The Collegiate Way: Residential Colleges & the Renewal of University Life  ‹collegiateway.org›

Search: 

Cornelia Strong College

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Friday, 5 March 1999 | Per aspera ad astra | Newsletter No. 143

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Welcome Back from Spring Break!

So many things are happening and there are so many happy announcements that we decided to put out this early issue of the Newsletter. Welcome back everyone!

Guilford Courthouse Battle Reenactment!

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781 was one of the major battles of the American Revolution. Every year the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro stages a reenactment of the battle, and we are going to go watch! It will be on Sunday, March 14th, and we will meet in the Junior Common Room at 1:00 p.m. for a communal ride out. A brave Strong College regiment went last year and had a great time—you can see pictures of their expedition in last year’s photo album on the Strong College website. Come along with us this year and keep up the tradition! (This excursion will take the place of this month’s Borders Bookstore trip.)

Dr. Caldwell’s Research Excellence Lecture

Strong College Fellow Bruce Caldwell will be delivering the University’s annual Research Excellence Lecture Thursday, March 11th, at 4:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Weatherspoon Art Gallery. His topic is “Why Hayek?” If you are wondering who, what, or where is Hayek, then this is your big chance to find out! Dr. Caldwell is an internationally-known Hayek scholar, so you won’t want to miss his talk. A Strong College contingent will leave from the JCR at 3:45 on Thursday to go over as a group—come join us!

Cornelian Prize

The Cornelian Prize will be presented at Tea this week, March 9th. Be there to find out who the winner is!

Phi Beta Kappa Members

Five Strong College members have just been elected to the North Carolina Epsilon Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society: Jennifer Ferguson, Melissa Johnson, Cecilia Ruth Lance, Robert Lawter, and Scott Thomason! Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest honor society in the United States, and it recognizes distinguished achievement in the liberal arts. These students are at the top of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Strong College is proud indeed to count them as members. And if this were not enough, Cecilia Ruth is a junior this year and she is the only junior in the entire University who was elected to Phi Beta Kappa! (Students are usually elected as seniors.) Congratulations to all these distinguished scholars, and special congratulations to Cecilia Ruth!

Peabody Park Natural History Tour

Dr. O’Hara will be leading another public natural history tour of Peabody Park on Thursday, March 18th, leaving from the front of the Alumni House at 4:00 p.m. This is the season when the spring wildflowers are in bloom, so you will want to mark your calendars today and come along to see some of the treasures of the campus!

Ad Astra

Dr. O’Hara’s Book-of-the-Week this week is the immortal 1066 and All That by W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman, offered as an aid to all the students who will be studying for history tests in the next few weeks. Stop by the Office to browse it today!

Our own Rob Lawter has been accepted into law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill! Congratulations, and please don’t sue us!

Speaking of Phi Beta Kappa, Dr. O’Hara has put together at the request of the UNCG Chapter a small display about Phi Beta Kappa in the front entrance display window of the Jackson Library. Next time you are over there be sure to take a look.

Poem-of-the-Week

The Poem-of-the-Week is posted on the bulletin board outside the College Office and is usually reprinted here. This week’s poem is a little ditty (sung to the tune of “Yankee Doodle”) that was popular in the 1780’s. It memorializes the many skirmishes between British General Lord Cornwallis and American General Nathanael Greene (for whom Greensboro is named) that led up to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781:

Cornwallis led a country dance,
The like was never seen, sir,
Much retrograde and much advance
And all with General Greene, sir.

They rambled up and rambled down,
Joined hands and off they ran, sir,
And General Greene was like to drown
Cornwallis in the Dan, sir.

STRONG COLLEGE CALENDAR

8 March (Monday), 8:00 p.m., Star Chamber — Bible Study Group. (Jon Buford)

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

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

9 March (Tuesday), 9:45 p.m., Committee Room — Movie Night! (Dan Treharne)

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

11 March (Thursday), 3:45 p.m., Junior Common Room — Meet to go hear Dr. Caldwell’s talk (see above).

11 March (Thursday), 9:00 p.m.–12:00 midnight, Committee Room — Blue Lemur Coffee Bar!

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

14 March (Sunday), 1:00 p.m. Junior Common Room — Trip to Guilford Courthouse! (see details above).

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMERS: Nothing here is official. Please don’t sue us. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. I am a happy seaweed. May be harmful if swallowed. No caffeine. For external use only. Do not eat. Refrigerate after opening. This does not represent the official policy of Maxwell’s Demon, Plato’s Cave, Kekule’s Dream, Pascal’s Wager, Schroedinger’s Cat, Zeno’s Paradox, Avogadro’s Number, Occam’s Razor, or the Lost Birdfeeder of Samarkand™. Use only in a well-ventilated area. If rash develops, discontinue use. My life is like Jerry Springer. Choking hazard. Tamper evident. Eye irritant. May contain historical inaccuracies. Crayons not included. Do not inhale. Not intended for high wind areas. If swallowed or lodged in ear or nose, promptly see doctor. Hold handrail. Read cautions on back. 100% undetermined man-made fibers. Not explosive like ether. May contain nut traces. Rules subject to change. Contains beta carotene for color. Point away from people while opening. Lots of things don’t make sense to me, so I ask Kate. Not a significant source of calories. Easy to clean vinyl lining. Will not craze most plastics. Easily slips beneath outerwear. Contains no squid. 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. Chance is irrelevant: we will succeed. Per aspera ad astra!


© Robert J. O’Hara 2000–2021