Former Nordic skier Kaitlyn McElroy ’07 has found new purpose in kayaking.

ESPNW features the story of Kaitlyn McElroy ’07, a former Nordic skier at �ֲ���ý College, who is competing at the kayak world championships in Germany after a skiing training accident forced her to switch sports.

After breaking an arm and a few ribs and injuring her back in the accident, McElroy attempted to return to skiing but could not perform at the same level she had before the injury.

The native of Bethel, Maine, found it difficult to move on from skiing but has found new purpose in the sport of kayaking.

“I missed skiing tremendously, and I still do, but I definitely fond something I love just as much if not more,” McElroy tells ESPNW.

�ֲ���ý President A. Clayton Spencer

�ֲ���ý will formally welcome its new president, A. Clayton Spencer, this week with events culminating in her inauguration the afternoon of Friday, Oct. 26, in Merrill Gymnasium.

The inauguration ceremony, which begins at 2:30 p.m., will be streamed live on the �ֲ���ý website.�� The college expects as many as 2,500 members of the �ֲ���ý community and invited guests to attend.

Spencer was elected president by the college’s Board of Trustees in December 2011 and took office July 1.

The inauguration ceremony will begin with a colorful procession in academic regalia by �ֲ���ý faculty members, administrative leaders, students, delegates and others, led by a bagpiper and macebearer from �ֲ���ý’ New Commons building across Central Avenue into Merrill Gymnasium. The delegates (including a number of other college presidents) will represent more than 70 other colleges and universities as well as learned societies.

See the complete schedule of Inauguration Week events.

Running approximately an hour and a half, the ceremony will center around the formal installation of Spencer and the delivery of her inaugural address, Questions Worth Asking.

Spencer will be introduced by Drew Gilpin Faust, president of Harvard University, where Spencer was a key member of the leadership team for 15 years before accepting the presidency of �ֲ���ý.

Michael W. Bonney ’80, chair of the Board of Trustees, will conduct the installation, which includes presentation of historical symbols of the office, some handcrafted, including the presidential collar, a record book from the college’s founding days and a set of keys.

Preliminaries to the central events include a welcome by Bonney, an invocation and various “Greetings to the President” — brief salutations delivered by representatives of the �ֲ���ý student body, faculty, staff, alumni, the mayors of �ֲ���ý’ hometown of Lewiston and its twin city Auburn, and the academic world.

�ֲ���ý student instrumentalists and vocalists under the direction of members of the music faculty will present musical works throughout the program, including three composed for the occasion by members of the music faculty.

The inauguration ceremony itself will be preceded by two related major events and followed by one other:

• Thursday, Oct. 25, in a service beginning at 4:15 p.m., the �ֲ���ý Chapel, which has existed under that name for exactly a century, will acquire a new name — The Peter J. Gomes Chapel.  A 1965 graduate of �ֲ���ý who died last February at age 68, Gomes was widely known for his career as the longtime Pusey Minister in The Memorial Church at Harvard. The chapel’s new name honors his life and work, which advanced an array of values �ֲ���ý also supports. Like the inauguration, the naming service, in the chapel, will be an event for the �ֲ���ý community and invited guests only, but will also be streamed live on the college’s website.

• Friday, Oct. 26, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, the college will present back-to-back panel discussions on .��Taking place in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, these discussions will examine how important ideas are born as well as how they get applied through both competition and collaboration.�� Panelists will include President Faust along with other widely noted speakers.��This event will be open to the public at no charge.

• Saturday evening, Oct. 27, rapper/singer/songwriter Dev will present a special free concert exclusively for the �ֲ���ý community. The concert concludes inauguration activities.

Two days of annual Homecoming events will also take place on campus Friday and Saturday, adding to an atmosphere of festivity and excitement.

As the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case challenging use of race as one factor in college admissions decisions, it will contemplate an array of “friend of the court” written arguments — among them one submitted by a group of selective private colleges and universities that support race-conscious admissions, including �ֲ���ý.

The  was filed in August in the case of , in which Abigail Fisher, a white recent college graduate whom UT-Austin declined to admit in 2008, is seeking to persuade the court that the university’s decision constituted an illegal use of consideration of race.

The brief is one of more than 70 such in support of UT-Austin’s side of the case. Fifteen briefs have been filed in support of Fisher. They will be weighed together with oral arguments presented to the justices on Oct. 10. The court is expected to issue a ruling sometime during its current term, which ends in June 2013.

The case could diminish or erase latitude that both public and private higher education institutions have had since a previous Supreme Court decision on the matter less than 10 years ago. In , a 2003 case involving the University of Michigan Law School, the court ruled that colleges and universities can consider race as one factor in admissions decisions, as long as they do not make it the deciding factor in any case.

The brief that �ֲ���ý joined argues that higher education institutions must be able to take race into account in order to serve both their students and society well. The heart of the argument is that being part of a student body that at least roughly mirrors the diversity of society — gender, racial, geographic, religious, economic, etc. — prepares students to live and work in a diverse world, producing educational benefits that are not possible in a more homogeneous group.

“What’s at stake for �ֲ���ý is our autonomy as an institution to exercise our own holistic admission practices,” said Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Leigh Weisenburger.

“Year after year, class after class, we seek to enroll students at �ֲ���ý who bring a wide array of diverse perspectives and experiences — across all demographic lines, not just race — to our classrooms and community at large,” she added.

“Losing the ability to factor in race when recruiting and selecting �ֲ���ý students would not only diminish our ability to achieve a truly diverse student body, but it would go against the very heart of our mission statement in which we strive to ‘…engage the transformative power of our differences, cultivating intellectual discovery and informed civic action.’ ”

Heather L. Lindkvist, �ֲ���ý’ special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion, was a member of the group that developed the brief, the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers (LADO) group. Lindkvist said the bulk of the data used in the brief was provided by LADO.

One of the contributions Lindkvist made to the brief was data from at an array of institutions that showed some of those students “not as well prepared to live and work in a multi-racial world” as they might have been had the student bodies of their colleges been more racially and ethnically diverse. The study was conducted by the New England Consortium on Assessment and Student Learning (NECASL) .

�ֲ���ý President Clayton Spencer, former chief education counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources (1993-97), also reviewed and commented on the brief before it was finalized.

Lindkvist explained, “The brief demonstrates that the schools that are party to it do not use quotas to achieve a diverse study body, that diversity is crucial to our educational missions, that diversity among college students continues to be a compelling interest of the federal government as well as our various institutions, and that we’re addressing a fundamental issue of access and equity, especially for historically underrepresented groups.

“It also demonstrates that with sufficient freedom to select students, institutions like ours can provide a structure that encourages students to have regular, meaningful interactions with individuals different from themselves that promote personal and intellectual growth for all.”

The former hurricane, still packing heavy rain and strong winds, cast doubt on whether new students could get to �ֲ���ý in time for their trips; and whether AESOP could launch the trips from �ֲ���ý and to the intended destinations.

Mike Sagan ’12, current Outing Club president, and past president Kellen MacFadyen ’12 organized the 2011 AESOP program. As the storm drew near, they stayed glued to the forecasts and worked with associate deans of students Holly Gurney and James Reese to plan for the worst (even speculating, says Sagan, on the prospects for putting campers in the Gray Cage).

Sagan pondered trip logistics while MacFadyen’s job was to track (and in several cases fetch from the airport) incoming students who faced storm-related delays.

One of those students was Matt Neal ’14 of Indianapolis. He and his parents spent 35 hours driving to Lewiston. Thanks to roads closed by Irene, “we were pretty much stuck in the car,” says Neal, who did make his scheduled AESOP departure. “We spent a couple of hours at a McDonald’s, but you can only do that for so long.”

In the end, some 10 students simply arrived too late to take part in AESOP. Eight or so students arrived later than they’d hoped, but were either driven out to meet their scheduled expeditions, or given an alternative such as a “chillin’ trip” spent tenting at Hermit Island, or joining a community-service AESOP group working in Lewiston.

While some itineraries were changed, mostly due to water conditions, only one — a canoe trip on the Saco River — was canceled, as the outfitting company conducting the trip felt that the river was rolling too high. “Safety was our No. 1 priority,” says Sagan. “Everyone was very understanding” about the adjustments that the storm caused.

So in the end, AESOP got off easy — as did �ֲ���ý and Maine in general, especially considering the misery the storm inflicted elsewhere. In part, that’s certainly a result of Irene’s timing and path through New England. “We were very fortunate,” says MacFadyen.

But the success of the 2011 program also reflects the spirit and expertise of the �ֲ���ý Outing Club. “We were passionate about getting the kids outside,” says MacFadyen. “The Outing Club is very dedicated to that cause.”

“That gung-ho, can-do spirit absolutely translated into AESOP 2011,” Sagan agrees. “There was never any question in our minds that the trips would go on” one way or another.

Sponsored by the Department of English and the �ֲ���ý Learning Associates Program, this event is open to the public at no cost.

Nadel’s lecture, titled “Wand Me!”: Assuming the (Subject) Position of the Compliant Body in the Age of Terror, presents research related to Nadel’s current book-in-progress, Unintelligent Design, or How Bush Knew.

Nadel is the William T. Bryan Professor of English at the University of Kentucky, where he teaches courses in post-WWII American literature and culture, film and media studies, American studies and critical race studies. He is the author of numerous articles, essays and books, including Television in Black-and-White America: Race and National Identity (University Press of Kansas, 2005), Flatlining on the Field of Dreams: Cultural Narratives in the Films of President Reagan’s America (Rutgers University Press, 1997) and Invisible Criticism: Ralph Ellison and the American Canon (University of Iowa Press, 1991).

Peace prevailed on campus the week it ended in Iraq, but a close look revealed reactions that covered the spectrum — from student and faculty participation in a community war protest to remarks at �ֲ���ý in support of the U.S.-led attack by national policy analyst Dinesh D’Souza.

Related stories:

March 22: A letter from President Hansen to the �ֲ���ý College community

March 21: Advisory from the Chaplain’s Office

March 21: Off-Campus Study update

March 21: �ֲ���ý Alumni on the War

According to one estimate, �ֲ���ý people constituted two-thirds of the roughly 140 participants in Thursday’s antiwar demonstration at the Longley Bridge, connecting downtown Auburn and Lewiston. This latest in a series of community protests at the bridge was also the most contentious. Passing drivers shouted insults at the group and 17 demonstrators were arrested for failing to disperse and obstructing a public way. Eight �ֲ���ý students were among those arrested. (The Lewiston Sun Journal has more about the protest.)

Five �ֲ���ý students were also arrested Wednesday, along with 16 other protesters during an anti-war rally in Portland. All of the arrested students in both cities had been released by Thursday night.

Also Thursday evening, the  Chapel was open as a place of emotional and spiritual refuge, with music, candlelight, readings and periods of silence among the comforts. The session extended a daylong welcome to those concerned, angered or seeking support on the first day of war.

A different kind of gathering took place during the day Thursday at Frye Street Union, which was opened as a place for reflection, thought, discussion and action. (“All opinions are encouraged and will be respected,” an e-mail announcement promised.) Students gathered throughout the day to watch war coverage on television and prepare for the evening protest walk.

The bridge demonstration was the latest in a six-month series of �ֲ���ý student and faculty responses to an Iraq invasion. Those events have included teach-ins (one as recently as March 17), the Feb. 10 Representative Assembly resolution condemning a pre-emptive attack, and a March 5 youth demonstration in Lewiston’s Kennedy Park that included about 100 students and faculty.

In addition, such �ֲ���ý faculty members as James Richter, associate professor of political science, and psychology Professor Richard Wagner have offered expert commentary on issues around the war to news media including Maine Public Radio and The Associated Press.

A renowned conservative commentator supported the Bush administration’s actions toward Iraq during a visit to �ֲ���ý this week. , a Hoover Institute Fellow, domestic policy analyst in the Reagan White House and author of What’s So Great About America (Regnery Publishing), advanced the case for war Wednesday evening, literally minutes before the war’s official start. Before an SRO audience at the Mays Center, D’Souza suggested that intervention in another country’s internal affairs is justified if it brings about a greater good for the people of that country and the world as a whole.

In addition, “9/11 does show the logic of pre-emption,” D’Souza said. “If we had known three months in advance of 9/11, wouldn’t we have done something?”

In essence, the theme common to both sides of the debate on both sides was action. Inside the Frye Street Union on the war’s first day, the students making signs for the evening rally included Gene Stewart ’05, of Harrington, Maine, who had been jailed in Portland.
One of the protestors who had blocked a Portland intersection by lying in the street, some cocooned in body bags, he was released on bail the evening of the arrest. The demonstration had targeted the office of U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, which was locked and staffed by security guards during the protest. Stewart had no regrets.

“It was totally worth it,” he said. “I was where I wanted to be just before war was declared.”

“In a democracy we all bear responsibility for the war,” Stewart added. Considering the sacrifices others will make because of the war, he said, spending four hours in jail is “the least I could do.”

Papert invented the Logo computer language, an important effort to give young children control over new technology with activities in mathematics, language, music, robotics, telecommunications and science. Logo can be used to develop simulations, games and multimedia presentations. Papert’s book “Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas” (1980), gave thousands of teachers throughout the world access to the intellectual and creative potential of Logo in the classroom.

Papert’s work with eminent developmental psychologist Jean Piaget at the University of Geneva led him to consider using mathematics in the service of understanding how children think and learn. In the early 1960s, Papert and Marvin Minsky co-founded the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT. In 1985, he was one of the founders of the MIT Media Laboratory, and he was named MIT’s LEGO Professor of Learning Research in 1988.

Papert is the author of several books, including “The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap,” and “The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer,” which has been translated in six languages worldwide. Honored with the Smithsonian Institution’s NEC Leadership Award for Education in 1997, Papert is frequently called to testify before U.S. presidential commissions and congressional committees for his advice on technology-based educational methods.

Participating in the round-table discussion will be Donald W. Harward, president of �ֲ���ý College; Jill N. Reich, dean of the faculty at �ֲ���ý College; Kenneth L. Brown, professor of philosophy at Manchester College; Parker G. Marden, president of Manchester College; Ruth V. Gross, dean of liberal arts at the University of Texas at Arlington; and Robert E. Witt, president of the University of Texas at Arlington.

The round-table discussion will focus on the role of higher education in the 21st century, the responsibility of higher education to the public and how institutions of higher education should respond to market forces and expectations, as well as rapidly changing social needs.