Posted on Apr 10, 2008

More than 2,000 students, culled from 5,264 applications, received acceptance letters from the Office of Admissions last month. Now, they’re deciding whether Union is the place for them.

Many are making up their minds – or confirming their decisions – during two Acceptance Day Programs this month. The first, held Monday, brought some 400 guests to campus. With sun and blue skies overhead, faculty, staff and current students cheerfully rolled out the welcome mat to these prospective members of the Class of 2012.

“I knew I wanted a small liberal arts school on the East Coast, and I really like the sense of community at Union,” said Sarah Rosenblum of Los Angeles, a student at the Archer School for Girls who is looking forward to pursuing Art History and Psychology next fall. “This is my third visit to campus. This is where I want to be.”  

“I’m definitely choosing Union,” said Adam Burns of Rochester. “I like the small size and the variety of academics and extracurricular activities.”

The second Accepted Students Day is set for Monday, April 14. Visitors begin the day in Memorial Chapel with a welcome from President Stephen C. Ainlay, Interim Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid Ann Fleming Brown and the Dutch Pipers, Union’s a capella singing group. Union expects a first-year class of 565 students.

Posted on Apr 10, 2008

Students and faculty are reaching out to the campus community for support in bringing an Iraqi student to Union College as a part of the Class of 2012.

“Due to the American-led war in Iraq and continuing violence, students there are without teachers, without books and computers, without university structures. And years are going by,” said Naazia Husain ’08, one of the project’s leaders.

More than 2 million Iraqis have taken refuge in Syria and Jordan since the beginning of the war. Most live under difficult circumstances and are often unable to avail themselves of higher education opportunities in these countries, Husain said. Only a few succeed in being resettled elsewhere.

Union’s student-led, faculty-supported group is part of the Iraqi Student Project (ISP) (http://www.iraqistudentproject.org/), based at Villanova University, that is working to bring some 40 talented Iraqi students to American campuses before year’s end.

As an ISP member institution, Union will provide financial aid for a qualified Iraqi student to begin her or his studies here in the fall. In general, the participating colleges provide tuition, room and board, while volunteers seek donations for air fares, books, course materials, medical insurance and miscellaneous expenses.

“Right now we are asking members of the campus community for a tax-exempt donation to help defray the student’s costs and make sure the student feels comfortable when he or she arrives here,” said Darcia Datshkovsky ’10, president of the International Students Club. “We plan to expand this fund-raising campaign to the larger community of the Capital Region shortly.”

To date, the Union committee has collected nearly $5,000 in a limited fund-raising effort.  It hopes to raise $10,000 by fall. 

“This grassroots initiative is entirely in keeping with our strategic plan. It is supported by President Ainlay and the Admissions Office and is aimed at making a more diverse, open-minded community,” Husain said. “We’ll be scheduling talks to further awareness of what’s going on in Iraq and of Iraqi culture in general. We’re hoping it stays non-political. There’s a lot of genuine interest in making this happen.”

"We're delighted to be working with the Iraqi Student Project," said Interim Vice President fror Admissions Ann Fleming Brown. "It's great outreach and activism on the part of our campus community. We're excited to welcome a student next fall."

In addition to Husain and Datshkovsky, coordinators include Naina Bhushan ’11 and Professors Andrew Feffer (History and Film Studies), Daniel Mosquera (Modern Languages and Literatures) and Eshragh Motahar (Economics). Tayyab Shaikh ’11 is developing a Web site, which can be accessed at: http://www.vu.union.edu/~isp/

For more information about this effort or how to contribute, contact Feffer at feffera@union.edu; 388-6787

Posted on Apr 10, 2008

Friday, April 11, 1 p.m. / Reamer Auditorium / Cindy Sheehan, anti-war activist, followed by lunch at Beuth

Friday, April 11 – Monday, April 14, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center / Movie: “Cloverfield”

Saturday, April 12, 9 a.m. / Union College Boathouse, Mohawk River / Men’s and Women’s crew vs. RPI

Saturday, April 12, noon / Buck Ewing Field, Central Park / Men’s baseball vs. Skidmore

Saturday, April 12, 1 p.m. / Alexander Field / Women’s softball vs. Rochester

Saturday, April 12, 3 p.m. / Reamer Campus Auditorium / Film: “Casablanca”

Saturday, April 12, 8-10 p.m. / College Park Hall Ballroom / Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Pi Pi Chapter sponsors Black and Gold Ball for Alpha Week, part of 25th anniversary celebration. Admission free for faculty and administrators; donations accepted for Mohammad A. Omar Memorial Scholarship Fund, to sponsor summer community service projects. RSVP by emailing Delon McAllister at mcallisd@union.edu

Monday, April 14, 6:30 p.m. / Speakers Forum / Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks

Tuesday, April 15, 4 p.m. / Tennis courts / Men’s tennis vs. Hamilton

Tuesday, April 15, 4 p.m. / Buck Ewing Field, Central Park / Baseball vs. Oneonta

Wednesday, April 16, 7 p.m. / Frank Bailey Field / Men’s lacrosse vs. Vassar

Wednesday, April 16, 8 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series presents Dubravka Tomsic, piano, in a program of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Srebotnjak and Prokofiev

Thursday, April 17, 4:30 p.m. / Phi Beta Kappa Room, Schaffer Library / Philosophy Speakers Series present Michael Williams, Johns Hopkins, on The Structure of Epistemic Justification

Thursday, April 17, 7 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Spectrum Film Series: “Shortbus”

Friday, April 18, 4 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Battle of the Bands

Friday, April 18, 5 p.m. / Mandeville Gallery, Wikoff Student Gallery and downtown Schenectady establishments / Art Night Schenectady

Friday, April 18, 5 p.m. / Wikoff Student Gallery, Nott Memorial / Open reception, “LGBT: A Union Perspective”

Friday, April 18, 7 p.m. / Old Chapel / Spectrum presents filmmaker John Cameron-Mitchell

Friday, April 18, 10 p.m. / Old Chapel / Battle of the Bands

Friday, April 18 – Monday, April 21, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center / Film: “Definitely, Maybe”

Saturday, April 19, 1 p.m. / Tennis Courts / Women's tennis vs. SUNY New Paltz

Saturday, April 19, 3 p.m. / Nott Memorial / Annual Thruway Concert

Sunday, April 20, noon / Buck Ewing Field, Central Park / Men’s baseball vs. RPI

Sunday, April 20, 1 p.m. / Frank Bailey Field / Women's lacrosse vs. Fisher

Sunday, April 20, 1 p.m. / Alexander Field / Women’s softball vs. Staten Island

Sunday, April 20, 2 p.m. / Tennis courts / Women’s tennis vs. St. Lawrence

Sunday, April 20, 3 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Concert Series / Boston Camarata

Posted on Apr 10, 2008

The Nott Memorial, Union’s beloved campus centerpiece, is listed in a Web journal as one of “10 Cool College Landmarks.” The ever-noticeable Nott held spot number two (after MIT’s Computer, Information and Intelligence Sciences Center). 

Here’s the link: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/11257?cnn=yes

Posted on Apr 10, 2008

Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan will speak Friday, April 11, at 1 p.m. in the Reamer Campus Center Auditorium. The talk, sponsored by Campus Action, is free and open to the public.

Sheehan’s son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004. The California woman gained notoriety in the summer of 2005 when she staged a 26-day roadside vigil outside President Bush’s Texas ranch in a vain attempt to speak with Bush about the war. The vigil attracted thousands of supporters to Crawford, Texas, and sparked other protests and marches across the country.

Last May, Sheehan announced she was quitting her antiwar activism to devote more time to her other children. But earlier this year she filed to run as an independent against U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat whom Sheehan blames for perpetrating the war in Iraq.

Campus Action aims to support the growth of social change at Union, within the community and in society at large. In the past, the group has erected an Iraq War Memorial display, with stakes lining the walkways of campus to commemorate every American soldier killed in Iraq.