Feature Stories
Chester Biscardi Goes to China
This spring, composer and music faculty member Chester Biscardi traveled to Shanghai and Beijing, where he was a featured composer at the week-long Beijing Modern Music Festival. In both cities, he presented lectures, taught workshops and master classes, and oversaw concerts of his work. But that was the easy part. He also ate cow stomach, inhaled vast quantities of smog, and experienced firsthand the noise, pomp, and bureaucracy of modern Chinese culture. Biscardi recorded his impressions in an honest and detailed journal.
Newly Tenured Faculty: Dennis Nurkse, Writing
An interview with newly tenured Writing faculty member Dennis Nurkse.
Newly Tenured Faculty: Emily Katz Anhalt, Greek and Latin
An interview with newly tenured Greek and Latin faculty member Emily Katz Anhalt.
Newly Tenured Faculty: Fred Strype, Filmmaking
An interview with newly tenured filmmaking faculty member Fred Strype.
Quelling Career Anxiety
A senior tackles his fear of graduation, learns how job seekers resemble breakfast cereal, and reports on “Getting Ready for Job Search 2010."
Prizes Given by Sarah Lawrence College
A list of student and faculty prizes given by Sarah Lawrence College.
Model United Nations: Setting the Bar for Years to Come
The Sarah Lawrence student delegation earned Honorable Mention at the National Model United Nations Conference for the second straight year.
Celebrating Oxford
This year, Sarah Lawrence and Oxford celebrated the program’s 25th anniversary at a gathering at the Heimbold Visual Arts Center. In attendance were several Wadham officials, Sarah Lawrence alumnae/i who had studied in Oxford, and students set to travel there in September. They also toasted the 400th anniversary of Wadham’s founding.
Film at SLC
Film events have been plentiful on campus this semester. Here's a recap of some of the major events that have taken place recently.
The French Connection
Dr. Bernard Belloc, advisor on Higher Education and Research to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, recently toured the Sarah Lawrence campus and was the guest of SLC President Karen Lawrence as she hosted a faculty and student reception in his honor.
Hip Hop Feminism
Carmen Ashhurst decided it was time to leave the music business when one of the acts she managed tried to communicate with her using a sawed-off shotgun.
Trustee Mentors
The transition from college life to a meaningful career can be tough. But thanks to a new pilot program at SLC, 20 graduating students now have a guide.
"This Progress," These Teachers
Three Sarah Lawrence teachers recently experienced the Guggenheim Museum—not as visitors, but as part of the art. Roy Brand (philosophy), Danny Kaiser (literature), and Fred Smoler (literature) participated in “This Progress,” an exhibit by British-German artist Tino Sehgal that ran for six weeks and was part of the Guggenheim’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Around the Round Table with Barbara Walters: The Incomparable Interviewer Answers the Questions
“You’re very smart, smarter than almost anyone in this country, going to this school,” stated Barbara Walters, broadcasting legend and Sarah Lawrence alumna, when she returned to campus on January 29 to answer questions about her life and career.
Translating Tartuffe
In March, theatregoers at Sarah Lawrence’s Suzanne Werner Wright Theatre will see OBIE Award-winning playwright Amlin Gray’s recent translation and new ending to Moliere’s masterpiece, Tartuffe.
Life is a Cabaret
Three alumni—including choreographer Christopher Williams '99—return to campus to work on the student production of Cabaret.
X-Ray Specs
You’re a scientist. You work with powders, crystals, and particles that are too tiny to be seen. How can you tell what they’re made of? If you’re at Sarah Lawrence, you could use the x-ray diffractometer the College acquired over the summer.
2009 in Review
Quite a year, 2009-marked by an economic recession, the start of a historic American presidency, and the deaths of beloved icons like Merce Cunningham, Michael Jackson, and Ted Kennedy, to name a few.
Two SLC Students Win Top Prize in Met-Sponsored Writing Contest
Sarah Lawrence students Elissa Hutson '11 and Bianca Galvez '11 shared the top prize in the recent fiction writing contest held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which asked college students to write a short story in response to Robert Frank's photographs of Americans in the 1950s, "Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans," a special exhibition that ran through January 3.
College Year in Athens with Cameron Afzal
Religion faculty member Cameron Afzal narrates a slideshow recapping his time spent in Greece last summer as part of the College Year in Athens Summer session.
Imagining Reform
In the midst of the contentious debate about health care reform, just about the last thing that comes to mind is poetry. But at an October panel discussion on health care, health advocacy faculty member Mark Schlesinger read a poem aloud then suggested that poetic, creative thinking could improve the entire health care system. “As part of the reform debate, we can use the tools of the poet” —like metaphor and analogy— “to help people learn how to think about health care beyond their own experience,” he said.
Room to Lounge
Students in Hill House have more room to socialize since the opening of two new lounges in October. Previously, the pre-war apartment complex had no common areas for larger gatherings. But the two renovated apartments on the first floor now provide space to hang out, watch TV, have meetings, or study.
Walking the High Line
New York City’s newest park is elevated 30 feet above the city streets, on the tracks of a defunct rail line. On October 14, photography faculty member Joel Sternfeld led a a small group of the College's closest supporters on a tour of the High Line park, starting at Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District. Sternfeld had photographed the High Line back when it was an abandoned structure overgrown with wild plants. He was one of a handful of people who had legal permission to explore the tracks, and his photos helped end the long battle between the preservationists and developers who fought over the fate of the High Line for two decades.
Telling His Story: Student Helps WWII Veteran Tell His Tale
Personal essays can resonate with readers when writers reveal the truth about their life journeys. Writers benefit too as they unearth memories, distill them into words, and share their experiences with the world. World War II veteran Marty Schwager, now 88, had such an experience a decade ago when trying his hand at writing through a program co-sponsored by Sarah Lawrence College and the SOS program of the JCY-Westchester Community Partners (Jewish Council of Yonkers).
Free Rides
The College rolled out a bike-share program earlier this month, placing six lime-green bicycles in a designated rack in front of the library. Students, faculty, and staff can now borrow a bike to get around on campus, to pedal into town, or just to get some exercise.
From Farm to Fork
As part of a larger effort to enrich environmental studies on campus, Sarah Lawrence College and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture are embarking on a partnership to promote sustainable food practices and production.
The Omnivore's Dilemma
After 35 years, Bates Common Dining hall and The Pub have recently undergone a major overhaul.
Rowing Abroad
Returning to campus after a year abroad in Israel, Chantal Gil ’10 had some uncommon advice for students going to other countries. “Try a sport. It’s a great way to make friends and experience another culture—much better than just studying or partying.”
Future of Teaching: Meet Our Newly Tenured Faculty
An up close and personal look at some of Sarah Lawrence College's newly tenured faculty members.
Experimental Summer
Yonkers High School students investigate proteins and program robotic dogs as part of the Summer Science program
SLC's "Angel" Fund launched by generous gift of Bronxville couple
College Board of Trustees Chair John Hill and his wife, long-time Sarah Lawrence supporter Marilynn Wood Hill, of Bronxville, took the lead to create a special fund, dubbed the ‘Angel’ Fund, to support students whose families face new financial hardship, jeopardizing their ability to continue their studies at the College. The $500,000 lead gift has generated another $250,000 from other donors to date. The goal is $1 million.
UpScale/DownScale: New Dorm Designs for Mead Way
Last semester, students in Joe Forte's advanced architecture seminar took on the challenge of designing new residence halls on Mead Way. From high-modern white blocks to “a monumental neo-classical combination of a nomadic yurt and the Pantheon in Rome,” the students proposed creative solutions to the twin challenges of the hillside terrain and how to integrate with the Tudor buildings nearby.
Careers for the Renaissance Soul
Do you feel a pang of jealousy when someone says, "I've known exactly what I wanted to be since I was two years old"? Margaret Lobenstine can help.
Beyond the Western Gaze
Participants in "Gender and Power in the Muslim World" challenged the stereotypical portrayals of violent Muslim men and victimized women.
SSSF Auction 2009
The festive, disco-themed auction combined student performances, '70s-related trivia questions, and lively bidding, raising $6,000 for the Students for Student Scholarship Fund.
Go ahead, just try to make my health-care job obsolete
Laura Weil, director of the graduate program in health advocacy, discusses the role of patient advocates in a broken health-care system.
Up Close with Psychology Faculty Kim Ferguson
Orphanages in Africa have gotten a bad rap, but are overcrowded conditions actually bad for children's health? Psychology faculty Kim Ferguson wanted to see for herself.
Students Get Political
Many SLC students voted for the first time today, part of a record turnout of youth voters. But despite their enthusiasm, students often face obstacles to casting ballots.
On the Set with Maiysha Simpson '97
Maiysha Simpson ’97 filmed the music video for her new progressive soul single "Wanna Be" at the Heimbold Visual Arts Center in July. It was an SLC family affair—the video was directed by film faculty member Damani Baker ’96 and staffed by several alumnae/i. The album, This Much is True: was released on August 26. Below, a "making-of" look at the video shoot in pictures.
Dream Jobs in the Real World
Life after college doesn't have to involve cubicles or counter service. It could feature animation studios and rock ‘n roll, as recent field trips to alumni workplaces prove.