Update your E-mail with the College

I've received quite a few e-mails from classmates who have not received some or all of my e-mail broadcasts over the last few years.

Unfortunately, I can't update or maintain the list the college uses for these broadcasts, so in order to be sure you receive all of our class e-mail newsletters, reunion info, or other broadcasts, you'll have make sure the college has your current e-mail address.

Unfortunately, this is not an easy process. I spent a bunch of time at the site today and cannot for the life of me figure out how it's done!

I am going to send some e-mails to the AASC and see if we can get instructions, which I will then post here.

In the meantime, you can update your snail mail address here.

And you can contact the AASC Web master, Mike Yargeau directly by phone or e-mail. His information, along with everyone else at the AASC is here.

Thanks for your patience! In the meantime, if you are one of the lucky folks getting the e-mails, please consider forwarding them on to your friends so that we can help more people to be in the loop.

Reunion 2004 Photos

The Alumnae Association has posted 50 photos from Reunion 2004. There are a few smiling faces from the class of '94 in there. Go here to take a peek.

Right: Mary Ann Hardy and I at the now defunct La Cazuela during Reunion 2004. Mary Ann is Parade Sign Chair for Reunion 2009. If you've got any clever ideas, MAH would love your help! E-mail sign ideas to smithreunion1994 at gmail.com. If you'd like a fancy job like Mary Ann's, e-mail our Reunion Co-Chairs at the same address.

Got reunion photos? Or, heck, commencement photos? Send 'em along and I'll post 'em. Be sure to let me know who is in the photos. (High-res jpegs are ideal.)

UMASS student arrested for lewd acts at Smith

On March 27th, the DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE, reported that "Police are investigating after two Smith students reported separate lewd incidents involving a male the same evening. Neither woman was injured and both are assisting with the investigation."

The PR arm of Smith later reported that "a University of Massachusetts student was arrested and charged with the incidents."

Since the Gazette blocks non-subscribers from accessing its content (brilliant) and since I couldn't find any further information on the Smith site, that's all I know.

Marjane Satrapi to Speak at Smith April 3rd

Marjane Satrapi, whose autobiographical novel about the Islamic Revolution, “Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood,” was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated animated film of the same name, will speak at Smith College at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 3. More info here.

"Doing the News in the Age of new Media" Event at Smith

On Thursday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Leo Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall the Friends of Smith Libraries will present an event entitled "Doing the News in the Age of new Media."

The event is free and open to the public and will feature some very cool Smithies, including Laurel Toby, founder of mediabistro, and Stacy Teicher who is just one year ahead of us (and lived in Baldwin).

From the press release:

"The program, which will be moderated by Judy Milestone '66, Smith trustee, long-time CNN executive and an astute observer of the media, will include panelists Susan Green'68, until recently Senior Vice President at The Cable Center, University of Denver; Stacy Teicher Khadaroo '93, reporter at the Christian Science Monitor; Laurel Touby '85, Senior Vice President at Jupitermedia Corporation, which last July paid $23 million for mediabistro.com, the on- and offline "community center" for journalists and media professionals that Touby founded; and Ellen Weiss '81, Vice President for News at National Public Radio.

"Although many Friends of the Libraries programs focus on books and authors, this event will bring together five Smith alumnae who are-or have been-associated professionally with various aspects of a medium other than books. The panel's organizers decided that the so-clalled "new media" is a compelling, current topic and, in fact, not distant from libraries at all, given today's integration of electronic resources into library facilities and collections. The panel discussion, which is open free to the public, is expected to focus on issues that print and electronic media are currently facing, the demographics of their audiences and the various forms of adaptation that are required to be successful in the media marketplace today."

I am hoping to go, but I have a class that doesn't let out until 8:30 that night, so I may miss it.

Hope to see you there!

Make a donation, support a classmate

I made a small donation today in support of Bettina (Haymann) Chavanne, a classmate who is working to find a cure for Parkinson's disease. Bettina was diagnosed last year with early onset Parkinson's, and this year she will be participating again in the Parkinson's Unity Walk in New York City. 100% of all donations go directly to researchers that work to find the cause and cure of Parkinson's disease! She is more than one-third of the way to her goal of raising $10,000. I hope you'll pitch in and give whatever amount is meaningful to you. (Your donation is tax-deductible.) Go here to contribute to Bettina's campaign.

Smithies in the News

DAILY HAMPSHIRE GAZETTE, March 7, 2008
With her play "Commedia dell Smartass" being performed in Hadley this weekend and next, playwright and Smith alumna Sonya Sobieski '91 has sought to take "an ingeniously new slant" on the American high school experience, notes the Gazette arts reviewer. Unfortunately, the Gazette will not allow anyone to view its content without a subscription, so we can't link to the story. (Stupid Gazette.)

Gloria Steinem '56 speaks at Lafayette College
While she considers this year's Democratic presidential primary a truer representation of democracy than previous contests, Smith alumna and feminist activist Gloria Steinem '56 (right, with Naomi at Smith last fall) expressed disappointment recently, to a capacity crowd at Lafayette College, that media coverage focuses on questions of either race or sex but not both. "The battles for racial and sexual equality have been and should be interwoven," she said. "Where does that leave the women of color?"

And the Oscar goes to...a Smithie!

NEW YORK TIMES, March 7, 2008
A filmmaker triumphant, a film about triumph
Smith alumna Cynthia Wade's documentary film about a New Jersey police detective who valiantly fought the county for the right to transfer her pension to her domestic partner has captured 15 awards, including an Oscar. But, Wade said, "The goal was never an Oscar; the goal was to bring attention to this issue in other states where gay rights are on the legislative agenda." Wade is Smith Class of 1989.

A Room Full of Women of One's Own

Twice a week, I take a yoga class at Smith. The classes are included in my alumnae gym membership, and while it's a stretch to leave work in time to make the 5pm start, I am deeply committed to them and have only missed them when truly sick or severely injured. (I even returned to class just three weeks after severing my ACL and bruising a bone. Turns out this was a bad idea, and I suffered for it, but you can get a sense for how important it is to me to go. I couldn't walk, but I believed I could do yoga.)

I began taking the classes in the fall of 2006. I had been very sick for a few years, but was finally feeling well enough to make it through a one-hour beginners class once a week. In the beginning, I hated the yoga. I hated my teacher, a bubbly Smith alumna who seemed way too perky for her own good.

But even amidst my stifled rage and irritation and frustration, what I loved about the classes-- immediately--was the experience of being in a room full of women. And not just any women, Smith women. While there are occasionally men, and may or may not be students in the class who don't identify as "women," the dominant experience is one of being among women, in a room of our own. This, I realized, is not something we get to experience all that often after we graduate from Smith. I hadn't realized how much I missed it, until I sat down that first day, tired and sore, on my mat and felt the uplifting comfort of it wash over and through me.

Yoga on its own is special, especially this yoga--anusara yoga--which is very heart-centered. Love, joy, and acceptance are central elements of the practice. But yoga at Smith--with a Smithie teacher--it's difficult to describe to those who haven't felt it. I can breathe better when I have this in my life. I breathe better just thinking about it.

When we were undergrads, this was the water we swam in. Since leaving school, unless we joined a nunnery or went to teach at a same-sex school, we had to adapt to a different kind of water. There have been plenty of times when I was in the full company of women; but, particularly after having spent so much time alone since moving back to Northampton, returning to that space and being with those women for an hour every week--it had tremendous healing benefits. Like a fresh water fish seeking refuge from a brackish new environment, I have returned home, and when I enter that Smith room, my gills fill up with the best and freshest oxygen imaginable.

It is my hope that some of us might come together to practice yoga for an hour with my teacher at Smith during reunion. I'll ask Kirse to put it on the survey in April, to see if there's any interest. Until then, I hope that wherever you are in your life, you may find access to a room full of women of your own--whether it is through a shared religious practice, music, service, support, or any of the other myriad things that bring us together. Namaste.

Sylvia Plath Symposium in April

If you're a local alumna, or within driving distance--or just a big Sylvia Plath fan--you may want to plan a trip to campus for the Sylvia Plath 75th Year Symposium scheduled for April 25-26th.

NewsSmith reports that "Smith senior Aubrey Menard is organizing a Sylvia Plath symposium for the Smith community...the event is part of her special studies project on Plath." Menard was a presenter at the international Plath symposium at Oxford University last October. (How odd--an over achiever at Smith...)

It really should be something special. Events include an evening panel with family and friends, including Plath's Smith roommate and her college boyfriend, and talks on everything from Plath and the moon to Plath and war.

You can find more info about the event here.

Hillary Clinton for President

If you live in Vermont, Texas, Ohio, or Rhode Island, I'm sure you've been inundated by proponents for all the candidates in today's primary. In general, I like to leave people alone when it comes to their voting decisions, but I feel so strongly about today's potential result, that I wanted to take a moment and express my sincerest hope that you and (and everyone else you know in these states) will vote for Hillary Clinton today.

I voted for Hillary because when I told my grandfather that I'd gotten into my first choice law school a few years ago, he said, "Women should be teachers." And when my mother wanted to be an engineer, my grandfather told her, "Women should be teachers. " I want my grandfather to see a woman President in his lifetime. I want my four-year-old niece to see one, too. I want them both to know that women can be teachers, if they want, but that they can also get law degrees and become world leaders.

There are a hundred other reasons why I believe Hillary Clinton is the best choice for the Democratic nomination, but rather than subject you to such a long list, I'll just say I think she will serve our country well.

I love going to the polls and I hope you'll enjoy your trip there today as much as I enjoyed mine on Super Tuesday.

I am voting for Hillary Clinton.

I am voting for Hillary Clinton because when I told my grandfather that I'd gotten into my first choice law school he said, "Women should be teachers." When my mother wanted to go to college, my grandfather told her, "Women should be teachers. " I want my grandfather to see a woman President in his lifetime. I want him to know that women can be teachers, if they want, but that they can also go to college, get law degrees, and become world leaders.

Why are you voting for Hillary?

Help Bettina Raise Money to Cure Parkinson's

Bettina (Haymann) Chavanne was diagnosed last year with early onset Parkinson's disease. She is rallying to raise funds to help find a cure as soon as possible.

"I'm on a mission to make it go away - for everyone," she says.

This year she will be participating again in the Parkinson's Unity Walk in New York City.

"Each year thousands of patients, their families, and friends gather in New York's Central Park for a two-mile walk to raise awareness of Parkinson's disease and funds for research," writes Bettina. "I am supporting the Parkinson's Unity Walk and hope you will join me by walking with me and my team. Help us raise funds towards my team's goal. When you click on the link provided you will be forwarded to my Personal Donation Page. Please, take action with me to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Share the camaraderie and make a difference!"

Bettina's goal is to raise $10,000. I hope you will support her in her efforts. Every bit helps.