Posted on Jun 4, 2004

The College has adopted a number of recommendations from
the Alcohol Task Force that one student member said are “realistic for our
social needs, but also emphasize that we must continue to advocate responsible
and respectful drinking.”

Changes include a broadly enforced ban on hard alcohol at
all social events, removal of the two-keg limit with beer quantities determined
by size of event, and the removal of the 100-person limit with size now to be
determined by fire codes.

“Our committee has been a wonderful example of how student
and staff insights can result in a better policy for all at Union,”
said Dean of Students Steve Leavitt. “My deepest thanks to the whole committee
for all their efforts.”

The task force – 15 students and seven administrators — was
convened to assess the current policy, giving students a chance to help define
the rules in the living environment at Union. “We want
to involve students in the process of dealing with policy,” Leavitt said,
“especially on this topic, where students have a better sense of what works and
what doesn't.”

The new policy will take effect with the opening of the
2004-05 academic year.

“I firmly believe that the recommendations made by the
Alcohol Task Force for revising Union's alcohol policy
will bring about positive social change,” said committee member Meghan Bedecs
'05. “We are emphasizing and revitalizing this institution's commitment to
personal well-being while at the same time proving that students' voices are
heard and taken seriously on this campus.”

Geoff Bowman '04, another student on the committee, said,
“I hope these revisions are not only perceived by the student body as realistic
for our social needs, but also emphasize that we must continue to advocate
responsible, and respectful drinking. I hope this will alleviate social
tensions on campus and, along with the coexistence of the Greeks, themes, and
Minervas, continue us on the path to a stronger Union.”

The revised alcohol policy will:

 — require substantial
food and non-alcoholic drinks at all social events serving alcohol;

 — add a new
category of registered social events with alcohol for 21-year olds, to occur
during the week, with a size limit, limited quantities, organized around an
event for Minerva Houses, theme houses and Greeks;

 — allow social
drinking, of beer and wine only, for 21-year-olds in a designated social space
at a strictly limited number of houses or dorms;

— enforce more stringently the ban on drinking for
underage drinkers (NY State Law);

— implement a “suspension-of-party-privileges-plus-probation”
policy for organizations hosting large-scale social events; repeated and gross violations
may result in loss of housing;

— develop more alcohol awareness programs for broad-based
alcohol education;

— augment on-campus counseling services for
alcohol-related assistance; and

— establish a standing committee on alcohol and drug use,
with prominent student membership.

“I want to thank the members of the Task Force for their
committed efforts to help us create a better and stronger community here at Union,”
said Leavitt.

Members of the Task Force are students Meghan Bedecs,
Geoff Bowman, Dan Colish, Jenn Colon, Dot Gamber, Billy Eisenhut, Rachel
Herrmann, Brian Kelley, Alex Klein, Evan Leibner, Chris Macomber, Charles May,
Peter Sage, Jessie Starr and Joanna Stern; Chuck Assini, College attorney; Todd
Clark, director of Residential Life; Chris Hayen, Campus Safety; Steve Leavitt,
Dean of Students; Sharron McCullough, director of the Health Center; Matt
Milless, director of Student Activities; and Bill Sickinger, Director of Campus
Safety.

Posted on Jun 4, 2004

“Do you do autographs?”

That was the first question asked
of  Marissa Post, Jason
Fishner and Adam Retersdorf  after a
screening on Tuesday of the final championship episode of Robot Rivals, in which the Union's
key-collecting robot outperformed the entry from the University
of Pittsburgh.

The show brought spontaneous
shouts from the Union audience, some good-natured booing when the show focused
on the rivals and an ovation as Union captured the title.

The teams that win on Robot Rivals are the ones with the “nuts
and bolts engineers,” said Larsen Jay, producer of the show that airs on the
DIY network. “The engineers who think too much lose every time.”

Jay was on hand at the screening
to congratulate the team and present a check of $2,000 to the College's
Engineering Division. He also announced that the high-tech “plasma ball” Engleberger Trophy will be on loan to the College.

While some teams carefully
calculate the coefficient of friction and try to build overly elaborate
designs, the Union team had a practical sense for building simply and working
as a team, he said. And the Union team had one other advantage: “they can hold
a conversation and talk things through.”

Union was
selected because of its unusual combination of engineering and liberal arts,
Jay said. The team's selection, and their eventual win, had absolutely nothing
to do with the fact that Jay is engaged to Union alumna Adrian MacLean, whose
mother is a trustee of the College, Jay joked. He also pointed out that Adrian's
father is a graduate of Dartmouth,
a team that Union defeated in the first round.

Along the way, Union's
team also beat the Princeton University
and the University of Rochester.

For more on the show, visit http://www.diynet.com/diy/shows_drob/0,2044,DIY_14305,00.html

Posted on Jun 4, 2004

Kevin M. Rampe '88, president of
the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., the agency overseeing the reconstruction
of the site of New York City's World
Trade Center,
will deliver the main address at Union
College's Commencement on Sunday,
June 13, at 10 a.m. in Library
Plaza.

Rampe will receive an honorary
degree from the College. The College will also award an honorary degree to
artist Wolf Kahn, whose intensely colored paintings have put him in the
forefront of American representational art.

“I am proud and honored to
have the opportunity to address Union
College's Class of 2004, their
families and their friends on this very important day,” Rampe said. “Union
College prepared me for my greatest
professional challenge — coordinating the redevelopment of the World
Trade Center
site — and instilled in me a devotion to public service that has driven my
career. I look forward to returning to my alma mater and sharing my experiences
of moving from the classroom to the boardroom.”

Rampe spoke May 11 at a Union alumni
event in the Winter Garden at the World
Financial Center
in lower Manhattan.

As lower Manhattan
rebuilds in the aftermath of the September
11, 2001, terrorist attack, Rampe holds one of the most important
posts – president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), which
is overseeing reconstruction. He was named to the post last year by New York
Gov. George Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg after serving as
the development corporation's executive vice president and general counsel.
Before joining the LMDC, he was first deputy superintendent and chief operating
officer of the New York State Insurance Department, managing the leading
insurance regulatory agency in the country. He had joined the insurance
department after serving as the governor's senior legal advisor on insurance,
banking, civil justice, worker's compensation, and labor matters. A native of Warwick,
New York, he is a cum laude graduate of Union
with a B.A. in political science and psychology. He earned his law degree magna
cum laude from Albany Law
School in 1991 and became a
litigator at the law firm of Sherman
& Sterling. As part of his
practice he was involved in domestic and international securities, antitrust,
and contract litigation. He also lived in Kuwait,
and in 1994-1995 he was involved in the firm's representation of the government
of Kuwait and
its preparation of environmental claims against the government of Iraq
arising after the Gulf War.

About Wolf Kahn

Kahn is one of the United
States' most esteemed painters, one whose
intensely colored and yet meditative landscapes evoke a visceral experience of
color and light. Born in Stuttgart, Germany,
where his father was an orchestra conductor, he fled Nazi Germany as an
eleven-year-old refugee, traveling first to England
and then a year later to the United States.
After graduating from New York City's
High School of Music
and Art, he served in the U.S. Navy and then studied with the well-known
teacher and abstract expressionist, Hans Hofmann. Two years later, Kahn
relocated to Chicago, where he
earned a B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Influenced by Hofmann's practice of using nature as the starting point for a
painting, Kahn's work encompasses both pictorial landscape and painterly
abstraction. His use of color has made him one of the most highly regarded
colorists working in America
today.

He has received Fulbright and Guggenheim fellowships and an Award in Art
from the American Academy
and Institute for Arts and Letters. His work has been exhibited in galleries
and museums throughout the world and is included in the collections of such
major museums as the Museum of Modern
Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York. Kahn has taught in many art schools, including
Cooper Union in New York, and is
the subject of a number of books.

For more information on
Commencement, please visit: http://www.union.edu/Commencement/2004/

If you thought it was easy planning Commencement, check out the plans for the ceremony at http://cs.union.edu/grad/

Prepared by Prof. Lance Spallholz, a member of the Commencement Committee, the site gives details about marching to and from the ceremony (depending on weather), where everyone sits and where families and grads can meet afterward.

Posted on Jun 2, 2004

Junior attack woman Molly Flanagan (Simsbury, CT/Loomis
Chaffee) was named a first-team national All-American by the Intercollegiate
Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association/United States Lacrosse Association it was
announced today (June 2).

Senior defender Corinne Hennessy (Mahopac,
NY/Choate Rosemary Hall) and junior attack
woman Kathy Dolezal (Clearwater,
FL/Williston Northampton)
were named to the second and third teams, respectively.

Flanagan had a remarkable year for the Dutchwomen,
especially considering that she was returning from a season-ending knee injury
that cost her the last four games of the 2003
season.  Flanagan led the Dutchwomen in
scoring with 97 points on 69 goals and 28 assists this year and will enter her
season season second on the program's all-time
scoring list with 217 points on 163 goals and 54 assists.  Already the 30-year old program's all-time
scoring leader, Flanagan trails Nina Mandel (Class of 2003) by just two points.

Hennessy, a four-year starter for the Dutchwomen, helped
lead Union to a four-year record of 46-20.  Her efforts led the Garnet into postseason
tournaments, the ECAC this year, the New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic
Association (where the Dutchwomen won their second championship) and the NCAAs, respectively. 

An all-around performer, Hennessy concludes her career 19th
on the all-time scoring list with 67 points on 50 goals and 17 assists.

Dolezal, who finished second on
this year's scoring char with 51 goals and seven assists, will enter her final
season ranked 14th on the all-time scoring list with 94 points on 84
goals and 10 assists.  She looks to
become just the 12th player to crack the century mark.

The 2004 Dutchwomen established a program record for wins in
a season with their final standard of 15-5. 
Union, which finished second in both the UCAA's
regular season and championship tournament, also finished second in their
first-ever ECAC Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament.