Posted on Oct 26, 2001

Yulman Theater presents Dangerous Liaisons by Christopher Hampton, directed by Joanne Yarrow, through November 4.

The play, set just prior to the French Revolution, is about sex as a strategic battle of conquests. It is based on the 1782 Choderlos de Laclos novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Marquise de Merteuil, a Parisian socialite spends her days concocting elaborate erotic intrigues with her coconspirator and former lover, the Vicompte de Valmont in a high-stakes game of sexual one-upmanship. The play is not recommended for children.

The cast includes Paul Corrigan as Le Vicompt De Valmont, Colleen Sentence as La Marquise De Merteuil, Lachyra Mitchell as Mme. De Volanges, Marty Albert as Le Chevalier Danceny; and Lily Gordon as Cecil Volanges.

Performances are Oct. 25 through 27, at 8 p.m.; Oct. 28th at 2 p.m.; Nov. 1 through 3 at 8 p.m.; and Nov. 4 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for members of the Union College community; $7 for the public.
For more information, call the Yulman Theater box office at ext. 6545.

For more information visit:
Dangerous Liaisons set for Yulman Theater, Union College

Posted on Oct 26, 2001

Dismantling the mandala – A colorful ceremony that included dance, music and chanting ends as monks from the Gaden Jangste Monastery in India dismantle the sand mandala of compassion (above) on Tuesday. They deposited the sand in the Mohawk River in a brief ceremony. Their weeklong visit to Union ended an eight-month tour of the U.S.

Posted on Oct 26, 2001

Scott Scullion's career as a classicist was nearly derailed by a “statistics-generating principal with a white belt and shoes.”

The head of his school in Toronto cited waning student interest as a reason to cut the school's Latin classes, even before Scullion had a chance to enroll.

But Scullion persevered, arranging for private tutoring with Lorne Smith, the man who would launch his career.

Scullion, associate professor of classics, will deliver the faculty colloquium on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 12:30 p.m. in Hale House.

Scullion's first mentor was orphaned by World War I and left disabled by a childhood bout with polio, both of which had the effect of centering his life on family and teaching. “He knew vast quantities of ancient poetry and recited it by heart,” Scullion recalls.

Scullion eagerly took Latin and Greek with Smith, and the teacher took a special pride in his pupil's progress especially since Scullion had come along after the school had decided to gut its classics program.

And it was Smith, and later Albert Henricks at Harvard, who instilled in Scullion a love of the classics and an ability to instill in students the art of independent critical thought. “Too often we have that as an intellectual goal, but we are too busy with fact cramming,” Scullion says of his courses in Latin and Greek. But the real opportunity to teach independent critical thought comes in the GenEd lecture courses, he says, adding that students respond well to the challenge.

Scullion's talk is titled “Nothing to Do With Dionysos: Greek Tragedy and Religion,” based on research he did last year at Oxford University. Scullion will discuss the traditional argument that tragedy and comedy are connected with Dionysos (commonly known as the god of wine, women and song) with origins in religion. Scullion argues that tragedy and comedy come out of literature and poetry, not religion.

A buffet lunch will precede the talk at 11:30 a.m.

Scullion, at Union since 1989, is chair of the classics department. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, and master's and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University. He specializes in Greek literature and religion.

Posted on Oct 26, 2001

Monk watch

It would be hard to hide six Tibetan monks with shaved heads wearing maroon and saffron robes in Schenectady's Stockade neighborhood.

Just ask Linda Patrik, who turned her house over to the monks from the Gaden Jangste Monastery during their week-long visit on campus.

The monks turned more than a few heads while walking in Riverside Park along the Mohawk River, and shopping at Arthur's Market, a gathering place for Stockadians.

Patrik, her husband, David Kaczynski, and their three cats moved out to stay with friends, leaving their home and a supply of food for the monks. On the monk's grocery list: rice, flour, beans, ginger root, fruit, milk and meat (Half the monks were vegetarians). The monks also ran a tab at Arthur's, and did some extra shopping at Price Chopper. “The monks were very self-reliant,” Patrik said. “They cooked and shopped for themselves.”

There was only one glitch with the houseguests: a temperamental VCR and TV briefly prevented them from watching the news, but Patrik's husband fixed the problem. The monks, who live in India, have been following world news very closely since Sept. 11, Patrik noted.

The monks left behind a number of gifts for their hosts including a colorful tapestry of Tibetan yogi Milarepa, who meditated for decades in the Himalaya. “It's beautiful and they hung it in just the right place,” Patrik said.

Posted on Oct 25, 2001

Schenectady, NY (Oct. 25, 2001) – The Partnership for Global Education (PGE), comprised of Union College and Hobart
and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., received a $192,676 grant from the
U.S. Department of Education to develop a joint study-abroad program in Hanoi,
Vietnam. This is the first program in the region for Union; Hobart and William
Smith have fielded full academic term programs in Vietnam three times. The
colleges will send the first consortial group to Vietnam in spring 2002.

This fall, a total of 25 students from both institutions began a joint videoconference class titled “The
Sociology of Vietnam: Conflict, Colonialism, and Catharsis.” The class, which explores Vietnamese history, tradition, and social relations, also serves as an orientation program for students going abroad next spring.

“The program in Vietnam reflects Union and Hobart and William Smith Colleges' strong commitment to developing students' international awareness,” said Christina Sorum, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Union. “The Department of Education grant enables our institutions to increase the number
of academic off-campus programs, and at the same time, realize cost savings
through the development of a unique partnership.”

The grant, according to Sorum, supports a number of important curricular objectives, including enhancing faculty expertise regarding Vietnam, increasing the number of potential faculty directors for the program, creation of an Asian Studies study-broad “capstone” seminar, and the inclusion of Vietnam content in courses across disciplines.

Students enrolled in the study-abroad
program will participate in a broad range of independent projects while in
Vietnam. Topics include “The Vietnamese Practice of Medicine: East meets West”;
“Women Professionals: Does Socialism Provide Greater Equality?”;

“Socioeconomic Development in Vietnam:
an Emerging Market”; “Eco-tourism in Vietnam”; “Vietnamese Buddhism and Women
Monks”; and “Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Meeting the Needs of Vietnam's Children through Child Advocacy and Children's Rights.”

“This is an important moment in the
history of multidisciplinary Asian Studies on our campuses, with both programs enjoying the close ties and cross-appointments of faculty and new teaching technologies that are certain to enhance the teaching and learning of all involved,” Mark D. Gearan, president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges said.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Union College are recognized national leaders in their commitment to faculty-directed foreign study programs. Last year, roughly 60 percent of all graduating students at Union and at Hobart and William Smith participated in programs off-campus, ranking them among the top 10-15 liberal arts colleges nationally in the number of students studying abroad, and in the top five among colleges
directing their own programs of full-term study. Union presently offers
terms-abroad programs in 17 different countries and in nine exchange programs.
Hobart and William Smith sponsors 22 semesters-abroad programs.