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NaNoWriMo: Week Two 03 A GI’s Apology 04 Stress and Wonder 08 SCI Forum on Grades 12
St. John’s College • 60 College Ave, Annapolis, MD 21401 • Nov. 15, 2011 • Vol. XXXIII • Issue 11
The Gadfly
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<< Cover: Julie Dowdy (A’ 11) dances at the Parent’s Weekend Waltz Party. >> Our Biggest Fan: Strider MacDougall (of Micaela MacDougall A’14) shows his appreciation for The Gadfly in the only way he can. The student newspaper of St. John’s College 60 College Avenue Annapolis, Maryland 21401 gadfly@sjca.edu Editors-in-Chief Danny Kraft Grace Tyson Assistant Editors Nathan Goldman Ian Tuttle Layout Editor Hayden Pendergrass Assistant Layout Editors Hau Hoang Amy Stewart Staff Jonathan Barone Robert Malka Tommy Berry Sarah Meggison Melissa Gerace Joshua Snyder Jonathan Whitcomb-Dixon Charles Zug Business Manager Honore Hodgson Photographer Henley Moore Contributors Stephanie Connolly Emma Gold GI Jane Jerry Januszewski Barbara McClay Founded in 1980, The Gadfly is the student newspaper distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus. Opinions expressed within are the sole responsibility of the author(s). The Gadfly reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to publish the most professional, informative, and thought-provoking newspaper which circumstances at St. John’s College permit. Articles submitted will be edited for grammar, punctuation, spelling, and length in most cases. The Gadfly is not obligated to publish all submissions except under special circumstances. The Gadfly meets every Sunday at 7 PM in the lower level of the Barr-Buchanan Center.
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!"#$%&'(!) > Drew Menzer A’13
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ere at St. John’s we pride ourselves than girls, and, therefore, girls need a on having one of the best intramural league of their own so that they can still programs in the country. Almost half of play sports, but without the pressure of the student body has some participation playing with guys. I guess it is true that in sports, and that does not even include I yell at all of my teammates when they our other athletic clubs, like crew and make a mistake, and complain to the refs boxing. We have a fun, welcoming, and whenever any controversial call is made fair intramural program. (or not made), but does that mean that I Well, fair if you’re a girl. put pressure on people? Of course not. For those who are not familiar with And besides that, who says that I the inequities of the situation, we have don’t want a more stress-free intramural two separate intramural groups: one in experience? It is a little depressing to which anybody affiliated with the polity have Tommy Bonn block all of my shots can play and one in in basketball, always which only women spike the volleyball Who says I don’t want a into my face, and can play. The latter more stress-free intrais known as! "#$%&, generally turn me which, as we all know, into a broken shell of mural experience? is Greek for “sexist a man. I could really athletic group.” This use a chance for a means that, if I did my arithmetic more welcoming sports group. Plus, correctly, girls have the opportunity to "#$%&! gets to play netball. How am I play in twice as many intramural leagues supposed to get to play netball if I can’t as men. Whatever happened to Title IX? play in "#$%&? When confronted about this atrocity, But maybe there are some guys that the "#$%& “captains” (read: tyrants) wouldn’t fit into "#$%& because they claim that this gender discrimination would take it too seriously. So don’t is actually justified. They claim that let them play. Just let in the guys who guys take sports much more seriously would fit in and enjoy "#$%&, like me. !
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Editors’ Note: Due to Thanksgiving break, the next issue of The Gadfly will be distributed on Tuesday, December 6. Happy Thanksgiving!
The Gadfly
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{ !"#$%&'(
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}
What would your seminar character buy (or sell) at Meet Market? +,()*"
$#()*"
Plato
The Bible
Genesis
Thucydides
Crito would buy Socrates’ freedom. > Zug the Thug
Paul (formerly Saul), to the Corinthians: BACON. Everyone wants BACON. > Nathan Goldman
Cain would buy a really good lawyer. > Joshua Snyder
Triremes. Everyone wants triremes. > Honore Hodgson
NEXT WEEK
What is your character’s don rag report?
!""#$%&'(
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Reaching the Halfway Point > Melissa Gerace A’15
O
kay, so, week two. Week two is when the panic starts, when timing really starts to be awful, and when everything happens at once, like catching two types of illness at once, preparing for oral exams, Parents’ Weekend, writing papers—or, well, maybe that’s just me. It’s entirely possible that’s just me. But I’m certain that many other writers are currently hitting their own lovely brick walls halfway through this exhausting month. In reality, week two could be one of two things, depending on the writers themselves: the most challenging week of the month or surprisingly easy. This could be the week where everything begins to fall together. Suddenly, characters are much easier to get along with, plot struggles work themselves out, and you magically find the time to fit in at least 1,600 words in one day like you’re supposed to, instead of trying to pull an extra three thousand out of the air in the early hours of morning. Or, the second week could be the most difficult. In many ways, it truly is. You can suddenly find yourself halfway through November realizing that you don’t like a single word you’ve written—and no matter how often you remind yourself that this is NaNoWriMo, where, for this
one month, word count matters more than quality, the fact continues to nag you. It’s truly distracting, thinking that the words you’ve spent so much time trying to write are worthless. It isn’t an easy thought to escape. The best thing to do is remind yourself of the obvious: you’re attempting something that would be difficult with all the free time in the world, while balancing just about everything else at the same time. You can always find time to edit in December, without word count quotas on the mind. At the very least, all the work of November will give you something substantial to edit. If the first week was a time to create and play, week two, while still giving
Whether or not the words will last is not, at this point, the idea.
room to experiment, is the halfway point. It’s a time to settle into what you created during week one, to follow what you’ve created, and then to expand on it. By day fourteen, it is suggested that you have 23,333 words written—meaning you “only” have 26,667 left to write in the following weeks. While of course you can still find new characters and events that you hadn’t previously planned, now is the best time to manipulate what you’ve already created—and that can mean anything from time jumps to nearly nonsensical dialogue that probably won’t ever survive your December editing. Whether or not the words will last is not, at this point, the idea. Novels are supposed to take months, even years, not thirty days. Despite what you may be hoping, the novel you turn out within the month of November will probably not be ready for December publication— and that’s perfectly all right. At its core, NaNoWriMo is the chance to prove something to yourself: that you can, even with all of the necessary (and not-so-necessary) distractions, write 50,000 words in thirty days. No one else ever needs to so much as glance at what you’ve written, if that’s how you wish it—or you can pass your completed novel around to all of your friends, if recognition is what you’re looking for. The point, in the end, is that you wrote it. What you do with it is up to you. !
The Gadfly
04 An apology for the article I didn’t write.
!"#$%!#&'"$()$*+%!$!",!$ *-&.#/%$"#,01$(& > Emma Gold A’12 i. the stench of lust that lingers heavy on my mute, immobile flesh — this goddamn stink, old nectar and prolonged decay, antique pollution — torments me unceasingly for i am but a simple thing, a brick of skin and nerves compounded, rendered still and wholly silent. movement boils down to this: a muffled yearning, stifled sighs subverted into clouds of stale air. ii. like manna, entropy descends to earth and some of us are ravenous enough to hoard the stuff. deny the body, feed the mind, yes, pinch your nose, deny the flesh, and let the soul grow fat. pretend we do not reek, brave soul. allow our veiled eyes to hide all hints of living fire; believe us when we say we search for truth alone. iii. dear god, i cannot be the only one who longs to live! to live, that is, to act— impose one’s self upon the waiting world— and lest you wish to out of hand dismiss entreaties thus displayed, consider this: the lust of which i sing so forcefully desires more than bodies, friction, heat— a simple lust, a need to feel and to be felt, not just by flesh but life itself— return me to the world of men, the world of action and push-back; let me release hot breath into the frozen night and watch its bulky mass then stretch out into space.
Joshua Snyder procrastinates with fellow GIs. photo courtesy of Lauren Smith
> Joshua Snyder GI’13
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ello Polity, deadline passed, then my second. I I am a prisoner to my procras- stopped going to meetings. Concerned tination. That’s why I’m writing to you fellow members stopped me on the now and not a month ago, as originally way to class or other work, as if we beintended. This isn’t the article I hoped longed to the same AA. to produce, but something else: a half“Hey, it’s been awhile since we’ve hearted attempt to explain my affliction seen you,” they’d say. “Is everything and get to the bottom of why I struggle going all right?” so futilely against getting things done “Yeah,” was always my reply. “Things on time. are good. I’ve just been busy.” I cobbled this essay together at the Most would then nod emptily, as if last minute, so bear with me. they could see right through my deceit, Let’s start at the beginning, when straight to the very heart of the matter. there was still hope for me to accom- They would then remind me that I’m plish my goal. This story was first “welcome back any time” before headmeant to be about under-utilized stu- ing on their way. I would then return dent resources. Its title, while never home and make a concerted effort to settled on, would have been something not work on the paper. appropriately inane. Once given the You see, procrastination and I are green light, I set out to complete my two lovers who have never gotten task. It wasn’t long, though, before I along. Our relationship is unhealthy, slammed headlong and if counseling into the Wall. doesn’t solve the probYou see, procrastinaThe problem lem, I’m leaving it. But tion and I are two lov- that’s what I say every started simply at ers who have never first. I had made time. It always returns great strides earfire with sad, puppygotten along. ly on with some dog eyes that draw me firsthand research, and it was time to back in until I’m there to stay. plan my next step. Do I visit Harrison Modern society offers so many disHealth Center or Iglehart? But then a tractions. Television on demand. Youthird option crept up, slinking into my Tube. Fringe candidates. Each of these brain so insidiously I’m still not sure is competing with the meaningful work how it got there: I hope to produce on a daily basis. Most It was almost lunch time, so why not of the time I fail miserably, and base drop everything and grab a bite to eat? entertainment wins out in the end. It’s This procedure repeated itself nu- tragic, but it’s also a reality I’ve come merous times over the following days, to expect. So it was here, and for that, and, ultimately, weeks. I would make Polity, you have my apologies. an attempt to resume work on my arOn the other hand, I did manage to ticle, then get distracted by something finish writing this. Perhaps there is unimportant and lose interest. My first h— !"
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The Gadfly
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!"#$%&!"#$%&'()*+(",$% > Charles Zug A’15
M
y desire to analyze the recent polity performance of Titus Andronicus stems greatly from my curiosity about how a director goes about interpreting such a disconcerting dramatic work. Indeed, in my last article I raised a number of questions regarding the tragic nature of Titus; having watched three performances, I feel scarcely more confident in my understanding of the basic temper of the work. There are a few purely comedic aspects belonging to this drama that I think warrant mentioning. Aaron the Moor (Alex Lankford) remains throughout a puppet master, as well as a kind of conduit between stage and audience. His narration brings the course of the drama to the viewers, and this intimacy between actor and audience leaves the viewer focused more on Aaron’s own deviousness than the destruction of the house of Andronicus. That is, his presence disrupts any real tragic tension that could possibly develop around any of the characters. Another aspect that may or may not contribute to the drama’s overall deficit of tragic content is the lack of true monologue; characters do embark upon long speeches of serious nature (two exemplary instances are Titus’s (Christian Meudt) “I am the sea,” and Marcus’s (John Fabiszewski) lament of Lavinia’s rape). However, none of these speeches occur while the speakers are alone, thus starving the characters of their usual tragic pathos. And, inevitably, I ask myself: Why was the audience brought to laugh at some
of the seemingly most serious scenes in the play? Were these instances of hilarity results of directing or of the inherent quality of the written drama? It was the last scene, for example, which in every performance elicited the most laughter. Why did the murder of four characters inspire such a reaction? Titus, having just baked into a pie the sons of his dinner guest, enters the stage dressed in an apron and chef’s hat and begins to rave in a malicious and maniacal fashion. The murders that follow seem somehow grossly, absurdly out of proportion with this previous action. Consequently, it seems that the only possible emotional outlet left for the audience was laughter. A line of Marcus’s from earlier on in the play offers sufficient commentary: Why dost thou laugh? ‘tis not the time for it! There are other similar instances: In the first performance, the audience laughed as the handless, tongueless, raped Lavinia stumbled across the ground toward center stage. Why such a response was wrought I cannot say, but I am not certain the director could have done anything to make scenes like this more serious or tragic. Indeed, I am brought to wonder if the play ought to be performed in a more outwardly comic manner. Certainly, some might consider doing so as going against a more traditional, literal school of Shakespeare interpretation. But in the case of Titus Andronicus, I cannot help but think that such tradition might merit some re-examining. !
>> Photos by Henley Moore
!"#$%&'()#*"+#,&&-)# { A speech delivered by GI Jane at the Smith-McDowell Cup, honoring the joy and camaraderie shared at the tournament. }
T
he Smith - McDowell Cup. As I was pondering what to speak about, I thought it might be a good idea to know the significance of those two names. McDowell is easy, everyone knows McDowell. But Smith? Then I thought, “Does it really matter if I know who Smith was? Smith is us. Smith is the common man. Smith is the everyman. Smith is Kunai. If one were to choose a universal name, it could be Smith. If one were to choose a universal athletic program, it would be Kunai.” All are invited, and all who arrive play, and all who play have fun. Kunai has some of the characteristics of Pee Wee soccer, but without the obnoxious, yelling parents; the matching socks and shirts; and the coaches who have no idea what they are doing. So, Kunai is really much better than Pee Wee soccer. What you have in Kunai is the motion, the interaction between players, the smell of the grass in the fall, the warmth and comfort of an old gym in the colder months, but most important, what remains is the core of athletics, camaraderie. There is no other companionship like that gained on the field of sport. Kunai is also about learning. While sport allows an individual to learn much about herself—for instance, at age 50, the body no longer does what the brain wants it to do—
it also teaches you much about those who participate with you. First, about oneself. I believe there is an athlete in all of us, and it’s just a matter of finding it. Just as when one first reads Aristotle and has a difficult time figuring out what he means, by the fifth reading, his meaning is much more clear. When one first steps on an athletic field, she may seem at a loss as to what to do, where she should be on the field, but by the fifth time, or even sooner, it starts to become instinctual. Second, learning about your teammates. Just as you, either as a new player, or someone new to Kunai, may not know initially where to be on the field or who to guard on the court, those things start to come to you as you learn more about the game. You will, in conjunction, learn more about your teammates. You learn that on the soccer field, your teammate is there to back you up, calling for the pass or letting you know that the opposing player is bearing down on you. And these things, too, become instinctual. You also discover things about your teammates other than what is on the field. You will see strengths you may not see in the classroom, you will see leadership and confidence. And others will see these things in you. You will find a trust in one another that often can only be found in athlet-
ics. There will come a moment where you make a great pass to a teammate, but it’s not the matter of the greatness of the pass, it’s the instinct of knowing the teammate was going to be at the end of that pass. I focus on the passing and the teamwork here, and not on scoring the goal or making the basket, because the pass and the teamwork are what Kunai is to me. The passing
is the beautiful part of the play and the passing results from the process of learning: one, of learning that you are capable of making the pass, and two, learning that your teammate is going to be at the end of the pass. Most importantly, you demonstrate to yourself, even if you have never set foot on a field or court before, that you have just done something beautiful. Knowing that you are capable of such beauty keeps you coming back for more. I encourage all of you to keep coming back for more. When you leave St. John’s, there is always a place to find your inner athlete. You will find an over-30, 40, and even over-50 soccer league. I play on a women’s hockey team whose oldest player is 60. I cannot imagine my life without athletics, and I have the same wish for all of you: That if you were an athlete before you arrived at St. John’s, you continue onward; and if it took St. John’s to bring out your inner athlete, you keep it out for the remainder of your lives. Here I digress. Having spent half my life in the military, it is easy for me to analogize what occurs on the field of sport to what occurs on the field of battle. Soldiers train
for years with their fellow soldiers. They go into combat zones with these same soldiers, and they do what they do in battle because of their love for their fellow soldiers. It is the closeness of the soldiers in the unit that gives the unit its spirit. As it is in sport, it is the closeness of the players that give the team or sporting event its spirit. A spirit that often transcends the event itself. I feel this spirit with Kunai. I close with my favorite speech from Shakespeare, that of King Henry V on Crispin’s Day, at the battle of Agincourt, for I think it expresses this spirit, and it especially moves me: “This day is called the feast of Crispian; he that outlives this day, and comes safe home, will stand a tip-toe when this day is named, and rouse him at the name of Crispian. He that shall live this day, and see old age, will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors, and say, ‘Tomorrow is Saint Crispian:’ then he will strip his sleeve and show his scars, and say, ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’ Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, but he’ll remember with advantages what feats he did that day: then shall our names, Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter, Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester, be in their flowing cups freshly remembered. This story shall the good man teach his son; and Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, from this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered; we few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition: and gentleman in England now a-bed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.” And so, we band of sisters, we happy few; let us go shed our sweat together on this field of battle, for she who today sheds her sweat with me shall be my sister. !
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!"#$%%&'()&*+()$# > Jerry Januszewski
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hen I arrived in the small city in southern India, I had ly. I was introduced as “a top addictionologist from America.” high hopes for a relaxed, extended sabbatical. My per- A young nurse presented me with a bouquet of flowers. There sonal stress over the past year had been high. I sought at least was enthusiastic applause. I still had no idea what I was going one full year of rest so I could decide whether to continue in to say. I couldn’t have known it at the time, but this was only the addiction counseling profession. I admit that moving to the first of many encounters that year where I was spontaneIndia to relieve stress was a little extreme, but I felt my situa- ously placed before a sea of Indian faces and expected to say tion demanded a bold move, and this was it. something. India is usually a difficult place to get things done. But to my One thing I learned from that stressful experience: stress surprise, within two weeks of my arrival, everything fell into reduction is a popular topic, worldwide. In the United States place. I rented an apartment and bought the household goods and everywhere else I visited, almost everyone believes they I needed: furniture, stove, refrigerator, and a water dispenser. have too much stress. We think a lot about what stresses us, I had my laptop computer and internet hook-up. There was a and we think a lot about how to rid ourselves of stress. Despite public pool nearby, a health club for working out, and even a all that thought, human beings remain a stressed-out race. basketball court. I purchased a cell phone for local use. Three What to do? Does facing stress effectively mean avoiding boxes of my books sent from Annapolis arrived right on time. experiences that cause tension? Should we seek to eliminate My stress reduction sabbatical in India was working out great the unpleasant or unpredictable things that vex us? Is getting so far. rid of unwanted stress as easy as moving to a new place? The Despite my need to avoid work tension, I couldn’t help my- answers may depend on whether we believe the stress has an self from investigating the local faciliinterior or exterior origin. ties for drug and alcohol treatment. Going to college can feel like enGoing to college can feel like How did they do things here in India? tering a foreign country. There are entering a foreign country. There strange people, new customs and I didn’t know what to expect. In a chance encounter I met the powerful are strange people, new customs vocabulary to learn, novel experichief administrator for a large westences to try, and a variety of new and vocabulary to learn, novel ern-style hospital, Mr. Peter. expectations placed on you, only experiences to try, and a variety Typical of the friendly and genersome of which you feel able to meet. of new expectations placed on ous spirit in India, Mr. Peter invited “The natives” who preceded you you, only some of which you feel there seem at ease and self-assured me to tour the hospital and meet his able to meet. “top staff.” I figured this meant I’d get in their movements. You want to the “special foreigner” treatment and succeed, but it can feel like there be escorted from office to office, shaking hands at each stop. are some secret rules for success that no one told you. Is the Since these were some of the most influential medical officials source of this kind of stress interior or exterior? in the city, I bought a shirt and tie for the occasion. I felt conSome of the stress you experience at St. John’s College is fident and self-satisfied with how I was in control of my new placed on you intentionally. There’s intellectual tension as challenges in this foreign land. “Isn’t it cool to be really cool?” your studies expose you to competing philosophies. There’s I thought as I pondered my coolness. social tension as you are surrounded by potential friends and The morning of our scheduled appointment arrived. As I yet may still feel isolated. Also moral tension as you ponder boarded a rickshaw for the ten minute ride to the hospital, my what principles ought to govern your behavior in your new new cell phone rang. I didn’t recall giving my number out to freedom. anyone, so who could this be? Epictetus was a practical man who was very concerned with “Jeddy!” It was Mr. Peter. I must have given him my num- stress reduction. For Epictetus, freedom from stress comes ber. “Jeddy, the topic we’d like you to speak on today is stress from a realistic acceptance of our natural limits. As soon as reduction.” we harbor anxiety, wishing for an unpleasant situation that is “What? Speak? I don’t understand, Mr. Peter.” out of our control to change, we are unfree, acting slavishly. “Yes, your topic for our staff training today is stress reduc- Epictetus asserts that the source of all stress is interior, and tion. Speak for as long as you like. Good-bye!” And he was therefore we have a great measure of control over our experigone with a click. ence of stress. Minutes later I found myself standing at the front of a large Epictetus helped me recognize that within every stressful conference room packed with doctors, nurses and hospital ad- situation is a hidden opportunity. Uncovering this opportunity ministrators. Dazed but trying to gather myself, I whispered requires diligent effort and a willingness to alter our perspecto a nearby assistant, “Does everyone here speak English?” tives. When I took this seriously, I began to love interna“About half,” was his reply. It’s safe to say I was stressed. >> Continued on page 09 I scanned the room. Every single person was smiling broad-
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The Gadfly
<< Stress and Wonder,
09
continued from page 08
Sincerely, Cluttered in Campbell • Dear Cluttered, We’ve all heard the old saying “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” I, like most people, have always struggled with designating a specific place in my room for each object, and finding a way to remember which object goes in which place. It seems necessary to have some kind of organizational system in order to have any chance of keeping things straight, so the big question is, “What kind of system is best?”
Under the principle that a more objective system would be less forgettable, I first arranged them clockwise around the room in alphabetical order. However, this forced me into some awkward arrangements, like when I had no choice but to set down my “open flame” next to my “oily dishrag.” I then borrowed an idea from The Program and tried arranging everything from one side of the room to the other in chronological order of their creation by man. This soon became tedious to the point of impractical, however, since literally 90% of my music and movie collection was produced in a roughly 14-day span from July and August of 1983, the most furious orgy of artistic creativity that this nation has ever experienced. Similar attempts to arrange everything by weight, density, color, shape, and taste equally failed.
As I started to create my own system, the first step was to group similar things together, and devote different areas of my room to different types of objects. However, I quickly ran into difficulties. Did my calculator belong with my cell phone and computer in the corner that I had devoted to “modern technology,” or did it belong with my Euclid and Apollonius textbooks in the space designated for “mathematical tools and treatises,” or did it belong with my dress shirts in the area titled “things with buttons”? Each of these seemed equally likely. Eventually, I had to come up with an entirely new category that would unambiguously be the best fit for my calculator, a category which I named “calculators.” With this process of refinement repeated for every other object in my possession, I eventually reached a point where I knew precisely which category everything belonged to (an indication that my system must have contained some inherent truth). All that remained was the seemingly minor hurdle of arranging the categories themselves within my room, in a way that I could easily remember.
Finally, I had no choice but to resort to a completely arbitrary, yet perfectly definable, standard. I picked a random day (now known to me as “0-day”) and took a snapshot of my room exactly as it lay. I’ve kept that snapshot with me ever since, studying it often, so that its contents might become like a second nature to me. Every night, I place everything in my room so that the scene perfectly matches the photo, a task which has become easier and easier with time. Thus, I always awake to a surrounding environment which has become more and more familiar, one which I can now navigate with ease. If anything ever feels off, I merely consult the snapshot, my infallible arbiter of the way things ought to be. Unfortunately, this means I can no longer allow anything new into my room, or, by extension, my life. If I did, I would have no way to integrate it, no way to judge where it belongs. Although my physical body will continue to grow unbidden, my soul has ceased its intake and remains in stasis, as frozen and unchanging as the snapshot which defines its world. On the plus side, I can always find my chapstick now. !
Introducing another No Shave November Contestant:
!!"#$%&"'%()%
Dear Tommy, My room is such a mess, I can never find anything. Do you have any organizational tips that I can use to make my room functional?
tional travel as the wild ride that it is, an adventure that can’t be, and shouldn’t be, completely controlled. That’s what made it great; inconveniences became adventures. From Epictetus’ point of view, all of life is that way. Epictetus insists it is perfectly within our power to transform stress into excitement with the situations that trouble us this very day. Once we give ourselves permission to dwell with uncertainty, even embrace it, all sorts of new wonders are free to appear. Afraid to speak up in class? Wow, you now have something in common with the distinguished tutor Chester Burke, who struggled with class participation his freshman year. Nervous about going to a party and being too shy? Great! The movie of your life is unfolding right before your eyes. See yourself as a likable character in the exciting narrative that is your life story. Once we’re less concerned with controlling unpredictable things, we are less stressed by them. This doesn’t mean being reckless. After all, philosophy is concerned with the pursuit of wisdom. But it does mean that so much felt stress is unnecessary and can be restored to its rightful place in our hearts and minds as wonder. To not do so, Epictetus says, is nothing but a failure of the imagination. !
“I’m giving the competition a week’s head start. I can out-beard them all, blind folded.”
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In this week’s installment, Stephanie Connolly explores the struggle between human art and the creative power of nature in the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. > Stephanie Connolly A’12
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ome of the most difficult and frustrating translations I’ve potency, many of these poems also attempt to transform the ever attempted are those of Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry, objects of our ordinary experiences into a kind of art, to transwhich I first discovered during my senior year of high school. form life itself into art. In this struggle, Rilke seems to quesI first began translating his poetry in order to understand bet- tion the value of the artist, and of art itself. If the creations ter the works which I found beautiful and mystifying. of nature—mountains, beasts, and men—are greater and more It’s difficult to describe succinctly the profound than anything art can produce, whole of Rilke’s work, which ranges from why create art? If the creations of the overly sentimental, to the troubled and If this struggle is ever resolved, it is in Rilchaotic, to the jubilant and profound, and nature—mountains, ke’s Sonnets to Orpheus, two series of poems which touches on subjects as ordinary as an centered about the mythic poet. The first beasts, and men— autumn day and as grand as myth. There series especially grapples with the question are greater and more of the poet and his song—what sets the poet are a few unifying elements in these varied works, but perhaps the most notable is their apart from mere men, and from nature. In profound than anyvivid and beautiful imagery. In his poetry, the Sonnets, nature, however powerful, is thing art can proRilke seems to construct entire worlds from depicted as wild, tamed only by the poet’s duce, why create art? song. This song is no ordinary song, no simthese images, worlds filled with fantastical figures and landscapes, worlds which are ple manipulation of language, but, as Rilke surreal and overwhelming representations of our own natural writes in the third sonnet, “Being” itself, “For god an easy world. And interwoven with these powerful images are equal- thing.” It is the unity of image and emotion, a purely heartfelt ly powerful emotions of fear, joy, and love. In “You ahead,” Ril- and aesthetic existence. And, then, as if addressing himself, ke addresses a “lost beloved, never to arrive” who, throughout the young poet who grapples with the value of art, Rilke writes the poem, eludes his grasp. “All of the great/ images in me, in of Orpheus’ song: the distances of experienced landscapes,” he writes, all these, “climb to meaning in me,/ of you, who escape.” It is not, young man, that you love, even when This description of the perpetually elusive lover expresses your mouth is opened by your voice,—learn aptly a struggle that appears in many of Rilke’s works: the struggle between human art and the creative power of nature. to forget that you sang out. That will fade. Rilke’s poetry indeed creates new, extraordinary worlds. But, In truth, singing is a different breath. in what appears to be recognition of nature’s superior creative A breath about nothing. A gust in the god. A wind. !
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Jocks of the Week
The Greenwaves
The Gadfly
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> Ian Tuttle A’14
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he Occupy protests have finally turned violent. It’s the destructive response of the students of Penn State show no surprise to those who were watching closely when a striking parallel. In California, New York, Pennsylvania, they began two months ago. The protestors’ nebulous etc., young people are embracing violence as the appropriate demands for “economic justice” have (understandably) not means of rectifying a situation they mistakenly believe to be been met, the squatting communities have become cesspools unjust. It’s not a last resort; it’s not the final straw—it’s the of disease (eg. tuberculosis at Occupy Atlanta), internal crime first response. “Of course we’re going to riot,” Paul Howard, a has put many protestors on edge (eg. multiple allegations of Penn State student, told the New York Times. “What do they sexual assault at Occupy Wall Street)—and now, as mayors, expect us to do when they tell us at 10 o’clock that they fired town councils, and frustrated citizens demand the end to our football coach?” usurped city streets, citing public health and safety concerns, We are the Riot Generation. We have concocted for ourmany occupiers are growing violent. selves the “right to riot.” Take, for example, Occupy San Diego, where two street Commentator Jonah Goldberg, exploring the origins of this vendors, who initially provided free food and drink to the mentality, writes, “They’re [the rioters] a product of a camprotestors, have received death threats since refusing to con- pus culture that teaches students they have an absolute right tinue providing free snacks. Their carts have been robbed to whatever their hearts desire, starting with a fun-filled coland vandalized, and one was sprayed with urine and blood. lege experience and, afterwards, a rewarding career.” This is Or take Occupy Wall Street, where a photographer was at- precisely the mentality at work in the Occupy protests. The tacked after refusing to stop taking pictures at (public) Zucot- Wall Street Journal tells the story of a squatter who entered ti Park. The photographer reports that the EMT who treated Panini & Co. Breads, situated across from New York’s Zucotti him said she had already been called to the site thirteen times Park, and demanded that the workers fill a 10-gallon containto treat assault victims. er of water. When they refused, he threatened the employees Or take Occupy Oakland, where riot police were sent in to while yelling that “he was entitled to have it for free.” quell protestors setting fires, shattering windows, erecting That is the principle of the Riot Generation. Serially disenroadblocks, and throwing chunks of conchanted with the established order, sorely crete and firebombs. lacking in moral direction and a true social No one should be shocked. We are the Riot Gen- consciousness, raised to believe that the But turn to State College, Pennsylvania. method of effecting change is destruceration. We have con- only Last week saw the revelation of one of the tion, the rioters prefer shattering windows cocted for ourselves biggest scandals in recent college sports to articulating plans for reform or starting history: The Pennsylvania Attorney Genfires to gathering in peaceful solidarity for the “right to riot.” eral’s Office brought a 40-count indictment the victims of unspeakable crimes. It was against Penn State University’s former footthe response of thousands of Greek citizens ball defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, alleging Sandusky to a bankrupt national treasury and the tactic of thousands of sexually abused several preteen boys between 1994 and 2005, British youth who believed themselves entitled to iPods and most of whom he met through a charity for young boys he es- plasma screen televisions, and it is now part of the cultural tablished, The Second Mile. 21 of the counts are felonies. In a milieu, from Bob Marley’s “Burnin’ and Lootin’” to Three 6 particular incident in 2002, a graduate assistant allegedly wit- Mafia’s “Let’s Start a Riot.” nessed Sandusky raping a 10-year-old boy in a locker room; Rioting has become the vehicle of social and political he reported the incident to head football coach Joe Paterno, change in the modern West. And it makes sense. When a who reported the allegation to administration officials. None strong common morality decays into a pervasive relativism of the persons involved contacted the police, and Paterno is and any common ground for compromise is rejected, force reported to have never even asked Sandusky about the allega- alone remains to decide the victor, and, like the child who tions. Paterno—the head coach at Penn State since 1966 and threatens to stop breathing until he gets his way, rioting has the winningest coach in Division I football history—although become this generation’s mechanism not for debating points he fulfilled his legal obligation, was fired last week (alongside of conflict but for imposing desired ends. The students at the university president) for his failure to more aggressively Penn State hope to cow the university’s Board of Trustees into inquire into extremely serious allegations, potentially en- reconsidering their decision to fire Paterno, just as the violent abling a serial predator to continue victimizing young boys Occupiers hope to intimidate elected officials and executives for several more years. His superiors face criminal charges. into their program of economic “justice.” The scandal is huge and sordid, and it is only likely to grow But it’s becoming cliché. When rioting becomes the instinc(new, unconfirmed reports suggest that Sandusky was pimp- tual response, it loses its shock value: We get it. You’re mad. ing out young boys to wealthy Penn State donors). But par- But by destroying property at every perceived injustice, the ticularly telling was the reaction of some 5,000 students who rioters endanger their own cause. Sooner or later, the public took to the streets, shouting, “F— the trustees!” and, “Hell will stop listening. And if the public gets fed up enough, they no, Joe won’t go!” Meanwhile, they threw rocks and bottles, might accept more draconian measures to quell the crimes knocked over a lamppost, and overturned a news van. Several in the streets. And then the rioters will have brought upon students could face attempted arson charges. themselves an authoritarian force that may quell not only the The now-violent protests at Occupy sites nationwide and riots, but even their actual right to protest. !
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Upcoming The SCI Forum on Grades Events O > Barbara McClay A’12
Tuesday 11/15 SJC Orchestra Rehearsal Great Hall, 4-5:30 PM
Kunai Netball Temple Iglehart, 4-6 PM Dance Lessons Great Hall, 8-9 PM Yoga Level 1/2 8:00-9:30 PM, Iglehart Dance Studio Wednesday 11/16 Yoga Level 2/3 4:30-6:00 PM, Iglehart Dance Studio St. John’s Chorus Great Hall, 7 PM Thursday 11/17 Yoga Beginner/Grounding 12:00-12:50 PM Friday 11/18 Kunai Netball Temple Iglehart, 4-6 PM Lecture “Aeneas – A Man in Arms” Mr. Jay Smith, Tutor, St. John’s College Santa Fe, FSK Auditorium, 8:15 PM Saturday 11/19 Sun Salute Yoga 10:00-11:30 AM Mental Health Support Group BBC Room 109, 10:30 AM Shape Note Singing Group Mellon Room 133, 1-3 PM Soccer S vs. D, 1:00 PM G vs. W, 2:30 PM National Novel Writing Month Chasement, 6:30-9:30 PM If you would like to see your event on the weekly schedule, please email Gadfly@sjca.edu
n Thursday, November 10th, the SCI might get a fairly good grade in any givopened its forum on grades with the en class based on their class preparation, following questions: but a student who prepared well might •Why do we make it inconvenient for get a lower grade in a different class bestudents to look at their grades? What’s cause they were quiet. the advantage of that? Another point of view was that •What constitutes a “good grade”? Do grades, although irrelevant to the instudents and tutors agree on this? ner life of the College, were an external •How are different kinds of class per- representation of competency to other formance graded? institutions—such as graduate schools— The consensus of practically every- and should perhaps be treated as such. body present was that grades were swept Therefore, if two students were in a under the rug (so to speak) in order to class, and one was demonstrably more prevent students from relying on them able with the material than another, that for the purposes of self-evaluation. This student perhaps ought to receive a bethelp to steer them toward tools such ter grade even if the other student was as the don rag and paper conferences. in all other respects a better member of Some pointed out that the shift from the class. grades was necessary for students comTo this characterization of grades, ing from a traditional American high several objections were raised. school setting, with its focus on grades One was that, just as St. John’s feaand “goal-oriented learning.” There was tured several (perhaps conflicting) phialso a general agreement that the most losophies of grading, so did graduate important aspects of what constitutes a schools, and that any external judgment “good performance” at of a student’s suitabilSt. John’s are not preity or lack thereof for a Grades ought to cisely quantifiable. particular graduate proreflect the unique gram would almost cerThere was, on the other hand, some disstandards and val- tainly be based on more agreement about the than grades. Therefore, ues of the St.John’s in considering quesfunction of grades. Some thought that tions of interpretation community. a grade ought to be, to by other institutions, it quote the Dean, “a curt summary of your might be worthwhile to remember that don rag.” Instead of being some sort those institutions do not have a set unof external measure of performance, derstanding of grades in place either. for instance, they served as an indicaAnother was that grades, while not a tion of your overall performance—your great tool for self-evaluation, should not preparation for class, your overall level be measuring a different aspect of your of contribution to the discussion, and performance than your don rag. Grades, your competency with the material. The instead, ought to reflect the values of St. point was also made that perhaps some John’s, and, in particular, our emphasis grades—such as the separation of an “A” on classroom involvement, communal student from a “B” student—might be learning, and the process of “learning based on intangible qualities or a gen- how to learn” over the concrete results eral excellence. of that learning. Students who might On the other hand, some students felt earn excellent grades at other instituthat grades often did not match their don tions should not for that reason earn exrags and paper conferences very well. A cellent grades at St. John’s—and might, fairly harsh don rag might still trans- in fact, be served better going elsewhere, late to a good grade, and an apparently something tutors perhaps ought to make positive don rag might also become a clear to them. surprisingly low grade. There was some In addition, Mr. MacFarland, who was feeling that perhaps the standards for the only faculty member present, comgrading ought to be made clearer, and mented that the faculty do not really that if particular tutors had very par- discuss grading except when grading ticular standards, that those standards for seminar—a class without strict stanought to be made clear to the students in dards for “competency” as such. Thus, their classes. the only time the tutors generally disSome students felt that even relatively cuss what a grade ought to be is when clear standards (“talk in class,” “be pre- they are faced with what is perhaps the pared”) were evaluated inconsistently: most qualitative of all the classes at the a quiet student who spoke rarely still school. !
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