<p>I got it in an email, I’ll try to post part of it. :
To begin, Yale College will introduce a five-day fall break in October. It has long been a concern at Yale that, particularly for freshmen, the unbroken period of 11 or 12 weeks of classes between the start of the fall semester and the Thanksgiving recess can be challenging. The new calendar will include a break from Wednesday through Sunday in mid-October, in addition to the current Thanksgiving week holiday. The freshman orientation period also will be expanded to take place over two weekends, instead of one.</p>
<p>Under the new calendar, the fall and spring terms will become equal in length, with 64 class days each. The first day of fall classes will always begin on the Wednesday before Labor Day, and Commencement will always be held on the Monday before Memorial Day. Classes will not be held on Labor Day or Martin Luther King Day, but in both terms Monday classes will be held on the first Friday of the term. This will allow 13 Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays but 12 Fridays in each term.</p>
<p>Other changes include adding 3-4 additional days between the fall and spring terms, giving faculty more time to submit their fall-term grades and students a longer break for travel. The Reading Period, which at Yale is currently longer than that of most other colleges that have exams before winter recess, will be shortened from 7 days to 5 days. The Exam Period will be reduced from 8 days to 6 days; this schedule will easily accommodate the administration of all final exams. The Graduate School will follow the Yale College Academic Calendar; the professional schools will be free to design their own calendars as they do now.</p>
<p>^^ discredits everything you just said. No matter what merit your words may have had (and I dont think there was much), you just lost all respect in my books by calling out xfxjumper. Try to keep this objective next time.</p>
<p>I am embarrassed for you that you, as an adult, would stoop to the level of name-calling and sweeping generalizations.</p>
<p>Back to the point- A subculture has nothing to do with the mission or administration of a University. It has to do with the way the student body conducts themselves over a period of time. There is a reason Yale is widely known as ‘the gay Ivy’. Over the years, many LGBT students have found Yale to be a safe haven where they can live healthy and peaceful lives without ridicule. If you want to blame the liberal attitude toward sex and sexual activity in general, blame every class for the past 30 years.</p>
<p>I fail to see how sex week degrades humanity, feminism or dignity. A TRUE feminism seeks equality for both genders, males and females alike. After perusing the schedule of events from last year, I fail to see one titled: “For Women: How to please your man.” Rather, the only semi-controversial one is a how-to for both males and females. I’m sure that would make any true feminists proud. As for humanity, I don’t understand how educating the youth of America on extremely relevant issues for where they are at in life. Contrary to popular belief, education extends FAR beyond the classroom, and this is no exception.</p>
<p>I feel incredibly proud that I will be going to school with students who are well aware of what they, and other students their age, are doing, and are getting involved in education themselves so they can conduct themselves in a safe manner. That is maturity at its finest.</p>
<p>Post No. 460 speaks volumes. If your child shares your point of view, s/he is likely to be unhappy at Yale. The dominant culture is very tolerant and accepting of differences. </p>
<p>As I said in discussing this topic last year, I find it embarrassing even to read about Sex Week, but I realize I’m not the target audience, so too bad for me. I don’t fault the administration or student organizers of Sex Week unless conservative potential employers are reading the YDN and consider Sex Week a poor reflection on Yale students. But I rather doubt they’re ■■■■■■■■ the YDN for evidence of moral turpitude among the student body.</p>
<p>In the context of Sex Week and fogfog’s post, what differences are you referring to? She didn’t mention anything about LGBT, if that is what you are implying.</p>
<p>I also object to sadomasochistic porn stars being hosted on campus, and workshops covering subjects such as “Pleasuring the ■■■■■.” I also realize that this event is not targeted at me, but I am the one who pays the $50K bill, so opinions of parents like me are going to count for something. President Levin needs to grow a pair and protect, not degrade Yale’s image, and not just by re-doing the website admissions page. Silly little programs like these might have been fine 30 years ago, before the internet, but things are different now and get blown out of proportion, and wrongly make Yale and its students look pretty bad. (Btw, Sex Week began in 2002).</p>
<p>I remember last year some doctor’s at a hospital I work at discussing this subject because a co-worker was reading the YDN article on it. One of them, a grad from Yale, said some people would accept a week like that more from a state school, but an college that is thought of as “more intellectual” it rubs them the wrong way. He said I personally find porn offensive to women in general and many of them in it, are not doing it because they love it. That said he went on that 18-21 year olds are basically the same in many ways and some are drawn to things like “sex week” and although it seems like many are involved, many aren’t.
They had a chastity talk a few years back, many came, some out of curiousity, some were intrigued, some to argue the idea, but it wasn’t publicized the same way and also only a one day event. The “shock” value is what they are after more than education, this isn’t “education” really, not with anything being able to be “googled” or looked up yourself.</p>
<p>Bay, I have no idea what they discussed in the workshop you mention but the title itself doesn’t sound offensive to me. Young people of both genders and all sexual orientations need to be aware that women have pleasure zones and quite frankly this awareness cannot be taken for granted. Whether you like it or not, porn is a big part of American society and the American economy. Some of our children will become physicians and lawyers and some of them will encounter this part of our society on a professional level. I don’t think it is necessarily a bad idea for this industry to get some exposure (pardon the pun) on campus, as long as it is done in a manner that is completely voluntary and the students themselves are not crying out in protest. Yale engages in and supports many other activities that are offensive to my personal values and beliefs, but I don’t feel compelled to object. As a parent who is also paying full price for my D’s education I don’t have a problem if a tiny part of my money goes to support a cultural event like this, even though I doubt my own D will take advantage of it.</p>
<p>By the way, in case someone here is wondering, there is no sex week this year. It is only in even numbered years. The organizers probably realize there would not be enough interest if they had it every year, hormones notwithstanding.</p>
<p>^ They may know that in a general sense but not in all its specific details and variations. Certainly nothing that is taught in high school comes close to being useful and the internet is full of misleading and unsavory presentation. These are topics that make a lot of people uncomfortable to get very specific about, but they are worthy of discussion by young 18-22 year olds in a safe environment.</p>
<p>Here is the workshop description, so you can judge for yourself whether this is something young people need specific training on. Maybe they should add it to the high school sex ed agenda?</p>
<p>^ Well that certainly doesn’t sound offensive to me. I can imagine some students would be interested enough to attend, and some might even learn a few things there. I don’t see anything there that seems to be degrading to women. I think it is quite the opposite. </p>
<p>Now I’m sure there are other aspects of sex week (like sadomasochism) that I would personally find repulsive, but as long as nobody is forcing anyone to attend, and the participants are all adults, I just can’t get too worked up about it.</p>
<p>Given all that Yale does so right, I just don’t much care about this. </p>
<p>And Sex Week isn’t even happening this year! The article fogfog linked to, from the blog of social/political conservative Dennis Prager, is a rehash one of last year’s events.</p>
<p>EDIT: Now the DKE pledge initiation “event” Prager refers to is another story – that one I get very worked up about. Reprehensible behavior.</p>
<p>Sorry, Bay, I don’t see the nexus. I don’t think Sex Week advocates nonconsensual sex, which was what the DKE boys were shouting about. If, in fact, Sex Week is encouraging young men to force anal intercourse on women, then I’m against it.</p>
<p>wjb,
It would be quite a stretch to conclude that the DKE boys were “advocating nonconsensual sex” when they simply shouted a phrase they were directed to repeat. No doubt the phrase was the sexual fantasy brainchild of a Yale student who for whatever reason was unable to recognize the impropriety of his expression nor that it might actually be offensive to other students who are just trying to go about pursuing their college education.</p>
<p>It was terrible behavior that reflected poorly on Yale.</p>
<p>can/should one book hotel accommodations for the changed commencement date of May 19th 2014 now? and if so, is there recommended a hotel that has parking and is reasonably nearby to the festivities?</p>
<p>nimsmom, I think it is too early for May 2014. I’m not sure if the hotels will even accept reservations right now. The hotels that are reasonably nearby to campus in general are the Courtyard, the Omni, the Study and the New Haven Hotel. They all charge extra for parking and none of them is cheap.</p>
<p>The hotels take reservations exactly one year in advance for commencement. There’s a 3-night minimum for the close-in places that vp lists, and they charge a very hefty markup for that weekend. But it’s very convenient to be able to walk rather than drive and have to deal with parking every day.</p>