Dear Colgate Community,
Next week, members of our community will scatter across the country and around the world. Those of us who remain in Hamilton will miss you.
Student Health Services conducted 873 student pre-departure COVID-19 quick antigen tests on Monday and Tuesday, and all were negative. This is a testament to your hard work, which has kept the COVID-19 curve at a low level locally (say that 10x really fast).
In light of this good news, I want to say a quick word about empathy. There are three ways of knowing that COVID-19 is dangerous: You can get it and suffer. You can see someone else get it and suffer. Or, you can place yourself in the position of a stranger who might suffer.
Using empathy and following the science, we have and will continue to do our best to keep our communities safe. Our success this fall wasn’t due to an absence of disease, which has sickened 55.7 million and killed 1.3 million people so far. It was the result of your commitment and empathetic leadership. Thank you.
Take care and good luck with the packing. Talk to you on Friday — in our last digest message of the semester.
Laura H. Jack
Vice President for Communications
Take Note
Students, review the University Libraries’ FAQ as you pack for your return home. Remember that library staff members are still here to support teaching, learning, and research during remote instruction. The libraries also provide access to more than 1.1 million ebooks and 393 electronic databases, and you can access these electronic resources from off campus.
Due dates for all Colgate-owned library materials will automatically be extended until Feb. 13, 2021. But, please return unneeded materials before you leave campus. You may also request library material renewal at any time through your online library account.
Trudy Fitness Center and Lineberry Pool are closed Nov. 21–29 but will remain open to faculty, staff, and students with a limited schedule Nov. 30–Dec. 20, Dec. 28–31, and January 4–20.
Trudy hours on these days will be:
Monday–Friday, 6–9 a.m. and 5–8 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday, noon–3 p.m.
Lineberry hours on these days will be:
Monday–Friday, 6–7 a.m. and noon–1 p.m.
The COVE will be collecting nonperishable food donations for the Hamilton Food Cupboard all week. Look for the donation boxes placed in residence halls and Broad Street houses.
The final Living Writers event — featuring Suddenly, A Knock on the Door author Etgar Keret — takes place tomorrow at 4:45 p.m. Then, visit the Living Writers website for reviews, interviews, and a Colgate podcast with Mr. Keret. You can also sign up for tonight‘s faculty-led book discussion.
Students, ITS reminds you to review this tech checklist as you pack for your return home, and give some thought to your computing needs for remote instruction during the final days of the semester. Browse borrow.colgate.edu for equipment options, including hotspots, or contact ITS (315-228-7111, itshelp@colgate.edu) to discuss. ITS also offers free installation of Microsoft Office, SPSS, Stata, Adobe Creative Cloud, and more.
Employees, the Madison County Department of Health is conducting free indoor walk-thru COVID-19 testing Nov. 19 and Dec. 3, 4–8 p.m., in the Madison County Office Building, 138 North Court Street, Building 4 Lobby (DMV building) in Wampsville, N.Y. Anyone who would like to be tested should call 315-464-2582 and select option 0 to set up an appointment. High call volumes may result in long hold times.
A Closing Thought
On Friday the 13th, we celebrated Colgate Day together — an opportunity to celebrate not only the University, but also our village community. The day-long celebration was filled with events and giveaways, from free coffee or tea from FoJo Beans to treats at the Colgate Inn, the Colgate Bookstore, and Bueno Taco.
Upcoming Events
“Claiming Cape Town”: Spatial Pedagogy and the Politics of Aspiration in an Unequal Schooling Landscape
Nov. 19
11:30 a.m.
The Division of Social Sciences presents Amelia Herbert, visiting instructor of educational studies. Enduring apartheid geography continues to normalize stark racial and class disparity in South Africa, and is made visible and reproduced in part through uneven schooling patterns and outcomes, recently accelerated by marketization.
Soothing Vinyasa Yoga with Lauren Dirvonas ’23
Nov. 19
8 p.m.
“Vinyasa,” Sanskrit for flow, inspires an awareness of the body in its physical sphere throughout movement. This yoga practice rooted in Indian tradition brings a focus to deep stretching in various postures connected by yogic breath.
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