Indigenous Maya Band Sak Tzevul Rocks Colgate
Indigenous Maya Band Sak Tzevul Rocks Colgate
sliddell@colgate.edu
Colgate University recently hosted the Tzotzil Maya rock band Sak Tzevul for a series of events, including a film screening, a talk, and a concert. The band’s visit not only showcased their musical talents but also created space for discussions surrounding Indigenous identity and cultural representation. At the heart of Sak Tzevul’s music is the fusion of tradition and modernity. Their distinctive style, known as Bats’i Rock, is rooted in the rich traditions of the Tzotzil Maya people of Chiapas, Mexico, and emerged as a response to centuries of nationalistic narratives that pitted Indigenous culture against modern progress. Instead of viewing tradition and modernism as conflicting forces, Sak Tzevul celebrates their intersection and the dynamism of Indigenous heritage in a contemporary world. “Sak Tzevul is unique in that they integrate Indigenous language and deep-seated traditions in their music but also look toward a future that is creative and limitless,” said Santiago Juarez, associate professor of anthropology and a key voice in bringing Sak Tzevul to campus. “In their music, the band is constantly borrowing from classical, contemporary, and ceremonial musical influences that one wouldn’t regularly associate with rock — all for the sake of creativity and the celebration of identity,” Juarez said. The events kicked off with panel-style discussions at the Keck Center for Language Study, where Sak Tzevul members engaged with students and organizations in Spanish, with bilingual students aiding in translation. These sessions delved into the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in navigating tradition amidst a rapidly changing global landscape. Just one challenge the band addressed was that of keeping Indigenous languages, such as their native Tzotzil, alive. Sak Tzevul incorporates many different Mayan languages into their songs, both to aid in the preservation and appreciation of these languages as well as strengthen their connection to their cultural heritage. Another issue discussed by the band was the dual judgment that they experienced as a result of not speaking Tzotzil from birth, both from their Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous communities viewing their lack of fluency as a lack of Indigeneity. “When you do not speak a language fluently, you can feel a bit of rejection sometimes,” explained lead singer and guitarist Damian Martinez. “For me, singing in Tzotzil is a way to neutralize that feeling of rejection. It is my way of connecting with my people again and saying very clearly, ‘I am from here, and as much as I can speak it, I am going to sing it.’” A powerful moment in the band’s residency was their presentation on the genre of Bats’i Rock at Lawrence Hall. Here, Sak Tzevul illuminated how their music serves as a means of reclaiming cultural roots while envisioning an Indigenous future for all peoples, not just North Americans. “Sak Tzevul’s music and their message is not just for Mexicans or Latin Americans. It is for everyone globally to think about where they are from and how they connect to the land,” said Juarez. The culmination of Sak Tzevul’s visit was a full-capacity concert at Arts at the Palace Theater. Amidst smoke machines and vibrant purple and green stage lighting, the band delivered a performance that transcended language barriers. From guitar solos to rhythmic beats, every song was infused with energy and celebration. As the lead guitarist Martinez expressed gratitude to the crowd, he threw a fist into the air in classic rock fashion, and the audience erupted in cheers. “Thank you very much, Colgate. Just to have so many of us here in New York together. It is so good!” Reflecting on the concert, Juarez expressed the unexpected emotional impact that seeing the band had on him. “Listening to Sak Tzevul live brought me back to that moment 15 years ago when I first listened to their music and felt a sense of connection to my ancestral roots. Their music has helped and continues to help me to explore Indigeneity, my identity, and how these factors have impacted my family, my culture, and the world at large.”Arts
Faculty & Staff
Photo by Santiago Juarez
Colgate University recently hosted the Tzotzil Maya rock band Sak Tzevul for a series of events, including a film screening, a talk, and a concert. The band’s visit not only showcased their musical talents but also created space for discussions surrounding Indigenous identity and cultural representation.
At the heart of Sak Tzevul’s music is the fusion of tradition and modernity. Their distinctive style, known as Bats’i Rock, is rooted in the rich traditions of the Tzotzil Maya people of Chiapas, Mexico, and emerged as a response to centuries of nationalistic narratives that pitted Indigenous culture against modern progress. Instead of viewing tradition and modernism as conflicting forces, Sak Tzevul celebrates their intersection and the dynamism of Indigenous heritage in a contemporary world.
“Sak Tzevul is unique in that they integrate Indigenous language and deep-seated traditions in their music but also look toward a future that is creative and limitless,” said Santiago Juarez, associate professor of anthropology and a key voice in bringing Sak Tzevul to campus.
“In their music, the band is constantly borrowing from classical, contemporary, and ceremonial musical influences that one wouldn’t regularly associate with rock — all for the sake of creativity and the celebration of identity,” Juarez said.
The events kicked off with panel-style discussions at the Keck Center for Language Study, where Sak Tzevul members engaged with students and organizations in Spanish, with bilingual students aiding in translation. These sessions delved into the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in navigating tradition amidst a rapidly changing global landscape.
Just one challenge the band addressed was that of keeping Indigenous languages, such as their native Tzotzil, alive. Sak Tzevul incorporates many different Mayan languages into their songs, both to aid in the preservation and appreciation of these languages as well as strengthen their connection to their cultural heritage.
Another issue discussed by the band was the dual judgment that they experienced as a result of not speaking Tzotzil from birth, both from their Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous communities viewing their lack of fluency as a lack of Indigeneity.
“When you do not speak a language fluently, you can feel a bit of rejection sometimes,” explained lead singer and guitarist Damian Martinez. “For me, singing in Tzotzil is a way to neutralize that feeling of rejection. It is my way of connecting with my people again and saying very clearly, ‘I am from here, and as much as I can speak it, I am going to sing it.’”
A powerful moment in the band’s residency was their presentation on the genre of Bats’i Rock at Lawrence Hall. Here, Sak Tzevul illuminated how their music serves as a means of reclaiming cultural roots while envisioning an Indigenous future for all peoples, not just North Americans.
“Sak Tzevul’s music and their message is not just for Mexicans or Latin Americans. It is for everyone globally to think about where they are from and how they connect to the land,” said Juarez.
The culmination of Sak Tzevul’s visit was a full-capacity concert at Arts at the Palace Theater. Amidst smoke machines and vibrant purple and green stage lighting, the band delivered a performance that transcended language barriers. From guitar solos to rhythmic beats, every song was infused with energy and celebration.
As the lead guitarist Martinez expressed gratitude to the crowd, he threw a fist into the air in classic rock fashion, and the audience erupted in cheers. “Thank you very much, Colgate. Just to have so many of us here in New York together. It is so good!”
Reflecting on the concert, Juarez expressed the unexpected emotional impact that seeing the band had on him. “Listening to Sak Tzevul live brought me back to that moment 15 years ago when I first listened to their music and felt a sense of connection to my ancestral roots. Their music has helped and continues to help me to explore Indigeneity, my identity, and how these factors have impacted my family, my culture, and the world at large.”
Latest Latest
- Corey MacPherson Appointed University ChaplainCorey MacPherson Appointed University Chaplain jkellogg@colgate.edu Protestant Campus Minister Corey MacPherson has been named University chaplain for a three-year term beginning July 1. The University chaplain at Colgate oversees the daily operations, staff management, and budgetary aspects of the Office of the Chaplains and aids all students in their spiritual journeys, including those who may not identify as religious. The chaplaincy office supports 12 religious groups on campus, provides pastoral care and counseling, and leads discussions centered on religious practice and building interfaith relationships. MacPherson succeeds Rabbi Barry Barron who will complete his term as University chaplain at the end of June. “I would like to thank Rabbi Barron for his service as University chaplain,” says Vice President and Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II. “Rabbi Barron has shared wisdom, humor, and grace in his leadership of the Office of the Chaplains. He has been deeply committed to introducing new interfaith programming and helping students learn from one another.” MacPherson is the founding pastor of North Shore Church in Stony Brook, N.Y. Prior to Colgate, he served as vice president for spiritual development and church relations at Eastern Nazarene College. He has been at Colgate for nine years. This will be his second term serving in the University chaplain role. “I look forward to building on the great work Rabbi Barron has done, continuing to create new interfaith connections and opportunities to bring students together to deepen their learning and understanding,” MacPherson says. He hopes to nurture existing partnerships within the Dean of the College Division and foster new relationships with academic departments, further enriching the University’s collaborative spirit. MacPherson holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University, a master of divinity from Nazarene Theological Seminary, and a doctor of ministry degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. He also recently earned his PhD in leadership studies from Gonzaga University where his research focused on authenticity in religious leadership. MacPherson has written numerous devotionals as well as articles on preaching and servant leadership. He was also a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. This year he became an Army Reserve chaplain and will be attending officer leadership training this summer. “I am grateful to Corey MacPherson for returning to the role of University chaplain,” says McLoughlin. “I look forward to working with him and the other chaplains as we strive to support students in their religious and spiritual journeys and educate them about the world’s faith traditions.”Campus Life People News and Updates Faculty & Staff
- Colgate Announces 2024–25 Commons Co-DirectorsColgate Announces 2024–25 Commons Co-Directors Contributing Writer Colgate University Residential Commons will welcome new co-directors at the beginning of the 2024–25 academic year. Through the Residential Commons, first-year students enjoy a robust, engaging living-learning community from their first days on campus. They encounter co-directors and fellow commons members who form a living-learning community that respects and builds on tradition and exposes students to an intellectually rich residential experience. “I want to thank both our incoming and outgoing co-directors for their service to Colgate,” says Vice President and Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II. “The Residential Commons play a vital and dynamic role in residential life at the University, due in large part to the dedication of these individuals, who commit themselves to ensuring that our students are received into a welcoming residential and academic community on day one.” Brown Commons David McCabe, Richard J. and Joan Head Chair in philosophy, will join Laura Festine, director of university grants and sponsored research, in Brown Commons. McCabe will serve as the co-director, a position held this year by Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Frank Frey, who served as the co-director of Hancock Commons during the 2021–2023 academic years. McCabe earned his BA from Williams College and his PhD from Northwestern University. He arrived at Colgate in 1994 as an assistant professor of philosophy. During his three decades on campus, he has served as chair of philosophy, director of the Lampert Institute, university professor in the Core Curriculum, and director of the Division of Arts and Humanities. In the philosophy department, he teaches courses in aesthetics, ethics, and political philosophy. His research centers on political philosophy and the ethics of political action. Ciccone Commons Senior Lecturer in French Mahadevi Ramakrishnan and Associate Dean of Admission Erin Milin will co-direct Ciccone Commons. They succeed Jessica Graybill, professor of Russian and Eurasian studies, and Carolyn Strobel-Larson, director of entrepreneurship and innovation. A 2022 recipient of the Balmuth Award, Ramakrishnan earned her BA in history at the University of Madras, India. She received her MA and doctor of arts in foreign languages and literatures from Syracuse University. She is a founding member of the Colgate Contingent Faculty Council and a member of the Core Transition Team — having taught Core 180C: Core French Caribbean. Ramakrishnan has been an adviser to the French Club for nearly two decades. As associate dean, Milin serves as campus visit coordinator and leads the Campus Visit Team, and she manages recruitment and application review for prospective students from Alaska, New York (central N.Y. and North Country), Oregon, and Texas (Austin, Houston, San Antonio). Outside the admission office, she has served as a Living Learning Workshop facilitator and a member of the Community Reads Selection Committee. Mabel Dart Colegrove Commons Lou Kaminski, assistant dean of student conduct, will step in for Director of Outdoor Education Heidi Riley as a co-director in Mabel Dart Colegrove Commons. He will work alongside Professor of Biology Engda Hagos. Kaminski arrived at Colgate in April of 2023 from Paul Smith’s College, where he was director of student life and housing. To his work in the Dean of the College division, he brings experience in mediation, coaching and feedback, performance management, and effective management practices. Kaminski is also an ultramarathon runner. Hancock Commons Professor Beth Parks will take over for University Librarian Courtney Young in Hancock Commons, joining Lyosha Gorshkov, director of LGBTQ+ Initiatives, who joined the commons last year. Parks received her bachelor’s degree in physics with a certificate in theater and dance from Princeton University. She earned her masters and PhD in physics at the University of California at Berkeley. Since arriving at Colgate in 1997, she has taught courses across the physics curriculum, including classes on quantum mechanics and renewable energy. She has also served as a visiting professor and Fulbright scholar at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Mbarara, Uganda. Parks is currently the editor of the American Journal of Physics. The Commons Spirit Ciccone Commons opened in 2015, and the University inaugurated Hancock Commons in 2016. Colegrove and Brown Commons welcomed their first students in 2017. The completion of the Residential Commons at Colgate is a key initiative within the Third-Century Plan, which foresees a fifth commons and the creation of Fox Hall as an eventual replacement for Gatehouse. “The Residential Commons, through their intellectual engagement and community-building, represent the distinctive way in which Colgate pursues residential liberal arts education,” says Provost and Dean of the Faculty Lesleigh Cushing. “I thank our co-directors for going above and beyond in their efforts to ensure the success of this program — and for the students who find home and community there.”Campus Life Residential Life News and Updates Faculty & Staff
- New York Times Correspondent David Sanger Describes the Era of ‘New Cold Wars’New York Times Correspondent David Sanger Describes the Era of ‘New Cold Wars’ sdevries@colgate.edu In his more than four decades covering national security for the New York Times, David Sanger says he can’t recall when there was so much turmoil abroad. Meanwhile, the United States faces two cold wars — with Russia and China. Sanger, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and the White House and national security correspondent for the New York Times covering diplomacy, cyber conflict, national security, and geopolitics, visited Colgate on March 26 for a lecture and discussion about his new book, New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West. The lecture was sponsored by the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs as part of its spring lecture series. Sanger says, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States was lulled into thinking the entire era of superpower conflict was over and that we were entering a permanent era of peace. Instead, he says we are in the midst of a more complex and dangerous era than any we have faced in nearly a century, adding that almost everything we think about the next few decades — how we defend ourselves, how we build our microchips, how we nurture our international alliances, and how we handle more than $30 trillion in national debt — faces contentious debate at home and around the world. “Clearly we have to begin to rethink in very fundamental ways what the structure of our national security is going to be like,” he said, noting that, unlike the old Cold War, now the United States is dependent on our adversaries for products we use every day. Sanger says the last national security strategy written by the Biden administration states “the post-Cold War era is over, but we don’t know what era we’re heading into,” noting the “old Cold War” had a beginning, a very long middle, and a surprise ending. “If we are looking for this one to follow the same pattern, to end with the collapse of our opponents and a clear victory for the West, we are likely to be sorely disappointed,” Sanger says. “There’s no guarantee that these cold wars will stay cold. We have to think hard about why we misjudged the last 30 years and make sure we don’t make the same mistake going into the next 30.” David Sanger: Over a 40-year career at the Times, Sanger has become known for the depth of his sources in the world of national security, his painstaking reporting and research, and his in-depth investigations into the complex events of our time. He is a CNN contributor on national security and politics and the bestselling author of four books — The Inheritance, Confront and Conceal, The Perfect Weapon, and New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West. Sanger also teaches national security at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. At the Times, Sanger’s previous investigative work led to Pulitzers for the investigation into the causes of the space shuttle Challenger disaster and into Chinese technology investment in the United States. His coverage of the Iraq and Korea crises won the Weintal Prize, one of the highest honors for diplomatic reporting. He also won the White House Correspondents’ Association Aldo Beckman prize for his coverage of the American presidency. The Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs, named after Edgar Lampert ’62, was first established in 2008 as the Institute of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and renamed the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs in 2014. The Institute's mission is to teach students to apply the fundamental tools of a liberal arts education — identifying substantive questions and reading and writing with clarity, balance, and public purpose — to the most significant policy issues of the day, during their time at Colgate and beyond. Academics Centers and Institutes People Faculty & Staff New York Times White House and national security correspondent David Sanger discusses his new book, “New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West” (Photo by Andy Daddio)
- Ivory Tower Comes to ColgateIvory Tower Comes to Colgate kputman@colgate.edu As part of the Ivory Tower on the Road series, Colgate University will host an episode of WCNY’s longest-running television series April 17 in Colgate Memorial Chapel. The hour-long live-to-tape episode will feature discussions on current events and local issues with panelists Anirban Acharya, Ben Baughman, Barbara Fought, Nina Moore, Tara Ross, Ty Seidule, and Chad Sparber hosted by David Chanatry. “Ivory Tower is a model for how to have well-reasoned debates about controversial topics, and from multiple academic and political angles,” says Nina Moore, Colgate professor of political science and director of the forum on race and public policy. Moore has authored Governing Race: Policy, Process and the Politics of Race, The Political Roots of Racial Tracking in American Criminal Justice, and Toeing the Line: The Supreme Court and Race, and is a regular contributor to the cable news show Capital Tonight in addition to Ivory Tower. Chad Sparber is the W. Bradford Wiley Chair in international economics at Colgate University and an external research fellow at the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration at University College London, and The Institute for the Study of Labor in Germany. He also directs a forum on economic freedom for Colgate’s Center for Freedom and Western Civilization. “I think the show is at its best when we lean into who we are — professors who use academic data and evidence to support our arguments and help the audience think more deeply about policy issues,” Sparber says. “There are plenty of pundits on TV; few offer that perspective.” The April 17 event is open to all Colgate students, faculty, staff, and community members. Doors to the event will open at 6:00 p.m. and close at 6:45 p.m. for a 7 p.m. recording. The recorded episode will air Friday, April 19, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, April 20, at 5:30 p.m. on WCNY-TV. Ivory Tower has also visited and recorded shows on the campuses of Hamilton College and Utica University as part of the series.Faculty Profiles News and Updates Faculty & Staff
- Colgate Celebrates Second Annual Arts, Creativity, and Innovation WeekendColgate Celebrates Second Annual Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend mdonofrio@colg… Before a standing-room-only crowd in Colgate Memorial Chapel on Friday, April 5, National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman invited the audience to “become part of the performance,” demonstrating how spectators at poetry readings often snap their fingers when they hear something that particularly resonates. “I want to hear you, Colgate,” she explained. “You are part of this, so please feel free to make some noise for me.” Her visit was the keynote event during the second annual celebration of arts, creativity, and innovation at Colgate, which once again brought hundreds of alumni, parents, and friends to campus for performances, workshops, presentations, and panel discussions. Gorman’s talk was sponsored by the Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at Colgate. Gorman, who graduated with a B.A. in sociology from Harvard, began her talk with three poems from her 2021 bestselling book, Call Us What We Carry. She then joined Professor of English and Africana & Latin American Studies Kezia Page for a lively conversation that ranged in topics from sociology and Black history to her “speech impediment turned superpower" and texting with Oprah. (It was Oprah, Gorman explained, who gifted the young poet with the now-iconic yellow Prada coat for her reading at the 2021 presidential inauguration, along with her “caged bird” ring and earrings — a nod to the late Maya Angelou, she said.) Much of Call Us What We Carry, including the titular work, was inspired by Gorman’s observations during COVID-19 — and the pandemic’s “lasting impact on social trust and human connection,” she said. In her poem “Fugue,” Gorman writes about “the importance of small moments of being in a room or being connected or interacting with people that actually create the fabric of social trust that a nation depends on.” The youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, Gorman also shared how dramatically her life changed after delivering her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” before millions as part of President Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. “I remember stepping off the podium. I was like, ‘Oh, that went better than I expected,’ and I remember … looking at my phone, and it was basically on fire. I literally couldn't even hold it,” she said. “And I think I'm still processing that change, what that is, what that did to me, what that did to my relationships, and what that did to my craft. I'm just trying to handle that growth with as much intentionality and grace as I can.” Prior to the Gorman keynote, the weekend’s events began in the chapel on Thursday, when former University president Rebecca Chopp joined Douglas Johnson, dean of academic and curricular affairs and William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, and Ellen Kraly, professor of geography and environmental studies, for a discussion on Alzheimer's disease. Chopp, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s five years ago, shared how she has coped mentally and physically in her book, Still Me: Accepting Alzheimer’s Without Losing Yourself. On Friday afternoon, campus guests participated in a series of faculty-led, ACI-focused workshops. Hosted by faculty in music, computer science, art and art history, earth and environmental geosciences, peace and conflict studies, museum studies, and theater, students, alumni, and guests experienced Colgate’s innovative arts curriculum firsthand through experiments and improvisation. Other Friday events included a talk with Ann Pancake, author of the award-winning novel Strange as the Weather Has Been, part of the Dark Skies in Appalachia symposium. The Future of Middle Campus Saturday’s program began with a panel discussion featuring arts and innovation faculty members and alumni: Aaron Gember-Jacobson, associate professor of computer science, chair of the department of computer science; Jeffrey Sharp ’89, executive director, The Gotham Film and Media Institute; Ashleigh Cassemere-Stanfield, assistant professor of film and media studies; Ryan Chase, assistant professor of music; Christian DuComb, associate dean of the faculty for faculty recruitment and development and associate professor of theater; and Julian Farrior ’93, CEO and founder, Sunblink Entertainment. Mary Simonson, the Daniel C. Benton ’80 Endowed Chair in arts, creativity, and innovation, professor of film & media studies and women's, gender, and sexuality studies, served as moderator. The panelists shared their thoughts on how the new Bernstein Hall — the former Benton Center, at the heart of a new Middle Campus — will help foster collaboration and innovation across disciplines and inspire student and faculty creativity. “We're thinking really carefully about arts and technology and the fact that these two things are increasingly impossible to separate out,” said Simonson. “That's something that many of us in our work think about all the time — how we can help our students understand that those two worlds are increasingly one world.” Student entrepreneurs, including Chayce Canty ’27, presented their ventures during the TIA Showcase. Exploring Innovative Student Ventures At Saturday’s Thought Into Action Entrepreneur Showcase, presented by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, student and alumni entrepreneurs presented their ventures at booth displays. They competed for investment certificates (called “iggies”) given to attendees, with the instructions to award their dollars to the start-ups most worthy of their investment. The informal showcase was followed by the presentation of the Colgate Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Craig Hatkoff ’76, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival and the Disruptor Awards. In his acceptance remarks, Hatkoff shared his insight into the rise of AI and how budding entrepreneurs should think about tools like ChatGPT. “The winners in this coming chaos and tumult will be the people who can tell the stories the best,” said Hatkoff. “Storytelling is humanity’s killer app.” In the “Shark Tank” portion of the event, five groups of student and alumni entrepreneurs presented their ventures, which included a line of farm-grown lavender products, a collectible sports card resale business, and a soy-free soy sauce. The winner and the recipient of a $5,000 prize as chosen by the panel of entrepreneur judges: Pair + Care, a student-run childcare service founded by Chayce Canty ’27, Maddie Theveny ’27, and Henry Galicich ’27. Judges praised the students for their “confident pitch with elements of humility, which is exactly what we see in founders,” noted judge Don De Laria. Pair + Care was also the first-place winner of the “iggie” investment game, taking home an additional $605 to grow their venture. The TIA Showcase also featured the first live performance by the student-led Colgate Symphonic Band. Other events on Saturday included the annual spring a cappella concert with the Mantiphondrakes, the Swinging ’Gates, and the Colgate Thirteen. On Sunday, guests took in a lesson in the Japanese Way of Tea in the newly renovated tea room in Lawrence Hall led by Ruriko Yamakawa, a certified instructor of the Omote-senke Japanese Tea Tradition. The weekend’s final event was a performance from the Colgate Chamber Players, directed by Professor of Music and Africana & Latin American Studies Laura Klugherz. In his remarks before the TIA Showcase, President Brian Casey shared his vision for the future of arts, creativity and innovation at Colgate — and its burgeoning Middle Campus. “We are just a couple hundred yards away from what will be Bernstein Hall, which is the physical manifestation of an institution embracing creativity in all its expressions,” he said. “From my vantage point, this is a weekend filled with energy, excitement, intelligence, and a sense of the future.”Student ventures receive funding during Entrepreneur Weekend Misty Copeland to Headline Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend Generous Gift Supports Middle Campus Plan for Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Alumni Third Century Arts Entrepreneurship Alumni Faculty & Staff Student ARTS Thought Into Action global leaders
- Former Colgate President Rebecca Chopp Participates in Campus Panel on the Science of Alzheimer’sFormer Colgate President Rebecca Chopp Participates in Campus Panel on the Science of Alzheimer’s amayne@colgate.edu Having been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease five years ago, former Colgate University president Rebecca Chopp has embraced the visual arts and dance as part of her “prescription” to live life to the fullest. She spoke about her experience Thursday night in Memorial Chapel during a panel discussion titled “Still Learning” with Ellen Percy Kraly, professor of geography and environmental studies emerita, and Doug Johnson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of psychological and brain sciences. The event kicked off the University’s Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend. “It was at Colgate where I began to realize how the arts, science, and athletics come together in the phrase we always use, ‘the spirit that is Colgate’ — and it’s about being a full person, a whole person, and how all of this can combine into making a life worth living,” Chopp said. She was in the prime of her life when she was diagnosed, explained Chopp, who was chancellor of the University of Denver at the time. The first neurologist she saw gave Chopp a grim prognosis: that she wouldn’t even be able to button her shirt in a few years. But, as the liberal arts taught her, “if you didn’t like the answer you got, ask the question again; ask it deeper,” Chopp recalled. When she asked a second neurologist for an opinion, that doctor said, “There’s so much more living you can do.” “She told me I could live with joy, and she gave me a prescription of how to do that,” Chopp said. “I turned her prescription into gifts.” She’s written about those gifts in her book, Still Me: Accepting Alzheimer’s Without Losing Yourself, and she shared them with the Colgate audience. “What’s good for the brain is good for the body,” emphasized Chopp, who touted the benefits of creativity, diet, exercise, sleep, and social engagement. She has made life changes that include eating the MIND diet, painting, and combining social activities with intellectual opportunities. As we age, we need to “exercise our ability to solve problems and think creatively,” agreed Johnson, who is a member of the Robert Hung Ngai Ho Mind, Brain, and Behavior Initiative (MBBI) advisory committee. Through the MBBI, Colgate faculty and staff members are looking at the intersection of brain science and the arts. Kraly pointed out that, as this weekend centers around Middle Campus, the panel discussion “resonates with what our aspirations are for our students.” She said, “They’re given opportunities to make good choices, interesting choices about enriching themselves and bringing joy to their lives and also their community.”New Endowed Humanities Chair Honors Colgate’s 15th President Third Century News and Updates Faculty & Staff Former Colgate President Rebecca Chopp (Photo by Mike Roy)