Lookbook poo
hey all... unedited, this is what we have thus far. i just wanted to
be able to see it all in one place. please check in with me regarding
where you are in all of this, kay? i'm going to organize.
-tj-
Intro!!!
page one:
------
"So you're thinking of running off with the circus, are you, Kid?
Well
lemme tell you about when I ran off with the circus -- the circus that is
Harvey Mudd College."
BIG PICTURE-ISH THING
"RUNNING OFF WITH THE CIRCUS"
HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE LOOKBOOK 1998
An inside view of Mudd from those on the inside, circus style.
Written by and for students of Harvey Mudd College. The views
expressed
herein are not necessarily those of HMC faculty, staff, administration,
your mom, yeada, yeada (you get the point)...
------
(page two)
I was a good kid -- made good marks in school, was involved in
fifty-four-odd activities: president of this, coordinator of that,
grand-high-poobah of the other -- every parent's wet... uh... anyway, my
fam was all sortsa proud of me. A time came, though, when I just had to
strike out on my own (I get the idea you relate, eh?). I had to find a
place that I could call mine, with challenge and adventure and people
who'd understand where I was coming from. Not just any place would do; I
wanted to go someplace unique -- one-of-a-kind just like I am. And so,
one August afternoon, I found myself wandering onto Harvey Mudd
Fairgrounds. I was in search of challenge and adventure, but, boy, did I
ever get more than I'd bargained for.
The smog was thin that day -- I could actually make out the peak of Mount
Baldy as I slowly walked toward the center of the fairgrounds. I have to
admit I was awfully nervous; I had no idea what to expect of my new home.
I had my bags full of what I thought were necessities, but had I forgotten
anything? What if I wasn't ready to run off, after all? What if nobody
noticed me? Hardly had my pothering begun, however, when a clown in a
bright, easily-identifiable t-shirt waved at me and began jogging in my
direction.
"TJ?" she called. "TJ! Hey, w'sup? I'm your sponsor, Terrah."
Just as I was wondering how on earth she knew my name, her laugh cut in on
my thoughts. "Just figure me the local psychic," she said, then muttered
something under her breath about handbook photographs. "Let's go get your
orientation packet. I'm sure you're excited to find your room, meet your
roommate, look around..."
Her chipper chatter continued, but my thoughts were elsewhere. I took a
deap breath, thinking "no turning back, now," and followed her toward the
large U-shaped building in the center of campus.
========
so, anyway, that's that. i put in my name just cuz. that can be
changed depending on who i decide (bwah hah hah, the power!) to take the
first section. i was thinking that the "i" talking could be named
something unisex. maybe "frosh" even. i dunno. tj works. no one knows
and who really cares whether it's a guy or girl. just makes me happier.
then the "i" is ... well ... you. you're telling the story. anyway,
someone's ringing... if more explanation is needed, talk to me baby!
========
From: Greg
Prier
Tell the frosh to THINK BEFORE THEY PACK. If they are shipping stuff tell
them that they probably won't be able to pick it up until after the rest
of the upperclassmen get back because the mail room won't be open. I am a
perfect example because I shipped a lot of stuff down here including my
bed sheets and blanket. I couldn't get them for a few days so had to make
due (ie. pretend like I am camping in my dorm room). It was interesting
and a funny story but just added one more thing that I had to deal with
during this stressful time. It wasn't a very big deal but is something to
think about none the less.
i think that we should just have this happen to either a frosh or to
our main character himself.
From: Jimmy Corno
"Drinking is fun, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you really don't care
what anybody else thinks about you. Chances are you're gonna act like an
idiot and do something stupid like shave off all of your facial hair or
start screaming about snakes."
haha. frosh'll meet jimmy!
From: "Derik A. Larson"
Monsour Counseling Center is located at 735 Dartmouth Ave, a short walk
from HMC. There are individual or small group sessions available. If you
are ever having problems with anything, you can talk to one of the six
psychologists, all of whom have PhD's. The individual sessions are a good
chance to discuss pressing issues in your life. The group sessions can
help you talk about issues with people who are experiencing similar
problems. There is no charge for any of these services.
i think we'll pep this up a little bit.
From: Sarah H Olmstead
Ok, it's gonna go something like this...of course, probably with more
circus references and in the form of dialogue...or at least, monologue...
our character says something puzzledly and I come limping by to take him
around. We wander into West?
"Harvey Mudd, opened in 1957 with a total enrollment of 48 students
and 7
professors, one building,
East, which was home to students, some faculty, some classrooms, and the
library. Harvey Mudd was the son of Seeley Mudd, a mining engineer who in
1916 founded the Cyprus Mines Corporation, where the family made their
money. The first President (and still professor), was Joseph B. Platt,
after whom the dining hall was named.
"In 1984 there were only 2 lights in each 19 by 10 foot room,
one
above the sink and one above the heater. SInce then we've gotten more
light, but I've never used them. They're flourescent and ugly, so I use
lamps and cover the ceiling with decorations." Someone comes out of their
door, sees my damaged leg.
"What happened to you?"
"slipped on the high wire and skinned my shin...Anyway, at
first
East was just called 'The Dorm,' which makes sense since it was the only
one. When a new dorm was built West of 'the dorm' the two became East and
West. Then North was built just North of East. Next a dorm was built
North of West and West of North, completing the square...only they called
it South. Then Atwood (which they originally wanted to call Central
Dorm), or New Dorm was built East of East. Case, our only locked dorm,
was built East of Atwood. Many were in favor of calling it Old dorm, but
that never stuck. For a while they called it 'pink', stemming from the
colour of the cinderblocks used in its creation, but now it is just called
Case, though there is an interesting story about a prank that took place
during the construction of Case...but maybe that is best told to you by a
Case dormer...you should ask sometime...if you ever see one...
Finally, Linde was built (and actually won an architectural
award)."
"And architectural award? What I've seen of the buildings
here
aren't very impressive so far..."
"Well, they suit us pretty well, and you get used to that
unfortunately 50's architecture..." we walk into another person who again
queries me about my leg
"That's the hazzards of being shot out of a cannon for a
living...
so, where was I? Oh yes, i was about to talk about dorms and dorm
traditions. Each Dorm has an elected President, treasurer, food rep,
social, dorm jock, and recyler. These people hold the dorm meetings every
so often, which are in some dorms taken more seriously than in others."
"What do you actually do at these meetings?"
"Well, you discuss upcoming events, like parties, the
year-round
inter-dorm sports, prof nights, and other dorm sponsered activities. It
is a great time to get your input heard, and contribute to your dorm.
"You might be wondering about the parties and other things I
mentioned. Well, the dorms have a lot of traditions which include parties
and other activities. Please note that due to the young age of the
school, a 'tradition' is anything that has been done more than twice. A
few that stand out in my mind are the SWE pageant (a night of
crossdressing and prizes), Fosters runs (Fosters makes the best doughnuts
in the area, and the Fosters run has been a tradition for just about
forever...), five-class games, Noisy minutes, puddle jumping, The west
triathalon?, Beerball, Movie night (formerly porn night? or is that
something completely separate?, and lots of parties, like North's
Long Tall Glasses, West's Wild Wild West and TQ Night, Linde's Nevada,
Case's Tiki and Jungle parties, and, of course, Atwood's New Dorm New
Years."
well, and blah blah blah, I think a few more people will ask me about my
leg and since we are wandering around West I will show her my room and
we'll wander into the lounge where people are playing with
Pinbot...
Sarah'll handle this. just wanted to show y'all something we've
got.
also, i figure y'all can give each other suggestions, if you have em.
please just don't be too much of a punk. i know that i get seriously
attached to my writing.
From: Brooke C Basinger
> -roommates
So yeah, how the hell did they manage to find one of the
only people on campus that I could ever live with and actually hook me up
with her?
> -dorms
Your dorm only has to be the place that you leave your stuff and
sleep (well, it doesn't really even need to be that). If you make the
effort to become involved in dorm life, though, your dorm can be your
storage facility, your sleeping space, your home, your entertainment and
your family all in one.
> -ITR
Hmmm, 'Inelgible to Reregister', 'Invited to Retire', 'Inescapably
Tortured and Reemed', ... The letters ITR can mean so many things. Some
of them sound like a pleasant and polite experience full of warm fuzzy
feelings, but don't be fooled. ITRing means that you failed out of Mudd.
A lot of people who ITR manage to come back after a semester or two
somewhere else, but some people never come back. ITRing is never a good
thing, but it doesn't mean that you're stupid or that you can't handle
Mudd. It just means that you goofed off a little too much, or you set
yourself up with a schedule that was too hard, or that you didn't ask for
help until it was too late, or that your priorities were a little
backwards, or that you just didn't care enough. Anyway you cut it,
though, ITRing is a threat that is alway looming just over the horizon
(sometimes closer that that). It is not a good thing and you probably
want to avoid it, but it is not the end of the world and it does not mean
that you aren't smart enough to be here.
> -You're a little fish now
I wasn't THE 'big fish' in high school either, but I was at least
one of them. I was never concerned about being the smartest person in the
class or having the best grade. I was convinced that the whole 'little
fish' thing that everyone was warning me about wouldn't ever affect me
when I came to Mudd. Wrong. It's not that I can't stand being average
all of a sudden or getting lower grades that I'm used to, I can handle
that. Being surrounded by amazing geniouses all of the time can wear
on you. You just have to work harder to remember that you really ARE
smart. It takes more of an effort to convince yourself of it than it did
in high school, but that's okay. Just remind yourself that only being 75%
genius instead of 100% certifiable genius still makes you pretty freakin
smart.
From: Glenn Gebhart
> -ITR
Try to avoid this if at all possible. And remember, if your roommate
ITR's, you get a single double. I personally recommend getting lots of ITR
boxes (maybe that should be a definition too?) and leting your roommate
use them as often as they want. On the offchance that you don't want your
roommate to ITR, you should probably keep them away from the aformentioned
ITR boxes until after they've done their homework.
i just wanted to say that this next one here is exactly the style that
i was thinking of! just conversational, you know, and kind of
confuzzleing. I love it, David; thanks!
From: David Goldsheft
Let's see, the libraries... did you know that when the engineers built
Honnold, they did a pretty good job
(it looks nice, doesn't it?) - except for one little detail... which was
the brilliant oversight of forgetting to account for the weight of the
books that were to be placed inside. So, the structure has been sinking
ever so slightly since it was opened.
What's that? You want to know actual information about how to use the
libraries? Well, ok...
ah yes, the infamous "high school GPA minus 2.0" conversion factor. That
isn't necessarily true - the Frosh Division (and the frosh profs) do a
great job of providing help and assistance whenever you need it. The trick
is to actually use it - that means starting your homework - gasp! - early
(so you can figure out what you don't know and then go to a prof or a
tutor
or upperclassperson or fellow frosh for help) and not trying the work
patterns that you got away with in high school. Procrastinating and
finishing homework assignments in one class before they are due in your
next one is a *bad* idea here - you can be successful and have a balance
between the three S's, but a lot of it depends on time management. In
fact,
all of it does. If it didn't make a difference in high school, believe me,
it will here.
Harvard Square - all the food that I've had there has been excellent. It
is
a bit pricy for a student budget, but not out of the question for a date.
If you want to go on Valentine's Day, make a reservation! Harvard Square
is
popular with the residents of Claremont, and space fills up quickly.
:) :) :)
From: Jill A Sohm
rif got on to college jeopardy! after his third time trying out. being
that it was his dream and that we all love him so, about 30-40 students
made the pilgramage up to berkley for the two day tounament. at least
half of us lost our voices, we got much air time, and when rif and alex
talked at the close of each show he was on, alex continually asked "who
ARE those poeple". you could definitely have called us a raucus( is that
how you spell it?) crowd. i cried when he won and nearly passed out as
well. we all then got back to school at twelve midnight. upon returning,
i did my tech report rough draft until 2:30 in the morning. but it was
all worth it to see rif get to hold that statue and kiss it.
From: Michelle McGraw
...hey, you're the new kid aren't you? I heard that you already met
(someone) and they told you all about (whatever) [referring to someone
that has already talked to him much earlier in the story]
... (startled) wow! who are you and how did you know that?
... oh, i'm (someone else). things get around pretty fast in this
place,
don't worry though (someone) is really nice and knows alot about things
here... you should really watch what you do though becasue chances are,
everyone will find out about it someitme!
... that's kind of scary, i don't want everyone knowing everything
about
my life here
... it's not that bad once, actually. people get over things pretty
fast
too. you're going to be spending the next four years of your life with
some of these people, and they want your friendship as much as you want
theirs. i did alot of stupid things at the begining of last year because
i wasn't used to this place, and got a bad reputation for a while since
people spread so many rumors. people talk about the good things that you
do too, though, and now people mostly respect me for who i am. i found
alot of people who knew that i was better than what people said, and they
stuck by me and now i have a ton of truely wonderful friends who i know
that i'll stay in touch with forever.
... gee, i hope that people don't start spreading nasty rumors about
me
... as long as you watch what you do, i'm sure you'll be fine, just
remember that there are always people who know the marvelous person you
are and all the talents you possess, and respect you for that. Oh hi
there! Hey (boy's name) have you met (another someone)? You really should
meet them........let me introduce you.
... you look kind of lost. can i help you?
... oh, i was just trying to find a familiar face around... it's kind
of
overwhelming here... i feel so out of place since everyone else already
seems to know eachother... i don't know how i'm ever going to fit in!
... don't worry, it'll all fall into place before you know it! these
first few days are kind of rough, and i totally remember that fear that i
was going to sit in my room the whole time i was here and never make any
friends. before i know it though, there were a ton of people that i could
go hang out with. by now i feel like i have know most of my friends
forever, and couldn't imagine life without them! it's amazing the bonds
that you form staying up until 4 in the morning trying to understand
chemistry... of course it would take that much longer since we would have
to stop and talk about life in the middle...
... (smiles) yeah, i suppose that once all of the other frosh get
here,
it'll be different and we'll have something in common to talk about, but
i wish that i could get to know some upperclassmen a little better too
... it's not as hard to become friends with upperclassmen as you would
think! last year, the first day that all of the upperclassmen came back
to school, a couple of my suitemates friends were visiting in our suite.
i was incredibally nervous, but i went over and introduced my self, and
from then on our friendship grew, and now they are some of my best
friends. even though they aren't in any of my classes since thye are
older than me, i still hang out with them alot and cna depend on them for
anything. you just have to be willing to go up and talk to us, and
chances are we'd love to hang out with you. speaking of which, we're
heading out to dinner tonight... you can only take so much platt food!...
do you want to come along? ...
...
i like that one a lot, too. it's real, you know? :) we'll have to
work on the format, but...
and tracy is a goddess!
From: Tracy van Cort
"About alcohol and drugs: there really is no pressure for you to use them
if you don't want to. In the first few weeks of school, when you're
starting to get to know people, you'll quickly establish a reputation for
yourself, what you will and won't do, and for the most part people really
do respect that, although if you'll let them, the upperclassment will
definitely do their best to test your limits, how far you'll go and what
not. Last year they told us "There's no pressure for you to drink, only
to drink more," and I think that really typifies the attitude here. If
you're not careful, you could end up making a fool of yourself... for
example, one guy I know was making out with a girl on a couch and was too
messed up to notice it when she left, and kept on making out with the
couch... he'll never live it down.
Of course, even if you don't make a fool of yourself, there
are
always plenty of people around who are eager to help. It's sort of a
game, but one you definitely don't have to play if you don't want to."
"Isn't it amazing how you can walk a hundred feet from one dorm to another
and be in a totally new world?" -This could be used as a transition from
one dorm to another, like "Check this out!" or it could be used to lead
into something like "Mudd tends to make your world a little smaller like
that. For example, it may seem funny now, but in a few months it may seem
like a radical change of pace just to eat dinner at one of the other
Claremont Colleges' dining halls."
(that reminds me, we will still be able to eat on all the 5C with the new
Aromark people, right? This could probably lead into a discussion of
stuff like meals and whatnot... and hey, I guess if East and West were
the two different worlds in question, this could lead him right over to
Platt. Mmmm, transitions. Let me know if you like this, and I could
work it however you like.)
a goddess, i say!!!
From: Mark Amasuga
i asked for it...
Aight, frosh, I decided to give you some advice on my particular area
of
expertise, that being the dos and don'ts of the Harvey Mudd network.
So,
without any further ado, let's get jiggy wit it. Here are a couple of
dos
and don'ts:
DO have fun with your 10BaseT connection. For those of you hardcore
computer geeks, err, i mean, studs, I know you guys were probably
squidding
around at home in high school with some crap-ass dial-up internet
connection. Be prepared for a BIG change. Instead of transferring files
at less than 5 k/s on a modem, on our congested network, you can transfer
files through a network card at 5 k/s!! Ha ha, seriously though, the
connection here at Mudd is quite fast. In each of your rooms, there are
ports to connect a network card into that allow you to transfer files at
more than 10x your modem speed. So, make the most out of your increased
bandwidth. I know I have!
DON'T have FUN with your 10BaseT connection. Now there's a difference
between 'fun' and FUN. 'fun' includes all the uses of your ethernet cable
inside the realm of legality. 'FUN' is everything else. 'FUN' can get
you
a first-class ticket for a comfy seat during your own Judiciary Board
hearing, much like I did, and boy, was it great! Most of you will
hopefully not be on the computer long enough to wander into the 'FUN'
realm, but for those of you that do, be careful! If you get caught, the
administration here use ethernet cables in ways you didn't think
possible.
Anyway, there are many more dos and don'ts of our wonderful college
network
that you are going to have to find out for yourselves. But, before I
finish, one more don't. DON'T stay on the computer ALL DAY LONG. If you
do, you'll wind up as clueless and sociall inept as a certain Case Dorm
port dork. And trust me, you REALLY don't want to be like him.
uh... yeah. we can work on this. but i'm sure it's relevant to some
people, so...
From: "Celeste D. Elton"
Last semester my super roommate Val and I had Discrete with Professor Ran
Libeskind-Hadas. Ran is a really cool Prof., known for his lecture notes
which are sprinkled with "Ran" drawings, like the famous "one-eyed smiling
aliens". So when Val and I had a drawing contest on our whiteboard with
the topic "Self Portrait", we invited Ran to participate. After Discrete
class that afternoon, we walked up to Ran and told him about our drawing
contest and how to find our room. He said he would be happy to
participate, and within a couple days he came to our South Fishbowl and
drew his self portrait (along with a one-eyed smiling alien, of course!).
Val and some other Southies were sitting on the couches in front of
Hammock Suite as Ran walked by on his way out of South; she told me
afterwards that they all did a double-take as they noticed, "That's Ran
walking by!"
i think that we can actually have that happen. like, in south. that
would be dave meyer territory.
I also felt I should write about the Ballroom Dance team:
Last fall I heard about how the social dance class was a great PE class to
learn how to dance while having fun and meeting people. So I decided to
give it a try. Well, for those people that know me, "give it a try"
turned out to be a big understatement. I really enjoyed dancing and so
this semester I joined the Ballroom Dance Team. The team is a 5-C group
that practices and competes ballroom dancing. Every spring we have
several competitions, the highlight being the one in Las Vegas. I think
dance team is great because it gives me a chance to travel and to meet new
people, and most of all because I get to dance!
she's cool.
but not as cool as tracy. i worship tracy. i bow down to the idol
o' tracy.
From: Tracy van Cort
"Where's my roommate," wondered the frosh/his grandpa (who's narrating
this story, anyway?). "When do we meet?" As if in answer to that very
question, everybody's favorite random hippy chick crawled out of the
woodwork.
"Hi again, frosh! You seem to be wondering who'll be sharing your
lovely
patch of square-footage here. Don't worry; everybody does. Roommates at
Mudd come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and attitudes, much like Mudders
themselves, of course. You can bet that your friends down at the Dean
of Students' Office, including a few hapless student volunteers, have done
their best to match you with a roommate they think you'll get along with.
If you're lucky, your roommate will be one of your first and best friends
here at Mudd." Here she paused. "Some roommate pairs aren't as friendly,
and some sort of just coexist. Last year my roommate and I didn't have
much in common. During Orientation Week, I noticed her smoking, and asked
her about it, since I'd specified on my roommate form that I'm not a
smoker and would really rather not live with one. She didn't answer me,
and we never really talked after that. It was sort of uncomfortable, to
say the least. I guess I could have talked to the proctor about it, or
complained to the Dean of Students, but roommate changes are very rare,
sort of a last-resort thing, and neither of us really spent a lot of time
in the room anyway. That reminds me...."
I could give the whole "I live where?" speech now if you like, or you
could do the honors....
oh, how i love thee, tracy... let me count the ways...
remember, all, that we're writing in past tense!!! (then this happened
then this happened) interspersed, if you so choose, with some direct
talking to the reader. (things are like this, you see)
From: Tracy van Cort
A hippy chick in bright orange did her best to smile reassuringly and
said, "[fill in bitter, ranting character's name here] doesn't mean half
of what he's [she's?] saying, kid. You'll get used to hearing stuff like
that from just about everyone around here every now and then when things
get stressful. The fact is, if we didn't rant and rave to vent some of
the stress and frustration of going to a school as tough as this, we'd
probably go seriously crazy, instead of being just crazy enough, as you'll
find we all are."
Hmm. I could talk about Monsour here, or this could be a lead-in to
pranks and other crazy things Mudders do to relieve stress (the substance
talk I gave earlier maybe?) Here's a sample prank talk:
"Mudd has a long, proud tradition of controlled insanity for the purpose
of stress relief. There's organized stuff like proctor-sponsored study
breaks throughout the year and Noisy Minutes during Finals Week, both of
which get funded by the Dean of Students' Office (DOS, whatever), and
there's more student-sponsored stuff. This ranges from parties, of
course, to more spontaneous things, like pranks." She smiled. "Last
year, I got to participate in two really cool pranks. To welcome Chris
Sundberg, the new Dean of Student Activities, to Mudd, a bunch of us built
his office into a dorm room, complete with bed, bike, obsolete computer,
laundry pile, half-eaten pizza, and stack of Snapple bottles. It was
pretty cool, and Dean Chris was even cooler about it. He actually lived
in the office/room for a week or something!" She paused again. "The
other prank wasn't as well-received, I'm afraid. To show off for the
visiting pre-frosh, a bunch of us stayed up way past our bedtimes and
wrapped Kingston Hall in sheets of black plastic. It was beautiful, but
unfortunately Campus Security took most of it down before anyone could see
it."
From: "Derik A. Larson"
I remember when I was a silly little frosh who always wore two t-shirts,
tucked into my shorts with a belt. I went about my preppy ways until an
upperclassmen decided to teach me a lesson. While I was at the pool one
day, he stole my belt and replaced it with one with an obscene phrase on
the buckle. Well, I went around tucked in but beltless for about a week,
when I figured, "Hey, maybe if I wear the obscene belt, I'll get my belt
back." So I walked around the whole day, proudly displaying the buckle.
I got my belt back, but from that day on I never I tucked my shirt in
again.
so this one needs work. derik and i will probably deal.
so i think that is all that i have thus far. hope to hear from y'all
soon!