DVD project successDespite funding problems and Students’ Association Senate roadblocks the DVD Collection has seen remarkable growth and unparalleled usage this semester. With a collection of nearly 1,000 discs any undergraduate can take out, free of charge, 2 DVDs for a period of 4 days.
The fall semester saw nearly 6,000 discharges, making it one of the widest utilized student services in the history of this institution. The collection spans all genres and is continuing to grow. The caretakers of the collection and the library staff have worked very hard to keep the collection moving in positive directions toward continued growth and maintenance.
The collection is something that we can all take advantage of and have pride in — it’s even a stop on the campus tour, drawing prospective students here above other peer institutions.
We would like to open the process of growth further to undergraduates. In the coming weeks movie suggestion forms will be placed by Multimedia Center staff at their main desk for consideration. Additionally, there will be outreach to each of the academic departments, so that the collection can expand deeper into matters of education.
We look forward to meeting the needs and wants of the UR community in the coming years, both in education and entertainment.–ANDREW BAUKNEY–NOAH KUSCHELCLASS OF 2004DVD Project Curators
Hoop dreamsWith only one big weekend of UR basketball left on the regular season, I had to write something about boosting attendance at the games.As an alumnus and parent of a UR undergrad, I’ve been following the exploits of the basketball teams for two years now. The NCAA victories taking the men’s team to the Final Four last year were just stupendous.
The packed Palestra and sold- out arena at SUNY Brockport were great venues to watch your classmates play at the top of their division.
This year both teams do not disappoint. There won’t be much better happening on campus Friday evening, Feb. 21, than watching your teams play University of Chicago, and I know that on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 23, for the rematches with Washington University in St. Louis, perhaps the best show in the nation will be played out on the hardwoods of the Palestra as the Yellowjackets try to exact some revenge on the top-ranked teams in the country. The critics raved about the women of University of Connecticut and Duke University going at it last weekend on national TV as a true demonstration of student-athleticism.
You’ve got two nationally ranked teams. They are exciting to watch, and may be a part of history as they both have legitimate chances in this year’s big dance for Division III Basketball. It really doesn’t get any better.
I hope that when I come to pick up my daughter and go to watch the games against Washington I will only be able to find an empty seat near the rafters.
See you at the Palestra! –DAN SHARPECLASS OF 1970
Commercialism a group delusionThe article discussing the grad paper attacking UR commercialism is, itself, a perfect reflection of why he’s right. Reducing a valid comparison to “cute” is typical of defensive corporate leaders, and it deflects attention from the deeper implications of providing education based on dollar figures and consumerism.
The real problem with the article, however, is that he’s talking to a campus that is overflowing with people who cannot see anything wrong with commercialization. The ideas of community among the wealthy and upwardly mobile are markedly different from those of us from among the working class and poor, whose presence is almost non-existent on this campus.
Community for the wealthy is marked by the presence of enterprise, consumer convenience and synergies created by commercial sponsorship.
Further, it depends on group delusion and rationalizations to explain away this commercial branding of communities. It would mean little to them if UR was renamed, “Coca Cola Presents University of Rochester.”Having such a homogenous perspective, that of the upper classes, keeps the illusion that a vending machine is the hallmark of educational excellence, that corporate sponsors are genuinely concerned about our learning experience, and that a high price tag always means quality.
Sadly, this is not only true of administrators, but of students especially. The junior quoted in the article was right, students don’t have a reference point.
Most probably never will.–ALFRED VITALECLASS OF 2005
Winter chillI couldn’t help smiling in recognition of the passage, “Rochester has seen snow every day so far this year.”
I remember my freshman year. It seemed to snow every single day from October to April, with the biggest blizzard occurring on Easter weekend. I would imagine it would be like torture. My spirits would soar on a day that it rained — just because it wasn’t snow.
Cheer up. This too shall pass. And you still can’t beat a Rochester sunset.–JOSEPH A. COSENTINO, JR.CLASS OF 1980
