TalkLeft: Blogging the Miami Debate, written by a UM student living in the dorms.
A little taste:
Secret Service will be searching my apartment and the apartments surrounding the Convocation Center on Thursday morning, so I have to wake up early so they can do their jobs; but with my paranoia I'm taking my lap top and all personal documents out of my room just because well, that's just me.
Since basically none of us can get tickets to attend the debate being held here on campus Thursday night — all the tickets go to the press, except for a handful that go to students — it might as well be happening on Mars…except for the fact that we get three emails a day warning about Draconian security measures and a ban on parking on this side of the State line.
The Miami Herald pretty much captures the exicted atmosphere on campus in the first paragraphs of today's front-page story, Security is tight on a laid-back campus (obnoxious reg. req):
Security at the University of Miami tightened Monday as the presidential debate loomed: Barricades and fences appeared. Police cars prowled back roads. Students were warned to wear IDs around their necks — or face being booted off campus.
And, yet, there was undergrad Amy Pearlman, at the lip of a campus lake, sitting on a blue towel in her bathing suit, brow furrowed, studying a psychology textbook.
Her student ID? It was in her purse.
“I didn't want to get a tan line,” she said, shrugging.
In addition to this pix of a typical student, hard at work studying, please note, the Herald provides a link to the UM student debate blog … which seems slashdotted at the moment.
The Herald has two puffy but not inaccurate articles about how UM snagged the first presidential debate, and what it hopes to get out of it.
The University of Miami Libraries and the School of Communications are sponsoring a live Webcast from the UM Convocation Center of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's speech A Human Approach to World Peace beginning at 3 p.m. today. Visit www.miami.edu/dalailama.
Snippet from Official Email in my inbox:
As a security measure, the University has decided that from Monday, September 27 through Thursday, September 30, all faculty, administration, staff, and students must wear their University ID while on campus.
This is the announcement the University has made, on [URL]:
“All University of Miami faculty members, staff, and students will be required to wear their UM identification ('Cane Card) at all times while on the Coral Gables campus from Monday, September 27, through Thursday, September 30. Faculty, staff, and students without proper identification may be stopped by security personnel and asked to leave campus. Faculty, staff, and students who do not have a 'Cane Card are strongly urged to obtain one now in Allen Hall, Room 111.
“There is no charge for an initial 'Cane Card. If you have lost your 'Cane Card, a replacement costs $15. Lanyards will be distributed at various locations on campus, including University of Miami parking garages, parking lots, the food court, and events attended by UM faculty, staff, and students. In addition, individual University departments and divisions also will distribute lanyards with plastic holders to employees. “
You should also check [another URL] for additional information.
From which I conclude two things. First, the media/blog hoo-ha about how GW hasn't agreed to any debates yet is a waste of time. He's coming. Second, this will be a good week to work at home.
Jason Wolf asks whether the fourth floor of the UM law library is haunted:
i think the fourth floor of the library is haunted. my proof is that i hear eerie music at strange times (like when no one else is up there except me) and it seems to be coming from the walls or the air. i’m not the only one who hears it, either. at first i thought it was someone’s computer, but it’s not.
Bricks on the Brain is dubious, but asks why the law library is so utilitarian, lacking the “hardwood floors or lush carpets, hardwood shelves, brass door handles, ornate light fixtures, portraits of prominent alumni, etc..” that he thinks raise the tone and are conducive to long hours of studying.
These are both good questions.
The law library looks Spartan because it was built with a firm eye on the bottom line. Doing it plush would have cost three or more times as much. That money would have had to come from somewhere. It couldn't come from the endowment, because there just isn't that much endowment. It couldn't come from tuition, because that's already too high. It couldn't come from crowding in more students, because we want smaller classes not larger ones. And it didn't come from donations, because no one gave us the many extra millions that would have been needed. So to “Bricks” I say — you're right, that would have been nice. If you strike it big in your law career, we'll still be here.
On the haunting question, I'd be perfectly prepared to believe that Soia Mentschikoff stalks the halls, especially the fourth floor which is where her most stalwart fans have their offices. But I can't figure out why she'd play music. Dropping something on you to get your attention might be more her style. Could it be the UM marching band rehearsing outside? Also, keep in mind that sound travels well through the floors. When the faculty member with an office under mine plays his CDs lound, I hear them.
Jotwell Blenderlaw