March
7 , 2003
Front-Page
News
Cartoon Character
An article in the March 3 Daily Hampshire Gazette
included humorous reactions by Smith and Mount Holyoke representatives
to references to the two institutions in an episode last month
of "The Simpsons." In the Fox television comedy, Lisa
Simpson was tempted to cheat in a spelling bee and lose in order
to win a scholarship to one of the Seven Sisters colleges. She
dreamt of muses that personified each college. "Mount Holyoke,
recently cited in one student survey as among the least partying
campuses in the country, was represented by a student holding
a champagne glass urging Lisa to 'party with me,' " noted
the Gazette. "Smith's personification was a muscular
young woman with a husky voice, carrying a lacrosse stick who
passionately kisses a Bryn Mawr student. Vassar, Wellesley, Barnard
and Radcliffe were also lampooned." Jane Brown, vice president
for enrollment and College relations at MHC, comments in the Gazette
piece, "We say bravo to Lisa Simpson for refusing to
throw the spelling bee, even though her scruples cost her a free
college education. Lisa sounds like the kind of bright, talented,
principled, independent young women who thrives at Mount Holyoke.
We would certainly consider her for early admission—or,
in her case, early, early, early admission. She'd want to bring
her saxophone and guitar, but she really should lose the pearls."
So don't have a cow, man.
Reality TV
A story on the Los Angeles Times wire last week
regarding car chases includes the perspective of Mount Holyoke
criminologist and author Richard Moran. On February 26, top cops
in L.A. asked media honchos to stop broadcasting chases, like
that of O.J. Simpson, in which police pursue alleged criminals:
scenes that are often beamed live from television helicopters
alerted to the chases by police radio. Broadcasting, police brass
said, gives evildoers an incentive to run in order to gain "fifteen
minutes of fame." While chases sometimes end in crashes,
injury, and even death, most often for the escaping driver, the
article noted that televised chases may serve a purpose beyond
meeting the voyeuristic needs of the viewing audience: "Chase
coverage may have one benefit," said Moran, a policing expert:
"It may ensure that police don't rough up suspects after
a pursuit. The notorious beating of Rodney G. King by LAPD officers
in 1991, for example, came on the heels of a car chase. And in
the past, police in general were known to be purposely harsh with
suspects after a chase to reinforce the idea that "you are
going to be sorry if you don't pull over,' " Moran said.
Familiar Faces Two big names in the world of
architecture who are currently in the international media spotlight
will no doubt be familiar to members of the MHC community. Both
Daniel Libeskind, whose design was chosen for the World Trade
Center site, and Elizabeth Diller, whose work is the subject of
a retrospective at the Whitney Museum in New York, appeared on
campus as part of last year's Building Meaning: Architecture
and Public Space in the Third Millennium, a series sponsored
by the Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership.
Both Libeskind and Diller are subjects of stories in the February
28 New York Times.
Profiled Frances Perkins Scholar Patricia Mullings-Thomas
was profiled in a lengthy feature in the February 28 Chronicle
of Higher Education regarding efforts by MHC, Smith, and
a handful of other institutions to court graduates of community
colleges for programs for nontraditional students. Mullings-Thomas,
who came to Mount Holyoke from the Borough of Manhattan Community
College, is excelling academically and enjoying her time here.
"I was a little anxious about leaving New York at first because
even though it's a big city, I had my friends—people who
knew my name," Mullings-Thomas told the Chronicle.
"Now that I'm here, this is the most intellectually challenging
environment I've ever been in—and I just love it."
Nathalie Vaughn, an Ada Comstock Scholar at Smith, was also featured.
Vaughn is an alumna of Borough of Manhattan as well. Smith and
Mount Holyoke are on the cutting edge of colleges that are opening
opportunities for women who, for a variety of reasons, choose
to attend college later in life.The
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