香港最快开奖现场直播资料

• Letters |
• Eliot Circular |
• Advocates of the Griffin |
• Features |
• iana |
• In Memoriam |
• Sallyportal

Tags

"centennial"

Griffin is Rose Parade Royalty

Six-inches high and stuffed with cotton, a griffin sits atop a few worn books stacked on the cluttered desk of Mike Teskey, director of alumni & parent relations. For years this figurine—a plush model of the mythical creature, half lion, half eagle, which takes as its mascot—had fixed its glassy eye on Mike while he worked, and it must have made an impression, because when he walked into the office of the Portland Rose Festival representative to discuss what 's float would look like in the upcoming parade, Mike had the stuffed griffin in his hand.

The last time entered a float in the Grand Floral Parade was in . From time to time, alumni would broach the dream of returning to the parade, but like a lot of great ideas, they never got past the broaching stage. Then, at a centennial apple-pressing party in the canyon orchard, Mike struck up a conversation with Jon-Paul Davis '93 and mechanical wizard Rob Mack '93. Rob was the natural choice to spearhead the project; during his days he turned an old Nissan into the infamous), a mobile beverage-distribution system that graced several Renn Fayres. Rob signed on as 's construction leader for the 2012 parade with just one demand: would build the float.

Students Build Bench out of Fallen Doug Fir

Sawdust flew, chips piled up on the ground, and a sweet piney scent permeated the air as the crosscut gnashed its way through the log. The tree was a Douglas fir that had presided over the Great Lawn, right behind the softball backstop, for 130 years. As the story goes, the 100-foot tree fell during the snowy winter of '09, exposing the decayed roots that caused its downfall.

But the tree's story was not over. Marie Perez '12 got the idea to craft a bench out of a giant section of the trunk. She and other ies undertook the mammoth task of using a four-foot crosscut saw (old-timey two-person logging saw) to cut the log in half. Students were invited every evening of finals week to put their studying on hold and come out to the west parking lot to help slice the wood. Over 40 students and staff members turned out to help fashion the trunk into a (very) solid bench for all to sit on. It took about 17 hours of solid sawing to completely halve the log.

Fanfayre honors history and achievement

traveled backward and forward through time at the Fanfayre ceremony celebrating outstanding alumni, staff, and faculty.

John Sheehy '82 presented his the epic oral history of 香港最快开奖现场直播资料, , an volume of "almost biblical" dimensions that was, he said, the closest thing has to scripture. Despite its size, he noted that the "director's cut" would be about 30-percent longer: "ies appear almost incapable of expressing themselves in a single sentence when a full paragraph—or a full dissertation—will do just as well."

A Five-Octave Finale

The Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery was packed to the rafters last week as alumni from many eras came together in a hush of anticipation to witness a unique occasion--the unveiling of the French double harpsichord created by professor Nicholas Wheeler '55 [physics 1963-2010] over a span of 26 years, and showcased during

Nick became fascinated by the harpsichord (the distinguished ancestor of the piano) while playing at a concert his freshman year at and resolved to build his own some day. He finally began work many years later, in August 1985, when he was A.A Knowlton Professor of Physics. While the bulk of the carpentry and metalwork were completed in the two years that followed, the venture languished for two decades when his teaching and other things took greater precedence. Nick was not able to put finishing touches on the instrument until after his retirement in 2010, after 47 years of service.

"This is a instrument and its first public appearance. It's something I've fantasized about for 60 years," Nick remarked. Returning students and friends continued to ask over the years when and if the project would ever be finished. "It is a doubt which I confess, I sometimes shared: it gave me anxiety because I did not want to leave to my heirs the problem of figuring out how to dispose of a stringless box that looked like a harpsichord, but was unplayable." However friends, such as professor Kathleen Worley, [theatre 1985-] helped along the way by picking up some gold-dipped hardware and wood scrapers.

Laughing without Lips: the Last Lecture

The final Hum 110 lecture of the year is one of 's longstanding rites of passage. After eight long months of Homer, Plato, and Sophocles, freshlings often feel a little rowdy—and the fact that the lecture typically takes place on the Friday of Renn Fayre only amplifies the sense of mischief. (One year several students actually removed their clothes during the lecture.)

In 2003, professor Jan Mieszkowski [German 1997–] volunteered to give the last lecture on St. Augustine's Confessions, a duty he reprised until 2011 when the syllabus was revised. (St. Augustine may belong to the ages, but he no longer belongs to Hum 110.)

Professor Mieszkowski delivered the lecture, by turns provocative, funny, and profound, at to an audience of appreciative alumni.

Griffin to Make Triumphant Return to Rose Parade

After more than 75 years' absence, a 香港最快开奖现场直播资料 float will once again join the Portland Rose Festival's Grand Floral Parade, taking place this Saturday, June 9.

; although ies have played many important roles in the festival since, our beloved institution has never again been represented by its own float.

ies Descend on Portland

Almost 200 students, alumni, professors, and staff volunteered their time for the Centennial Day of Service on Saturday, restoring native habitat in Oaks Bottom, building a toolshed for a day-labor community center, and repairing books for low-income children.

The event, organized by (Students for Education, Empowerment, and Direct Service), celebrated 's tradition of community service with a battery of projects throughout Portland that left a positive mark on the city—and on the participants.

SEEDS earned glowing reviews from students. Jennifer Caamano '12, who has volunteered with SEEDS all four of her years at and now works as an intern with the Lane After-School Education with (LASER) program, enthused that "it's super easy to just hop in a van and do service projects... It makes it really accessible." Shelly Skolfield '14, who reported having worked with SEEDS for "seven minutes," was no less enthusiastic. "It seems like it's going to be awesome," she said.

"Thinking " hits bookstands

Given 's proud tradition of intellectual fellowship between students and faculty, it seems only fitting that two professors chose to commemorate our centennial by honoring the careers of an amazing group of alumni. To coincide with 's big centennial bash, Roger Porter [English 1961-] and Robert Reynolds [physics 1963-2008] have put together , available from 's bookstore for $19.95.

"Our graduates have carried something of the college with them wherever they've gone," write Roger and Robert in their introduction to the collection, " is known to the world largely because of them."

Listening to 1912

's first students embarked on their college career during a period in Western music as momentous as any, with the crumbling of systems of form and harmony, influences from far beyond Europe, and an impending flood of new genres that would soon push the old ones into side channels and backwaters. It was ever thus, you could argue, but like the political upheavals going on at the time, the transformation put paid to the past in radical fashion and set the course for the last century right up to now.

: The Documentary

"I took with me to Oregon the good and the bad of my New England heritage. Chiefly the bad, it sometimes seems. To reform the world, and quickly, I mounted my horse spear in hand and rode forth in all directions at once.

"I have mentioned the belligerent orator who shouted 'I want tax reform, I want suffrage reform, I want money reform!' And the heckler who cried, 'You want chloroform.'

"I do not blame those who felt that way about me.I hope that will continue to stand staunchly, and if necessary, stand alone, for whatever college considered right."

100 Years!

celebrated one hundred years this weekend with a gargantuan party, complete with dancers, drummers, jugglers, mad scientists, and a massive chorus reciting lines from the Iliad in Greek.

"If Portland is a great city, it owes a great debt to , and I'm here to say, 'Thank you,'" declared Portland mayor Sam Adams before a raucous crowd of students, professors, staff, and alumni beneath a massive tent on the Great Lawn. "We need the spirit and the mission of now more than ever--not just in Portland, but across the state and across the nation. You have made the world a better place."

Defining

It's been several weeks, but I'm still recovering from and its glorious aftermath. Quite apart from the epic rugby match, the spectacular musical performances, and the phenomenal chance encounters, I found myself pondering anew the question that President Colin Diver posed at his . Stripped to its elements, how do you define ?

To read Diver's speech, click or watch the .

Takes Center Stage, Literally

By Ethan Knudson '11

Ten decades of were celebrated at in one-act plays rife with academic jokes, historical references, and the tumultuous emotions that permeate a return to campus.

ies from several decades stepped on stage in the chapel to play stressed-out seniors, hesitant freshmen, and even legendary philosophy professor Marvin Levich. In one scene, merry prankster Ken Kesey wrestles Owen, the freshman from Idaho, at an early Renn Fayre.

Deal Faster, Cried the Losers

By Brandon Hamilton '11

No one likes to lose, and when the cost of defeat is an entire year's worth of timê, the stakes are high.

Continuing a , classmates sat down at the poker table in the Capehart room at to indulge in a little exercise in combinatorics.

Making Waves: Alumni Generate Mini Tsunami

Never underestimate the power of ies. At a class on Thursday, June 9, I learned firsthand that all we need to create a tidal wave in our very own sports center swimming pool is two dozen ies and a leader with an understanding of classical physics.

Okay, perhaps "tidal" is a bit of an exaggeration of the wave's size. But it's no overstatement to say that we managed to slosh water out of both ends of the pool by doing nothing more than hopping in and out of the shallow end at the direction of Brad Wright '61. Brad gave an explanation of the physics of wave-making before the experiment began (here is an of the video above, complete with full scientific explanation). I confess that between the poor acoustics of the pool deck and the anticipation of jumping in the water, most of the science to passed me by. I can tell you that coordination of the physics of the event required someone to stand at the pool's edge swinging the so-called Pendulum of Destiny, a group of four rubber duckies with a golf balls attached to their bases floating in the middle of the pool, and our willingness to hop in when the wave was at its highest point only to hop back out each time it ebbed to its lowest.

Rugby: Eighties vs. The World!

Brandon Hamilton '11

It's an ancient debate--are youth and speed a match for age and guile? At , ies traded eye goggles for mouth guards and lab coats for cleats to settle the question on the pitch as alumni from the eighties (the "First Fifteen") faced off against younger grads for a little post-thesis physics experiment.

At the Helm: Bragdon, Koblik, Diver

By Ethan Knudson '11

presidents past and present [1971-88], [1992-2001], and [2002-] held a panel at to discuss how they surmounted immense challenges to preserve 香港最快开奖现场直播资料 amidst financial and national turmoil ().

Breaks Ground for Performing Arts Building

By Alex Walker '12

President Colin Diver and several professors broke ground for 's new $28 million before a crowd of alumni celebrating last week.

A Song of Two Syllabi with Prof. Wally Englert

The first lines of Homer's Iliad reverberated to the carved rafters of the chapel on Friday as ies of all generations were reunited in the shared experience of reliving their first Hum lecture during . However, there was a twist. On the back of the lecture handout (distributed by a beaming President Colin Diver, who marched up and down the aisles brandishing copies) was a timeline that began, not in Greece, but in Egypt. And the Homeric epic of choice for the semester was not the tale of Achilleus and his anger, but that of Odysseus and his quest to return home. As professor Wally Englert [classics 1981-] explained, the Hum syllabus has undergone some in the past year...

"We used to say 'The Greeks were strange,'" Englert noted, while discussing the inclusion of new material from other Mediterranean cultures on the reading list, "But I'm going to do something a little radical here and say: Ancient cultures were strange."

Olde : Was It Better?

It's a cry familiar to freshmen from every decade of 's existence: "You're doing what? Hah! Back at Olde ..."

Yes, it's Olde ! That elusive golden age in which classes were harder, Renn Fayres were crazier, laurels were shinier, and hijinks were, er, jinkier. Olde was always dead by your freshman year, unless you are telling the story, in which case it was dead by your listeners' freshman year. It was epic, it was extraordinary, and it was, in whatever indescribable fashion, better.

 1 2 Next >