Angles to Art

With two days of propositions behind them, students on the New England High School Summer Program were feeling much more confident this morning. “I think I’m getting the hang of them,” said Elya S.

That said, there were a few jitters as attendees sat down in their classrooms, each wondering if it might be their day to present. Today the programmers tackled Propositions 4, 9, and 10 from Book I of Euclid’s Elements, dealing with angles, coinciding lines, and bisection. “I got called for Prop 9, and I think I did really well!” said Natalia G. “I’m happy with how it turned out.”

After their first and only class of the day, many programmers perused the TAC Bookstore for sweatshirts, beanies and t-shirts. “Gotta get the merch!” said David J.

Attendees proudly wore their new College swag as they headed back up the hill for the next part of their day: a trip to the the Clark Art Institute! Just like on Saturday, students climbed into buses, this time for the beautiful scenic drive to Williamstown. Following a travel prayer, prefects handed out a variety of sandwiches, potato chips, apples, and granola bars to the hungry high schoolers. Attendees amused themselves in a variety of ways, including singing showtunes, solving brain teasers, and, perhaps most hilariously, listening to prefect Stephen Brown (’25) recite the ingredients of lemon-lime Gatorade from memory.

Once they arrived at the Clark, students quickly lined up on the steps for a group photo just before it began to rain.

The sounds of raindrops on the roof created a cozy atmosphere for students to peruse the beautiful paintings and sculptures within the museum. “I loved the Monet,” said Paulina O. “The Winslow Homer landscapes were gorgeous, too!” Programmers and prefects took in the art at a leisurely pace, enjoying the exhibits together. Many discussed the beauty of the paintings in reference to Lady Philosophy’s definition of beauty. Others marveled at medieval pieces that were as old as some of the works they have read.