Posted on Oct 12, 2001

Georges Dreyfus, associate professor of religion at
Williams College, will speak on “The Sounds of Two Hands
Clapping: Philosophical Debate in the Tibetan Scholastic Education”
in “Philosophical Fridays @ Union College” on Friday, Oct. 19,
at 4:30 p.m. in Humanities 213.

Dreyfus, a specialist in the history of religions, has
research interests in Buddhist philosophy, post-colonial and
cross-cultural studies, and the study of religious intellectual practices and
traditional Tibetan education. He is the author of a number of
books including “Recognizing Reality: Dharmakirti's Philosophy and
its Tibetan Interpretations.”

For more information, call the Department of Philosophy
at ext. 6376.

Posted on Oct 12, 2001

Seven Tibetan monks from the Gaden Jangtse Monastery
in India will be at Union College from Oct. 18 to 23 for a
program of music, art, dance, philosophy and religion that will feature
the four-day construction of a colorful “Sand Mandala
of Compassion” in the Nott Memorial.

Other events during the monks' visit, all free and open
to the public, will include:

– Tibetan Multi-Tonal Chanting Performance
– Thursday, Oct. 18, 8:30 p.m., Memorial Chapel;

– Tibetan Philosophical Debate _ Friday, Oct. 19,
3:30 p.m., Humanities 117;

– Talk by Abbott Khen Rinpoche Tenzin Jamphel on
his Experiences as a Political Prisoner in Tibet _ Monday, Oct. 22,
7 p.m., Reamer Auditorium.

Monks will be working on the mandala on Saturday, Oct.
20, noon to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.; Monday, 9 a.m. to
10 p.m.; and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The dismantling of
the mandala will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 3:30 p.m. in
a ceremony that will conclude with the releasing of the sand into
the Mohawk River. (The audience is encouraged to accompany
the monks.)

The construction of the colorful and intricate
mandala will be broadcast live by Webcam on the College's Web
site: http://monkcam.union.edu.

The original Gaden Jangtse Monastery was established
in 1409 in Tibet, at one point being the country's second
largest monastery with 7,000 monks. Little of the original
monastery remains after the 1959 Communist invasion of Tibet;
the monastery was re-established in South India, and now
serves about 3,000 monks.

The monks have been traveling to bring the
spiritual and cultural life of Tibet to North American audiences. The
monks have been chosen based on their talents in the ritual arts.

Posted on Oct 12, 2001

NASA Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar will present the Laurence Levine `52 and Barry Traub `53 Lecture titled “From Apollo
Into the New Millennium – Human Space-Flight Exploration”
on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.

Dunbar will meet with high school and college students Thursday at 12:45 p.m. in the Olin Auditorium. She will meet with elementary and middle school students at 4.p.m., also in the Olin Auditorium. There will be a reception at 3:30 p.m. in the Olin Lobby.

Her talk is part of the Perspectives at the Nott
Series. Dunbar's talk last spring was postoned due to weather.

Dr. Dunbar is a veteran of five NASA Space Shuttle
flights. She has spent more than 50 days in space as a mission
specialist and payload commander. She flew on Space Shuttles in
1985, 1990, 1992, 1995 and 1998. She was a mission specialist
aboard the Atlantis in 1995, the first shuttle to dock and
exchange crews with the Russian Mir. She was payload commander
on Endeavour in 1998, which exchanged crew members
and delivered 9,000 pounds of equipment to Mir.

She received bachelor and master of science degrees
in ceramic engineering from the University of Washington.
She earned her doctorate in mechanical and biomedical
engineering from the University of Houston.

Dunbar will meet with elementary, high school
and college students in events scheduled during before her talk.

Posted on Oct 12, 2001

'Tanking'

John Garver, professor of geology, is no stranger
to meeting the logistical challenges of doing fieldwork
in remote areas, especially the Russian Far East.

But last summer brought something new: a tank.

“Over the years, I have learned that logistical
challenges spawn interesting solutions,” he wrote in
an account of his trip. “This last summer we found our
field party of 11 loading gear onto a surplus Russian military
tank for a 14-day excursion to the mountains. Nothing could
be so simple and elegant, yet so bizarre.”

The tank's gun was removed and a cargo box for gear
and diesel fuel was mounted on the back. Inside, the
tank could fit only two or three plus the driver, leaving the others
to ride on top. Whether inside or on the roof, earplugs were
a must against the loud engine and metal-on-metal clanking
of the treads.

“More than once,” Garver wrote, “I thought what it
must be like to be a soldier in the Russian military, and
was thankful for my cushy job as a college professor.”

“This revitalized Cold War machine was being used
to take an American-Russian team to do science in
the field,” he said. “How times have changed.”

Garver and Sarah Johnston '02 were part of a team
that included geologists from the U.S. and Russia. Their
project, investigating the “suture zone” from a collision of
oceanic plates 45 million years ago, is funded by a grant from
the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs.

Posted on Oct 10, 2001

Due to heightened security measures in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Union football game at United States Coast Guard Academy on Oct. 20 in New London, Conn., will require all spectators to be registered on a “gate list” with the Academy.

Anyone not on the list will be prohibited from campus. Photo identification will be required.
If you are planning to attend the game, you must call Union's Athletics Office at 518-388-6284 to register.