The Environmental Studies Program collaborated with CSA on an exhibit related to oceans. (Photo by Lia Morris)

Feeling artsy? The Colby museum isn't the only place to embrace one's inner artist. Common Street Arts in downtown Waterville is half gallery and half studio-a bright and open area to both create and appreciate art.

This spring the gallery featured an exhibit of colorful, woven sculptures created by Nathalie Miebach called “Blizzards, Gales and Ocean Buoys.” She created the series of works to spark dialogue about climate change. Colby environmental studies students were involved in events associated with the show. Later this spring graduating seniors got to show off their work in the Senior Art Show.

But Common Street Arts doesn't limit itself to sculptures and paintings. “We certainly try to have a mix of shows,” said Shannon Haines, chair of the Common Street Arts advisory board and a Waterville resident. “In addition to visual art we also host film screenings … in conjunction with Colby cinema studies. We also do live music events.”

Majors: Government & Global Studies; Minor: Japanese

1. Go skiing

2. Go camping in the arboretum

3. Throw an all-night party

Natasha Zelensky teaches courses titled From Rockabilly Kings to Lady Gaga: A History of Rock and Roll; Introduction to World Music; and Music as Culture: Introduction to Ethnomusicology. In just her first year teaching at Colby, her classes have become popular with music majors and non-majors alike. 

Q:  So, what is ethnomusicology? On the first day of class, what do you say?

A: In a way, it's the million-dollar question that we don't fully answer throughout the semester. Because there is not a clear answer. In terms of ambiguity, there it is … the meaning of ethnomusicology has changed with changes in discipline. It started out as a history of non-Western traditions, like Indian or Iranian, but it's really expanded to be more of a study of music and culture. … What's the role that music has in society? 

Q: What brought you to ethnomusicology? Did you always sing or play, something like that?

A: I did. In my undergraduate I was a performance major and I found that … it didn't fully resonate with me. I liked it, but I didn't love it. …Then I took a course my senior year on medieval music and culture and … all of the sudden I saw this interdisciplinary web that emerged from the music and all of these questions you can be asking about the music that engage the arts, engage religious beliefs, engage philosophy, and I thought, “Wow, I love this!” And that's when I started pursuing that on a more academic level. 

Q: You offer a class called History of Rock of Roll. What do you talk about? What kind of things do you do?

It's a combination of history of American culture through the lens of music. So on the one hand, by the time you leave the class, you should have a pretty good understanding of American popular history and politics and really salient issues like race and gender as they emerged on this more national level. … On the other hand, it's a stylistic trajectory of rock and roll itself… . Three quarters of the class is historically and culturally and politically oriented, and a quarter of the class we look at in-depth examples of songs and analyze them. So by the time you leave you really have a critical ear. 

Q: What is your favorite type of music then, if you can pick?

A: How do you narrow it down? I really enjoy listening to rockabilly. I think there's a lot of energy there. I think you can really see how fresh the concept of rock and roll is … . I like the Beatles a lot. In terms of the breadth of the Beatles, I can't say I like one period over another, just across the board … . I have to say there's very little music that I don't like … .I also grew up in the Eighties and really like Eighties synth pop. … And I really enjoy early Nineties grunge music. That Seattle sound I really like. 

When it comes to gridlock in Washington, “Partisanship is not the problem. Excessive partisanship is,” U.S. Representative Barney Frank said at Colby April 21. Senator Alan Simpson, referring to members of Congress in a speech April 10 said, “These guys are worshipping the god of reelection. Instead of being an American, you're a member of the Democratic or the Republican Party, and I think that's a tragedy.” 

In a span of two weeks, the former U.S. Senator gave the annual George J. Mitchell lecture, and former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank gave the Government Department's 2013 Goldfarb Lecture.

Simpson represented Wyoming in the Senate from 1979 to 1997, chairing several committees. More recently he is known as co-chair of President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. He met with students earlier in the day, discussing his time in the Senate and how politics have changed since then.

The main issues Simpson talked about in his lecture were the deficit, military spending, and Social Security. According to Simpson, if nothing is done to make Social Security more solvent, “In the year 2031, you're going to waddle up to the window and get a check for twenty-five percent less.” He also expressed his view that the U.S. government spends too much on the military, saying, “If anyone tells you we're hollowing out the defense budget, the only thing getting hollowed out is your brain.”

Frank's lecture was titled “Gridlock in Washington: How it Came About and How it Can be Ended.” Frank, who served from 1981 until January of this year, is known for being chair of the House Financial Services Committee, for cosponsoring the Dodd-Frank Act and its reforms of the U.S. financial industry, and for being the first openly gay member of Congress.

Frank said the cause of Congress's lack of effectiveness, demonstrated recently by the inability to pass gun control legislation, “is not structural, … it is because the Republican Party has been taken over by people who don't believe in government.” Frank pointed to the midterm election of 2010 as a turning point. “Gridlock began when the Republicans took over Congress two years into Barack Obama's presidency,” he said. He encouraged the audience to campaign to defeat these obstructionist members of Congress, saying the only way to end gridlock is “through the ballot box.”

After Simpson's lecture, Professor Daniel Shea, director of the Goldfarb Center, said, “He has the rare ability to link fascinating stories of his time in the Senate to important contemporary issues. Students loved these tales and his warm, personal style.” 

Page Commons is packed with spectators for this year's Drag Ball.

Imagine glitter. Everywhere. Combine that with feather boas, stick-on mustaches, cowboy hats, and risqué performances: welcome to Drag Ball. As the capstone of Colby's Pride Week, celebrating the LGBTQ community, Drag Ball challenges heteronormativity. “It's about breaking down hierarchies and reversing standards,” said Alex Murry '13, one of the coordinators of the event.

“Everyone came together to be a little bit weird and celebrate," said host Brendan Leonard '16.

Drag Ball, now an annual Colby tradition, invites members of the Colby community of all genders and sexual orientations to break down stereotypes and norms. The evening is structured with performances from dance groups, a cappella groups, and various clubs on campus, and it's sprinkled with important definitions regarding LGBTQ issues. At the end of the night, all the chairs are cleared away and everyone takes to the floor for a school-wide drag dance.

Murry worked with Ismael Pérez '13 to coordinate Drag Ball with the Pugh Community Board, which focuses multicultural issues, and worked closely with the Bridge, Colby's gay-straight alliance.  

“It was so great to see how many underclassmen that were involved,” said Murry, chair of PCB. “It was great to hear younger voices.”

“You bet I said yes,” Leonard, a freshman, said of being asked to emcee with Claudia Aviles '15. “I'm just having the time of my life up there.” Leonard had several wardrobe changes, long hair, nails, and makeup. “They made me look fabulous,” he said of his team of transformers backstage. 

The event has become so popular that it was moved this year to Page Commons from Foss dining hall. “It only started becoming an annual thing four years ago,” Murry said. “Who knew that three years later we couldn't fit [in Foss]?”

A crowd favorite? The Women of Color Alliance's hip-hop dance stylings. “They killed it,” Murry said. 

“They were pretty fabulous,” Leonard agreed. “Everyone did a fantastic job. There was so much energy.”

“It's very promising [that] something like Drag Ball can be so enormously popular and have so many participants. I think it says a lot about where we're going as a community, that this is really a priority for us right now,” said Murry. And success came despite competing events on campus. “There were a lot of other things going on that night.”

Such an event carries a much stronger social message. “That's what it's all about-embracing what makes you uncomfortable and owning it and putting on a different skin,” Leonard said. “And what it's like to transform yourself and celebrate what other people put down and make fun of you for.”

Lisa Kaplan ‘13

Majors: Government and Middle Eastern Studies

Hometown: Cape Elizabeth, Maine

It's hard to believe Lisa Kaplan has time to breathe. Not only did she create her own major (Middle Eastern studies), she's involved with Colby Cares About Kids, Hardy Girls Healthy Women, and the Goldfarb Center. And there's more. 

Taking advantage of Colby's many opportunities, Kaplan is thoroughly involved.

This semester Kaplan is pursuing two independent studies: modeling political violence in Libya as well as analyzing West Bank nonviolent and nontraditional political expression. “So everything from art to film to music, that sort of thing.” 

Kaplan first became widely known on campus when she co-chaired a relief effort for people affected by the earthquake in Haiti as a first-year. “Thinking about my Colby career, even as a freshman, I felt like I had an impact,” she said. “If you want to be a leader at Colby, it isn't limited just to seniors.” 

In Professor Guilain Denoeux's political violence seminar this fall, Kaplan became fascinated with the subject. She decided to continue with the idea on her own time. “I wanted to learn about another country as well as honing those [research] skills,” she said.

Mostly, research for Kaplan has been in her classes, and this is the first time she's taken advantage of the opportunity to design and execute independent study since her abroad experience.

She spent her junior year in Amman, Jordan. “Going abroad was probably my favorite experience in my Colby career,” she said. Jordan was a shock, but her experiences complemented the classroom learning and put things on the Hill in perspective. It was critical for her language practice too-Kaplan studies Arabic at Colby-and staying an entire year allowed her to focus on one dialect. 

Back in Waterville, Colby Cares About Kids is her favorite activity. CCAK is a popular volunteering program that pairs students as mentors of elementary school kids in area schools, similar to a Big Brothers Big Sisters program. The best part? “Playground time-it's fun to be a kid again,” she said with a laugh. 

Rachel Rosenbaum '13 (far right) presents with the Oak Research Organization and Fatima Burnad, the 2011 fellow.

Jestina Mukoko was tortured and held in isolation for fighting political violence in Zimbabwe. Fatima Burnad lives under threat for championing the Dalit “Invisible” people of India. Colby's Oak fellows, from around the world and across social issues, have been jailed because they work for the rights of others. They come to Colby to share their stories.

Each fall one activist comes to campus through the Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights at Colby. During the semester-long fellowship, Oak fellows teach a class and work directly with students. 

“The students and other community members are really able to interact with someone who is doing incredible, pressing, compelling work abroad. It's really inspiring to meet this person and learn from them,” said Leah Breen '15, a global studies major with concentrations in international development and human rights. 

Students from various disciplines get to interact with the fellows, but students on the Oak student committee immerse themselves in all things Oak. Headed by Breen and Grace DeNoon '15 this year, the student committee integrates the fellow into the Colby community with lectures, dinners, and other events. “It's really exciting to have a forum for us to come together to speak about different issues and make things happen at Colby,” Breen said.

Rachel Rosenbaum '13, the Oak summer assistant, prepared for the arrival of the 2012 fellow, Zandile Nhlengetwa-she organized and found readings for the syllabus and managed other logistics such as housing. She also began the search for the 2013 fellow, focusing on the theme of displacement and refugees. 

Rosenbaum has been focused on human rights since she arrived at Colby. “Freshman year I really just went to events,” she said. Rosenbaum joined the committee sophomore year after declaring an anthropology and global studies double major. She enrolled in 2012 fellow Burnad's human rights class her junior year, along with taking on a project in the Oak Research Organization, an independent study project focusing on marginalization and social exclusion. “I became really close to Fatima, and my involvement has been increasing throughout my years.” 

Last fall Rosenbaum became the assistant for the class while Breen focused on publicity and prepping for the 2013 fellow. Both got to know Nhlengetwa, who works on reconciliation in post-conflict communities in South Africa.“She's fantastic,” Rosenbaum said. “She's a powerful woman and really inspirational.”

“Understanding how someone on the ground is working on different issues-addressing those issues at a grassroots level-is really important,” said Breen. “It's an incredible learning experience.” 

Carter Stevens '13, is a history and government double major from Shrewsbury, Mass. Also a German studies minor, he recently was awarded a 2013-14 Fulbright Teaching Assistantship. He studied in Berlin as a junior.

Tell me about your alternative spring break trip.

It's through the Wabanaki Colby-Bates-Bowdoin, or WBBC, consortium, which was formed between the three schools and the four tribes and five reservations of the Wabanaki Confederacy. A part of that organization has involved spring break trips, ostensibly from all three of our schools, to these reservations during our spring break, to do lessons and talks about both why college is important, and also what these students should be looking forward to. Native American students in general have an incredibly low college attendance rate and an incredibly low high school graduation rate, so part of it is to help encourage these students to stay in school and to work towards higher education.

Carter Stevens '13

And you organized it?

The issue this year was that there was nobody who really knew about the trip to organize it, so I kind of stepped into that block and worked alongside Alice Elliott in the Goldfarb Center to turn this trip more into one of the Alternative Spring Break trips. I organized it, and that meant e-mailing people, calling people, organizing when these visits were going to happen, trying to coordinate when we could be in the classrooms with the students but also see historic sites.

Speaking of history, tell me about your thesis that involves a Civil War battle in Maine.

There was this Confederate ship that was a commerce raider that was sailing up the coast basically just attacking unarmed merchant ships. So basically what happened was that the Confederates tried to sail away in this captured ship. The Mainers got a couple of the steamers together and went after them, and there was a short battle. The Confederates couldn't really find all the ammunition on board, so they didn't really put up much of a fight, and then they set the ship on fire and abandoned it. My thesis is talking about the whole battle, as well as what led to it, and then also how people reacted to it in Portland and beyond.

You have received a Fulbright scholarship for next year. What do you plan to do with that?

It's for an English teaching assistantship [in Germany]. It could be in the east, in the west or in the north or south, so it could be anywhere in Germany. I'll be likely at a school and either paired with a teacher or working by myself to teach English. So obviously I'll be teaching in English, but I'll need to be communicating in German most of the time that I'm there.

On March 9, Fran Onyilagha '14, Emily Tolman '16, Emily Doyle '16, and Brittney Bell '13 competed at the National Women's Indoor Track and Field Division III Championships in the 4 x 400M relay, and Cat McClure '16 raced in the 5000M.

From left: Fran Onyilagha '14, Brittney Bell '13, Emily Doyle '16, and Emily Tolman '16 after finishing 4th in the 4 x 400M Relay.

None of them had expected to compete at a national level. But the relay quartet dropped six seconds to qualify for nationals in a blistering 3:51.86 at what is called the Last Chance Meet in March. “I remember looking at the clock [right before her leg] and it was 3:19. We were killing it,” Bell said of their qualifying race at Tufts.

On the national stage in Chicago, “the atmosphere was very overwhelming,” said Tolman, a freshman, who appreciated the upperclassmen serving as leaders. “Brittney was like our mom.” 

Between deep-dish pizza, donuts, and hotel dance sessions, “We got to know each other really well over the trip. …We all definitely became closer,” said Onyilagha. 

For all the competitors but Bell, it was their first national-level competition. “I would describe it as a normal track meet on steroids,” said Doyle. 

Before the race, the athletes wait in a closed area near the track, able only to hear the action through curtains before entering a giant stadium. “The stadium was crazy,” said Onyilagha.

Since they were racing in the second of two heats, they listened as other teams raced in the first heat-and came in ahead of their seed time, 3:51. “We knew it wasn't going to be easy,” said Tolman. 

Their heat  began with a near-false start from a competitor. “It was nerve-wracking,” said Doyle, the lead-off. “As the first person, you want to lead the pack,” she continued. The race begins in separate lanes, but halfway through the first lap is a cut-in, where the runners move to lane one. It's up to the first leg to put everyone in position. 

Doyle handed the baton to Onyilagha, who recalls being in the zone: “I could only hear my breathing.”

“Fran ran the fastest split out of all of us,” Doyle said.

When it was all over they were fourth, with a personal and school record of 3:51.52. “Four shoes, one mule,” the motto of the track team, seemed particularly appropriate. Fourth place qualified them as All-Americans.

Running solo in the 5K, McClure recalled, “Everyone started cheering louder and louder and I couldn't even hear myself think.” She finished 13th in the nation with a time of 17:43.31.

With outdoor season is well underway this spring, both the 4 x 400M relay team and McClure have a serious shot to qualify for nationals again. 

“It's something to strive for,” said McClure.

“Now that we did that, we can do it again,” said Doyle.

1. Check out the Outing Club's maple sugaring operation-a little-known but really cool Colby program

2. Run the Messalonskee Trails

3. Visit interesting towns nearby, like Liberty and Hallowell-great places to spend an afternoon

Tell me about some of the things you're involved in at Colby.

I'm one of the captains of the basketball team, I'm president of Mules Against Violence, I'm a Community Advisor, I created the Party With Consent movement. ... I'm one of the student representatives on the Accountability Task Force, which has been meeting a lot lately. I'm a CCAK mentor, going tomorrow morning. On the teaching side, I was a TA for Multicultural Literacy during Jan Plan.

Wow. Anything in there you're particularly excited about?

Recently, what's been really fun is setting up the Take Your Professor to Coffee on Us. I came up with the goal of trying to get more people downtown, and it can get more people talking with their professors. I think a lot of events transpiring at our school come from a lack of listening and communication, so getting people from different sectors of campus together talking to each other is cool.

What motivates you to get involved in so many activities?

It's just like habit at this point. Sometimes I hear guys saying “I only got to go back to my room once today,” and that's always the way it is for me. ... We have such an ability to make an impact on our environment, with such a small community and such an engaged community, seeing perspectives from all sides of campus and being able to take in what people from all parts of campus have to say. Being able to see almost complete contrasts in how Colby is understood socially and being able to then sit down and make your own decisions about it is a really cool thing about getting involved in a lot of things.

How do you balance everything that you're involved in?

I wish I could say that I do balance it. A lot of times of late I've had a solid amount of late-handed-in stuff. ... What happens is I'll set up a schedule for the day, and then I'll realize that I didn't make any time to eat. ... It's never felt like balance, it's just that what's in motion stays in motion, and I want to have an impact and make things happen. Balance, for better or worse, is never even considered. Just make things happen, and check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Maddy Scheer '15 and Lily Holland '15 pose with their new freinds at the Aarohi School

I was one of the twenty-one students lucky enough to spend this Jan Plan in Northern India with Professor Anindyo Roy to take a course entitled “Postcolonial Pastoral: Ecology, Travel, and Writing." In the months preceding the trip I was incredibly excited, but as my departure date got closer, I started to get nervous. I had no idea what to expect when I went to India. Everything about the country seemed so utterly foreign to me.

I tried looking online for answers. My search showed me solid color block maps, pictures of the snow-crested Himalayas, and green mountainsides scarred by unending stairs of terraced ridges. There were also pictures of people in the street, packed so closely together that the crowd must have had to move forward as one collective mass. As I sat at my sturdy desk at home, I couldn't see myself in the lonely mountains or the crowded streets; I couldn't find myself in my future.

I was worried I'd get sick from the food, or be very cold at night in the mountains with no heat. But, more than any specific fears, I was scared of what I didn't know. I was scared to do something that was unlike anything I had ever done before.

But I didn't let my fear get the best of me. On January 2 I packed my bags and set off for Delhi. When we stepped out of the Indira Ghandi International Airport at 4 a.m. , I walked with the heavy and stumbling steps of a tired traveler. I saw a man with a machine gun on a small, elevated platform. I turned away, only to see more guns in the arms of the men leaning against pillars and sleeping against the sides of the building, each weapon causing a tremor within my chest. I could feel the cold sweat of fear start to prickle at my palms and I quickened my step, eager to get out of firing range. It only took me ten minutes in India to realize how very far I was from my cozy dorm room in central Maine.

Students ride elehpants at dawn in search of a tiger at Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, India. Photo by Ari Porter '15

While sometimes it was hard to be out of my comfort zone, I loved how completely different everything was. But different definitely didn't mean bad, either. Actually, in most cases, different was exciting and good.

The oozing orange peach lavender jam served at breakfast in the mountains, the sweet and high sound of the national anthem sung by children, and the cardamom rich, ginger spiced chai tea served to me by dozens of new and friendly people I had met. From a mountaintop I saw the shimmer of a sari in the sunlight and felt an elephant's prickly hide. I watched the sun set over the Himalayas and burn the mountains pink.

More than the beautiful and exotic sights, I learned about the culture. Our class would sit and listen for hours about India. We all wanted to learn; greedily hoarding the knowledge liberally bestowed upon us by Professor Roy and the people we met in the village. We constantly peppered our elders with questions, and they gave us long and careful answers, no matter the time or place. We were taught things that were concrete, such as the political structure, or caste relations and the ritualistic shame beatings that dominated the justice system in the mountains. But, I also learned things that were more abstract, such as what it felt like to pray to the Hindu gods, with clear high bells ringing in my ears as sweet incense burned at my bare feet.

Knowledge was the gift that I was given, and with that, I couldn't go an hour in India without experiencing joy. I was no longer scared of what I didn't know. On the contrary, I wanted more of the unknown, wanted more new experiences to clutch in the palms of my hands and more stories to write in my time worn journal.

Now, I'm making more plans to travel. Next semester? You'll find me in Prague, unless it's a weekend, in which case I plan on traveling to Budapest, or Vienna or maybe even Berlin. I still feel a little pre-abroad jitters, but after India, I'm ready for the world.

JJ Ndayisenga '13 (center) gets a kiss after winning the 2013 Mr. Colby pageant in Page Commons March 15.

After delivering a dramatic and serious poetry recitation of popular verse, including 50 Cent's “Candy Shop,” Jean-Jacques Ndayisenga '13 was dubbed Mr. Colby 2013 in March.

“It is interesting to see how people come up to you, and everyone is excited to see you,” said Ndayisenga, originally from Kigali, Rwanda, after winning the crown. “People give value to who you are.”

A parody of sorts, the Mr. Colby competition is more of a comedy routine than a beauty contest.

Contestants, nominated by their peers, perform in various events including a swimsuit routine, a talent act, and a Q&A session. Each participant adopts a unique persona to build rapport with the crowd.  

This year's performances included a heart-wrenching, albeit out of tune, rendition of the song “That's Amore” by Benjamin Brauer '13 as well as a contemporary Shakespearian monologue by Michael Langley '13.

At times it was difficult to hear the performers over the laughter and cheers of the crowd.

Emcees Jemarley McFarlane '13 and Rosie Wennberg '13 opened the show with a choreographed rendition of “Jump On It.” Throughout the competition they offered candid commentary and comedic routines of their own.

“With Mr. Colby I think that everyone has an idea of what they are going to do on stage,” said Wennberg '13. “But no one really knows exactly what they are going to do once they actually get there.”

In addition to the aforementioned participants, competitors included John Iseman '13, Ian Leitch '15, and Benjamin Amy '13.

“Mr. Colby is fun in that you get to see people in your own class, who you have known for four years, put themselves out there,” said Wennberg. “Regardless of what they said or did, kudos to them.”

Reflecting on the competition and his future as Mr. Colby 2013, Ndayisenga notes he is most pleased with the how excited the community was, both at and after the competition. Said Ndayisenga, “It never dies.”

Brauer and Iseman came in second and third place, earning them the titles Mr. Bowdoin and Mr. Bates.