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photo Shi photo by by Chengyaqing Anyi Guo
The Gadfly
02
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The student newspaper of St. John’s College 60 College Avenue Annapolis, Maryland 21401 sjca.gadfly@gmail.com www.issuu.com/sjcgadfly www.facebook.com/sjcagadfly Founded in 1980, the Gadfly is the student newsmagazine 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 a professional, informative, and thought-provoking newsmagazine. Articles for the next issue should be submitted by Wednesday, May 1, at 11:59 PM to sjca. gadfly@gmail.com. Staff Nathan Goldman • Editor-in-Chief Ian Tuttle • Editor-in-Chief Hayden Pendergrass • Layout Editor Sasha Welm • Cartoonist Jonathan Barone • Staff Andrew Kriehn • Staff Robert Malka • Staff Sarah Meggison • Staff Charles Zug • Staff Contributors Reza Djalal Michael Fogleman Sarah Hartzell Painter Bob
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J
ohnnies—The last issue of the year we are once again devoting to our soon-to-be-graduates, the Class of 2013! Seniors: We are looking for any contributions you might have to offer—reflections, advice, musings, whatever you would like to send in! We also want, like last year, to highlight as many individuals as we can. Please send in your hometown, senior essay title, post-grad plans (however tentative...), and a headshot by Wednesday, May 1. For all those not graduating, we are looking for profiles, interviews, odes to your favorite seniors—anything about this year's graduates. We look forward to featuring this year’s graduating class! !
Sarah Hartzell A’13
I
love this school and all it represents very much. I have been proud to be a Johnnie since Convocation 2009, and I will be the first to step up in defense of small schools and liberal arts educations in any situation. But I’ve noticed over the years that sometimes Johnnie pride isn’t just positive; it isn’t just being proud of who we are, it’s being proud of not being who we are not. And I think that this is a very dangerous mindset. This issue crops up all the time in various ways. It was a big issue with senior prank two years ago; it hinders relations with Mids. But there was an incident recently that I find absolutely repulsive and makes me ashamed of my entire school. On Accepted Students’ Day, I had a lovely conversation with a high school student excited to come to St. John’s. He was fascinated by the idea of studying ancient Greek, he loved the library already, and he was very excited about our school’s unique culture. I was so happy to tell someone about all the things I love about this school, and I was so proud that it had made such an impression. After I left, I went and sat on the Quad steps to enjoy a beautiful spring day in typical Johnnie fashion. While we were sitting there, a group of teenage skaters were practicing tricks jumping off the steps. They were probably fifteen years old. They looked totally silly. Of course they did. They were images from I’ve noticed over the years that a phase of our lives that we’ve all sometimes Johnnie pride isn’t outgrown. Frankly, I find nothing just positive; it isn’t just being funnier than pictures from five or six years ago of my friends proud of who we are, it’s being with long hair and baggy jeans proud of not being who we are on their skateboards. But even not. And I think that this is a though I got a good chuckle out of watching them, I felt a little very dangerous mindset. uncomfortable that the people around me were openly mocking them. A number of people sitting well within earshot of these boys were heckling them. For what? For having bad haircuts? One of them asked a girl to bum a cigarette. She replied “No, and even if I had one, I wouldn’t give it to you. Get the fuck off our campus.” We all laughed because of course we wouldn’t give a cigarette to someone who doesn’t look old enough to have a driver’s license. But why should he leave our campus? He wasn’t hurting anyone. I laughed at that, too, despite my discomfort at the sentiment. For that I am ashamed. What happened next was beyond uncomfortable, though. Shortly after, one of the boys didn’t land a trick correctly and fell. He was lying on the ground for some time, presumably in too much pain to get up. At this point I couldn’t stand it anymore and went to get him an ice pack. As I left, I noticed that a large group of people were hanging out of a dorm window laughing at the scene. Apparently, that group of people starting throwing water balloons out the window at him. I want to reiterate this: a group of Johnnies, who we know and trust, thought that some fifteen-year-old boy sprawled on the ground in pain was so funny that it warranted being pelted with water balloons from a window where he couldn’t see them. Presumably because his mannerisms and haircut were silly to us well-coiffed college students who have all outgrown that phase. I am completely ashamed and embarrassed that my classmates, who I had just been bragging about to a different kid the same age as this poor boy, could be such cowardly, self-righteous bullies. There is no excuse for this. None. “It was a harmless bit of fun,” you can say. But no amount of fun you are having is harmless if it is at the expense of someone weaker. You would say that in seminar, so there’s no excuse not to act on it. “He couldn’t have been badly hurt,” you can say. Let me repeat: he was sprawled on the ground in pain. You had no idea how hurt he was. Even if it was his own fault, he wasn’t being any more foolish than someone who takes a risky shot in intramural basketball and snaps his ankle. “Those kids yelled at us and shoved a student who confronted them,” you can say. Of course they did. Of course it escalated. But it is your fault that it did, and that’s Pg. 03 unacceptable. I want to point out that older kids Continued On
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The Gadfly Continued From
03 were heckling them well
Pg. 02 within their earshot for half
an hour and they didn’t respond. When the kid who tried to bum a cigarette was insulted, he walked away. They talked amongst themselves without so much as telling the hecklers to “shut up” until someone threw a water balloon at their injured friend. And when someone confronted them face to face, the message was not “Sorry, calm down, let’s fix this,” but rather, “I think you should leave.” The situation escaIf reading all of these books lated, but you can’t teach you how to be cannot for a proud but not prideful, strong second say that the escalation but not tyrannical, thoughtful can be blamed but not pedantic, and humble on anyone who but not weak, then you’ll spend doesn’t go to four years just reading a lot this school. This is our of yellowed pages written by fault. dead guys. This is the first article I’ve ever written for the Gadfly, and I am disappointed that it had to be such an angry one. I hope some people who were there get angry about this. I hope you all read this. Because if you’re angry and defensive, it’s because you know that you were unnecessarily cruel and you don’t like to think of yourself as a cruel person. I felt sick for the rest of the day that I laughed at my friends heckling a teenage boy who looks different from us. I’m complicit, and I am ashamed. So should the rest of us be. I’m not just writing this article to chastise those involved. I’m writing this because I think this is indicative of a very real problem with the culture at St. John’s. We are proud of the education we get, and we are disappointed that much of the outside world is unimpressed. That disappointment makes us self-conscious, and that self-consciousness allows us to turn our pride into elitism. Anyone who has ever turned a pitying glance on their high school friends because they “just don’t understand” the world because they haven’t read the Republic in seminar is guilty of this. Anyone who thinks a philosophy degree from another college (God forbid another Great Books college) is a pathetic image of our degree is guilty of this. And frankly, anyone who thinks that “The unexamined life is not worth living” is a motto for looking down on others is guilty of this. As soon as we let this elitism creep into our actions, we are forgetting two very, very important things about a St. John’s education: we are incredibly lucky to be here, and the whole point of this non-technical education is to make us better people. You are not here because you’re more special than most people; you’re just luckier than they are. And if reading all of these books can’t teach you how to be proud but not prideful, strong but not tyrannical, thoughtful but not pedantic, and humble but not weak, then you’ll spend four years just reading a lot of yellowed pages written by dead guys. Booker T. Washington believed that education of all members of society was the only way to cure the hatred left over by the Civil War. When he described the way the first black cadet was treated at the Naval Academy in 1875, he remarked that “education, whether of black man or white man, that gives one physical courage to stand in front of the cannon and fails to give him moral courage to stand up in defense of right and justice is a failure.” We would do well to keep in mind that this is not just about the Naval Academy in 1875. This is about all education always. !
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!"#$%&"'()**+""%%')&'+&!",#("+)&Examining Sophomore Mathematics Michael Fogleman
O
A’13
n Thursday, April 4th, the SCI held a forum on sophomore math. The sophomore year makes two significant mathematical transitions: from Ptolemy to Copernicus and Kepler, and from Apollonius to Viete and Descartes. How well is the math section handling and thinking through those transitions?Several students mentioned a perennial frustration with the astronomy segment: the freshman-sophomore summer gap that divides our study of Ptolemy. Beyond that initial frustration, new math classes in the sophomore year mean that students in each class have varying levels of competency with Ptolemy—comparable to, but perhaps more problematic than, differing levels of Greek proficiency. Some suggested these difficulties might be mitigated if sophomores took advantage of resources such as the observatory and planetarium. Students reported that studying Copernicus, which is more discussion- than demonstration-based, felt more like a seminar than a tutorial. One junior noted that since Copernicus and Kepler were originally This was one instance of a read in seminar, broader problem in sophomore this might be a math: sophomores reported natural development. Sevlarge variations with respect to eral students what was and was not studied reported that in each segment, and for how their class had long. skipped Kepler. This was one instance of a broader problem in sophomore math: sophomores reported large variations with respect to what was and was not studied in each segment, and for how long. The second segment of the year—Apollonius, Viete, Descartes—had even more variation than the astronomy segment. Some students reported a diminished emphasis on Apollonius’ analytical proofs and the locus problem. At least one class did not read Diophantus; at least two classes did not read Viete; and juniors reported differing amounts of time spent on Descartes’ Rules and his Geometry. Several sophomores mentioned that readings in Aristotle’s Physics and Metaphysics were helpful in thinking through the shift from Apollonius to Viete and Descartes. Also suggested was a kind of glossary exemplifying how a problem could be approached through the mathematics of Apollonius, Viete, and Descartes. The conversation also discussed how the Program attempts to get at the mathematical and metaphysical character of these shifts, especially the shift from geometry to algebra. Some students asserted that such a shift was implicit in and central to the sophomore year as structured by former dean Jacob Klein; others wondered how explicit such a transition might be. All opposed the seemingly drastic approach of making readings from Jacob Klein mandatory, but some suggested that the SCI might hold an extracurricular discussion of his works in the future. Making students aware of his books and lectures might be a small, agreeable step, but should be done with caution. It seemed clear, however, that whatever approach is taken, such discussions about the transitions in both the astronomy and the geometry/algebra segments will be hindered by differences of emphasis throughout the sophomore year. !
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The Gadfly
04
!"#$%&'(%)*+,+-./01$%#)$'%+('$+2$(1 Reza Djalal
“Fan fiction” is a frightening phrase that causes most people to turntail and run at its very utterance, let alone indulge it for any significant amount of time. But, a strange and interesting line is crossed when fan fiction becomes a palpable part of the universe it was intended to pay homage to, instead of a perverse reconstruction of the original material. Brilliance can manifest itself in many ways, so if an idea just happens to be a story that parallels its predecessor, then is there really anything to stop it from being just as great? Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a testament to these possibilities. Director Alicia Stanley took some time to discuss her production, which plays this Friday and Saturday (April 26-27) at 8pm in FSK, and on Sunday (April 28) at 2pm.
A’15
photo by Henley Moore
First, what made you decide you wanted to direct Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead? It’s kind of the ultimate Johnnie play: to me, Rosencrantz is the prospie who is beginning to discover that what he thought was certain is ultimately indefensible, and Guildenstern is the St. John’s graduate who is trying to apply all of his philosophy and logic to life, and is forced to the unfortunate realization that it is completely useless in extreme situations. The play asks us specifically as St. John’s students to take a hard look at ourselves and determine whether what we do here is worthwhile or just absurd. Did you face any kind of difficulties putting this production together? Yes. Putting on a play is hard. Sophomores read Hamlet not too long ago. Do you think Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead will be a good supplement for that reading? Absolutely. Hamlet has been intensely considered for about four hundred years now, and I don’t think anyone would tell you that he has figured it out. That may be because essays and commentaries are not commensurable with plays; you can never get at the truth of Hamlet through a fundamentally different medium. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern addresses many of the same questions as Hamlet, and provides an interesting view of the questions asked and dynamics at work in what is likely the most discussed play in the English language. Perhaps the only way to understand or explain art is to make new art that stands on its own. Ultimately, Shakespeare commentators seek to re-express plays in terms that may be easier for us to grasp; Tom Stoppard has made more headway in this respect than anyone else. What did you do to marry the comedic and tragic aspects of this play neatly? Was it difficult? Frankly, Tom Stoppard did most of my work for me. His understanding of theatrical beats and cadence is unparalleled, at least in my experience. He knows that something can be funny and heartbreaking at the same time, and he knows how to balance these elements just in his scriptwriting. The script itself is such a fine piece of theater that we really just had to listen to him and trust him.
How has your cast affected this production? They are amazing. It’s really their production. I just run around trying to make sure everyone is at the right place at the right time. Would you say Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a play that Shakespeare would appreciate, or is it meant to be a parody of his work? The play is certainly a parody, but it is also a tribute. I think the most satiric parts of the play, such as when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern give terse summaries of Hamlet’s character, poke more fun at how seriously we take the play rather than at the play itself. We could all stand to be taken down a notch or two with how serious we get about Hamlet and Shakespeare in general. Shakespeare should be fun, not academic. I guess Shakespeare would like it, but I don’t really know the guy. Did Rosencrantz and Guildenstern deserve to die? There are many moments in the play where one of the two points out that they have done nothing wrong. The Player indirectly refers to them as spies, which might change matters. As a whole, the play is more concerned with fate than with justice or morality. Largely this illustrates that once a play has started, there is only one way that it can possibly turn out, because it has been written beforehand. It is senseless to pray for a character in a play or hope things go a certain way, because their course is set. Obviously this presentation ends up pointing to ideas about fate and life and a lot of other things I can’t claim to understand. But I like the characters, and it’s pretty upsetting every time they die in rehearsal. !
photo by Henley Moore
The Gadfly
05
Sports Roundup: 2012-2013 Jonathan Barone
L
A’13
adies, gentlemen, it’s that time of the year again, much as Whitney were able to shut her down long enough to eke out I try not to think about it. The longer days and warmer a victory in the finals by a single free throw. Grey and black temperatures herald the parting of ways, so with sadness in played exceedingly well, with one of their games going into an my heart, I present my final sports roundup. overtime thriller. Black went on a 10-0 run in 2:30, squeezing First and foremost: the quest for the overall intramural title out a tight win. It was a well played tournament by all. Postis still up for grabs. The Waves are leading the Guardians by 18 season shout-outs go to John Neal, for facilitating a breathpoints, but the outdoor handball season taking passing game; Henry Hirsch, for has thrown the standings into disarray, finally making a layup (and in spectacand the marathon could truly decide evThe quest for the overall intra- ular fashion!); and Scott Collison, beerything. We’re heading into an excitcause I didn’t mention him last roundmural title is still up for grabs. ing few weeks, but let me recapitulate up for his Ultimate skills. Of course, I The Waves are leading the the past semester to get you up to date. would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Basketball: In the beginning, it Guardians by 18 points, but the stalwart Jerry Januszewski, the prinseemed as though the Spartans and cipal unmoved mover of the basketball outdoor handball season has the Greenwaves would be the teams court. thrown the standings into disto beat. With the acquisition of stelVolleyball: The volleyball season lar sophomore guard Sebastian Abella array, and the marathon could was, once again, dominated by Spartan and newcomer Nikos Frank, the Waves enthusiasm for the aloha spirit. This truly decide everything. were looking to snap their seven-year time, they followed it up with some drought from a basketball title. At the spectacular play behind Matt “Panbeginning, the only team standing in their way was a power- cakes” Denci. Nevertheless, the Hustlers won both the tourhouse Sparta, with MVP candidate Graham “Flash” Gordon nament and the short season, capping a two-year run of some and freshman newcomer Christopher Zeller. Both teams had very surprising results. very strong inside presences, but the Greenwaves ultimately Handball: It’s been a crazy season, and it’s any team’s emerged victorious in the Holiday Tournament, winning their to win or lose at this point. The Green Mountain Brothers, final game 45-38. Hunter and Hudson Cox, have been destroying it, creating the However, in the regular season, the Spartans weren’t able to league’s most powerful shooter/goalie duo. Eric Shlifer, Dhidmuster the same mojo. Despite strong B-Team play from the hat, Tommy Bonn, and Drew Menzer have all been laying their Spartan women and LeBrian “James” Warczinsky, the buckets bodies on the line for a chance at glory, and it’s an utter myswould not fall. They eventually finished fourth, behind the tery to me who will emerge victorious. Time is running out, Hustlers, who rode the board-crashing, trey-shooting, intense and the next few games are sure to be entertaining. Be sure to all-around play of Joe Hamd and Dhidhat to bronze. The Dru- catch all the action and cheer on your friends as they meet on ids, though they suffered a last-place finish, all fought valiant- the fields of battle. Good luck to all! ! ly, though perhaps none more so than Chazaq “Druid Fluid” Llinas, who stepped up in a mighty way to become a very solid A-Teamer. The Druids look like the team to beat in coming areer Services would like to congratulate the six stuyears, however: sophomore Terence Washington and Dylan dents who have been awarded Pathways Fellowship Tyler form a particularly fearsome duo. Nevertheless, it was the old rivals, the Greenwaves and awards in the fellowship’s first year. The Pathways FellowGuardians, clashing in the finals for the second time in three ship has been created to enable St. John’s students to tranyears. The Guardians emerged in force and numbers, with sition into graduate study or careers that call for special captain Tommy “Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus” Bonn or prerequisite courses. Through this program, students determined to play vanguard at the hoop. However, despite are able to enroll, for example, in teacher education courshis and Danny Kraft’s defensive efforts, they were unable to es for the pursuit of public school teaching, art classes in stop the Waves’ crashing down upon them. In the championpreparation of a portfolio, or pre-medical courses for medship game, The Waves’ B-Team outscored the Guardians B’s ical school. 32-12, effectively deciding the game through stout defense, This years awardees are listed below, along with the proaggressive rebounding, crisp passing, and scorching shooting. gram or coursework they will be using the award for: The Waves carried home the victory and the title, 63-35. • Virginia Early (‘13): Economics courses March Madness: The spring tournament was another lively one, but double points featured less prominently than in re• Dan Gilles (‘13): Princeton in Beijing Summer language cent years. Rachel Hahn played some of the best basketball in program her career, going 4-4 and 3-3 from behind the arc for 22 points, • Nathan Goldman (‘14): Yale Writers’ Conference fiction but eventually her team bowed out of the tourney to Sam Colworkshop lins’ gold team. In essence, it was defense that dominated the • Adam Maraschky (‘13): Organic Chemistry courses basketball seasons this year. Whenever a lady wasn’t guard•Margaret Matthews (‘14): Goethe Institute, Introduction ed well enough, she would take the rock to the hoop—Abby to Reading Scholarly German (certificate program) DeVries put the grey team on her back to take them to the fi• Evgenia Olimpieva (‘14): Multivariate Calculus and Linnals, scoring 24 points in the semifinal game. However, the ear Geometry courses black team’s trio of Brian Warczinsky, Jon Barone, and Casey
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The Gadfly
06
!"#$%&'(&$)*+#,-'!./*0'+#'!+$&/1+-'*1&'2*,/1+-'31'+"/'!*4/'5*678' !"#$%&#'(&"")*#+,&-."/0#12&3."/0#4(.5."/0#6.*52"."/7 Charles Zug
I
A’15
f you want to better understand the pressures a St. John’s about an extremely pertinent passage from the Republic—one education places on students and parents, you should read which deals directly with the conflict between parents and Eva Brann’s lecture, “Talking, Reading, Writing, Listening,” in educators. the Spring 2012 issue of the St. John’s Review. In my opinion, In Book One, Cephalus, the elderly father of Polemarchus, it was a wise choice to make this lecture available for reading. leaves the dialogue before Socrates begins his conversation One must read it very carefully, so as not to miss its most inter- with the young men. Cephalus’ pretense for leaving: he must esting—and potentially troubling—thoughts. return to the religious sacrifices (331d). Yet his departure At some point, all parents must face the prospect that their seems, at least in part, to be prompted by his having failed to children are learning controversial things while away at col- adequately define justice before Socrates and the young men. lege. One such controversy might involve questioning the Plato therein seems to imply that Cephalus’ parental presence value of the family—and Miss Brann, I argue, handles this is not welcome in the liberating discourse which becomes the question with subtle diplomacy. How does she manage this? Republic. By refuting Cephalus and exposing the old, hopeless One realizes that, on the surface, there is prejudices of his soul, Socrates compels nothing offensive about Miss Brann’s lecthe old and ignorant to leave, thus making At some point, all par- sufficient room for himself. ture, that at times it is even flattering. For ents must face the prosexample, on page 134, Miss Brann appears Miss Brann’s failure to mention this pect that their children passage is a loud silence —in my opinion, to be discussing how tutors and parents are similar: “Juniors and the college elders, the are learning controversial louder than the lecture itself. seniors, have reapproached their parents Why might Miss Brann, whose model things while away at coland become almost perfect in ignorance… lege. One such controversy is the Platonic writings, have chosen to The members of this community of learnmight involve questioning avoid this powerful example of the coning are not ashamed to own up to their own flict between familial custom and educathe value of the family.... ignorance…It’s why the teachers here are tion, between parent and educator? Let’s called ‘tutors.’” The true captatio benevotry to imagine what would have happened lentiae of Miss Brann’s lecture seems to be directed at the par- had she openly discussed this passage and tried to ferret out ents in her audience—and not, as she claims, the students. But its deepest implications before students and their parents. Preis this merely an appeal to benevolence, or is there something sumably, many parents would have stayed to listen—though else going on, as it were, behind the scenes? one can imagine others leaving the auditorium at the very start Miss Brann herself suggests the latter when, in the second of the lecture. Some parents might have been as gracious as paragraph, she says: “this one weekly hour of just sitting and Cephalus and allowed their children to stay. Others, less gralistening is mandatory, and about as enforceable as a manda- ciously, might have used it as an excuse to stop making tuition tory evacuation before a storm. (This simile appears here be- payments. Yet anyone who was actually present for the lecture cause this lecture was written in the dark during Hurricane will remember how well received it was. Indeed, I think it deIrene.).” This witty remark, while seemingly innocent, leads serves to be unqualifiedly well received by most people at the one to wonder: What might it truly mean that Mis Brann’s lec- College. ! ture has dark origins? Her simile is helpful: most people at the college foolishly refuse to evacuate in the face of a hurricane; likewise, most refuse to attend lectures that might prove liber! Painter Bob ating. In both cases, most people would rather remain in the dark, in the cave. In order to reach those who would choose !"#$%"&'(#)*(+&,*#-./$0#1&#2$/-3&04# to remain in the cave, the enlightened must descend into the 560#2/+#%6+.#5#2.&)4 cave (as Socrates does at the beginning of the Republic). Hence, 78&,&#7&#25((#%+#5$$#5,./60 Miss Brann’s lecture was written in the dark—with the cave %6#&9&,*#(&6(&::#+.#1,&53#%+#0.76 dwellers in mind. Consider what Miss Brann herself says about her own teach&9&6+/5$$*4#./,#1,5%6(4 ing method: she boldly states “we have a model for this un."#&5-8#(*$$51$&(#(7&&+#(./60 teacherly mode of teaching, presented to us in the writings of 7./$0#(.#(+,5%6#./,#1&5+%6;#8&5,+( Plato” (Review 135). Whether or not we all agree it is true, we +8&*'0#+.#./,#(./$(#-.6"&((4# all know that Plato’s writings have a notorious reputation for +%$$#7%+8#$5/;8+&,#+8&*#7./$0#1/,(+ being able to say different things to different people (consider %6#5#)&((#+85+'(#(.#0%9%6& Phaedrus 276a). One wonders whether Miss Brann’s darkly written lecture is an attempt at this type of writing. +85+#".,#.6&#).)&6+4#"./60#%6#+%)&:: For example, though much of the lecture is spent discuss#.6$*#$.9&4#560#+85+#%(#5$$ ing Plato’s dialogues, one will notice that Miss Brann is silent
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The Gadfly
Ian Tuttle
I
07
A’14
t is hard to get past the first pages of the grand jury report in the trial of Kermit Gosnell. The 72-year-old “physician” ran the Women’s Medical Center of West Philadelphia for more than two decades, before it was raided in 2010. Here is a sample of what investigators found:
nell had dozens of employees over the years, several of whom worked for him for years. All knew what was going on, and none had even a stirring that something about decapitating babies and stuffing their remains in the lunchroom refrigerator was not right. During courtroom testimony, one employee testified that a baby lying in a clear glass pan was “screeching, The clinic reeked of animal urine, courtesy of the cats that making this noise” that “sounded like a little alien.” were allowed to roam (and defecate) freely. Furniture and That’s called crying. It’s what babies do. blankets were stained with blood. Instruments were not It might be possible to write off Gosnell as abortionist-runproperly sterilized. Disposable medical supplies were not amok, some fringe character who had seen too many Saw disposed of; they were reused, over and over again. Medi- movies. But that cannot explain the dozens of employees uncal equipment—such as the defibrillator, the EKG, the pulse able to distinguish what was happening at the clinic as “muroximeter, the blood pressure cuff—was generally broken; der.” even when it worked, it wasn’t used. The emergency exit But the scandal goes beyond West Philadelphia. Among the was padlocked shut. And scattered throughout, in cabinets, organizations that knew Gosnell was practicing illegal aborin the basement, in a freezer, in jars and bags and plastic tions and/or endangering women and/or, at the very least, jugs, were fetal remains. It was a baby charnel house. operating in subpar health conditions: the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, the Pennsylvania Department of Tough reading? It gets worse. Health, the Pennsylvania Department of State, University of Most doctors refuse to perform late second trimester Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, abortions, from approximately the 20th week of pregnancy, and the National Abortion Federation. Each of those organibecause of the health risks. After 24 weeks abortions are il- zations had evidence of Gosnell’s malpractice and either dislegal. Gosnell “specialized” in such cases. In fact, the bigger missed it or, in the case of the National Abortion Federation, the baby, the more he could charge. During the day, his staff intentionally sat on it. (none of whom were medically trained or licensed; one was There is a reason the Gosnell story was purposely ignored a 15-year-old high school sophomore) by most major media outlets: it exposprepped his “patients” by giving them es the blithe, “see no evil” attitude that [Kermit] Gosnell is not an outli- many people have adopted toward painkillers and labor-inducing drugs; er. He is the product of the great abortion. Gosnell was not one of those he arrived in the evening to deliver the baby—then “ensure fetal demise,” notorious “back-alley” abortionists abortion lie: that the distincwhich he did by sticking scissors into from whom Roe v. Wade allegedly protions abortion advocates make tected women; he was a well-known the baby’s neck and cutting the spinal between what is and is not life cord. He called this “snipping.” “niche” doctor willing to perform Of course, sometimes the mothers dangerous or illegal abortions, and he are meaningful. could not wait. His staff testified that received patients recommended from one or two babies “fell out” of patients nightly. “They dropped doctors not only in Pennsylvania but up and down the Eastern out on lounge chairs, on the floor, and often in the toilet.” No Seaboard. one tended to the mother or the baby until Gosnell arrived, Gosnell is not an outlier. He is the product of the great often “two, three, four hours” later. The team that raided Gos- abortion lie: that the distinctions abortion advocates make nell’s facility “discovered fetal remains haphazardly stored between what is and is not life are meaningful. If such lines throughout the clinic—in bags, milk jugs, orange juice cartons, did exist, abortion would be a considerably less heated issue. and even in cat-food containers. Some fetal remains were in But physiologically, from conception to natural birth, no easa refrigerator, others were frozen.” “Investigators found a ily discernible stages exist; “trimesters,” for instance, are conrow of jars containing just the severed feet of fetuses.” The ventions, not marked gestational developments. Why, then, 2010 raid turned up 45 fetuses, but one employee confessed should a fetus be destructible at 23 weeks but protected at to snipping hundreds of babies during his years at the clinic. 24? Or, more bluntly, why should a bundle of tissue that can The mothers were lucky if they fared better than the chil- be killed in the womb be protected when, seconds later, it is dren. Gosnell frequently perforated wombs and bowels, tore gasping on the floor? cervixes and colons, and left parts of unsuccessfully extracted Gosnell, his morally anesthetized staff, and the neglectful babies in the mother’s body. His malpractice led to at least bureaucrats who refused to investigate and prosecute are untwo women’s deaths, but there is only evidence enough for impeachable evidence that abortion is a practice that thwarts him to be tried for one of them, a 41-year-old Nepalese refu- moral reasoning. But their inability is increasingly ours; even gee who died of a drug overdose. He is also charged with the the lines we have drawn in the law are arbitrary compromises first-degree murder of seven babies, but there are likely hun- that do not grapple with the fundamental question. And it is dreds more murders that will never be known. Gosnell regu- a simple one: Is it a baby, or isn’t it? When it comes to the larly destroyed incriminating files. moral reasoning that should make the answer obvious, we’re It is hard to know where to begin with a case like this. Gos- the ones who have been snipped. !
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The Gadfly
08
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A GI Puts the Program in Music Sarah Meggison
T
A’15
here was this time I went to Open Mic last year where I heard this guy play a song that he introduced as a “Euclid love song.” It immediately grabbed my attention, since I was one of those over-enthusiastic freshmen who loved Euclid so much that I often jokingly (or not) claimed that he was my husband. The song was performed by Ty Kun (AGI’12), whose album Entelechy was released this past December. The song performed at Open Mic is entitled “Eucliding Me,” and contains lines such as, “The point at which my heart is breaking has no part apparently,” and, “You’re just a breadthless length, I cannot find the strength to follow you.” Several other songs from Kun’s record make similar Johnnie-type references, all of which are quite entertaining and thus make for good study music. About the recording process Kun says, The album was never foreseen. As an end, I never imagined I’d be prolific enough for something of such weight. I simply started writing songs during my first term in Santa Fe. I had been playing guitar for 12 years or so before that fateful 2011 spring term when I unfettered my voice. I beheld the latent compatibility between instruments. All of the odd little numbers and arrangements I had stockpiled throughout the years instantly became the vehicle for a greater means of expression: ...I find it inspiring one that only natural language can accomplish. to see a member of The music suddenly became an auxiliary for the St. John’s commy ideas that demanded words. These ideas munity translate prowere certainly influenced by the Great Books. gram things into art. In truth, many of the books were my fuel. E.g., See? Our education ‘Punny Greek Love’ was spurred by notions of here is not merely a love (eros) in the Phaedrus. I thought that maydegree in professionbe Alcibiades was seeking eros while Socrates seems content on keeping it philia, as to not al homelessness! hurt the transformation Alcibiades’ philiaings into eros. During the late fall of 2012 I became increasingly keen on recording an album as a Christmas gift to my friends and family...and maybe myself. This ‘gift idea’ probably influenced my decision to record more than any other. I wanted people to know that I wasn’t shutting myself off entirely.... I thought maybe my music would be a way to communicate to those I hold dear that I was immersed in a burgeoning project of self-expression and meaningful development.
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Entelechy has a simple, folksy feel, with just Kun and his guitar. But what’s fun about this record is Kun’s sense of humor; it’s always refreshing and entertaining when artists don’t take themselves too seriously. The tracks involve titles such as “Punny Greek Love,” “Should’ve Stuck to Geometry,” and “Queen Bitch of All Living Things.” This record speaks to the importance of making fun of otherwise serious things. The Program presents us with very heavy ideas to consider that are often difficult to deal with, and approaching these ideas with a sense of humor is one of the more productive ways to combat this seriousness and solemnity. Additionally, as a current student, I find it inspiring to see a member of the St. John’s community translate Program things into art. See? Our education here is not merely a degree in professional homelessness! Kun says his time at St. John’s was, indeed, life-changing: I miss St. John’s dearly (both campuses).... I learned more about all things that matter at St. John’s. My education there has compelled me to think differently when I should, and therefore, properly. It has impelled me to live in ways and appreciate manners of life that I had previously ruled out. And maybe most importantly, it has expelled me from prior noxious manners of life that once impeded my potential. You can check out Ty Kun’s Entelechy at http://atykun.bandcamp.com/album/aty-kuns-entelechy. !