Author Archives: Courtney Pannell

Many people have asked why I decided to run for Yale College Council President. Many have asked why I decided to come to Yale at all. The answer to both of these is the same. I’m from Milan, Tenn., a small town of 8,000. I’m the first person from my high school to ever attend »

The Yale–Dartmouth football game fell on Parents’ Weekend in the fall of 1969, the first year of coeducation at Old Blue. During the halftime show, the Yale Precision Marching Band decided to poke fun at their all-male-school opponent, marching into the formation of a certain sexual organ on the 50-yard line while blaring the tune »

While discussing the one book on his syllabus this semester, Professor Akhil Amar ’80 LAW ’84 explained that the title, “America’s Constitution: A Biography,” came about after some deliberation. “A Biography,” he said with a wink, is a disarming subtitle that often raises book sales. It was not the first time that a Yale professor »

Last night was cold and clear, but it certainly wasn’t quiet. Costumed bands of students hurtled across campus, going through the motions to gain acceptance into one of Yale’s senior societies, the groups of roughly 15 students who meet every Thursday and Sunday evening in their last year of college. Among the juniors strung out »

Delta Kappa Epsilon was founded in 1844 at Yale. The Whiffenpoofs will celebrate their 100 years this fall. Skull and Bones is the oldest secret society, established in 1832. Considered the most historic of undergraduate organizations, these groups evoke tradition and longevity that are synonymous with Yale. And even though Edward Bouchet — the first »

Winston Churchill once said, “If you’re not a liberal at 20, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative at 40, you have no brain.” While New Jersey Assemblyman Rick Merkt ’71 — a self-proclaimed “conservative constitutionalist” — said he has softened up since his undergraduate years, he admits he would have definitely fallen »

Unfamiliar to western ears, the natural, trembling tone of the bamboo flute evokes pastoral scenes of India’s distant past. But bamboo flutist Shashank Subramanyam will sing through the instrument at the Yale Center for British Art tonight to give Yalies a taste of India today. Subramanyam, who was invited by the Yale Raga Society, an »

For Yale’s men’s hockey team, there is more to winning than playing hard. Even after skating and scoring their way to the ECAC championship-clinching victory over Cornell this weekend, players on the team continue to adhere to a strict regimen off the ice. Call it tradition, or even superstition, but many of the 25 members »

SOUTH NORWALK, Conn. — The day before Valentine’s Day, in the intimate setting of the newly renovated kitchen in Jonathan Edwards College, John Barricelli revealed the tricks behind creating the perfect flourless chocolate cake. But instead of addressing the usual television audience of his own national PBS show, “Everyday Food,” Barricelli taught roughly 10 Yale »

“Give some, get some.” As the slogan goes for tonight’s IvyCorp speed dating event, students can snag a sweetheart — in under five minutes — on the eve of Valentine’s Day. Guaranteed at least 11 dates for half the price of a movie ticket, Yalies can rotate dates in Silliman College dining hall for the »

It was Nov. 29, and like any other Saturday, Tom Williams kicked back in front of the television with his wife in the living room of their Jacksonville home. On the eve of another pressure-filled NFL game day, the Jaguars assistant coach took a moment to indulge in one of his favorite passions — college »

Following the toil of reading week, Yalies spew up a semester’s worth of knowledge onto the small, lined pages of Pontiac Paper Co. examination books — better known as blue books. Students then pack up and head out of town for winter vacation, leaving their blue books and pending grades in the hands of their »