GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Welcome Back!

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all men and women of Strong College! We hope you had an enjoyable break, and are excited about the semester to come. Did you do well or not so well last semester? Any of the Strong College staff would be happy to talk with you about your academic work or any other matters of concern. Even when we don’t know the answer to a specific question often we can point you to someone who does.

Tea Resumes Every Tuesday Afternoon

Please join your fellow Strong College members again every Tuesday afternoon from 4:30–5:30 p.m. in the Junior Common Room for tea, cookies, and conversation. Are you a baker extraordinaire? (Or even ordinaire?) Dr. White would be thrilled to have you make cookies for Tea sometime—just let her know when you would be available.

Library Reopening Soon

The Strong College Library will be reopening shortly for the spring semester, once we work out a new schedule for the librarians. Were you a librarian last semester, or would you like to be one this semester? Watch for announcements in the next few days about signing up—and remember that all our librarians are paid the extraordinary salary of $1Strong per hour!

Adopt-a-Lemur for 1996!

Start 1996 off right with a contribution to the Adopt-a-Lemur Fund. (We are serious.) The Duke University Primate Center sponsors an Adopt-a-Lemur program that allows individuals (or groups like us) to “adopt” one of their captive lemurs for a year in exchange for a donation. We will receive a picture of our adopted lemur along with an adoption certificate and the opportunity to tour the Duke Primate Center and visit our adoptee. Lemurs of several species are available for adoption (Dr. O’Hara’s preference is the Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur), and their prices vary, but all we need to begin is $50 for the year. Pam Jackson has generously agreed to serve as treasurer of the Lemur Fund, and there is an envelope in the College Office standing ready to accept contributions of $1, $5, $10, or any other amount you might wish to contribute. All contributions will be gratefully acknowledged, and all contributors will be able to come along with us on our trip to the Primate Center some time this spring. More information about the Adopt-a-Lemur program is available in the College Office, or in the Album section of the Strong College web pages.

Ad Astra

Stop by the College Office to browse through a wonderful set of pictures of last month’s Holiday Tea taken by Kelly Woodfin—you may even be in one of them!

Special Strong thanks to Angie Hinson and Bob O’Hara who shoveled out at least one path to the main entrance to Moore-Strong Hall this week.

The first-ever Strong College Snow Person lived an ephemeral life on the College Piazza this week, but it was photographed by several people and so will live in the College’s memory for all time to come. Many thanks to all those who brought this grand creation into being.

Watch for New Coins, Win Fabulous Prizes

Dr. O’Hara will be awarding prizes of $1Strong to each person who brings in the first 1996 penny, nickel, dime, and quarter for the Strong College coin collection. Did anyone travel to exotic foreign locations over the holiday break? Our collection of foreign coins is quite good and growing, and we will be delighted to accept contributions to it as well. Just stop by the College Office to look it over.

Poem-of-the-Week

The Strong College Poem-of-the-Week appears on the bulletin board outside the College Office. This week’s lines come from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “The Snow-Storm” (1847):

Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o’er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden’s end.
The sled and traveler stopped, the courier’s feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.

STRONG COLLEGE CALENDAR

Everyday

Join your fellow Strong College members for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in our section of the Caf. It’s a great way to start to get to know people, and recognize the faces of other Strong College members. We eat in the raised area of the room just off the main serving room (the room to the left of the large-screen TV). See you there!

Tuesday, 16 January

4:30–5:30 p.m., Junior Common Room: First Strong College Tea of 1996! Stop by the JCR for food and pleasant company, and tell us how your classes look for the new semester. It’s the social event of the Strong College week. (Laurie White)

9:30 p.m., Committee Room (Room 230): Strong College Council meeting. All interested students are invited to join the Council officers to plan events, and generally contribute to the life of our College. (Sherrill Hayes)

Friday, 19 January

12:00 noon, Strong College Dining Area in the Caf: Senior Common Room lunch, for Strong College Fellows and invited students. (We try to invite a few different people each week so most people will get an invitation over the course of the year.)

Saturday, 20 January

7:00–8:00 p.m., The Star Chamber (362): Star Trek Voyager! Join us in the Delta Quadrant. (Klingon dress optional.) (Bob O’Hara)

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMERS: Nothing here is official. Please don’t sue us. No customers need apply. All trademarks are the property of their owners. Do not inhale. This does not represent the official policy of Mr. Squirrel or the Strong College Snow Person™. Not a significant source of calories. Contains no squid. Keep out of reach of parking lots. No one under 17 admitted without parent or guardian. May suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds. Test on an inconspicuous spot. I find the whole concept of nephrons to be quite interesting. Refrigerate after opening. Some sound levels are of 24th-century intensity: use caution so as not to vaporize your system. That’s nice. Wait three minutes before restarting. Good while supplies last. This device may cause radio interference if not properly installed. Rules subject to change without notice. The right of translation is reserved. Division I croquet by 2001. Store in a cool dry place. Five-card stud, nothing wild, and the sky’s the limit. Per aspera ad astra!