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Postalcenteropens

College re-evaluatesacademicgoals

According to the 2010 WesternAssociation of Schools andColleges, the organization thatdecides whether schools areaccredited or not, and theEducational Effectiveness Review,a report written by the Mills admin-istration in response to WASCevaluations, Mills College studentsare lacking both skills and confi-dence in written communication,leadership and critical thinking.

While the WASC report fromspring 2010 focused on four areasof analysis, it emphasized writtencommunication among the morepressing issues currently facing the college.

According to the educationaleffectiveness documents releasedby the Mills administration, "Thepoor result of the written communi-cation assessment is, perhaps, themost disturbing result from ourassessments. Given that thisrequirement is at the very core ofwhat we expect our students to beable to do, the fact that they are notdoing it well is a serious issue."

Marianne Sheldon, the WASCaccreditation liaison officer forMills, said all departments at Millsare responsible for the writingskills of Mills students.

"This is not a challenge solelyfor the English department," said Sheldon.

The mean of Mills College stu-dents' scores from a 2010 WASCassessment in written communica-tions fell below the "competent"level, according to the latest EERreport. It noted that, of the six dif-ferent skills assessed, Mills students struggle the most in thearea of "support", suggesting thatthey have difficulty finding and uti-lizing evidence to back up theirclaims when writing.

"This is, unfortunately, consistent with a more general andindirect measure of written com-munication through surveys, where Mills students’ perceptionof the degree to which they feelthat their writing abilities were enhanced by the College fall below that of our comparison institutions," thereport continued.

According to a 2008 National Survey (continued)

During the summer, the formerMail and Copy Center at Millsbecame an official post office,assuming the title of United StatesPostal Service Commercial MailReceiving Agent. It moved from itsprevious home in Sage Hall toreplace the original US PostalService location in RothwellCenter. It is currently open for business.

The previous Mail and Copycenter was a Mills College-run hubused to receive larger packages aswell as for copying, faxing andwithin-campus mailing. Now theUS Postal Office at Rothwell han-dles the responsibilities of the oldMail and Copy Center while pro-viding students their mail in thesame place.

After officially opening onAug. 4, 2010, the new campus postoffice found itself backed up withtwo months worth of mail, accord-ing to Raymond Chow, a Mail andCopy Center clerk.

Now that the rebuffed postoffice has been faced with its firstinflux of students, the staff noticedmost students shared the same confusion.

"A lot of students question howto address things" said Chow.

The new address formatincludes both the Private Mail Box(PMB) number and the address ofMills College:

NamePMB number5000 MacArthur Blvd.Oakland, CA 94613

Besides mailing letters andpackages, students can now pur-chase stamps, make copies and usethe fax machine.

President Janet Holmgren willbegin her final year at MillsCollege with a three-month long sabbatical.

According to Dr. Ramon S.Torrecilha, executive vice presidentand temporary acting head of thecollege, Holmgren will be on leavefrom Aug. 1 to Nov. 8, returningbriefly to take part in a handful ofcollege events such as Convocationand Reunion.

"The president’s contract pro-vides for a scheduled sabbaticalleave which was approved by theBoard of Trustees," said Torrecilha,who noted that his appointment asacting head has been approved bythe Board of Trustees and abides bythe school's bylaws.

According to MarianneSheldon, a professor of history atMills, the administration and facul-ty knew in advance about PresidentHolmgren's sabbatical this fall andprepared for her absence.

"Everything is absolutely undercontrol," said Sheldon.

Staff and administration believethat the fall semester will unfoldnormally despite her absence.

"If there were an emergencythat required her attention, we canreach her easily," said Dr. Sandra

Greer, provost and dean of the fac-ulty. "We in the Office of theProvost expect that the schedule ofevents will continue to flowsmoothly. I believe that such aleave had been in the works forsome time, but she had not beenable to take advantage of the optionuntil now."

The Acting Head of theCollege, Dr. Ramon S.Torrecilha’s welcome statement toMills College students:

Dear New and ReturningStudents:

On behalf of our entire commu-nity, let me welcome you to theopening of the 2010-2011 academ-ic year at Mills College. I am verypleased to welcome new under-graduate and graduate students andto welcome back all of our return-ing students.

Mills is a special place, dedicat-ed to academic excellence andinnovation, leadership and theadvancement of women, social jus-tice, and diversity. While you arehere, I encourage you to take fulladvantage of all of the College’sresources in your pursuit of intel-lectual discovery and personalgrowth. This is truly an excitingtime on campus and we are lookingforward to our annual traditions of

Convocation, Family Weekend,and Reunion. The Convocation cel-ebration, to be held on October 1,2010, marks the formal beginningof the academic year and ourkeynote speaker will be DoloresHuerta, P’98 co-founder of theNational Farm WorkersAssociation, which later becamethe United Farm Workers ofAmerica. Family weekend is awonderful time when students andfamilies can be on campus togeth-er, and Reunion brings many alum-nae back to campus.

The College is off to an excel-lent start for the 2010-2011 aca-demic year. I am pleased to reportthat again this year Mills Collegehas been recognized by ThePrinceton Review’s Best 373Colleges as one of the top collegesin the country as well as one of thebest colleges in the West. In addi-tion, U.S. News & World Reportnamed Mills as one of the top tierregional universities in the U.S. Itwas ranked 4th among 572 collegeand universities in the West for thethird consecutive year.

President Holmgren will be ona scheduled sabbatical leave fromAugust 1st to November 8, 2010.She will return to the campus for the two-week (continued)

VOLUME 96 ISSUE 1 www.thecampanil.com Wednesday | August 25, 2010

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see Sabbatical page 2

LLaauurreenn--MMaarriiee SSlliitteerrBREAKING NEWS EDITOR

LLaauurreenn--MMaarriiee SSlliitteerrBREAKING NEWS EDITOR

WASCsee page 2

LLaauurreenn--MMaarriiee SSlliitteerrBREAKING NEWS EDITOR

Heather McDaniel contributed tothis report.

Check outdestina-tions for alate sum-mer inOakland

BONNE MARIE BAUTISTA

HEATHER MCDANIEL

The newly rennovated mail andcopy center is now open.

In the midst of the presidential search, Holmgren takes a scheduled leave for the Fall semester. Staffsays the college will continue business as usual, with Dr. Ramon S. Torrecilha acting as President.

News22 AA uu gg uu ss tt 22 55 ,, 22 00 11 00

The incoming class of 2014participated in this fall's new stu-dent orientation, which includedguided tours of the campus and thecity of Oakland.

Along with learning Mills aca-demic procedures, meetings withadvisers and registering for classes,new students took part in bondingactivities in order to get to knowtheir new class and hall mates.

The outings around Oaklandseem to have been a highlight oforientation for many new students.

"My favorite part has been theexcursion...being able to exploreOakland by bus," said first yearJessica Knapp.

Students were impressed by thequality of conversation and thesense of camaraderie they felt.

"I like how everybody is veryfriendly and always answers yourquestions," said first-year Kate Harslem.

The first day of orientationended with the traditional candle-lighting ceremony, during whichnew students wrote down theirwishes for themselves, their class-mates and the world. The wisheswere then hung in the trees above,written on matching green paper--green being the class color for 2014.

Their wishes for the worldranged from environmental con-sciousness to a cure for cancer.

One student's wish for herselfwas "to change the way childrensee learning," another, "to findcourage and strength".

First year students participate in a team building activity during orientation on Sunday, August 22.

Mills welcomes newstudents at Orientation

Free roamingcat coalitiontakes action oncampus

Holmgren Takes Scheduled Sabbatical

LLaauurreenn--MMaarriiee SSlliitteerrBREAKING NEWS EDITOR

Heather McDaniel contributedto this report

WASC Educational Effectiveness Review

of Student Engagement, studentsthemselves felt that Mills has notcontributed substantially to theirwriting abilities.

The EER report cited the 2008NSSE statistics, which showed thatonly 54% of Mills College seniorsfelt that Mills "'greatly enhancedtheir ability to write effectively."

Another area of concern is leadership.

According to Sheldon, theNSSE and the EER reports showthat Mills students do not see them-selves as leaders.

"'Leadership' may be the wrongword," said Sheldon, who was sur-prised by that finding since shebelieves Mills students are impres-sive leaders in society.

Sheldon was also surprised atMills students' poorly-rated criticalanalysis skills.

"Every department focuses oncritical analysis," said Sheldon.

The EER report identifies "theabilities of students to analyzecomplex realistic scenarios" as"weaker than expected," and statesthat some departments need to improve their research methodsin order to enhance critical thinking skills.

Information literacy and tech-

nology skills at Mills show morepromise.

"Our students are doing what isexpected of them in this area, andwe are now in the enviable positionof making changes that will make an already-strong programeven stronger," said the EER report.

Sheldon stressed the impor-tance of taking time into accountwhen analyzing these reports.

"A lot of these results are snapshots taken at specific moments intime," she said. "We can't demon-strate change instantly."

A comparison between the2008 and 2009 NSSE reportsshows progress has been made interms of student leadership.

The next EducationalEffectiveness Review will takeplace between Oct. 6-8 of this yearand will include a campus visit.

The Provost's Office, alongwith the Educational PolicySubcommittee of the FacultyExecutive Committee, will beusing the upcoming 2010-2011academic year to address the issuessurrounding written communica-tion skills at Mills to come up with an improved program forenhancing students' writing skills.

Cats on campus will have a newlease on life thanks to the FreeRoaming Cat Coalition, a new pro-gram designed to help monitor andmaintain a healthy feral feline pop-ulation at Mills.

The program’s founding mem-bers include Christina McWhorter,the Botanic Gardens coordinator,Linda Zitzner, assistant vice presi-dent of facilities, auxiliaries andcampus planning and IleenErickson, MBA career service director.

“We want to provide a healthyenvironment on campus for the catpopulation,” McWhorter said.

A group of volunteers consist-ing mainly of faculty and staff willput out food containing flea control at designated feeding sta-tions between Reinhardt Hall andUnderwood Apartments eachmorning. Cats who need medicalattention will be trapped, taken to the vet for treatment and then released.

“If any cats start to look likethey have an eye infection orthey’re sick, then we will go in,trap them and take them to the vet,”McWhorter said.

While current program volun-teers are Mills faculty, McWhortersaid that the group is “in theprocess of engaging the studentpopulation,” as well.

“Everyone on campus is goingto be part of this program just bymaking observations and reportingto the program manager,” said McWhorter.

One area of concern is the pos-sibility that the feral cat populationmight multiply. Currently, there arebetween 12 and 15 cats on campus.

“We’re not looking to expandour population, we just want tomake sure our population that wehave is healthy for the environmentand the cats are healthy,” said Zitzner.

The group also expressed con-cern about students bringing catsinto the residence halls.

“As cute and cuddly as they are,you really do need to surrenderthem up to us so that we can makesure they get placed in caringhomes,” said Zitzner.

The program will be fundedlargely by donations – partneringwith the local non-profit organiza-tion Fix Our Ferals.

"They're actually helping uswith some of the funding and someof the key management," said Zitzner.

The trial length of the programis one year.

“If at the end of 12 months wecan’t identify that we did anythingand that we improved the cat popu-lation and our understanding of it,then it won't make any sense to continue investing in it,” said McWhorter.

HHeeaatthheerr MMccDDaanniieellCHIEF NEWS EDITOR

Resident cats of Mills Collegetake advantage of one of sev-eral designated feeding areason campus.

HEATHER MCDANIEL

LAUREN-MARIE SLITER

Sabbatical from page 1

WASC from page 1

period between September 30 andOctober 10, 2010 to lead theCollege through Convocation,Reunion, and the WASCReaccreditation review. WhilePresident Holmgren is on sabbati-cal leave, I will serve as ActingHead of the College. My appoint-ment as

Acting Head of the College wasapproved by the Board of Trustees.

I look forward to meeting manyof you and working with you as needed.

I encourage all new students totake advantage of the many eventsand programs that are a part of

Student Orientation. During theorientation activities, you will havean opportunity to learn aboutimportant campus resources andmake personalconnections withkey staff persons.

I hope you have had an enjoy-able summer and I wish each ofyou a productive andsatisfying semester.

Sincerely,

Ramon S. TorrecilhaActing Head of the College510-430-2094

Find more stories, photos, videos and live updates at www.thecampanil.com

News 33AA uu gg uu ss tt 22 55 ,, 22 00 11 00

Mehserle trialspurs protests andriots in Oakland

After a three-week long trialand two days of deliberations in aLos Angeles court earlier this sum-mer, a jury found JohannesMehserle guilty of involuntarymanslaughter. The former BARTofficer had been tried in the killingof Oscar Grant early on New Year'sDay in 2009.

Shortly after the July 8 verdictwas read, crowds gathered outsideof Oakland City Hall to protest thejury's decision.

Dante Jones wore a cardboardmask stenciled with Oscar Grant'sface. He said he was there toexpress his rage over black menbeing killed by law enforcement.

"We been protesting for years,"Jones said. "Ain't no change we cando, but somebody's gotta hear it."

Others who were present at theprotest shared a similar feeling of defeat.

"Is the protest gonna do any-thing?," asked Karen Williams, ayoung woman living in downtownOakland. "It can't do nothing

because they already did the verdict."

What began as a peacefuldemonstration at City Hall quicklydescended into violence as the sun set.

A riot broke out when membersof the crowd began throwing plas-tic water bottles at a police block-ade near Broadway and 13th Streetbefore breaking into a Foot Lockerstore two blocks away. Lootersstole shoes and clothing from thestore, most of which was throwninto the crowd. Several other busi-nesses along Broadway and onstreets nearby suffered graffiti andbroken windows.

According toCaliforniaBeat.org, police reportedan estimated 78 arrests that night,with about 75 percent of thosearrested coming from outside of Oakland.

Two months later, Oaklandbusinesses still have not fullyrecovered. Sears still has severalwindows boarded up.

Sentencing for Mehserle is slat-ed for Nov. 5. He faces five to 14years in prison.

HHeeaatthheerr MMccDDaanniieellCHIEF NEWS EDITOR

CrossCountry

9/11MileScrimmagevs. HolyNames Time: 4:00pm Mills College,Oakland, CA 9/4 NDNUInvitationalTime:TBD CrystalSprings,Belmont, CA9/18 MillsInvitationalTime: 9:00am Mills College

Volleyball

9/2 La Sierra Time: 5:00pmMills CollegeOakland, CA9/4West CoastBaptistTime: 12:00pmMills CollegeOakland, CA9/9CaliforniaTechTime: 6:00pmPasadena,CA

Soccer

9/10 NorthwestChristian Time: 5:00pm Klamath FallsOR9/11 OregonInstitute ofTechnologyTime: 7:00pmKlamath Falls 9/17MarymountTime: 5:00pmAliso Viejo,CA

Upcoming CycloneGames

New pool hours for the 2010 fall semesterMills community onlyTuesdays 4 – 5 p.m.Fridays 11 – 12 p.m.Saturdays 10 – 11 a.m.

Monday, WednesdayLap Swim: 7 – 8:45 a.m.12 – 2:45 p.m.5:30 – 7:30 p.m.Recreational Swim:5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, ThursdayLap Swim:12 – 2 p.m.5 – 7:30 p.m. (Rec. andLap)

FridayLap Swim:7 – 8:45 a.m.12 – 2:45 p.m. (Rec. andLap)

Saturday, SundayLap Swim:11 – 2:45 p.m.Recreational Swim:12 – 2:45 p.m.

CARROL PAGE

HEATHER MCDANIEL

A protestor sits on top of a bus stop across from Oakland City Hall just before a peaceful crowd turnsviolent after Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter on July 8th.

Find more stories, photos, videos and live updates at www.thecampanil.com

Find more stories, photos, videos and live updates at www.thecampanil.com

Arts & Features44

A pair of adjoining moon-struck-gray walls hold 66 chloro-phyll prints on dried and pressedarrowhead-shaped leaves. Thevisual array is striking and reminis-cent of a biologist's plant collec-tion: each specimen flattened andisolated in deep space, ripe for indi-vidual scrutiny. The prints begin asmilitary camouflages and dissolveinto wispy, organic forms or hardeninto neat grids and pixels.

On the other side of the gallerylie works of art that, while differ-ent, are no less absorbing. A four-sided bureau of cardboard boxesstores fists of threads, strips of fab-ric and bundles of paper as ifpreparing materials for anotherproject. Nearby on the gallery floorare two coyotes, born from a mix-ture of aged and yellowed newspa-per, refurbished fake animal furs,threads and pins. One forms a cres-cent with its curving torso whilethe other huddles in a stiff posenear the wall.

Two artists' exhibits are occu-pying the Mills College ArtMuseum this fall semester, bisect-ing the gallery space into twohalves to visit ideas of the past andthe present using very distinctinroads. Both Vietnamese-born

artist Binh Danh's "CollectingMemories" and Mills MFA gradu-ate Kathryn Spence's "short sharpnotes, rolling or churring whistles,clear phrases," will be on show atthe museum until Dec. 12.

Through black-backed chloro-phyll prints framed in blackdaguerreotype on reflective metalplates, Vietnamese-born artistDanh presents a melange of vio-lence and texture. Danh shows astrong interest the history of theVietnam War and its effects onLaos, Cambodia and Vietnam,using a history to present his work.Daguerreotype, a technique devel-oped in the 1830's, was among thefirst methods of capturing a stillimage. The artist treats a reflectivemetal plate with a chemical formu-la, making it sensitive to light. Theartist then exposes the plate to thesubject before further chemicaltreatments solidify the image andthe artist frames the plate. Sincemany of Danh's images aredaguerreotypes, many imagesreflect the viewer like mirrors at adistance. Only when the viewersteps closer and occupies the imagemay she or he see the powerfulimages from the Vietnam War.

Danh's art focuses on the warbut also looks at present-daySoutheast Asia. One daguerreotypefrom a hotel lobby in Laos shows awall filled with posters depicting

cartoon children being blown apart,warnings against land-mines andbombs. Another daguerreotype dis-plays a row of heavy armedartillery leaning against a wall,illustrating that what happened inVietnam decades ago is still visibleand very tangible today.

That violence is even more pal-pable in Danh's photographs ofpresent-day Vietnam. One shot isparticularly captivating, it is clev-erly connected to the famous pho-tograph of a monk in Saigon wholit himself on fire in the middle ofthe street in protest of the war.Danh takes an interesting approachby photographing the car featuredin the back of the photograph. Thatsame car holds a framed copy ofthe original photo, ensuring that theobservant viewer may contextual-ize the image.

Kathryn Spence's exhibit focus-

es on a different kind of violence.By reusing what others considerwaste - fabric, newspapers and fakefurs, for example - Spence createssculptures and installations thatmimic the natural world in a the-atrical and abstract way.

Spence's pieces easily morphfrom the crisp and familiar to thevague and conceptual. In the exhib-it's title piece, a long series oflinked plywood frames and draw-ers carries deposits of fabrics andfigures made from a diverse list ofthings, among them sweaters, plas-tic, hairpins,beeswax, feath-ers, wire andswatches. Onfour woodenposts in the mid-dle of the pieceare two greathorned owls, theirwings fashioned fromnewspaper and toy fur.Given the sheer vari-ety of materials, thedegree of recognizabil-ity is striking.

Two other sculp-tures in anotherpiece depict a pairof coyotes, createdfrom the sameblend of recycledtextiles and paper.The wary postures

of the coyotes and the bric-a-bracconstruction style convey neglect,abuse or incompleteness.

Danh's and Spence's exhibitsoffer commentaries on human vio-lence. Danh reflects on images ofthe Vietnam War and illustrates itsmodern-day effects. Spence'sprodigal patterns of waste reflectthe natural world from which theystem. Both artists make a strongargument for reconsidering ourideas about violence as it occurs ona human and industrial level.

Both collections are on exhibitin the Mills CollegeArt Museum Aug.

21-Dec. 12. TheO p e n i n gReception is onAug. 25 from5:30-7:30 p.m.in the Danforth

Lecture Hall.

EElllleenn NNeewwttoonnCOPY EDITOR

Top: Artist Binh Danh’s “Military Foliage,” a textbook example of daguerreotype art. Middle Left: Artist Kathryn Spence created two horned owls with “waste,” such asnewspaper and toy fur. Middle Right: Danh’s photographs of present-day Vietnam with Life magazine clippings. Bottom Right: Spence’s coyote of textiles and paper.

ELLEN NEWTON

AA uu gg uu ss tt 22 55 ,, 22 00 11 00

Recycling history:Two artists repurpose the past

Both artists make astrong argument forreconsidering our ideasabout violence as itoccurs on a human andindustrial level.

Arts & Features 55

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NNiiccoollee VVeerrmmeeeerrDESIGN EDITOR

Meredith McDougald helps Aiyanna McDougald, 1, ride a merry-go-round at Children’s Fairyland.LAUREN MCDOUGALD

AA uu gg uu ss tt 22 55 ,, 22 00 11 00

A late summer day in Oakland...

WEEKEND STAY-CATION

NICOLE VERMEER

NICOLE VERMEER

Ting Ting, one of three Malaysian Sun Bears currently at the Oakland Zoo, plays in his hammock.

WHERE IT IS: On the Northside of Lake Merritt, at the edge ofLakeside Park.

WHY IT'S COOL: For anaffordable rate, you can rent vari-ous boats including paddle boats,kayaks, and sailboats. Life jacketsand other necessary gear areincluded in the rental price. Fromyour boat ride on the lake, you cansee many of Oakland’s historicalbuildings, including the PublicLibrary and Masonic Temple.

DON'T MISS: According to

Interim Maintenance CoordinatorAlex Johnson, the best time to gosailing on the lake is in the lateafternoon, when the wind picks up.He recommends the “Capri," a sail-boat which is ideal for beginners.Near the boat house is a wildliferefuge - the oldest in the country -that was designated in 1870,according to the City of Oaklandwebsite. After the boating, thenearby Lakeshore Drive and GrandAvenue are home to many locally-owned shops and eateries.

WHAT TO BRING: Leave

your costly electronics on theshore! Many are lost in the lake,according to Johnson. If you aregoing to be operating your ownboat, comfortable clothes are alsorecommended.

ADDRESS & COST: 568 Bellevue Avenue (Along Lake Merritt, shore of Lakeside Park)Oakland, CA 94610Phone (510) 238-2196, Hourly rentals range from $8 to $15.

WHERE IT IS: Near Mills in theEast Oakland Hills.

WHY IT'S COOL: The parkfocuses on wildlife conservation andrestoration through its educationalsigns that dot the paths. For example,in front of each cage there is a graphicstating the animals' endangered statusand sometimes notes taken by thekeepers on certain animals' behavior.

DON'T MISS: The featured exhib-it, "Wild Australia," which openedJuly 3 and runs all through the fall.Note that it's only accessible via theminiature train, which costs an addi-tional $3.00 with admission. Anotherextra thing to do that costs $3.00: theski lift that features a twenty-minuteaerial tour of the Zoo and an exclusiveview of the Bison Elk roaming theupper hillside.

WHAT TO BRING: Cash for theextra cost of rides, a bottle of sunblockand some good walking shoes.

EXACT ADDRESS & ADMIS-SION: The Oakland Zoo is located at9777 Golf Links Road off Highway580, which is accessible via ACTransit bus line 46, which transfersfrom line 57. The entrance fee is$12.50 for adults, $8.50 for childrenage 15 and under. Group discounts areavailable.

WHERE IT IS: Located on theLake Merritt Peninsula, near theLake Merritt Boathouse.

WHY IT'S COOL: Children’sFairyland is the first theme park inthe country dedicated exclusivelyto parents with small children.According to the Children’sFairyland website, the parkinspired many copies after it wasbuilt in the 1950’s, including WaltDisney's Disneyland. The park'srides and exhibits are scaled to fitthe average pre-schooler.According to the website, the parkfeatures the longest continually-running puppet theater in the coun-try, which recently celebrated its50th anniversary.

DON'T MISS: There areminiature rides, including a Ferriswheel and a train. There is also asmall petting zoo featuring guineapigs, donkeys and alpacas.

WHAT TO BRING: A child.Unfortunately for some Mills stu-dents, adults are only allowed inwith children, but if you are a par-ent, aunt, or godparent, or takecare of someone’s children formoney, Children’s Fairyland is theideal spot.

EXACT ADDRESS & COST:On the shore of Lake Merritt atGrand Avenue and Bellevue. Thecost is $7 for everyone, regardlessof age.

The Lake Merritt Boathouse

The Oakland Zoo

Children’s Fairyland

Ernest Hemingway

COME JOIN THE RANKS OF GREAT JOURNALISTS

Events & Information66 AA uu gg uu ss tt 22 55 ,, 22 00 11 00

Find more stories, photos, videos and live updates at www.thecampanil.com.

AUGUST 25 - SEPTEMBER 8

25Wednesday

28Saturday

29Sunday

27Fr iday

26Thursday

30Monday

Sistahs Steppin’ in PrideWhat: East Bay LesbianFestivalWhen: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.Where: Lake Merritt, 666Bellevue Ave.Contact: SistahsSteppin.org

Instruction Begins Toastmasters ReceptionWhen: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.Where: GSB 101 GatheringHallContact: Adrienne Burgha,(510) 430-2099

Roc-N-BowlWhat:Bowl for only $1.50per game.When:10 p.m.Where: Albany Bowl, 540San Pablo Ave.,AlbanyContact: (510) 526-8818

1Wednesday

Latina Heritage MonthKick-offWhen: 12 – 1 p.m.Where:Rothwell CenterContact: Vicki Wong, (510)430-2080

3Fr iday

Oakland Athletics v. LosAngeles AngelsWhen: 7:05 p.m.Where: Oakland - AlamedaCounty Coliseum

4Saturday

5Sunday

Oakland ChinatownStreetFestWhat: Festival in DowntownOaklandWhen: 10 a.m.– 5:30 p.m.Where: 11th St.

2Thursday

Jenny Lewis &Johnathan RiceWhen: 9 p.m.Where: Great AmericanMusic Hall, 859 O’Farrell St.,San FranciscoContact: musichallsf.com

6Monday

7Tuesday

8Wednesday

Children’s FairylandArts and CraftsWhen: 12 – 3 p.m.Where: Children’sFairylandContact: (510) 452-2259

Labor Day Holiday Guillermo Gomez-PenaWhat: Contemporary writ-ers seriesWhen: 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.Where: Mills HallContact: Stephanie Young,syoung@mills.edu

Last day to:Add a classIncrease course creditRegister for a course withan audit grade option

Elena DuranWhat: Concert celebratingLatina Heritage MonthWhen: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.Where: Student UnionContact: Jean Wong,(510) 430-2080

Joan Didion

Truman Capote

Hunter S. Thompson

Mark Twain

Stop by Rothwell room 157 Monday nights at

6pm to pick up stories and share ideas!

All majors wanted, no experience needed.

e-mail Tara Nelson: eic@thecampanil.com for more information

Lesbians of Color PeerGroupWhen: 7 – 9 p.m.Where: Pacific Center, 2712Telegraph Ave., BerkeleyContact: (510) 548-8283

31TuesdayAfternoon TeaWhat: Weekly tea gather-ingsWhen: 3 p.m.Where:Hillside Club, 2286Cedar St., Berkeley

After barely surviving a runfrom orientation to the M Canterto the library and finally to MillsHall, I am sitting here staring atmy computer and wondering whatexactly this fall semester is goingto bring. Aside from the obviousannoyances of too much home-work, too little time, quizzes,midterms, group projects andfinals, I wonder where my next“ah-ha” moments lie. Where will Ifind the hidden gems that theMills College experience deliverstime and time again? Which willbe most memorable and whichoutrageously random event willmake me sit back and say, “Damn,I’m so glad I did this.”

From new friendships that willform and last an eternity to realiz-ing the professors that make yourentire existence miserable aren’treally all that bad to changingmajors once, twice, or perhapsthree times, all will definitely earnyou tools that can help you build abeautiful future as a Mills woman.College, as trying as it is, alwayshas a way of making you realizeso much about yourself that youwould otherwise never know.

So whether you’re a newcom-er or a resumer, I think we shouldall brace ourselves for an interest-ing ride. And don’t worry toomuch, there’s only 111 days untilwinter break!

Opinions & Editorial 77AA uu gg uu ss tt 22 55 ,, 22 00 11 00

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The Campanil welcomes public commentary on subjects of interestto the campus community, as well as feedback on the paper itself.Submissions for Open Forum should be no more than 400 words.Letters to the editor should be no more than 150 words. Submissionsmay be edited for length and clarity.

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My non-career this sum-mer landed mea job as a waf-fle house wait-ress in myhometown ofH a m i l t o n ,Ohio, a positiononly slightlymore wholesome than last sum-mer's minimum-wage work selling"water pipes."

Luckily this year's employmentwas longer-lasting than my previ-ous serving job, at which I got firedwithin two hours. That's right. Two.It was a busy lunch rush, okay?Fortunately for me, at my new job Iworked the second shift - the slow-est at most Waffle Houses.

My most frequent customer waswhat is known in small-town dinermythology as "The Regular," orwhen there was more than one atonce, "The Coffee Drinkers." TheCoffee Drinkers are a strangespecies, but not without many pre-dictable and easily discerniblebehavior patterns. The Regularoften exhibits an unabashed senseof entitlement and is prone to nastyscenes such as banging an emptymug on the table, coupled withsuch brutish chants as, "Can I GetSome Service?" or in extremecases, "More Coffee, Wench!"

As you can imagine, I wasappalled by these displays from

what might otherwise be mistakenas full-grown, mature adults. Littledid I know, the plight of the wait-ress is fraught with such acts.

At my own Waffle House, ithung clearly in the breakroom.Notes to the cooks were free ofdiminutives, whereas all thoseaddressed to servers were headedwith a bold red "GIRLS," much tomy feminist chagrin.

Never did I think there wouldbe a time I longed to hear the"Strong Women, Proud Women"Mills chant, but there it was.Alas, amantra consisting of Rascal Flattsalbums mixed with the boom oforders being called (“Waffle onTwo, Make One Pecan”) was theonly one sounding off the yellowtile walls.

I knew I could count on thisfamiliar soundtrack, the appearanceand unruliness of The Regular, andfinally, the most dreaded compo-nent of any good serving job whenyou are but a young “Girl": TheLecherous Remark. In the case ofyounger suitors, we can refer tosimilar behavior as: The(Completely Uncalled For)Assumption of Dating Availability.

The underlying plot of both ismore or less PresumptuousImposition.These two things fre-quently deterred me from showingfriendly behavior or engaging inprolonged conversation with mycustomers. Thus I began to imple-ment a strict policy of The TwoSmile Rule. Breaking the TwoSmile Rule can quickly result inThe Boyfriend Question, so it is

crucial to keep it even, especiallyif, as in the following example, acustomer is inciting you to break itby repeatedly smiling.

After serving a father-and-sonduo their matching cheese-steakmelts, I noticed the son smiling soearnestly at me each time I glancedover that I couldn't help but smileback. Maybe he is a nice person, Ithought. Maybe he just likes smil-ing. I was wrong. “You have prettyeyes,” he whispered to me as Ipassed with a mountain of dishes.

“Why thank you sir!” Iexclaimed in an insane falsetto,preparing myself for my approach-ing refusal as I already knew theoutcome of this non-conversation.

The duo approached the regis-ter, the son now unable to wipe theincreasingly-confident grin fromhis face. Just as I predicted, he pro-ceeded to engage in the telltalesigns of a Lingerer. Now I wasgrinning back geniunely—truth betold, emasculating these men with aloud, firm “No Way” gave me quitethe sensation of vigor.

“So, do you have a boyfriend?”he queried eagerly, unaware of hisalready—failed Getting-LaidMission. Nope,” I replied, grinningright back still. If you knew howgay I was it would make your tinylittle head spin, my internal mono-logue chirped.

His face seemed ready to burstwith ecstasy, completely sure nowthat he had won me. I had noboyfriend! I must be just waitingfor him, my Waffle House PrinceCharming, to come along and ask

me on a cheap date. “Well, uh, doyou want my number then?”

“Nope.” My grin remained buthis face immediately fell flat. Myinternal monologue snickered.

“Uh. Wait, but you said youdon't have a boyfriend right?”Confusion clouded his face. If Ididn't have a boyfriend, how couldI reject his number?

“Yes. That's right. Definitely noboyfriend!” I said. Desperate forthe world to make sense again, hismalfunctioning gears shifted intoSystem Override.

“Well the thing is I don't have ajob right now. So my dad had topay. Or else I would have left you abetter tip.” I stared at the two dol-lars on the table. “That's okay.Have a good day!” The closeencounter of the predictable kindfinally ended as he trudged, com-pletely puzzled, out the door. Notall Presumptuous Exchanges willgo this smoothly.

Sometimes a PresumptuousExchange will occur even if youfollow the Two Smile Rule. In myhumble opinion, the best course ofaction to take is one in which hefeels unconsidered, looked-throughand dispensible - the kind of pre-sumptuous logic that paves the wayfor these disrespectful, invasiveconversations in the first place. Ofcourse, I would like to explain mydisdain to these unsavory cus-tomers, crushing their entitlementforever but, being just a “Girl,” thatmight not work. Maybe next year Iwill just crack down and enact theZero Smile Policy.

An Open Letter to Certain Waffle House PatronsMaya de Vertuil

GUEST COLUMNIST

Lauren SoldanoOPINIONS EDITOR

LAUREN SOLDANO

Meet the Press 88AA uu gg uu ss tt 22 55 ,, 22 00 11 00

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