The Colby Echo

Issue date: 9/14/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Rob Kievit Nicholas Cade '08

Media Credit: Rob Kievit President William D. Adams

On Sept. 11 at 7:00 p.m. in the newly renovated lower program space of Cotter Union, a crowd gathered for the annual State of the College Address to hear remarks given by President William D. Adams, Student Government Association President Nicholas Cade and Vice President Jeffrey Mullins.

Cade began his speech for the evening by urging students to "leave [behind] a legacy we can be proud of and nostalgic for." As Cade detailed his desire to create new traditions this year, he described his enthusiasm for newly established community events such as Hill 'n the Ville-the daylong festival slated for this Saturday at 12 noon for college students, families and the greater Waterville community. "Waterville has a lot to offer... and this festival is a culmination of student efforts," Cade said.
He also described his hopes for improved student relations with security this year, underscored in his appeal to the audience and the student body in general to make strides in respectful behavior this year, particularly when dealing with members of the campus community. He finished on a hopeful note, highlighting his belief in the importance of taking action on campus, using Hill 'n the Ville as a prime example of what can be accomplished through proactive student participation.
Mullins continued as the voice of the Student Government to describe many of the goals and projects that they are working on for the upcoming year. Notably, he mentioned the SGA this year will be looking to improve student transportation services like Jitney and airport shuttles for students who do not have cars, and encourage greater student attendance and spirit at athletic events. Mullins also reiterated Cade's notion of the importance of student contribution. "Colby is a small school and that means as students that we are unbelievably empowered... See opportunities for improvement, and act on them," he said.

Adams' remarks included both what has changed recently at Colby, including "the remarkable campus transformation," and his expectations for what he hopes will be an extraordinarily productive year. He began by detailing the tremendous effort that the Physical Plant Department put in over the summer to improve the campus-particularly, the newly opened Pulver Pavilion, the renovation of which he described as "enormously successful." In addition, Adams mentioned other recent renovations including the refurbishing of academic spaces in Miller Library and Lovejoy. "We are of course, never standing still," he said. In turn, Adams noted that renovations of all the Roberts Row buildings are set to begin this summer. When the renovations have finished, the new buildings on Roberts Row will indicate the completion of the final phase of resident hall renovations that began on campus fifteen years ago.

Echoing Cade's sentiments, Adams showed his excitement for the upcoming Hill 'n the Ville festival this weekend-an example of campus relations with the Waterville community he described as a "terribly important gesture." Subsequently, Adams expressed his hopes that events like Hill in the Ville will provide future inspiration for Colby students to launch similar efforts and activities to further integrate Colby into our "community that is just beyond the campus."

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