Posted on May 23, 2003

Brandon, Vt., a tiny enclave nestled in the foothills
of the Green
Mountains can
boast of having statesman Stephen Douglas as a native son. And before too many
years, no doubt, Brandon can boast another homegrown luminary –
Emily McRae.

The
1999 graduate of Otter Valley Union High School, which sounds as pristine and
green as the region itself, has just completed four years of racking up prizes
and accolades at Union. Her long list of awards includes the Asian Studies
Award from SUNY-Oneonta, New York Center for Asian Studies' Ryan Prize for
Best Undergraduate Paper, and the Dean's List. She also published a thought-provoking
essay, “Pornography,
Censorship and the First Amendment” in Ephemeris, in the College's undergraduate philosophy journal.

McRae, a philosophy major, also is the recipient of the Harold A. Larrabee Prize for the most outstanding
work in philosophy during the academic year; the Milton Hymes Sternfeld Prize
for the best original philosophy essay by a senior; and the George H. Catlin
Prize for the liberal arts senior with the highest scholastic record and deemed
most promising for graduate school and eventual service in college teaching.

For
her campus activism, McRae received the President's Commission on the Status of
Women Community Service Award, which is presented to the student who has
dedicated the most time and energy in advancing the cause of women at Union. Also, she was inducted into the Phi
Beta Kappa honor society.

McRae said she had a great academic experience at Union. “I have had a lot of good professors
and unique opportunities.” One of those was to transcribe Madhyamaka Buddhist
lectures, which have never been put to paper.

She
also said she learned how to work independently and honed critical thinking
skills.

Her
immediate plans are on hold pending the SARS health crisis. McRae was
planning to take a year off before graduate school to teach English in Asia. She is interested in Eastern philosophy
and feminism. Besides pursuing a doctorate in philosophy, McRae isn't certain
of her career path, but is confident that she has the skills and scholarship to
explore many options.

In
reflecting on her four years, she said, “[students'] experience is what
they make of it. Union is a small school with a great faculty. Get involved,
travel, obtain a grant – the options are here. You can make a lot out of your experience.”

Posted on May 23, 2003

By Alina Samuels '03

In 2001 a
group of friends had an idea. They wanted to form their own organization in
which they could be sisters and commit themselves to community service. By June 9, 2001, after organizing, petitioning,
and researching, the group of friends became officially known as the Union
College Colony of Gamma Sigma Sigma.

Despite a
growing presence of sororities on the Union
College campus, the founding
sisters of Gamma Sigma Sigma felt that women were losing sight of the goals and
challenges set forth by their predecessors. The group decided that an organization was needed at Union
that fostered the ideas of scholarship, friendship, leadership, equality,
diversity, and a strong commitment to community service. Thus, Gamma
Sigma Sigma was born. 

“We just wanted to be different. The
sorority seemed to fit our personality,” says senior member Rachel Burke. Gamma Sigma Sigma is uniquely a service sorority
rather than a social sorority. They formed an organization with the primary
intention of performing community service. “It's not just about service. We
have an aspect of sorority as well – a significant reason for being together,”
says Burke. The National Panhellenic Council does not recognize Gamma Sigma
Sigma because it is not a social sorority. However, the Inter Fraternity Council welcomed Gamma
Sigma Sigma as their newest Greek organization on the Union
College campus. 

Their affiliation with IFC requires
the organization to be non-selective. Any Union
College student can join Gamma
Sigma Sigma to uphold its service ideals. There is one male member. Rushing
Gamma Sigma Sigma is an informational setting as well as a time to get to know
interested students.  

“I didn't
come to college expecting to be in a sorority,” said sophomore Heidi Young. Many
of the members shared Young's sentiment. However, since its introduction to Union
College two years ago, Gamma Sigma
Sigma has grown from eight members to 31. 
“The fact that that we are so different is the attraction to our
organization,” declared current President Lindsay Homenick '04. “I am proud to
lead this unique and purposeful organization – I really am.”

As a
service organization, the sorority requires members to perform a minimum of 10 hours
of community service a term. Annually, the members participate in the Capital
District MS Walk, and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Bowl for Kids' Sake, Halloween
party, and Youth Olympics. “We're trying to establish ourselves as a place on
campus that people can come to us for community service help,” says Burke. “We
have a lot of potential to provide for the community.” Members also participate
in individual acts of community service. Many are “Bigs,” while others tutor for the ROAR (Reach Out and Read) program and local high schools.
Burke goes above and beyond the 10-hour minimum by heading a local Girl Scout
troop.

Gamma Sigma
Sigma does not have housing. They are in the process of looking for a social
place on campus to gather and plan events as a group. However, Burke sees not living
together as a positive. “We all have lives outside the sorority.” Gamma Sigma
Sigma meets weekly to discuss future events in the Campus
Center. Homenick says, “It's nice
for now, because it's accessible to everyone.” In the future Homenick
would like a space to call their own.

Gamma Sigma
Sigma is relatively young; however, with each passing term the sorority does
more and more community service. “We want to keep membership growing,”
says Burke, “and continue providing community service.” This past March, the
group celebrated its new charter and became the Zeta Phi Chapter of Gamma
Sigma Sigma.

Posted on May 23, 2003

With registrations running about 31 percent ahead of last year,
ReUnion is on pace to be one of the largest in the College's history, second
only to the Bicentennial event in 1995, according to Nick Famulare '92,
director of alumni relations.

“Between a record-high 100 alumni volunteers and a strong
and varied program, there is tremendous interest in this year's ReUnion,”
he said. “We have alumni from the Classes of 1935 through 2002 and from as far
away as Sweden
and Singapore.”

Famulare said his office expects well over 1,400 visitors
during ReUnion weekend, which runs Thursday, May 29,
through Sunday, June 1.

The weekend, which celebrates the College's traditions with barbecues, tours, class dinners, the alumni parade and convocation

Other highlights include the annual Alumni Golf Outing with
golf tips from Greg Midland '96, associate editor of Golf magazine (Friday, 8 a.m., Edison Club); “Forecasting the 2004
Presidential Election” with Prof. Richard Fox (Friday, 11:15 a.m., Becker Career
Center); “The American Locomotive Co. – A Centennial Remembrance” with Dick
Steinbrenner '58, who has written a book on ALCO (Friday, 3 p.m., Olin 106);
dedication of Abbe Hall, 1128 Lenox Rd., as the new Alumni Center and home of
College Relations; and the dedication of a memorial from the V-5/V-12 unit to
alumni lost in the Civil War (Saturday, 3 p.m., Memorial Chapel).

For more details, visit: http://www.union.edu/reunion

Posted on May 23, 2003

Union Theater and the Performing Arts Department will present Bertolt
Brecht's play, Caucasian Chalk Circle, the love story of a peasant girl
and a soldier told against a backdrop of political insurrection and the quest
for justice.

The play opens Tuesday, May 27, at Yulman Theater.

Guest director, Brad Beckman, in keeping with Brechtian tradition that
challenges audiences to recognize the nature of social constructs and
hypocrisies, will draw important parallels to today's global conflicts.
“Brecht's theatrical world is certainly politically and ideologically driven,”
said Beckman. He believes it is the director's charge to take a classic work
such as this and convey its timeless universal truths to contemporary
audiences.

The cast includes Phil Chorba, Aneesah Dambreville, Allison Drake, Fred
Kountz, Grant Lanterman, Jackie Mason, Jhulian Newell-Little, Chris Preston,
Ben Schwartz, Colleen Sentance, Dana Smullyan, Michael Woodrow, Jane Yoon, and
Kyrie York.

This production also promises to be fun, incorporating original live
music, puppetry, and film in a contemporary version of a legendary tale in
which a governor is beheaded, a child is stolen, a narrow escape is made across
a rickety bridge, a young woman marries a dying man, and a scoundrel becomes a
judge.

Caucasian Chalk Circle
runs Tuesday through Saturday, May 27 through 31, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, June 1 at 2 p.m.

For tickets ($7, $5 for students) and information, call the box office at (518) 388-6545.

Posted on May 23, 2003

Clifford Brown and Linda Stanhope were elected on Tuesday to three-year terms as chair
and secretary, respectively, of the Faculty Executive Committee. President Roger
Hull praised the work of Tom Werner and Steve Leavitt, chair and secretary for
the past three years.

In other elections at the general faculty meeting, Kristen
Fox and Chad Orzel were elected to three-year terms as FEC representatives on
the Student Affairs Committee. Megan Ferry was elected at-large junior member of
the Faculty Review Board.

The faculty approved
the granting of degrees to 494 undergraduate day students and 125 students in
graduate and continuing studies at Commencement on June 15.

In other action, Werner announced an FEC recommendation that
the administration share a financial analysis of a change to a semester system.
The proposal is slated for discussion at the June 3 meeting. After the meeting,
the faculty will vote on whether to lift a five-year moratorium on
reconsidering a semester calendar.

Three years ago, the faculty voted to retain a
three-term calendar, and the president promised the issue would not be
reconsidered for five years, Werner explained. Since that vote, some faculty,
including some who had opposed semesters, have said they would like to re-visit the calendar issue to see if a change to semesters would bring the College
significant annual savings, Werner said.

Posted on May 23, 2003

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. will present the Sphinx
Award, a service honor, and announce the establishment of the Mohammad
A. Omar '94 Memorial Community Service Internship at the “Black and Gold Ball”
on Saturday, May 24, at 8 p.m. in Old Chapel.

The Sphinx Award is presented to a faculty member
or administrator for their commitment to minority students at the College.

The Omar endowed internship, intended to encourage
an ethic of civic involvement and community service, is named after Mohammad A.
Omar '94, who died in a boating accident in 1993. He received a posthumous
engineering degree in 1994. The award memorializes Omar's dedication to
community service.