On March 27 at 8:30 p.m., the GIT (Goucher Improv Troupe) took the stage at March Mayhem. Subtitled “The BIG College Improv Competition,” this tournament featured four colleges battling to see who could win over their audience most effectively through laughter and general jolliness. This year’s GIT is comprised of Langston Cotman ‘19, Dylan Margolis ‘20, Sarah Dreyfus ‘21, Olivia Hollender ‘19, and Cameron Stewart ‘19. In a zippy and electric interview with Cotman, and Margolis, the duo described the event: “It was two rounds, and four schools faced off against each other. We did long form improv for eighteen minutes, and then one team goes first, one goes second, and then the audience votes” on who the winner should be, said Cotman. In the championship round, Margolis added, “we chose to do realism, and we portrayed boarding school students preparing to say goodbye to the school to the school they’ve literally never left before graduation.” The accompanying trophy is theirs for the duration of this year, until they “hopefully will be the defending champs so we can keep it in our house,” Cotman added with a laugh. Keep your eyes peeled for where this trophy will appear on campus.
In other news, the majors and minors fair took place in Mary Fisher during Common Hour on March 27. With an energetic turnout, students were able to talk to QR tutors as well as professors in each of the academic programs currently offered at this institution.
Wondering what the fancy green tablecloths were doing on the Forum’s tables this week? It was for the Mary Fisher Tea, held on March 26 from 2-3:30 p.m. According to the program for the event, “Mary Fisher was a beloved figure among students at the Women’s College of Baltimore, and after her death in 1902, alumnae gave the college a triptych of Tiffany windows in her memory. For her 100th birthday in 1950, the Goucher community gathered to honor her with a tea and to dedicate the four houses of Mary Fisher Hall, the first building on the Towson campus. In later years, Goucher alumnae clubs worldwide met each spring to recognize her life.” Want to find out what happened to those Tiffany windows? Yeah, me too. When asked about the experience of performing at this event, Chris Elliott ‘19, noted performing “[f]our songs [at the tea]. The first was ‘Amazing Grace,’ by H. Leslie Adams, which isn’t your typical Amazing Grace, but a version that Adams wrote with African-American and jazz influences in it. The next three songs were all jazz tunes: ‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ ‘Cry Me a River,’ and ‘All of Me.’” Elliott continued, “[t]he event consisted of mainly older Goucher alum who’ve graduated many years ago. President Jose Bowen and Bryan Coker were there, as well as other current workers like Lynn Satterfield and Rob Ferrell.” To those of you wondering, “the ‘pinky up’ rule was not enforced, nor was it talked about during the event unfortunately.”
The Office of Title IX released the “2018 Reports of Sexual Misconduct, Relationship Violence, and Stalking” data to the student body via email on Thursday, March 28. This data, available through the link embedded in the email as well as the website for the Office of Title IX, is federally required of the college in order to “participat[e] in federal financial aid programs” under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. While the official email announcing the release of the 2017 data noted that, “[s]ince Spring 2015, the Title IX (TIX) Office has shared an annual report of closed cases with the campus community,” data from 2016-2018 is on the Title IX website. According to this year’s data, “55 incidents or suspected incidents were reported to the Title IX Office in 2018,” down from 61 the year prior. Both of these figures are above the “total of 49 incidents or suspected incidents were reported to the Title IX Office in 2016.” In an interview with The Quindecim, Title IX Coordinator Lucia Perfetti Clark said “…the number [of reported cases] tends to be holding steady [year to year]…I’m glad that the numbers stay on the higher side…I always take the higher numbers as a sign that students feel like they can report, which is what we work pretty hard to foster.”
The Office of Communications announced via email on Friday, March 29 that the College will now be partnering with eCampus as our “new online textbook partner.” This partnership will be replacing the current one between Goucher and Barnes & Noble. Members of GSG who were involved in advising the decision noted that this partnership, while establishing the provider of textbooks and resources for courses, does not cover the management of the campus bookstore next to Alice’s.
A final newsy tidbit for this week is that the sun has been making its appearance more frequently this week, and, in quintessential Goucher fashion, we gophers have begun to poke out of the ground from hibernating all winter. The Mary Fisher patio is being frequented more often by seekers of Vitamin D who also intend to do homework. Is it possible the groundhog was correct and spring will really come early this year?
