Blog

08 Jan Tellurider Book Exchange

This past holiday season, Telluride members and a group of Michigan Branch alumni participated in an informal book exchange. If anyone is looking for a good read during this long winter, here are some ideas! Some of what was on L.L. Nunn's shelf, from the Deep...

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30 Aug Harry Clor (1929 – 2018), Liberal Educator

by Fred Baumann | August 31, 2018 Harry Clor, beloved professor of Political Science at Kenyon College, taught Telluride Summer Programs in 1975, 1979, 1985, 1995, and 1998. He died in 2018 and his friend and Kenyon colleague Fred Baumann CB62 TA64 wrote this moving tribute...

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15 Jul California Workers Have A Legal Right to Reasonable Seating

Editor's Note: Telluride welcomes blog submissions from associates about issues they care about and would like to share their personal perspectives on. By Annia Koroliak SP04 This week, news broke that grocery store workers in Southern California are preparing to strike. As these workers get ready to leverage...

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13 Mar Telluride Dreams

by Matthew Trail SP81 CB82 TA84 To my mild chagrin, I confess to having another dream about Telluride last night. As a long-time alum and current staffer, I probably shouldn’t be surprised that Telluride haunts some of my sleeping as well as waking hours, and I...

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12 Feb 50 Years Ago in the Telluride Newsletter

by Matthew Trail SP81 CB82 TA84 Reading old Telluride Newsletters often affords interesting perspectives on commonalities—and differences—with the Telluride of today.  The March 1969 issue is no different! Here are a few highlights. We invite you to click on the link and take a walk back in...

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29 Nov Nunn on the Moon

by Matthew Trail SP81 CB82 TA84 [caption id="attachment_3660" align="alignright" width="256"] NASA photo, via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] It turns out that Deep Springs is not the only arid, dusty valley memorialized by a Nunn. Joseph Nunn, who was L.L. Nunn’s nephew and a CBTA member in the 1920s (and...

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21 Nov Learning Millions

by Grace Wang MB18 I wasn’t a foreigner to the number of zeroes on the Excel spreadsheet… the summer before, I had interned at a hedge fund and gotten used to how the word “millions” could be casually thrown around. However, for the first time, I...

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09 Nov Board Games

by Puneet Singh MB16 TA17 The Board of Custodians met for their quarterly meeting and conducted some on-site Manager visits in beautiful Boston this weekend. Currently, one of the major issues that is on everyone’s mind is how to incorporate our values as an Association to...

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30 Oct Ithaca is Gorges–And So Is Telluride

by Matthew Trail SP81 CB82 TA84 The Fall Creek and Cascadilla Creek gorges flanking Cornell University’s campus are a signature attraction for visitors, and have also been popular destinations for generations of Cornell branchmembers, TASPers, and TASSers. Perhaps lesser known to outsiders, Cornell Branch has its...

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24 Oct Brexit means…?

Thoughts from a Pubspeak at the Michigan Branch by Jess Allen MB18 [caption id="attachment_3589" align="alignleft" width="225"] Jess Allen in Potsdam, Germany age 17 in 2011 at an international summer school[/caption] This was a difficult question to answer, because with under six months before the United Kingdom is scheduled...

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10 Oct Don’t Touch My Hair!

Historical Perspectives and Current Trends for Black Hair By Aixa Marchand MB17 & Natasha Johnson MB16 Slides, notes, music and videos from a PubSpeak at MBTA on September 27, 2018.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTtrnDbOQAU       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QhOoanzh60     https://tnj.com/black-hair-business/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYarYhKa9c https://www.facebook.com/theRoot/videos/1820640728053129/?hc_ref=ARRU4AFJ_DN5HL3Ygi6HBEyIUVjrenS22-cREy-dUFCQTeJOwoRqwXI_t95eZkV1mvU...

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03 Oct American Football – Are All Players Doomed?

Some facts and discussion about concussions in contact sports (Afterthoughts from a Pubspeak at MBTA on September 13, 2018) By Marianna Coulentianos MB17 After watching the movie "Concussion" in which Will Smith plays the role of Dr Omalu, the doctor who discovered CTE, a condition where protein accumulates...

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26 Sep Tell Us Your Dream TASS or TASP Seminar Topic

[caption id="attachment_3501" align="alignright" width="215"] The 1974 Cremona Field TASP living up to its name[/caption] by Matthew Trail SP81 CB82 TA84 Two hundred and twenty-five TASPs have been held since 1954, and 54 TASSes since 1993, covering an extremely broad range of topics in the liberal arts. Indeed,...

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13 Sep Tellurider Chronicles “Greatest Statue Never Built” in New Book

By Jess Falcone CB04 TA07 [caption id="attachment_3447" align="aligncenter" width="689"] Battling the Buddha of Love: A Cultural Biography of the Greatest Statue Never Built[/caption]   My book, Battling the Buddha of Love: A Cultural Biography of the Greatest Statue Never Built, has just been published by Cornell University Press....

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06 Sep New Semester, New Michigan Branch

by Puneet Singh MB16 TA17 This Labor Day weekend, MBTA began its yearly operations welcoming 23 students and 3 faculty guests. Eleven of the students are new, while 12 of them are returning to the house from last year. Three of the current housemembers are summer...

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29 Aug You Never Know Who You’ll Meet…

by Matthew Trail SP81 CB82 TA84 [caption id="attachment_3426" align="alignright" width="225"] Many roads lead to Telluride, including this freshly paved one.[/caption] Preparing the logistics for Telluride’s summer programs entails a lot of different tasks, from creating contracts to ordering books and…buying extra sheets. Telluride’s Administrative Director Ellen Baer...

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22 Aug Staffing TASP 2018: An Experience From the Side

by Anmol Kabra CB17 [caption id="attachment_3413" align="alignright" width="380"] TASPers hanging out on at a summer concert on Cornell's Arts Quad one Friday evening. TASPers loved Ithaca sunsets and would often go to Cornell's slope an hour before the sunset to catch the colorful skies.[/caption] Just until 3...

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16 Aug Reflections of a Former Refugee Resettlement Caseworker

by Chris Opila MB17 Editor's Note: In our Spring 2018 Newsletter, Michael Becker SP08 TA13, wrote about Telluriders  working in the area of immigrant rights. You can read the article here. Post publication, we reached out to Michigan Branch member Chris Opila, who is a JD...

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26 Jul Moving Towards Less Meat Consumption

By Joaquin Brito Jr. CB17 TA18 [caption id="attachment_3385" align="alignright" width="300"] CBTA Dining Area[/caption] As the climate continues to change, how we transform ourselves, our communities, and society towards sustainable practices will be a hot (pun intended) topic of conversation. Last year at CBTA, we continued engaging in...

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Poster for State, designed by Austin Dunbar.

19 Jul Urban Appalachian Oratorio

by Nate May MB07 In April 2014 I was working as a high school math teacher in Fayette County, West Virginia, when I accepted an offer to begin a master’s degree in music composition in the coming fall at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. I...

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12 Jul Apples

by Marina Tinone SP15 TA17 They were pretty. The little red flowers, all bunched together. The apartment window open, and the light coming through. I watered the flowers. And I thought that if Grandma were the one watering them, she would be singing. So, I sang the...

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05 Jul The L.L. Nunn Limited Liability Corporation (LLN LLC): A FAQ

By Ave Leslie SP00 TA06 The following is my personal understanding of the history and current status of the LLN LLC, based on interviews and documentary research. Given the complexity and controversy of this topic, alternative perspectives and disagreement probably are inevitable. I welcome your corrections,...

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22 Jun Convention 2018: Innovation and Hard Work, Plus Fun

By Michael Becker SP08 TA13 This past weekend, Telluride Association members and associates gathered in Ithaca, New York, for the 107th annual Convention. At this annual meeting, we evaluate the success of our programs and committees throughout the year, make decisions on major policy and spending...

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13 Jun Telluriders Abroad

by Matthew Trail Over the last 100 years, the Telluride Newsletter has regularly featured letters and articles from its overseas associates. From the croquet lawns of Oxford to Mussolini’s Italy and the Biafran War, Telluriders have brought their insights, humor, and critical eye to their experiences—and...

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23 May Deep Springs College Online Digital Archive, a Great Nunnian Resource

This week's blog features Deep Springs College's online digital collection of nearly 1,000 photos relating to the College. Many photographs feature Telluride alumni as well, of course, reflecting the (variously) close ties between the two Nunnian institutions over their more than 100 years of shared history. Online...

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17 May Ridley Jones SP05 MB06 TA08 shares her poetry

by Ridley Jones SP05 MB06 TA08 __________ Seattle Freeze Beneath the sky's furrowed brow Furtive rivulets of we disappear And the mountains lay down Their daily burden   _________ Autumn Song Slide with me, world, dark and gentle Fall through me, time, swift and lovely In dying days I lift my eyes, I fill them up With warm...

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09 May Oddities from the Archives

by Matthew Trail SP81 CB82 TA84 Telluride Association's history is rich with colorful characters, interesting traditions, and great stories. In today's blog, we feature just a few of the interesting photos from our archives...

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House meeting at CBTA

03 May CBTA Hosts Retreat of Nunnian Institutions

by Jess Falcone CB04 TA07 photos by Puneet Singh MB16 TA17 [caption id="attachment_3217" align="alignleft" width="300"] Jess Falcone CB04 TA07 makes a comment as Alexandra Medzibrodszky CB17 looks on[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3215" align="alignleft" width="300"] CBTA faculty guest Matteo Magarotto CB16 introduces a classical music concert[/caption]                 The first Nunnian Weekend ran from...

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26 Apr Membership: A Telluride Educational Program of Its Own

by Michael Becker SP08 TA13 With our annual Convention approaching, Telluride Association is once again recruiting alumni of our programs interested in applying for membership on our Board of Directors. TA members serve on TA committees throughout the year and attend an annual Convention each June....

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Fall Colors at MBTA

04 Apr I Am From: An Ode to the Telluride House by Emily Lawsin

A 10-minute Free-Writing Poetry Workshop with Telluride & GEAR-UP Ypsilanti © by Emily P. Lawsin I am from The paneled library with its George Nelson lamps Warmed by the grand piano next door, and eclectic books donated from graduating seniors; An army of stubborn ants crawling up the first floor...

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22 Mar 50 Years Ago in the Telluride Newsletter

50 Years Ago in the Telluride Newsletter: Past Telluride Newsletters are often a fascinating window into both the history of Telluride Association and the wider currents of social and political issues of the day. The November 1968 issue is a great example of both. Interspersed with chatty,...

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14 Mar Recipe for Chinese Scallion Pancakes

On Mar 6, 2018, MBTA housemembers enjoyed a PubSpeak by Allina Chang (MB'17) on Chinese Food and Cooking. As part of the PubSpeak, she taught housemembers how to make Chinese Scallion Pancakes (Vegan) and Steamed dumplings. Anthony Zheng (MB'17) was her sous chef for the...

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07 Mar Telluriders in Music

Music—both its performance and study—has been a topic of great interest to many Telluriders over the years (it is no accident that one of Cornell Branch’s public rooms is known as the “Music Room,” nor that music is a frequent topic of TASS and TASP...

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21 Feb Eyes on a Changing World: Three Poems by Pepper Trail

by Pepper Trail CB72 TA73 SYLLABUS FOR THE WARMING WORLD Teach me now the epistemology of melt The inflexible rules of liquefaction How broad white glaciers, bovine and calm Drop their slippery calves into the sea How ice, crystalline and blue, can rot Pock, crack, fissure, flow Send secret rivers twisting beneath...

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24 Jan 1962: Civil Rights and Black Power at CBTA

By Michael Becker [caption id="attachment_3004" align="alignleft" width="451"] James Farmer (far left), director of Congress on Racial Equality, addresses the audience at the Cornell debate, as moderator Rev. Paul L. Jacquith, director of CURW, and Malcolm X (far right) of the Nation of Islam look on. Used...

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15 Dec An Emblem for the Association

The excerpts below refer to a very early effort on the part of Telluride Association to develop an emblem for itself. The effort was “crowd-sourced,” and generated a fair amount of discussion. Apparently, however, the early efforts led to naught… From 1912 Proceedings, pp. 23-24. Mr. Ray...

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29 Nov The Active vs. Passive Investment Debate

Anthony W. Mariano The Telluride Association’s Investment Policy Statement, passed at the 2016 Convention dictates that our investment strategy “will utilize both passively and actively managed investments.” A later section states: “The asset allocation will be implemented using both active and passive investment managers. Highly efficient...

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22 Nov Uteruses Too Loyal – An Essay by Ann Cheng

We drove twelve hours across four states and stopped to pee seven times. We smiled secretly at each other when I turned down champagne at the wedding and sucked it in for photos. When my brother-in-law threw up because he drank too much I felt...

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15 Nov Past Summer Programs

Has Telluride Ever Hosted Summer Programs at Stanford University? Yes! Telluride has sponsored TASPs at 15 different sites since 1954, and TASS at 3. Here’s the list: TASP: Cornell: 1954 – Deep Springs College: 1957-60, 1969-73, 1978-90 Stanford: 1961-62 Princeton: 1963-66 Hampton University: 1966-70 Cremona Field TASP:...

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Tiffany Yizer

08 Nov Alumni Profile: Tiffany Yizar

In our Alumni Profile series, we'll be sitting down with Telluride alumni from a wide variety of fields who are making their mark on their profession and their communities. For our inaugural interview, we sat down with Tiffany Yizar, SS01 SP02. Tiffany holds a bachelor's...

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