Big Man on Campus - Moravian College

out&about
Online Journals Offer Inside Stories
HAPPENING . . .
May 12
Commencement
photos by John Kish iV
America’s sixth-oldest college concludes
its 265th academic year.
“I wouldn’t include a tirade about the three
sleepless nights in a row I spent studying for
finals,” says Rachel Beard, a freshman music
education major. “But at the same time, I like
to present life at Moravian as it is. I won’t
spin a tale that college life is a cakewalk.”
She’s not talking about e-mail, or something
as antiquated as a snail-mailed letter. Beard
chronicles her Moravian College experi-
ence every week on the College’s website.
Each diary entry includes musings on recent
events—anything from a master class with
jazz trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis to Hal-
loween ghost hunting on south campus—and
a few snapshots.
Weekly glimpses into the lives of
Moravian students, provided by Rachel and
six other volunteers, were initiated by the
College’s Admissions Office in September
2006. The journals are intended to give pro-
spective students a sense of what it’s like to
attend Moravian College. The idea seems like
a natural for a generation that’s into blogs,
MySpace, and other forms of online journal-
ing, says assistant director of admissions
Amy Weiss. “The students want to share their
experiences,” says Weiss, “and we think that
because the information is coming from the
students, it’s particularly valuable.”
Rachel agrees. “Reading a journal like
this would have been a great aid when I was
looking at colleges,” she says. “You’re told
so much about schools and campus life, but
these journals are a real behind-the-scenes
peek.” Because today’s media-savvy teens
can easily spot marketing hype, a key strat-
egy is to let the students write what they
want, says Weiss. “If they had a bad week,
they’re free to go ahead and say they had
a bad week. We want the entries to be real
and true, and from their point of view.” The
journal entries and photographs are posted
at www.moravian.edu/journals.
Above left: Moravian student diarists Rachel Beard
’10 (top), Lindsey Rice ’08, Andrew Piccone ’08
May 18-19
Alumni Weekend
this year’s itinerary includes a tour of historic
buildings in Bethlehem.
MORAVIAN COLLEGE MAGAZINE WINTER 2007
GuEStSPEAKING
Making
Connections
tomorrow’s all well and good, but what about the next day? In a lecture
titled “Staying Ahead: Innovation for the day after tomorrow,” visiting
speaker James Burke showed how understanding technological
innovations of the past helps predict social changes of the future. the
science historian and author, famous for his PBS series Connections,
also demonstrated his Knowledge Web, a computer-based interactive
tool that creates visual links between diverse people, places, and things
throughout history. the K-web, as it’s also called, will allow knowledge
seekers to explore information that’s connected in an almost infinite
number of ways. Such connections are often unexpected: start at
earth-orbits-the-sun astronomer Nicholas Copernicus and you may end
up with Mexican general and dictator Santa Anna (who also happens
to be the person credited with introducing chewing gum to the united
States). Burke’s visit marked the 23rd year of the College’s Cohen Arts
and lectures Series, which has brought guests as varied as Burl Ives,
Kurt Vonnegut, and Jimmy Carter to the Moravian campus. “Everybody
and everything is interconnected,” says Burke. “And because of that,
every one of us, whoever we are, contributes in some way. Nobody is
just a nobody.”
photo by John Kish iV
Master Planners
WINTER 2007 MORAVIAN COLLEGE MAGAZINE
photo by John Kish iV
Some married couples can’t decide where to go for dinner without getting
into a 4-alarm argument. But Cy (’65) and Brenda Krajci seem able
to work shoulder to shoulder all day and come up smiling. As co-chairs
of the committee for the April 2007 inauguration of Moravian College
president Christopher Thomforde, the pair grapple with conundrums
like whether a fireworks display can be held if it rains, or how to make
sure the post-inauguration dinner dance is lively. (The answers: it can,
and invite students.) The opportunities for communication are that much
more plentiful when you share an address as well as an office, says Cy.
“Just this morning, we were talking about the event budget over breakfast,”
he adds. Among the other events the pair has lined up for inauguration
weekend (April 20-22) are a Moravian Mile parade and a combined
worship service at Central Moravian Church. Expect to see plenty of
Moravian student involvement, too, including performances by student
bands, and displays by student academic and community service groups.
“We have great students here,” Brenda says, “and getting to know them is
what it’s all about.”