The Scarlet & Black

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The Scarlet & Black

The Scarlet & Black

Feven Getachew
Feven Getachew
May 6, 2024
Michael Lozada
Michael Lozada
May 6, 2024
Nathan Hoffman
Nathan Hoffman
May 6, 2024
Harvey Wilhelm `24.
Harvey Wilhelm
May 6, 2024

Day in the life: Peter Aldrich ’15, Presiding Officer of Joint Board

6:26 a.m. — Wake-up attempt #1.
6:30 a.m. — Wake-up attempt #2.
6:38 a.m. — Wake-up attempt #3. Success!
6:42 a.m. — Walk to shower; forget towel. Retrieve towel.
7:22 a.m. — Open dresser and observe clothing selection to be slim; regret decision not to do laundry yesterday. Better do it tomorrow.

Photograph by Joanna Silverman

7:39 a.m. — Arrive at breakfast to find, to my delight, that today is maple pecan Danish day. Eat three.
8:00 a.m. — Sit down in ARH 120 for International Economics with Jack Mutti, three more pastries in hand.
8:51 a.m. — Leave ARH and head to Noyce 1245 for History 100 with Sarah Purcell.
9:54 a.m. — Head back to JRC to check mail.
9:56 a.m. — No mail. I never get mail.
10:00 a.m. — Head back to dorm; begin Humanities reading; change clothes.
10:45 a.m. — Walk back to JRC for the job I do when I’m not Presiding Officer: catering.
11:47 a.m. — Prepare fruit dessert plates for two guests. Congratulate self on culinary skills, but then realize all I did was cut and arrange fruit.
12:11 p.m. — Begin lunch service at Grinnell House.
12:49 p.m. — Eat the lunch I served – beef cheek over a risotto, crème of lime, black bean emulsion.
2:27 p.m. — Arrive back at JRC catering kitchen; inform catering staff that I need to leave for a headshot. They ask for context, and I respond that it’s for an article in which I’ll be featured in the S&B. They ask for a shout-out. Shoutout to Carolyn and Jen, the best supervisors I’ve ever had, along with Chefs Becca, Aber, Scott, and Jaie, some of the finest culinarians in Iowa.
2:31 p.m. — Have photo taken by Joanna [Silverman ’15], photographer for the S&B.
2:40 p.m. — Back to dorm to change out of catering clothes. Converse with floormate.
3:15 p.m. — Arrive in Noyce 2402 for Applied Statistics with Jeff Jonkman, Mathematics.
3:41 p.m. — Make snappy remark. Professor laughs.
4:09 p.m. — Print off agenda for tonight’s Joint Board meeting, along with the minutes from last week.
4:21 p.m. — Head back to dorm. Organize briefcase for Joint Board. Review agenda. Converse with floormate. Read The New York Times.
5:29 p.m. — Change clothes again, this time into a white dress shirt, khakis, and sport coat. Select tie, taking care that it is a tie I have not previously worn to Joint Board.
5:46 p.m. — Enjoy a positively lovely dinner.
7:04 p.m. — Arrive at JRC 209; call Joint Board to order.
7:15 p.m. — After a long, confusing series of motions, explain to a visitor the motions that have been made and their effects. Applause follows. I love this job.
7:52 p.m. — Slowly realize that two glasses of water at dinner was not the brightest idea.
8:14 p.m. — Damnit, I really need to go to the bathroom.
8:31 p.m. — Leave meeting and use restroom (First time I’ve ever left a meeting while it is in session).
9:08 p.m. — Allison Wong [’12] gets me coffee. Thanks, Allison.
9:59 p.m. — Adjourn meeting.
10:04 p.m. — Converse with a senator regarding procedure; converse with Alex White regarding next week’s agenda.
10:26 p.m. — Arrive back at dorm. Converse with floormate; get some work done.
11:03 p.m. — Decide I’ll go to bed and work tomorrow.
11:21 p.m. — Roommate arrives. We chat about the Republican primary and the integrity of mobile application developers.
12:00 a.m. — Watch episode of NOVA with roommate.
12:45 a.m. — Watch some clips of the British television show QI with roommate; laugh mightily.
1:01 a.m. — Decide it’s REALLY time for bed; set alarm for 8:00 a.m.
1:17 a.m. — Sleep.

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