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Steigerwalt soloist in world premiere

Pianist Gary Steigerwalt (above), professor of music, will be soloist with the Pioneer Valley Symphony in the February 13 world premiere of the Concerto for Pianoforte and Orchestra in E-flat by the late British novelist Anthony Burgess. Burgess is best known as the author of the novel A Clockwork Orange. For more information about the Greenfield, MA, concert, call 413-773-3664 or 800-681-7870. Composed in 1976, Burgess's three-movement concerto is ebullient and fascinatingly eclectic, according to Steigerwalt. A variety of musical styles, ranging from the jazz of Bernstein to the poignant melodic writing of Ravel, vie for center stage throughout the work. The solo part features many athletic musical gestures, including black-and-white key glissandos that sweep from one extreme end of the keyboard to the other, he explained.

Record-breaking runs

Sarah Clifton '01 set three College records in as many weeks! First, Clifton (above) set a new College standard for the 600-meter run January 23 at MIT, with a time of 1:43.18. This qualified her for both the NCAA New England Division III Regional and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) championships in March. She achieved her second record run January 30 at the Bates Quad Cup indoor track meet. Clifton passed the previous College record mark for the 800-meter run by more than a second, with a time of 2:26.33. It was the first time she had run the 800 competitively. And on February 6, in her second time competing at that distance, she ran more than four seconds faster, establishing a new mark of 2:22.23! Clifton's 800-meter time qualifies her for the NCAA New England championships. "Sarah is a great athlete with tremendous competitive instincts," said her coach, Russell Powell. "As she gains experience, she has a chance to be a dominant runner in New England, especially in the middle distances."

Photo by Russell Powell

A push for Pushkin

Mount Holyoke's Department of Russian and Eurasian Studies marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Russia's greatest poet, Aleksandr Pushkin, with a two-evening celebration. On February 2 and 4, a new verse translation of Pushkin's novel Eugene Onegin was read by its translator Douglas R. Hofstadter. His translation has been described as more "playful and jazzy" than previous ones, in keeping with Hofstadter's belief that a poetry translator should show "the deepest respect for the subtle patterns of the music of language, of which Pushkin was a consummate master."

International assistance

Seok-Yee Lee '99, an international student from Malaysia, has received a grant from the ASEAN Student Assistance Awards Program, which is administered by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The academic and need-based scholarships are for students from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Korea whose educations are in jeopardy due to the financial crisis in their home countries. Approximately 57 percent of the foreign student population enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities hails from the region most affected by the Asian economic crisis. This prompted the NAFSA initiative to provide alternate means of support so scholars could continue their studies in the United States.

Unbolt those pews!

As readers of the Eliot House newsletter already know, the Abbey small chapel is being converted from a Christian chapel to an interfaith sanctuary for prayer and worship. "We are very troubled that the Christians on campus have a beautiful large church and a lovely small chapel in which to gather for worship while other faith groups share an overused lounge at Eliot House," wrote Andrea Ayvazian, dean of religious life. Plans include replacing all pews with movable chairs, installing wall-to-wall carpeting, putting the pulpit on wheels, removing both organs, increasing the lighting, and painting the walls. Work may begin as early as next month.

Hindu adviser named

Meenu Gupta '98 has volunteered to be adviser to the campus Hindu community this semester, according to the Eliot House newsletter. A Springfield resident who's active in that city's Asian American community, Gupta is "eager to introduce MHC students to the close-knit Hindu community there." She will come to campus "to meet with Hindu students to discuss a range of issues of common concern and to organize visits to Hindu homes and celebrations in Springfield."

Grants granted

The College recently received several significant grants. The Starr Foundation awarded MHC $100,000 for the C.V. Starr Scholarship Fund. The Ernest E. Stempel Foundation awarded MHC $27,516 for financial aid and scholarships. The Citibank Incentive Awards Program granted $10,000 to the Five College Women's Studies Research Center for the "electronic communities" project that links community fellows and their agencies electronically to the center. And the Arthur Ashley Williams Foundation awarded CLPIA $1,500 for the pilot program on public education.

What's new with you?

Send news for "New & Notable" to Emily Weir, Office of Communications, or email eweir@mtholyoke.edu.

Earthquake victim assistance sought

Eliot House is organizing a fundraising effort to bring relief to the victims of the recent devastating earthquake in Colombia. Donations of any size may be sent or brought to Eliot House c/o "Earthquake Fund." Checks should be made out to Church World Service.

A $700,000 pile of electrons

How successful have the dorm electrical energy conservation programs been? How big is a $700,000 pile of electrons? Director of Physical Facilities Dave Collette explains. In 1989, the student-organized Campus Conservation Coalition (CCC) started an energy conservation program when the dorm electrical use was approaching three million kilowatt hours per year. In the next three years, the students reduced electrical use by 25 percent. Since then, use remains below the amount used in 1989; it is actually at the level of the mid - 1980s! "Under normal conditions, the College has historically seen a 4 percent per year growth in electrical use on campus," says Collette. "In the dorms, we have saved not only the 4 percent growth over the last eight years, but also are about 15 percent below the actual use in 1989. The cumulative savings over the last eight years amounts to over $700,000. This is real money that we have not sent off campus to our energy suppliers. This is a savings of about 7,000,000 kilowatt hours of electricity which didn't have to be made at a generating station, which in turn is a savings of about 12 million pounds of air pollution." This conservation project was part of the proposal that won a national conservation contest for the CCC in the early 1990s.

Candy, flowers, and The Vagina Monologues: Valentine's Day takes on new face

While the focus of Valentine's Day has traditionally been love and romance, this February 14 MHC will participate in a nationwide effort called V-Day that is designed to highlight the disheartening side of male/female relations. Spearheaded on campus by Sara Glassman '01, the event will be held at 7 pm in Blanchard. As a means of raising awareness about violence against women, Glassman will direct a reading and talk-back of Obie Award-winning author Eve Ensler's play The Vagina Monologues. According to event organizers, Monologues is a compilation of interviews conducted by hundreds of women around the world, in which they discuss their bodies with humor, wisdom, pain, and passion. At least fifty colleges and universities plan to mount simultaneous productions of the monologues on Valentine's Day. The first V-Day was held last Valentine's Day; some of the monologues were performed by such well-known women as Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Gloria Steinem, and Lily Tomlin. Glassman appears in the February issue of Self magazine as part of the women's magazine's coverage of V-Day. She participated in a photo shoot in New York last November for V-Day and was joined by women representing Middlebury, Brown, Bennington, Mills, and San Francisco State University.

Dining Services given excellence award

The Student Government Association (SGA) chose Dining Services for its "SGA Award of Excellence" and presented it at their February 2 meeting. The department was recognized for its "service to students as well as their willingness to listen to students' concerns," according to SGA spokesperson Jennifer L. Adams '00. At the same meeting, senators voted Public Safety as the next recipient of the award; it will be presented at the February 16 SGA meeting.

We want your news - Send items of interest to Emily Weir, Office of Communications, or email eweir@mtholyoke.edu.