor of the Guinness Storehouse, they cheered the Raiders in games against Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and Brown University.

“It was a great mix of parents, alumni, and friends,” said Kate Hollerbush ’09, associate director of alumni relations and trip organizer. “We definitely had a bond by the end of the trip.”

Nina Moore Associate Professor of Political Science

Tim Mansfield

Colgate professional networks spark crucial relationships by introducing you to fellow Colgate community members working across your industry. They also allow alumni, parents, and students to inspire each other as they engage with the university.

You can build your Colgate connections while supporting this vital initiative when you become a key professional networks volunteer. Make contacts, plan events, interact with enthusiastic undergraduates — whether you work at a nonprofit or a for-profit, whether you’re an entrepreneur, a financier, or a health care practitioner, there’s a role for you in a Colgate professional network.

To find out more, contact Jillian Arnault ’10, assistant director of professional networks, at 315228-6929 or jarnault@colgate.edu.

Check colgate.edu/alumni for faculty events in your area.

An unexpected reunion On December 12, Colgate football advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs for only the second time in program history, taking on Sam Houston State in Austin, Texas. Former alumni council member Devon Skerritt ’00 and his 5-year-old son, Cullen, were in the stands. Acting as a Scene correspondent, Skerritt sent this report.

When the stars aligned, there was no way that my son and I were going to miss a three-hour road trip together to see Colgate play an NCAA quarterfinal football game deep in the heart of Texas.

Pulling into the tailgate area gave my heart a slightly warm flutter — like it was anticipating coming home after a long absence. We got our nametags and “Let's Go Gate” signs from the friendly faces of Colgate alumni relations staffers

Tim Mansfield and Kate Hollerbush ’09, and quickly found our dear Austin, Texas, friends Katie Tone Brock ’00 and her husband, Doug. We saw other friends from the Dallas area and caught up with VP and athletics director Vicky Chun ’91, MA’94. The easy conversation flowed, making me wish we had more time to play and talk before our tailgate wrapped up.

This was an occasion for reliving memories and making new ones. The atmosphere — before, during, and after the game — was quintessentially Colgate, with a celebratory tone and close-knit comfort. The unanticipated opportunity to congregate with our extended family gave us just cause to feel the range of emotions that sports engender: anticipation, surprise, revelry, excitement, disappointment, joy, and love for alma mater.

Sharing this Colgate experience with my son gave me a profound sense of pride in being a part of something bigger than myself. Introducing Cullen to friends both old and new made me appreciate how our community is united by a special bond that spans across generations, time zones, and state lines. The relationship between a Colgate graduate and his school created an opportunity for a father and his son to share a moment in time that I will cherish for a lifetime.

Register for Reunion Reunion 2016 is just around the corner, and online registration is now open at colgate. edu/reunion for ’1s, ’6s, perennial attendees, families, and friends. This year, we’ll also celebrate Colgate’s military veterans, the 20th birthday of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, and the Alumni of Color organization’s 30th anniversary.

Sign up for the package of your choice: Friday only, Saturday only, or a full weekend. Pre-register for Camp Raider childcare service (hourly fee required), or hire a local babysitter from a list maintained by the alumni office. All weekend long, children under 12 eat free, with the exception of the Saturday-night banquet, which is a ticketed, adults-only event.

Come aboard — we’re expecting you Explore the Mediterranean with Colgate alumni and parents on the Oceania Riviera, Oct. 8–16, 2016. Robert Garland, Roy D. and Margaret B. Wooster Professor of the classics, will be your guide, offering lectures at several ports of call, which include Athens, Capri, Florence, Monte Carlo, Marseille, and Barcelona.

Board the deluxe Riviera and float your way to Italy’s legendary ruins of Pompeii, Malta’s beautiful St. John’s Co-Cathedral, and Greece’s Bronze Age Palace of Knossos.

It’s a liberal arts odyssey you won’t want to miss.

Space is limited, so sign up now for the best choice of stateroom or suite. Visit colgate.edu/alumni for details.

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This amazing story about Lloyd Gould ’65 took place 11,454 miles from Hamilton, N.Y. The Scene learned its origins from this issue’s class news column by Garner Simmons ’65. We reached out to Gould, who told us the details.

Not to be confused with Wagner’s or Tolkien’s, the Gould “Ring” saga is one of those stories that gets embellished on each retelling. I set out the facts: After Colgate, Columbia Law School, five years of corporate law in New York City, and two years establishing a company in London

and Jamaica, Wis., the company got sold and I hopped on my motorcycle. In 1975, I traveled for six months around Western and Eastern Europe and then rode on a truck through Africa. I met my wife-to-be, an Australian, on a beach outside Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, and ran into her again in New Delhi when I was continuing my two-year round-the-world jaunt.

At that point, I gave her my Colgate ring. We got married and lived and worked in New York City until she got homesick. In 1985, we moved to Australia with son David; daughter Joanna was born in Perth in 1987.

The marriage broke up in 1991, but I stayed in Australia to work (director of business law at University of Western Australia) and to co-raise my children. I returned to the United States in 2008 after retiring, and now live in southern Florida. I spend part of each year visiting with my adult offspring in Perth and Melbourne, and visiting other spots around the world on the way to and from Australia.

Meanwhile, in the 1990s, an Australian

The Commons The three items in each of these groups have something in common. The common element might be something about how they look, what they are, or what words describe them. Once you discover each common element, find the one item from the choices at the bottom that fits that group.

(See solutions on pg. 72.)

Puzzle by Puzzability

salmagundi

The Gould “Ring” saga

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woman named Ralene bought a Colgate Class of 1965 ring in a police auction. She assumed that some tourist had lost the ring. Ralene had

no way to track down the original owner, until several years later when her friend noticed faint initials inside the ring: LRG. In 2015, she Googled Colgate and found a reference to the Class of ’65 50-Year Reunion and to class editor Garner Simmons ’65. She contacted Garner, who noted that I was the only one in the class with those initials. She found a Joanna Gould in Melbourne on Facebook and sent her a message inquiring if Joanna knew me. My daughter, Joanna, concerned that some scammer, rejected girlfriend, or debt collector was after me, did not respond. She flipped the matter over to me. I just happened to be visiting my son in Perth when I got the e-mail, and I contacted Ralene directly.

My best guess is that my Colgate ring remained in my ex-wife’s jewelry box after the breakup; she had her house broken into in 1992, and the ring got stolen with the rest of her jewelry.

I told Ralene that she was now the legal owner of the ring. I did not expect it back, but I greatly appreciated her solving the mystery. However, Ralene made it clear that she wanted the satisfaction of returning the ring to its original owner. So, on a sunny day in October 2015 — 50 years after I first got the ring — we met at a restaurant overlooking the Indian Ocean, outside Perth, and I was reunited with my ring. It was about as far away on Earth as you can get from Colgate University (on dry land).

If this were a Hollywood picture, I suppose the two protagonists would have discovered they were soul mates, fallen madly in love, and lived happily ever after. But that would diverge completely from the simple, yet uplifting, truth. Ralene is a delightful woman, and we each continued on with our lives as before — but each feeling a bit better about the world for the experience.

— Lloyd R. Gould ’65

Above: First-year students listen to personal stories from upperclassmen about their beliefs, backgrounds, and experiences during In Your Company. This annual event, which takes place during first-year orientation, plays an integral part in welcoming students to the Colgate community. Photo by Brandon Alexander ’18 Back cover: A winter walk past the great Norway spruce, a favorite climbing tree and sitting place year-round on the lower campus. Photo by Andrew Daddio

News and views for the Colgate community

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