Hall of Fame:SAR

1990's

Terry Is God

Session(s):	1994

In 94 at Saratoga, an RA named Terry Olson became the God figure of a small cult. This came about when Terry broke his leg while demonstrating a dance for his RA group that he wanted them to perform during the mandatory Lip Synch that year. Several members of his RA group hailed him as a martyr and soon elevated him to a deity. To spread their "religion," Terryism, they performed a skit at the Talent Show, with an insert in the program about http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Nebula/6140/cty/terryisgod.html Terryism] Also, later, they altered their CTY t-shirts to read "The Center for Terryistic Youth." Easily one of the strangest things to happen at CTY, it deserves a place in the CTY Hall of Fame.

The Chair Sculpture

Session(s):	1995.2

In the Writing 2A class room at SAR-2-95, there was an interesting artifact. In the back of the room, there was a large, pyramid shaped sculpture made entirely of chairs, the kind with desks attached. It appears the creators, Ben and Bailey, thought that there were too many chairs in the classroom, and got them out of the way by piling them precariously on top of one another. Rumors of the sculpture spread and soon many CTYers were making pilgrimages to see it. Though it was dismantled at the end of the session, it earned a place in the CTY Hall of Fame.

Ug

Session(s):	SAR.95.2, CAR.96.1

Ug. First presented in a magnificent commercial preformed by Josh, Kevin, Ben, Bailey, Nathanael, and Chip at SAR-2-95, Ug was carried over to CAR-1-96 by Josh and Yours Truly. Ug is wonderful work of art, made from a old bed spring. Yes, Ug truly deserves a place in the CTY hall of fame.

The Gummie Bear House of Horrors

Session(s):	1996.1

The second floor Kimball hall at Saratoga 1996-1 saw an excellent example of the weirdness that CTY can induce this session. Following a sunday trip into Saratoga Springs, construction was begun by students Daniel Terry (astronomy), Michael Tolan (Math), et al. on "The Gummi bear House of Horrors." This frightening exhibit took the remainder of the first session to complete, including around 40 examples of mutilated sugar. Among these bears were "Ritualistic Satanic Sacrifice Bear" and "Jeffery Dahmer Bear" as well as a bear mashed into the carpet, and one nailed to the door (hammers are good things to have at CTY). Also adorning the room was a sign proudly proclaiming "Don't Feed the Rinas."

No Biting The Signs

Session(s):	1997

At Skidmore in 1997 the administration was making new rules left and right. People were having new rules created for them such as "No dancing in the rain," "Don't Make an Idiot of Yourself" and "No stuffing bras" so Jeremiah and Tim decided they wanted a rule of their own. The solution was to bite all those handy rule sheets and signs the RAs posted around our dorm. Soon it caught on and several other degenerates were chomping on the signs. Eventually the powers that be got sick of it and decided that was enough. They called a meeting before one of the dances and asked for the vandals to fess up, rather than ruin a perfectly good dance for all the guys, they confessed and claimed temporary insanity. Luckily, no one got in trouble. But out of this event came a new rule, "No Biting the Signs," and a new entry in the CTY Hall of Fame.

2000's

"Free Lee-Kai"

Session(s):	2000-

In 2000 at Saratoga, this kid Lee-Kai was caught in the girls' dorm. When he was caught, he apparently pulled a condom out of his pocket and said, "At least I was being safe!" The next day he was locked in an administrative office and wasn't allowed to see or talk to anyone. Everyone hung around the window of the office to see him, and he was passed food through the window. When his supporters were seen, the authorities moved him somewhere he couldn't be found. Almost immediately, people started chanting "FREE LEE-KAI!" Then, the sidewalk chalk came out. All over the walkways and even the side of the building under the office windows, everyone wrote "Free Lee-Kai" on the building walls. When the RAs dutifully washed it off, his supporters skipped dailys and stood outside the windows chanting and writing even more. The administration got pissed, but some people got to say goodbye to Lee-Kai. The movement earned itself a spot in the CTY Hall of Fame.

Edit: Though the Skidmore staff hate the chalk writing on the brick surfaces, as it is almost impossible to get off, some CTYers were still writing "Free Lee-Kai" on multiple buildings at least two years after the incident.

Edit: Lee-Kai Wang returned as an RA in Lancaster '04. Wonder how he landed that job?

I can't believe that some of the biggest legends not only happened during my time at CTY, but that they were two of my best friends! Aw man. Free Lee-kai. -Heidi Vanderlee, Saratoga '01

Heidi, you are such a dork. Love, lk

Session 2, 2007 Lee Kai actually made a return to Skidmore. He met up with us on our way back from the second town trip and even stayed long enough to join in a quad-time game of fruit (he was "Tomato"). Needless to say, his presence left a great impression on all of the nevermores, nomores, and everyone else that took the initiative to introduce themselves to him. Lee-Kai is a true CTY-Skidmore legend.

Session 2, 2010 Marc's hall's nevermores (Jackson and Phil) tried to restart the Free Lee Kai chant. Succesfully spreading it across Wilmarth 3. Most CTYers on the floor wrote Free Lee Kai in their evaluations sheets for how to make the experience better and/or other comments.

Jon Good

Session(s):	2000 - present

Jon Good was a nevermore at Saratoga in 2000, and during the second session, signed up for the Random Acts of Senseless Kindness weekly, and was given sidewalk chalk and told to write nice things. Jon found the busiest sidewalk intersection in the quad and wrote "Jon Good Loves You" in huge letters in the path. Within a week, "Jon Good Loves You" was written in chalk all over campus, sometimes by him, but more often by other CTYers. In his honor, his name became part of the American Pie chant; the line "And the three men I admired most/ the father, son, and the holy ghost," has acquired the callback "and Jon Good!" Jon is also alleged to have been the first to write "Free Lee-Kai" in chalk on buildings.

Also, because Jon was Jon, he wrote it in masking (or duct?) tape on his window. For some reason I feel like it was masking tape, but I think that's only because it was the same year Deke's Love Tape (ie the girlfriend of Jesse Cross-Knickerson of "all the girl and half the guys are in love with..." fame) was revived, so there was a lot of masking tape around. Also, on the post above, Heidi and LK, you are both such dorks. - Willa SAR 98.2-01.2

I was a first year during the famous Jon Good Loves You session, and returning as a TA five years later, was amazed to see people still writing it on construction paper and posting it around during RASK. Those who could not possibly have been at CTY during the time of Jon Good. A true legend. - Rachel SAR 00-03, TA 06

The phrase "Jon Good loves you, and your mom, twice" also developed that summer. Jon Good was also Scary Spice in a Spice Girls lip-sync (I think 98.2). His top was a bare-midriff tank top made of duct tape with a British flag in the center. Apparently current students doubt the existence of Jon Good. Also-Willa, you're also a dork, which is why we love you. -Farin SAR 97-00

Mulan Final Song

Session(s):	2005.1 - present.1

After American Pie was played at the last dance of Skidmore 2005 and 2006 Session 1 everyone prepared to return to their dorms. However, right before announcements by the SRAs to instruct everyone to return back to their dorms RAs Lee (2005) and Jesse(2006) played the song "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from the movie Mulan upon the request of Edwin Ma (2005,2006) and Andrew Yu (2005). Due to the enormous enthusiasm and applause during and after the song it was decided that "I'll Make a Man Out of You" was to be made Canon and will be played every Skidmore session 1 after American Pie at the last dance.

A note from rmd: The Pop Culture Class of Skidmore Session 1 2006 found it extremely hilarious that this was played because we had watched Mulan to analyze and write an essay on. And, if anyone remembers, we did sometimes break out into singing "The Man Song," except all "you"s we changed to "Yoon" (mysterious as the dark side of the YOON) for our good friend, Michael Yoon (and any other CTYer with the last name Yoon). Some people in our class thought that this song was played especially for us, though I do remember Andrew Yu requesting it last year. And I agree, this must become a canon.

Note: It is also known that Edwin Ma had argued and fought for some time to get the staff to allow the Mulan song to be played after American Pie. Due to the fact that Skidmore 2006 had only 2 returning RAs no staff member remembered the playing of the Mulan song in 2005 and they did not believe that a song should be played after American Pie. However, after days of arguing with the staff on whether or not the song was to be played Edwin Ma finally brought it up to the dean of residential life Mike Chin who remembered the song being played last year. Edwin Ma brought the CD with him to the last dance and Mike Chin confronted the staff who refused to let the song play. The staff gave in and before announcements were made they played the song and it was decided that the song was to be made canon and played at the last dance after American Pie. Edwin's last wish was that when Edwin and Andrew return as RAs the tradition would still be upheld without the help of Edwin and Andrew themselves.

A similar argument happened Session 1, 2007 as again there were only two returning RA's and even fewer returning administration. After many nevermores brought up the subject with RA Jack (DJ and former Skidmore CTYer), Jack finally gave in and "I'll Make a Man Out of You" was played as the last song of the last dance.

Thanks to the efforts of the 2007 nevermores and returners, it has been solidified that "I'll Make a Man Out of You" will remain as a Skidmore Session 1 Tradition. My thanks to everyone who went in 2007 that let this tradition live on. -Edwin Ma

Ceriously Talented Youth

Session(s):	2006.1

Skidmore hosts two ballet schools at the same time of CTY, and CTYers have a less than friendly relationship with these rinas and rinos. Although the exact circumstances are uncertain, one such rina, the famous Ashley Anne, was quoted as having asked RA Stefan "What does CTY even stand for? Ceriously [sic] Talented Youth?" which soon spread around the campus, causing hilarity to ensue among CTY students. Along with synergy, it was used in context at any given chance. For sheer idiocy and perpetuation of the CTY-rina relationship, this deserves a spot in the hall of fame.

Note: As a result of the CTY-ers love of mocking the Rina's, Session 1 06 started Rina Day where everyone dressed up as Rina's.

The site director (Bill) at the beginning of the session used synergy numerous times in his welcome speech, hence synergy everywhere. May the synergy live on.

Pirate Day

Session(s):	2006.1

There was a toned down version of a Pirate Day (see the Memories:JHU) in Skidmore Session 1 2006. This was started by a nevermore named Edwin Ma who wished to honor a close friend of his named Andrew Yu who was unable to return in 2006. This was created due to the fact that Ninja Day (Sucessfully done in 2005 started by Andrew and Edwin) was cancelled because SRA Felicia said that students were not allowed to cover their faces. Andrew Yu was recognizable in 2005 Session 1 due to the fact that he wore a bandanna on his head like a Pirate everyday, so in Skidmore alongside End of the World Day a large group of people wore either bandannas or a t-shirt around their heads pirate style for what Edwin called "Pirate/Andrew Yu Day". Coincidently due to the fact that so few people had bandannas,(around 6-7 people) many people had to use t-shirts which resulted in looking like people were wearing doo-rags. This caused many people to instead call this "Gangster Day" which oddly enough "gangster" was a very oftenly used term by Edwin and Andrew and that Edwin was called by people who didn't know him "That gangster Asian" although Edwin repeatedly said he'd rather not be called that.

String Raving Ban

Session(s):	2006.2

• taken from Hall of Fame:LAN page

Glowstringing has been banned in Skidmore since 04.1 when an RA was hit with a glowstick, although the Emperor of 06.2 glowstringed anyway during the talent show and the last dance along with Edison Huff. Glowstringing was reallowed during 07.1 at Skidmore likely due to new administration. Also, a historical fact: As glowstringing was also allowed during SAR.08.2, for the first time in CTY history, Brian Smiley TRIPLE glowstringed (strang?) during Sandstorm, with three glowsticks tied to each string, which turned out to be epic, and is expected to continue at SAR.09.2, even though Brian Smiley is a Forevermore. His brother Eric is a Onemore, although he may not attend this year.

LOUIS!

Session(s):	2007.2

In the Comp Sci class was a CTY-er known as "Louis". During a session of the "Penis game", Louis was mistakenly used by Bill Landis instead of penis. Thus, the Louis game was born, with people shouting "LOUIS" at random intervals. Then Lucas Lin had the idea to shout "LOUIS!" at midnight on the last Wednesday. Word was spread throughout Wilmarth and even Rounds, and at the stroke of midnight, Louis began. It started on the 2nd floor, but the resounding echo spread throughout all of Wilmarth and others follow. Even the people living in Howe and Rounds yelled "LOUIS!", as it could be heard from the Wilmarth dorm. Subsequently, Jack Reeves, the Comp Sci RA walked into the hall and yelled, "What the DICKENS do you think you're doing?" (Jack, being a model RA, was careful never to use profanity within earshot of campers). This final massive-scale Louis game caused the Louis game to be officially banned by the site director, Tim.

Glowstringing Records

Session(s):	2008.2, 2009.2, 2010.1, 2011.1, 2011.2, 2012.1, 2012.2

At 08.2, for the first time in remembered history at CTY Saratoga, Nevermore Brian Smiley (as mentioned above) TRIPLE glowstringed with three glowsticks tied to each string(strang?) during Sandstorm at the last dance. This risky experiment turned out to be epic, and was continued at SAR.09.2.

The next year, in honor of Forevermore Brian Smiley, Forevermore Ilya Makovoz proceeded to beat Brian's previous record of three glowsticks tied to each string, instead opting for four. Even though many thought that the act would be impossible it turned out to be as epic, if not more so than that of Brian's the year before. Due to the large number of ravers two raving songs where played. Ilya raved to the first, Ravers Fantasy, and then switched with Dan B. who raved with the quadruple glowstrings for Sandstorm.

By the second week of 10.1, emperor Young and his roommate Freddy had already planned on smashing the raving record, but in the days leading up to the final dance there was much difficulty in procuring the ten glowsticks necessary for the feat. During this time it was brought to the ravers' attentions that having five 6" glowsticks on one string would be incredibly difficult to control as the angular velocity of the two closest glowsticks was insufficient to make them stable while raving. It was decided that the two closest glowsticks would be the small 3 or 4 inch types, which conveniently were the only ones left in the ravers' arsenal. And so the Quintuple Glowstring was forged, and was wielded by Adom Hartell during Raver's Fantasy in the Last Dance. The Quintuple Glowstring was subsequently hijacked by Patrick, who had enormous difficulty wielding the powerful item.

However, this record was broken during Raver's Fantasy, the first nevermore only rave of last dance of 11.1, where Owen Zach wielded six glowsticks each on ridiculously long shoelaces. After the Raver's Fantasy was over, Owen then traded these glowsticks off to Matt DeSantis who then proceded to do a meltdown with them, one of the most uncomfortable raving moves, combining fullbody crossers and behind the back fullbody crossers.

But, the all-time glowsticking record at Saratoga was broken by one-more James Gan with 9 glowsticks on each string at the last dance of Session 2, 2011. The strings were so long that when he started raving, the glowsticks at the end of each string popped upon contact with the ground, covering the gym floor in purple and red glow fluid. (Mine were actually the red ones. I don't know who the purples were --JGlovesyou 03:34, 18 January 2012 (PST))

In 2012.1, Emperor James once again uses a ridiculous number of 6" glowsticks per string, (It was 9 on each. Most were ultras, and because they got tangled at the start they ended up being pretty dim by the time one-more Octavia Fitzmaurice managed to get them untangled) perhaps even more than the year before (the real number is unknown, they were that uncountable). This time, he officially beats the record, as none of the glowsticks on either lace break. At the same dance, Jeremy strung with DOUBLE orange ultras, and Khirstine (who is just over five feet tall) strung with SIX multi-color ultras. Both had Meltdown in their bag of tricks, and looked ready to pass out by the end of the third song.

In 2012.2, Nevermore Michael "Gullermo" Roosky beat James Gan's record with 9 6" glowsticks and 3 mini glowsticks on each string, totaling 12 glow sticks on each string. He then passed them off to Nevermore Jesse Zhan, who passed them to Nevermore Adam Gary.

Vermonster Records

Session(s):	2008.2 - 2012.1

At the Saratoga CTY site, students go on a trip into the lovely town of Saratoga Springs every Sunday. One of the most popular places to go to is Ben & Jerry's, where one can partake in delicious ice cream and other good eats. One of the most daunting challenges at Ben & Jerry's is to eat a "Vermonster". The Vermonster is 20 scoops of ice cream and other goodies, all contained within a bucket. It was a rare occasion to see one of these buckets donned upon the head of a nevermore, as the previous year there had only been two Vermonsters purchased. The nevermores (and those helping) this year smashed the record, with a grand total of NINE Vermonsters purchased and eaten. Two or three of these Vermonsters were not purchased on a town trip however, but that makes the feat all the more impressive. (Use your imagination to figure out how they were acquired) Every person that received a bucket was either a nevermore or a nomore, though one fake bucket ("Fucket") was bought by someone. However, this bucket was taken by Andy Bauer and labeled as fake with a sharpie in many places.

The nine never/nomores that received the buckets were (in alphabetical order):

• Chris Chen
• Dave Clemens-Sewall
• Andrew Cook
• Bill Landis
• Christine Maroti
• Anna Olkovsky
• Daniel Piao
• Brian Smiley
• Larry Zhu

Note that Larry Zhu was lactose intolerant and therefore could not consume dairy products. He still had a spoonful of Vermonster as a symbolic gesture.

A year later, the nevermores of 2009, with more than twice as many nevermores as the previous year, surpassed the previous record of 9 Vermonsters with a whopping 15 Vermonsters consumed! During the first town trip, a total of 5 Vermonsters were purchased. Due to weather, the second town trip was cancelled, but the Nevermores still managed to get their hands on 8 more Vermonsters. Finally, on the last day, a group of Nevermores visited Saratoga Springs and bought two more Vermonsters, putting the total at 15.

--Also, don't forget that Paul Grindle and TDL soloed their Vermonsters. (TDL had Nate help finish a very small amount, and he had to finish it overnight, but he did not go to bed until he finished. It also took Paul 18 hours and 35 minutes (spanning from 9:45 ish P.M. on Tuesday until 4:20 ish P.M. on Wednesday) to finish the slurry at the bottom and I'm fairly sure that he got food poisoning from it. He got pretty sick, although at least he wasn't quarantined.)

21 Vermonsters were consumed 2.SAR.2010. Phil soloed his, and Non-Nevemores did buy and help eat a few.

The Vermonster solo record was crushed 1.SAR.2011 by Will Kyle with a time of 15 hours 5 minutes. It should also be noted that Eric Dammerman, Owen Zach, and Matthew Westin also soloed Vermonsters alongside Will, and that Eric managed to finish his before Owen and Matthew, despite his weighing 100 pounds less than either of them, though he died for two days as a result. Danny McClanahan also soloed a Vermonster alongside Will Kyle in a race, although he took 5 more hours to complete his due to the presence of Reese's Pieces.

At 1.SAR.2012 a new Vermonster record was set by the core members of the Bluvuzelas (a 1.SAR.2011 frisbee team and the winning 1.SAR.2012 soccer team). Ryan Simshauser, Kai Wang, Nick Patel, and Jeff Naftaly together ate an entire Vermonster in 10 minutes and 50 seconds. Though group records have never been officially set, the tenacity with which the four champions ate was legendary. They challenge any future group of four to beat their time.

One Minute, Twelve Seconds

Session(s):	2009.2, 2010.1

During Session 2, 2009, two days before the end of the session, the inhabitants of Howe-Rounds awoke to find the words One Minute, Twelve Seconds on every bathroom mirror, and the number 1:12 on every door whiteboard. It appeared that someone had found the answer to the age-old question "How long would it take to get to the top of Jonsson Tower?" and this was confirmed when upon going outside, students noticed an enormous sign reading One minute, Twelve seconds hung from a large window at the top of Jonsson Tower. At first, the identity of the climbers of Jonsson Tower was a mystery, but by the end of the session, it had been revealed that Anca Dogaroiu, Monica Burnett, and Emily McInerney were responsible for sneaking out in the middle of the night, getting to the top and hanging the sign, with Dana Hogan acting as accomplice from her dorm room. While most of the RA's wished to keep the sign up out of respect for the then-anonymous prankers, it was soon removed by the administration. However, the very next day, Anca, Monica, and Emily somehow managed to get to the top again during breakfast, and had hung a new sign reading 1:12. This feat is already reaching legendary status, and certainly deserves a place on the Hall of Fame.

The next year, during Session 1, on the very last day at breakfast, a group of Nevermores was trying to figure out exactly when and how they were going to infiltrate Jonsson Tower and attempt to break the standing record from Session 2 of the previous year. On a whim, they decided that they might as well just do it right then and there, as Passionfruit was already over and the administration really had nothing left to threaten them with. However, when this group of Nevermores made their way over to Jonsson Tower, they realized that they had no way of entering the building. As they stood outside perplexed, Nevermore Avery Stonefish had the genius of idea of simply swiping his card. Surprisingly, this caused the door to unlock. Apparently, Howe-Rounds access cards work on Jonsson Tower. Thanks to Stonefish's genius, Emperor Young Guang was able to smash the previous record of 1:12 by making it to the top in 41.23 seconds.

Thank Dusty

Session(s):	2010.2

For the first time in Saratoga Springs history, the students defeated the staff in ultimate. DYNASTIC (Dusty, you now are second to incredible campers), captained by Peter Lobel and Matt Simon, secured a sound victory 10-2. Dusty had almost beaten the staff many years ago, but it took a whole team to really win it.

• Peter Lobel
• Matt Simon
• Andy Shen
• Brandon Nguyen
• Aaron Forrest
• Kevin Chun
• Samir Goel
• Will Schiela
• Muki Barkan
• Peter Pak
• Alex Libby
• Mark Fishman
• Chang Moon
• Nathan Vogt
• Leah Forrest
• Rachel Zhu
• Natalie Belkov

Trifecta

Session(s):	2010.2

Coming off their dominating wins over the staff in frisbee and soccer (10-2, 3-0, respectively), the students aimed to complete the first ever sweep of the staff in all three sports. The students came out with a bang for the first half, aided by the fact that RA Kenny was hindered significantly by a leg injury. The staff rallied and came back to be down by four with thirty seconds left in the game. EE Instructor Kris made a three pointer, and the ball was turned over to RA Scott, who made an incredibly lucky shot off a blatant double-dribble with nine seconds left. The students lost by one, 38-37, with heavy screams of complaint of the no-call from the sidelines. Although some students accepted the defeat, it is common thought by the student body and some staff that the students completed the legendary Trifecta.

Those who played on all three teams include:

• Peter Lobel
• Aaron Forrest
• Will Scheila
• Mark Fishman
• Kevin Chun
• Matt Simon
• Natalie Belkov
• Peter Pak

Screw Sleeves

Session(s):	2011.1

The team Screw Sleeves made history in 2011 by being the first team to beat the staff in Ultimate for Session 1. The game started out being dominated by the students who took the lead 7-1 at halftime. However, they began to falter and allowed the staff to make a comeback. This comeback was likely aided by the fact that the staff decided to extend the game for an additional 20 minutes. Then, with 10 seconds left, some controversy arose between the students and the staff over whether the score was really 10-9 students or a 9-9 tie. But, to the excitement of all those watching (except the staff), the students proceeded to finalize their victory by scoring again with a long pass from Jarrett to DeSantis, who then gave a short underhand toss to Owen to score as time ran out. SRA Phil then finalized the victory by announcing it at the dance later that night.

This is the team roster

ORIGINAL TEAM

• Owen Zach
• Jarrett Jacobson
• Paul Marki
• Will Kyle
• Luke Comp
• Matt DeSantis
• Matt Westin
• Eric Dammerman
• Ryder Olle
• Benji Attal
• Andrew Mobus

ADDITIONS FOR THE STAFF GAME

• Aaron Wan
• Allen Chen
• Alex Libby
• John (Someone add his last name)

Special mention for the water boy

• Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam STANsell

The Skidmore Eleven

Session(s):	2012.1

As a result of the expulsion of the group Skidmore Eleven (consisting of the first group: Nick Richardson, Ryan Guo, James Yu, Marion Anderson, and one other person (he wishes for his name to not be mentioned), the second group: Sebastian Niculescu, Zoe Steinsnyder, Charlotte Rupp, Miriam Pierson, and Sawa Patch), the student body rose up in protest. Khristine Yu and Shoshi Finkle (both close friends of the Skidmore 11) started two petitions, one asking for the eleven to say goodbye to their friends and the other asking for administration to allow for the return of the non-nevermores in future CTY sessions. While many people would like to think that people enthusiastically signed the petitions, they were shredded in order to hide the names of those who signed should the administration crack down.

Khirstine Yu, a nevermore, was caught with these petitions and was escorted by RAs, and many people feared the worst. In truth, she had used the advantage of being in the main office to talk with the site director and counselor. Mostly, it was concerning the privileges of the Skidmore 11 to be able to say goodbye to their friends, although the talk took almost two hours (of Khirstine's class time) to sort out. It was eventually agreed that the students would be allowed to say goodbye to their friends during dinner and quad time, along with the last breakfast. This news was later announced by David (the site director) before the slideshow.

During lunch quad time, several of the Skidmore 11 (Ryan Guo, Nick Richardson, James Yu, Marion Anderson, and the one unmentioned) snuck into a room on Wilmarth 3 that faced the quad, around the time when CTYers were leaving the dining hall. This culminated into these above-mentioned students to begin shouting “I like you, I love you, I CTY you!”, thus spurring the student body into resistance. While the RAs would not allow anyone to get too close to Wilmarth, many people had grouped by the dining hall door where they could see the eleven and perform a three-finger salute (a tribute from the Hunger Games). By this point, they had been returned the use of their cell phones and were allowed to use their phones to talk with other people, provided that they did not spread rumours (while under the supervision of various RAs, the use of foreign languages proved to be quite useful in an exchange between Ryan Guo and Sonya Wang). While the glowstringers of the group (Ryan Guo, Nick Richardson, and the unmentioned) asked for the glowstringers to rave hard that night, Marion Anderson asked Liz Lvov, the empress of that year, to organize a protest during the dance, either during the glowstringing songs or American Pie.

Around this time, many protest efforts were planned (including a planned but not taken action of shouting Free Lee-Kai! during the slideshow by Emperor James Gan), particularly concerning the dance. As a good part of the Skidmore Eleven were glowstringers, many people were planning to have everyone sit to protest during Sandstorm, typically the first glowstringing song of the dance. However, this was soon dispelled as it was discovered that Sandstorm was not going to be played at the dance. Instead, the glowstringers were asked to glowstring harder than they had before for the people absent. During the nevermore rave, Khirstine wielded six pairs of glowsticks on her laces, one glowstick for each member of the Skidmore 11, and then one more for the one uncaught.

During Stairway to Heaven, an effort was made to connect to the students who could not attend by putting them on the phone. Another effort was made during American Pie, but that proved to be unsuccessful.

Due to some of the eleven being nevermores and nomores, several of their friends were asked to read out their speeches at passionfruit the next day. While the non-nevermores could be given the chance to re-apply to CTY with a petition to Baltimore, all of the Skidmore 11 were given copies of the nevermore pages, as a result of Zoe speaking to the DRL who then asked Emperor James Gan for books (which were delivered with personal notes).

A message from Marion Anderson: Guys, the rules can seem unfair, annoying, and the punishments absurd, but what I did was stupid, even if it was fun. Don’t think you can get away with what we did easily; you probably won’t have people like Khirstine Yu and Liz Lvov to stand up for you and organize protests. What we 11 did do was create a scene where the students demonstrated that they did have a say in the CTY rules. YOU can make a difference. If there is ever injustice to CTYers, you as a whole do have that great, extraordinary power. Use it wisely.

A message from Khirstine Yu: This is a warning to any future CTYers: What I and many, many other people have done during this incident is not anything special; it is not heroic, and it is not unique at all. It is only what I expect of both myself and of CTYers around me. It will also be what I expect of you.

In the future, there will be instances when the something as bizarre as the Skidmore 11 Incident comes up. When something does, do not be the bystander who waits for others to put forth their best. As a CTYer, be the first person be a part of the resistance. No, that does not mean that you can shout at the first administrator you see. And no, it does not mean you should break the nearest window in a rage.

When something like this happens...take a deep breath, and calculate the best course of action. Plan ahead, and follow your plan - if it means saving your friends and re-admitting them into the program - great. If you are only able to get them back their goodbye privileges, that is still great.

The worst thing that one can do in this situation is absolutely nothing.

The Skidmore Ten

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