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Professor of Art Véronique Plesch and Pulver Family Associate Professor of Jewish Studies David Freidenreich have coauthored a paper recently published in the journal Studies in Iconography. Titled “’What is That to Us?’: The Eucharistic Liturgy and the Enemies of Christ in the Beam of the Passion," the paper addresses the so-called Beam of the Passion, an early 13th-century painted pine beam "created in Iberia for display above the eucharistic altar, which unexpectedly depicts Judas’s second encounter with the priests in its central Crucifixion scene," according to the paper's abstract. "Even more surprisingly, the priests and elders of first-century Jerusalem look like stereotypical African Muslims. Prior scholarship emphasizes the Beam’s depictions of Muslims as Christ’s enemies, but this work is not ultimately about Muslims. Rather, “Moorish” figures—like the Jewish figures they displace—play an instrumental role in an effort to bolster faith in Christ and the eucharist. In this respect, the Beam’s anomalous iconography illustrates a common dynamic within medieval anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim rhetoric, whose true focus is often a fellow Christian. The full significance of the Crucifixion’s Moorish figures and their dismissive quid ad nos becomes apparent through analysis of the Beam in its entirety within its architectural, liturgical, and political contexts." Plesch frequently lectures on art in Freidenreich’s classes (in particular on depictions of Jews in medieval art) and this is how this research first started. Over the course of years, different Colby students were involved in the project, in particular, Anna Spencer ’16 and more recently, Plesch’s research assistants Sarah Rossien ’19 and Annie Muller ’22.

Associate Professor of Psychology Christopher Soto, an expert on personality psychology, was quoted in an April 30 article in Forbes to help explain the counterintuitive notion that extroverts are less affected by the quarantine than are introverts. "Compared with introverts, extroverts tend to experience more frequent and intense positive emotions,” Soto told Forbes. “This makes it easier for them to maintain a positive mood in everyday life. It also helps them stay optimistic in the face of difficult circumstances, like the current crisis.”

In an April 28 Maine Public story titled "Maine Colleges Wrestle With How To Reopen In The Fall As Coronavirus Ravages Budgets," President David Greene shares his thoughts on reopening campus this fall, expressing his preference for a delayed opening. "We’re really trying to focus on those two things, on how we have that great classroom environment, but how we have that full experience that enriches that environment and allows our students to really thrive. And we would rather wait to allow that to happen than to be in a position where we’re offering online courses for an extended period of time,” he told Maine Public. This story was also picked up and run by Bangor Daily News.

The Morning Sentinel provided a roundup of the postponement of in-person graduation ceremonies for Central Maine colleges. President David Greene was quoted from his note to seniors telling them commencement ceremonies would not be held as scheduled: “I want you to know that I am not going to let your commencement be anything but the celebration you have earned,” President David Greene told seniors. “I can’t do as much as I would like about the state of the world right now or the need to postpone your graduation exercises, but I can make sure that we’ll find an exciting way forward and that when we reconvene we’ll make the most of it.”

The Morning Sentinel provided a roundup of the postponement of in-person graduation ceremonies for Central Maine colleges. President David Greene was quoted from his note to seniors telling them commencement ceremonies would not be held as scheduled: “I want you to know that I am not going to let your commencement be anything but the celebration you have earned,” President David Greene told seniors. “I can’t do as much as I would like about the state of the world right now or the need to postpone your graduation exercises, but I can make sure that we’ll find an exciting way forward and that when we reconvene we’ll make the most of it.”

A live Instagram conversation with Senator Susan Collins, hosted by the Goldfarb Center, was mentioned in an Associated Press story that was in turn published in the New York Times, the Seattle Times. and other outlets. The story "Virus, stalled economy raise Democratic hopes to take Senate." looks at Republican candidates' approach to President Trump, reporting, "Asked about Trump, Collins noted she didn’t back him in 2016, when she’s said she wrote in a vote for then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. 'I’ll work with whomever is elected president,' she said during an Instagram live event hosted by Colby College."  

The Colby Museum of Art's new online program Museum @ Home was the lead item in a Portland Press Herald article titled "From puzzles to podcasts, Maine museums are finding ways to engage online." The article highlighted activities the Colby Museum has made available online, including a digital puzzle of famous paintings from the collection and the Artful Movement video yoga series. "Creating online content allows us to reach audiences around the world, around the country, and around Maine," Director Sharon Corwin told the Press Herald. "Art matters more than ever now."

Professor of Government Dan Shea was tapped to comment on the potential for COVID-19 to be a political issue in an April 26 Portland Press Herald article titled "As coronavirus upends political campaigns, it also emerges as an issue." As the pandemic stretches on, many see it as an issue that will affect the November election. “The appropriate response to the pandemic will be on voters’ minds,” s Shea told the Press Herald. “For some voters it will be, ‘The government is not doing enough,’ while for others it might be, ‘It’s doing too much.'”

Colby's Maine general election poll, conducted in February, continues to generate some attention, including being referenced in the Washington Post story "Which Senate seats are most likely to flip in November?"

Playwright Bess Welden, a teaching artist and visiting assistant professor of theater and dance at Colby, was featured in a Q&A on the website Jewish Boston regarding her play Refuge Malja ملجأ, which is one of seven finalists in the Jewish Play Project playwriting contest. The play contains Arabic, and when asked to talk about her decision to use it, Welden replied: "There is Arabic in the title. From the start, people will understand that there will be something a bit different about how language will work in this play. Language is a huge barrier for these characters. They have to find a way to empathize without words. They don’t have a direct line to language in order to be clear with one other."