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

Search: 

Cornelia Strong College

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Friday, 16 April 1999 | Per aspera ad astra | Newsletter No. 148

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Regatta is Here!

The Fifth Annual Buffalo Creek Regatta is here! The date is Sunday, April 25th, and the place is Buffalo Creek in Peabody Park right behind Strong College. There will be a cookout lunch for Strong College members from 12:30–1:30 p.m., and the races will begin about 1:30. Everyone can enter! Boats must be smaller than 8 × 4 inches and must be unpowered (no rocket engines, no propellers, no fish tied to the bottom, etc.). Bring your friends! Bring your parents! This is one of the big events of the year; if you miss it, your grandchildren will never forgive you!

The Corps of Engineers Needs You!

The Strong College Corps of Engineers (Tim Owens, Generalissimo) will be preparing the Regatta course and cleaning the creek beginning Saturday the 24th at 2:00 p.m. How do you become a member of the Corps of Engineers? You show up and help do the dirty work! And this year Dr. O’Hara will have a special secret reward for Corps of Engineers veterans who return for a second year of service (we demand long-term loyalty!). If you helped last year we want your help again; if you are new, come join us!

College Council Elections!

Elections for Strong College Council President for 1999–2000 took place this past week. Our two excellent candidates, Bri Payne and Kelly White, ran outstanding campaigns and worked hard to get out the vote. The winner of the election was Bri Payne, who will be serving as College Council President for 1999–2000! (She will be helping us over the millennium transition, making sure the Blue Lemur Coffee Bar is Y2K compliant.) Very importantly, we had an enormous turnout for the election, breaking last year’s record. This is a testament to how involved the two candidates have been in the life of the College!

Murder Most Foul!

Our beloved mascot, Tim the Lemur, has been murdered! If you have a strong stomach you can view the crime scene photo on the bulletin board outside the College Office. There is also a sheet of paper posted there for any information you may have on the identity of the murderer. (Some people have suggested it was an accidental death, or even a suicide. Our Strong College forensic team is still conducting its investigation.)

Say What?

Our own Prof. Denise Tucker, Strong College audiologist, will be conducting free hearing tests at Tea on Tuesday, April 20th—don’t miss this chance to get yourself checked!

Movie Night!

Movie Night this coming Tuesday will feature the original classic Star Wars! Come up to the Committee Room Tuesday night at 9:45 p.m. to join Dan Treharne for the free showing.

Ad Astra

Dr. O’Hara’s Book-of-the-Week this week is David Hackett Fischer’s masterful monograph Paul Revere’s Ride, for Patriots’ Day (April 19th), the most important day in American history. Stop by the Office and browse it today!

Strong College alumni Todd Thomason, ’97, and Kristen Leagan, ’97, are engaged to be married in August 2000! Younger brother Scott Thomason, ’99 (so he hopes), is now accepting donations of aluminum foil, shoe polish, and other “decorative materials.”

Even more magazines of all kinds have just been donated to the College by Alice Chavez, C.J. Heidel, and Bob O’Hara. Take a look in the JCR to see!

This coming Tuesday at Tea some photographers from the Graduate School will be in attendance to take photos for possible inclusion in a new viewbook for the Graduate School. This could be your chance to be discovered, so don’t miss it!

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 Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Concord Hymn” (1837), for Patriots’ Day:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, or leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

STRONG COLLEGE CALENDAR

19 April (Monday), 5:00 p.m., Spencers — Strong College dinner in Spencers; meet in JCR. (Shelly McLain)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25 April (Sunday), 12:30 p.m., Buffalo Creek in Peabody Park — 5th Annual Buffalo Creek Regatta!

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMERS: Nothing here is official. Please don’t sue us. I’m so freaking cool. 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, Newton’s Laws, Spinoza’s Seventh Axiom, or the late and much lamented Tim the Lemur™. Use only in a well-ventilated area. If rash develops, discontinue use. Vacuum packed for freshness. 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. We recommend washing all play food before using. 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. Do not reply to this mail: your reply will not be read by a human being. 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. Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here. Per aspera ad astra!


© Robert J. O’Hara 2000–2021