Posted on May 1, 1997

The Mountebanks

Your interesting article about the history of the
theater at Union (March issue) states, “Founded in 1912, the Mountebanks claim to be the oldest continually-operating student theater
organization in the country.”

The impression one gets is that the Mountebanks presented plays of various forms since its inception in 1912. This is not true.

Towards the end of the 1950-51 school year, the Mountebanks and its sponsor from the English Department, Prof. Donald S. Jones, had a falling out. As a
result, the Mountebanks “struck” for the 1951-52 season and refused to take part in any play production activity. Not to be outdone, Prof. Jones dedicated the activities of the spring
1951-52 “Play Production Class” (English 13) towards putting on the only play that was presented that year.

The play was “Angel Street,” and of the six students in the class, only one had ever been a Mountebank. I was an EE major and, as the only one of legal age, became business manager as well as being charge
of set construction. The College loaned the class $600 to cover expenses. We stayed within budget and even made an extra $21 after all expenses were paid.

The forward in the playbill noted that the presentation “is not a new departure at Union
College, but the carrying on of a well established tradition which has expressed itself brilliantly in the past, and may be expected to do so in the future.”

This statement was a sop to attempt to bridge the chasm between the Mountebanks and Prof. Jones. It was also an attempt to claim the preeminence of the English Department over the Mountebanks.

I wish the current Mountebanks well-but the preceding story is important to keep the record straight.

S. Bruce Franklin '52
Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

Your article on the Mountebanks was nostalgic for me. My late husband, Abe Smith '35, was active in the group. Especially meaningful was the scene from “A Bold Stroke for A Wife,” where Abe is on the extreme left. Abe also used to speak glowingly of Ed Carrol. Thank you for invoking old memories.

Mrs. Florence Smith
Sunrise, Fla.

Re your enjoyable feature on the Mountebanks: I was not sure from the caption on the bottom of page fourteen if you realized that the man on the right is the very, very young Ed Carrol '27.

Bernard S. Krause '39
Oxnard, Calif.

Posted on May 1, 1997

The latest release from the Dutch Pipers, called “Brandywine Diner,” is now available.

The new compact disc is a seventeen-song compilation of contemporary and barbershop tunes that the a cappella group has performed during the past two years.

CDs are available for $10 (plus $3 for shipping and handling). They can be ordered by contacting the Student Activities office at (518) 388-6118 or the

Posted on May 1, 1997

The College announced in April that it will renovate Achilles Rink, the campus home of its men's and women's hockey programs, rather than participate in the construction of a new
multi-rink center proposed for land along North Jay Street in Schenectady.

President Hull said the College's decision came after a careful review of a detailed proposal from the developer and an analysis of various options.

“As much as I believe in Schenectady and want the
College to continue to play a
role in Schenectady's revival, we simply are not in a position to make a financial commitment of this magnitude,” he said.

Hull estimated that the cost to the College of a new rink could be as much as $8 million, and the conversion of Achilles for other purposes would have added millions more. Accordingly, the renovation of Achilles Rink will be undertaken as funds become available.

“At a time of intense competition among nationally-recognized colleges like Union, we must put our financial resources where they can have the greatest impact,” Hull said. “Our financial commitments to the $18.25 million renovation and expansion of Schaffer Library and the $9 million construction of the F.W. Olin Center, a high-technology classroom and laboratory building, are cases in point.”

The president said sentiment among students in favor of Achilles Rink as a hockey facility was an important part of the College's decision. “Since I've always felt that campus opinion should play a role in decisions, we actively sought that opinion,” Hull said. “From the moment we began discussing the issue, there was strong feeling in favor of staying on campus.”

Posted on May 1, 1997

An eight-page brochure that tells parents about the
college search has become a hit.

Written by
Dan Lundquist, dean of admissions, and
Peter Blankman, director of public relations, the guide went into its second printing in only three weeks.

Requests for copies of the guide have come from high school counselors across the country. The College distributed more than 50,000
copies thought to be a two-year supply-in less than three weeks, and ordered a second printing of 50,000.

The brochure tells parents that the college search process ought to be a positive, educational experience in itself, not just something to be survived, and offers advice on how to prepare for the process.

The Admissions Office has a limited number of copies of the brochure.

Posted on May 1, 1997

Union's commitment to undergraduate research attracts students and faculty.

Associate Professor of Biology Jill Salvo is a case in point.

“Union had the right mix of academics and research that I was looking for,” she says. The College had received a Howard Hughes grant to recruit faculty in molecular biology, which impressed Salvo, then working for the Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research.

Salvo arrived at Union in 1991 confident that she could do the research and eager to work with students one-on-one. She has incorporated the one-on-one teaching that she loves into her classes, and still enjoys teaching in the
lab even though she sometimes finds it exhausting.

“When you're in the lab, you may be in charge, but you're not in control,” she says. “All sorts of things happen in the lab, and that's the fun part of it
that there is some special time that you get to spend with the students. That's when I feel I really get to know our biology majors-when I learn about their dreams and what they expect from Union.”

Undergraduate research is crucial for students to be accepted at top graduate schools, she says, so each term she welcomes several students into her research lab, where she works on DNA cloning. The students can do experiments that have never been done before, and they can become coauthors with her on published papers.

“Research really develops critical thinking,” she says. “Nothing is given. There is no book to look it up in, so it really makes you look at what you're working with on a different level. The students begin to see that for every question they answer, they have ten more questions.”

It was that excitement of doing something new that attracted Salvo to biology at Dension University (she has her Ph.D. from Yale). A professor suggested that
she look into summer research. She did, landed a summer job at the Worcester Foundation, and loved it. “Once I got in, that was it-I was hooked,” she says. “It was great to be in a lab all day and doing such interesting things.”

Each year, she urges her students to present at the College's Steinmetz Symposium, which she praises for encouraging students to become involved in research. She also recommends that students take on research projects for the great learning experience and simply because “it's fun.”

” I still remember the first time I made DNA in my lab,” she says, beaming. “It was the first term of my sophomore year in molecular biology. We isolated total DNA, and I can remember the DNA coming out of the solution, putting the glass rod in it to spool it out, and its opaque white color that is slightly purple. I just remember being fascinated.

“If I can convey that sense of 'wow' once in a while to a student, that makes my day, my term, and my year,” she says.