Polar Bear Dip 2011
Colby students and Waterville residents jump into freezing cold water in order to send kids to camp.
Assistant News Editor Michael Brophy sits down with award-winning Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson to discuss black athletes and social change, race in the campaign of Barack Obama, and the biased (but informed) nature of being a columnist.
MORE VIDEOS
INTRAMURAL SPORTS
Colby Quidditch
Swooping in for its first year is Colby's newest sport: Quidditch! The fledgling team is very serious about having fun.
Engaging Achievement
Engaging Achievement, a program started by Colby Alums to inspire kids from New York City to go to college, comes to Colby.
Girls Rock! Weekend
Hardy Girls Healthy Women's annual Girls Rock! Weekend.
President Obama Speaks in Portland, Maine
President Barack Obama made his first visit to the state of Maine since the 2008 election campaign last Thursday, April 1 at the Exposition Center in Portland. Coming only a week after signing the health care reform bill into law, his visit aimed to promote how the new bill will benefit small business owners in Maine.
Underrepresented Students in Higher Education
Beyond increased scholarship funding, what plans does the Department of Education have to help students from underrepresented groups succeed in college?
This question comes from Jena Hershkowitz, a sophomore at Colby College and a Posse Scholar from Brooklyn, New York. Prior to her enrollment at Colby, Jena attended a wonderful, but large, overcrowded and underfunded public high school in Brooklyn. Despite her ambitions, strong academic standing and test scores, the challenges she faced at college far exceeded her expectations. Jena feels that without the support of the Posse Foundation and her peers on campus, she could not have set herself up to successfully graduate from college. She hopes that the federal government will take its responsibility to students from underrepresented groups one step further, to help these students not simply access college, but to support them once they are in college so that they can successfully graduate.
Regulating the Price of a College Education
What can the government do to cap or regulate the actual price ticket of a college education in America?
This question comes from Michael Brophy and Allison Ehrenreich, both of whom are sophomores at the College. Allie and Michael are currently paying full tuition, and by the time they graduate, they will have paid over $200,000 for their degrees. They both are one of three children, and by the time their youngest siblings attend college, the prices will undoubtedly be higher than they already are now. Higher education costs take a huge financial toll on almost any family; in turn, these prices need to be better regulated so that the dramatic inflation for tuition does not keep increasing every year.
Our colleges president William D. Adams wrote in a recent e-mail that, "The Board of Trustees has set the comprehensive fee for the 2010-2011 academic year at $51,990. This is 3.32 percent, or $1,670, higher than the current comprehensive fee, and it represents the smallest annual increase since 1975." While we understand that 3.32 percent increases in tuition may compare equally with other private institutions, the overall price tag is way too high. Were hopeful that the federal government will consider capping tuition costs the way that it is currently trying to cap health care costs, another significant burden on American families.
STUDY ABROAD
Education in a Globalized World
What does the federal government see its role to be in both the recruitment of international students who wish to study in the United States, and the subsidization of costs for American students who wish to study abroad?
This question comes from Will Price, a senior at Colby from Durham, North Carolina, and Sulaiman Nasseri, a sophomore from Kabul, Afghanistan.
Will spent the spring semester of his junior year living first in Beijing, China and then in Harbin, China. During his time spent abroad, Will learned not only the Chinese language, but developed a tangible connection to the culture, history and people of a country that is quickly rising to world power status. Sulaiman is a United World College student who cares deeply about the relationship between the U.S. and other countries. Will and Sulaiman hope that the federal government will take seriously its potential to be a facilitator of both the recruitment of international students and the subsidization of abroad experiences for American students who might not otherwise be able to afford it.
MUSIC
Colby Symphony Orchestra
Highlights from Colby Symphony Orchestra's concert on Saturday, March 13.
VOLUNTEERING
Haiti Benefit Dinner
Colby first-years raise over $70K for the earthquake relief effort in Haiti.
AROUND CAMPUS
Contra Dance
The first of many Colby Outing Club sponsored Contra Dances this semester.
AROUND CAMPUS
Vote Louder
Colby gets out the vote, sending cars full of student to the polls. A key issue for many students was question 1, which determined whether gay marriage would remain legal in Maine.
AROUND CAMPUS
Election Day 2009: The Debate on Question 1
Waterville residents and Colby students head to the polls on Tuesday, November 3 with the citizen's referendum against gay marriage as the main issue on the ballot. On campus, students organized to rally against repealing the law passed in May that allows same-sex marriage in Maine as part of the No on 1 campaign, and Governor Baldacci even stopped by to support the effort.
JOURNALISM
George Mitchell Press Conference
The United States Special Envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell, speaks with the media before delivering a lecture on campus that evening. Mitchell, who was born in Waterville, addressed topics ranging from conflict resolution to domestic health care reform. Since mid-May, the Senator from Maine has been at work brokering discussions between Israel and the Palestinians.
VOLUNTEERING
LuziCare Speed Dating and Silent Auction
LuziCare, a student-led initiative for accessible healthcare in Malawi, Africa, hosts its first fundraiser of the year as students "speed date" each other and bid on goods and services donated by their peers.
AROUND CAMPUS
A discussion with poet Gerald Stern
Poet Gerald Stern sits down with students and professors to discuss his first poem, what makes you a poet, and the horrors of "being poetic," among other things.
CLUBS
New Club on Campus: Gentlemen of Quality
Digital Media Editor Nick Cunkelman reports on a new club which aims to foster a higher social standard for the males on Mayflower Hill.
JOURNALISM
Interview with ProPublica's Paul Steiger
Managing Editor Molly Biddiscombe sits down for a Q&A with Editor-in-Chief of ProPublica.org Paul Steiger.
AROUND CAMPUS
Hill 'n the Ville 2009
Digital Media Editor Nick Cunkelman looks at the annual Hill 'n the Ville festival, held in Waterville, ME.
WATERVILLE
PechaKucha Night Waterville
Those of you familiar with TED, an online distributor of inspirational talks, know that when many creatives convene in one place, amazing things can happen. While Waterville isn't on most people's short list of creative hubs in America, creatives from around central Maine, with the help of Molly Bennett '11, have brought that spirit to Waterville in the form of PechaKucha.
PechaKucha (pronounced pe-chak-cha) is a series of short presentations by local artists, craftsmen, and engineers sharing their projects and experiences. Each presentation is 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide, no exceptions.
The event isn't just a way for locals to share their craft with others. Sarah Hirsch '12 made a presentation about contra-dancing and its growing presence at Colby, inviting the entire community to come to Colby and take part. "For the past year we've had four dances at Colby so far and hopefully more to come this spring. We're hoping to get the community from Waterville and surrounding towns involved."
Sarah Hirsch's presentation on contra-dancing and Chuck Lakin's presentation on carpentry are available in full on Vimeo.