Commencement 2006 Video

The 185th Colby College commencement ceremonies went off beautifully over the weekend. If you missed anything, or if you would like to just relive this wonderful event, video of the ceremony is available at the Colby Web site.

Colby College | News & Events | 185th Commencement | Video Clips

Eric Mehnert ‘82 Runs for Congress

The Maine Sunday Telegram has an interview with Eric Mehnert ‘82, a candidate in this year’s Democratic primary for the opportunity to challenge Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe this fall.

“I am gravely concerned about the direction that we’re now headed,” Mehnert said. “One person can make a difference in the Senate.”

Read the Telegram article here: ‘I have tested my ideas in the crucible of the courts’

Commencement from the cupboard under the stairs

Well, here we are in the Harry Potter-esque cupboard under the stairs in Miller Library. We are sitting in a slightly modified storage closet, Webcasting the 185th Commencement ceremonies. The students have just processed out of the hallway, up the stairs, down the front steps and have begun taking their seats on the lawn. It is about 75 degrees out there (even warmer if you’re sitting in the sun in a black robe). Best wishes for a smooth, fulfilling, and succinct ceremony where noone passes out from the heat.

Congratulations to the Class of 2006!

Zimbabwe Daily News Update

News of class speaker Francis Tapiwa Chapuredima ‘06 has made it to his homeland. ZimLounge.com, a site that aggregates news about Zimbabwe, picked up the Morning Sentinel story about Chapuredima.

Click here to see the item at Zim Lounge.

Oh, by the way, it’s commencement weekend

Just in case you have missed it, the Colby College class of 2006 will be graduating Sunday at 10 a.m. Novelist and essayist Anna Quindlen will be addressing the roughly 465 seniors at a ceremony on Miller Library lawn. If you can’t make it to Mayflower Hill for the festivities, you can still watch the ceremonies on the Internet. Just go to the Commencement Web site on Sunday and click on the Webcast link.

And if you are busy on Sunday, video of the entire ceremony will be made available at the same address within a few days.

Click here to read all about this year’s commencement activities.

Professor moves lectures online

Dr. Bill Ashraf, a senior lecturer at Bradford University, in West Yorkshire, England, has decided to give only virtual lectures to his first year biochemistry students. Instead of sitting in a lecture hall and raising their hands, students will listen to lectures via podcast and post questions via text message. Dr. Ashraf will answer questions through his blog.

Read the BBC article.

Latest Colby magazine hits the street

The spring 2006 issue of Colby magazine is in the mail and available online. The online version has a new feature that allows readers to comment on the articles. All comments willl be read by the magazine’s editor. One source at the magazine said, “There are many articles in the magazine that we are sure will provoke comment–and in some cases controversy–and we want to hear about that. We have a very intelligent readership, with diverse points of view, and we think this feature will spark some very stimulating conversation.”

Read the magazine here. Be sure to take the poll on the demise of fraternities. If any article provokes ideas, thoughts, feelings, please take the time to leave a comment.

“Exploring Lincoln’s unusual cabinet”

In this article in the Berkshire (VT) Eagle, Steve Bennett of the San Antonio Express-News interviews Doris Kearns Goodwin ‘64 about her book, Team of Rivals.

Read the review.

To Live and “Die” at Colby

The blog “Random Works of the Web,” has a rather comprehensive article about the history and rules of the game of beer die. The introduction states that “It is…generally believed that it originated in the state of Maine at Colby College.”

Click here to learn more than you ever wanted to know about this vaunted game.

21st-Century Dorm Room

BoingBoing has an article about some MIT students who have designed and built the ultimate, automated dorm room. The room has its own web page, complete with schematics, photos, and videos of the room in action, at http://web.mit.edu/zacka/www/midas.html.