Posted on May 19, 2000

A political scientist, an historian and an economist
will weigh in on a panel, “Germany and the European Union,” on
Friday, May 19, at 1:30 p.m. in Hale House.

Brian Ladd, historian at the University at Albany, will
speak on “Shadows of the Past in the New Germany,” describing
how Berlin, the capital of five different German states in the past
century, still struggles with its legacy.

Elisabeth Egetemeyr, a political scientist at the
University at Albany, will address “Political Culture in
Post-Unification Germany,” examining the political and social
attitudes of the “East-West rift.”

Eshragh Motahar, associate professor of economics at
Union, will analyze the costs and benefits for Germany of joining the Euro
zone in a talk titled “Economic Consequences of the Euro for
Germany.”

The event is sponsored by the College and the American
Association of Teachers of German.

Posted on May 19, 2000

The College's U2K Steering Committee has issued a
proposal for residential and social life at Union.

The document addresses three primary topics: transition
to a sophomore rush, establishment of an all-inclusive house system in the
fall of 2004, and an array of new social alternatives.

“We believe our proposal represents a careful
balancing that preserves the 175-year tradition of Greek letter societies
while simultaneously offering a new model for residential and social
life,” wrote members of the Committee in the introduction to the
report.

Formed two years ago, U2K was charged with proposing
“a set of reforms that would preserve the traditions of Greek life
that are consistent with an academic community that values open inquiry,
seriousness of purpose, diversity of opinion, and a broad and equitable
choice of residential and social options.” Members include students,
faculty, staff and alumni.

The committee invites reactions to the proposal. The
document can be accessed on the Web.

Posted on May 19, 2000

It's
all relative — David Jacks '00, left, (as Albert Einstein), speaks
with Mark McKee '01, right (Pablo Picasso), as Dan Danbusky '00
(Freddy, the bartender) looks on. Picasso at the Lapin Agile by
Steve Martin, is directed by Jon Galt. The play runs through May 28 at the
Yulman Theater. Shows are Thursday, May 18, through Saturday, May 20, at 8
p.m.; Sunday, May 21, at 2 p.m.; Thursday, May 25, through Saturday, May
27, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, May 28, at 2 p.m. Admission is $7 ($5 for
students and seniors). For tickets and information, call ext. 6545.

Posted on May 19, 2000

Steve Martin's script for Picasso at the Lapin
Agile calls for something that not every set designer has lying around
in the closet: a 19th-century painting of sheep grazing in a pasture.

But serendipity struck when set designer Charles
Steckler (who confesses he was “not at all confident in my ability to
create such a piece”) was making his rounds through an area
second-hand shop. He was looking for picture frames – when he noticed a
small print that fit the bill.

Problem was it was too small – only about 4 by 6
inches – and it had too many sheep.

So Steckler brought the print to a copy center to have
it enlarged and to have some of the sheep digitally erased.

The result is a gauzy, impressionistic-looking work that
hangs over the bar of the Yulman's set of the Lapin Agile.

“Nothing wrong with this picture,” says
Freddy, the owner of the bar in Martin's play. “Got it out of my
grandmother's house just after she died; well, actually, while she was
dying. Sheep in a meadow in the fog. Beautiful.”

Posted on May 19, 2000

Michelle Chilcoat, assistant
professor of French, has published an article, “The Legacy of
Enlightenment Brain Sex” in the journal The Eighteenth Century
(Volume 41, No.1, 2000). Also, she is presenting a paper titled
“Francois Ozon's 'Sitcom' and the Treatment of
Homosexuality” at the “Rhetoric of the Other” conference at
the University of Quebec in Montreal.

David Gerhan, professor and
head of public services at Schaffer Library, has published “When
Quantitative Analysis Lies Behind a Reference Question” in the Winter
1999 issue of Reference and User Services Quarterly, the principal
professional journal for reference librarians. The article addresses the
specialized retrieval challenge that academic reference librarians face:
students' coursework-related needs for statistical data.

Yana Hashamova, assistant
professor of Russian, gave a talk, “Imagining Russia: Glory, Majesty,
Honor?” recently at the Symposium on Russia After Yeltsin at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For more information, see http://www.uiuc.edu/unit/reec/symposium00.htm.
Also, her paper “Winnie: The Woman Who Is Not-All? Beckett's 'Happy
days'” is to appear in a collection titled Literature and
Psychoanalysis (Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada: Lisbon,
2000, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Literature and
Psychoanalysis).

Robert Hislope, assistant
professor of political science, is contributing a chapter to an edited
volume, Evolutionary Theory and Ethnic Politics, to be published by
Praeger. He delivered a paper, “Explaining Post-Communist Ethnic
Conflict: Patterns and Theories,” at the 58th Annual Meeting of the
Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago recently. Also, he was
awarded a grant by the National Research Council to study cross-border
Albanian networks (legal and illegal) in Macedonia and the impact this has
on Macedonian stability and regional security. He will travel to Macedonia
in November.

Posted on May 19, 2000

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