A candid conversation with Sally Phelps about her mission on campus, how she spends her free time, and the challenges of working with Olin students.
I met with Sally Phelps in her office in the lower floor of the library. As always, her schedule was tight, but as always, she was happy to meet with me and speak for a full hour– a clearly prioritized hour of uninterrupted conversation, despite the ringing of phones and the dinging of incoming emails.
Paper or plastic? This debate never seems to end– Whole Foods and others have banned plastic bags, but Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) data shows that plastic bags are actually less impactful than paper.
Singapore is a country many of you have probably heard of, possibly as the current home of Eduardo Saverin, or for their authoritarian laws. However, the centralized authoritarian government has also taken many impressive steps towards turning Singapore into a sustainable city, steps that could only be taken because of the nature of the government.
How do you know when someone cares about you or loves you? How do you express your care or love for other people? What makes you feel like the people who care about you actually do?
“Love Language” is a delicate form of communication that can break or make any relationship. And it does not apply to just romantic or family love either – it applies to apologies and general workplace appreciation as well. But in the spirit of the month, I will focus on love. There are five types of love languages in total. We all have one which we likely prefer, though it is not uncommon to have more than one. Here they are.
I was recently in a relationship where we minimized disagreement to avoid conflict. Then things blew up. How much disagreement is healthy?
—Passive Pamela
How much disagreement is healthy? How much disagreement can you resolve? I know some couples who have disagreements all the time but they are able to talk to each other and work it out.
It sounds like what you need to do is be more honest with your partner and yourself about things when they bother you instead of just brushing it off and then blowing up later. I am a firm believer in safewords and although this is not really the traditional use, a safeword can be useful in this situation.
If something is bothering you, use your safeword, stop what you are doing, take the time to talk about what is bothering you, and get it resolved.
—Captain Dominatrix
Aries (March 21 – April 19): I see chocolate in your future. Preface those crunch bars with some crunches! Hit up the gym in preparation.
Taurus (April 20 – May 20): A big due date approaches. Step up the pace in the home stretch to beat your high score. Beef up your defense to score a three pointer in the final inning!
Gemini (May 21 – June 20): Get cracking on those resolutions. Quit your bad habits and start some good ones. Subtle nail polish discourages nail biting. Sticking to a routine cuts down on procrastination.
Cancer (June 21 – July 22): Your SO is thinking about dumping you. Break up with them first so you don’t feel like a loser. (See D&D column)
Were you part of the 66% of Olin students who felt unqualified at some point during your first year at Olin? Have you ever blamed your high school background for not preparing you enough for Olin? Similar questions have been asked by multiple U.S. colleges. Interestingly enough, different studies show extremely different results for these controversial topics. A study published by the U.S. Center on Education Policy found that when comparing students who had attended private and public high schools, there was no difference in achievement tests, college attendance rates, or job satisfaction in later years. Essentially, this study found that the difference between a private and public high school education didn’t matter much in the long run.
11/1 Cuban President Raul Castro said that the city of Santiago “looked like it had been bombed” after Hurricane Sandy hit.
11/2 Andrew Lloyd Weber announced he would donate over $600,000 to arts education projects across the UK.
11/3 Cuba accused the US of helping Cuban dissidents access the internet.
11/4 Syrian opposition groups held a first day of talks in Qatar. They hoped to shape the Syrian National Council into a possible government in exile.
Swarm Theory & Sustainability: What does it take to be sustainable? Top-down political action? Bottom-up grass-roots movements? More electric vehicles? These approaches are all too narrow. As I see it, the direction of the global human society is the weighted sum of each individual decision.
This concept is swarm theory applied to sustainability: like fish in a school, each individual bases actions on a small set of rules, and individual actions move the group. The mass’s direction is determined by initial conditions and the values held by each unit. Embedding the necessary tenets is the role of education, both formal and otherwise.
