Candy Crowley ’70 takes strong role in presidential debate

Alumna Candy Crowley ’70 shined before a national audience Tuesday night as she moderated the second presidential debate of the 2012 election cycle. For more than 90 minutes, she guided a conversation between President Barack Obama, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and an audience of undecided voters at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y.

Crowley, CNN’s chief political correspondent and anchor of State of the Union with Candy Crowley, was tasked with moderating a town hall presidential debate—a challenging format that requires the moderator to manage questions from the audience, answers from the candidates, and any verbal sparring that results as the candidates clash.

Crowley made a strong showing in the debate after some feared that her role, as the first woman to moderate a presidential debate in 20 years, would be limited to inviting audience members to ask their questions. Although both presidential campaigns had agreed not to allow her to pose her own questions, she inserted herself into the debate, forcing each candidate to address issues in the questions and reigning in the discussion when it strayed far from the intended topics.

That power came in part because of her decision to stand during the debate, although initial plans would have given her a chair. “It is so hard to take command of a stage when you’re sitting down and they’re towering over you,” she said in a post-debate interview on CNN. “When I came in and saw this stage, I said, I want to stand. I want to stand up so we’re on the same level.”

When a question about gas prices turned into a debate about overall energy policy, Crowley directed the President back to the central question. “I can tell you that tomorrow morning, a lot of people in Hempstead will wake up and fill up, and they will find that the price of gas is over $4 a gallon,” Crowley said. “Is it within the purview of the government to bring those prices down, or are we looking at the new normal?”

Later, when Romney charged that Obama had blamed the Sept. 11 attacks against the American consulate in Libya on an Internet video instead of calling it a terrorist attack, Crowley helped to move the conversation forward by adding clarification. “(Obama) did call it an act of terror,” she told Romney. “It did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea of there being a riot out there about this tape to come out. You are correct about that.”

One of the teenagers who led an effort to ask the Commission on Presidential Debates to select a woman as a moderator this year praised Crowley for a strong performance in the debate. Emma Axelrod wrote for the Poynter Institute:

In my life, I never saw a woman on that stage acting as an authority over the two most potentially powerful men in America. That is, until Tuesday night. … Crowley was a great choice. I loved her follow-ups and thought she did a sound job of keeping the candidates under control.

After the debate, Crowley appeared in late night and early morning shows to talk about the experience and analyze the outcomes of the event. Although her schedule is currently dominated with election coverage, Crowley and the College are working to schedule a visit to campus so she can share insights with current Randolph students.

Clash of the Classes 2012 begins: fun, fundraising, and competition

It’s time to pull out your loose change, practice your bean bag toss, build your chariot, and listen carefully to lyrics on the radio to help your class win this year’s Clash of the Classes.

This annual competition leading up to Homecoming begins today as students return from Fall Break, and this year there is a new contest that will raise money for Special Olympics.

Penny Drive
Wednesday–Friday, Cheatham Dining Hall
Each class at Randolph—the classes of 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016—has a Penny Drive bucket in Cheatham Dining Hall. Money dropped into the buckets will be donated to the Special Olympics of Central Virginia, but the class that wins will have to use some strategy: Your class gets points for each penny dropped in its bucket, but it loses points for every higher-value coin dropped in.

So in order to win, drop pennies into your class’s bucket, and nickels, quarters, and dimes into the buckets of your opponents.

There are other great contests throughout this week. Each competition, other than the chariot race on Saturday, earns 400 points towards the victory.

Sign Up

Help your class win the victory in the 2012 Clash of the Classes.
Sign up for any of the competitions by contacting Jamie Chagnon, sports information director. Last minute sign ups will be accepted, but if no one from your class steps forward, you lose that chance to win the points!

Dance Contest
Wednesday, intermission of the WildCat Volleyball vs. Hollins University
One member of each class will dance, and the crowd will select the best dancer. Come cheer and vote for your dancing classmate, or volunteer to dance yourself.

Finish the Lyric
Thursday at noon, Cheatham Dining Hall
Do you know popular songs? Are you always singing along, quoting lyrics, or listening to music? You could help your class win this contest of wits and memory. This contest will challenge participants to hear a few words from a popular song and recite the rest of the lyric.

Bean bag Toss Contest
Friday, intermission of WildCat Volleyball vs. Bridgewater College
Each class can have a team of two people toss beanbags towards a target to score points.

Fourth Annual Chariot Race
Saturday during Homecoming, WildCat Stadium
This is the main event, with thousands of points at stake. Each class can enter one team with a homemade “chariot”—in the past the chariots have been anything from trash cans to toilets mounted on wheels. One team member will ride the chariot as the others pull it for a race around the track. The winning class gets 2,500 points, with lower scores given to the other teams.

Carol Haley '70 sees opportunity to serve on Randolph's Board of Trustees as another way to give back to her alma mater

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of features on the five new members of the Randolph College Board of Trustees.

Carol Haley ’70 knows she would not be where she is today without the influence of others in her life. When the opportunity to serve on Randolph College’s Board of Trustees presented itself to her, she knew it was another chance to give back to an institution that made a significant difference for her.

“I’ve been fortunate in my adult life, and I attribute much of my success to the College,” she said recently. “In the ‘60s, when I was a student, women were not encouraged to enter the sciences or to obtain advanced degrees,” Haley added. “R-MWC, on the other hand, offered us the opportunity to follow our interests--in my case, science--in a close-knit community of faculty and other students where our abilities were never questioned, but instead nurtured and honed. We were pushed to always do our best. That learning environment provided me with skills and confidence that have served me well in my personal and professional life.”

Haley, who is from New York, N.Y., graduated from R-MWC with a biology degree. She currently serves as a director of regulatory affairs with Pfizer, Inc. She completed her graduate work in biology and earned her M.S. from Old Dominion University and her Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. Her career background has included positions with a global corporation, federal and state government agencies (including a stint at the Smithsonian), and in teaching, and she hopes to apply that experience to her work on the Board.

Haley has long been involved in the College. She currently volunteers as a class agent and recently served as the secretary for the College’s Alumnae/Alumni Association Board. She is excited to be a part of the College’s future.

“The College is definitely on the upswing,” she said. “This is an exciting time to be a part of developing the future direction of the school.”

One of her favorite experiences has been meeting current students. At her first Board meeting in October, Haley had a wonderful conversation with a student about life at Randolph. “Things are different,” she said. “But we had so many shared experiences. That is one of the things that I have always loved about being an alumna from this school. Whenever you run into someone, it doesn’t matter how old the person is, you are always able to relate to them. That is still the same, and it tells me the legacy of the school is being carried forward. That is so important to us as alumnae.”

Haley is excited about the chance to give back to her alma mater. “It is an honor to be chosen to serve on the Board,” she said. “I wholeheartedly embrace this responsibility and will do my best to do a good job for the school.”

American Culture Program will offer travel and firsthand look at social activism

The American Culture Program is taking applications from sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Randolph College who want to travel, study, develop critical thinking skills, build friendships, and discover the heart of social change in America.

This unique program provides an in-depth examination of the history, people, and issues that shape the culture of the United States. In the spring of 2013, the classes and travel opportunities will focus on the history of social activism.

The American Culture Program gives students the opportunity to
travel and learn about the nation's culture from firsthand experience.

“Students will develop an understanding of the deep social activist roots in the United States, the pains individuals undertake to create change, and an appreciation for their power to affect change,” said Julio Rodriguez, the American Culture Program director and a sociology professor at Randolph.

“It's really an invaluable learning tool,” Lori Lee, the Ainsworth Visiting Professor, who will teach in the American Culture Program in the spring. “Students are going to have the experience that they would get by studying abroad, but while looking at American culture.”

Caitlin Sheehan ’13 participated in the American Culture Program in 2011 after a friend who had previously participated recommended it to her. She said the experience changed her life and made her a better student.

“Academically, it helped me be able to push myself further. I never thought I would be able to study in this way,” Sheehan said. “It's not just spitting facts out on a page. It's creating new ideas, and presenting new ideas, to create a general understanding of what you think we're discussing shapes American culture.”

In the spring of 2013, the program will include four seminar classes on campus and several trips on which students will meet people involved with social activism and conduct firsthand research to discover more about the topic. The biggest trip will take students either to New Orleans to witness the social and economic shifts in the city since Hurricane Katrina, or to Chicago to learn about organized labor. Washington D.C. is the destination for one of the program’s shorter trips.

Apply

Want to join the American Culture Program next semester? Find the application in the Randolph College Portal in the "My Links" section. Submit your application by Oct. 29.

“We put students in touch with the people who are actually involved in what we are studying,” Rodriguez said. “When we talk about the coal industry and mountaintop removal, we talk to people who have actually been displaced by mountaintop removal.  Rather than simply reading about sex and sexuality, we’ve talked to sex workers. Rather than simply reading about leisure and the rise and fall of Atlantic City, we visited there and experienced that first-hand.”

The program always benefits from serendipity, too. Rodriguez said that the traveling group usually comes across something unexpected that adds to the experience. “We have been allowed back stage, literally and figuratively, in situations that we could not have foreseen,” he said. “We have bumped into Randolph graduates who have seen the van and have joined us for stretches of the travel. We have stumbled across experts that we didn’t know to turn to when we’re on the road.”

He recalled an unexpected meeting with a carnival worker when the program was exploring “The History of Leisure.” The worker took an interest in the program and offered the students a behind-the-scenes tour of a carnival. “Things like that happen like clockwork, but you never know when they’re going to happen.”

Randolph College to launch interactive, multimedia map and online tour

Randolph College is about to launch a new web app that will make it easier to explore campus—whether you are a prospective student who wants to see the campus from afar, a community member deciding where to park for the next theatre production, or a current student learning more about the campus.

To use the map, just click on the markers to view videos,
photos, 360-degree views, and other multimedia content.

The Interactive Map and Virtual Tour combines a clear, easy-to-read map with multimedia content that will allow people to experience the College in a unique way. Map users can view photos and videos about academic buildings and campus traditions, as well as see several parts of campus with a first-person, 360-degree view as though they are on campus themselves. The map makes it easy to find any building on campus after your GPS or online map service gets you here.

“The map will give students an immersive experience that will make them feel like they are here,” said Michael Quinn, vice president for enrollment management. “We provide a very personalized guided tour for prospective students who visit campus. I believe the map will provide that same experience, and that will lead prospective students to decide to apply.”

“I think that it will encourage some to make an in-person visit—especially when they see the enthusiasm and spirit of the on-camera student guides.”

“This is a great venue for prospective students to get to know campus before they get here,” said Sara Reed ’15, one of several students who starred in the videos featured on the map. “They will be able to feel that they are a part of campus.”

Reed, from California, knows what it is like to learn about Randolph College from a distance. When she drove across the country to attend Randolph, she had never seen more than just a few photos of the campus. Having a tool like the new interactive map would have helped her feel more familiar with the College and more prepared to be a student here, she said.

Efforts to create the new app began earlier this year as the Randolph College Admissions Office sought additional ways to help prospective students see campus. An anonymous foundation provided funding for the project, and the Office of College Relations began the work necessary to create the project. Skip Wallace, a videographer for Randolph College, produced videos that explain and describe the campus academic buildings, residential halls, fine arts venues, athletic facilities, and a  few of the most popular traditions. Gold Key Guides, a group of students who provide tours for people visiting campus, added a personal touch by narrating the videos. Dave Blount, Randolph’s web manager, combined the photos, videos, and 360-degree views into a rich map experience.

The map will become publicly available on Tuesday, Oct. 16, with a link placed on randolphcollege.edu. When it launches, the virtual tour will include more than 20 points on campus, but more multimedia content will be added with time.

Student Center Renovation Update: October 12, 2012

Work on the $6 million Student Center renovation is rapidly moving forward. Flooring is being installed in the new Skeller, the elevator installation is nearly complete, and electrical wiring has begun. See photos of the progress here: http://web.randolphcollege.edu/studentcenter/slideshow/oct12/index.html. Check out comprehensive coverage of the renovation project at www.randolphcollege.edu/studentcenter.

Work has begun on the new outside deck that will wrap around the Student Center.

A view from the WWRM deejay booth on the second floor.

The new theatre on the third floor will provide a unique space for events, lectures, and other performances.

Randolph students listen to Dalai Lama

When he heard the Dalai Lama speak on Wednesday, Paul Rush ’16 had a pleasant surprise. During the first few minutes that the Tibetan Buddhist monk was on stage, he laughed and smiled, and he said several things that made the audience laugh as well.

“Seeing him in person, getting to actually hear his voice, and experiencing his sense of humor struck me a little,” said Rush, one of several Randolph College students who traveled to hear the religious leader speak. “I had guessed he would be very serious. Instead, I saw this humble monk from Tibet.”

Rush, a Buddhist, said seeing the Dalai Lama was an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience for him. “I learned through his anecdotes that all peoples are basically the same, and it is a great tragedy we live as if our world is separated when we are all one people,” he said.

Suzanne Bessenger, a professor of religious studies, took her first-year seminar class on
Buddhism to hear the Dalai Lama speak at the College of William and Mary Wednesday.

The Dalai Lama came to The College of William and Mary, just a few hours from Randolph, as part of his current lecture tour through the United States. In his speech Wednesday, he emphasized the importance of human compassion and religious tolerance. Haylee Reynolds ’16 was impressed that he did not single out Buddhism as something better than other religions, and he said that good people are found in all faiths. “Although the philosophies of the major world religions differ, he said, they all revolve around the basis of compassion,” Reynolds said.

Suzanne Bessenger, a religious studies professor at Randolph, organized the trip for her class, Sons and Daughters of the Buddha, a seminar course for first-year students. The experience added a unique element for students.

“The course explores the world views and introductory philosophies of Buddhism by examining the life stories of some of its more iconic adherents,” Bessenger said. “Having the chance to see the Dalai Lama, arguably one of the most famous Buddhists alive today, was a great opportunity for my students to see the course material in action.

“Not only did they get to hear a world-renowned scholar-practitioner of Buddhism discuss the very same Buddhist concepts we studied in class, but they also had the opportunity to witness first hand a 20th-21st century life and life story intimately shaped by that tradition,” Bessenger added. “It was a tremendous opportunity.”

Here is a video of the Dalai Lama’s speech on Wednesday.


Video streaming by Ustream