In case you’re not a senior, or haven’t heard it through the Camel grape vine, the senior tradition of Fishbowl has been canceled. For an enlightened explanation of what Fishbowl has entailed in the past, read this article, published by The College Voice in April of 2010.
On Wednesday, seniors received the following email:
Dear Connecticut College Seniors,
After a careful review of “Fishbowl”—including consultation with staff and student leaders, recommendations from staff in the Office of Student Life and a review of complaints and concerns from students and other College staff in previous years—senior administrators have made the decision to eliminate this event.
We invite the members of the Class of 2013 to work together to help plan a new spring tradition, one that more accurately reflects the values of the members of your class and the College. I have discussed this with senior class leaders, and they are very excited about the prospect of creating this new event with all of you. They are planning a meeting soon to get your input; look for an invitation shortly.
I look forward to hearing your ideas about a new senior tradition.
Best wishes,
Carolyn Denard, PhD
Dean of the College
Since this message, there has been a lot of reaction from the seniors and other class members. The College Voice published this article that includes a Q&A between the newspaper and Dean Denard. Tonight seniors are planning to attend the Student Government Association (SGA) meeting. Senior Ben Schachtel has organized a Facebook event for the meeting tonight, outlining what the seniors’ goal is. Those goals include:
1. Avoid chaos in SGA. We are expecting large numbers at SGA. If the student body can present a united front we will be much more effective than if everyone is trying to speak their minds at once.
2. Avoid polarization. We want to work with SGA and with the administration to fix this whole situation. Creating good guys and bad guys will do nothing for the situation, or for the college moving forwards.
3. Establish awareness to issues affecting students and administration regarding Fishbowl before going into the meeting.
Check out the whole event here.
Friday December 7 Update:
Class of 2013 president Eli Kahan wrote the following letter to the senior class:
Dear Seniors,
As you now know, we will no longer hold Fishbowl this year. Although this is not ideal and the end of a favorite tradition, we must recognize the safety risks it poses and not dwell on its absence. Last night’s SGA meeting was a full house packed with students expressing their frustrations. This was a great way for students to communicate their discontent with how the situation was handled, which was heard loud and clear by the administration.
We have the opportunity now to establish a new event at Conn and credit the Class of 2013 as the class that started the greatest annual event for seniors. This event will be passed down from one senior class to the next and will inspire new traditions that will live on.
Senior class council has a great idea and we’d love to hear your ideas as well for new traditions at Conn. I promise you this new event will be one for the record books and will have post graduates wishing they had been a part of it. If you would like to share your ideas, please come to the class council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 5:30 p.m. in Cro’s Nest.
There will be another SGA meeting Wednesday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. in Ernst, following the class council meeting, for students who still wish to discuss the process with Dean Denard.
On a lighter note, SGC will be hosting a FREE late-night breakfast for seniors on Sunday, Dec. 9, at 9:30 p.m. in KB!
Thank you for your understanding and support and let’s get excited about our opportunity to plan this one-of-a-kind good time for our senior class and for senior classes in the future!
Eli Kahan
Class of 2013 President