On The Quads

Progressive government
This October welcomed the new bicameral Student Government (SG) structure voted in last March. The Graduate Coordinating Council and the College Council will convene once a quarter to discuss university-wide issues but will function as independent units. Dividing SG into two houses allows representatives to focus on issues directly affecting students in their respective programs, says former SG president Andy Hong, '01. The first College Council president is Philip Venticinque, '01.

Political pundits
PBS's Washington Week in Review was filmed on campus October 21 and co-hosted by David Broder, AB'47, AM'51, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post. Among the 985 attendants at the live taping in Mandel Hall were 271 students, including three from the College who posed questions on the presidential election.

Broadening horizons
The latest destination for jet-setting Maroons is Cape Town, South Africa. Beginning this winter, students may fulfill their civilization requirement with a new African-studies curriculum in the seaside resort. Enrolled in classes at the Bo Kaap Museum, 24 students will take courses on precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial African history. Beginning in winter 2001, students will take an introductory course in Zulu while abroad.

Scientific succession
Simon Swordy, professor in physics, follows Sidney Nagel, the Louis Block professor in physics, as master of the Physical Sciences Collegiate Division. Swordy's goals for his three-year term include connecting College concentrators to research labs and reaching out to nonmajors to underscore the value of the hard sciences in an interdisciplinary education.