Simmons, pictured while not speaking at RISD. (Nick Sinnott-Armstrong / Herald)

Ruth Simmons had several commencements on her plate this season, following up Brown’s festivities of last week with a keynote address at RISD’s commencement Saturday.

She told the Herald in May that she couldn’t reveal her remarks because she hadn’t written them yet — but BlogDailyHerald has learned the real reason for Simmons’ reticence: she didn’t want us to know she was going to badmouth us behind our backs.

Lucky for us, the ProJo was there to report on the speech. Remarking on students’ fun costuming — and, we guess, unaware she was speaking into a microphone — Simmons told the crowd, “I hope no one will repeat this, but the Brown commencement was last weekend, and it was a sleeper compared to this.” She also spilled the beans about all our innermost desires, revealing to the crowd that “people up the Hill are very envious” of RISD students’ style.

“Did you know there is someone here with antlers on their head?” she asked. (We weren’t, but that does sound pretty stylish.)

Et tu, Ruth? But maybe the Prez had a point. As the ProJo notes, RISD grads get to wear “festive and zany” costumes — and as one senior told us of Brown’s ceremony, “it was a sleeper.” Just one more thing to be envious of.

RISD’s new Take a Break festival will take place on May 8^th from 1 pm to 8 pm, showcasing nine music acts and a variety of student art.  Advance tickets are available for purchase at the RISD Office of Student Life for $10 with a Brown student ID.  Expect a big turnout to see/buy artwork and get some good local grub.

This June, President Simmons won’t have to walk more than a few blocks to speak at her second commencement ceremony of the year.  RISD has invited PrezRuth to give the keynote address at their graduation ceremony this year on June 4^th.  Along with graphic designer Seymour Chwast, artist Art Spiegelman, and RISD patron Paula Granoff, Simmons will receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the ceremony.

Prominent RISD grad Dale Chihuly basically single-handedly founded the RISD glassblowing department and has had glass sculpture exhibits around the world, from Australia to Singapore to Germany.

Which is pretty cool. But it’s not as awesome as having your own Google Chrome theme. Chihuly has finally joined the ranks of Mariah Carey, Grass and Glossy Blue.

HuffPo’s brand spanking new College section posted a great slideshow of the “Weirdest School Mascots.” While RISD’s giant phallus “Scrotie” made the list, our beloved Bear seems to have been overlooked.  Also making the list were the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs of Pulp Fiction fame and Scottsdale Community College’s Artie the Fighting Artichoke.  Anyone else down to start a petition to change our mascot to a giant clam?

Phoebe Neel / Herald

The title pretty much says it all. At noon today, protesters on the main green were holding signs reading, “Rainbows Not Bodies” and handing out pamphlets with pictures of the Olsen twins, a cow, and a character from The Lion King on the inside. On the inside were lyrics from Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness” and on the back were lyrics from Gnarls Barkley’s “Going On.”

Um. Anyone have any clue what this is all about? MCM project? Performance art? Insights very welcomed in the comments.

— Thea Aguiar

UPDATE: Roughly thirteen avant-garde idealists took to the Main Green Tuesday afternoon to exercise their freedom of speech, expressing dissatisfaction and anger about inaction and ineptitude in the ongoing battle against a variety of vague and fantastical causes, ranging from apathy to monarchy. Who were these young visionaries with such excellent taste in glitter makeup? They kept mum, but the exceptional quality of their screenprinted electric pink literature, as well as the words of an anonymous tipster, exposed them as RISD students. Performance art piece? Or well-directed jab at our progressive love for protesting? We’ll never know, but looks like we’ve got competition for the most outspokent institution on College Hill.

— Phoebe Neel