Alex is on vacation this week, which means that I’m working from home. That said, I’m watching TV as I write this post, and since it’s primary season in Connecticut, I’m seeing some pretty entertaining attack ads. I’ve also been drinking coffee since I got up this morning, so this post is either going to be incomprehensible or the most brilliant thing you’ve ever read. You have been warned.
As I’ve said repeatedly throughout my series of posts this summer, YDS is a great place. If you’ll permit me a sports analogy (and even if you won’t, I’m going to make it anyway, since the Texas Rangers currently have the biggest division lead in major league baseball): YDS is your clubhouse. It’s a place where you can relax and be equipped for your life at (and beyond) Yale. However, if you want to play baseball (or enjoy your time at Yale), you’re going to have to venture beyond YDS. Yes, stepping up to the plate (which is somehow a metaphor for being involved at Yale beyond YDS, don’t ask me how, I’m going with the coffee right now) can be scary, but who knows, you could end up leading major league baseball in hits, just like Josh Hamilton (which, in Yale terms, probably means you’re managing GPSCY, as a recent YDS alumni succeeded in doing [again, I’m riding high on caffeine and the fact that the Rangers have a shot at the playoffs this season]).
Unfortunately, I can’t figure out how to compare various resources at Yale to the bases, so I’m going to have to drop my mixed metaphor (much to your relief, I’m sure). However, one of the resources that you should be aware of is the McDougal Center. The McDougal Center is run out of the Hall of Graduate Studies by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, but it exists to serve the entire graduate and professional community at Yale.
In its most basic form, the McDougal Center is a common room located just off the HGS dining hall. Here, you can take advantage of internet access, a large selection of periodicals, board games, and a piano that is kept in better tune than the one in the YDS Commuter Lounge. There’s also the Blue Dog Café, which describes itself as a “gourmet coffee bar.” (However, unlike our own Holy Grounds, you can’t purchase things with an IOU at the Blue Dog).
The McDougal center also runs a computer lab, a children’s play area, health supplies and information (which I have learned means condoms, not band-aids, fyi; you generally have to carry your own band-aids around Yale), and music practice rooms.
Beyond these physical resources, the McDougal center organizes events for the G&P community. These range from family-friendly outings (a Fall staple is apple-picking) to bar crawls (the first of which will be held Saturday, August 24). McDougal also sponsors the “First Friday at Five” happy hour each month, charity casino nights, an annual winter ball, speed-dating, discounted tickets to concert’s at Toad’s Place, and pre-game events for The (Harvard-Yale) Game (which is in Cambridge this year, so these may be limited to a bus service). The McDougal Center also works with the Chaplain’s Office to organize service projects through the Yale Day of Service series.
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