For the Class of 2013, their four years at UVM are over.  Thousands of seniors sat on the green one last time for UVM’s 211th Commencement Ceremony.

Robert Cioffi, chair of UVM’s Board of Trustees, stressed the connections and friendships forged over the time spent at UVM.  ”Life’s a journey, not a race,” he said.  He later quipped that spending days hanging out with friends is perhaps the most memorable and important part of college.

Janice Brewer and Karlie Kauffeld, graduating UVM students, framed the ceremony with musical performances.  Musician Wynton Marsalis gave the commencement address.

“All of the dynamics which contribute to us are right here with us,” Marsalis said.  Paraphrasing John Dewey, he said, “This isn’t preparation for life.  This is life.”  A clip of the university UStream with Marsalis playing is below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nERBnFL0I6Y&feature=youtu.be

Professor Julie Roberts remarked about graduation, “this is not the end, but the beginning.”

Congratulations to all UVM’s graduating seniors!

It might seem like a rumor too farfetched to be true, and perhaps it is.  It was leaked to us that Redstone Commercial Group, Vermont’s largest commercial property group, might donate Mt. Bolton to the University of Vermont sometime in the future. 

We are not clear if this is supposed to be Bolton Valley Resort, the whole mountain, or a combination of the two. (Chances are that this won’t happen anyway.)  We don’t have a timetable for this action, and Redstone hasn’t responded to our communications.

In general, Bolton Valley is considered a skiing destination for less experienced people.  Compared with Stowe, Bolton has fewer ski lifts, shorter runs, and a lower summit/base elevation.

Wednesday night.  11:45 PM.  May 1st.  Central Campus.

We are offering a reward for the identity or identities behind the UVM Confessions Facebook page. 2 Free Pints of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream for the ringleader, and 4 movie tickets for the rest of their gang.  (We’d also like to know how you found out who it was.)

If you know who is behind it, email us at theuvmlittlebird@gmail.com 

Our reward will go to the first person to step forward with the information.

EDIT: The reward has been claimed.  The search is over.

MGMT headlined 2013’s Springfest at UVM!  The sold out concert brought in talent: WIll Overman + Friends, Bible Camp Sleepovers, People Under The Stairs, Boombox, and MGMT.

Reaction from students was polarized.  One attendee called it the “best show I’ve ever been to”, while another claimed it was the “worst $15 ever spent”.  The sound didn’t travel well farther from the stage, so students rushed up in droves when MGMT took the stage. Other students left when the feature band came on.

Crowdsurfers floated among the mass of students, in and out of tobacco and marijuana clouds.  Police patrolled the crowd periodically, occasionally taking down student names and monitoring the CBW green for illegal activity.

Some were upset that MGMT didn’t sing Kids.  (They did sing Electric Feel and Time to Pretend.)  MGMT gave an early performance of a song, Mystery Disease, coming out in their August album.

These are some of the best pictures we’ve received so far, combined with a few of our own. Send us terrific pictures if you want to see some posted!

Some graffiti of the Zig Zag man on the Outing Club’s building.

-a little bird

True to our predictions, UVM Concerts Bureau announced that 2013’s Springfest, headlined by MGMT, will be held outside, this Saturday, on the CBW Green.

The spring helmet sale, outside the Davis Center, offered mega discounted helmets to students in an effort to increase biker safety.

Countless students flooded the Redstone Green on April 20th to get high.  Students crammed into the field in a mass of haze and smoke, while police officers posted around the area watched.  This year, UVM Police did not swarm the green as in years past.  

“I’ve been working here for 13 years,” one UVM officer said, “and every year it’s the same thing.”  When asked if this was more than expected, he did not comment.

The group of students (some of which were selling hot dogs and sandwiches to hungry tokers) stood firm for about 20 minutes, when they began to channel out of Redstone in massive droves.

Eventually, when a few hundred students remained, police moved in patiently, mingling with students. A few were written up for brazenly smoking in front of certain cops.

A woman, brandishing a cardboard marijuana leaf, handed out legalization materials.  By 4:50 PM, only a few dozen people remained, lounging in the sun or cleaning up the abundant trash on the green.

For the University of Vermont, whether sanctioned or not, April 20th is perhaps the most hugely celebrated holiday on campus.  Toke on, students.

Syrup on Snow, a yearly tradition at UVM, occurred today outside the Bailey-Howe library.  Hundreds of students stopped by for some food.

In preparation for Friday’s Relay For Life, dozens of glow-stick bags spelt out “HOPE” on the DC green.  From their placement, however, no one is able to read it from an aerial view.

Trouble mounts for UVMtv.  The media branch is losing all its channels in the dorms after the spring semester and will be accessible only online, confirms former president Max Landerman.  The TV station is also being evicted from the Davis Center due to money issues.

The announcement came soon after IRA announced that cable channels will also not be available in the dorms after this semester.  Those in the dorms who watch TV will have to find something else to do.

Getting a Facebook page is a subject always under consideration but not likely to happen until Fall 2013 or later.  We have some concerns about Facebook’s privacy policy, our anonymity, and we like to stay underground.  It would definitely increase outreach, though, which is one of our top priorities going forward.  Thanks for the feedback!

Only weeks before the L/L mural is set to be re-painted, somebody spray-painted this monster on top of the fading art.

The line was longer during parts of the day, but this is roughly how long the line was most of the day.  It took about 15-20 minutes to get a free cone or cup of ice cream.

Phish Food, Chocolate Therapy, and Americone Dream were their most popular flavors that day.