Directives – The dead week edition

Last Columns of the year, I’m guessing. The nicest weather of the year is around the corner as students prepare to leave town. Which is not to say that I’m not ready for the semester to end. Like most everyone else, I am limping to the finish line. Last meeting of my grad seminar yesterday evening, multiple events this week. Paper reading and a couple of qualifying exams next week…

BOEP got through final cuts and the faculty curriculum committee with another excellent set of classes including three alternates. The alternates are important: for next fall we have already gotten to the third one as instructors’ schedules and opportunities change. BOEP also has new officers for next year:

Co-chairs: Samantha Loza and Chad Nobbe

Programmers: Dan Arndt and Amanda Kelly

Secretary: Logan Baals

The Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday lasted a full two hours and focused almost entirely on one topic, namely mixed-gender and gender-blind floors. As previously announced, the planned gender-blind floor in Greene will not be happening next year due to lack of interest (while the ‘sold-out’ co-ed floor on Cravens 2 will go ahead); hopefully we can re-launch the former possibility next year. The conversation did generate another half-way measure. By converting the private bath in Ed 404 to one that can be used by the whole floor, we will create a situation in which residents who would rather not use the multi-person female toilet/shower on that floor will have a private option. The floor will remain a female floor but be open to non-normative gender identities (as all floors are) and their room mates. A bit confusing but a first step. We also briefly discussed the possibility of creating one or two co-op floors in Brown for which there was support among the 20 or so participants.

The Sustainable Food Committee will have its final dinner at my house on Friday evening. We have also invited all of our guests from the year and so hope to see some of them again. Isis Eynon is spearheading the planning. The Committee also has new officers for next year:

Co-chairs: Veronica Passarelli, Farah Yusuf, Tyler Zerbe

We plan to recruit new garden coordinators and a kitchen coordinator (see below) when we return from summer break.

In addition to the bathroom changes on Ed 4, we have had still more encouragement that the Smitchen will undergo renovation over the summer. That’s why we’ll need a kitchen coordinator (ideally a paid position) as the plan is for it to function much like the art studios in the club house.

Tonight is Awards Night. In addition to broad recognition of student involvement at Collins, we will also make some more substantial awards. In different ways, these awards reflect Collins’ core values. This year we will award the Ernest and Eva Bernhardt Award (now for a combination of Collins involvement and academics), the Service Award (so community) and, for the first time, the Elissa Bradley Memorial Award which celebrates the range of Collins values. These are the recipients:

Bernhardt: Emily Francisco

Service: Emily Kehoe

Bradley: Samantha Loza

Need a study break this weekend? The IU Soul Revue Spring Concert is Saturday night at 8pm at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater ($10 for students).

So that’s it for 2012-13. I’ll be back in touch in August.

Carl Ipsen

Professor of History

Director, Collins LLC

23 April 2013

Directives – The Town Hall Meeting edition

April is tough. I see that my fellow columnists, Pearl and Siarra, missed last week’s deadline. I nearly did too, and only finished my full column too late. It’s hard to keep up. But May is coming and a different pace.

Apropos of May, my suggestion at the Sustainability Summit last week was that we move the school year forward four weeks. Given that students return to air-conditioned classrooms and housing (most of them anyway) during the hottest time of the year in August and then leave again when it is normally delightful in May, shifting the start of the school year till after Labor Day would result in a significant energy saving. Apropos of sustainability, the Edmondson Dining Hall will be composting next year, picked up by the Local Growers’ Guild.

Wednesday (the day the Columns comes out) we are having a Town Hall Meeting at 6pm to discuss a few specific issues  – gender-blind and co-op floors (see below) and Collins’ ‘official’ core values – but it will also be an occasion to explore any issues Collinsites might care to bring up. What is working at Collins? What should change? What do you just want to gripe about? Wil, Yara and I (at least) will all be there.

The gender-blind floor has indeed been postponed till next year. As it turned out, the necessary bathroom construction is less expensive on Greene 1. Coupled with the fact that only three returning students had signed up, it seemed (to me anyway) to make sense to try again next year with better marketing (for Greene 1). I do appreciate the thoughtful comments in last week’s Columns on this issue. It may or may not be that people have misunderstood the point of these floors, but in any case we cannot institute a control for personal motivations to sign up, whether for gender-mixed on Cravens 2 (with separate sex bathrooms) or gender-blind in Greene (with gender-blind bathrooms). In some ways Collins is the worst place to introduce these floors. Our buildings are old and retrofitting them to accommodate new needs is difficult and expensive. It would make lots more sense to introduce gender neutral floors in some of the new RPS construction (of which there is plenty). Perhaps down the road, bathrooms on the main quad (or in one building of the main quad) will be re-designed to accommodate gender-blindness, but not, I’d predict, before all current Collinsites have graduated. Meanwhile we have an option in Greene and need to decide how to proceed. If people don’t want to live on the Hill, then maybe we should give up the effort. (And the co-op floor(s) would very likely go in Brown.) Years ago Collinsites fought to keep the Hill from being taken over for other purposes. That spirit seems to have expired. I could go on, but will save that for the meeting.

I did see and very much enjoy Falstaff on Saturday evening (last IU opera performance of the season). My favorites were the young lovers, Nannetta and Fenton, though the Falstaff was also excellent (indeed the whole cast was). But April as I said is tough. Attending Falstaff meant missing the African-American Chorale Ensemble’s spring concert and also Bach’s B-minor Mass (Bloomington Chamber Singers and the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra). Afterward I ran into Collinsites who had been to see Ladies First. Better too much to do than too little, I guess. Meanwhile Collinsfest continued into the night. I attended the opening hours. The balloon arch was a wondrous if fleeting thing to see. I believe we got some photos as the stiff winds whisked it across the background of blue and spotty clouds over and past Geology. But no mind, the bouncy castle bounced; the grill got going; the music too; and all seemed to enjoy themselves. Congratulations BOP on a great effort and successful event.

Oh yeah, Little 5 this weekend, but you probably knew that. The signs are already all around us. Go Buccaneers! Collins meanwhile has alternative activities in Gnomes on Bikes and a BOEP-sponsored Shakespeare Birthday celebration.

Carl Ipsen

Professor of History

Director, Collins LLC

16 April 2013

Directives – The strike edition

I was going to send this one in blank, an attempt at humor, and as it is I may miss the deadline.

The strike raises important issues: high tuition, high student indebtedness, limited progress on increasing racial diversity at IU.

I certainly share in lamenting the passing of the public university. I am not quoting authoritative figures, but since I was a student, public investment (=taxes) in public universities has dropped from the 60% range to the 15% range. Can we really call a university public when 85% of its funding comes from private sources (tuition and fund raising)? As a society we seem to prefer imposing this debt on young people to be paid back in the future (with interest) rather than paying for it now (with taxes). To quote an unpopular sentiment: “I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.). OWH is certainly out of fashion these days. So I’ll support the strike. The problems are real and certainly more can be done at the level of the university. If nothing else it will hopefully raise awareness. But as long as we insist on imposing the cost on students (and their families) rather than society at large, I remain skeptical about solutions. In what may be a poor analogy, we could pay for roads by putting all the costs on drivers, through tolls on all interstates and much higher taxes on cars, drivers licenses, and gas. But we don’t (though I may like aspects of this latter idea more than high tuition instead of taxes).

Tonight was Diversity Jeopardy: Collins v. Atkins. I thought it was  great success. As you’d expect a few surprising knowledge gaps – of course cheese cake is Jewish – and some other excellent examples: Thurgood Marshall agued the Brown v. Board of Education case. Now how often do I refer to two Supreme Court justices in one column?

The outdoor farmers’ market opened last Saturday and will run till next November, the best FM in the state, most agree. Hope to see you there. Meanwhile the food committee had its last meeting. Well attended and graced by the presence of Christine Barbour (Poli Sci) and Dave Tallent (Restaurant Tallent), co-founders of Slow Food Bloomington.

And yes, Pearl, I do know about the new restaurants at Forrest. Ancil Drake (RPS exec. chef) came and talked to the food group about them. I agree that this is a positive development but hope you won’t abandon the wonderful Dining Hall in Edmondson. Nest year it will become the last “traditional” dining hall on campus and we have to defend that: “Custard’s last stand,” Alice Waters suggested to me as a byline. Apropos, the Dining Hall will be composting nest year. Hurrah! I don’t know “It’s a Girl,” but from what you say I’d better find out about it. I instead saw Sarah Hrdy: really interesting and also about mothering (and fathering).

Falstaff at the MAC this weekend. Last opera of the year. And the African-American Chorale Ensemble, who performed in Ed Formal a couple of months ago, at the BusChum on Saturday.

Carl Ipsen

Professor of History

Director, Collins LLC

9 April 2013

Directives – the abbreviated edition

IU’s out of the NCAA tournament. Too bad. Baseball has started; the optimism of spring. [My effort at Haiku?]

Pearl, thanks to whomever for admiring my bag. It was expensive by my standards, and I got after being chosen for the Collins position: at Mulholland in Berkeley. I’m sorry about “My Chemical Romance.” At first I thought you meant a boyfriend in chem class. Tells you something about my awareness of popular culture.

This week is filled with BOEP interviews to which I am dashing off. I also look forward to seeing Susan Hrdy, an anthropologist who has written, among other things, an important book called Mother Nature. I may use it in my family class next year. She’s giving the Patten lectures this evening and Thursday.

The Food group has its last regular meeting on Friday. Don’t miss it. And next Thursday is Diversity Jeopardy: Collins v. Atkins. I’m pretty sure we still need team members, so sign up. I don’t want you guys to let me down.

Gotta run or I’ll be late for BOEP.

Carl Ipsen
Professor of History
Director, Collins LLC
2 April 2013

Directives – The hoops edition

Basketball rules our lives right now. On Friday afternoon the food committee meeting coincided with the IU-JMU game, and our scheduled guest bowed out (she also wasn’t feeling too well). We still had a good turnout (almost 20) and found things to talk about among ourselves, not to mention enjoying Stone and Isis’ ribollita and savory ricotta. (Personally I watched the game afterward on tape.) In two weeks we’ll have Dave Tallent AND Christine Barbour for our last regular meeting of the year. We are also planning a field trip and final banquet that will be announced via Oncourse. Let me know if you’d like to be added to the list.

Sunday instead it was the scrappy IU-Temple game that went down to the wire and delayed the start of BOEP first cuts. There was an excellent turnout for BOEP too and a lively discussion of the 25 proposals. We (Siarra, Deshea, and I) imagined that it would be relatively easy to cut down to a field of 15. Turned out not to be so easy, in part because there were exciting proposals. Interviews are next week M-F, and those too will be announced via Oncourse. Attend it you can.

As to the basketball games themselves, JMU was a walkover and Temple a scrappy game of survival. As a Cal alum I also watched that team play Syracuse. A Cal victory would have meant an IU-Cal match-up and a question for me of divided loyalties. As it turned out, Cal lost a game most commentators agreed was pretty ugly. Frankly I don’t think either of those teams should be too much trouble for IU and so will predict that IU has an easier time with Syracuse on Thursday than they did with Temple.

Crunch time this week for publications as all three – Pipe&Barrow, Lantern, Dancing Star – are due at the printers this weekend. I am working my way through the submissions for the first of those (and should probably be doing that right now rather than writing this).

Friday also saw the Senior Dinner. Dinner and drinks were good in the Federal Room, and reminiscences ranged from the hilarious to the tearful. I think a good time was had by all. We will miss you (except for the rising super seniors who will get to do this again next year).

Note to Pearl: I too am not an enemy of winter. In part because what I really object too about Bloomington weather are the hot and sticky days of summer. Alas, I grew up in milder climes. We didn’t have an air conditioner and didn’t need one. Nor did it ever snow. I know that mid-westerners and others who end up in California grow nostalgic about the changing seasons. My own feeling (after about 19 rounds of seasons) is that having done them once, I could have given them up again. But the point in any case is to be happy where you are (and I can even embrace the heat). I saw Les Miz on stage decades ago, a rare musical for me as that is not a genre I much care for (in spite of or because of my fondness for opera). I’m afraid I haven’t seen the movie.

Apropos of opera, Verdi’s Falstaff is coming, a great one. I did attend the ballet this past weekend: excellent as usual. My favorite piece was Balanchine/Hindemith’s Four Temperaments. Exciting choreography and a fine orchestra and piano.

Carl Ipsen
Professor of History
Director, Collins LLC
26 March 2013

Directives – The Spring Training edition

OK, I really didn’t go to spring training – maybe next year – but I did pass through the Phoenix airport twice on my way to and from the west coast. And opening day is just around the corner. Instead I spent the break back in Berkeley enjoying family, friends, food, mild temps, and a conference. All good.

Now we’re back for the home stretch: seven more weeks and we’ll have wrapped up another academic year. For some of us they fly by. For Collins it is both the home stretch and a mad dash to the finish as the coming weeks are packed with year-end activities: senior, BOEP, and AC dinners; Founders Day; Awards Night; Collinsfest; publication deadlines and the publications release party…

Course proposals for spring 14 were also posted to the BOEP site today; so we have till Sunday to review them and get ready for first cuts. It’s never too late to join BOEP, and we have to start thinking about officers for next year.

On Wednesday before break I met for lunch with Cleo Hernandez and Rachel Colegrove, Collinsites and co-chairs of “Diversity in Action”, an IU group sponsored by the Hutton Honors College, together with John Robert-Eze from Atkins LLC and Eric Love, director of the IU Office of Diversity Education. We discussed two initiatives: the upcoming Atkins Showcase (March 22 at 8pm in Wilkie Auditorium) and Diversity Jeopardy (date tbd in the Collins Coffeehouse). The first promises to be a great evening of musical entertainment. In order to qualify for some grant money, Atkins needs to collaborate with another LLC and Collins seems an obvious choice. Cleo and Rachel will be looking for volunteers to help with set-up etc. The second will pit teams from Atkins and Collins against one another in a round of Jeopardy that will test our knowledge of different cultures and lifestyles. We need to put together two teams of four and an audience so sign up and come.

The Sustainable Food Committee will have its fifth spring semester meeting on Friday (3/22 at 4:30 in the Coffee House). We’re doing ribollita and savory baked ricotta and meeting with Christine Barbour, IU Poli Sci, food writer, and founder of Slow Food Bloomington. Hope to see you there and thanks to Siarra for her pitch in the last Columns.

Finally (almost), it looks as though the gender neutral floor will NOT happen for next year. While the mixed gender floor in Cravens filled right up, only three returners have signed up for the gender neutral floor in Greene. The hope there was to have a good mix of returners and new students. The necessary construction would also be less expensive on Greene 1 than Greene 2, so it looks as though we’ll plan to promote the floor better next year and launch it in F14. In a related issue, the Hill is also the obvious place to put a co-op floor (or floors): that will be the topic of conversation at an upcoming town hall meeting.

Pearl, thanks for keeping up the dialog. I do teach, but less than before because of Collins. I have a graduate seminar on 19th-c. Europe. Every fall for the past 6-7 years I have been teaching a course on the Sicilian mafia. It’s a big class (350 the past few times), so more like being on stage than teaching. But it seems to work. I’ll offer it again next semester and then a course on family history in the spring.

Last, last culture note: IU ballet this weekend!

Carl Ipsen
Director, Collins LLC
19 March 2013

Directives – The Feud edition

BOEP’s Family Feud takes place this evening at 7, preceded by the word premier of a new Collins anthem (or at least that is what I am remembering) at 6:30. I expect to come in last (as with the Oscar pool, see below) and hope to see you there.

So I made it to the final Bloomington performance of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten by IU Opera. I always find Glass’ “serial” music both hypnotic and exciting: the impending, impelling evolution of his work draws me with it. And I thought orchestra and musicians both sounded great. It was also a sexy production on multiple scores, not least of which the costumes of Akhnaten himself – the counter tenor I saw, Brennan Hall, could certainly pull them off, so to speak – and the Act II duet between Akhnaten and Nefertiti. There are two more performances this weekend at Clewes Hall in Indianapolis.

Last Friday the Sustainable Food Committee met with Ancil Drake, RPS executive chef. We had another good turn out and good food (chick pea pasta, spicy green beans, bread, brownies). We learned interesting things about RPS dining: from a sustainability point of view both the accomplishments and the limitations. Meanwhile Kit told us about the Real Food Challenge, a national initiative that aims precisely to improve the quality and sustainability of food purchased on College campuses. I also was encouraged this week by a visit to the Smitchen from Maggie Talmage of RPS. We really may have a new kitchen next year! I know that seems slow to some of you (especially those who won’t be at Collins) as we have been working on this since last August, but it will be a real achievement and a quick one in the global logic of the many building and maintenance projects RPS manages.

Meanwhile I am digging myself deeper into the food trough (odd metaphor I know), attending meetings of the Edible Campus Steering Committee, the Sustainability Food Working Group, and now engaging with plans for a permaculture initiative at the Bryan House garden. Finally, it looks as though I have managed to organize two summer courses at the Campus Garden: “Farming the City” by John Galuska (SPEA, first 6 weeks) and “Writing the Earth” by Cate Lycurgus (Creative Writing through Collins, second 6 weeks). Both will be taught at Hilltop and incorporate gardening. Both need at least 10 students to be offered, so sign up and tell your friends!

Pearl, congratulations on your Oscar pick. I attended an Oscar party and did very poorly on the pool. I’d only seen one of the best picture choices and not much else. I only saw bits of the show between sociability and leaving early, but what I saw was pretty awful, especially the “Saw your boobs” number. As you’ve likely read, many of the scenes cited in that dreadful song were scenes of rape or other sexual abuse. Worse than poor misogynist taste. Btw, the Ralph only lists one Pearl at Collins. How is that?

Keep an eye out for upcoming twon meetings on Collins creativity and marketing and on the possibility of a co-op floor or floors at Collins.

Spring break arrives in the nick of time. Enjoy yourselves and when we get back, it will in fact almost be spring!

Carl Ipsen
Professor of History
Director, Collins LLC
cipsen@indiana.edu
5 March 2013