THE NEWS

  • While administrators have said Yale-NUS will help spread liberal arts in Asia, the focus on interdisciplinary studies will not be entirely new when the jointly-run Singaporean college opens in fall 2013. The National University of Singapore’s University Scholars Programme (USP), established in 2001, allows students the opportunity to spend 30 percent of their coursework in a field outside of their major — an uncommonly large proportion in Singapore, where colleges generally have a more vocational approach.
  • At 1:10 p.m. Monday, two students dressed in dark suits pushed a red library cart down the middle aisle of Commons dining hall and grabbed books from about 30 students, all wearing red, who then individually filed into the procession. The group marched in a line and audibly chanted, “No book ban, no book ban!” The protest was staged against Arizona’s House Bill 2281, signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in May 2010. The law bans all public school curricula of which “race, ethnicity and oppression are central themes.”
  • Every Tuesday afternoon at the Whitney Humanities Center, 11 students find themselves at a crossroads. In the sixth iteration of the Robert Shulman Lecture Series, professor Gary Tomlinson’s “Music and Evolution” course, students are exploring the intersection of the sciences and the humanities. This year, Tomlinson aims to teach “how it is humans came to be musicking beings in the first place.”

THE WEATHER

High of 44 degrees, low of 37 degrees, chance of rain.

THE FOOD

In the colleges

Breakfast: Steelcut Oats, Waffle Bar, Raspberry Almond Muffin

Lunch: Roasted Corn & Tomato Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Curry, Butternut Squash Patties, Bean Tacos, Memphis Style Pulled Pork Sandwich, Red Pepper Hummus Baba Ganoush Lavash, Scallion Jasmine Rice, Chef’s Choice Hot Vegetable, Baked Zucchini With Herbs, Mesclun, Fresh Mozzarella & Olives, Pasta Salad with Broccoli, Pinenuts & Raisins, White Bean Salad with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette, Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake, Coconut Macaroon

Dinner: Penne with Pesto, Chickpeas & Spinach, Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish, Chef’s Choice Meat, Fish, Or Poultry, Peas & Barley Casserole, Rice Valencienne, Sautéed Swiss Chard Rainbow, Chef’s Choice Hot Vegetable, Mesclun, Fresh Mozzarella & Olives, Pasta Salad with Broccoli, Pinenuts & Raisins, White Bean Salad with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette, Apple Crumb Pie

In Commons

Breakfast: Texas French Toast, Bacon Slices, Waffle Bar, Scrambled Eggs, Zucchini Frittata, Scrambled Egg Whites Shredded Potatoes, Raspberry Almond Muffin

Lunch: Creamy Tomato & Roasted Garlic Soup, Smoky Turkey Rice Soup, Cherry Tomato Salsa, Lime & Cilantro Carne Asada, Quinoa Black Bean & Corn Pilaf, Bolognese Sauce, Spaghetti, Organic Tomato Sauce, Chefs Choice All-Natural Burger, Herb Marinated Chicken Breast, Garden Burger, Chinese Marinated Tofu, Pepperoni Pizza, Chef’s Choice Pizza, Cheese Pizza, Lemongrass Chicken, Greens & Tofu, Shrimp Fried Rice, Jasmine Rice, Vegetable Curry, Refried Black Beans, Chef’s Choice Fries, Spiced Roasted Local Carrots, Green Bean Catalan, White Bean Salad with Sundried Tomato Vinaigrette, Banana Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake, Coconut Macaroon