Local paper of record The Saratogaian reports that the College is currently involved in negotiations with Local 200United union employees over what percent of health coverage costs Skidmore must pay on behalf of its post office, dining services, grounds and custodial service employees.

The original Saratogaian article is really confusing and full of numbers and since I’m an English major it mostly went over my head but here are two important looking quotes for you to read and think deeply about.  ADULTHOOD!!!!

The three-year contract that expired on May 31, 2010 called for the college to pay 21 percent of gross payroll to the 1199SEIU Greater New York Benefit Fund for employees’ health and related benefits.

However, the contribution rate required by the insurer increased to 22.75 percent 19 months ago, on Jan. 1, 2009. Since then, no one has been paying the 1.75 percent difference, despite several notifications to the college that money is owed.

and

According to the contract between the college and SEIU Local 200United posted on Skidmore’s website, the college agreed to pay the Greater New York Health Fund 20.75 percent of monthly gross pay for eligible full-time employees until June 1, 2007 and increased the amount to 21 percent as of Jan. 1, 2008.

August is the time of year when magazines like to type up lists of colleges to help high school seniors figure out if they are applying to “good” schools. Lets see how Skidmore stacks up shall we?

Forbes Magazine places us squarely in 80th place; US News considers us the 41st best liberal arts college in the nation and The Princeton Review kinda likes us also. Skidmore’s place on these lists has been climbing steadily over the past couple of years so make sure to let your friends know you were into Skidmore before it got mainstream.

The whole idea of ranking colleges is…problematic. Not all colleges are equal, yes, but the idea that any organization or individual is able to definitively say that one school is #1 and another school is #6 requires a certain hubris. The whole methodology is suspect, the list’s intentions are usually confusing and mostly rooted in selling magazines, and they tend to be pretty lame and surface level analyses of actual student life. But still, these rankings do hold a particular sway over our perception of higher education and offer a convenient opportunity to self-congratulate. Skidmore, all things considered, usually does fairly well in these rankings but the College is careful how they spin it—tour guides, for example, are eager to let you know we have “dorms like palaces” but rarely tout our supposed “reefer madness.” In the end, the college is a business–a luxury brand—and these rankings, at their most benign, are just another advertisement.

Hello former readers. Hello barely legal freshmen. Hello snooping school administrators. We’re bringing the site back and it is going to be bigger and better and full of more empty promises! I hope you enjoyed our time apart but I think we should really try and make it work this time.

Some of you may have found the print editions of our Freshmen Orientation Guide scattered around campus. Congratulations, you now own a piece of Internet History. If you weren’t lucky or popular enough to get yourself a copy, fear not: we’ll be posting the whole thing up here over the next couple of days.

Come back soon,
The SkidmoreUnofficial.com Editorial Team
Editor@SkidmoreUnofficial.com

dear blog peoples,

it’s been real, see you soon.

love,
SkidmoreUnofficial.com & Co. Inc. LLC

Hello, sir. You seem to be enjoying your evening. You are talking loudly and appear to be intoxicated, so much in fact that you bumped into my arm as we passed each other. An honest mistake, I’m sure, but I am afraid that my sense of honor cannot allow this infringement to go unanswered. We must now engage in fisticuffs. Have at you!

Yes, I suppose we could both go our separate ways. That would certainly have its benefits, as it would require markedly less effort and almost completely eliminate the possibility of physical harm on both of our parts. Or I could pummel your face and upper body with my fists. Now really, sir, which option seems more reasonable to you?

Now hold on, sir. If you continue to walk away, I will be forced to take drastic actions. You will leave me little choice, and, as much as it chagrins me to do so, I will call you a pussy. A pussy, sir! And there will be no doubt in the minds of these onlookers as to who the victor is.

I am a man, sir. A large, strong man. I lift weights in the gymnasium. There is little doubt that any female who has witnessed this interaction would now like to sleep with me. You, on the other hand, have proven yourself to be a scoundrel and a cad. Yes, my dear sir. A cad.

I am so very angry.

did you know the Skidshop is on twitter? all the cool kids are doing it.

Oh shit, I’ve been so busy thinking about the similar capitalist critiques in Bertold Brecht’s Threepenny Opera and John Gay’s Beggar’s Opera* that I’ve forgotten to purchase selfless holiday gifts for my parents and those girls from high school I still want to impress. Thank God the SkidShop is bringing in some “expert shoppers” tomorrow afternoon. I always trust experts.

*Anyone who knows anything about this should email me at Editor@SkidmoreUnofficial.com

Howdy Folks,

This has been really fun, writing about stuff for you and all that jazz, but I’m going abroad to Copenhagen next semester and I don’t have enough room in my carry-on luggage to bring this whole website with me.

I am but a lowly junior so if all goes according to plan I’ll resurrect this beast again in the Fall so you guys can anonymously complain about your roommates and read my sardonic posts about lectures, but sometime in the next week SkidmoreUnofficial.com will no longer be available.

It’s not you, it’s me.

Unfortunately it looks like Last Vestige, the wonderful independent record store downtown, will be closing sometime soon. But fear not people with ears, Brittany Nasser—a manager at the shop—is looking to raise some cash for a new space and some merchandise.

I know most of you will be long gone, home in your comfy childhood bedrooms, but this Saturday Dec. 19th there will be an all ages Last Vestige Benefit Concert at the VFW post on Excelsior Ave. Skidmore house show darlings Southern Girls will be playing along with a gaggle of local bands including George from D-Hall’s band Buzzard.

Continue below for the complete set list.

Click to continue »

After Make-A-Wish declined their support, the Photography Club began considering other charities and after much deliberation decided to offer all of the proceeds from the Skidmore Spur to The Giving Circle. Giving Circle has a long standing relationship with the college and apparently isn’t terrified senseless by the possibility of controversy the way Make-A-Wish was.

Kevin Bacon and his kid are touring the campus. If you are interested in ruining their perfectly normal father/child experience for a photo-op, or to knock off some degrees of separation, a reliable source said they were spotted at D-Hall pretty recently.