The Hot Sheet

Battles, babies, boys, and six other things we love about Kenyon

Old Shoes. The Brown Family Environmental Center collected used tennis shoes in the fall as part of the Nike Re-use a Shoe Program. Community members donated sneakers to be ground up and used in products from track surfacing to new shoes. We don't know whether Odor Eaters were accepted, too.

Plaid about the Boys. Kenyon men brought a dose of the traditional back to campus with plaid shorts in shades of blue, brown, red, and pink. Plaid kilts have yet to make a resurgence.

Posterity. Pre-orientation students filled a purple Nalgene bottle with prose and poetry, creating a literary time capsule that was placed in the new foundation of Neff House, which was being restored to become the future home of the Kenyon Review. Think of it as pouring metrical footers.

Baby Girls. Baby-doll dresses have become a campus fashion for women. The frocks feature empire waists and full, short skirts. Fashion pundits predict the trend will be short lived. Bye-bye, baby!

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Student Lectureships sponsored a campus talk by the environmental crusader in November. Listed as one of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet" for his work to restore the Hudson River, Kennedy delivered a lecture titled "Our Environmental Destiny."

Battle Recreationists. The Peeps O' Kenyon staged a re-enactment of the Civil War's Battle of Antietam on Peirce lawn in the fall. The cavalry rode in on bikes. Nobody even scraped a knee.

Speed Dating. Kenyon's chapter of Hillel sponsored an evening of speed dating. While speed dating was originally started as a way for Jewish singles to meet, Kenyon's version was open to all religious faiths and sexual orientations. We vote for face-to-face over Facebook any day.

Dirty Runners. October found some of the hardier members of the Kenyon community covered in grime, courtesy of the Mudman Triple, a trail run with three events, including a nighttime race complete with glow sticks.

A Leafy Labyrinth. In November, Katherine Schroer '08 and chaplain Karl Stevens '95 raked together a labyrinth of leaves between Ransom Hall and the chapel. All were invited to walk the labyrinth, based on a Roman design, as a way to meditate and relax. No reports on whether anyone got lost and missed class.

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