Graduation Goes Green Commencement 2008 will be Colby's first Green Graduation. Alaina Clark '08 developed the idea as part of a senior project, and the College has worked for months to implement new sustainability initiatives. Among them: minimizing the use of plastics, reducing electricity use, increasing composting, serving sustainable foods, and reducing paper use. The Green Team, a group of Colby students and employees, will staff information tables and assist visitors with composting and other greening efforts at events.

Freakonomics and Disasters Professors and students frequently co-write academic papers at Colby; it's not as common that they get cited in mainstream media. In 2006 Professor Phil Brown (economics) and Jess Minty '06 published results of their study, "Media Coverage and Charitable Giving after the 2004 Tsunami," with The Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan. On Tuesday it was quoted in the New York Times "Freakonomics" blog, which asked, "How Pure is Your Altruism?"

Class Speaker Elected The senior class has voted. Patrick C. Sanders of Fairfax, Va., will deliver the class speech at Colby's 187th Commencement on Sunday, May 25. He will share the stage with commencement speaker Robert E. Diamond Jr. '73, president of Barclays PLC. Four people in addition to Diamond will receive honorary degrees: astronaut Sunita Williams, television writer-producer David Simon, energy expert Amory Lovins, and art historian Gabriella De Ferrari.