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Cornelia Strong College

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Friday, 20 August 1998 | Per aspera ad astra | Newsletter No. 124

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Welcome Everyone!

Welcome to the new year, everyone, and a special welcome to the Class of 2002! This Newsletter comes out every week during term time, and is distributed to all members of the College as well as to a variety of administrative offices in the University. Resident students will receive their copy under their room door (one copy per room); be sure to share with your roommate! And if you live in a suite be sure to put one copy under each door inside the suite when the Newsletters appear in the suite corridor (four copies per suite, one for each room).

For New Students

All new students should have received a Strong College information folder when they arrived, containing a membership list, a calendar for the year, and other assorted literary masterpieces. If you missed yours, we have a few extras in the College Office. New freshmen should have received their Class of 2002 button when they checked in as well; we have a few extra buttons in the College Office also for anyone who didn’t get one.

The Wonderful Cookout and the Wonderful Tea

Many thanks to the College Council (Heather Lloyd, President) for organizing such an excellent cookout for our new members last weekend. A grand time was had by all! And speaking of grand times, the Grand Welcoming Tea was also a spectacular success! The beautiful signature page drawn by Jessica Roland made the rounds and will soon be framed and will join the College’s permanent collection. We hope to see everyone each Tuesday, same time, same place, throughout the year!

Room Change Information

If you are thinking of changing rooms for a better view, a more compatible roommate schedule, etc., etc., the date to keep in mind is Wednesday, August 26th, from 7:00–9:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to change rooms should come down to the JCR at that time to formally make the switch (signing in one set of keys and signing out another). The building is full, so you must make a one-for-one switch; that is, if you want to move out of room x, you must find someone in room y who wants to take your place in room x, and then you can move into room y. A sheet will be posted on the bulletin board outside the College Office for people contemplating room change, but who do not yet have someone to switch with, to list their names and locations. Watch for details to be posted in the building.

Aspera and Astra

Strong College extends its sincere condolences to Ms. Virginia Cherry, our north housekeeper, on the loss of her father. Until Ms. Cherry returns, Ms. Sarah Settle will be filling in for her. Thank you, Ms. Settle.

The first meeting of the Literary Society was held this past Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in the Senior Common Room. In the absence of Dr. White, Dr. Pam Bulgin was elected Empress (because she was there) for Life (because she brought cookies). The Literary Society will be meeting every Thursday afternoon in the Senior Common Room for the rest of the semester. We just sit around and read favorite pieces of serious or (more often) not so serious literature. Everyone is welcome to participate or just sit and listen in. Join us!

Dr. O’Hara has donated a commemorative silver dollar from the United States Mint’s Black Revolutionary War Patriots program to the Strong College coin collection. It features Crispus Attucks, who was killed in the Boston Massacre in 1770 on the eve of the American Revolution. Stop by the College Office and take a look! (The College coin collection is in need of a curator. If you would like to be considered for this august position please speak to Dr. O’Hara. Posterity will thank you.)

Security Officer Alice Chavez recently donated a large supply of magazines and several books to Strong College. You will find them in the Library and on the magazine rack in the Junior Common Room. Thank you!

Many thanks to Strong College Fellows Bruce Caldwell and Linda Danford for helping on freshman arrival day!

Jon Buford donated several decks of playing cards to the Blue Lemur Coffee Bar. Thank you, Jon!

Strong College Fellow Joan Glynn brought to Tea last week a supply of a wonderful new brochure called Where in the World is Charlie’s Yard? This brochure describes a whole host of UNCG traditions that all students should know. If you didn’t get one at Tea, stop by the College Office to pick one up today!

C.J. Heidel donated a copy of WebTechniques magazine to us, and you may browse it in the JCR. Thank you, C.J.!

Poem-of-the-Week

The Strong College Poem-of-the-Week appears on the bulletin board outside the College office and is usually reprinted here. This week’s poem is Walter de la Mare’s “The Birthnight” which was in fact the Poem-of-the-Year two years ago, and which was introduced to the new students in the Literary Society this past week. It is a poem about beginnings, and is dedicated here to the Class of 2002:

Dearest, it was a night
That in its darkness racked Orion’s stars;
A sighing wind ran faintly white
Along the willows, and the cedar boughs
Laid their wide hands in stealthy peace across
The starry silence of their antique moss:
No sound save rushing air
Cold, yet all sweet with Spring,
And in thy mother’s arms, couched weeping there,
Thou, lovely thing.

STRONG COLLEGE CALENDAR

25 August (Tuesday), 4:30 p.m., Junior Common Room — College Tea! It’s the social event of the week.

25 August (Tuesday), 9:00 p.m., Committee Room — College Council Meeting. (Heather Lloyd)

25 August(Tuesday), 10:00 p.m., Committee Room — Grand Opening of the Blue Lemur Coffee Bar!

26 August (Wednesday), 9:00 p.m., Star Chamber — Star Trek: Voyager! (Michelle Marcelais & Bob O’Hara)

27 August (Thursday), 4:30 p.m., Senior Common Room — Cornelian Literary Society. (Pam Bulgin)

28 August (Friday), 12:00 noon, Strong College section in the Caf — Fellows’ & Students’ Lunch.

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMERS: Nothing here is official. Please don’t sue us. I think he’s all spin. Mind the gap. May be harmful if swallowed. No caffeine. For external use only. Two game wardens, seven hunters, and a cow. Do not eat. Refrigerate after opening. This does not represent the official policy of the International Parking Institute, Philip Larkin, or Tim the Literary Lemur. Everybody who would know is on retreat. Use only in a well-ventilated area. If rash develops, discontinue use. Machine washable and dryer safe. May contain historical inaccuracies. Choking hazard. Tamper evident. Eye irritant. Crayons not included. Do not inhale. If swallowed or lodged in ear or nose, promptly see doctor. Hold handrail. Read cautions on back. 100% undetermined man-made fibers. I think it would be best if I waited in my alcove. Rules subject to change. Contains beta carotene for color. Point away from people while opening. Not a significant source of calories. Easy to clean vinyl lining. I’ll just nod, smile, and run away. Will not craze most plastics. Easily slips beneath outerwear. Contains no squid. In the unlikely event of a water landing, this Newsletter can be used as a flotation device. Shown actual size. Do not shake. When dry, brush lightly. The most common things in the Universe are hydrogen and stupidity. Second star to the right, and straight on till morning. If we succeed there will be many songs sung in our honor. The better our fantasies are, the better our realities can become. Think continually of those who were truly great. A decent boldness ever meets with friends. Risk—risk is our business; that’s what this starship is all about; that’s why we’re aboard her. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do. Resistance is futile. Per aspera ad astra!


© Robert J. O’Hara 2000–2021