Every touching, sentimental thing that I could think of saying has already been said, so I’ll leave you with the original message that Skidmore Unofficial has been trying to spread since conception: Wake the hell up. Be active. Be progressive. Fight for your rights if you feel like they are being unfairly stripped from you. Be a responsible citizen.

I know you didn’t come here to get lectured but I have to be honest: once of the most disappointing moments of this year for me was the poor turnout the open forums the administration held. I appreciate and applaud every student that attended them and those who contributed to the discussion, but it made me a little uneasy that a good 3/4^th of the crowd were either already above legal drinking age or lived off campus and thus weren’t affected by the policy being discussed.

Where were you, underclassmen? You’re the ones who are being affected by this policy! You’re the ones who we’re trying to help! The fact that they held an open forum in the first place is a great gift—the fact that they listened to what we suggested and changed the policy accordingly is an even better one. Take advantage of these opportunities! Find some time in between your classes and extra activities to be a responsible citizen. If no one voices his/her dissent, then it goes unheard and democracy fails. I’m sorry to be corny but it’s literally the truest thing. Don’t be sheep! Don’t let the system shove you around! And especially DONT complain about how unfair everything is if you made no attempts to make change yourself.

I’m proud of you, Skidmore. I’m not even trying to write about how proud of you I am but I need to work in into my post right now because that’s how proud of you I am. There isn’t any other institution in the world that I feel could have been a perfect fit for me. I’m still not sold on the theory that the entire school wasn’t built with the sole purpose of educating me from the years 2008-2012. What I’m trying to say is that I love what Skidmore is about, I love the type of people that it attracts and keeps, and I love everything it stands for. I want to make sure that whatever it is about this school that makes it so uniquely Skidmore doesn’t disappear.

I hate myself for how cliché this sounds but please fight for your voice. One of the most important rights we have is the right to our voice, our creativity. Don’t let anyone stifle your creativity, because you really don’t know how important it is until it’s gone (I am was a government major—I can tell you how shitty it is in Russia and China).

Goodnight, and good luck.

We’ve been waiting for it, and at this point, I can’t think of a better graduation present. Check it out, the Artifacts absolutely killed it. Keep an eye out for these kids…

The new record on the Bandcamp – you won’t be sorry.

I’m not mad.

I walked to campus this morning and saw a freshman run to greet her friend, “I’m leaving in an hour,” she exclaimed, “I just want to say bye.” I’ve said those words and heard them many times before, but for the first time in my four years at Camp Skidmore, goodbye won’t mean “until fall.” This is my real goodbye. This letter is for you.

You’re probably wondering what I mean by Camp Skidmore. After all, I’m not saying goodbye to Skidmore College; that part of the experience will always be in my life. People will ask me about college, I’ll reunite with old friends at reunions, and thanks to Career Services, I’ll have the help in my professional life for as long as I need it. But the camp aspect is something you can only experience by being here. So as my goodbye to this wonderful place, I’m writing a list of exactly what defines Camp Skidmore:

1.  D-Hall: Thank you for innumerable meals shared with large groups of friends. For some reason cramming 12 people at a four person table is the default.

2.  Case Runway: The long corridor where the upperclassmen sit, smoke and watch. You get noticed on the walkway whether you like it or not, so plan your disheveled look carefully.

3.  First Floor Library Social Hour: You can get things done at the first floor computer bank, but be advised: you will be interrupted every 5 to 10 minutes. It’s the perfect place to catch up with friends, procrastinate and feel productive all at once.

4.  Free Food: It’s possible to live off of free meals. Lectures, banquets, events, and dialogues:  if you get involved, you get fed.

5.  Adirondack Chairs: A reminder that you can kick back when you need to, and guess what, they’re perfect for stubbing out cigarettes too.

6.  Backyard Bonfires: Warm up with a little of natures’ heat from your very own pile of junk wood. Cozy up to someone and grab some cheap beer from the keg.

7.  Biking as a Statement: Let’s face it, campus just isn’t that big, but riding a bicycle around is the perfect way to make a statement about alternative travel (and your glorious thighs).

8.  Drinking out of Jars: Do you really need a coffee mug? Keep your hands warm in the winter with a heated piece of glass. Put a lid on it and reuse. Besides, (discrete) refills at Burgess are free!

9.  Cut off Dresses: Who doesn’t love a couple loose strings and a little extra leg? Not to mention rolled up sleeves and nutty patterns.

10. Dad Sweaters: Warm, baggy and garish. They’re the perfect way to look cool and seem like you’re not trying to.

11.  Salvation Army: A bag of clothing for $15 is only half an hour away. Tailored fit? Who needs it when you have safety pins?

12. Free Uncommon Bagels: It’s hard to say no to a bag of bagels (or three or four) but watch out! They’ll hog up your freezer for months.

13. End of the Semester Dumpster Dive: Books, clothes and SO MUCH MORE! We love to leave expensive barely used items in the trash.

I could go on, but you get the point. I’ll miss you Camp Skidmore!

Caitlin Allen ’12

I distinctly remember being told not to hide behind a quote, but to use it as a jumping off point. So here is mine. I picked it up (at the risk of sounding pretentious) while reading Oliver Sacks. It’s not even a quotation of him. The pretention gets deeper. It’s Goethe. But Sack introduced me.

“Alles nahe werde fern.” Apparently this translates to “everything near becomes distant.”

Everything we care about begins to fade into the past. What seems so important now, will seem like a little blip on the radar. Case and point, my housemate, was consumed by writing his thesis in the fall. I’ve never seen him more stressed, shaken or on edge as while working on it. A few weeks ago, while finishing his thesis was still in the not so distant past, I asked him how he felt about it.

“It was… eh,” he shrugged.

I’m not saying that it didn’t matter, it did, but years later will we remember how anxious and upset that “bad” grade on a test made you. Probably not. That doesn’t make the worries of the present any less real, but for me, when I’m in the anxiety inducing shadow of a deadline, one that seems huge and impassible, it’s nice to know that there will be some distance eventually, that this will be something that I may barely remember. Distance allows for perspective.

We only really realize what we learned from an experience long after it’s over. A break up, a lost loved one, a time abroad. Life plus time equals learning. I think perhaps, that will be the largest gift we get from graduating. Not a diploma, but the chance to start learning from Skidmore as we – over time – gain some distance. All the classes, friends, parties, boredom and everything else that make up our time at Skidmore, will mature and age into new and interesting lessons. The farther I get from Skidmore, the more I will begin to understand my time here.

Nathaniel Moore ’12

artístes

The long anticipated Senior Art Show holds its opening reception tonight from 6-8pm at the Tang.

The show features the work of 47 senior studio art majors.  The show and the reception are free and open to the public and will be up till May 20th.

via: the tang

Just popping in to say: watch out for what we’re calling the “End of the Line” series, or something like that – basically the last thoughts, wishes, advice, criticisms and insights of the graduating class. We’ve collected some great writers, thinkers and friends to sum it all up, both for themselves and for your benefit. For those of you who have 1/2/3 more years to go: learn from them maybe, eh?

Plan on seeing these slices of life go up in the next week and continue through graduation (i.e. don’t go home this weekend and fagettaboudit). You’ll likey this.

Interested in submitting something? Email bruce@skidmoreunofficial.com (before you start bleeding out your soul) and we’ll see if we can fit you in.

Here’s the skinny on how to do that, shamelessly and lazily copied from last semester. Twas so nice we had to run it twice:

Textbooks & How to Sell Them – from the depths of the SU.com archives