the
eporter Vol. CXXII
Issue 8
Stetson University | DeLand, Fla.
Q&A With Craig Robinson Editor-in-chief Katie Dezes sits down with actor and comedian Craig Robinson before his performance at Stetson Homecoming Katie Dezes Editor-in-Chief How did you first get into comedy and when did you know it was something you wanted to pursue? I first got into comedy when I was in college, and I caught the bug. People would repeat things I would say that I had long forgotten I said. I would do these bits and it was always making people laugh. So, I started watching a bunch of comedy. I was watching a lot of comedy on TV like Letterman and the MTV Half Hour Comedy Hour. They would show these comics doing two minute sets and part of me was like, “Oh, I could do that!” What I didn’t realize was two minutes was taken from their
whole act and they would just show those two minutes on TV. But I was looking at it and thought, “I can do that.” So, I started hosting shows in college–like I hosted a homecoming show, I hosted a world aids day, and part of me was just like, “if I’m not funny, I can just bring on the next act.” Then I started taking it to another level...like I really want to do this. I bought two comedy books, I went and heard comedians speak– not just to see comedians perform, but like, I think it was Richard Jeni... One time I went to a comedy club in Chicago just to hear him talk about comedy and what it took. So yeah, it was in college that I really started to go “Wow, this is something I feel like I could do.”
See ROBINSON, Page 3
President Libby involved in fenderbender with student This and more in Public Safety Highlights on page 3
Photo credit: Shadee Rios
Tibetan Buddhist Monks to Visit Stetson Caroline Williams Staff Writer
Photo courtesy: Stetson Today
Tuesday, Nov. 18
2 to 3 p.m. Tibetan Cultural Performance
This performance will include traditional Tibetan throat chanting, instrumentation, monastic debate, and a Q&A.
3 to 4 p.m. Sand Mandala Opening Ceremony
Before the monks begin building the Tibetan sand mandala, they will conduct an opening ceremony consisting of rituals and mantra recitations in order to provide an auspicious start to the days-long mandala project.
Friday, Nov. 21
Noon to 1 p.m. Fri@12 Presents a Talk on Tibetan History and Culture
As part of Chaplain Fronk’s excellent monthly series, some of the monks will give a talk on Tibetan history and the significance of the mandala. Food will be provided at this event.
Monday, Nov. 24
Noon to 1 p.m. Sand Mandala Closing Ceremony
After the monks have completed the sand mandala, they will ritually sweep the intricate, delicate structure away as a symbolic representation of impermanence, a central Buddhist teaching. Small amounts of the sand will be offered to audience members as a blessing. Food will be provided at this event.
As part of Stetson’s International Education Week, (Nov. 17–Nov. 21), the university is hosting a group of Tibetan monks from the Gaden Shartse Dokhang monastery of South India. These monks will be giving talks on Tibetan Buddhism, history, and culture, giving a cultural performance, building a sand mandala, and will be present and active on campus during their stay. Construction of the sand mandala began onstage in Allen Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 18. The ritual will end this Saturday. Students and faculty are welcome to watch the construction of the mandala, and the completed product will be available for viewing until the closing ceremony on Monday. A mandala is a mental map, or a visualization of a Buddhist deity’s mind. It is part of a practice of tantric meditation where one tries to embody the essence of a deity. These mandalas are made out of different colored sands, and the monks assemble it all by hand, almost grain by grain. The finished product is a beautiful, colorful, visual image that resembles a palace from a bird’s eye view. Dr. Christopher Bell in the Religious Studies Department and Dr. Elizabeth Poeter of Gender Studies, as well as alumna Laura Chandler, had the idea to bring monks to Stetson last year. This year, the project came to fruition.
“I worked with Dr. Poeter and Dr. Lucas [a fellow Religious Studies professor] throughout the semester, but they requested I contact all the major departments throughout arts and sciences to see who would be willing to support this venture,” said Bell. “Thankfully, so many of them were so generous and so excited about this project, and provided some funds for it.” This event is also part of a grand tour called the Compassion Tour. The monks travel across different campuses around the world and teach people about Tibetan Buddhist culture. Laura Chandler, a Stetson alum, was the liaison for the monks during this tour and wanted Stetson to be a stop on their itinerary. “Aside from working on the mandala, they will be visiting classes and such,” said Bell. “You’ll probably see some in the cafeteria at the CUB, they might be walking around campus, and they’re certainly very open to accepting questions and talking with students and faculty and anyone who’s interested.” At the closing ceremony on Monday, the monks will sweep away the mandala. During the ceremony, the monks will give away some of the sand as a blessing. “It’s a mark of Buddhist impermanence,” Bell said. “It shows that there’s constant change—no matter how much effort you put into something, it has to dissolve.”