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The Spectator
NESCAC NEWS
by Amanda Jordan '10News Writer
November 06, 2009
Amherst College
On Sunday, Oct. 25, plaster from a partial ceiling collapse damaged historical artifacts and closed the Emily Dickinson Homestead museum in Amherst, MA. This museum was once the home of 19th century poet Emily Dickinson and has been open to the public since Amherst College purchased the Homestead in 1965. The plaster that fell was from a ceiling in the parlor area. Luckily, no one was in the room at the time, even though the museum was open for tours. Executive Director Jane Wald commented on Sunday that the cost of the damage would soon be determined and that the cause of the accident was under investigation. Amherst has managed both the Homestead and the Evergreens, the neighboring residence of Dickinson's heirs, as museums since 2003.
Wesleyan University
The Sustainable Endowment Institute's 2010 College Sustainability Report Card gave Wesleyan University an A- grade, which translates to Wesleyan being a very "green" university. Wesleyan was ranked 26 out of the 332 surveyed schools. All of the top 26 schools, which included Yale, Harvard and Brown, received A- grades. Wesleyan has been steadily improving its grade, with a C+ on the 2007 report card, a B in 2008 and a B+ in 2009. All surveyed schools were graded in nine equally weighted categories, including climate change and energy as well as administration and student involvement. In six of these categories, Wesleyan received A's, with B's in the other three categories. It is very difficult for universities to receive A's in so many areas. Lisa Chase, senior communications fellow for the Sustainable Endowments Institute, said that "the real demarcation tends to be how [universities] are handling their endowments. There are probably many schools that, if they were able to improve in those areas, they would probably be receiving A-'s." On this Report Card, Hamilton received a B-, which puts Hamilton's ranking second to last among the NESCAC schools, with only Trinity College behind.
Middlebury College
On Oct. 25, Middlebury College hosted the third annual Quidditch World Cup. Quidditch is a fictional sport first introduced in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels. In the past few years, the "Muggle" version of the game has grown increasingly popular among college students. Alex Benepe, Middlebury alum and one of the game's founders, said, "Quidditch started [at Middlebury] about five years ago. It started with 30 students. We didn't have enough hula hoops. We played with garbage cans and we wore towels." Things have greatly changed since then. On Sunday, there were 21 colleges competing for the Intercollegiate Quidditch World Cup, with teams from as far away as Texas and Louisiana. The first World Cup was held in 2007, with only Vassar and Middlebury competing. On Sunday, Middlebury won the 2009 World Cup, with Emerson College in second, and Boston University in third.