Barnard Events I Am Going To* This Spring

That’s me. I’ll be speaking on a panel at Barnard next month.

Big news, New Yorkers! I have moved back to the East Coast, which means that I no longer need to tell you about the events I want to go to, I can tell you about the events I am going to go to.* Exciting stuff. Here’s what looks good to me in the next couple of months.

1. On Human Bondage in Ancient Egypt seems like an appropriate lecture to attend on the third day of Passover. (Anybody know if they timed it that way on purpose?) I’ll either be the girl sitting alone with a bagel or the girl with her family and a matzo sandwich. March 28, 2013, 12:00 p.m., 101 Barnard Hall.

2. Do you feel like you’re writing a million feminist tweets a day but they’re just not changing anything? Maybe you should join me at the Barnard Center for Research on Women’s Future of Online Feminism and find out what more you can be doing to help the cause. April 8, 2013, 7:00pm, Sulzberger Parlor.

3. It hasn’t been formally announced yet (and is probably still subject to change), but mark your calendars because I have been invited to speak on a panel about women writers. Not sure exactly what I’ll be talking about but I can assure you it will be life changing.  Details to follow! April 22, 2013, 6:00pm.

*FYI: This is in no way a guarantee of my attendance, but I do mean it when I say I want to.

Barnard Sophomore Published in NY Times

Image via Presidia Creative

I spend a lot of time worrying about the end of the world. Between the crazy hurricanes, The Walking Dead, and my mother’s paranoia about a nuclear Iran, it seems like the apocalypse, in one form or another, is just around the corner.

Well I was glad to read I am not the only person obsessively thinking about how we are all going to meet our maker. It turns out Barnard sophomore Elyse Pitock is also concerned – only unlike me, her craziness landed her an article in The New York Times.

Way to go Elyse. I’ll see you in the canned food aisle.

Three Barnard Things To Do In October

No, The Cranberries aren’t playing at Barnard, but their music Lingers…

Do you automatically delete your Alumnae Affairs emails? Shame on you! There is good stuff in there! Don’t worry though, I am here to help. Below are my picks for the best alum events of the month.

1. Edwidge Danticat (’90) speaking at the 92nd Street Y on next Thursday, October 11.  Remember when we all had to read Krik Krak before school started? Was anybody else seriously disappointed that we never got tested on it? Go tell Ms. Danticat how much you enjoyed the assigned pre-Barnard summer reading. Tickets available here.
2. Get back to campus for the Bacchante Fall Concert on Friday, October 19 at Glicker-Milstein Black Box Theater. The all ladies a cappella group will be performing new-ish music from Amy Winehouse and Florence + the Machine, as well as old favorites like The Cranberries’ “Linger.” (Did just the name of the song make you miss it? Listen to it here.) Register for the concert today!
3. Break out the beer and head back to school for a little old fashioned tailgating or any other part of the October 20 Homecoming celebration, which includes a dedication of the new sports complex at Columbia. Check out the full schedule here.

Barnard Ranked #2 Happiest Campus

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than seven years since we graduated. Sometimes it still feels like it was just yesterday that I was eating bacon for the first time at my senior year Midnight Breakfast or discovering that the giant campus-long sandwich was really just a lot of smaller sandwiches lined up next to each other. (Still impressive I guess.) I don’t think I appreciated it then, but life at Barnard was often better than life in the real world – and there was certainly more free food around. So was it any surprise to see Barnard listed as the #2 college with the happiest students? Not for me.

Image via small kitchen college

Save The Date: Chemistry Department To Unveil Renovations With Awesome Party

Despite giving me the lowest grade of my college career, I still have warm feelings towards the Barnard Chemistry Department.  (It’s not their fault I’m no scientist.) So it is with sincere pleasure that I announce the upcoming soirée to celebrate the completion of more than $2 million of renovations done to the 6th floor of Altschul Hall. Mark your calendars!

Friday September 21, 2012
3-4 p.m. Mini-symposium, Altschul 202  Featuring Chemistry and Biochemistry alumnae
and  Dr. Matthew Platz, Director, Division of Chemistry, National Science Foundation
4-5 p.m. Student poster session and student-led tours  Altschul Hall 6th, 7th, and 8th
floors
5-6 p.m. Festive reception, Altschul Hall Atrium. Student posters on display and continuing tours of the renovated 6th floor

More information available here.

Book Review & Interview with Anna Davies Featured In Network Notes

Just incase you tend to delete your Barnard Network Notes emails (and you shouldn’t! There’s lot of interesting stuff in there!), I wanted to make sure everyone saw this rave review of classmate Anna Davies’ new Young Adult novel, Wrecked, featured on the Barnard alum website.

There’s also an exclusive interview where Anna talks about her favorite Barnard writing assignments, her affinity for glitter nail polish, and the fanmail she wrote as a 14-year-old. Check it out!

New Joan Rivers Book Is Just Okay, Here Are The Highlights

As much as I love Joan Rivers, I am not going to tell you to go out and buy her book.  The truth is, it’s not a book, it’s a collection of grudges and only some of them are funny.  Well okay, the real truth is that I didn’t get past page 72, so maybe it really starts to pick up after that and I’m wrong, it’s brilliant.  Either way, it’s still Joan Rivers, so there are some great lines. Here are my favorite moments from the first seventy-two pages of Joan Rivers’ I Hate Everyone… Starting With Me:

“The only good thing about age is that sooner or later all of the SOBs who dumped you are going to die.”

“I hate WASP weddings. There’s never enough food. As a Jew, can I just say that petit fours and gin do not a meal make? Protestants don’t eat at weddings. They drink and make fun of the Jewish guests who are rifling through the pantries looking for sustenance.”

“When my time comes I’m going to go out in high style. I have no intention of being sick or lingering or dragging on and on and boring everyone I know. I have no intention of coughing and wheezing for months on end. One morning you’ll wake up and read a headline: Joan Rivers Found Dead… On George Clooney’s Face. Clooney Was So Bereft All He Could Say Was, “Xjfhfyrnem.”

Say Hello To Leelee Fredman (BC ’34)

Meet Leor Leba Fredman, daughter of BC ’05 classmate Sara (Sebrow) and her husband, Elly Fredman. Those who meet her rave that Leelee, as her friends call her, is both “beautiful” and “full of poise,” making her the perfect addition to the Barnard College Class of 2034.

Love the onesie? You can find more Barnard baby gear here.

Love the baby? Please direct modeling inquiries to deena.shanker@gmail.com.

Flashback to Barnard 1954: Posture Classes in Lefrak

More of these LIFE Magazine photographs available on Retronaut.

Alumnae Events I Wish I Could Go To

Whitefish Point Beach, Lake Superior

I’ve talk about this before: I love San Francisco (the weather! the food! the beach!) but I miss a lot about New York, including being able to participate in Barnard alumnae activities. And there is no shortage of great upcoming events hosted by our alma mater.

Let’s start with the basics.  On Thursday, June 28, recent graduates (I assume we’re still included in that) are invited to join President Spar for a cocktail on the Green Roof of the Diana Center.  I have never been to this Green Roof and I have not yet had the pleasure of having a drink with PresSpar, but this sounds like a classy event and I’m sorry I’ll miss it.

Next, if you happen to be available on Wednesday afternoons, I highly recommend you join The Continuum Project for a guided tour of Monet’s Garden at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.  Even if you’re not technically available, for only $25, it’s worth taking a break from work and enjoying the summer. July 11 at 2:30 p.m., more information available here.

If you feel like you’re ready to take your relationship with Barnard to the next level, it might be time to plan a vacation together. Barnard’s Travel Department (who knew?!) will be taking alum and their families on a week-long voyage on the Great Lakes at the end of June.  Aboard the Yorktown, laketrotters will sail from Chicago to Wisconsin to Michigan to Ontario.  There’s even a day camp program for the kids.  If you were looking to squeeze in a family vacation and a college reunion this summer, here’s the perfect way to do both.

And now for the surprise ending: a Barnard event even I can attend! This fall, Professor Mary Gordon will host “a shocking exploration of sex, death, money, love, marriage, and terrorism through the modern novel” — online! Registration opens later this month, stay tuned.