The Herald
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By and for the students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges FRIDAY, NOVEMber 16, 2007
VOLUME CXXX ISSUE 10
Geneva, NY
HSG UPDATE:
Cradle To Cradle
Quorum Attendance Dissipates
By Tim Robbins Herald Contributor I was scribbling notes the other night when I abruptly realized that I had run out of notebook paper. It was late, and the campus store was closed, so I searched for an alternative instead. While I will admit that I’m still quite partial to the left-handed recycled notebooks that are offered for cheap in the campus store; I might have found a new favorite. I had been doing work in the computer lab at the time, so I walked over to the laser jet and picked up a few scattered sheets of scrap paper that had been discarded in and around the table. That’s where it all began… Returning to my desk, I began to scribble more notes. Suddenly an idea came to me! I think that I had better explain. After we use paper we get rid of it. Sometimes we do this by recycling; all too commonly however, paper is thrown in the trash. The paper that is recycled is reprocessed into pulp and then goes to a variety of uses, commonly ending up as recycled paper and various other products. The paper that is thrown away ends up in the stream of garbage that goes to our local landfill. While alternative methods exist, generally this paper is mixed in with other waste material, compacted or incinerated and then placed into a landfill. Once in a landfill environment, this biodegradable material (paper) is generally inhibited from degrading due to a general lack of oxygen (among other variables); so it just sits there. So I figured what if we could put this paper, which is either recycled or wasted to better use? The term “cradle to grave” is common expression used to illustrate the process of production, where materials are combined to make a given product and the environmental impact this product makes throughout its useful life and after it is disposed of by its eventual consumer. What if we could take a material (say partially used computer paper?) that as far as
CRADLE continued on Page 3
By Trippe Duke Managing Editor
Photo by Trippe Duke ‘08
STUDENTS UNITE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE By Trippe Duke Managing Editor Last Wednesday afternoon Sankofa: The Black Student Union of HWS held a forum outside SAGA to raise awareness for social justice and equality within our community. This discussion has been sparked by several recent national events, most notably the incident in Jena, Louisiana involving six African American students who face attempted murder charges for getting into a fight with fellow classmates, who earlier in the week had hung a noose over their social space. These events however are not far from home within our own community, which over the past year has seen two separate instances of derogatory graffiti written on students’ doors as well as frequent threats to the LGBT community. During last Wednesday’s assembly, a prominent theme was asking students if they were willing to “stand up.” Many of the speakers, which consisted of various faculty members and students, pleaded with those who would listen to address the situation of racism and inequality at HWS. One such speaker specifically addressed the crowd asking, “What are people willing to stand up for?” This question strikes at the center of the issue here on campus as, while there is clearly a problem here given the events of the past year, many students are more likely to complain about trite occurrences in daily life and refuse even to acknowledge the discussion in general. This
sentiment was carried by many who walked by, including one younger student who was complaining that the volume was far to high for the amount of people that were there listening. Reverend Leslie Adams addressed this issue specifically when she took the floor. Her speech centered on her conception of reality, and the fact that such social issues like racism and classism were “scary” and that people often “don’t want to look at them.” However she accurately pointed out that our community “can’t live unless we look at these realities and how it kills us.” As true in any realm, there must be involved members willing to address these dire issues in order for them to be repaired. Students who wish to get involved are urged to take advantage of the avenues presented currently by HWS. These include taking a Making Connections class, or joining student organizations such as LAO, Sankofa: The BSU, CSA, ISA, PRIDE, and HILLEL. All students are also invited to the Intercultural Affairs house located in front of the SAGA parking lot, as well as the Kwanzaa Celebration on December 7th. Actions as simple as sitting with a person of color you know at lunch or dinner are baby steps towards creating a community which truly fosters an environment where individual differences are valued, celebrated, and integrated.
Although attendance has steadily dropped over the course of the semester, unfortunately returning to numbers the HSG has seen in years past. The twenty students present, composed of loyal HSG quorum members and other power elites of Hobart College, were somewhat glad that the numbers were low since the meeting was relocated from its normal room to a much smaller one as a result of a class movie in Coxe 8. First on the agenda was an idea brought up by Zach Schulz ’09 about a half-court shot fundraiser to take place at halftime of Hobart Basketball games. This idea was widely accepted by the quorum, which approved to sponsor the $100 prize if any students are lucky enough to make the shot. Tickets will be sold during the first half of the games for $2.00 and proceeds will go to a charitable organization to be selected in an upcoming meeting. Committee updates from Campus Services reported that cross walk lighting had been looked into, and that the Town of Geneva was planning on repaving Pultney St. in 2009. Students also expressed concern for the dissimilar quality of bathroom tissue on campus. An issue was then brought up to Food Services, regarding the fact that the Cellar Pub does not follow SAGA regulations which state that students should be able to get a full meal using one meal ‘swipe.’ Currently students should be able to receive a main course, one side, and a fountain beverage for one meal equivalency, which the Cellar Pub does not offer. Tom Cahill then addressed the quorum on behalf of the Committee on Academic Affairs (COA) concerning an issue which has been brought up concerning the use of websites such as turnitin.com and checkit.com. These sites are tools used by faculty
HSG UPDATE continued on Page 3
The Herald Inside NE WS AND C AMPUS REPOR T SANKOFA Rally Letter from The Editor Saving Paper: Cradle To Cradle
AR TS AND ENTER TAINMENT St yle Prof i le: M oni Celeb G ossi p M ovi e R evi ew : Amer i can G angster
SPOR TS Th i s We e k I n H W S Athl et ic s St u d e nt-At hl ete S p o tl ig ht: Co rey Ca ge