It’s a big day…..
It’s election day. I left the house at 6 a.m. this morning to drive to my polling place in Madison, Ct. – at Exit 61 just off Route 95. It is a clear, beautiful fall day. Lines were long but they moved quickly. By the time I arrived back in Trumbull I found that the rest of our Trumbull staff had voted as well. Do the same. Vote (if you’re a US citizen, and, if not, encourage your friends to vote today.) Then gather in our Trumbull Dining Hall beginning at 8 p.m. to watch the returns.
Which follows a tough week.
Last week was a tough one for Yale College given the loss of two Yale College undergraduates. People were affected in many different ways. I express my sympathy to those who were and continue to be affected. Some of our Trumbullians lost friends and teammates. Many were reminded of their own losses and that relationships and life itself can be fragile. It may seem there is little to say or do yet there are things to say and do.
If you were affected seek support and keep in mind that support can take many forms. Sometimes it means just seeking out a person with whom to relax and do something fun or get some exercise; other times it means tackling a concern directly by talking with others’. I know that every message that goes out emphasizes this. The messages are sincere. Do connect with your friends, your family, our Dean, me, the chaplain’s office, mental health services, your Freshman Counselors, coaches, advisors or any combination of these people now and going forward. Everyone can also heighten their awareness of those around. If anyone sees a need around them about which our Dean and I might not be aware, don’t hesitate to seek our support.
Watch out for yourselves too. Get sleep. Eat well. Get exercise. If you are overwhelmed with work and responsibilities and work seems to be rising faster than your ability to cope, step back. Seek the advice of your professors and/or our Dean. Sometimes it is good to
explicitly ask yourself, “If I have a chance do X (whatever it is) and am considering taking X on, what does that mean I won’t do?” If X is less important than whatever it is you won’t do (getting adequate sleep comes to mind!) then it probably makes good sense not to do X (no matter how appealing X sounds.)
Some congratulations
The Mystery of Irma Vep a play by Charles Ludlam was first produced in 1984. In 1988 my husband and I saw it for the first time at the Hazlett Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pa. It immediately became one of Associate Head Polner’s favorite plays. Who wouldn’t love it, he says? Why, two actors play eight characters, there are 23 costume changes, there’s a Lady and a Lord, a vampire (Irma Vep itself is the re-arrangement of the letters in vampire) and a werewolf. What could be better?
We first went to this play 27 years ago (four years after it was written.) Associate Head Polner was thrilled to see it would be produced here. Not just that, but he was even happier to find that one of the leads (Carlos Guanche) was one of our Trumbullian freshman (who did a spectacular job of acting) and two of those producing the play were Trumbullian freshman – Lina Kapp and Zak Rosen. Congratulations to all three on a job well done!
Also, we have many male and female swimmers in Trumbull including the women’s Yale Swim Team captain, Michelle Chintanaphol and the men’s Yale Swim Team Captain, James Goss. Congratulations to all our swimmers – including Benjamin Lerude, Anthony Mercadante, Oscar Miao Nicholas Sehlinger, Ian Wooley, Sophie Fontaine, Caroline Heilbrun, Danielle Liu, and Heidi VanderWel – on winning their big opening meet against Brown and the University of Massachusetts in great fashion! Keep an eye on these our swimmers and divers! This is going to be a great season for them.
Yale College is, of course, a busy place with many events occurring the same weekend. Dean Chandhoke was able to attend Roshni and reports that it was great and that Trumbull was very well represented. Congratulations to Naoka, Angela Jin, Ashna, and Kartik! At the same time Dean Chandhoke was attending Roshni, I was attending and enjoying the Naval Ball at the Omni along with our Trumbull fellow Captain Wayne Grasdock, Trumbull junior Daniel Morgan and Trumbull freshman Joshua Hano. Thanking these three for their service to our country is especially salient to me on this, our US election day. Thanks to all.
Events this week
Today at 4! Head’s Tea in the House with Celebrity Chef Goldwyn followed by a special dinner in Commons featuring his talent.
Tonight! Watch the election returns in our Dining Hall starting at 8 p.m. Snacks will be served.
Thursday, Nov. 10: 8:30 P.M. Medical School Information Session with Trumbull grad affiliate (and M.D./Ph.D. candidate) Matt Mezlich (in our Study in the Trumbull Basement)
Thursday, Nov. 10: Students are welcome to attend our Fellows talk in the Common Room with Professor John Wargo, Trumbull Resident Fellow and professor of Forestry and of Political Science. The talk will begin at 7:15 p.m. The title of this talk is: “The Future of Food”