Athletic Center

Kenyon opened the doors to its spectacular new $70 million athletic center in January 2006. Distinguished by soaring glass walls and light-filled spaces, the 263,000-square-foot building serves the needs of everyone from the casual jogger and the weekend hoopster to the fitness fanatic and the varsity athlete.

Read more at http://www1.kenyon.edu/athleticcenter/

Junior and Senior High Youth

For the very first time, this year junior and senior high youth will have different theme speakers. Annabelle Clippinger (see bio) will be the theme speaker for the youth who have completed grades 6, 7 and 8, and David Clippinger (see bio) will be the theme speaker for the youth who have completed grades 9-12. Some coordination between the youth theme speakers and the adult theme speaker (the Venerable Shir Ying Fa, the abbot of the Zen Center of Cleveland) of the daily theme talks/discussion topics will take place. The hope is that this will encourage informal inter-generational discussion of common topics. All youth will participate in the remainder of Youth Program activities, e.g., morning workshops, touch groups, Youth Vespers, etc., together. At SI, early afternoon and evening programming is intergenerational so that children, youth and adults have a chance to meet and mix.

SENIOR HIGH PROGRAM
“The Middle Path” led by David Clippinger
The Middle Path also embodies an ethical program of right action, right speaking, and right thinking (three manifestations of the Eight Fold Path of fundamental Buddhist practice), which overlaps in rather significant ways with the seven Unitarian Universalist Principles. By using those UU principles that are familiar to the youth at SI, the daily theme talks and hands-on workshops will introduce the concepts of an ethical and value-laden existence as well as elaborate upon a number of means to achieve balance in one’s life. In addition to the talks, a number of hands-on activities will be incorporated into the sessions such as:

• Meditation/guided meditation
• Nature walks/walking meditation
• Making malas and learning how to use them
• Chanting/singing
• T’ai Chi exercises
• Dialogues/talks

David Clippinger (Ph.D.) is an ordained Buddhist (Ch’an) monk with
the Dharma Name of Venerable Shih Tao-Fa (The Way of the
Dharma). He has taught at the university level since 1989, and has
extensive experience developing educational and outreach programs
through various universities as well as through the Pennsylvania Humanities
Council and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. In addition to have
to having two children (Philip and Tess), which clearly speaks to
his background working with “youth,” he has taught Buddhism
and T’ai Chi workshops for young people throughout Pittsburgh.

JUNIOR HIGH PROGRAM
“Growing into Balance” led by Annabelle Clippinger
For many youth, who are emerging into adolescence, the issue of balance is particularly difficult. They are not quite children nor are they adults, but they are faced with many of the positives and negatives of both. Drawing upon a range of approaches—Earth-Based Spirituality, Buddhism, and Unitarian Universalism—daily theme talks will be designed to help young people find the way of harmony of the self and the world and to grow into “well-balanced” adults. Activities will vary from dialogues and discussion, movement and artistic expression, to hands-on activities, with a focus upon how balance is not only attainable but a spiritual necessity.

Annabelle Clippinger is the Director of Pitt Arts, an educational program that facilitates arts education events between arts organizations in Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh. She has been teaching at the university level since 1990, and has published two books of poetry. She is also an active UU. She is a member of the UU Church of the South Hills in Pittsburgh and serves on its Board of Trustees.

Monte Carlo Night

Don’t forget! Monte Carlo Night: The Premiere Young Adult Sponsored Summer Institute Black Tie Affair. Bring your best dress, and be prepared to raise the roof at the biggest party of SI 2007.

From http://bulletin.kenyon.edu/x2129.xml

And the Walls Came Tumbling Down...

But Dempsey Hall will rise again. Dempsey, which opened in 1963 as a companion to Peirce Hall, was razed this fall to make way for a newer, larger facility as part of the Peirce renovation project. In the new facility, students will enter an expanded food servery through a dramatic atrium. Peirce will retain its signature spaces, from the Great Hall and the main lobby to Peirce Lounge and the Bemis Music Room. The rebuilt Dempsey will feature a larger dining hall with bigger windows; on the lower level, a bigger central dining area will be flanked by four private dining rooms. The new facilities will include air conditioning, main-floor restrooms, a bigger pub space, and updated kitchen facilities equipped to store and process fresh local foods as part of the Food for Thought program.

Did ya' hear about the dining hall changes?

There’s Good News and Bad News about Dining in 2007

BAD NEWS: Kenyon College has closed our traditional cafeteria, Gund Dining Hall.

GOOD NEWS: Kenyon College has closed the tiny, cramped, totally inadequate cafeteria, Gund Dining Hall.

What have they replaced it with? Well, there’s good news and bad news.

GOOD NEWS: There’s a new, thousand seat dining hall being put in Pierce-Dempsey, the hall in the center of the campus.

BAD NEWS: It won’t be ready until 2008.

So what are they doing in the meantime? Well, there’s good news and bad news.

GOOD NEWS: They have a new, interim dining hall, which they call the “food court.” It’s not a real food court, but a modular-style cafeteria, featuring better food (there’s a new chef), several different forms of vegan protein at meals, plus (and this is near and dear to the UU heart) much better coffee. They call it a “food court” because it’s in the old basketball court.

BAD NEWS: The old basketball court is right across the street from the new athletic center, which, as regulars know, is way down the hill from the campus. And what are they doing about this? Well, there’s good news and bad news.

GOOD NEWS: From the North Campus, Kenyon will be running shuttle busses from the book store to the new dining facilities. From the South Campus, Kenyon’s put in a new pathway, less steep than the old ones, perfect for walkers and bike riders (see comments).

BAD NEWS: There really isn’t any.

PLUS there’s only good news about what it will contain. The SI Bookstore will move with us, and set up actually in the dining hall. The After-Supper Club, with supervised activities for youngsters, allowing adults to linger over the new, excellent coffee, will still be there. The boo-boo station will still be there. And you’ll still be able to get your evening copy of The Kaleidoscope, SI’s official newsletter, there every evening.

It’s a new experience, with both pluses and minuses, but we think you’re going to like it.

Registration is now open

Materials are up on the web!

• Go to www.omdsi.org to download the brochure for SI.
• Go to www.omdsi.org/regi.html to get the registration materials for SI.

Do we need a blog?

This might be useful for communicating about the goings on and planned events for OMDSI. Let me know what you think.