Upper middler Ivory Zhu recently qualified for the 2016 US Math Olympiad (USAMO). Nearly 200,000 students from across the United States sat for the first round contest, which consisted of 25 multiple choice questions, to be completed in 75 minutes.  Of those students, approximately 6,000 were invited to compete in second round, Ivory among them. The second qualifying round, the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME), featured 15 free-response questions, to be completed within a three-hour window.  After two rounds, Ivory was one of only 270 high school students to emerge from the original field of 200,000 with an invitation to participate in the USAMO, a two-day mathematics marathon.

“In the last decade, Taft students have written 12 USAMO contests,” notes math teacher Ted Heavenrich.  “The great, great majority of US high schools have administered zero USAMO contests over the last 50 years.”

And the academic accolades continue to add up. Team Red Rhinos logged an impressive finish in The Purple Comet! Math Meet, an online, team mathematics competition attracting thousands of middle and high school students from around the globe. Held each year since 2003, this year's competition attracted teams from more than 40 states and 55 countries. From Azerbaijan to Bangladesh, and Honduras to Kazakhstan, teams worked together to solve 30 challenging math problems. The results, announced this week, showed Taft's Red Rhinos in a tie for fourth place with 28 correct answers, behind three schools who tied for the top spot by correctly answering 29 of the 30 questions.

“This is a team competition, so success depends on accurate self-knowledge,” explained Heavenrich. “Who can tackle which type of problem, and who should take on the toughest problems?  The students delegated the responsibilities quickly and well.”

The competitive field is divided by school size. The Red Rhinos were pitted against 667 small (enrollment under 1,200) high schools worldwide. The team narrowly beat out prep school rivals Andover and Northfield Mount Hermon; their margin of victory over the teams from St. Paul's and Hotchkiss was considerably larger.

Taft will celebrate its 126^th Commencement on Sunday, May 29, 2016.

     A welcome from Headmaster William R. MacMullen ’78 and full details about the weekend are available on the Parents pages of the website. 

     Retiring faculty member Linda Saarnijoki will serve as Commencement speaker for the Class of 2016.

     “Taft has a long tradition of having a member of the Taft "family"--a parent or teacher--offer the Commencement address, and it is a wonderful tradition, one that speaks to how close this community is,” said MacMullen. “I spoke of Ms. Saarnijoki on Parents Day, sharing that it was hard to imagine someone who has served this school with more dedication, passion and caring. Her impact on the history of this school has been enormous.”

      A graduate of Middlebury (BA) and Columbia (MA), Ms. Saarnijoki has been an English teacher, coach, advisor, class dean, director of professional growth, dean of faculty, NEASC self-study coordinator, director of the library, and department chair during her 40 years at Taft.

      “When Taft needed something done, and done well, she was the person the school inevitably turned to,” notes MacMullen. “She also fundamentally shaped and bettered our school's culture, by deepening and broadening the ways faculty were mentored and given leadership opportunities. And, of course, she has been an amazing advisor, model and friend to hundreds of students and teachers, a woman who has inspired all of us.”

View the Alumni Weekend 2016 photo gallery.  (Watch for photos from off-campus class gatherings later this week.)

More than 600 alumni, friends, and family came to Taft May 19-21 for Alumni Weekend 2016. Tafties came to Watertown from all corners of the globe to reflect, remember, and celebrate their collective histories at Taft.

The festivities began on  Thursday with the Class of 1966 joining for their 50th Reunion Dinner, and the Class of 1956 doing the same for their 60th.

On Friday, Tafties gathered for an early morning alumni golf outing, attended open classes across disciplines, and gathered for a few class luncheons and the Old Guard Luncheon before the annual Service of Remembrance. The Horace D. Taft Alumni Medal was awarded to Andy Taylor '72 during Friday's Old Guard Dinner.

Alumni went “Back to Class” on Saturday, marched in the traditional Alumni Parade, played soccer, cheered on current students on the playing field, and enjoyed an organ concert in Woodward Chapel. The weekend wrapped up with a picnic at the headmaster's home and additional reunion class gatherings.

For more photographs from the weekend, including reunion class photos, visit http://www.taftphotos.com/Alumni-Weekend-2016

     Congratulations to Donna Henry Cryer ’88, Taft’s newest Alumna Trustee. Donna was elected through through a balloting process open to all Taft alumni.

     Donna came to Taft in 1983 as a lower mid day student from Waterbury, CT. Taft allowed her to explore a range of diverse activities, from dancing on the Bingham Auditorium stage and singing in the chorus, to acting in the Black Box Theater and playing varsity softball. However, it was the many English classes with Steve Schieffelin, who also served as her advisor and softball coach, that helped her to find her voice and laid the groundwork for her future career as a lawyer and advocate. Penny Townsend and Señor Hector Pagan helped her translate that voice into Spanish.

     After graduation, Donna matriculated at Harvard/Radcliffe, where she graduated with a degree in Government. After working on several successful political campaigns, Donna moved to Washington, DC, and worked with the League of Women Voters’ Rock the Vote initiative and other voting rights efforts. Donna subsequently enrolled in the then-experimental interdisciplinary legal curriculum section at the Georgetown University Law Center, where she served on one of the law journals, produced seminal work on protecting children on the Internet through the Institute for Public Representation (later recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice), and served as president of the Student Bar Association.

     While at Georgetown, Donna required a liver transplant to address an autoimmune condition she had been diagnosed with as a teenager. Since that time, she has embraced the Taft motto by channeling her personal experience as an IBD and liver transplant patient into professional advocacy as founder, president, and chief executive officer of the Global Liver Institute, the innovation and collaboration platform for the liver community. 

     Donna was the first patient to lead the American Liver Foundation in its thirty six-year history, serving as chair and chief executive officer. She also led CryerHealth, a healthcare consulting firm providing strategic counsel to top biopharmaceutical companies, patient advocacy organizations, and emerging technology firms on patient engagement in health information technology, drug discovery, and clinical decision making. 

     Donna has been appointed to the Pan American Health Organization/WHO Technical Expert Panel on Viral Hepatitis; to the US Government Accountability Ofiice’s Health Information Policy Committee as the patient and consumer representative; to the federal advisory body to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; and is serving her second, five-year term with the US Food and Drug Administration. Among her many appointments, Donna also serves on the Executive Committee of the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research; the Boards of Directors of the Society for Participatory Medicine and the Personalized Medicine Coalition; and as a member of Stakeholder Advisory Group to the National Institutes of Health Learning Health System Research Collaboratory, to name a few.

     Donna lives in Washington, DC with her husband, Dr. Dennis Cryer, and their two Yorkies, Charlotte and Victoria. She also adores her three fabulous children by marriage.

Each summer, Taft students and faculty prepare for the coming school year by reading a book chosen by a committee composed of both students and faculty. This all-school reading selection acts a shared experience to build community and foster discussion at the beginning of the academic year. This year the Summer Reading Committee has chosen All American Boys, a 2016 Coretta Scott King Author Honor book, and recipient of the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature. Authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely will visit Taft on October 4, 2016 to continue discussion of the book and its themes with Taft students and faculty.

All American Boys is the story of two teens—one black, one white—dealing with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension. Reynolds and Kiely wrote the book in tandem, telling the story through the alternating perspectives of the two main characters, Rashad and Quinn.

All American Boys has been hailed by author Matt de la Pena as “a first rate exploration of one of the most important issues of the day…” Author Laurie Halse Anderson notes that the book is “life-changing, nation-changing,” and “written with fire and love and courage.”

In addition to reading All American Boys, each Taft student is asked to read a second book chosen from the list of selections offered by individual Taft faculty and staff. 

View the full list of Summer Reading options.

About the Authors

After earning a B.A. in English from The University of Maryland, College, Mr. Reynolds received critical acclaimed for his novel, When I Was the Greatest, for which he was the recipient of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent.

Mr. Kiely received his M.F.A. from the City College of New York. His debut novel, The Gospel of Winter, was selected as one of the American Library Association’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults titles of 2015 and was a Kirkus Reviews selection for Best Teen Books of 2014

The hard work Sarah Surber’s students put into their spring term dance classes was on display this week during Taft’s annual Spring Dance Showcase.

     “I was so struck by the variety of genres represented in the Showcase,” said Surber. “Each student chose the style of the piece they performed themselves, which allowed their voices to be heard even more clearly.”

     The varied genres, Surber notes, which included including tap, swing, and ballet, made the Showcase even more fun to watch.

      “Students give it their all; they are organized, professional, and bring so much energy to the process. I’m very proud.”

      For a number of students, the Showcase marked their last performance on the Taft stage.

      “Allison Hsu and Kayla Kim have been very active members of the dance classes and ensemble for four years, so it was a very special night for them,” said Surber. “Seniors Emily Axelberg, Will Dittrich, Emily Simard, Miah Vargas, Pam Armas, and Makari Chung also performed at Taft for the last time during the Spring Showcase. Congratulations to them all.”

Watch the Spring Dance Showcase video.

View a photo gallery from the show. 

     "Everywhere you go this campus is filled with the highest level of achievement," said Headmaster Willy MacMullen '78 at the opening of the annual Upper Mid Awards Ceremony. Prizes were awarded for achievement in the classroom, in service to the community, and for leadership in campus life during the Upper Mid event. Athletic achievement was celebrated in a separate ceremony.

Watch the full awards ceremony here.

Watch the Spring Athletics Awards here.

Congratulations to all the honorees.

Led by Reverend Dr. Robert Ganung, a small but sincere group of students met by the World War II Memorial in Lincoln Lobby on Monday to remember those who gave their lives for their country, and who served with courage and strength.

Andrea Gura '19  shared a scripture reading and a Memorial Day litany, while Lauren Berray '17 read the traditional Memorial Day poem, In Flanders Field.  Other tributes included: Whit Yerkes '18 reading A Soldiers Plight; Rev. Ganung reflecting on the meaning of Memorial Day; Juste Siminauskaite '17 with President Obama's Memorial Day declaration; a musical performance of a Canadian song of remembrance, "Pittance of Time," by Ben Gallant '18; and a Memorial Day responsive reading by Lauren Fadiman '17.

MARION HOLE MAKEPEACE AWARD

Ai Thi Minh Bui

May Inductions:                                                                                                                                 

Kimberly Vanessa Amelsberg

Emma Lindsey Belak

Catherine Lynn Bogolawski

Tyler Matthew Dullinger

Caroline Mandeville Elliott

Yaman Ege Ercan

Jon Becker Ewing

Thomas Paul MacMullen

Margaret Bryce McNeill

Joshua Shields Molder

Camila Papadopoulo

Carter McKean Taft

Nikhil Sobieraj Wadhwa

Hannah Catherine Babcock White

Paige Brewster Whittemore

Yuting Wu

OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

HARRY W. WALKER ’40 "NON UT SIBI" AWARD

The "Non ut Sibi" Award, given by Harry W. Walker, Class of 1940, goes to that senior whose service and work outside of Taft best exemplifies the School's motto.

Amanda Snow Roberts

Carter McKean Taft

Hannah Kathryn Wilczynski

HEMINWAY MERRIMAN AWARD

The Heminway Merriman Award, given by the friends and family of Junie Merriman, Class of 1930, is awarded to those young men whose gentle concern for others best reflects the qualities of Junie Merriman.

Robert August Dettmann

Chandler Wallin Houldin

Kanin Nandabhiwat

BERKLEY F. MATTHEWS ’96 AWARD

Given by family and friends in memory of Berkley F. Matthews, Class of 1996, this award recognizes those young women whose loyalty, concern for others, and gentleness captures the remarkable spirit of Berkley Matthews.

Pamela Soledad Armas

Ai Thi Minh Bui

Katherine Mary Tewksbury

CLASS OF 1981 AWARD

In recognition of students who during their time at Taft have displayed exceptional personal growth and perseverance. 

Aaron O'Neal Dillard

Margaret Bryce McNeill

Johnathan Hartley Morgart

SALUTATORIAN

With an unweighted senior year average of 95.71, and a weighted senior year average of 100.71

 Leon Alexander Vortmeyer

VALEDICTORIAN

With an unweighted senior year average of 95.75, and a weighted senior year average of 100.75

 Brian Alexander Tomasco

JOSEPH I. CUNNINGHAM AWARD

This award honors Joseph I. Cunningham, a member of The Taft School faculty for thirty‑nine years. The award is presented to the seniors who, in the opinion of the Headmaster and faculty, have worked selflessly for the betterment of the entire Taft School community. 

Madeline Rose Leidt

Thomas Paul MacMullen

Amanda Snow Roberts

AURELIAN AWARD

This award is offered at several preparatory schools by The Aurelian Honor Society of Yale to that senior who, in the opinion of faculty and classmates, is outstanding in sterling character, high scholarship, and forceful leadership.

Kayla Marie Kim

1908 MEDAL

This award is made each year to that member of the Senior class whose influence has done most for the School.

Manuel Vincent Capece

Caroline Mandeville Elliott

Taft students took home several prizes during the 2016 Halo Awards. Sponsored by Waterbury’s Seven Angels Theatre, the Halo Awards celebrate the best in Connecticut high school theater. More than 40 awards were presented to nominees from 64 high schools.

Kaedi Dalley ’18 was named Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray. Producer Maggie Luddy ’16 and director Emily Axelberg ’16 accepted the Fearless Award for their production of The Laramie Project, while Carey Cannata ’16 took home the Artistic Director prize, a special recognition award given by Seven Angels Theatre.

“A number of teachers and judges at the event commented on how many nominations Taft received,” said Music Teacher TJ Thompson, who accompanied Taft students to the awards ceremony and is an integral member of Taft’s theater production team.  “The nominations, themselves, are a reflection of how hard everyone in the program has worked. The nominations represent the excellence of our collective effort, and recognize everyone involved in each of our shows.”

Taft's nominations are as follows:

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:

- Kaedi Dalley as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray

- Kayla Kim as Marcy Park in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL:

-Kimberly Wipfler as Amber Von Tussl in Hairspray

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN AN ENSEMBLE PRODUCTION:

The Laramie Project

BEST STANDOUT PERFORMANCE IN AN ENSEMBLE PLAY:

-Brady Grustas as Doc O'Connor/Fred Phelps/Russell Henderson/ and Baptist Minister in The Laramie Project

-Carey Cannata as Aaron McKinney/Jedadiah Schultz/Andy Paris/Dr. Cantway in The Laramie Project

FEARLESS AWARD:

The Laramie Project

BEST CONTEMPORARY PLAY:

The Laramie Project

BEST CONTEMPORARY MUSICAL:

The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The 13^th Annual Seven Angels Theatre Halo Awards were presented over two nights at the Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT. The event featured a gala Red Carpet event for the nominated students. Awards categories included Best Actor and Actress in a Musical, Best Supporting Actor and Actress in a Musical, Best Acting by an Ensemble Cast, Best Specialty Ensemble in a Musical, Best Student Choreographer, plus categories for lighting, design, stage management, and special effects. 

Sixteen students and four faculty members recently traveled to Antigua, Guatemala for Taft's ninth annual service trip. Antigua is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala, famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture and for its colonial church ruins. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala, and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Each year Tafties travel to the region to build houses. This year the group worked on four homes, bringing the total number of homes in the region built by Taft students and faculty to 27. The group also volunteered their time at a homeless shelter, and assisted with a clothing distribution. The trip included a weekend excursion to Lake Atitlan, with stops at the Mayan ruins at Iximche and the indigenous market at Chichicastenango.

Enjoy a full gallery of photos from the trip.  (photos courtesy David Dethlefs)

The U-19 World Football Championships are underway in Harbin, China. Taftie Jon Jacobs '16 (left) is on the Team USA roster, while Moriz Schildorfer '17 is playing for Team Austria. The two met on the field during the opening day of competition; Jacobs and Team USA came out on top.

     Hosted in the spectacular facilities of Harbin University of Commerce, the World Championships sees the nations of Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico and the United States of America competing for the title last won by the US in 2014. Sponsored by the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), the U-19 World Championship is held in different locations around the world every two years.

Hillman House, Taft’s green home at 59 North Street, was recently named the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) Outstanding Single-Family Project for 2015. Given annually, the USGBC LEED Homes Awards recognize projects, architects, developers, and homebuilders who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and innovation in the residential green building marketplace. Our school, working in partnership with Trillium Architects, BPC Green Builders and Steven Winters Associates, did an outstanding job on the project.

“The difficulties of building green, especially in a historical district, made this project unique and sets a standard for how we go forward in our commitment to environmental stewardship,” said Gil Thornfeldt, Taft’s CFO and Business Manager.

Hillman House serves as a high-performance residence and learning lab for students. In addition to housing the Campbell family, the building also serves as a teaching tool for Taft students: monitoring systems wired into Hillman House transmit data back to a classroom in the Wu Science Building, where students in environmental science classes can monitor the data and learn about the impact of passive homes. It is Connecticut’s first building to achieve LEED Platinum certification under the Building Design and Construction rating system for Homes using the new and more stringent LEED v4. The project was made possible by the generosity of Mr. Henry L. Hillman '37, his daughter Lea Simonds, and her sons, Dylan '89, Talbott '91, and Henry '93.

Hillman House was previously awarded the U.S. Department of Energy 2015 Housing Innovation Award Grand Prize in the Custom Category. 

What does it take to be Taft?

It takes consistent, deep, and broad support from our great Taft community.

The School is thrilled to announce that the 2015–16 Annual Fund raised a record $5,063,593—our first time exceeding $5 million in annual giving—including a record $2,265,510 from 43% of alumni. Imagine the impact we could have, if a majority of alumni were to make gifts! The Parents’ Fund had another terrific year, too, raising $1,854,794 from 93% of current parents.

On behalf of the entire Taft community, we must express our sincere gratitude to all of our wonderful volunteers for helping to make these achievements possible: Class Agents; the Parents’ Committee; Dylan Simonds ’89, Annual Fund Chair; Sawnie and Jim McGee P’14, ’16, Parents’ Fund Chairs; Jean and Stuart Serenbetz P’03, ’06, ’09, Chairs of the Former Parents’ Fund; and Joanie Dayton and the late Bob Dayton (deceased in January), Chairs of the Grandparents’ Fund. Needless to say, at the heart of this remarkable success are the many generous donors from every corner of the Taft community who know what it takes to be Taft. They continue to proudly set an example for others to follow, and for that we are deeply grateful.

Highlights of 2015–16

 The Class of ’66 celebrated a terrific 50th Reunion and contributed a record $356,507 to the Annual Fund (as well as an additional $134,700 in capital campaign commitments). The Gift Committee, chaired by McKim Symington and Chip Cinnamond, and their many generous peers were rewarded for their efforts by winning both the Snyder Award for the largest dollar amount contributed by a reunion class, and the Chairman of the Board Award for reaching the highest participation by a class 50 years out or less.

The Class of ’91 broke the records for 25th Reunion giving and participation—raising $93,265 from 57% of the class. The Class of ’06 and the Class of ’11 broke the school records for highest participation in the 10th and 5th Reunion years, respectively, while the Class of ’14 won the competition between Taft’s youngest four classes for highest participation.

The Classes of 1996 to 2015, at both Taft and Hotchkiss, competed November 9–13, 2015, to achieve the highest alumni participation in the Annual Fund. Taft had beaten Hotchkiss in the previous three young alumni participation challenges, but fell short in this competition by just one donor! The final score was Hotchkiss at 18.64% and Taft at 18.62%. The loss notwithstanding, Taft’s young alumni should be very proud of all they accomplished in five days, and they deserve our thanks for their effort and generosity.

Students from 32 states and 43 countries converged on Taft’s campus for the start of a new school year this week. Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 welcomed Tafties and their families, noting that it is  “a time of hope, excitement, and possibilities,” adding, “You are now a part of the Taft family.”

            MacMullen also reminded students to get to know their teachers, to be open to new ideas and new people, to practice resilience and perseverance, and of utmost importance, to be nice.

            “It is a value we care deeply about here; we treat others with respect.”

View photos from arrival day 2016.

Taft was recently honored with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Safe Sports School award. The award reinforces the importance of providing the best level of care, injury prevention, and treatment by recognizing secondary schools that provide safe environments for student athletes.

     “We are honored to receive this First Team recognition from NATA,” said Taft’s head athletic trainer Sergio Guerrera. “Our goal is to lead our athletics program to the highest safety standards for our players. We remain committed to keeping our student athletes safe during physical education classes, team practices, and games. This allows them to successfully meet their personal goals of great competition, winning records, fair sportsmanship, and good health.”

      The Safe Sports School award recognizes schools that:

- Create a positive athletic health care administrative system

• - Provide or coordinate pre-participation physical examinations
• - Promote safe and appropriate practice and competition facilities
• - Plan for selection, fit function and proper maintenance of athletic equipment
• - Provide a permanent, appropriately equipped area to evaluate and treat injured athletes
• - Develop injury and illness prevention strategies, including protocols for environmental conditions
• - Provide or facilitate injury intervention
• - Create and rehearse a venue-specific Emergency Action Plan
• - Provide or facilitate psychosocial consultation and nutritional counseling/education
• - Be sure athletes and parents are educated about the potential benefits and risks in sports as well as their responsibilities

For more information please visit: www.athletictrainers.org.

About NATA: National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) – Health Care for Life & Sport

Athletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports, physical and occupational activity, and provide immediate care for acute injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in health care. The National Athletic Trainers' Association represents and supports 43,000 members of the athletic training profession. Visit www.nata.org.

New students got their first look at a favorite Taft tradition while returning students basked in the fun and camaraderie that are the hallmarks of Super Sunday. The annual event marks the first full weekend of the school year, and is a field day, of sorts, that follows the colors dance the night before, and features fun competition in events like the Crisco slide, egg toss, three-legged race, human pyramid, and tug of war.

View a full gallery of photos from the day.

In opening the 2016-17 school year, Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 referenced the table where Horace Taft and a school community of 14 sat in 1890, on the first night in the school’s history, as a metaphor of all that we strive to be as a school: a place where gifted teachers and curious students gather, speaking and listening to one and other, perpetually learning and growing.

     “I like to think that there is more than enough room for everyone at the table of Taft, and that we genuinely embrace the fact that it’s a noisy, colorful, and crowded table—the boys and girls, the men and women, from scores of nations, worshipping in diverse manner, in all ways of living as sexual beings, with the beautiful palette of skin colors, animated by the wonderful richness of ethnicity, and charged by the electrical difference of politics.”

Watch the full convocation program here. 

Taft mathletes traveled to Choate on Sunday for an annual rite of fall, the Math Bash.  The Rhinos fielded four teams, two at the advanced level and two intermediate squads. Teams from Choate, Hotchkiss, Kent, and Deerfield rounded out the competition.

     The event pits top math students against each other and the clock, and features both individual and group events. Sonny An ’17 took top honors in the advanced level individual round. An is a repeat winner in the individual event, setting the standard with his first win as a lower mid in 2013.

     Taft’s Galois Group edged out Hotchkiss in the advanced division “GUTS” round. The win earned Galois Group members An, Yejin Kim ’18, Peem Lerdputtipongporn ’17, and Daniel Yi ’18 the meet’s top honors. Congratulations to team coach Joseph Zipoli '84, and all of Taft's competitors: 

     Seniors:  Sonny An, Joe Han, Peem Lerdputtipongporn

     Upper mids: Jojo Dong, Yejin Kim, Daniel Yi

     Mids: Steven Le, Leo Li, Bill Lu, Kevin Lu, Leo Yuan

     Lower mids: Stone Fenton, Julia Kashimura, Peter Yu

Campus Sustainability Week begins at Taft October 1. The new initiative features a series of events designed to increase knowledge and awareness around environmental issues and our efforts as a community to promote and support sustainable living across campus.

     “Our program is both modeled after and coincides with a statewide, higher education collaboration,” explains Taft’s Director of Environmental Stewardship Carly Borken. “Colleges and universities across Connecticut will host events throughout the week that not only stimulate conversation, but also build connections and inspire action. It is a concept and opportunity that lends itself well to our own community, and to Taft’s commitment to sustainability.”

     At the college level, the event is coordinated by the Connecticut Alliance for Campus Sustainability. At Taft, Borken is working closely with student Eco Mons to plan a week that blends fun with learning, while shining a light on campus sustainability.  The program will include a Morning Meeting and conversations with Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Taft summer reading selection The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History; a debate around the question, "Can capitalism and the climate ever be friends?; a hike; a silent dance; a waste energy audit competition; and around the issue of food sourcing and sustainability, a meatless Monday lunch, and a screening of the documentary Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, which explores the impact of animal agriculture on the environment. Members of the Taft community will also be asked to make a pledge on Friday, Energy Reduction Day, to reduce their energy consumption.

     “It is easy to take for granted the resources we use to complete the most basic tasks in our day,” notes Borken. “Conscious reduction serves as a good reminder.”

     During assembly on Wednesday, teams of students will send original fashion made from trash and other natural materials down the Bingham “runway” during Taft’s first “Trashion Show.”

     “It is an opportunity for a little fun and a lot of creativity. It allows us to celebrate art and individuality while embracing thoughtful recycling and sustainability,” says Borken.

      Campus Sustainability Week runs through October 8. Follow Taft’s social media channels for news and information about the week’s events.