Telluride Site

Shamlessly stolen from the UMich Blog. Fate has smiled kindly, first time I actually browse their blog and I find this little delight. My eyes have been opened.
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Poking around on the Telluride Association website has revealed to me something wonderful.
There is a certain section of the site containing all sorts of goodies that is restricted from the general public but that we can now access.

Telluride Associates Page

This will provide a link but otherwise you can also just click on the "For Current Associates" Section. You will then need to register which takes no effort other than basically picking a password as they have all your other info and just want confirmation. Then presto, you're IN.


And there are all sorts of good stuff inside including a directory of anyone ever in TASP or TASS or any Telluride Program, the Telluride Newsletter with stories about TASPs, some stuff about things you can do ( can we interview TASPers next year? That would be weird.) and my ABSOLUTE favorite: the Factotum manual.

Highlights of what Jenny and Josh read:

"In the past, some factota have felt so strongly that unsafe sex must be prevented at all costs that they have argued to us that we should make safer sex supplies available to TASPers who might be sexually active. TASP Committee believes that TASPers, many of whom are not sexually experienced, might interpret the distribution of safer sex supplies as an invitation to sex."

"Here are some policies which worked well for some factota in the past that you may choose to announce: 11:30 weekday, 12:30 weekend curfew; papers due at curfew the night before; individual meetings to “check in” with each TASPer periodically; no TV or internet in the house; limited movie-watching in the house; mandatory mealtimes; enforced bedtimes for students who sleep in seminar; no smoking in the house and house environs; no listening to headphones in public spaces; assigning a number to each person to “count off” to ensure that no one is left behind on group outings."

"The factota are responsible for recruiting, with tact and restraint, for Cornell Branch, for Michigan Branch, and for TA. Obviously, this means that the factota are also engaged in a recruitment effort for the host institutions that help sponsor TASP. We do not allow factota not currently enrolled at Cornell or the University of Michigan to engage in individual recruitment efforts for the institutions at which they study. All factota may, of course, answer questions about their own college experiences, but keep in mind that recruitment in general is a sensitive issue, and that many TASPers come to their programs already morbidly obsessed with the Ivy League."

"We expect each factotum to present a fair evaluation of his/her program’s participants. This involves maintaining a careful objectivity in observation throughout the summer, and writing a documentary rather than impressionistic report. To this end, you must take notes throughout the summer about TASPer performance. You have the weighty responsibility of commenting on a young person’s suitability for a large scholarship. You will find that by keeping notes over time, you are able to offer a more accurate perspective at the summer’s end. These notes will also help you to treat TASPers more fairly, as you discover that some of your impressions are not borne out by the evidence."

Those notes would be very interesting to read.