GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

A Sister College For Us!

Strong College was visited last month by a group of students and faculty from Preston College at the University of South Carolina. Preston College is a residential college similar to Strong College, and our visitors were delighted to learn about all the things we do. Because we are so much alike, and because we think we can learn a lot from each other, Strong College and Preston College have decided to establish a sister-college relationship with one another! As time goes on we will see how we may be able to develop this relationship, perhaps into joint field trips, opportunities for our students to stay at USC and for their students to stay in Greensboro, and so on. If you have any ideas, please let the College Council and Dr. O’Hara know, and we may be able to carry them out! So welcome to all our new friends from Preston College—we look forward to a long and rewarding relationship!

Tour Guides!

Strong College hosted a large number of prospective students this week who came to tour the place and learn more about us. We couldn’t have done it without the help of a host of tour guides and other helpers including Erika Grace, Tiffany Tillman, Michéle Guzzello, David Simon, Stephanie Crews, Chris Bird, Krista Karbowski, Elizabeth Hargrove, Kate Peeples, Heather Smith, Bob O’Hara, Linda Danford, Laurie White, Pam McRae, and Sherrill Hayes. Thank you all! We look forward to having many of the visitors join us in the fall.

Spades Tournament!

Our own Tom Dort sponsored the first Strong College Spades Tournament last week, and the winning team was “Team Evil” made up of Tom and Carrie Bogart—congratulations! A thousand thanks go to all the people who helped with set-up, refreshments, and with participation: Tom Dort, Brittany Ronco, Sara Neeves, Kelly White, Jessica Zellers, Erika Grace, Carrie Bogart, Chris Bird, Tiffany Tillman, Corey Carter, and Stephanie Crews.

Map of the Month

We now have a new feature on the bulletin boards outside the Strong College Office: a Map of the Month! Around the beginning of each month a new map will be put on display for your browsing pleasure while doing laundry, hanging out, or wandering the halls. This month’s map is “Voices of the World”—a National Geographic map of world languages. Stop by the bulletin board and browse it today!

Some Lovely Framing

We recently got back from the framing shop two lovely items for the College collections: the beautiful souvenir page done by Krista Noll for the last Holiday Tea, and the Senior Dinner page drawn by Cecilia Ruth Lance—stop by the College Office to see them before they are given permanent places on our walls!

Aspera and Astra

Our own Liane Choe has been accepted into the Killington Music Camp in Vermont for the coming summer. Congratulations, Liane!

The Strong College Council is sponsoring a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this weekend, and we look forward to a report when the group returns!

Many thanks indeed to Tim Fitzpatrick for donating a new board game to Strong College: Samurai Swords! It will provide many hours of pleasure for visitors to the Blue Lemur Coffee Bar and other CSC game players. Thanks!

Strong College Fellow Susan Buck reports that Dax, the Official Strong College Canine, completed her Companion Dog title at the Charlotte Dog Show. She was high-scoring dog in her class, and high-scoring Aussie in the novice class. Congratulations to Dax and to Susan!

Chris Bird reports that he can now connect himself to every Southeast Asian despot of the past century. Um, wow!

Poem-of-the-Week

The Poem-of-the-Week appears regularly in this space. This week’s poem is Robert Frost’s appropriately vernal essay “Spring Pools”:

These pools that, though in forests, still reflect
The total sky almost without defect,
And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver,
Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone,
And yet not out by any brook or river,
But up by roots to bring dark foliage on.

The trees that have it in their pent-up buds
To darken nature and be summer woods—
Let them think twice before they use their powers
To blot out and drink up and sweep away
These flowery waters and these watery flowers
From snow that only melted yesterday.

STRONG COLLEGE CALENDAR

20 March (Monday), 9:00 p.m., Committee Room — Monday Night at the Lemurodeon! (Free movies!)

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

21 March (Tuesday), 5:45 p.m., Dinner at Spencers — After Tea, come join the crowd for dinner at Spencers!

21 March (Tuesday), 8:30 p.m., Junior Common Room — Card Games Galore! Everyone is welcome to come!

22 March (Wednesday), 8:00 p.m., Committee Room — Strong College Council meeting. Everyone is invited!

22 March (Wednesday), 9:00 p.m., Star Chamber — Star Trek: Voyager! Join us in the Delta Quadrant!

23 March (Thursday), 8:00 p.m., Senior Common Room — Cornelian Literary Society. Everyone welcome!

23 March (Thursday), 9:00 p.m., Committee Room — Blue Lemur Coffee Bar! Come and get caffeinated!

24 March (Friday), 12:00 noon, Strong College section of the Caf — Fellows’ Lunch; students are welcome!

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMERS: Nothing here is official. Please don’t sue us. There’s a lot of people you just want to smack. No fungi, no future. I feel an interpretive lobster dance coming on. Gravity is not a choice. I know my Mathers. Lemurs don’t wear pants. I’ve got way more minions than you. This does not represent the official policy Martin the Decapod Laureate or the Daffodil Liberation Front. I’m her soft-spoken emanation. Eeeew, she wrote “gurge.” When you live in the water it’s hard to keep your hair neat. I’m ignorant and I’m greedy. It’s a good thing he has an exoskeleton. If this works out, you may be able to live in a glass ball on Mars. I’m a decapod girl in a decapod world. I have one of those disorders or something. It’s hard to be the girlfriend of the Master of the Universe. Color swirls are a natural occurrence. Anyone want to pat my soul? If you experience eye watering, headaches, or dizziness, increase fresh air or wear respiratory protection. Pizza Hut and the world wide web are not infallible and errors sometimes occur. It’s hard being secret agents. Everything’s better with a halo. The better our fantasies are, the better our realities can become. Second star to the right, and straight on till morning. If we succeed there will be many songs sung in our honor. A decent boldness ever meets with friends. Think continually of those who were truly great. Risk—risk is our business; that’s what this starship is all about; that’s why we’re aboard her. Without struggle, there is no progress. Why are we here if we’re not magic? Livin’ la vida lobster. Per aspera ad astra!