Posted on Mar 1, 1997

“One, two, cha-cha-cha. Three, four, cha-cha-cha,” echoes in their heads. Counting beneath their breath, they negotiate the steps, trying to connect mind and foot, avoiding their neighbor's bruised toes within ragged gym shoes.

The days of twirling couples and white gloves is once again alive at Union as the ballroom dancing club gathers each Sunday afternoon to learn new dances and practice old ones under the direction of Janice Holik, an instructor affiliated with a local dance studio.

Throughout America-from college classrooms to local community centers-ballroom dancing is back after nearly forty years of decline, and couples once again are dancing the tango, the fox trot, and the mambo beneath glittering lights. Surprisingly, college students are some of the most enthusiastic dancers; over the past ten years, the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association has seen a sixfold increase in youthful registrants.

So what is the attraction, and why are Union students enticed?

Some say young people's attraction to the romance and elegance of ballroom dancing reflects a general desire to return to a more conservative time. Others contest that young dancers look to ballroom dancing as a safe way to meet people, and Holik says that it is just “more fun” than other types of dancing.

Union students agree that they ballroom dance just because it's fun.

Michael Greenbaum '97, one of the leaders of Union's four-year-old ballroom dancing club, says that he dances simply because he enjoys it.

“It's fun to do, it really is,” he says. “Once you start learning
the moves and feel like you're in control of the dance instead of struggling to think of what to do next, it flows very nicely and it's just really fun.”

Kim Kilby '00 says that she joined the ballroom dancing club because it “sounded fun. I like to dance and I've always wanted to know how to ballroom dance.”

Brian Jaecker '98 figured that ballroom dancing “would be something good to learn,” and he's been dancing for more than a year.

Holik loves teaching Union students, who learn the dances quickly, but forget them quickly, too. “I love to watch them start when they have never danced before,” she says. “They are a bit shy and hesitant, but then it's great to see them learn that they can dance.”

For the first time in the ballroom dancing club's young life at Union, students are taking what they learn from the classroom to the dance floor. One chilly evening recently, twelve members of the club traveled to nearby RPI for a dance. Another night, they went to the Crooked Lake House, a restaurant that hosts ballroom dancing with live big band music. Later this year, the group plans to host a dance, inviting the ballroom dancing clubs of neighboring colleges.

Kilby says that for her the best part of the club is practicing what's been learned on the excursions.

As we think about ballroom dancing, most of us probably envision lovely young couples magically becoming part of
the music, men gracefully guiding their partners around the dance floor.

Laughing, Greenbaum admits that this is not always the case. He says that Union's ballroom dancing club is inexperienced
but enthusiastic. “When you first start ballroom dancing, it is difficult to get the steps down and you won't be graceful,” he says.

So are the students intimidated? Afraid? No, Greenbaum says. “You just get up there and dance,” he explains. And he says that most really love it.

In fact, Jaecker says that what he likes best about ballroom dancing is the learning process.

It is evident that Greenbaum, a four-year veteran of ballroom dancing, is excited at the possibility of an intermediate class. “The goal of the intermediate class would be to add to the basic steps so that people won't feel like they're being boring dance partners,” Greenbaum explains.

Posted on Mar 1, 1997

Is your son, daughter, or grandchild a high school junior who is ready to start the college search process?

If so, you and Union can help them put their best foot forward when applying for admission. Saturday, May 10th, the College will sponsor a series of workshops called “Jump Start Your College Search.”

The workshops are designed to guide students and parents through the challenging and increasingly complex admissions process. Topics will include:

• Making the most of a campus visit 
• Personal interviews: tips and techniques 
• An overview of admissions and financial aid practices in the 90s 
• How to write an impressive college essay 
• Parenting your student through the college selection process

The College's veteran Admissions and Financial Aid staff will demystify the college selection process for your family, making this a must-attend event for any high school junior looking to attend college or university. To register, please call Lilia Tiemann at 518-388-6084 or 1-888-843-6688 with the student's name, address, phone number, high school, year of graduation, and their relationship to you.

We are pleased to provide you with this wonderful opportunity to get ahead in the admissions process. You are, of course, welcome to nominate nieces, nephews, and neighbors as well.

Posted on Mar 1, 1997

Robert Vought, who taught physics at the College from 1948 to 1957, died January 7 in Albany, N.Y. He was seventy-six.

A graduate of Allegheny College with a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, he also was an exchange professor at St. Andrews University in Scotland. After leaving Union, he joined the General Electric Co.

Survivors include his wife, Eleanor; a daughter and a son; four grandchildren; and two brothers.

Posted on Mar 1, 1997

Following up on Rameé

Following the appearance of my book on Joseph Rameé and my article “Searching for
Rameé” in the January issue Union College, I have received some interesting inquiries and information from other alumni. To facilitate such communications, I would like to provide my addresses.

Paul V.Turner '62
Department of Art
Stanford University Stanford, Calif. 94305-2018
E-mail:
pvturner@leland.stanford.edu

Mrs. Rojansky Dies

I have been informed that Milla Rojansky, widow of the late Prof. Vladimir Rojansky, died on November 8 in Pomona, Calif., at the age of eighty-nine.

Although not married to Ro while he was on the faculty of Union College, she was known to many of Ro's friends and former students. They might be interested to learn of her passing.

Jerome M. Rehr '49G
Boca Raton, Fla.

Posted on Mar 1, 1997

According to a recent study by the Institute for International Education, Union was eleventh among U.S. colleges in the number of students who studied abroad during 1994-95.

Union had 241 students about twelve percent of its enrollment-study abroad during the year, the period studied by the institute. The College sent 280 of its students on terms abroad during 1995-96, according to William Thomas, director of international programs.

More than half of all Union students-fifty-six percent study overseas by the time they graduate. The percentage has grown from about forty-five percent five years ago, due in large part to an expansion in offerings, according to Thomas. The College has added eight programs of study abroad since 1994 and now has
resident study terms abroad in Brazil, China, England, France, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Japan, Costa Rica, Greece, Spain, Mexico, Barbados, Austria, and Germany. The College also has exchange
programs in Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Japan, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Korea, Poland, Puerto Rico, Barbados, and India.

Study abroad is becoming more popular at most American colleges, which Thomas attributes to an emphasis on the increasingly interconnected world. “The reason so many students want to go is simply the times,” he says.

Kelly Nadeau '97 studied in Rennes, France, and enjoyed it so much that she wants to work in France for a year after graduation.

“By my junior year I wanted something different,” she says. “Once I got to France, I fell in love with it.”

Deb Loffredo '98 also wanted a different experience “some
thing you can't learn in a classroom or a textbook,” she says and she went to Florence, Italy, in the fall. There, she learned about art in museums.

“Our art history professor would say, `Meet us at such and such museum at such and such time,' and we'd study the work right here,” she says. “You really learn to appreciate art when you're standing right in front of it.”

According to Michael Bullen '97, his term in Kenya was “spectacular.”

“It was a real cultural slap in the face,” he says, especially the ten days he spent living with a Kenyan family in a rural village. Overcome by the sense of generosity there, Bullen was amazed at the sense of communalism so different from American capitalism.

All three students say that they learned not only about the world but also about themselves. “I think it helped me to grow up and become more independent,” Loffredo says.

Increasingly, students are looking for this kind of experience and want to learn about different parts of the world, Thomas says. But it's the students' enthusiasm about their abroad experiences that causes others to apply. “It's really word-of-mouth promotion,” he says.

Union's three-term system gives more students an opportunity to study abroad than colleges with longer terms, according to Thomas. “Students are using up one-twelfth of their college career versus one-eighth in a semester system,” he says.

In the past, engineering students found it difficult to study abroad because of their course schedules, but new programs in Poland, the Czech Republic, and India offer courses in engineering at engineering schools. Union students now can receive credit for engineering courses even though they are taught in a foreign country.