Geek Chic

Geek Week, a celebration of braininess that neutralizes nerdy stereotypes by embracing them, seems to be taking root as a Kenyon tradition.

Argyle socks. Taped eyeglasses. A passion for pi. It's all cool.

The event, which had its third annual run this past October, was founded by Judy Holdener of the mathematics faculty and was originally designed for math students. But science geeks, drama geeks, indeed geeks from across the curriculum complained about being excluded. "We're geeks, too," they insisted.

So Holdener, who often is introduced to prospective students as "the professor who started Geek Week," began inviting the entire student body to take part in the oddball festivities.

The 2009 edition featured a puzzle party and an Argyle Day (sweaters, socks, tights, you name it). By the end of the week, faculty members as well as students were wearing t-shirts bearing slogans such as "I'm statistically significant," "No, I will not start your computer," and "Look at me still talking when there's science to do."

Holdener schedules Geek Week to coincide with Greek Week, but the idea isn't to criticize fraternities and sororities. "We love our geeky Greeks, too," she said. "I just thought if we are going to have a Greek Week, why not have a Geek Week at the same time, because students here are intellectually curious and proud of it."