Cool things about Skidmore
Beatlemore Skidmania:
The hugely popular Fab Four tribute concert was inspired years ago by
students in Professor Gordon Thompson’s “Beatles” seminar, who just wanted to play a few songs
with their friends. It’s grown so much that it’s now live-streamed for alumni in Boston and New
York City, and would-be performers (students, alumni, faculty, and staff) have to audition via DVD
submissions and cross their fingers to get in.
ComFest:
If you’re talking college comedy, Skidmore might be king. Laugh all you want, but the
25-year-old National College Comedy Festival was started at Skidmore by David Miner ’91,
Emmy-winning producer of the acclaimed
30 Rock
. It’s a big draw, with pros and college troupes
converging on campus; plus it’s a great showcase for Skidmore’s own Skidomedy, Sketchies,
and Ad Liberal Artists.
Individualism:
“Here, ‘strong friendships and a great sense of community keep things interesting
on campus,’ and students really like the fact that they ‘don’t have frats or sororities so there is no
pressure to join or conform to anything,’” according to
Princeton Review’s
Best Value Private
Schools. “The fraternizing at Skidmore does not stop in the classroom.”Without a Greek system,
the nearly 130 student clubs and organizations are only more vibrant.
Geothermal living:
Skidmore’s two student apartment complexes—Northwoods and Sussman
Village—are heated and cooled geothermally. It’s a bright-green system using the year-round
50-degree temperatures deep underground to provide AC in summer and help with heating in
winter. About 40% of campus heating and cooling is now geothermal, with a goal of 50% by 2020.
