By Velvet Roper staff 5/18/12 3:41pm

Question of the Week

6 Photos

Obama at Barnard

Question of the Week: Thoughts on Obama’s Barnard Commencement Speech from Partygoers Hugh Dancy, Patrick Wilson, Gavin McInnes and More

President Obama delivered the commencement address to almost 600 female grads of Barnard College on Monday, and spent the bulk of the speech enthusiastically encouraging the young women to “fight for a seat at the head of the table.” But he attributed the guidance that garnered the most cheers from the audience to First Lady Michelle: you can look good and be at the top of your professional game.

So, during our week out on the town, we asked everyone we ran into:

What did you think of Obama’s advice to young professional women that they can be “stylish and powerful”?

Herewith, an array of reactions from Hugh Dancy, Mary McFadden, Patrick Wilson, Mark Ruffalo, and Gavin McInnes (who, naturally, embraced the opportunity to make an Oprah joke). Read More

By Erica Martin 4/25/12 2:27pm

Party Report

Barnard Gala Nights. (Barnard College/Asiya Khaki ’09)

Obama Excitement and Gummy Worms at Barnard Gala Nights

After the grown-up gala upstairs, which raised $2.3 million for Barnard student scholarships, young Barnard alumnae in cocktail dresses and heels emerged from the Plaza’s second floor elevators.  Older alumnae put on their coats and wandered away as their younger counterparts entered a hall with gilded ceilings and paintings of cherubs. So began the inaugural Barnard Gala Nights, a chance for recent graduates to dance and mingle.

“I don’t know any of these people,” we overheard one blond girl say to another. Read More