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�STJOHN’S
College
ANNAPOLIS • SANTA FE
The College (usps 018-750)
On Aristotle
ristotle impresses us with both his breadth and his
is published quarterly by
St. John’s College, Annapolis,
MD and Santa Fe, NM.
Known office of publication:
depth. Breadth: he explains why we feel the way we
Public Relations Office
do when we watch a tragedy, he lays out all the pos
St. John’s College
sible types of friendship, he explores the founda
Box 2800
Annapolis, MD 21404-2800
tions of logic and grammar and rhetoric, he marvels
at the life cycle of butterflies, he prescribes cures
Periodicals postage paid
for lethargy, he explains motion and time. Depth:
at Annapolis, MD
he asks the most fundamental questions about nature, humanity, virtue,
postmaster: Send address
causes,
- and
he makes
profound
lype in Aristotle’s name
onthinking
the search
engine
Altavista
and you(yet
getexquisitely simple) prochanges
to The College
nouncements:
“
Man
is
by
nature
a
political
animal,
”
“
Man,
by
nature,
Magazine,
Public Relations
12.4,335 entries, including “Aristotle and Target Marketing?” as well as
Office, St. John’s College,
desires
to
know.
”
scholarly sites and Annapolis tutor Joe Sachs’ translation of The Physics
A
on barnesandnoble.com. Aristotle’s writings - in Latin translation were the “source of the dominant teachings of the European universi
ties” for about five centuries up to 1600; “for the four centuries since
then they have been reviled as the source of a rigid and empty dogmatism
that stifled any genuine pursuit of knowledge,” according to Sachs in the
introduction to his translation. Almost every book of philosophy read on
the program alludes to Aristotle, whether to follow him or to divert from
his supposed course. For example, Kant, in his preface to the second
edition of the Critique ofPure Reason, notes: “That logic has already,
from the earliest time, proceeded upon this sure path [of a science] is
evidenced by the fact that since Aristotle it has not required to retrace a
single step...”
Aristotle lived from 384 to 32a B.C. He was the student of Plato, the
teacher of Alexander the Great. His dad was a physician, so as a youth he
probably was channeled into the kind of studies that would prepare him
for a career in medicine. He founded a school in Athens, the Lyceum,
where he walked around and lectured; he’s variously described as slight,
a dandy of a dresser, and speaking with a lisp. When he wanted to write
about politics, he collected information about the government and
history of 158 cities. At St. John’s, a lot of time is spent reading and
talking about Aristotle, and this is a place where what he actually said
is taken seriously.
-BG
Box 2800, Annapolis, MD
21404-2800.
Annapolis
410-626-2539
b-goyette@sjca.edu
Barbara Goyette, editor
Sus3an Borden, assistant editor
Jennifer Behrens,
graphic designer
Advisory Board
John Christensen
Harvey Flaumenhaft
Roberta Gable
Katherine Heines
Pamela Kraus
Joseph Macfarland
Eric Salem
Brother Robert Smith
Santa Fe
505-984-6104
classics@mail.sjcsf.edu
Laura J. Mulry, Santa Fe editor
Advisory Board
Alexis Brown
Robert Glick
Grant Franks
David Levine
Margaret Odell
John Rankin
Ginger Roherty
Tahmina Shalizi
Mark St. John
Magazine design by
Claude Skelton Design
�{Contents}
PAGE
IO
DEPARTMENTS
a FROM THE bell TOWERS
A Conversation with
•
•
•
•
•
John Balkcom
Santa Fe’s new president talks about
his past life as a consultant, his present
challenges at the college, and his vision
for the future.
PAGE
•
•
•
l6
The Logos According
TO Aristotle
Introducing The College
A spooky Mellon Hall
Belly dancing alumnae
Febbie class to be discontinued
Philanthropia encourages thumos
among future alumni
Top ten program books
Summer Classics offerings
The life of Leo Raditsa
9 ALUMNI VOICES
•
Annapolis tutor Joe Sachs (A68) has
translated four of Aristotle’s works.
His principle: use ordinary English
to capture the freshness of the
philosopher’s thought.
A defining moment for everyone from
the 1940s: Pearl Harbor Day.
a6 LETTERS
aS ALUMNI NOTES
ALUMNI
PROFILES
ag Lisa Simeone (A79 ) wins a role at NPR.
PAGE
2,0
The Education
That is Parenthood
33 Heather Moore (SFoo) became a
shopaholic - for the coolest circus around.
PAGE z6
Six Johnnies whose professions
focus on children discuss the trials
and triumphs of parenting.
PAGE
35 Phil Woods (A61) combines his love of
books with his devotion to Paris.
37 STUDENT VOICES
•
2^
A transfer student trains her eye on the two
campuses.
38 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
•
•
Choral Kaleidoscope
To recreate an ancient Greek chorus, a
tutor looked to Greek pottery, Plato’s
descriptions of physical conditioning,
and accent and meter in the tragedies.
All about Senior Dinners
Election Notices
41 OBITUARIES
•
PAGE 30
Nancy Buchenauer on Robert Bart
43 alumni connections
44 ST. JOHN’S FOREVER
ON THE COVER
Aristotle: His workspervade the St. John’s
program. Illustration by David Johnson.
�2.
{From
the
Bell Towers}
Introducing
The College
In which the editor
utters heresy.
Last fall, we bid farewell to
The Reporter, which had been
the St. John’s publication for
alumni since 1974. We thought
the time had come for a new
look and a new way of present
ing information that befits the
many changes at St. John’s.
Many changes at St. John’s?!?
Heresy! Why do I write this?
The program remains intact;
McDowell Hall still stands;
today’s Johnnies still have that
head-in-the-clouds, not-distracted-by-fashion, young intellectu
al air about them; Monte Sol
still beckons for a solitary climb.
The year I graduated from
St. John’s is the year Becky Wil
son, then public relations direc
tor for the college, started The
Reporter. When I returned to
St. John’s after 20 years labor
ing in the publishing world, the
college, I found, was over
whelmingly the same. The pro
gram, after all, is still what’s
important; the words that Barr
and Buchanan used to describe
the college, and the essays in
which Jacob Klein explained the
basis of liberal education still
hold true. Yet there are differ
ences: i) The college adminis
tration is professional and the
college is on sound financial
ground. 2) The Santa Fe campus
has grown to the same size stu
dent body as Annapolis, with its
own cast of fascinating and com
mitted tutors, an array of stu
dent activities that are Johnnielike yet uniquely southwestern,
and a full complement of appro
priate buildings. 3) The stu
dents are as a whole more stu
dious, and they are better ■
qualified. Sitting in on classes
now, I find that almost everyone
has prepared, everyone can par
ticipate. (In my day, in a good
class it might have been half
The artwork on the cover is by David Johnson, who also draws
PORTRAITS FOR THE NeW YoRK TiMES BoOK ReVIEW. EvERY COVER OF
The COLLEGE'VniA. feature a writer from the program.
who had done the translation or
worked through the proof.) 4)
The tutors represent a wider
range of ages and backgrounds;
they have a variety of interests
that they are willing to share
with students. 5) Student servic
es are much improved - there is
a full-time counselor and a stu
dent activities coordinator on
staff, and a thriving athletic
program. 6) The alumni body as
a whole has gotten much larger
and much younger - more than
60% from the classes of the
1980s and after. And they have
become much more actively
involved with the college. 7) A
lot of little things, mostly physi
cal: the Woodward Hall library,
newly renovated when I was a
student, had become shabby and
overcrowded and a new library
was opened in 1996; there are
{The College-
new spaces like the Mitchell
Gallery and the Conversation
Room; the food in the dining
hall seems pretty good. I’m sure
that if I had been a student in
Santa Fe and returned there the
changes would have seemed
even more striking.
Alumni and others who care
about the college should be
aware of all this change. They
should know how vibrant,
funny, endearing, smart,
intense, and talented the cur
rent students are. They should
know how St. John’s is governed
and how decisions are made.
They should be reminded of
their shared experiences at
these two places - Santa Fe and
Annapolis - and their shared
experience that is entirely
placeless: the reading, study,
and discussion of Plato, Sopho
St. John's College ■ Spring 2001 }
cles, Descartes, Aquinas, Cer
vantes, Kant, Hegel, Austen,
and the whole gang. That’s what
this new magazine. The College,
is all about.
Although the look is new and
different to better reflect
St. John’s today, there are some
things about this magazine that
we wouldn’t want to change
from their old and trusty
Reporter format: class notes,
profiles of alumni, college news,
campus concerns. You’ve told
us that you want to read about
the program, so there will be
more stories about the books
and the curriculum itself. John
nie traditions carry on through
the decades, but since it’s
always a new set of students
playing croquet or setting up
the games at Reality, we plan on
telling you what’s happening
with those. St. John’s history is
a rich lode - through photos and
articles, we hope to connect you
with the college’s past. We hope
to hear from alumni through
letters, class notes, and article
submissions.
As the name suggests. The
College is about the one college,
St. John’s, that exists on two
campuses. News from both cam
puses will be included; students,
tutors, and alumni from both
campuses will be profiled.
Although the actual production
will be handled in Annapolis,
alumni can feel free to contact
the magazine’s staff at either
campus about The College. Let
us know what you think.
Barbara Goyette, A73
Editor
b-goyette@sjca.edu
410-295-5554
Laura Mulry, SFGI02
Santa Fe Editor
classics@maiLsjcsf.edu
505-984-6104
Sus3an Borden, A87
Assistant Editor
s-borden@sjca.edu
410-626-2538
�{From the Bell Towers}
Down in the
basement truly the weird
and creepy lair
ofCharon the storage areas
have been
emptied...
Tales from
THE Crypt
It’s not Hades, land of shades.
Although the hallways of Mellon
now look nightmarish, fit for
endless wandering with no hope
of escape, they are in fact being
stripped for a useful purpose:
the beginning of a $12.5 million
renovation. During spring
break, workers took up the
worn hall tiles, removed the
rain-stained ceilings, and
exposed crawl spaces in the
south and west wings of Mellon
(these wings contain the music
rooms, music library, and all lab
rooms). Down in the basement truly the weird and creepy lair of
Charon - the storage areas have
been emptied of their boxes of
admissions propaganda, dusty
chandeliers, broken desks, and
seminar chairs in need of new
seats and rungs. The circa 1958
heating, plumbing, and electri
cal systems are being exposed
and marveled at for their Rube
Santa Fe
Yearbook in
THE Works
The completion of the new gym
and the installment of John
Balkcom as president of the
Santa Fe campus have con
tributed to the creation of an
energetic and highly motivated
student body in Santa Fe this
year. Enthusiasm for extracur
ricular activities and attendance
at school functions is much
higher than in recent years. To
quote Brendan O’Neill (SF93)
in the Student Events Office,
“This is the most involved stu
dent body I have seen on this
campus in a long time.” To tap
this creative energy (and also to
eliminate one comparison
3
Always dingy, the hallways of Mellon look even darker now that
THEY have been TORN APART. ThE $13.5 RENOVATION WILL RESULT IN A
BRIGHTER, MORE INVITING SPACE.
Goldbergian nature. “There’s
some old machinery down there
all right,” says Sid Phipps,
superintendent of buildings and
grounds.
Plans call for new mechani
cals to be installed this summer,
and the first series of renovated
classrooms should be finished
between Annapolis and Santa
Fe) a few members of the sopho
more class decided that this
year they would create a year
book. For the past 20 years or
so the students on the Annapo
lis campus have been able to put
together an annual yearbook,
but it was not something that
happened in Santa Fe.
According to Student Activi
ties Director Mark St. John,
over the years various groups of
students have thought to put
one together but didn’t have
enough material when press
time rolled around. Then last
year’s Reality committee recom
mended to the rising sopho
mores adding a yearbook to the
list of possible fundraisers.
While the idea of a yearbook as
a fundraiser was soon deemed
impractical, the thought of cre
ating one was openly embraced.
After a month or so of planning.
{The College.
by Christmas. Work on an addi
tion with tutor offices on the
Heating Plant side of the build
ing will commence this summer.
Other phases of the project
include installing a new roof,
spiffing up the auditorium,
adding a glassed-in satellite cof
fee shop in the courtyard, and
''This is the most
involved student
body Ihave seen
on this campus
in a long time.''
Brendan O’Neill
Student Events Office
as well as meeting with the
administration and Polity to
gain their support, the year
book staff was ready to go.
Notices were posted in the
Ephemera and MoonTag adver
tising for writers, photogra
phers, and graphic designers anyone interested in joining the
fledgling staff. Not long after
ideas about theme and content
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
putting in a new art and pottery
studio, darkroom, and confer
ence room. The whole project is
due for completion in 2003.
The Hodson Trust has given
St. John’s a $4.5 million chal
lenge grant to complete the
Mellon Hall funding. The col
lege has already raised more
than $10 million for the project,
leaving less than $2 million to
be raised; the Hodson Trust will
match dollar for dollar any
donation for the Mellon Hall
renovation.
were being discussed and
assignments handed out. Sub
missions were collected,
although layout work was
delayed until the beginning of
the second semester in order to
upgrade the technological capa
bilities of the office that is being
shared with the MoonTag.
The ambitions of this first
yearbook are small. We do not
hope to rival anyone’s high
school yearbook in size,
although we certainly hope to
match, if not exceed it in quali
ty. While the yearbook has yet
to be named (a campus-wide
contest is being held to choose a
name), the theme for this year is
community. The goal of the edi
tor is to have every aspect of the
college community represented,
not just the undergraduates, so
submissions are being sought
from tutors and staff alike,
-BY Erin Hanlon, SF03
�{From the Bell Towers}
Febbie
Class to be
Discontinued
The Instruction Committee on
the Annapolis campus has rec
ommended that the January
Freshman class be discontinued
in Annapolis in five years, with
the last class enrolling in aoo6.
Called the Febbie Class because
its members originally came to
campus in February, the mid
year freshman class was con
ceived to help keep the college
at capacity by compensating for
first-semester dropouts. The ao
to 40 students began their
freshman year in January,
worked through the summer,
and joined the rest of the fresh
man class as sophomores the
following fall. Today, admis
sions to the freshman class are
at an all-time high and keeping
the class full is no longer a prob
lem. Twenty years ago, many of
the Febbies were transfers from
other colleges; today most of
those who enter in January
wanted to come in September,
but the class was already full.
“The change is made possible
by the relative financial health
of the college and by substantial
growth in the applicant pool for
the fall freshman class,” said
Dean Harvey Flaumenhaft in
explaining the decision. “The
reasons for discontinuing the
mid-year class are instruction
al...The regular freshmen get a
school year with six more weeks
of reflection and conversation
together. They also have more
time to prepare their essays, and
are less likely to suffer a change
of tutors between semesters.”
The break between the end of
the summer semester and the
beginning of the sophomore fall
semester is short, and Febbies
are often exhausted just as their
sophomore year is beginning.
Beginning in January is attrac
tive to some prospective stu
dents, for example those who
are undecided about college by
the spring of their senior year in
high school, or those who need
to earn more money before
beginning college. “Despite its
inherent disadvantages, mid-year
entrance has given many stu
dents access to the benefits of a
St. John’s education.” notes Mr.
Flaumenhaft. The Santa Fe cam
pus plans to continue to offer the
option of enrolling in January.
A Far Cry from Essay Writing
ascertain how the
web could be used to
Si. John "5 College is a co-educatiooal,
Si. lohn's was fouaded tn i6!>6 and has
keep them more
fotr-year liberal arts college known for it*
two ctutpuses, one in Annapolis,
disiinciive "greaf books" tuthMiwn.
Maiylsid. and anorher in Santa f e. New
Through <he reading of original lenis,
Mexico. The College awards both (he
involved in the col
siodeni.'i (cOeel on ibc gteai igKSlioits of
Bachelor ufArts »d Master ofAm
ihe Western iradiiion from ancient Greece
degreet. St. Julia’s has no ndijious
lege (possibilities
to nioilem tunes Siudenls study from the
affilisrion St. John's is one coHeye on two
ciassittof liierature. phiSosofil^. theology.
cam}xtsc» The campuses idiare a conunou
[«ychologs. ]»liticaf science, ectinomiCi,
cuniculuni, and siudoils may transfer
being explored
(usury, nudiemMics. laboratory sciences,
befweendsuu during the course of their
music, and the visual am
sanhes.
include chat rooms,
bulletin boards, email for life, and
password-protected
directories); and
third, a site will be
“architected” (web
people actually use
this word) and then bruit. Time
line for the project is about a
year. The initial telephone sur
veys of alumni begin this spring.
Like many small colleges,
The St. John’s College web site
St. John’s struggles with tech
is in for a facelift. The college
nology issues. On the one hand,
has hired a firm called Genera
the college needs a web site and
tion to help redevelop the sites
administrative computing sys
for the two campuses, to look at
tems that are comparable to
ways to unify the sites, to
those at other schools. On the
increase functions for alumni,
other hand, being technologi
to explore avenues for market
cally up-to-date doesn’t matter
ing the Graduate Institute
in the context of the program of
online, and to provide prospec
instruction. But even though
tive students the kind of infor
the program can function with
mation they look for on the web.
out it, the internet holds huge
Generation has lots of experi
potential for bringing alumni
Megan Miller (SFGIoi - left) and Logan Wink (SFoo - right) start
ence with higher education
together in cyberspace and for
ed BELLY dancing TWO YEARS AGO FOR EXERCISE AND FUN. “It WAS MY WAY TO
clients and will help St. John’s
increasing their involvement
GET OFF CAMPUS AND RELIEVE STRESS DURING SENIOR ESSAY WRITING,” SAYS
through a three-part process:
with the college. 4"
Wink. As the duo got more involved with the ancient Babylonian
first, the college will look at
DANCE FORM, THEY PROPOSED TO THEIR TEACHER, TaNYA KeRN (cENTER),
internal and external needs and
THAT
THEY PERFORM. ThEIR FIRST SHOW WAS AT St. JoHn’s IN SaNTA Fe AND
define audiences for its site; sec
THEY RECENTLY FINISHED A THREE-SHOW RUN AT El FaROL ON GaNYON RoAD.
ond, alumni will be contacted to
SljOtlN’SCOLLlXJ
Web News
@SJCA.EDU
{The College -
St. John’s College • Spring 2001 }
�{From the Bell Towers}
5
The Spirit of
Philanthropia
“Knowledge is power,” wrote
Francis Bacon. And knowledge
is powerful, says Amber Boydstun (SF99). Boydstun is chair
of the Spirit Committee, part of
Philanthropia - the alumni
organization dedicated to
fundraising for St. John’s.
The knowledge that Boydstun
finds powerful is the knowledge
she gained while working as a
student aide in the advance
ment office for four years.
There, she learned how the col
lege works. She learned about
college finances and fundrais
ing. And she got to know the
men and women who have dedi
cated their professional lives to
St. John’s. It made a powerful
difference when it came to her
decision to donate money to the
college.
“I’m not the kind of person
who would normally have that
team spirit, not the kind who
normally donates. But I’m going
to be donating every year and I
already have in the two years
since I graduated,” says Boyd
stun. “Why? Because I have the
facts and information that tell
me that the college does need
my help, that tuition is not
enough to pay for the education
provided to students.”
Boydstun’s plan is to share
this information with current
students, and under her leader
ship the Spirit Committee will
meet with all Johnnies at four
critical times in their college
years: during freshman orienta
tion, at the beginning of senior
year, after essay writing, and
before graduation. The idea is
that seniors are just a step away
from being alumni, and it would
be a good thing if they could
realize how important alumni
are to the college from the very
beginning. This year, there’s
been a reception for seniors at
the President’s house in Santa
Fe and a series of dinners at the
President’s house in Annapolis.
“We ask the seniors about their
experience at the college, what
they would have liked to be dif
ferent, what they thought was
particularly good,” says
Annapolis Vice President Jeff
Bishop. “They have a chance to
ask questions about the admin
istration of the college. We also
present our case to them: that
St. John’s really needs financial
support from alumni after they
graduate; that tuition only cov
ers 75% of what it costs to edu
cate each student, and that the
rest of the money to run the col
lege must come from contribu
tions. We encourage them to
stay connected to the college
after they leave. They really
seem to appreciate the informa
tion and to enjoy the evening.”
“So many people graduate
loving the great books and
thinking St. John’s as a school is
greater than anything else in
the world, but they don’t
donate. My goal is to encourage
spirit - thumos - for St. John’s as
an institution,” says Boydstun.
“I’d like to help them under
stand that St. John’s the school
they love is the same as St. John’s
the institution that needs their
help.” >
{The College
Thomas Burke
Top Ten of
THE Favorite
Five
The fundraising brochure sent
out last fall by the alumni group
Philanthropia pictured five
Johnnies in the midst of their
daily activities - with their five
favorite books from the pro
gram. The idea was to ask alum
ni to think about how the books
had permeated their conscious
ness, about how important the
St. John’s curriculum is to the
intellectual development of the
teachers, businesspeople, par
ents, artists, computer pro
grammers, and whatever else
St. John’s alumni become.
Along with their checks, many
alumni sent in responses to
the question: What are your
five favorite books from the
program?
Here’s the tally of the win
ners. Many people answered by
listing an author (Plato) rather
than a book (The Republic).
There were many books/
authors receiving one vote:
Claude Bernard’s Introduction
.St John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
(SFgz) poses in
HIS home office in
Baltimore
WITH HIS five favorite PROGRAM
books: Montaigne’s Essays,
Lucretius’ On the Nature of
Things, The Prince, Joyce’s
Ulysses, and Thucydides.
to the Study ofExperimental
Medicine; Tacitus; Hume;
Henry Adams’ History ofthe
U.S. In all, alumni named 87
different books or authors. The
top ten of the alumni’s five
favorites are:
• Plato (The Republic was
mentioned most often)
• Homer (equal numbers named
The Iliad and The Odyssey)
• Euclid
• The Bible
• Jane Austen - Shakespeare Aristotle (The Ethics was most
named) were tied
• Greek drama (Sophocles,
Euripedes, and Aeschylus)
• The Brothers Karamazov by
Dostoevsky
• Kant - War and Peace by
Tolstoy were tied
• Thucydides
• Dante
�6
{From the Bell Towers}
Off TO
Santa Fe
FOR Summer
Classics
Dante and Milton and
Eva Brann... Oh My!
Summer Classics, the program
that brings book and opera
lovers from across the country
to Santa Fe, will be held July 15
to August 4. Participants go to
seminars in the morning, spend
the afternoons on field trips and
other southwestern activities,
then attend the Santa Fe Opera
in the evenings. You can sign up
for one, two, or all three weeks
(one seminar topic per week),
and can either stay on campus
or arrange accommodation in
Santa Fe. The program is appro
priate as an introduction to the
college and also for those
who’ve done it before - alumni
and those who have participated
in community or executive sem
inars. For more information,
check the web site at www.sjcsf.
edu/classics/classic.htm, or
e-mail classics@mail.sjcsf.edu,
or call 505-984-6104.
Week I, July 15-21
• Opera: Donizetti, Lucia. Sem
inars led by William Fulton
and Elliott Zuckerman
• Chaucer, The Canterbury
Tales. Seminars led by Michael
Bybee and Caleb Thompson
• Darwin, The Voyage ofthe
Beagle. Seminars led by Mark
Rollins and Linda Wiener
• Milton, Paradise Lost. Semi
nars led by David Carl and
Claudia Honeywell
• Paul Scott, The Raj Quartet.
Seminars led by Eva Brann
and Janet Dougherty
• Thucydides, Peloponnesian
War. Seminars led by James
Carey and Matthew Davis
Week II, July 22-28
Week III, July 29-August 4
• Opera: Richard Strauss, The
Egyptian Helen and Mozart,
Mitridate. Seminars led by
William Fulton and Robert
Glick.
• Aristotle, Nichomachean
Ethics. Seminars led by Clau
dia Honeywell and George
Lane
• Dante, Purgatorio. Seminars
led by Basia Miller and Caleb
Thompson
• Dostoevsky, Demons. Semi
nars led by James Carey and
Frank Pagano
• Plato’s Critique of Rhetoric:
The Ion, Gorgias. Seminars
led by Jan Arsenault and
Elliott Zuckerman
• Shakespeare, Richard II and
Henry IV. Seminars led by
Judith Adam and Warren
Winiarski
• Shakespeare, Pericles and
Twelfth Night. Seminars led
by William Alba and Krishnan
Venkatesh
• Opera: Verdi, Ealstaffand
Alban Berg, Wozzeck. Semi
nars led by William Fulton
and Robert Glick
• Dante, Purgatorio. Seminars
led by Cary Stickney and
Susan Stickney
• Goethe, Theory of Colors.
Seminars led by George Lane
and Julie Reahard
• The Plays of Kalidasa. Semi
nars led by Michael Bybee and
Michael Wolfe
• The Poetry of Wallace
Stevens. Seminars led by
James Forkin and Thomas
Scally
{The College-
St. John’s College ■ Spring zoot }
India is the setting for two
Summer Classics readings:
The Raj Quartet by Paul Scott
AND The Plays of Kalidasa
(Above). Two seminarswill
read Dante’s Purgatorio
(Below).
�{From
Bell Towers}
the
One College - How to
Make It Really Work
For 36 years, St. John’s struggled
with how to administer a eoUege
with two campuses that are sepa
rated hy 1800 miles, a two-hour
time difference, at least six hours
of travel time, and hundreds of
different ways of dealing with
both day-to-day and long-term
issues. The curriculum has
always been the great unifier and under the direction of the
Joint Instruction Committee
(composed of tutors on both
campuses) it has remained virtu
ally identical in Annapolis and
Santa Fe. But administration is
another matter.
Over time, tiny management
decisions on each campus led to
more substantial policy differ
ences. The Board of Visitors and
Governors, while acknowledging
the importance of a president for
each campus, last year re-organ
ized the college’s basic adminis
trative structure, creating a
Management Committee that
includes the presidents and
deans of both campuses, who
may bring in other college
officers during their discussions.
The Committee’s purview is cer
tain college-wide functions and
its single executive (a chair) han
dles comprehensive issues with
out diminishing the responsibihties of the campus presidents
and deans for their own opera
tions.
Annapolis president Christo
pher Nelson is serving as the
“We need topre
serve the special
sense ofcommu
nity that exists on
each campus,
and we will not
take any action
that would
threaten that.
Chris Nelson, Annapolis president and chair of the Management
Committee, says,“We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
{The College.
first chair of the Management
Committee. “There is a clear
spirit of cooperation,” he says.
“John Balkcom (the new presi
dent in Santa Fe) and I are com
mitted to the notion that with
respect to certain issues, col
lege-wide treatment is essential.
We need to preserve the special
sense of community that exists
on each campus, and we will not
take any action that would
threaten that.”
During its first year, the Man
agement Committee:
• Equalized tutor salaries,
which had been less in Santa
Fe since 1994-95
• Formulated a plan for equaliz
ing tuition, which had been
different on the two campuses
• Worked out a college-wide
budget, with separate consid
eration of capital projects and
other issues specific to each
campus
• Considered differences in the
financial aid policies of the
campuses and began to work on
making them more consistent
• Re-organized the advance
ment offices to prevent dupli
cating all functions on each
campus
• Adopted an information tech
nology plan for both campus
es, including a joint web site
• Provided for a joint recruit
ment strategy and new publica
tions for the Graduate Institute
• Prepared a framework for a
college-wide strategic plan
that considers needs and
resources well into the future
• Formulated a way to resolve
inconsistent alumni databases
on the campuses
• Standardized a host of report
ing functions so that college
wide information is available
on everything from budget
matters to admissions enroll
ment
During this first year the Man
agement Committee concentrat
ed on resolving differences that
had arisen over time. The com
mittee is also beginning to make
college-wide policy decisions, for
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
example; it extended benefits to
the domestic partners (same and
opposite sex) of faculty and staff.
In the coming year the Com
mittee will complete a strategic
plan and needs assessment for
the campuses, and will help
organize the elements for the
college’s next fundraising capi
tal campaign. “I anticipate
focusing on the need to have
comparable faculty staffing,
class sizes, and faculty develop
ment programs on both campus
es,” says Nelson.
St. John’s in
THE News
An article called “Where Plato
Is Your Professor” in the Febru
ary aoor issue of Smithsonian
magazine describes the col
lege’s program, the students
and classes, and the various
extracurricular activities. Also
interviewed are several alumni,
identified as a building contrac
tor, a lawyer, a biologist, and an
editorial assistant. Written by
Edwards Park, a retired Smith
sonian contributor who lives in
Annapolis, and photographed
by Cameron Davidson, the arti
cle focuses on the intellectual
atmosphere of St. John’s.
St. John’s is also featured in a
book about investing (yes, the
financial kind). Latticework:
The New Investing by Robert G.
Hagstrom (published by Texere )
describes an approach to invest
ing that is based on a liberal
arts-style understanding, where
the interconnections between
the important ideas from a num
ber of fields are discovered.
Hagstrom, who is a senior vicepresident of Legg Mason Focus
Capital, talked with alumni in
investment fields, who cited the
importance of St. John’s in their
development as “better
thinkers.” -f-
�8
{From the Bell Towers}
Leo Raditsa
The Face of SJC Today
About the freshmen who arrived in Santa Fe and Annapolis in
September and January:
There are 319 of them, 167 men and 152 women. 8 didn’t finish high
SCHOOL (they are CLASSIFIED “eARLY ENTRANCE”) AND 52 ATTENDED
ANOTHER COLLEGE BEFORE THEY BAILED OUT, SAW THE LIGHT, AND CAME TO
St. John’s. Age range is i6 to 51. About 68% receive financial aid.
223 ATTENDED PUBLIC SCHOOLS; 93 ATTENDED INDEPENDENT OR
PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS. 6o% RANKED IN THE TOP FIFTH OF THEIR CLASS; 4%
MeRIT HONORS.
St. John’s doesn’t require SAT scores for admission, but of those
RANKED IN THE FOURTH FIFTH. 183 RECEIVED NATIONAL
THAT submitted SCORES, THE RANGE OF THE MIDDLE 50% VERBAL IS 65O
TO 750 AND THE RANGE OF THE MIDDLE 50% MATH IS 580 TO 680. 39
STATES AND 3 FOREIGN COUNTRIES ARE REPRESENTED (HIGHEST NUMBERS
ARE 32 FROM
California in Santa Fe and 20 from Maryland in
CHRIS QUINN SFGIo
Annapolis),
Within
a few weeks, the
FRESHMEN BLENDED IN SO WELL
IT WAS HARD TO DISTINGUISH
THEM FROM MORE SEASONED
Johnnies - you
had to check
WHAT they were READING TO
FIND OUT. Students are
SHOWN ON THE AnNAPOLIS
(left) and AT Meem
Library (above).
GREG WHITESELL
quad
{The College -
Leo Raditsa, a tutor at the col
lege since 1973, died February
22 in Annapolis after suffering a
stroke. He had been ill with
myeloma.
Born in Geneva, Switzerland,
in 1936, where his father, Bog
dan Raditsa, was a delegate to
the League of Nations, Mr.
Raditsa came to this country in
1940 when his father joined the
Yugoslav Embassy in Washing
ton, D.C.
He graduated from Phillips
Exeter Academy and then from
Harvard College in 1956. At
Harvard he founded and edited
i.e.. The Cambridge Review.
The grandson of the noted Ital
ian historian Guglielmo Fer
rero, he held two graduate
degrees in history from Colum
bia University: a 1962 master’s
in medieval history and a 1969
doctorate in ancient history. He
was also a University Fellow and
a President’s Fellow at Colum
bia. In 1964-65 he held a Ful
bright Fellowship at the Univer
sity of Munich.
After teaching at New York
University, Washington Square
College, from 1965 to 1973, he
joined the faculty of St. John’s
College. He was the founding
editor of The St. John ’a Review.
He was affiliated during the
1977-78 academic year with the
Hoover Institute on War, Revo
lution and Peace at Stanford,
Calif., as a National Endowment
for the Humanities fellow.
Mr. Raditsa was the author of
numerous articles and of two
books: Prisoners ofa Dream:
The South African Mirage,
which he wrote following 1991
when he was a lecturer at the
Rand Afrikaans University and
at the University of the Witwatersrand, seoA Some Sense About
Wilhelm Reich, concerning the
controversial psychiatrist. Mr.
Raditsa was also a painter whose
watercolors were exhibited at
galleries in the Annapolis area.
Mr. Raditsa was a member of
a distinguished Italian family
St. John’s College ■ Spring soot }
Leo Raditsa
and great-grandson of the crim
inologist Cesare Lombroso; he
divided his time between
Annapohs and his family home
outside Florence. Survivors
include his son, Sebastian, and a
sister, Basiljka Raditsa, both of
New York City. His marriage to
Larissa Bonfante of New York
City ended in divorce. The fami
ly requests that gifts be made to
the St. John’s College library,
P.O. Box 2800, Annapolis, MD
21404.
A memorial service for Mr.
Raditsa was held in March. A
memoriam will appear in the
next issue of The College.
�9
{Alumni Voices}
CARNIVAL IN
FLANDERS
A Pearl Harbor Day memoir
BY Peter Wolff, A44
y the time I got to St. John’s in the fall of
1940, the New Program was in full swing. A
few (less than a dozen) Old Program stu
dents still remained. The college got a
boost from an article in Life magazine that
appeared in February of 1940. It spoke
glowingly of the Program in a spread of 10 or
B
I cannot resist a swipe at American
journalism: One of the pictures
showed a student reading Horace’s
poems in Latin. A fine picture
except that the student shown was
an Old Program student; the book
he was reading was by an author
(Horace) not then being read in the
Program; the book was being read
in the original Latin instead of in
translation, whereas all of the great
books authors were and are being
read in English.
I took to the college immediately
and felt that I had found my intel
lectual home. I read the books, dis
cussed them and thought of little
else. I had little money but I didn’t
need it: $a6 lasted me through the
first semester, as I barely stepped
off the campus. I cannot remember
what I did in the summer of 1941, but I
returned to St. John’s in the fall of that
year with enthusiasm and threw myself
into reading the second year list. It includ
ed Virgil, but also St. Augustine’s Confes
sions and large parts of St. Thomas
Aquinas’s Summa The.ologica.
I had joined a film club that was being
formed by a few students. It proposed to
show classic movies to those who joined
In 194a, THE COLLEGE HELD A DANCE TO
ReLIEF. In
ATTENDANCE WERE STRINGFELLOW BaRR
(left) and Admiral Beardall, Superin
tendant OF THE Naval Academy.
RAISE MONEY FOR ALLIED WaR
the club. The movies were obtained from
the Museum of Modern Art on a rental
basis. Club members were mostly St.
John’s students but also faculty members
and a few faculty from the Naval Academy.
I can only remember two films. One was A
{The College
. St. John’s College ■ Spring soot }
Nous La Liberte, directed by Jean Renoir;
the other. Carnival in Flanders, was
scheduled for the evening of December 7,
1941. The gymnasium, an old building,
had to be prepared for the film showing.
So at a little after noon, several of us were
setting up the screen and folding chairs
for the audience.
At about r:3o in the afternoon, some
one came running into the building and
12,yelled,
pages.
“The Japanese have attacked Pearl
Harbor in Hawaii.” For a little while, I did
not fully take in what had been
said; then we all abandoned our
efforts (we were nearly finished
anyhow) and repaired to our dormi
tory rooms to listen to the radio.
The film showing did take place in
the evening. Not many of the Naval
Academy members of the club
showed up; those that did for the
first time wore their uniforms.
The next day, a radio (these were
pre-television days) was brought
into the dining hall and at noon we
listened to President Roosevelt
referring to December 7 as “a day
that will live in infamy,” regretting
the many casualties that had been
incurred, and asking the Congress
to declare war on Japan.
People of my age and generation
all remember what they were doing
on December 7,1941. For younger people,
it is just another date. For some of them,
November aa, 1963 has a similar
significance, but even those who remem
ber President Kennedy’s assassination are
now growing old. What are the mythic
dates for those who are now in their twen
ties or thirties? The first moon landing?
President Nixon’s resignation? The fall of
the Berlin Wall?
�IO
{Interview}
A CONVERSATION WITH
JOHN BALKCOM
The newpresident in Santa Fe begins
his tenure Johnnie-style—in a dialogue
with students, faculty, and alumni.
N November 7 John E. Balkcom
became the fifth president of the
Santa Fe campus of St. John’s Col
lege. A fit and athletic 53-year-old
with wide interests beyond a
career as head of a college, he radi
ates an affable, energetic person
ality and addresses the complex
challenges of his new job with
cheerful confidence. He has enjoyed a close association
with the college, having been not only a graduate student
in Santa Fe but also a member the Board of Visitors and
Governors for five years. In January the president sat down
for an interview with James Idema, a Santa Fe writer whose
affection for St. John’s stems from his participation in the
Community Seminar Series.
Q: Your background is an unusual combination ofbusiness
and academics. Your education includes an AB in philoso
phyfrom Princeton, an MBA from the University of Chica
go's Graduate School ofBusiness,and a master’s degree in
liberal artsfrom St. John’s. You have also pursued a career
as a business consultant and served as an adjunctprofessor
ofeconomics at Chicago. Is itfair to say that, with this back
ground, your visionfor St. John’s ispractical as well as ide
alistic?
JB: I would hope so. Practical in the sense of my aspiring for
this program - “this brilliantly conceived small college,” to
{The College-
quote one of our tutors emeritus. Bill Darkey - to be far
more secure financially in the future, to have the ability to
deliver this distinctive kind of education, this expensive
way of doing an education, and to give that method long
economic life through significant improvements in the
endowment. This would allow us to maintain a student
body of about 450 undergraduate and about 60 graduate
students. My feeling is that we could continue to grow
somewhat in the graduate program. We have no aspiration
to make the undergraduate program 500, 600, 700, but
rather to keep it at its current size or smaller, to serve that
population well, and to continue to sustain the intimacy
that happens at the seminar level between tutors and stu
dents. I believe that the seminar table is the locus of the
unique value of this program and I want to continue to be
able to deliver that close personal attention of our tutors to
our students, both in and out of class.
Q: More to the idealisticpoint. I’ve been reading in the local
press about the kind of epiphany you experienced in which
ethics came unexpectedly into your approach to life, per
haps gaining ascendancy over the business aspect. Can you
comment on that?
JB: One of the primary responsibilities of a partner in a
management consulting firm is to sell business, to build
new client relationships and to provide services that are
both valuable to the client and profitable to the consulting
firm. It’s a rather weak joke among consultants that when
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
�ERIC SWANSON
{The College -St John's College
• Spring 2001 }
�{interview}
one receives a call from a prospective
client asking the question “Do you do
X?” the answer is almost always
“Why, yes, of course. And, indeed, we
are deeply expert in that area. That’s
our business and we have just the
people who can help you.” I certainly
appreciate the commercial impera
tive of growing one’s business when
one is a management consultant, but
at times I found it troubling that I was
at least stretching the case for my
capability or my firm’s capability for
what we might do to help a client.
In particular, after reading Augus
tine’s Confessions for the first time in
the Graduate Institute, I had this
blinding realization of the three
white lies a management consultant
tells when a prospective client calls
him. “(i) I’m thrilled to hear from
you. (2) I’m utterly fascinated by your
problem. (3) I’m immediately avail
able to help you.” Out of the realiza
tion that none of the above is always true and in the process of
reading the Confessions, I began having much more candid
conversations with my clients and prospective clients, asking
them background questions and then, with increasing fre
quency, suggesting that I was not the right person to handle
their problem but giving them names and phone numbers of
others who might be better qualified to serve them.
JB: Sure. We have eliminated that
disparity as of January i, which, as a
board member, I wanted to see hap
pen during my five years of tenure.
So I’m pleased that we have now
taken the steps that were needed.
Q:
It took a long time.
It took a long time because
of differences in resources available
to the two campuses. And it put some
added pressure on this campus in
terms of balancing our budget going
forward. We’ve had several areas of
cost increases in the last two years.
First, the increase in salaries for fac
ulty. Fortunately, we’ve had generous
benefactors who have increased our
endowment to help us fund the need
ed increase in faculty salaries. Two
years ago my predecessor and his staff
did an evaluation of staff compensa
tion and found that it was off the mark
quite a bit. So we have had some
significant
staff compensation
increases as well. We’ve also changed the kind of retirement
plan for the staff to be similar to that of the faculty. Our health
insurance costs, like those of almost every other organization I
know, are rising rapidly. And then throw into that the recent
spike in natural gas prices, and our fixed costs have gone up
tremendously.
JB: It did.
Ybelieve the seminar
table is the locus ofthe
unique value ofthis
program...
Q: One might think you risked losing clients that way.
That was the risk I expected at the beginning of those con
versations, but I must tell you it brought clients back to me
repeatedly, clients who had appreciated my candor. More
important for me, my speaking that way proved to be hugely
liberating.
Now you’re no longer a consultant but the man in charge.
What are some ofthe major challenges youface in thisposition.
Can we start with the faculty salary disparities between this
campus and Annapolis?
{The College
Bad timing, indeed. But I must say, we’re still finding our
friends, alumni, and certain foundations quite generous. It’s
not an easy challenge to raise the money, but they’re continu
ing to be generous with us. Friends of the college are still com
ing to us with significant gifts. So, in that sense, our timing is
quite fortuitous.
JB:
JB;
Q:
Q: Also a weakening ofthe economy. Bad timing.
Q:
You ’re going to be able to increase the endowment?
The board and the capital campaign committee are just
beginning to plan for the next capital campaign. But my person
al aspiration is to see the endowment move from its current level
JB:
■ St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
�{interview }
13
‘7found the... issues ofthe nature of
the soul [in the ' Phaedrus 7... quite
immediate and urgentfor every man
and woman in the room.
of just under $ioo million for the
whole college to something in excess
of $250 mUhon hy the end of this
decade. That’s not an easy task. It
takes a great deal ofwork. But I know
it can be done. Many other fine hberal arts colleges in a similar period
have raised significantly more than
that. I think we have the opportunity
to present this story to alumni,
friends, and foundations and corpo
rations in a way that wiU be com
pelling, to improve our endowment
substantially. That, by the way, will
help with our sustaining and improving the salaries of faculty and staff.
study area that would be more
friendly to students. Probably the
most notable physical change that a
number of us would like to see is an
auditorium that would house 600 to
800 at one time. Today we have no
single venue within which we can
convene the entire college commu
nity, meaning faculty, students, and
staff.
L
Q: Would this replace the Great
Hall?
Q: Willyou yourselfbe taking an active role infundraising?
JB: Oh, yes, I already have been. I am traveling some in con
nection with that task, and Robert Glick, the vice president for
advancement, has scheduled me for a minimum of three
lunches and two dinners a week with potential donors of vari
ous kinds in the Santa Fe area.
envision physical expansion of the campus, bricks
and-mortar improvements?
Q: Do you
JB: Yes, in a modest way. Again, we are at the maximum stu
dent size that we want, so we won’t be growing in that sense.
But I would like to add - and again, this is yet to be worked out
- another 60 rooms on campus, which would allow us to house
up to 75 to 80 percent of our student body.
Q:
That means new dormitories.
JB: Two new dormitories would be my guess.
Q: The dormitories arefilled up
now?
JB: To the brim. So that’s one physical change - a modest one, I
think. A second needed improvement: We have about $12 mil
lion of deferred maintenance on campus buildings and need
very much to upgrade the fire protection systems. Thirdly, I’d
like to see a project suggested, just as a possibility, by the head
of our bookstore of breaking the wall between the bookstore
and the coffee shop and combining them into a sitting and
{The College .
JB: I hope it would replace the Great
Hall. And it would do three impor
tant things for us: It would give us a venue for convening the
entire college community. Second, it would give us a more
attractive space for student productions of plays and musical
performances. Third, it would give us an opportunity to bring
the local community here for events of various kinds, to house
musical events and professional performances, and allow the
community to become even closer and better acquainted with
the college. So, I’d like to see that change. It might be the most
noticeable of the changes I would envision in bricks and mortar.
Q: I was going to ask whether St. John "s alumni,
as other college
alumni, are generally successful, well off, dependable support
ers ofSt. John's. Or does the St. John'sprogram tend toproduce
scholars who don’tpursue more remunerative careers?
JB: We produce alums who enter a great variety of careers,
from teaching at the secondary school level to advanced aca
demic careers in higher education to authors to producers and
directors and screenwriters for movies to proprietors of pri
vately owned businesses to heads of investment management
businesses. We have the variety of alums you would find in
many other colleges, and a wide range of economic success in
that population. It is an alumni body that has the capability of
providing great support for the college. During the last capital
campaign, we had a participation rate that was quite attrac
tive, compared to our other liberal arts competitors. On an
annual basis, the participation rate is modest, but growing
rapidly, and we expect to continue to see that grow. We have a
new organization of alumni called Philanthropia, and its pur-
St. John's College • Spring 2001 }
�^4
I { 1 NT E RVI E W }
'Tor sure, we could do a
betterjob ofreaching a more
diversepopulation.''
pose is to engage the alumni in their support
of the college. That holds great promise.
enjoy it newly every time. So, one aspect of a
great book is the re-readability. A second
aspect of “greatness” is the connectedness,
the pervasiveness, of the ideas of these texts
in our culture. When I read a new piece of
fiction that somebody says is a really great
book, I frequently find it enjoyable reading.
However, I’m not likely to read it again
because it’s not terribly re-readable. But it
may have three or four ideas in it that came
out of Plato or out of Aristotle, whose ideas
remain pervasive.
Q: In the category ofother changes and chal
lenges, what about the curriculum?
JB: My expectation is that the curriculum
will change very slowly, if at all. The way that
our founding document, the Polity, is writ
ten, it assigns to our faculty, to our joint
Instruction Committee of the two campuses,
and to the deans the responsihility for over
seeing the design and content of the curricu
lum. Our faculty retains to this day a very
strong commitment to what was called in
1937 “the New Program.”
£
I think one of the reasons people ask you
that perhaps frivolous question is that it’s
such a long time between Aristotle’s day and
today.
Q:
o
Q:
It's still the New Program?
is still the New Program. And I think
that’s a distinguishing characteristic of this college that will
change very little. It’ll he a little more of this and a little less of
that. Add a Platonic dialogue here and two fewer essays of
Montaigne there, or whatever. These things go through care
ful consideration and dehate at our faculty meetings and in our
Instruction Committee meetings. By design, they change very
slowly.
JB: It
JB: But the program comes to the 19th and
aoth centuries.We certainly talk about Kant, Hume, Hegel,
Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Yeats. And the sciences, from
Galileo to Newton all the way forward to Einstein. There are a
few Gommunity Seminars, I believe, with Richard Feynman’s
writings, in them. So we have, in some of our courses, very
contemporary authors.
Q:
“Ijust read a great
new book. Why don ’tyou include that?” That is an interesting
question, I think. What does make a great book?
Q: Surelyyou must run intopeople who say,
JB: Well, I’ve just heen re-reading the two opening essays, one
by Mortimer Adler and one by the former president of the Uni
versity of Chicago, Robert Maynard Hutchins, for the original
editions of the Great Books, as they were published by Ency
clopedia Britannica, and there are a few ideas that I found
quite intriguing. One of them is the notion that a great book is
highly re-readable. That is, it deserves to be read, not once,
and maybe not even twice or three times. Every time I read the
Iliad - and I’ve read it four or five times in the last five years I find half a dozen things that strike me as, “How could I pos
sibly have missed this?” The Iliad and the Odyssey and the
Platonic Dialogues and the works of Aristotle - there are many
others, of course, with this character.
For me, personally, I re-read the poetry of Yeats weekly and
{The College.
Notjust dead white guys.
JB: I’ve certainly heard that charge. No, I think they’re quite
alive. In my last preceptorial in the graduate program, we had
seven graduate students and six undergraduates reading
Plato’s Phaedrus. It has to do with rhetoric, with erotic love
and with the nature of the soul and with poetry. And I found
the issues of how one expresses oneself in writing or in speak
ing, the issues of the nature of the soul, the issues of the
nature of erotic love, quite immediate and urgent for every
man and woman in the room. And not at all stale by virtue of
having been written by a “dead white guy.”
Q: That naturally leads to the question ofwomen. And I know
you expressed interest in that and thefact that your wife and
daughters sometimes bug you to pay more attention to the
female gender.
Two things I should mention in that connection. In one of
my very early classes in the Summer Glassies, one of the tutors
JB:
St. John ’5 College • Spring zooi }
�{interview}
15
Y think ofthe students
as thefirst group lam
responsiblefor serving.
son we consider as a potential student is that
person’s seriousness about and capability for
studying in this particular way, reading a text
slowly and discussing it at length with col
leagues in a classroom.
put me onto the text The Book ofthe City of
Ladies by Christine de Pizan, which is quite
a remarkable story of court life in the 15th or
i6th century from a woman’s point of view.
And I’ve mentioned as well that we have had
a preceptorial in the Graduate Institute on
the work of Toni Morrison.
Q:
JB: My meetings with students are what I call
I want to ask you about the relationship
between St. John’s College and the city of
Santa Fe. Do you sense an affinity between
this comparatively new (1964) institution and
this ancient (1610) city?
Q:
JB: Yes. In the last ao years many adult learn- 2
z
ers, if I could use that phrase, have moved 5
o
into Santa Fe. These are men and women 2
cc
who may have retired or may be in the «
process of winding down their full-time pro
fessions, and who are seeking an opportunity to look with
some seriousness into matters of the quality of life and
whether or not the soul is in fact perpetual. And to examine, to
stop and lookback on what they’ve done in the last 30 or 40 or
50 years of their lives and reflect on them in a thoughtful way.
We draw many such men and women to us through our Com
munity Seminars, through our Summer Classics, even
through our Graduate Institute. So, I think that’s part of the
affinity with this town.
Q: Santa Fe has a notoriously poor public education system
itself. Many ofthesepeople you refer to arepart-time residents,
and, as you say, are retired, and they can afford to stop and
reflect on their lives. One would wish that somehow this oppor
tunity could be made available to people who have not had
thatprivilege.
Let me say that we make all of our admissions decisions at
the undergraduate and at the graduate level on a needs blind
basis. I’ve heard more than once some passing comment about
this elite program in which rich white folks come and study
the dead white guys. But approximately 70 percent of our stu
dents currently receive financial aid of one kind or another, so
we welcome a very wide variety of students. And for sure, we
could do a better job of reaching a more diverse population.
We are working on that. The biggest question about every per
JB:
Tell me aboutyour meetings with students.
“town hall meetings.” I regard the agenda as
belonging to the students.
You call the students customers, your ‘^pri
mary customers. ”
Q:
I think of them as the first group whom I
am responsible for serving. They’re here,
they are living here, they have entrusted
themselves and their education to us. I feel
responsible to them. So in that sense they are
my primary customer. And so, once every four to six weeks I
want to have a town hall meeting, invite any and all students
who would like to come, and discuss what they would like to
discuss. I don’t always have the answer, but I’m willing to take
a question and tell them I’ll get back to them.
JB:
about exhausted my question list unless you sense an
omission in what we’ve covered that you’d like to add to this
informal accounting to St. John’s alumni.
Q: I’ve
JB: My added message would be that, whereas I regard the stu
dents as my primary customers, if I can say that, I think of the
alumni as a very close second. And it’s helpful to me - I’ve
already heard from quite a number of alumni by e-mail and
have received feedback on communications I’ve sent them, on
publications we’ve put out as a college as well as articles that
have been published elsewhere about the campus.
Q:
Well received?
well received. We have listened to suggestions for
improvements, too. This is a very thoughtful alumni body and I
have a great deal to learn from them. Dialogue is the hallmark
of this school. It is vital that we continue to have a rich dialogue
with the alumni, as well as the students and faculty. 4"
JB: Very
{The College -St John’s College
■ Spring 2001 }
�{The Program}
THE LOGOS
ACCORDING TO
ARISTOTLE
Tutor Joe Sachs thinks the key to understanding Aristotle
lies in ordinary speech - whether its Greek or English.
BY Barbara Goyette, A73
o surprise: Joe Sachs, an alumnus
who graduated in 1968 and
became a tutor in Annapolis in
1975, first encountered Aristotle
in his freshman seminar, which
was led by Bob Bart and Debbie
Traynor. Slightly surprising: He
found a kind of joy in reading and
Studying Aristotle that was a deep
ening of the delight he experienced while reading Plato. His
favorite book was The Physics. “There were two things that
happened,” he says. “1 realized that what 1 thought of as sci
ence and philosophy didn’t have to be distinct. And then I
realized that the world didn’t have to be thought of the way
I’d been taught in high school. The Physics denies things I
had assumed about space, time, body, cause, and explana
tion.” Downright surprising: Sachs has spent a good part of
the past ten years translating four works of Aristotle: The
Physics, The Metaphysics, On the Soul, and The Nicomachean Ethics. The first two have been published, the oth
ers have found publishers and will appear in print soon.
Considering that Aristotle is probably the philosopher
who most permeates Western thought - from his tutelage of
Alexander the Great, to the adoption of his Latinized
vocabulary as the very speech of philosophy for hundreds of
years, to the easy acceptance of the nickname “The Big
Aristotle” by basketball’s superstar Shaquille O’Neal - why
{The College-
would there be need for more translations? Because the
translations out there are inadequate, says Sachs. The prob
lem with the translations dates to the i6th and 17th cen
turies when scholarly work that had previously been avail
able only in Latin began to appear in modern languages.
The Latin versions of Aristotle established a vocabulary
that carried over into the modern languages, a vocabulary
that included such familiar philosophic staples as “acci
dent,” “substance,” “essence,” “actuality,” and “priva
tion.” Not only did the Latinized versions of these words
become a jargon, but that jargon disguised much of what is
important in Aristotle, Sachs thinks. “The twists and turns
of the tradition that got lost from view led to mistakes and
misunderstandings of Aristotle,” he says.
Here’s an example of how the words used in the scholar
ly tradition don’t really capture the Greek: The phrase kata
sumbebekos became, in Latin translations of Aristotle,/>er
accidens, and then in scholastic English the Latin word’s
descendent, “accidental.” “The Latin is a good translation
for the Greek, and the English is cognate with the Latin,”
says Sachs. “But the original Greek meaning doesn’t come
through when you make kata sumbebekos into ‘acciden
tal.’” He renders kata sumbebekos as “incidental” rather
than “accidental.” In his Glossary to The Physics, he
explains, “The word ‘accidental’ is appropriate to some,
but not all incidental things; it is not accidental that the
housebuilder is a flute player, but it is incidental. To any
St. John's College • Spring 2001 }
�{The College -St John’s
College ■ Spring 2001 }
�{ThePkogram}
''LikePlato 's dialogues, Aristotle's
writings lead us onfrom untested opinions
- those expressed in ordinary speech toward more reliable ones. "
thing, an infinity of incidental attributes belongs, and this
opens the door to chance (196 b).”
Nineteenth and aoth century English translations of Aristo
tle include those found in the Loeb editions and in the huge
beige McKeon edition that Johnnies of the 1970s and 1980s
relied on. Loeb translations are loose by design. McKeon’s edi
tion contained parts of a series of Oxford translations made
early in the aoth century. Some were very graceful, but they
relied entirely on the Latinized vocabulary carried over from
the earlier translations. Beginning in the 1960s, Hippocrates
Apostle produced a set of translations that attempted to stan
dardize Aristotle’s vocabulary in English - Apostle always used
the same English word for each Greek term, but he still relied
on the adopted Latinized words. During the course of many
years’ worth of classes, study groups, and advising sessions,
Sachs found himself having to say to students “it doesn’t really
mean that” about many of the words they were wrestling with.
He would give long explanations of each such word, and wish
there were some better way to translate it.
Behind Sachs’ resolve to try to render Aristotle into English
more effectively lies a deeper reason than being discontent with
the use of the fossilized Latin vocabulary. Aristotle looks at
ordinary speech and the thought behind it, and he “puts
together the most ordinary words in unaccustomed combina
tions. Since the combinations are jarring, our thinking always
has to be at work,” says Sachs. Here’s the paradox of Aristotle
for us today: He’s at the same time the most referred-to thinker
whose ideas form the very foundation of all Western philoso
phy, from Locke, Kant and Hegel to Whitehead and Husserl,
and yet - according to Sachs - he’s the freshest because he
makes us examine the most simple assumptions about our lives
and what they might mean. Getting to the root of this fresh
quality of Aristotle’s work was Sachs’ aim in translating the the
oretical books with the resources of “ordinary English.”
Gertainly this is an enterprise characteristic of how the
Greeks are treated at St. John’s. “[Jacob] BClein is the main
source of my thinking about Aristotle and Plato,” notes Sachs.
He cites Klein’s essay “Aristotle, an Introduction” (which
appears in Jacob Klein: Lectures and Essays, St. John’s College
Press) as something he’s read many times. But Sachs calls his
translations an appropriate entry point for any educated reader
- not just Johnnies - into the world of the ancients.
{The College
Turning The PHYSICS wyg English
rom 1990 to 1992, Sachs held the National Endow
ment for the Humanities (NEH) chair at the col
lege. This fellowship enables tutors to spend their
time studying a topic in depth for two years; dur
ing the second year they also lead a faculty study
group on their topic and give a lecture. He used the tim
begin a translation of The Physics. “At first I didn’t know
was practical - whether I knew enough Greek, whether there
were solutions to the difficult problems I saw,” he says. But he
began to work with the aim of making Aristotle’s sentences
real by getting rid of the jargon and using instead everyday,
common words that exist in both English and Greek.
“Aristotle respects ordinary speech more than most modern
philosophers do. We use a lot of important words in inconsis
tent ways. For Aristotle that is an indication of something
deeply true,” explains Sachs. For example, take the Greek
word kalon. Sometimes it is translated as “beautiful,” some
times as “noble.” But the English word “noble” loses most of
the vividness and power of the Greek. Aristotle considers the
linguistic usage as a clue that leads to an understanding of
moral virtue as something for its own sake, that hits a mean. In
English we might also say, “That’s a beautiful thing you did.”
We all know what that means, and it somehow tells us some
thing about that action. “Ambiguities in speech that are deeply
revealing about the thing referred to can arise in similar ways
in more than one language,” says Sachs.
“The trouble with ordinary speech for the purposes of phi
losophy,” says Sachs, “is that it carries too much meaning. We
are so accustomed to its use that it automatically carries along
all sorts of assumptions about things that we make without
being aware of them. ..Like Plato’s dialogues, Aristotle’s writ
ings lead us on from untested opinions - those expressed in
ordinary speech - toward more reliable ones.”
Getting something out of The Physics depends on how will
ing people are to let go of their assumptions. “It’s full of things
that people laugh at when they encounter them - take his
notion that bodies falling in a void would speed up without
limit. But reading Aristotle is a way of getting back to the ques
tions. Sometimes to get that fresh look you have to uproot
things that stand in your way. The Physics has everything to do
with living in the world.”
F
St John’s College • Spring 2001 }
�{TheProgram}
19
''The argument is on the way
somewhere and things are changing.
Things get revised.
Progress on the translation was sometimes slow - a sentence
in a day - and sometimes faster. Sachs found that he couldn’t
leave a decision half-made. “So many things that I hadn’t paid
attention to turned out to he very interesting and important,”
he says. But at the end of the second year he had a draft. Find
ing a publisher was a real-world challenge. His translation
wasn’t favored hy the classicists because “it wasn’t good Enghsh,” meaning that it read like philosophy instead of litera
ture. The philosophy departments, on the other hand, didn’t
like Sachs’ translation because it wasn’t consistent with the
other works in the tradition - no “substance,” “essence,”
“accident,” etc. Sachs wound up using Rutgers University
Press, and his Physics appeared in 1998 as part of their “Mas
terworks of Discovery: Guided Studies of Great Texts in Sci
ence” edited by Annapolis tutor Harvey Flaumenhaft.
been obscured by technical jargon the same way they had been
in the theoretical works. But there were enough ways that I
thought those translations fell short that I decided to try doing
my own,” says Sachs. All of the books reflect the basic aims of
recapturing the original focus of Aristotle’s thinking.
What’s Aristotle Doing?
hat has Sachs learned about Aristotle
after spending so much time with him?
Not a few St. John’s students and alumni
have trouble reading Aristotle because of
his style - it’s so densely packed, the sen
tences are opaque, and it lacks the drama of the dia
step-by-step explications of Kant, or the perverse
Nietzsche. Sachs doesn’t exactly buy the commonly accepted
story that Aristotle’s writings are transcriptions of lecture
The Other Translations
notes. “I think they may have begun as lecture notes, but they
he year following his second spent holding the
got written down and polished,” he says. He compares the
method to that described frequently in Plato’s dialogues, when
NEH chair, Sachs had a sabbatical, which he used
a character says “I heard this from so and so, and then I wrote
to begin working on a translation of The Meta
it down and checked it with the source.”
physics. That book was published in 1999 by Green
“I think you can feel the movement in the classroom,” says
Lion Press, an independent pubhshing house con
Sachsofabout the writings. “An objection outlined is something
centrating on primary texts in the history of science, history
someone brought up in one of the classes. Or there might be a
mathematics, and history of ideas and run by St. John’s alumni
joke about the educated person being pale - that would refer to
Wdham Donahue (A67) and Dana Densmore (A65).
someone in the room. A lot of the things we puzzle about would
Even more than The Physics, The Metaphysics has been mis
have
been obvious to Aristotle’s hsteners.” The movement of
understood, thinks Sachs. It’s commonly criticized as not
the
arguments
is dialectical - that’s the structure that prevails
being cohesive, because it appears to make new beginnings
in The Physics, The Metaphysics, and even in The Ethics. “The
over and over again, as well as covering the same ground
argument is on the way somewhere and things are changing.
repeatedly. Sachs found an underlying order as he worked
Things get revised,” says Sachs. This flowing structure to the
through the translation; rather than becoming so enmeshed in
works is another reason the accepted notion of Aristotle laying
details that a sense of the whole is obscured, the opposite hap
down the law or offering a series of set answers is so wrong.
pened - he came to a clearer understanding of the differences
“Instead, I find it a record of careful thinking,” says Sachs.
between demonstration and dialectic.
Aristotle’s record of careful thinking is something that has
At the urging of tutor Brother Robert, Sachs also translated
kept
Sachs busy translating for about ro years. Although he
On the Soul over the course of a few summers; it’s currently
says the efforts never turned into a chore, he’s finished with
being prepared for publication by Green Lion. And, during a
translating, at least translating Aristotle and at least for now.
second sabbatical, almost 10 years after working on The
But the thoughts are still alive for him: “Every time I pick up
Physics, he translated The Nicomachean Ethics. That transla
one of his books or sit down with people to talk about Aristo
tion is being prepared by The Focus Philosophical Library in
tle, I find new things.”
Massachusetts.
“The Ethics is a book that I love. The translations seemed
good enough because the things Aristotle was saying had not
W
T
{The College -St John's College
• Spring 2001 }
�{Johnnies
on
Parenting}
THE EDUCATION THAT IS
PARENTHOOD
From birth to the empty nest, raising a child
means learning to deal with each new challenge.
BY Sus3AN Borden, A87
OR ALL WE LEARN FROM THE GREAT ROOKS,
they don’t seem to answer parent
hood’s most pressing questions: What
did Penelope do to make Telemachos
sleep through the night? Would
attachment parenting have saved
Oedipus? If Desdemona and Juliet had
been allowed to try “group dating,”
could tragedy have been averted? Pedi
atric rheumatologist Jim Jarvis (A75) agrees that there are
limits to the insights on parenting to be gained at St.
John’s. “Will studying Apollonius make you a better par
ent?” he asks. “I don’t think so.”
He suggests more intimate sources for learning how to
raise children. “You learn from your parents, you learn
from your children, and you learn from your heart, if you
leave your heart open and attentive to all the wonderful
things your child is trying to teach you,” he says. And that,
he explains, is where St. John’s comes in.
“St. John’s prepares your heart to be open,” he says. “I
remember tutors Michael Littleton and Elliott Zuckerman
teaching me that it’s okay to love something because it’s
beautiful. I remember seeing the look on Michael Little
ton’s face when he was listening to Beethoven’s Eroica Sym
phony. I realized that I was watching not only a man who
found this piece of music intellectually satisfying hut who,
in the very core of his heart, found it beautiful. If you let it,
your St. John’s education can prepare your heart for accept
ing the incredible beauty and mystery of childhood.”
Granted, Piaget and Montessori are not on the St. John’s
reading list. And there’s no manual for raising children that
{The College-
provides an answer for every troubling situation. But in this
inaugural issue of The College, six alumni who work with
parents and children offer their insights into the education
that is parenthood.
I•Convocation
Birth
Parenting studies - like college studies - begin with a sud
den immersion into a completely different kind of life. Eor
both experiences, it’s a change you’ve been waiting for for
months, mainly with excitement, but also with anxiety. You
pack your bag, climb into the car, and the adventure
begins. One key difference: when you’re heading for col
lege, it’s just butterflies in your stomach. One similarity:
you’re beginning a new life with a journey into the
unknown.
Midwife Laureen Sutton-Borgilt (SP86) says that,
because she works mainly with home births, the couples
she works with have a high sense of responsibility. But, she
says, taking responsibility can be confused with taking con
trol, and when it comes to childbirth, control is an illusion.
“One of the biggest jobs in preparing for birth is accepting
what it means to deal with uncertainty. You don’t always get
to choose how things are going to come out. You can
choose the little things, like to stay home or to have the
baby in water, hut birth doesn’t always give you your
choice. Parenting doesn’t always give you your choice
either,” says Sutton-Borgilt. “Parenting plunges us into an
unknown over which there is no control and pregnancy is
definitely a first step into this realm of the unknown.”
St. John’s College • Spring 2001 }
�ai
their own temperaments, their
own way of dealing with the
First year oflife
“God Creating Adam”
world,” she says. “The best a
FROM Chartres Cathedral
parent can do is help them learn how to
Sure you studied virtue at St. John’s,
make good judgments and accept
but these days you’re modeling good
themselves with whatever limitations
behavior at home. Of course you read
and strengths they have.”
about beauty during college, but par
Friehling offers a Johnnie-like
enthood leaves you marveling at your
approach to child-raising: “Just like
baby’s perfect features. And while love
tutors are not professors but are there
was once a subject for discussion and
to guide students in dialogue, I see par
contemplation, it’s now something
ents as guiding their children in a dia
that overtakes you every day. Like
logue. From the time the child is six
freshman year, early parenthood fasci
months old, parents should set up a dia
nates us with its subject matter. But
logue
to help the child figure out this
there’s a lot to learn and a world of
world on his or her own. By the time
adjustments to make.
Jim Jarvis [A75]
they are adolescents, children are very
“There’s no bigger transition in the
much participants in the dialogue and
world than becoming a parent,” says
they
don’t have the same kind of rebel
pediatrician Melissa Sedlis (A73). “No
lion issues as children whose parents set themselves up as
matter how old you are, you’re just someone else’s child
arbitrary authorities.”
until you become a parent yourself. There’s a great divide
II- Freshman Year
J.
''Ifyou let it, your
St. Johns education
can prepare your heart
for accepting the
incredible beauty and
mystery ofchildhood. ”
you cross.
“Everyone has watched a child misbehave, seen how the
parent handles it, and thought, ‘I’ll do it so much better. My
child will never go to McDonald’s. My child will never want
sugar cereals.’ There are a lot of illusions that parents have
to lose. What we often have in our minds during pregnancy
is an idealized version of what our child will be like. We try
to fit the child into our idea of what the child should be.”
Pediatrician Linda Friehling (SF71) warns parents not to
impose such ideas onto their children. “Children have
{The College-
III-Sophomore Year
Toddler andpreschool years
More than any other year, sophomore year seems to focus
on a single book: the Bible. Parents of toddlers and
preschoolers, their faith tested by temper tantrums and toi
let training, can find themselves haunting bookstores’ par
enting sections, praying for a divinely inspired source of
wisdom. Some find a favorite - a parenting “Bible.” Among
St. John's College - Spring 2001 }
�2,2,
{JoHNNiES
ON
Parenting}
‘7sometimes have to remind
parents that the ape at which you
first eat preen beans is not on the
applicationfor Harvard. ”
Melissa Sedlis [A73]
today’s most popular are T.
means and interest to support
Berry Brazleton’s Touchpoints,
good daycare.”
Penelope Leach’s Your Baby
But what about intellectual
and Child, Arlene Eisenberg’s
enrichment? Wouldn’t a top
What to Expect the Toddler
notch daycare offer children a
Years, and Dr, Spock’s Baby and
head start in the academic
Child Care.
world? Berkowitz doesn’t think
Steve Berkowitz (A8i), associ
so. “You can get your kid to read
ate professor in child and adoles
earlier, to know the capitals ear
cent psychiatry at Yale Medical
lier, to do math earlier, but what
School, says he likes some, but
has been demonstrated is that it
not all, of these works. “Throw
all evens out in the end,” he says.
Brazleton out the window,” he
“The important factors in pre
says. “He’s a nice guy but all too
school are the social and nurtur
easy.” Berkowitz says that Bra
ing elements. While formalized,
zleton’s “let it happen natural
rigid education in reading, writ
ly” approach is too hands-off for
ing, and arithmetic is becoming
most parents and children. “For
more popular, this might be at
instance, toilet training,” says
the cost of something very
Berkowitz. “I don’t think you
important to children: the use of
just sit there and tell a kid ‘you
their imaginations, working
can potty train whenever you’re
things through, and learning
ready.’ I don’t think you have to
and understanding through play
demand it when they’re i8
and imagination.”
months old, but at 3 years, when
Sedlis says that this rush to
they’re not potty trained, you
academics is particularly a prob
An icon of parental affection - a madonna and child
can say ‘we want this, you have
lem in New York City, where she
to do it, it’s what kids your age
lives and practices. “Children
do.’” Berkowitz thinks parents should be more directive than
begin to apply to nursery schools at the age of one or two. They
Brazleton advises. “I don’t think young children want a mil
go on a round of interviews and many of them get rejected.
lion choices,” he says. “They want comfort, nurturing, direc
There’s enormous anxiety over this and parents beheve if you
tion. They wantyou to make choices for them. That’s what par
don’t get into the right nursery school, you won’t get into the
ents do.”
right ongoing school, then the right college, and then the right
While he’s not so crazy about Brazleton, Berkowitz does like
job. I sometimes have to remind parents that the age at which
Penelope Leach. “I think she’s great and has a lot to offer,” he
you first eat green beans is not on the application for Harvard.”
says. “Like anybody else, there are things I disagree with her
about, like her strong stance against daycare. Studies show
IV • Enabling
that good daycare is very good for children, there’s just very
Are youfit to continue?
little of it.”
What is good daycare? Berkowitz points to the daycare cen
It’s the end of your sophomore year. You go to your mailbox
ters affiliated with Yale. “Theyhaveverylowchild/staffratios,
and find a letter from the dean. You’re either in or out. But as
highly trained staff who are well paid and have the benefits of
a parent, it’s not that simple. There are many points in a
being in an academic environment, and parents who have the
child’s life when you find yourself scrutinizing your perform{The College
- St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
�{JoHNNIESOnPaRENTING}
2,3
JOHNNIES RECOMMEND...
great books on parenting
Touchpoints: Your Child’s Emotional and Behav
ioral DevelopmentYyY. Berry Brazleton
Toddlers and Parents: A Declaration ofIndepen
dence by T. Berry Brazleton
Infants and Mothers: Differences in Development by
T. Berry Brazleton
The First Twelve Months ofLife by Frank Caplan
ance, uncertain if you’re really
V • Junior Year
and Theresa Caplan
qualified to proceed. And like tutors
Elementary school
How To Talk So Your Child Will Listen, and Listen
at an enabling meeting, there are
So Your Child Will Talk by Adele Faber
plenty of people who seem ready
During junior year, you read Hume
and willing to judge your fitness as a
and Rousseau. As the parent of a
The Magic Years by Selma H. Fraiberg
parent. Certainly you can ignore
schoolage child, a visit to the play
First Feelings: Milestones in the Emotional Develop
onlookers at the grocery store when
ground
reminds you that life can
ment of Your Baby and Child by Stanley Greenspan
your child is having a tantrum. But
still be nasty, brutish, and short.
The Course ofLife by Stanley Greenspan
what about your mother, your
The temptation to tighten control
spouse, your adolescent who
is strong as your child learns to
Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five by
screams “I hate you,” your in-laws,
Penelope Leach
negotiate the social contracts of the
or your child’s pediatrician or
school yard, soccer team, and
Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn
teacher?
scouts. But even as the outside
The Emotional Life ofthe Toddler by Alicia F.
When daycare director Karen
world claims more and more ofyour
Lieberman
Shavin’s (Aya) son was diagnosed
child’s time and interest, the
The Interpersonal World ofthe Infant: A Viewfrom
with a learning disorder at age
experts agree: it’s time to loosen
Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology by
three, she was devastated by his
your grip. “Most of my peers from
Daniel N. Stern
prognosis. “They told me he would
St. John’s will remember that I’m a
never go to college and never have
rabid baseball fan,” says Jarvis.
. The Toddler Years: A Practical Guidefor
Parents & Caregivers by Irene Van De Zande
friends. And they said that all his
“And yet I know that my son’s
problems were related to an overfavorite sport is not baseball. He’s a
protective mother.”
good player, but he’s not as excited
Shavin says that, being in the child development field her
as he is about soccer. One of my most important jobs as a par
self, she tried to follow the advice of the experts she periodi
ent is to share his excitement about soccer and not push base
cally consulted. However, she saw that even professionals
ball on him. “When we lived back east we saw parents trying to
don’t agree and noticed they can fall into the trap of giving
live vicariously through their children through their academ
one-sided advice, influenced more by their training than by
ic and artistic endeavors. In Oklahoma, it’s through football
the needs of the child. “I needed to hear the experts’ recom
and cheerleading. I call it child abuse by sports.”
mendations,” she says. “But then I needed to analyze what
“Some parents wrongly view their children’s accomplish
they said to see if their method really applied to my child’s
ments as their own,” says Friehling. “That’s where distance
needs.” Shavin recommends that parents in similar situations
becomes necessary. You’re there as an enabler. You can nei
learn as much as they can from professionals, but then think
ther reap the accolades nor accept the blame for what happens
about what they know about their child and be willing to do
to your children as they move through school. There’s a differ
what the child needs, regardless of anyone’s advice.
ence between encouraging and pushing.”
This approach worked well for her son, who has made great
progress despite a significant auditory processing disability.
VI- Senior Year
“He’s 18 now, just finished his first semester of college, got all
Adolescence
As, and has a steady girlfriend,” she reports. “When he makes
friends, they’re friends for life.”
It’s not unusual to be intimidated by senior seminar readings.
What is this phenomenology, this theory of parallels, this
Beaute that Baudelaire seems so taken with? Fortunately, a
second reading and some careful reflection often reveal that
{The College
St John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
�“4
{JohnniesonParenting}
''The adolescent is like Socrates,
asking the tough questions, forcing
parents to examine themselves and
how they ve lived their lives.
Linda Friehling
{SF71)
these are the questions of freshman,
VII "Graduation
sophomore, and junior years dressed
Empty nest
up in fancy clothes. So too with adoles
cence.
Like commencement, the empty nest is
“Parents of adolescents constantly
both a beginning and an end. “It’s won
pull their hair out, forgetting that they
derful and painful, letting go,” says
are struggling with the same issues
Friehling. “When my first child was in
with their children at 14 as they were
the middle of college I was cleaning out
with their children at 3,” says
a room in the basement where a lot of
Berkowitz. “The difference is that you
the toys were. I kept going up to him
can’t pick up a 14-year-old and say no.”
and saying, ‘Mattie, do you want this
Parents can find themselves regret
any more? What about this? Is this
ting this difference when it comes to
important to you?’ He was very gentle,
issues like sex. “Sexuality exists from
but finally he said, ‘Mom, do you think
very early on, but adolescents are actu
I’m going to play with any of my toys
ally able to do something about it that
again?’ I had a tear in my eye because I
they couldn’t do when they were 3,”
realized no, I suppose he’s not.”
Berkowitz says. He adds that this is
Friehling says that, while the vision
more troubling to parents of girls. “It’s
of a grown child can provoke tears, it
an issue of biology. Boys don’t get
can also bring joy to a parent: “Ifyou let
pregnant.”
Sibling interaction depicted by Rembrandt
yourself enjoy each phase, you can look
In her practice, Sedlis offers adoles
back at it with pleasure.”
cents a safe place to talk about sex,
drugs, and alcohol. And she gives them at least one important
Steve Berkowitz (A81) is an assistantprofessor in child and adoles
piece of information. “With older teenagers. I’ll say, ‘have you
cent psychiatry at Yale University's School ofMedicine as wed. as the
medical director of the New Haven Child Development-Community
ever heard of the morning after pill?’ They look at me like I
Policing
Program and the Yale Child Study Center Intensive Home
have two heads,” she says. “But every four to six months, a girl
based
Child
and Adolescent Psychiatric Services. He is also thepsychi
will come to me for this, a girl you would think of as a good
atric consultant to the National Centerfor Children Exposed to Vio
girl, who is a good girl, who has made a mistake.” While Sedlis
lence. He is thefather oftwo daughters.
encourages teens in such difficult situations to leave the hnes
Linda Friehling (SF71) is a pediatrician and the mother ofthree sons.
of communication with their parents open, she says that there
She lives in Great Falls, Virginia.
are some thing a child needs to keep private.
liM Jarvis {A75) is director ofpediatric rheumatology at the Children’s
Fortunately, the world of teenagers isn’t all about risky
Hospital of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, and a clinical associate pro
behaviors. Friehling is energized by the intellectual and moral
fessor ofpediatrics at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Cen
challenges teens constantly pose. “Adolescents are wonderful
ter. He is thefather oftwo daughters and one son.
because they are thinking, idealistic, and energetic. They keep
Melissa Sedlis (A73) is a pediatrician in private practice in New York
you on your toes and don’t take any nonsense,” she says. “The
City. She and her husband, Steven Sedlis (A7;j), have three daughters.
adolescent is hke Socrates, asking the tough questions, forc
Karen Shavin (A73) is the executive director ofBright Beginnings, an
ing parents to examine themselves and how they’ve lived their
infant-toddler and preschool Head Start program for homeless chil
lives. You have to back up what you say and give reasonable
dren in Washington, D.C. She and her husband, Jeff Crabtree (A72),
arguments. They’re not going to take things at face value;
are theparents ofone daughter and two sons.
they’re going to question everything.”
Laureen Sutton-Borgilt (SF86) is a midwife and the mother of two
daughters. She lives in Ashland, Oregon.
{The College -
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
�as
{Campus Life}
CHORAL
KALEIDOSCOPE
BY SuS3AN Borden, A87
he Great Hall of McDowell has seen many Odysseus,” says David. “When they have
finished their performance with Demodsights in the past 200 years: the schooling of ocus of the tale of Ares and Aphrodite,
Francis Scott Key in 1796, a hall honoring Gen two youths are singled out to make a solo
display of their gymnastic prowess, throw
eral Lafayette in 1824, and the treatment of ing and catching a ball in mid-air.”
Following Plato’s formulation, David’s
Civil War casualties in 1863 and 1864. In recent
group began with a bardic rendition of the
years, it has been the site of college registra opening of Homer’s Catalogue of Ships
with the singer in the middle (like
tion, Fehhie convocation, and G.I. commencement.
It has
Demodocus) circled by dancers. Then two
of the students,
hosted coffee houses, rock parties, and waltz parties.
PlaysJohann du Hoffman (A04)
and Danae Marshall (A03), performed a
have been staged and freshman choruses have sung within its
carefully choreographed gymnastic dance.
Next, Sarah Frost (A04) gave a solo per
walls. And one chilly afternoon this past February, it was the
formance of a short Sappho poem, and
setting for a spectacle rich and strange.
finally the group presented a full choral
T
Drawing inspiration from the figures on
GrEEKVASES, AmIRTHANAYHGAM
David (center, left photo) leads stu
ANCIENT
dents IN A recreation OF A CHORAL DANCE.
Annapolis tutor Amirthanayagam David
(A86) and Miriam Rother, a choreographer
from Switzerland (and mother of sopho
more Noam Gedalof), led eleven students
in a two-week workshop reconstructing a
Greek chorus. When the group presented a
“workshop-performance” in the Great
Hah, about 150 students and tutors showed
up to watch.
David explained that the first part of
their presentation was a reconstruction of
a gymnastics lesson described by Plato in
the Laws. “It is likely not a coincidence
that the two types of dancing Plato pre
scribes, one imitating the language of the
Muse, the other more gymnastic and ath
letic, correspond to the two types Alcinous has his Phaeacian youths display for
{The College.
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
rendition of the “Ode to Man” from
Antigone. A key to the reconstruction was
David’s theory of Greek prosody, which
allowed the dancers to know where to
stress their words.
Since the main floor of the Great HaU
was packed, many onlookers saw the per
formance from the second floor balcony.
From on high, the movement of the
dancers looked like the jewels in a kaleido
scope moving through a set of comphcated
but orderly symmetrical patterns.
�2,6
{Letters}
Editor 's Note: Thanks to those who wrote
in with information about thephotos in
the calendar. We were hoping that thepho
tos would elicit memories and waitedfor
the e-mails and letters to come in telling us
who waspictured in each shot. We weren i
sure about the date ofthe staircasephoto
(hence the ''ca. uj7O ”). But we are sure
about thephotographer because his name
is stamped on the back ofthephoto: Mari
on Warren, an Annapolis artist who took
manyphotos ofthe college—on both cam
puses—from the late tgsos through the
mid-iQ’^os.
E-Zine Proposal
Photo Recollections
For the record, the picture accompanying
the month of March in the aooi
“Founders & Foundations” calendar is
Brother Robert’s freshman (not sopho
more) geometry class in the fall of 1973.
Since we aren’t wearing heavy jackets (and
Lauren has her shoes off) it must be early
in the semester and we’re all sweating.
Sweating because we’ve each been given a
proposition to demonstrate; judging by
the models on the table we’re proving the
existence of the regular solids. I had to
prove the existence of the cube. Sara
Anastaplo did the dodecahedron (better
her than me) That’s Leslie Combiner at
the blackboard. Clockwise from Leslie are
Carolyn Wade, Sara Anastaplo, Paul
Rneisl, Janis Popowitz, Louis Eckler, Jean
Murdock, Lauren Ballard, Brother Robert,
Michael Levine, Eric Salem, Charlie Bor
ders, Rick Smith (I think) and Elizibeth
Hennessy. I seem to remember Ann
Browning and Pam Lobdell in this class
also. Once I hit Pam in the face with a
snowball thrown from the fire escape right
next to this room (three stories up...do the
physics) and she didn’t cry even though
she wanted to. Don’t think I’ve forgotten
that I owe you, Pam!
me an impression he had about the photograph on the back cover. John and I con
curred that the picture of six students sit
ting on the stairs is not from 1970, but
from 1965-66. The students are from the
Santa Fe class of 1969, in order, clock
wise, beginning on the left: Robert
Rosenwald, Karen Jurgensen (feet),
Helen Smith (with cigarette in hand), Jim
Pipes (next to the rail), Ted Propeck (at
the bottom of the picture), and Jim Walk
er (in the center). My hunch is the photo
was taken by Carl Bostek, SF68, who took
a number of pictures around campus dur
ing that period.
If someone out there has a different
“perspective” I would certainly welcome
correction. But, as John noted, some
shoes you never forget!
— JoE Reynolds, SF69
As profound as most of the content of The
Reporter may be, isn’t it about time to
move away from consuming the natural
resources of our planet, i.e. trees, for the
manufacture of paper, and energy to print
and to disseminate it by mail? Isn’t it time
to put The Reporter on-line and distribute
it as an E-zine?
At the very least, let alumni choose the
printed version or the web version. If
some tidbit inspired by divine madness
tickles the fancy of an E-alum, he or she
can print it, or save it on a diskette. There
needn’t be concern over losing E-articles.
If a magnetic pulse occurs in the manner
in which is predicted, there will be neither
college nor alumni left to lament the loss.
— William Malloy, SF77
Editor’s Note: Currently weput the Class
Notes—the mostpopularfeature—from
The Reporter (and nowfrom The College)
on the St. John’s web site (www. sjca. edu click on “Alumni”). Weplan to include
articles, letters,
and other sections
p/The College on
the redeveloped
St. John’s web site
in thefuture.
— Paul Kneisl, A76
Two
PHOTOS FROM
“Founders &
Foundations” cal
THE
I enjoyed receiving the new “Founders &
Foundations” calendar, poring over the
pictures, and reliving memories. Regard
ing memories, I had dinner with John
Strange (SF69) and his wife, Carol, recent
ly. John pulled out the calendar to run by
endar INSPIRED rec
ollections; THE
FRESHMAN MATH
CLASS (above) AND
THE STAIRWELL
STUDY GROUP (lEFt).
{The College.
St. John ’5 College ■ Spring soot }
�{Letters}
Seminar Dynamics
To the tutors - Consider whether this is a
fair description of what happens in semi
nar: Jane is making a point. The instant
her mouth shuts, John launches in on his
own topic. Or he may not even wait for
Jane to stop, or he may have to drown out
several others who are equally ready to
jump in. John makes his point, and the
instant he stops, somebody else jumps in
without the slightest pause. In my experi
ence, this was how it went two nights a
week for four years. But in order to be
ready to start talking as soon as Jane
stopped, John must have ceased listening
to Jane and begun formulating his answer
long before she was finished. Some or
most of what Jane said, John didn’t hear,
because he was busy composing his own
speech. The result is not a discussion, but
a series of monologues. The opening
question is a jumping-off point, and for
gotten by 8:05. Those students who plan
their own speeches instead of listening
are rewarded with air time; those unfortu
nates who can’t help listening and trying
to understand what’s being said never get
a word in.
Yes, I was one of those. But I’m not
writing to complain. I love St. John’s.
A lot of the best of what I am I got at
St. John’s. Even the seminar was valuable
to me, although I wasn’t very valuable to it.
I got a lot of good thinking done in there.
I’m writing to talk about teaching lis
tening. When I was a student I heard that
the tutors keep to the background in sem
inar because their job is not to teach what
the books say, but to help students find it
for themselves. But because you’re not in
seminar to teach the correct interpreta
tion of the book doesn’t mean you’re not
there to teach. In the seminar setting, you
are in the perfect position to teach hstening - an important part of learning,
maybe the most important. Imagine this
alternate scenario: John gets halfway
through his speech and you, the tutor,
interrupt: “John, how does this relate to
Jane’s point? Are you agreeing or dis
agreeing?” With a few such words inter
jected, you would completely change the
nature of the seminar. If you were to con
sistently enforce relevance, the students
would have no choice but to listen before
talking. We would be in a real discussion.
We would be forced to take each other
seriously, to really come to grips with the
fine points of what the other person is try
ing to say. After two hours of that careful
listening, two nights a week for four years,
we would graduate with a life skill as
important as anything the college can
give. And on the way we probably would
learn a lot more about the books.
— Jack Armstrong, A83
In Defense of a Telescope Maker
I find Duncan North’s expressed disdain
for “pansy philosophers” and telescope
makers shocking. Although Galileo was
not mentioned by name in the article
“The Tao of Duncan” [The Reporter,
Fall/Winter aooo), he was clearly implied
by Mr. North’s reference to telescope
makers. How can anyone say Galileo did
not live his philosophy! For goodness’
sake, he stood trial before the Inquisition
for it! For what? For believing that reveal
ing the truths about the natural world
could only benefit mankind and give
greater glory to God. Galileo walked a
precarious line, balancing on one side his
incredible insight and vision, and on the
other the salvation of his soul. Although
the Church at the time felt that he lost his
balance in favor of his own vision, Galileo
maintained his innocence until his death,
denying that he had violated the tenets of
the Church.
Galileo believed that the workings of
the universe could be explained, especial
ly with the aid of mathematics, in terms
that could be comprehended by the
human mind. These might not reflect the
means God used to accomplish these phe
nomena, but they are no less useful for
man’s purposes. In so doing he replaced
otiose theorizing about causes with quan
titative observation of phenomena, and
essentially created modern science. His
emphasis of the practical application and
value of science set Galileo apart from
most philosophers of his time. He was
interested in the physical world, from tel
escopes and the moons of Jupiter, to the
laws of falling bodies and the creation of
the pendulum clock. His vision was star
tlingly clear, his mind was never idle, even
through his frequent illnesses. And how
can anyone in this modern day and age
deny the results of his efforts? We may be
concerned with limiting the scope of mod
ern science, but we certainly cannot do
without it!
{The College.
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
2,7
Perhaps most important to remember,
yet also most difficult to comprehend
given the conflict between his insight and
intellect and his treatment by the Church,
Galileo was a believing Catholic. Not just
paying lip service to those more powerful
than he, but a believer in Holy Scripture
and the preciousness of his soul. Believ
ing that unveiling the truths about the
natural world could only give greater
glory to God, he published his Dialogues,
incurring scientific jealousy and the
wrath of Pope Urban VIII. Tried, convict
ed, and imprisoned (under house arrest)
by the Court of the Inquisition, Galileo
thought that his works would no longer be
valued and his reputation would be forev
er stained. Yet, in the wretchedness of his
confinement, at a time when most of us
would be bitter or frightened or at best
cautiously unproductive, Galileo wrote
Two New Sciences. Galileo lived his phi
losophy literally until he died.
— Janette Fischer, SF85
Remembering Robert Bart
For me, the most memorable character in
my time at St. John’s was Robert Bart; we
might grieve his passing, but delight in
the full life and years he had.
I have always thought of myself as an
“Athenian;” no Spartan naked-on-theground sleeping for me. But Bart could
outdo me: once, during a counseling ses
sion with him, I mentioned that I always
needed cold water on the face first thing in
the morning. “How can you DO that?” was
his astonished reply. What a dear softie!
— Jerry Milhollan, A58
The College welcomes letters on issues of
interest to readers. Letters maybe edited
for clarity and/or length. Those under
500 words have abetter chance of being
printed in their entirety. Please address
letters to: The College Magazine, St.
John’s College, Box 2800, Annapolis, md
21404 or The College Magazine, Public
Relations Office, St. John’s College, 1160
Camino Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe, nm 87501.
Letters can also be sent via e-mail to:
b-goyette@sjca.edu, or via the form for
letters on the web site at www.sjca.edu click on “Alumni,” then on “Contact The
College Magazine.”
�2.8
{Alumni Notes}
1938
With the birth of Grace Townsend
Mullaney, Francis Townsend, Jr.
now has nine grandchildren.
1939
At age 83, Malcolm Silver is in his
58th year of practicing dentistry.
1947
John Brunn has retired, but is still
taking classes at the Fromm Insti
tute in San Francisco. “A Johnnie
never graduates!” he writes.
er as well as an author of books in
five or six different genres. Twenty
to thirty times a year, I amuse
myself by visiting schools around
the country to perform my stand-up
comedy/poetry assemblies and
workshops. I also speak at confer
ences for reading teachers and
librarians, where I show them how
to make learning a lot more appeal
ing and fun for their students.
(Amazingly, I get paid for this mis
sionary work.)” Bruce’s books have
sold more than 12 million copies
overall. More of his poetry as well as
poetry lessons and contests to enter
for kids 6 to 13 can be found on gigglepoetry.com.
David Schiller recently delivered
papers on Confucius at four confer
ences.
songs, chant, or dance from the
Baha’i, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Lat
ter-day Saints, Protestant, Roman
Catholic, and such faith communi
ties. I’ve directed the InterFaith
Conference since 1979, just after it
was founded. Learn more about its
work at www.interfaith-metrodc.org
or 202-234-6300.”
1968
During a sabbatical from teaching,
Bart Kaplan (A) spent seven
months cruising the Caribbean in a
32-foot sailboat. He visited Cuba
twice. His wife and two daughters
visited him in the Bahamas several
times.
Charles Watson’s (A) eldest son is
1964
1951
Tom Williams writes: “This past
July I moved after 43 years in the
same apartment. What to do with
some 2,000 books? I gave my
favorite, Euclid’s Elements, to my
grandson who has a real feel for
mathematics, sold some, threw
away some, and boxed others for
donation. Others, mostly from
St. John’s, I took with me to our
new address, and will feel at home
with them in their new bookcases.
They are indeed old friends - and
the reason I went to St. John’s.”
1959
Barbara Tower is still living in
downtown Annapolis and still in
real estate. Her children, Elizabeth,
John, and Alex, all live locally. She
has eight grandchildren, including
triplets.
1962
Lenke Vietorisz reports that she
and her cousin’s son, Richard
Repasy, have put out a book useful
and handy for those learning Hun
garian: A Guide to Hungarian Verbs
(525 pages, including conjugations
of 300+ verbs), which may be
viewed (and acquired) at
accessi.net/lenkev.
Jeremy Leven is prepping in Paris,
Prague, and Italy for a film on the
theft of the Mona Lisa in the 1920s.
He’ll be directing stars Robin
Williams and Antonio Banderas
from his own script.
“I have taken the Harvard Negotia
tion Course and now, though
still/always a student, I am giving
workshops on this ever-useful
skill,” writes Cecily Sharp-WhiteHILL.
Calvin Byles (who now uses the
name Leif Smith) co-owns a research
and training business with his wife,
Pat Wagner, in Denver. “I run a
think tank with mostly technology,
business, and research clients - indi
viduals who care about exploring
new ideas (check out the web site at
www.pattern.com),” he says.
1966
Penn State Press has published
Postfoundational Phenomenology:
Husserlian Reflections on Presence
and Embodiment by James R. Men
sch. Mensch teaches philosophy at
St. Francis Xavier University.
1967
Bruce Lansky’s publishing compa
Clark Lobenstine writes: “The
ny, Meadowbrook Press just pub
lished IfPigs Could Fly, his seventh
book of children’s poetry and his
“70th, 80th, or goth book overall I forget,” he writes. “I’m a publish
InterFaith Conference’s 21st Annu
al Interfaith Concert at Washington
Cathedral featured a world pre
miere of the five-part setting of an
ancient Hebrew text, as well as
{The College.
now NPR correspondent to West
Africa after a two-year stint as pro
ducer for CNN in Moscow. “Our
baby is looking at colleges with
Russian languages and marine biol
ogy,” he writes.
Donald J. Schell and Marilynn
(Wills) Scott (both SF) report
that their daughter. Patience
Alexandra Schell, was married in
September to Arturo Costillo. “The
wedding guests included almost
10% of the class of’68,” they write.
Their daughter is a research fellow
and lecturer at University of Lon
don; her Oxford DPhil is in Latin
American history.
1970
Edward Macierowski (A) reports
that his latest publication, which
came out in October, is his English
translation of Henri de Lubac’s
“Medieval Exegesis, Volume 2: The
Four Senses of Scripture.”
Hudi Podolsky (SF) writes: “I am
the executive director of the Coali
tion of Essential Schools - a great
mission and a great team to work
with. Bringing some of the wisdom
of the St. John’s design to public
schools-small schools and depth
over breadth. Having a blast! ”
Ken Joseph (A) was the subject of a
column in the Pittsburgh Post
Gazette. Brian O’Neill reported on
Joseph’s circumnavigation of
Allegheny County (Penn.) by bus,
lightheartedly comparing his
accomplishment to that of Magel
lan. Joseph dates his love of public
St. lohn’s College ■ Spring 2001}
transportation to when he was ii
and his parents sent him and a
friend downtown with specific
instructions about which streetcar
to take. “Of course,” he says, “we
didn’t take that one. We saw anoth
er and said ‘Let’s see where it goes.’
It was really a feeling of freedom.”
1971
George Elias (A) writes that his
wife, Deborah Nikkei, has finished
her 40-chapter novel based on the
takeover of Bank of America. His
oldest daughter, Ingrid, will be
studying in India this summer and
fall as part of her undergrad work at
UC Berkeley.
1972
SusannW. Rogsdale (SF) reports:
“After 27 years in technology, we
left it all behind and moved to the
beach to pursue our first love books. We have a small used and
rare bookstore in Cannon Beach,
www.jupiterbooks.com. Our son is
pursuing the liberal arts at Reed
(the next best choice) although cur
rently taking a break doing techni
cal support - the job experience!”
Evan Dudik (A) has been spending
his time since last June publicizing
his new book. Strategic Renais
sance: New Thinking and Innova
tive Toolsfor Creating Great Corpo
rate Strategies... Using Insights
from History and Science, which
was published by the American
Management Association. He
claims major business schools and
consulting firms are mired in the
Middle Ages and says it is one of
the few recent business books that
starts with an auto defe. “Jay Leno
hasn’t called yet,” says Evan, “but
I’ve given 4 radio interviews, sever
al print interviews, and had a num
ber of speaking engagements. The
book has made a steady climb up
Amazon.com’s charts from their
1,437,936th to their 8,913th most
popular, but who’s counting. Harry
Potter watch out.”
Alvin Aronson (A) submits this
report about himself: “He has been
writing a comedy for many years
called Dr. Feelgood, based on the
life of the famous Dr. Max Jacobson,
who treated John F. Kennedy for his
back problems. Jacobson was later
disbarred by the American Medical
�{AlumniProfile}
2,9
Lisa Simeone:
Our Woman at NPR
By Roberta Gable,
A78
t’s not just the voice. But the voice is
unmistakable: rich, intimate, memorahle - and intelligent, hut neither
wiseacre nor world-weary. Perfect for
National Public Radio (NPR), which
has suited Lisa Simeone (Aj^g just
fine: recently she became the host of NPR’s
Weekend All Things Considered.
Simeone’s post-St. John’s radio odyssey
began with a focus on classical music. She
had first discovered her passion for it while a
student (at one point early in her enthusi
asm rushing down to the music hbrary to
ask Liz Bolotin, then the music librarian, if
she had “anything by Brandenburg” on
hand); then, after graduation, she volun
teered at the ten-watt station at Anne Arun
del Community College near Annapolis for
three hours a week, the lone voice of classi
cal in a sea of rock. She landed a job at
WBJC, the classical station in Baltimore, in
1983, stayed there for a year and a half, then
moved over to WETAin D.C., alarger, more
important station, but a helluva commute
from Baltimore. Two years was about
enough of that, and she quit, not sure of the
future, but meanwhile tiny WJHU in Balti
more was about to upgrade from its humble
status as a ten-watt station to something
more substantial. Simeone became part of
the original professional team, and stayed at
WJHU (which, like WBJC and WETA, was
an NPR affiliate) for ten years, from 1986 to
1996, hosting the afternoon classical music
program.
That’s a lot of classical music, even for an
aficionado. She made things more interest
ing for herself (and, as it turned out, for her
audience) by running short interviews right
before All Things Considered, the NPR
evening news show. Her first interviews
were with people having to do with music,
and were four minutes long; gradually she
extended the interview segment to 10, then
30, then 60 minutes, and the interviews to
any topics that interested her, from music to
health to science to social issues. She did
the whole thing herself, editing, producing,
and cutting the tape for the segments.
In 1996, burnt out, she left WJHU to go
freelance. She joined AFTRA, the American
Federation of Radio and Television Artists,
and worked doing voiceovers and narration
Lisa Simeone
Y didn "t want to talk
aboutJust music. I
wanted to talk about a
lot ofstuff.''
both on-camera and off. She also enrolled in
the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins Uni
versity, getting an MA in non-fiction writing
in 1997. But public radio was far from
finished with her.
The NPR documentary show Soundprint
was looking for a new host in 1997, and they
called Simeone to see if she was interested.
She was, especially since it was a regular
gig, but not full-time. She hosted the pro
gram for the next three and half years, pro
duced three documentaries herself, and also
filled in as the perennial guest host of NPR’s
Performance Today. (“I was always leaving,
and every time I did they threw a cham
pagne party.”) She turned down an offer to
become the permanent host of the program,
because she wasn’t interested in re-niching
herself back into classical music. “I didn’t
want to talk about just music. I wanted to
talk about a lot of stuff! ” She had that
{The College. Si. John’s
College . Spring 2001 }
opportunity when she began filling in occa
sionally for Liane Hansen on Weekend Edi
tion Sunday.
Then one day Weekend All Things Consid
ered (WATC) gave her a call. They wanted to
know if Simeone was interested in audition
ing for the host job. “I told them, ‘No! I’m
not working weekends!’” But they finally
persuaded her to audition, and she got the
job. Her first show was October 14, aooo.
Most NPR affiliates air WATC Saturday
and Sunday evenings, from 5:00 until 6:00
(and most NPR listeners will be chagrined
to learn that, in-house, “WATC” is pro
nounced to rhyme with “Yahtzee”).
Simeone’s show ranges from hard news to
cultural pieces, from the ephemeral to the
substantial, from soup to nuts, giving her
the opportunity to talk, as she wished, about
a lot of stuff. And although the ideas about
what stories to do on the show come from
her daily meetings with the producers and
editors, Simeone’s preferences are influen
tial. “This job is a generahst’s dream,” she
says, “and I became a more thoughtful, wellread generalist thanks to St. John’s....! loved
St. John’s, and the truth is there isn’t a day
that goes by that I don’t thank my lucky
stars that I went there, or that I don’t call
upon what I learned there. Just this morn
ing I did an interview with the two transla
tors of a new edition oiAnna Kareninawhat could be more St. Johnnie than that?! ”
Remembering her one-woman interview
show on WJHU, where she was interviewer,
editor, and producer, Simeone revels in the
luxury of not having to cut her own tape.
She reads, she looks at books and CDs, she
writes up questions, she conducts inter
views, she writes introductions and leads,
and she loves it when it’s live rather than on
tape. Early on in her WATC career she start
ed her show at 5:00 one fateful Sunday,
when Katherine Harris was expected to cer
tify the presidential vote count in Florida.
She stayed on the air five until 10:00. The
producer saved her some cold pizza.
Working at National Public Radio is a
pleasure for Simeone. “I love the environ
ment - I spend my time with creative, inter
esting people, with rich lives, who are burst
ing with ideas.” Sounds like a talking
college, with fewer books and more micro
phones.
�{AlumniNotes}
3°
Association for his unorthodox
practices, and this play is in defense
of his methods. Archie Smith, the
83-year-old brother of the late Winfree Smith, has been an actor for ao
years with the Denver Reperatory
Company. He is going to stage a
reading of the play in Denver the
week of February 15. Alvin has
many claims to fame: he was stage
manager for Kennedy’s last birthday
party at the Waldorf Astoria in
1963, when Audrey Hepburn sang
‘Happy Birthday.’ He had a talk
with Louis Armstrong that night
and told him how much he admired
him, to which Armstrong replied,
‘Thank you. Pops.’ He shook hands
with Marilyn Monroe, had lunch
with James Dean, acted with Geral
dine Page, and was once put down
brilliantly by the late Jacob Klein
(who was quite right).”
1973
Peter Ellison (A) is now Dean of
the Graduate School of Arts and
Sciences at Harvard University. His
new book. On Fertile Ground, was
due to be published by Harvard
University Press in March.
1974
2000 marked a year of big changes
for Roger Burk, USAF ret., (A)
and Robin Kowalchuk Burk
(A72). In July Roger left his posi
tion as a senior consultant/analyst
with the Aerospace Corp, and
joined the faculty of the U.S. Mili
tary Academy (West Point). He now
teaches optimization and decision
theory within the Systems Engi
neering department, drawing on
his doctoral degree in operations
research and his experience in the
use of computer models and deci
sion analysis to guide the selection
and evaluation of complex national
security systems. In addition to
teaching, he mentors junior facul
ty, assistant-coaches the crew and
fencing teams, consults, and con
tinues research activities.
Accepting the position entailed a
move to a few rural acres in the
mid-Hudson Valley, where Robin
keeps busy raising and training
champion show dogs (English
Cocker Spaniels, a hunting breed).
She reports that the sight of an out
standing dog standing with unself
conscious grace or moving with
perfect intensity through the fields
takes her breath entirely away.
Indoors, her weaving studio houses
several looms and a not-yet-bigenough stash of linen, cotton and
woolen yarns. She says that dogs
and weaving provide some solace to
the right hemisphere of her brain,
sadly neglected during 25+ years in
the computer industry, during
which time she also perpetrated
several technical books on unsus
pecting Amazon.com customers. In
her spare time and on the principle
that her MBA should probably be
put to some use even if there wasn’t
a single right-brain course in the
whole degree program, Robin con
tinues to consult to companies try
ing to figure out how to use all this
new Internet stuff in their busi
nesses.
1975
Kristin R. Lucas (SF) is working in
downtown Houston in the IT
department of an energy commodi
ties trading company. Her older son
is a junior at Carnegie Mellon Uni
versity and her younger son is a high
school senior.
extraordinarily different wants and
needs, and they let you know
it. Since I never did/will father a
child, this work is very satisfying
to me, and a shock to the nurses,
since many babies who don’t stop
crying for relatives, never cry when
‘Uncle Bill’ holds them. I recom
mend volunteerism for any and
all. Children and youths can con
tribute as well. Find something that
is energizing, and ‘just do it.’”
1978
Caroline (Charlie) Allen (A)
writes: “My occupations in life
since graduation have been music
(both classical and rock), software
engineering, and writing, pretty
much in that order. I got married in
1990 to Christophe (Kokou) Dossou, a master drummer from Togo
whom I met while I was living in
Germany and touring with various
bands. I co-own a small but sophisti
cated studio (24 tracks digital, 30
tracks HDR) called Dos Gatos in
Los Angeles with my business part
Diane Lamoreux Ciba (A) has
finished her course work for a PhD
in marketing at the University of
Connecticut. She is currently
teaching and has the research and
dissertation writing ahead of her.
Quantum Leaps
1976
van Canter (A81) writes: “When reading the last
Peter Clark (A) writes that he’s
still alive and well, living in Ranches
ter, Wyoming. “Not the end of the
world, but close enough to see it.”
1977
Carol Highshaw (SF) has left the
academic world and moved back to
the Washington D.C. area, where
she’s working as a researcher and
writer.
William Malloy (SF) writes:
“Although discussing ideas found
in books and films can be very satis
fying, I have found something at the
other end of the spectrum of activi
ty to be very wonderful as
well. Since late 1999,1 have been a
volunteer at a children’s hospital in
Houston. One evening a week, I
work giving respites to parents, by
talking/playing with older children,
or holding/rocking infants. On Sat
urday afternoons, I hold, rock, or
just comfort premature babies. They
are not just ‘smaller newborns.’
Since preemies ‘aren’t supposed to
be here yet,’ they have many
{The College.
ner, also my bass player. Like me, he
works a lot in software, particularly
digital signal processing. We have a
band called BushTaxi which has one
independent CD out and is about to
release a second. Apart from that
I’ve played on about five
records/CDs for other bands, and
have credits on a number of movies
(for writing special effects code) the one I’m most proud ofis/a/nej
and the Giant Peach, for which I
was Sony’s CG software supervisor.
Lately I’ve been focussing more on
biotech and digital audio than on
computer graphics. I can’t help
think of Mr. Golding when I consid
er my own dislike of telephones, but
I’m very good with e-mail (it is,
after all, one of the bases of my cod
ing life since about 1986) and would
love to hear from folks. My e-mail
address is caro@nwc.net.”
issue of The Reporter, I was reminded of a moment
in my first day of junior French with Mr. Littleton.
He was leading us in reading the first paragraph of
Baudelaire’s ‘Recueillement’: ‘Soi sage, o ma
doulour, et tiens-toi plus tranquille...’ We could hear
the Freshman Chorus singing ‘white sands and gray sands, w
buy my white sands.’ Mr. Littleton, who had been our Freshm
Chorus tutor two years before, told a story. He was visiting
Switzerland when he learned a local song about the change of sea
sons and the level of the snowcaps in the mountains. ‘When the
snow caps go up, I can roll up my shirtsleeves’ or something like
that. He said it was remarkable to him because it showed that you
can see time. He said sitting in that room with us as juniors, hstening to the song we sang as freshmen wafted up the staircase of
McDowell, showed him that he could hear time, as well. We sat
stunned, astounded at this quantum leap.
“And now, reading The Reporter each time I have discovered a
new phenomenon. I start with the class notes from the present
graduating class and turn backward to find the news of my class
mates, the class of 1981. And each year our class recedes farther
and farther. It is as if we are retrograding into the past, soon to
take our place next to the hero generations of the college. And so
now as I turn page after page, I know I can feel time, as well.
“My wife Ellen, five-year-old Taha, new baby Emma, and I hve in
Chicago. I am now a course developer for Unext.com, an online grad
uate and executive education university. I have been a lawyer, ele
mentary school teacher, school administrator, and web developer.” ->■
E
Sf. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
�{AlumniNotes}
Michael Ciba (A) continues as pas
tor of Mill Plain Union Church in
Waterbury, Conn., and is enrolled in
a spiritual formation program with
the Shalem Institute in Washington,
D.C. Their daughter Rachel is a jun
ior at UConn, majoring in anthro
pology. Their son Daniel is a fresh
man at Adelphi University in
Garden City, N.Y., majoring in
drama and dance. Connecticut is
the twelfth place they’ve lived since
they were married, and it seems to
agree with them. Anyone who
remembers them is welcome to con
tact Michael at RevCiba@aol.com or
Diane at DiCiba@aol.com.
1979
Gregory R. Cowell ( SF) writes:
“With my second child on the way I
thought I would send in an update
of my life, not having done so since I
drove away 31 years ago. My wife
Jeannine and 1 have been married
for eight years. We have two future
St. John’s candidates at our house:
our daughter Cathryn is three and a
half, and we are expecting a son in
the next month. I have been practic
ing medicine for 16 years and cur
rently I am the medical director of a
medium-size emergency room in
llhnois. Music is my passion, but I
have yet to figure out how to make a
living as a musician. My e-mail is
gcowelled@aol.com. Regards to all,
but especially to old E and F dorm
ers who might be reading.”
1980
News from Tony Waters (A): “I live
in Auburn, Calif. My wife, Dagmar
Waters, and 1 have two children,
aged 12 and 9.1 am currently an
assistant professor of sociology at
California State University, Chico,
and recently published a book.
Bureaucratizing the Good Samari
tan: the Limitations ofHumanitari
an Relief Operations (Westview
2001). It is in part based on my work
in the Rwanda Relief operation in
Tanzania, in 1994-6. In terms of
teaching responsibilities, I do the
crime classes (criminology and juve
nile delinquency), population, eth
nic relations, and ‘macro-sociology’
in general.”
in November in Columbia, Md. “Email me at Nhrosen@aol.com for
any good reason,” he says.
1981
“I was married to the lovely SherryAnn Jhingai in June 2000,” writes
Joshua Berlow (SF). “Sherry con
vinced me to move back east from
Santa Fe, where I had been living.
We were married in St. Thomas, in
the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Sherry
has a lot of friends and family. The
wedding took place on the famed
North Side of St. Thomas, in a very
dramatic villa (Villa LeMcAi) over
looking the sea. My best man was
Eric Quinn (A82). Sherry is origi
nally from Trinidad, in the south
Caribbean, so after the wedding it
was off to her home village of
Cumuto in Trinidad. I’ve never seen
anyplace so lush and green! What
seemed like the entire village
turned out for a wedding party held
in our honor. We are in the process
of buying a house in Baltimore, and
will be moved there by the time the
magazine comes out. Anyone inter
ested can check out my web site at
www.joshuaberlow.com They can
purchase my newly-published book
Insanity Factory: A Psychiatric Mem
oir on the web site, as well as view
various articles, and some papers
written for classes at St. John’s.”
Joe Roach (A) e-mails: “My wife BJ
(Sisson) (A) and I dropped off our
daughter Katie at St. John’s - Katie
matriculated with the new January
Freshmen class. Our two other chil
dren, Molly (15) and Nicholas (ii)
helped move Katie in. After
Nicholas was introduced to Peter
Kalkavage (who was a freshman
tutor when I was a freshman), he
asked me, ‘Was he your college
roommate?’ The cruelty of children.
“I am in my sixth year as a staff
member at The New School in
Newark, Del., which is a democratic
(or liberty-based) school. Melanie
( Jago) Hiner (A80) asked me to
give her some help when she opened
the school in the fall of 1995. At that
point we had 7 students - now we have
over 50. Nick and Molly have been
at the school since the opening.”
1982
Nathan Rosen (A) and his wife
Roberta Babbitt announce the birth
of Brina Tamar Rosen on July ii.
“Yes, that’s six children, for those
who are keeping score,” he notes.
His production of The Crucible ran
{The College.
1983
After 13 years in the practice of law,
Michael Henry (A) recently
opened his own law office in center
city Philadelphia. He has been mar
ried for 13 years and is living in
Media, Penn. His wife Lorie and he
have three children: Michael, age
II, Devin, age 10, and Daniel, age 7.
“We are actively involved in our
parish and children’s school, St.
Mary Magdalen,” Michael writes.
“My practice consists mainly of civil
trial work and immigration. I have
organized a Lawyer’s Retreat group
under the auspices of the Cathedral
Ministries for the Diocese of Cam
den, N.J. We meet four or five times
a year to discuss faith issues and the
practice of law. I would love to hear
from old classmates and other alum
ni.” Michael’s address is i Gordon
Drive/Media, Pa. 19063.
Robin B.G. Laylin (SF) and his
wife, Laura, report the birth of their
daughter, Catherine, on June 26,
2000.
31
ness law at a big firm in Miami. I’m
married to a beautiful and brilliant
woman who hails from North Dako
ta and Seattle, and who is a lawyer as
well. We have two babies, Allegra
(just two) and Ethan (6 months).
Have visited with Mitch Buroker
(SF84) in L.A. recently, and gotten a
nice letter from Jack Armstrong
(A83). Would love to hear from any
St. John’s friends. E-mail at
whill@steelhector.com.”
1984
ALUTHA JAMANCAR (BRAD WEST-
gaard) (SF) says that he’s reached
three milestones this pastyear: “I
celebrated my six-year wedding
anniversary with Daniela Chiapella,
a native of Northern Italy; I
changed careers from print to web
publishing; and I changed my name
from Brad Westgaard to Alutha
Jamancar. Drop me aline at
alutha@alutha.com or stop by my
homepage atwww.alutha.com. I’d
love to hear from old classmates,
especially my freshman core group!
Visitors to our home in Silicon Val
ley are welcome, but had best not
have any cat allergies! ”
David Walworth (A) has finally
While Scott Fitzpatrick (A) does
do freelance web design, as reported
in the fall issue of The Reporter, he
has also been the Principal Site
Architect for Computer Sciences
Corporation for several years. He
has designed all the classified
intranet sites for the Ballistic Mis
sile Defense Organization and is
now currently creating the web sites
and the Director/Flash interactive
CD ROM demo disks for CSC’s elec
tronic knowledge management
group. “In other words,” he writes,
in reference to our omission, “I do
have a full time job.”
Darrel Moellendorf (A) writes:
“Last year, in my 40th year, my wife
- Bonnie Friedmann - and I became
parents for the first time. Our son’s
name is Marino Arnold Friedmann.
I am still living in South Africa, and
teaching philosophy at the University
of the Witwatersrand. My book. Cos
mopolitan Justice, will be published
this year. And I’d love to hear from
old friends.My e-mail address is
103dar@muse.wits.ac.za.”
A note from William Hill (A) says:
“I’m alive and well, practicing busi
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
gotten his yacht design business up
and running: Walworth Yacht
Designs, P.O. Box 3792, KingshiU
VI00851.
Karen Tourian (A) completed her
first Gentury (100 mile) bike ride on
Labor Day.
Peter Green (A) writes; “Still in
Prague, though probably not for
much longer. Spent a week in
August sailing in Groatia with Jason
Walsh (A85). Then found myself in
Belgrade in October to cover the
demise of Slobodan Milosevic.
Arrived in New York in time to expe
rience the unending madness of
Election 2000.”
Connie Bates (A) writes: “My hus
band and I are proud to announce
the birth of our first child. Dean
Calvin Calloway, on November 16,
2000.”
�{AlumniNotes}
3^
1989
1985
1987
Bonnie Bishop Stark (SF) is finish
ing her third year of a nurse-mid
wifery program at Case Western
University in Cleveland, Ohio. She
will complete the program next
year.
“In December I completed my first
(and probably last) marathon,”
writes Marjorie C. Kaplan (A).
“My mother died of lymphoma in
June 3000, and in her memory I
joined Team in Training, a
marathon training program that
benefits the Leukemia and Lym
phoma Society of America. After
four months of training that
required 30 to 45 miles a week of
roadwork, I completed the Honolu
lu Marathon the same day I started
it, crossing the finish line smiling
and under my own power, and NOT
dead last - there were about a dozen
elderly tourists behind me, but they
may have strayed onto the course by
accident.”
1986
“My life has completely changed in
the past two years,” writes Lucy
Duncan (SF). “My business partner
and I closed the Story Monkey
Bookstore in Dec. ’98. We were
growing but not fast enough to war
rant continuing. It was a sad loss for
me and for the community
(Omaha), but we were able to walk
away without significant financial
scars. I took a job in January of ’99
with the Friends General Confer
ence of Religions of Friends (Quak
ers) in Philadelphia as their book
store manager. I really love the
place and the work. FGC is by far
the healthiest organization I’ve ever
worked for. We do primarily a mail
order and Web business (quakerbooks.org). In Oxfordshire, Eng
land, in April of ’99 I met my fiance,
Graham Grarner, at a conference of
Quaker publishers and booksellers.
We will be married in April of aooi
at the London Grove Meeting House
outside Philadelphia. Sheila Virgil
(A88) will play flute at the wedding.
We plan on settling in Philadelphia,
though Grant is keeping his house
in England so who knows about the
future. I see Amy Murphy Bianco
(SF86) regularly. She is an editor at
McGraw Hill launching a science
trade division. I’d love to hear from
anyone else. My email address is:
lucyd@fgquaker.org.”
Erik Mueller-Harder (A) e-mails
this report: “My wife Karen and I
are extremely pleased to announce
the birth of our daughter Clara Jean
in October of 2,000. Our son Timo
thy is about to turn four, and he’s
promising to be a great older broth
er for Clara. There’s lots of news and
photos on our family web site,
www.praxisworks.org. I’m stiU
spending most of my time building
Praxis News Digest, at pnd.praxisworks.com.”
1992
Susie Attar Antebi (A) is living in
Michael Stevens (AGI) writes:
Panama City, Fla. with her two kids,
Daniela and Isaac, and husband
Alberto. “Miss the Johnnies and
would love to hear from long-lost
friends,” she says. Her e-mail is
danisa@sinfo.net.
“We welcomed a daughter, Juba
Linda, into our home on April 22,
2000. We tried a homebirth this
time around - quite a wonderful way
to have a baby. The midwife was a
dynamo - no ‘windeggs’ such as
beset Socrates! Julia joins brother
Ethan, three.”
Chris Tegeler (A) e-mails: “At the
end of January, I moved to Athens,
Greece to work in our land agent’s
office in Piraeus, Arete Tours. A
rather appropriate name for a com
pany employing a Johnnie, I must
say. My address: Xenokratous 42,
10676 Athens, Greece. My e-mail is
StiU the same, ctegeler@yahoo.com.
Looking forward to hearing from
anyone passing through.”
Mark Hentz, III (A) is attending
Northeastern University School of
Law while working full-time at
Northeastern in the office of enroll
ment management. “Jack Gunther
and I were very happy to be in Ted
Hanratty’s wedding party this past
October,” he writes.
Bryan Dorland (A) e-mails: “I
Brett Heavner (A) writes: “My
1988
Kim Paffenroth (A) has just been
hired as an Assistant Professor of
Religious Studies at Iona College in
New Rochelle, N.Y. His book yfz/gizjtine and Liberal Education (Ashgate
Publishing, 2000) has just been
favorably reviewed in The Heythrop
Journal, and his next book, Judas
through the Centuries, will be pub
lished next year by Westminster
John Knox Press. As a gratifying
part of his last days teaching at Vil
lanova University, one of his stu
dents has again been honored with
the highest writing award given to a
first year student at ViUanova.
John Lavery (A) is still in London
and working in the commercial
banking world, despite Leo’s
advice. “Have developed a weak
ness for skiing,” he writes, “and
will take any invitation offered in
that regard.”
Erin Milnes (A) writes: “I’m still
living happily in San Francisco (five
years now - can you believe it?!) I
continue to freelance edit and write,
but I’ve added some video work to
my repertory. In the past year I
worked on a documentary shoot in
Nepal and one in Death Valley
(where temperatures soared to 120
degrees in the shade). I’ve also been
sea kayaking a lot lately and heartily
recommend it. Life is good.”
{The College.
wife Christine and I proudly
announce the birth of our son,
David Graham Heavner, on January
31, 2000.”
Garfield Goodrum (A) writes:
“We have adopted two thorough
breds from an equine rescue group
in Pennsylvania, and I just compet
ed in my first horse show - dres
sage, to my wife’s chagrin (she’s
into jumpers!). We’re loving the
horses, whose names are Turtle and
Clem, and young Graham Heavner
has even ridden them! Don’t forget
to spay/neuter your companion
animal!” ■
David (A) and Cherie (A90) Reese
live in Vienna, Vir., with Sam and
Lydia Reese, ten and three years old.
Their St. John’s education, they
write, allows them to live lives of
total and constant bliss.
1990
David Marquez (SF) says that he
“escaped the slavery of the Star
bucks Corporation” and now works
for Arch Wireless Corporation. “I
look forward to receiving survival
tips from any and all,” he says.
Ken Turnbull (A) is now an associ
ate at Piper, Marbury, Rudnick &
Wolfe LLP in Baltimore, where he is
in the litigation department.
5r. John’s College ■ Spring sooi }
received a Master of Science in
physics from the University of
Maryland in August 2000. In Janu
ary 2001,1 passed the PhD qualify
ing exams in physics at Maryland,
and I am set to begin thesis
research this semester. Anyone who
wants to contact me can reach me
at dorland@physics.umd.edu. ”
Leah Ankeny (SF) is enjoying a
challenging new position as an
admissions counselor for Cornish
College of the Arts, a private, fouryear visual and performing arts col
lege located in Seattle, Washington.
“Despite the rumors of my impend
ing marriage, I am living on my own
and revisiting a more independent
life.” she says. “I am thrilled at the
arrival of my beautiful ‘niece,’ Ema
(Cooney) Bargeron, daughter of my
dear friend and fellow alumna
Joanna (SF). I continue to study
yoga and search for my path spiritual
ly, setting aside performing and writ
ing for a while. I look forward to see
ing all the ’92 Santa Fe folks at our
tenth reunion in Spring 2002.1 can
be reached at: Lankeny@yahoo.com
and I always welcome visitors to the
Peaceful Pacific Northwest.”
Judah M. Domke (SF) writes: “I
just appeared as a lead actor in a
movie called ‘Whipped’ that came
out this past November. If you
missed it on the big screen, John
nies can rent it when it comes out
on video in February 2001. It’s an
R-rated sex comedy that isn’t for the
faint of heart.”
�{Alumni Profile}
33
Shopaholic by Profession
Heather Moore (SFoo) landed a dream ofafirstjob:
she getspaid to revel and shopfor the coolest circus around.
BY SuS3AN Borden, A87
eather Moore’s been
buying quite a lot
these days, going from
city to city, picking up
an odd assortment of
goods: nuts, bolts,
earphone antennas, eye makeup
remover, marine antifreeze, used CDs,
a ping pong table, even mail-order
sequins. But she’s no itinerant shopa
holic. She’s hard at work - as the assis
tant buyer on tour with the Cirque du
Soleil, the avant-garde circus that’s
much closer to The Matrix than it is to
Dumbo.
Moore lucked into the job this summer,
after a post-graduation move to Denver with
her boyfriend, Joey Chernila (SFoa). A
temp agency sent the couple to Cirque du
Soleil, where they worked as runners,
acquiring the products purchased by the
buyers. When a permanent job opened up,
Moore applied, won the position, and head
ed to Montreal for training. Since then,
she’s been to Minneapolis, Washington,
D.C., Atlanta, and Miami. New York, Chica
go, Boston, and Philadelphia are slated for
the coming months, and by the time the
tour’s over in 2002, she’ll have hit Houston,
Dallas, and Phoenix. She says the travel is a
dream come true. “For the last four months
of school I kept telling my roommate, ‘If I
could just get a job where they would pay me
to travel I would never complain.’ It’s exact
ly what I wished for,” she says.
Although Moore travels within the United
States, her co-workers come from 52 coun
tries and include Chinese acrobats, Russian
jugglers, and all manner of Canadian col
leagues. Most business is transacted in
Heather Moore (above) is an assitant buyer
ON TOUR WITH DrALION, WHOSE ACTS ARE
ENHANCED BY HIGH-TECH EFFECTS (bELOw).
French, which Moore says is difficult
even after Phedre and Fleurs du Mai.
“I’m working on speaking French,
which is a big challenge, especially
since it’s not really French, it’s Quebe
cois,” she says. “Speaking French will
be integral in my later career with
Cirque.” Later career? How long can a
first job last?
Moore, who knows a good thing
when she falls into it, says that while
her job lasts until the end of the tour in
another year and a half, she’s already
exploring different departments and
thinking about different opporutinites
within Cirque, which has headquarters
in Montreal, Amsterdam, Singapore,
and Orlando. Her current fascination is the
tech department. “Our show has a lot of
effects - lighting and rigging - to facilitate
some of the acts. There’s an aerial ballet
with two dancers on a long silk rope doing a
series of acrobatics in the air. The behindthe-scenes tech stuff helps make the show
spectacular.”
Moore is also considering working with
Cirque’s development of a permanent com
plex in London consisting of a hotel, a
restaurant, a retail area, and a show. In the
meantime, she’s enjoying the Cirque du
Soleil life, which she says resembles her justbygone undergraduate days.
“Who would ever think they could get a
first job like this?” she asks. “It’s been so
exciting, and it’s come at such a great time. I
didn’t even get good and used to being out of
college before I joined up with Cirque. You
live with these people, you work with them,
you eat with them. You the get chance to
develop intense relationships with every
body around you while you’re on a constant
road trip. It’s like college on wheels.” 4"
Michael Deutsch (SFGI) has been
Jonathan Secora Pearl (A) writes
Aaron Mason (SF) reports: “I am
promoted to vice president of Wad
dell & Associates, Inc., a provider of
investment and financial counsel
located in Memphis, Tenn. He
earned his CFP (Certified Financial
Planner) license in 1997 and served
previously as assistant vice presi
dent at the firm.
that after leaving St. John’s in 1990
he studied music at Indiana Univer
sity, then received a Master of Music
in Vocal Performance from Rice in
1997. He is currently pursuing a
PhD in musicology at the University
of California, Santa Barbara, with
an emphasis on the cognition of
speech and song.
alive and well, living in Manhat
tan’s Upper West Side with my
boyfriend of nearly five years. Still
an aspiring actor, I have taken a
‘dayjob’ with a large architectural
firm writing and editing for their
marketing department. In March, I
am acting in a ten-minute play that
I wrote; it’s a dark comedy called
‘Mr. Oedipus.’ Looking forward to
1993
Alex Ellerman (AGI) is a flight
instructor with Navy Training
Squadron 29. VANESSA Ellerman
(A) is practicing law with Hornblow
er, Manning & Ward, and they’re
both still celebrating the birth of
their son Ian on April 20, 2000,
(The College.
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
�{Alumni Notes}
34
JohnnyXpress
1994
An Unofficial Bulletin Board/E-mail List
for the St. John's Community
Hallie Leighton (SF92) has started a new yahoo “eGroup” to
function as an unofficial hulletin hoard for the St. John’s commu
nity. On johnnyXpress, members of the SJC community worldwide
can post and read announcements and queries (e.g., “Moving to a
new city - looking for area Johnnies/alumnae chapter/contacts”
or “Whatever happened to Johnnie Doe, class of ‘__, A/SF?” or
“Hey, I have a gallery opening...”). These announcements are
received in the e-mail boxes of all Johnny subscribers. Subscribing
is free and easy - just e-mail johnnyXpress-subscribe@egroups.com.
For more information about johnnyXpress, e-mail johnnyXpressowner@egroups.com or go to http://www.charm.net/~bfant/
johnny/bulletin.html, part of the unofficial alumni site run by
Bill Fant (A79).
The purpose of johnnyXpress is to enable members of the St.
John’s College community to get and/or share information with
other Johnnies as quickly as possible. Thus it is for announce
ments and brief queries. Though the list is not moderated, meta
physical meanderings or idle banter will not be allowed. (The rea
son for this draconian rule: there is already an e-mail list for
conversation, “the Johnny List.” To subscribe to the high-volume
Johnny list, send an e-mail to majordomo@charm.net with the
words “subscribe johnny” or “subscribe johnny-digest” in the
body of the e-mail message.)
Why is this bulletin board “unofficial”? Because it’s not run by
the college. The college is working on a new web site that will have
more features for alumni but it won’t be online until next fall at the
earliest.
warmer weather and hearing from
long lost Johnnies!
Aaronious@earthlink.net. ”
reads them, though upside-down,
rather than eating them, we know
she is headed for SJC class of
2030.”
John Markos O’Neill (SF)
reports that he is in his fourth
happy year of “bicycling, singing
(in Schola Cantorum, a local cho
rus), dancing (swing), and coding
in Silicon Valley. I would love to
hear from Johnnies in the SF Bay
area or elsewhere! E-mail me at
Jmo@ipsmedia.com.”
Jim and KRISTEN (Riddlespurger)
Litsinger (A) happily celebrate the
first twenty-four months with their
daughter, Emily Golden Litsinger.
“Born in April 1999, she is a true
delight with curly (can’t explain
that one!) blond hair. Her eyes
always smile and she is quick to gig
gle. Big brother Nathaniel (31/a),
also adores his sister, particularly as
long as she doesn’t play with the
toys he might want to play with.
Emily already shows a great love of
books and now that she actually
Ethan Schoonover (SF) is e-business director for Lowe Lintas and
Partners (an international marketing/communications agency) in
Southeast Asia, currently based in
Bangkok. He oversees online mar
keting, web site development, and
internet strategy for multinational
clients. “I get to travel frequently
throughout the region, which is
enjoyable as I continue to be a stu
dent of the many cultures I
encounter. I do miss the mountains
and beauty of Santa Fe, but the year
’round tropical beaches in SE Asia
go a long way towards assuaging my
homesickness for the USA. And of
course, ever true to St. John’s, I am
obligated to occasionally quote
Homer in meetings with clients. I’d
love to hear from friends/enemies.
Here is my e-mail address: ethan.
schoonover@lowehntas .com.”
{The College.
A note from Emi Ima-Kohn and
Colin Ray (both A94): “We met at
St. John’s. Emi was living in the
U.S. although she was Japanese.
Colin had been hving in Nigeria
although he was American. We
both had Mrs. Maschler for Fresh
man Greek. Although we were in
the same Greek class, we did not
really get to know one another until
late in the spring of our Freshman
year when we took a clowning class
together. Cohn exceUed at jugghng;
Emi excelled at falling-down. By the
end of the year, we were very close
friends. During the summer of 1991
Emi taught at a camp in Vermont
and Colin returned to Nigeria to
visit family and friends.
“After spending part of sopho
more year in Santa Fe, Emi moved
to France and put herself through
the French university system by
being an au-pair for a French fami
ly. After completing St. John’s,
Colin went to Cameroon as a Peace
Corps volunteer to teach math in
French. For nine years, we kept in
touch-sometimes more frequently,
sometimes less, hut always as close
friends. After completing a mas
ter’s degree in Russian studies at
the Sorbonne, Emi was accepted
into the D.E.A. (a degree between a
master’s and doctoral degree) pro
gram at the Political Science Insti
tute in Paris, where she focused her
studies on the new Independent
States of the former Soviet Union.
After the Peace Corps, Colin
returned to the U.S. to study law
and business at Willamette Univer
sity in Salem, Oregon.
“In 1999 we started keeping in
touch more and more. In March
3000 Colin traveled to Paris to see
Emi. In May, Emi came to the U.S.
for Colin’s graduation ceremony.
On graduation day, we became
engaged. After announcing our
engagement, we hopped on Colin’s
motorcycle and seven days and
3800 miles later we arrived in New
York. In June, Emi then had to
return to Paris to complete an
internship at the OECD - Organiza
tion for Economic Cooperation and
Development. At the end of July,
Colin took the New York bar exam.
At the beginning of November,
Colin happily accepted a position as
an Associate Attorney with a smaU
international law firm in Amster
Sf. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
dam. He will primarily work in
international corporate and inter
national tax law. And ... at 11:00
on November ii, 3000, in Linlith
gow, Scotland, we were married.
The best way to reach us is by
e-mail at: Emikocolin_ray@hotmail.com.”
Johnny Metelsky (A) and Lydia
Rolita (A96) were married on June
17th in their backyard in the San
Bernardino Mountains in Southern
California. Johnnies in attendance
were: Muneet Rakshi (A94), Hope
DelCarlo (SF94), Jen Donnelly
(A96), JOELLA KLINGHOFEER (A96),
Aimee Lalone (A94), Sundance
Metelsky (AGI90), Paul More
(A94), John Williams (A96), and
Ron Wingate (A94). Honorary
Johnnies John Metelsky and Ethan
Billotte were also in attendance.
Lydia and Johnny plan to move
back East in a couple of years when
Lydia finishes medical school at
Loma Linda University and Johnny
finishes his masters in astrophysics
atUC Riverside. E-mailjmetelsky@hotmail.com.
Bill Kowalksi (SF) writes: “I am
happy to announce that my second
novel. Somewhere South ofHere, is
finally finished and will be pub
lished by HarperCollins in March of
3001. Most of the action takes place
in Santa Fe, and readers of this pub
lication will probably recognize a
certain small liberal arts college
which plays a minor but noticeable
role in the story - though of course
any similarities to colleges either
living or dead are purely coinciden
tal. In addition, Eddie’s Bastard,
my first novel, is out in paperback,
and is now being translated into 12
languages - including Finnish,
Hebrew, Czech and my grandmoth
er’s personal favorite, Polish. No
word yet on Tagalog or Urdu. So far
nobody has bought the film rights,
either, but hope, as they say,
springs eternal. Another piece of
good news is that HarperCollins
has also purchased the rights to my
third novel, which is still in its very
early stages, and my fourth, about
which I have no clue. After two loud
and smoggy years in Brooklyn I’ve
moved to Toronto, where I live with
my non-Johnny companion and
freaky consort, Alexandra. I wel
come email from friends and class
mates, so please write to wilham.
kowalski@CIMteration.com.”
�{AlumniProfile}
35
La Vie Parisienne
Phil Wood, owner ofParisfixture the San Francisco Book Co., is afrancophile success story.
BY
Sus3AN Borden, A87
or much of his adult life,
Phil Wood (A67) knew he
wanted to live in Paris. He
had first visited the city
when he was in the army
in ighr, stationed in Ger
many. The charm of the culture, the
intellectual bent of the people, and the
beauty of the country attracted him from
the start.
In 1986, he rented an apartment on
the lie St.-Louis but ended up spending
most of the year working at his job in
California. Undaunted, he continued to
study French. Ten years later, when he
was working for Parallax Press in Berke
ley as comptroller/computer systems
administrator, he found himself in Paris
for several weeks.
“I had very little hope of extricating
myself,” says Wood, who was at the time a
devoted employee. “Then my boss, who
knew I wanted to move and who’d been
interviewing people to take his place, told
me on the phone that someone he’d inter
viewed was not suitable for his job but could
do my job quite well. He said, Tf you’re ever
thinking of leaving, now might be the time.’
I remember the moment when I came out of
that phone booth on Rue Monge in the fifth
arrondissement and realized that I might
actually be able to move to France.”
Wood decided to take the leap. He signed
up for the Cours de Langue et Civilisation
Frangaise at the Sorbonne, found an apart
ment on the lie de la Cite, and began to
investigate starting a business. Learning
about the French educational system and
about the French business world, he says,
was an adventure in the French way of doing
things.
Having always admired the intellectual
disposition of the French, Wood enjoyed
learning how to write the French disserta
tion, a composition with a strict form: the
question, the thesis, the antithesis, and the
synthesis. “I realized, here is a very power
ful cultural difference. They’ve gone
through this process throughout their edu
cation and they all know how to do this.’”
But when it came to starting a business.
Wood was not certain that the intellectual
approach was best. Planning to open a book
store on the left bank, he took a weeklong
Phil Wood didn’t do a market survey, as his
French business advisers dictated; he
STARTED THE BOOKSTORE AND WAITED TO SEE IF
ANYONE WOULD COME IN.
workshop on French business practice and
found that much emphasis was placed on the
etude de marche, the market study. “Every
one kept asking me if I had done one. I said
no. My feeling was, the way I’m going to do
my market study is by starting the store and
seeing if anybody comes in,” says Wood.
“The etude is an intellectual approach, but it
can be counterproductive, at least for an
American. You can think a lot and do studies
and in the end never do anything.”
As it turns out. Wood was not hampered
by skipping the etude. His English-language
bookstore, San Francisco Book Co., does a
fine business, selling used books to a clien
tele about half French-speaking and half Eng
lish-speaking. Wood says that the French are
careful about what they read and tend to buy
serious books, especially history and good
literature. “Books that are somewhat criti
cal of America or a little offbeat sell well,
books by Bill Bryson and Hunter Thomp
son,” says Wood. “The French also like con
spiracy-type works about JFK.” Wood’s Eng
lish-speaking customers include a tourist
trade with an appetite for paperback edi
tions of literature and modern fiction.
Although Wood deals with the business
rather than the retail side of the store, he is
not deprived of encounters with the public.
{The College.
Sf. John’s College • Spring 2001 }
He and his principal book buyer, Dick
Toney, spend many afternoons looking
through books, often in private collec
tions. The advantages of such excur
sions, says Wood, go beyond the com
mercial: “You get to meet interesting
people and see their apartments in
Paris, go to parts of town you’ve never
been to and see how people live.”
Wood remembers one picture-perfect
afternoon when he and Toney visited
two sisters, “respectable old ladies,” at
their house near Fontainebleu. “It was
like something out of a movie: a beauti
ful village, nothing moving, no cars, a
little river. The house was right across
from the church. Two elderly women
answered the bell and the first thing
they wanted was not to talk about the
books, but to sit down and have drinks
in the garden. There we were, Dick and
I, two old guys from California sitting with
two elderly spinsters, drinking apple juice.
The sun was out and the birds were singing
and the church bell was ringing and finally
we had to say, ‘what about the books?’ ”
But it’s not just respectable old ladies that
Wood has met. In 1999, he married Anouk
Malaquin, whom he met through mutual
friends. “Our first ‘date’ was actually the
result of a misunderstanding on my part
about the time I was supposed to show up to
help some friends,” he says. “When they
said to come at ‘six-thirty,’ it never occurred
to me they meant 6:30 a.m., so when I
arrived at 6:30 p.m. - i8h3o French time Anouk was there and my help was no longer
needed. I said, ‘I guess I’ll go to the movies,’
and she said ‘What a good idea! ’ and off we
went. We saw Breaking the Waves, which I
had been intending to see but probably
wouldn’t have chosen for a first date! ”
Today, Wood’s vie Parisienne is complete.
He lives in an apartment in Montmartre,
has married into an old bourgeois family,
and runs a bookstore on the left bank. And
he’s enough of a Paris fixture that the guide
book Paris Access published a list of his city
favorites, including the Jardin du Luxem
bourg, the market in the Rue Mouffetard,
the city lit up at Christmas with concerts in
the churches, watching the boulistes around
Montmartre, and - appropriately enough for
a bookstore-owning Johnnie - the reading
room of the Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve.
�{AlumniNotes}
3®
Amanda Dulin (A) writes that she is
happy in Charlottesville with
Dominic.
Delsen) Flynn (A). “We are scuba
diving and changing lots of dia
pers!”
Nathan Humphrey (A) has a piece
Alice Brown (A) writes: “Greg and
in the Fall 2000 issue of re:generation quarterly about how sophomore
year at St. John’s - in particular his
reading of the Confessions - led to
his spending the summer at a
Catholic Benedictine monastery. As
the son of an Evangehcal Christian
minister, Humphrey was taught to
file “Cathohcism” under “cults,”
along with Mormonism and Scien
tology. But at the monastery “the
false dichotemy between the
‘sacred’ and the ‘secular’ disap
peared.” His piece is a plea for
understanding among the various
Christian denominations.
I are in Columbus, Ohio, where
Greg is earning a PhD in classics at
OSU and I am teaching at a charter
school. Life is grand. Best wishes to
all.”
1995
October 29, 2000 saw the wedding
of China Williams (A) and Matt
Baum (A). The ceremony was held at
Sigmund Stern Grove in San Fran
cisco, Calif.
A report from Carrie Sager (A):
“In the fall, I spent three great
months in China studying acupunc
ture and traditional Chinese medi
cine. The experience was fantastic.
Surprisingly, I grew to really love
China and was sad to leave. After
China, I visited Hong Kong - a nice
return to civilization. Then it was
six weeks of travelling around Thai
land. One of the funniest things on
my trip - there I am standing on a
pier in the middle of Bangkok and
who do I run into... a fellow John
nie, Diedre O’Shea (A97). In all,
an awesome trip although my body
was really ready to come home and
eat good old North American food
by the end. I would love to offer
what little advice I can to anyone
travelling to those countries. For
now, I will keep my e-mail address at
carrie_china@yahoo.com. My other
news is that I am getting married.
My boyfriend proposed the week
before I left - guess he wanted to
make sure I came backNow I
have just nine months to get ready
for the big day - Sept. 28, 2001.
Knowing my timing, it will conflict
with Annapolis homecoming
again!”
“My husband, Ethan, and I are
doing a two-year tour of duty in
Guam,” writes Sarah (Van
Cheryl Heneveld (AGI) is still in
1996
Adrienne Jakowski Rukensiein
married Peter Rubenstein (both A)
in July of 1998. They are currently
living in Arlington, Vir. After gradu
ating, Adrienne got an MA in Teach
ing Secondary English, taught for
two years with Denver Public
Schools, and is now getting another
MA in Deaf Education at Gallaudet
University in Washington, D.C. She
was recently offered a job teaching
English to high school seniors at a
deaf school in D.C. Peter has been
exploring technical jobs with
USwest and an Internet company in
DC called Covad. He enjoys eating a
bowl of Lucky Charms while watch
ing the Powerpuff Girls or Dexter’s
Laboratory on Cartoon Network.
His favorite philosopher is still
Leibniz and his favorite color is
green.
James Cromer (AGI) is going back
to school - to Skidmore College - to
learn how to design web pages while
he completes his ninth year of teach
ing.
Joy Pope (AGI) and Miguel Alandete have welcomed a daughter into
their lives. Maya Lucia Pope Alandete was born on October 3, weigh
ing in at an astonishing 9 lbs., ii oz.
Sid Ranck (AGI) has accepted the
role of godfather. The new family is
doing beautifully in Eugene, Ore. their home now - and they’d love to
hear from classmates or Johnnies in
the area. Alandete@oregon.uoregon.edu.
Melissa Cate (A) and Darcy
Christ (A94) were married on
October 7, 2000.
Douglis Beck (AGI) and Susan
Allen are thrilled to announce the
birth of a beautiful daughter named
Veronica Vandenberghe Beck on
December 22, 2000. Says Douglis,
“She has brought not only joy to our
{The College -
world, but also a good number of
sleepless nights, a small amount of
chaos, and general mayhem for all
concerned. I continue to work as an
architect at Cannon Design in St.
Louis, while Susan is a manager for
Borders Books & Music. Veronica is
currently unemployed and search
ing for a position in waste manage
ment.”
New Delhi. “I have not found any
Johnnies here yet, and I miss the
Washington, D.C., alumni discus
sions,” she says. Her e-mail address
is cheryls@vsnl.com.
1997
John Carle (SF) reports that he
and Cheryl are alive and well in
metro Atlanta. After a short stint
with CNN, he’s working as a web
developer with a consulting firm.
E-mail is welcome at jcarle@newtousbaby.com.
Juan Villasenor (A) will graduate
from Vanderbilt Law School in May
2001 and has accepted a clerkship
with a federal judge in Nashville,
Tenn., for one year beginning in
September.
1998
my husband Chris and I just had our
first child on November i6th, 2000.
Her name is Rosalyn Ophelia.”
Kathleen (Tinning) Connelly (A)
writes: “Patrick Connelly and I were
married June 12,1999, and have
been living in Vicenza, Italy, ever
since. Italy is beautiful.”
Susie Lorenzini (AGI) and Jason
Salinas (AGIoo) were married in
June 2000, in San Diego.
In the summer 1999 issue of The
Reporter, an unknown perpetrator
sent in a false report about Eve Gib
son (A) and Todd Pytel (A). Here’s
a correction from Eve: “Todd will
not be ‘working closely with the
Warner Brothers Network in the
upcoming months’ because he is too
busy teaching high school math at
Senh, a Chicago public school, nor
am I teaching fifth graders science
at a Catholic school in New York. I
have been playing rugby for the
Chicago Women’s Rugby Football
Club and tutoring at Literacy Chica
go, and toiling in an office.”
2000
Valerie Whiting (A) reports that
she got her Peace Corps assignment:
She headed to Panama in January to
be an environmental educator.
Max R. Fink (SF) reports: “Work
ing in Chicago as a corporate
recruiter (probably for something I
did in a past life!). Just returned
from a vacation to the rainforests of
Costa Rica. Thinking of becoming a
tour guide in South America.”
Heather (Miller) and Nate
Greenslit (both A) are the proud
parents of Emily Ruth, born March
25. Heather taught middle school
math and science in a private school
outside Baltimore until Emily’s
arrival. She’s now a stay-at-home
mom and a private tutor. Nate got
his master’s degree in cognative sci
ence at Johns Hopkins and will
begin a program in the history and
sociology of technology at MIT. The
Greenslits now live in Worcester,
Mass.
1999
Erin Gage Bates (A) writes: “I was
married February 5th, 2000, and
St. John’s College • Spring 2001 }
Calling All Alumni
The College wants to hear from you.
Call us, write us, e-mail us. Let your
classmates know what you’re doing.
The next issue tvill be published in
July; copy deadline is May 20.
In Annapolis:
The College Magazine, St. John’s
College, Box 2800, Annapolis, MD
21404; b-goyette@sjca.edu.
In Santa Fe:
The College Magazine, St. John’s
College, Public Relations Office,
1160 Camino Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe,
NM 87501-4599;
classics@maiLsjcsf.edu.
Alumni Notes
on the
Web:
Read Alumni Notes and contact
The College on the web at:
www.sjca.edu - click on “Alumni.”
�{Student Voices}
Through a Photographer’s Eye
The Transfer Experience
A
Imost 30% of St. John’s students have spent a year or more
as transfers, making them true hi-campus members of the
/
college community. Whether their “year abroad” is spent in
Santa Fe, after some time in the brick-clad East, or in
/
Annapolis, after a year or two in the mountain air, transfer
students almost universally enjoy the experience.
Sylvaine Rameckers, Aoi, spent last year in Santa Fe. An avid photogra
pher, she fell in love with the landscape of the southwest. Although St. John’s
students generally rate the location of the campuses low on their list of why
they chose the college, Santa Fe and Annapolis are nevertheless both beauti
ful places-each in its own way. Here are some of Sylvaine’s favorite photos
that capture the flavor of each location.
{The Colleges?. John’s
College • Spring 2001 }
37
�38
{Alumni Association News}
From the Alumni
Association President
Greetings!
Thanks to you all for giving me the opportunity to lead the Association as its
new president. You have a dedicated and creative Board of Directors, who will he
focused on maintaining tradition and building new opportunities for alumni to
connect with each other and the College. For example...
I wish you could all have joined us for a delightful evening on January ay.
Eighteen groups of alumni and current St. John’s seniors met at Santa Fe
restaurants for Senior Dinners. The dinners, which have
become tradition on both campuses, are designed to wel
come soon-to-he alumni into the Association. As you can
imagine, the conversations are lively and varied, ranging
Electing Alumni
Representatives to the
St. John’s and Alumni
Association Boards
Election ofAlumni Representatives
to the St. John's College Board of
Visitors and Governors
In accordance with Article VIII, Section II
of the By-Laws of the St. John’s College
Alumni Association, notice is hereby given
that the following alumni have been nomi
nated by the Alumni Association Board of
Directors for election to the St. John’s Col
lege Board of Visitors and Governors.
from essay topics, to career possibilities, to current pic
tures of student life, to news of tutors and mutual friends,
to life after St. John’s, to activities of the Association. Mem
Glenda Eoyang
ories, hopes, and fears are traded and relished across time
and geography.
This is one of my personal favorites among the many Association activities. It is
Notice is also given that nominations may
be made by petition.
The rules governing submission of nomi
nations by petition are as follows:
I. Petitions must be signed by at least fifty
members of the Alumni Association in good
standing.
a pleasure to revisit that invigorating time in my life. I am always surprised to see
how similar the experience of today is to that of the mid-yos, when I made my
transition from student to alumna-and also how different it is. The current crop
of seniors are so bright and curious and verbal and excited as they come to terms
with integrating their Johnny experience with the rest of their lives.
If you live in the Santa Fe or Annapolis area and would be interested in hosting
a dinner, let the Alumni Directors know. Usually, two alumni co-host eight seniors
at a local restaurant. The college Alumni Directors select the sites, but they also
take suggestions. The cost is shared by the hosts, the college, and the Alumni
Association. You’ll be asked to distribute some information about the Association
and explain the benefits of staying in touch with other alumni. It is a wonderful
opportunity to connect and see what’s happening in the world of St. John’s!
For the past, the present, and the future.
ST. JOHN’S college
alumni association
Whether from Annapolis or Santa Fe,
undergraduate or Graduate Institute,
Old Program or New, graduated or not,
all alumni have automatic membership in
the St. John’s College Alumni Association.
The Alumni Association is an independent
organization, with a Board of Directors
elected by and from the alumni body.
The Board meets four times a year, twice
on each campus, to plan programs and
coordinate the affairs of the Association.
This newsletter within The College
magazine is sponsored by the Alumni
Association and communicates Alumni
Association news and events of interest.
President - Glenda Eoyang, SFy6
Vice President - Jason Walsh, A85
Secretary -Barbara Lauer, SFy6
Treasurer - Bill Fant, Ayg
Getting-the-Word-Out Action Team ChairTom Geyer, A68
Glenda Holladay Eoyang, SFy6
Eoyang@chaos-limited.com
Web site -www.sjca.edu/aassoc/main.phtml
Mailing address - Alumni Association,
St. John’s College, Box 2800, Annapolis,
MD 21404 or 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca,
Santa Fe, NM 87501.
{The College-
St. John’s College • Spring 2001 }
�39
{Alumni Association News}
2. Nominations must be accompanied by a
biographical sketch of the nominee.
3. The consent of all persons nominated
must be obtained.
4. The petitions must reach the Directors
of Alumni Activities NO LATER THAN
DECEMBER i, 2001.
c/o Alumni Office
St. John’s College
P.O. Box 2800
Annapolis, MD 21404
If nominations by petition are received,
there will be an election conducted by mail
ballot. If there are no such nominations,
the nominees listed below will be consid
ered elected. Terms will begin in July of
2002.
Eor his second term:
Jason Todd Walsh, A85
New York, N.Y.
MBA, Harvard Business
School, 1989; entrepreneur-in-residence, McKin
sey & Company, 2000present; executive vice
president/ start-up gener
al manager,
Oncology.com, 19992000; vice president of business develop
ment of Quest Diagnostics, Incorporated,
1998-1999; vice president/general manager.
Long Island Region of Quest Diagnostics,
1996-1998; associate director for strategy and
development for the Opto-Electronics Group
of Corning Inc., 1993-1995; business manag
er, television components. Corning Asahi
Video Products Company, 1990-1993; mem
ber of the St. John’s College Alumni Associa
tion Board of Directors, 1990-1996; Treasurer
of that Board, 1998-2000; Vice- President of
that Board, 2001-; Lady Liberty Regatta
chairman. New York Harbor Sailing Founda
tion, 1998 & 2001; member, St. John’s Col
lege Board of Visitors and Governors, 1999-.
For his first term:
Mark Middlebrook, A83
Oakland, Calif.
Mark is a rabid liberal artist in sheepish techno-geek clothing. After earning his BA from
St. John’s in 1983, he completed a Master’s
degree in structural engineering at the Uni
versity of California, Berkeley. Since 1988,
Mark has been the sole proprietor of
Daedalus Consulting in Oakland, Calif. In
this guise, he fools around with computer
aided drafting (CAD) software for money.
Seeking moderation in all things-especially
time spent with computers-Mark remains
active in the liberal arts and the St. John’s
College community. He has participated for
many years in the Northern California alumni
chapter and the Alumni Association’s Board
of Directors. Since 1999, he has taught St.
John’s-style seminars at St. Mary’s College in
Moraga, Calif. Mark’s other avocations
include music, languages, and cooking. He
currently is working on perfecting his tortilla
espanola, Andalusian Spanish, and flamenco
bulerias.
For his second term:
Clinton Dale Lively, A78
Princeton Junction, N.J.
MS, Mathematics, University of Virginia;
MBA, Finance, University of Chicago. Man
aging Director and Head of Portfolio Risk
Management, Merrill Lynch, NY; directing
firmwide event analysis, process risk manage
ment, country risk assessments, internal risk
capital allocation, and oversight of market
risk taken within the Private Client, Asset
Management and Merrill Lynch Treasury
divisions. Managing Director and Partner in
charge of the Corporate Risk Management
Group for the Bankers Trust Company, 199799; previously for Bankers Trust: joined the
bank in r984 in Sales, Trading and Funding
Department; in 1987 a member of the team
that developed the Global Market Risk Man
agement function; in 1989 transferred to
Tokyo to set up the Global Market Risk group
for Asia, Australia, and New Zealand; in 1992
returned to New York as head of the Global
Risk Analytic group and was appointed head
of market risk globally in 1995; in spring of
1997 chosen to manage the Corporate Risk
Management function overall. A member of
Bankers Trust Asset Liability Committee
(ALCO) and Management Committee on
Controls. On the Board of Directors of
Bankers International Corporation and LongTail Risk Insurance, Ltd.
Election ofOjftcers and Directors
ofthe St. John ’a College Alumni
Association
In accordance with Article VII, Sections I
and II of the By-Laws of the St. John’s Col
lege Alumni Association, notice is hereby
given that the following alumni have been
nominated to serve as officers and direc
tors on the St. John’s College Alumni Asso
ciation Board of Directors.
Notice is also given that nominations for
the positions as officers and directors of
the Association may be made by petition.
{The College-
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
The rules governing submission of nom
inations by petition are as follows:
1. Petitions must be signed by at least thirty
members of the Alumni Association in
good standing.
2. Petitions must be presented to the Sec
retary of the Alumni Association prior to
the Annual Meeting at which the election
is to be held. Petitions should be sent to
Barbara Lauer, c/o Alumni Office, St.
John’s College, P.O. Box 2800, Annapolis,
MD 21404.
3. The election will be held at the Annual
Meeting on Saturday, July 7 at 1:30 p.m. in
Santa Fe.
4. The candidates for Officers and Direc
tors receiving the highest number of votes
for those offices shall be declared elected.
Terms will begin on January i, 2002.
For his first term:
William Tilles, A59
Rockville, Md.
William R. (Bill) Tilles is
an Organization Develop
ment consultant specializ
ing in the planning and
facilitation of processes
that enhance organiza
tional performance.
Before he retired from
IBM in r992, he held man
agement and staff positions working with
government and commercial clients. He was
a principal in Collaborative Decisions, Inc., a
small, women-owned business focusing on
decision support technology. Currently, as an
associate of CI International, based in Den
ver, Colorado and Washington, D.C., he pro
vides facilitation and planning services to
government and commercial clients. He is
also an active participant in the DC Cultural
Alliance Business Volunteers for the Arts pro
gram, where he was honored as Business Vol
unteer of the Year in 1999. Tilles is in his
third term on the Board of Visitors and Gov
ernors, where he is the Chair of the Visiting
Committee and member of the Executive
Committee.
For her first term:
Valerie Pawlewicz, A89
Annapolis, Md.
Currently designs educa
tional trips for the Smithsonian-the largest, most
diverse, museum-based
travel program in the
world (1998-). She organ
izes performing arts, fine
arts, culinary, history and
�40
{Alumni Association News}
literature seminars, working directly with
such organizations as the Santa Fe Opera,
Toronto International Film Festival, and the
Spoleto Festival USA, and with such individu
als as Ken Burns, Holly Mondavi and Gian
Carlo Menotti. Prior to the Smithsonian
(1996-98), she worked as an independent
folklorist on community oral history projects,
including a St. John’s College oral history
project (over ao interviews were collected
from faculty, alumni, staff at both campuses).
She was the Senior Resident for Student
Activities at St. John’s College, Annapolis,
Md. (1994-96), at the same time serving as in
house substitute teacher at the Key School in
Annapolis. From 1992-94, she completed
graduate work at UNC Chapel Hill in folk
lore, taking on oral history projects as diverse
as furniture factory workers and Southern
funeral directors. She served as a class leader
for The Campaign for Our Fourth Century
(1993-95). She is married to Leo Pickens
(A78), Director of Athletics on the Annapolis
campus.
For her first term:
Martha Black Jordan, SFGI86
Mexico City, Mexico
Jordan was born in Mexico
City and educated in the
U.S. She holds a BA from
Sweet Briar College, an
MA from St. John’s, and an
MFA from Vermont Col
lege. She is the founder of
the Tramontane Poets of
Mexico City, a collective
dedicated to being a bridge between the poet
ry worlds of Mexico and North America,
which has sponsored visits to Mexico City and
readings by Reginald Gibbons, Joe Somoza,
William Merwin, Grace Schulman, Mark
Strand, Naomi Shihab Nye, William Snod
grass, and others. She has read her own work,
as well as translations, on National Public
Radio and at various organizations around
the country. Her poems have appeared in IfI
Had My Life to Live Over, Latitudes, The
Tree is Older Than You Are, California Quar
terly, The Texas Observer, the eleventh
MUSE, Grand Street, and Tameme. She has
also published many translations from Span
ish to English, some from English to Spanish,
and has edited two bilingual books. She has
served on the board of the Junior League of
Mexico City; Christ Church Episcopal, Mexi
co City; National Board Medical College of
Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University,
Philadelphia; Women’s Auxiliary American
British Cowdray Hospital, Mexico City.
For his first term:
Rohert A. George, A85
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Currently Associate Edito
rial Page Editor for the
New York Post. He is also a
columnist for National
Review Online. Previously,
George served as Director
of Coalitions for the
Republican National Com
mittee. Reporting to the
RNC Co-chairman, he
acted as party liaison to diverse business, eth
nic and interest groups. From January 1995
through May 1998, George served as Special
Assistant & Senior Writer to the Speaker of
the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1994,
he was a Legislative Assistant to former Con
gressman Michael Huffington (R-CA). From
1988 to 1993, he served as Communications
Director for the Republican National Finance
Committee. Contemporaneous with his pro
fessional full-time career, George has held
sideline occupations as a researcher, disk
jockey and free-lance writer. His work has
appeared in The Washington Post, The Wash
ington Times, National Review, New Repub
lic, Billboard, Diversity & Division, The
Weekly Standard, CRISIS, San Francisco
Chronicle, Intellectual Capital, com. Salon',
and he was a contributor to Generations
Apart: Xers vs. Boomers vs. the Elderly and
Black & Right: The Bold New Voice ofBlack
Conservatives in America. He is an Adjunct
Fellow with the Center For New Black Lead
ership, a national African-American advocacy
group exploring entrepreneurial and freemarket issues, and Third Millennium, an
organization dedicated to multi-generational
public policy issues.
George was born on the Caribbean island
country of Trinidad and Tobago and raised in
Great Britain and the United States. His
interests include reading, jogging, cultural
analysis, and a proclivity for withering puns.
as the Director of College Placement for the
school, the only college preparatory school
for Native Americans in the country. Origi
nally from Boulder, Col., Boydstun chose to
attend St. John’s instead of going to a per
forming arts school to pursue her love of act
ing. She remained active in theatre at
St. John’s, however, and since her gradua
tion has performed with Shakespeare in
Santa Fe (Measurefor Measure and A Mid
summer Night’s Dream) and as the title role
in Queen Elizabeth I at Santa Fe Stages. She
recently auditioned for several graduate act
ing programs around the country, and she
hopes to spend the next three years pursuing
an MFA.
CHAPTER CONTACTS
Call the alumni listed belowfor information
about chapter, reading group, or other alumni
activities in each area.
ALBUQUERQUE
Bob & Vicki Morgan
505-880-^134
PHILADELPHIA
Bart Kaplan
315-465-0344
ANNAPOLIS
Roberta Gable
PORTLAND
410-295-6936
360-883-9058
AUSTIN
Jennifer Chenoweth
513-483-0747
SACRAMENTO
Helen Hobart
916-453-1083
BALTIMORE
David Kidd
SAN DIEGO
Stephanie Rico
410-738-4136
619-433-4353
BOSTON
Ginger Kenney
617-964-4794
CHICAGO
Dale Mortimer
SAN FRANCISCO/
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Jon Hodapp
831-393-9496
Lorna Anderson
SANTA FE
For her first term;
847-467-3069
John Pollak
Amber Boydstln, SF99
DENVER
Santa Fe, N.M.
Elizabeth Pollard Jenny
SEATTLE
Amber Boydstun
has spent the two
years since she
graduated from
St. John’s teach
ing at the Native
American
Preparatory
School (NAPS) in
Rowe, N.M. Last
year she taught Advanced PreCalculus and
Geometry at NAPS, and this year she serves
303-530-3373
Jon Bever
{The College-
St. John’s College ■ Spring 2001 }
LOS ANGELES
Elizabeth Eastman
563-436-1934
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL
Carol Freeman
613-833-3316
NEW YORK
Fielding Dupuy
313-974-3933
NORTH CAROLINA
Susan Eversole
919-968-4856
505-983-^^144
306-739-1163
WASHINGTON, DC
Bill Ross
301-330-4594
ISRAEL
Emi Geiger Leslau
15 Aminadav Street
Jerusalem 93549
Israel
973-3-6717608
boazl@cc.huji.ac.il
�{Connections}
How Can Alumni
Stay Connected
TO THE College?
Let us count the ways.
For alumni from lacrosse-loving days of the
r93os to the most recent of the 1990s,
St. John’s occupies a special place in their
consciousness. There are many ways alumni
can be involved in the life of the college, or
stay involved with the college from afar.
Indeed, the proliferation of new kinds of
activities has some alumni confused. Here’s
a short version of the activities of different
alumni groups.
The St. John’s College
Alumni Offices
College staff and resources devoted to
encouraging alumni connections to the col
lege. The Offices of Alumni Activities plan
and carry out Homecomings, Summer Alum
ni Programs, and Croquet Weekend; take
care of the database of alumni names and
addresses; coordinate the Alumni Register;
staff Alumni Association projects; work with
current students to foster continued relation
ships with the college; serve as touchpoints
for all alumni dealings with the college.
Contacts:
Annapolis: Roberta Gable, Director and
Dolores Strissel, Assistant. 410-626-2531.
alumni@sjca.edu
Web site: www.sjca.edu, click on “Alumni”
Santa Fe: Tahmina Shalizi, Director.
505-984-6103; tshalizi@mail.sjcsf.edu
Web site: www.sjcsf.edu, click on “Alumni”
St. John’s College
Alumni Association
Non-profit association independent of
St. John’s College; Alumni Association dues
help support Association projects-dues are
not a contribution to St. John’s College. All
alumni are automatically members of the
Alumni Association.
The Alumni Association mission is: To
provide an active place for alumni in the life
of the college; to promote the continuing
association of alumni with one another; and
to serve, preserve, and advance St. John’s
College as one community of and for liberal
education.
Usually held the last Saturday in April, the St. John’s-Navy Croquet Match draws
HUNDREDS OF ALUMNI BACK TO AnNAPOLIS. ThIS YEAr’s DATE: ApRIL 28.
The Alumni Association, through its Board
of Directors, helps plan and sponsor Homecomings and Summer Alumni Programs in
cooperation with the college offices of
Alumni Activities; helps sponsor the Alum
ni Register; awards Honorary Alumni status
and presents Alumni Association Awards of
Merit; coordinates Alumni Association
chapters in cities around the country; pub
lishes the Alumni Association News (a pages
in The College, formerly The Reporter).
Contacts:
Glenda Eoyang, SF76, President
Web site: www.sjca.edu/aassoc/main.phtml
Philanthropia
A subcommittee of the Development Com
mittee of the Board of Visitors and Gover
nors, comprised of alumni volunteers inter
ested in encouraging financial support of
the college by alumni. Philanthropia’s main
efforts are centered on the Alumni Annual
Fund, direct contributions to the college
which provide the campuses with operating
expenses.
Philanthropia volunteers help plan
fundraising strategies in cooperation with
the college development staff; build aware
ness of the college’s financial needs and
alumni’s responsibilities for support
through publications like the “Founders
and Foundations” calendar; encourage class
reunion organization for the purposes of
fundraising; help plan phonathons, “meet
the president” receptions, and other activi
ties in various cities.
{The College -St. John’s
College ■ Spring 2001 }
Contacts:
Leslie Jump, A84, President; Alex Fotos or Mary
Simmons in the Annapolis Advancement Office,
410-626-2507; Ginger Roherty in the Santa Fe
Advancement Office, 505-984-6109.
Web site: www.sjca.edu/advance/philan. phtml
Alumni Admissions Representatives
Alumni who volunteer to help the Admis
sions Offices with various recruiting proj
ects, such as hosting prospective student
receptions; interviewing or answering ques
tions from prospective students, parents, and
high school counselors; answering e-mail
questions from prospective students; helping
to represent the college at college fairs.
Contacts:
Annapolis: Dorcey Rose, Associate Director of
Admissions, 410-626-2527; d-rose@sjca.edu.
Web site: www.sjca.edu/admissions/representative.phtml
Santa Fe: Ana Alvernaz, Associate Director of Admis
sions, 505-984-6003; aalvernaz@mail.sjcsf.edu
Alumni Placement Office Contacts
Alumni who volunteer to help the Place
ment Offices on each campus. Placement
Office contacts provide information and
networking advice to current students look
ing into graduate programs and career fields.
Contacts:
Annapolis - Karen Krieger, Director of Place
ment, 410-626-2500; k-krieger@sjca.edu
Web site: www.sjca.edu/placement/office. phtml
Santa Fe - Margaret OdeU, Director of Place
ment, 505-984-6066
Web site: www.sjcsf.edu/placement/
�{Obituaries}
Albert Patterson Close
Class of tgsS
Retired Judge Albert Patterson
Close, Sr., an administrative judge of
the Circuit Court for Harford Coun
ty (Md.) for many years, died in
December. Judge Close served for
more than two decades on the local
bench, where he presided over some
of the highest profile criminal and
civil cases in Harford County history.
Born near Bel Air, Md., and the
youngest of seven children, he grad
uated from St. John’s in 1938 and
received a degree from the Universi
ty of Maryland School of Law. Dur
ing World War II, he served in the
Marine Corps in China, attaining
the rank of major. After the war, he
practiced law for many years in Bel
Air, served as People’s Court judge
for eight years, and was appointed to
the Circuit Court bench in 1967.
The following year he was elected
for a 15-year term. Rather than
retire in 1984, he sought a second
15-year term, which he won.
Judge Close was active in the
Republican Party, volunteered with
the Boy Scouts, and was a member of
the Susquehanna Law Club, the Jar
rettsville Lions Club, and the board
of directors of Upper Chesapeake
Health System. He is survived by his
wife, five sons, three daughters, two
sisters, and six grandchildren.
Patrick D. Davis,
Class oftgs^
Patrick D. Davis, a member of the
class of 1950, died January 32 in
Seattle. He was born in Dewey,
Okla., and grew up in Washington,
D.C., where he often worked as a
child actor. He served three years in
the Navy in World War IL After St.
John’s, he attended the University of
Maine, Orono, and Canterbury Col
lege in New Zealand. He lived, trav
eled, and worked for 13 years over
seas, mostly in England, France, and
Turkey. He was employed as a civilian
with the U.S. Air Force as an educa
tion officer and regional director of
adult eduction affiliated with the
University of Maryland. He subse
quently was a federal employee and
regional administrator in Washing
ton, D.C., and Seattle, both with the
Office of Economic Opportunity and
Health & Human Services’ Head
Start Program, working to improve
opportunities for disadvantaged chil
dren and mothers.
His love of traveling, history, for
eign affairs, theater, archeology,
politics, art, music, and great books
led many to call him a Renaissance
Man. He will be remembered for his
love and caring for people, his gen
erosity and sense of humor, and his
devotion to social justice and envi
ronmental causes. He is survived by
his wife, Verrelle “Susie” Davis and
son, Justinian A. Davis.
Beach, and Vermont College. Gifts
in Michael’s memory may be made
to The Vermont Respite House,
99 Allen Brook Lane, Williston,
VT 05495.
—Sapna Gandhi, Agi
Michael Kraemer, A93
In his short life, Michael Kraemer
touched and influenced more than
most people do in their entire lives.
He spent most of his free time volun
teering at animal shelters, tutoring
students of all ages in their school
work, and helping new immigrants
adjust to life in America. It was his
approach that made him special: he
approached every task and every per
son with love and kindness. And at
the young age of 19, Michael knew he
wanted to spend the rest of his life
serving humanity and protecting ani
mals. Michael was one of those peo
ple who truly had no enemy.
After leaving St. John’s in 1991
after his sophomore year, Michael
moved back home to Miami to five
with his family. Still a Johnnie,
Michael loved learning so he contin
ued to study on his own-learning
Spanish and Portuguese, before set
tling on holistic studies. He was
inspired after treating his own health
with alternative medicine. He began
a correspondence course at Vermont
College’s School of Holistic Studies.
After several trips to Vermont to
complete his coursework, Michael
and his sister eventually moved there.
Michael had always loved good
music and over the last several years
had acquired quite a collection of
reggae, bossanova, funk, African,
salsa, and other groovy music. One
of his gifts was making music tapes
for his friends. So it was not a sur
prise that Michael taught himself
rocar and drums and became part of
a performing samba group.
Michael was diagnosed with can
cer in early April 3000. He had a very
shm chance of treating the cancer
successfully with Western medicine.
Instead of compromising his faith in
Eastern healing arts, Michael chose
to try acupuncture and Chinese
herbs to heal. For a while, it seemed
to be working and making him
stronger. The last two months of his
life were spent in a hospice, where
he was surrounded by family and
close friends. For the first time,
Michael let himself be loved and
nurtured, instead of always being
the strong and generous one.
Michael passed away on Novem
ber 25. He will be loved and remem
bered by his friends from St. John’s,
the Annapolis Society for the Pre
vention of Cruelty to Animals, the
Jewish Community Center in Miami
{The College-
William Allen Ruhl, Jr.
Class oftg44
William A. Ruhl, Jr., a bank execu
tive in Salisbury, Md., died in
December. He was a member of the
St. John’s class of 1944 and served in
the 83nd Airborne Division during
World War IL Mr. Ruhl was the first
managing officer of First Shore Fed
eral Savings and Loan Association
when it was founded in 1953, and
was named executive vice president
in 1964, the position he held until
retirement in 1984. He served as a
member of the board of First Shore
Federal from 1969 to 1998, when he
was named director emeritus. Mr.
Ruhl was active with the Salisbury
Chamber of Commerce, the Mary
land League of Financial Institu
tions, scouting, the Salisbury
Rotary Club, St. Peter’s Episcopal
Church, and the American Field
Service exchange student program.
He is survived by his present wife, a
son and three daughters, five grand
children, a brother, and a sister.
Adolph W. Schmidt
Member ofthe Board
Adolph W. Schmidt, a longtime sup
porter of the college who served on
the Board of Visitors and Governors
since 1949, died December 17 in
Pittsburgh. He was 96.
Mr. Schmidt was active in many
spheres during his life: in the busi
ness world as a banker and financier
for various Mellon family business
es, in the city of Pittsburgh as
founder of the Pittsburgh Playhouse
and the Pittsburgh Symphony, in the
international sphere as a diplomat
who served as ambassador to Cana
da from 1969 to 1974 and also found
ed organizations dedicated to stabi
lizing the world’s population and
resources, and at St. John’s-which
he once called “the finest under
graduate liberal arts program in the
United States today, barring none.”
A native of McKeesport, Pennsyl
vania, Mr. Schmidt graduated from
Princeton and the Harvard Gradu
ate School of Business Administra
tion. He served as an intelligence
officer in the Army during World
War II, and after the war he was
active in developing political unity
among the countries that eventually
formed NATO.
Professionally, he worked with
the Mellon National Bank and its
St. John^s College - Spring 2001 }
affiliated institutions and organiza
tions beginning in 1929 until his
retirement in 1969. He was a presi
dent and trustee of the A. A. W. Mel
lon Educational and Charitable
Trust, and a trustee of the Old
Dominion Foundation.
Mr. Schmidt’s interest in St. John’s
began when he read the February
1940 article about the college in Life
magazine while on a flight from Pitts
burgh to Washington. He felt the St.
John’s curriculum represented much
that was lacking in his own educa
tion. He called the college and spoke
with Stringfellow Barr, who invited
him to come for a visit. After attend
ing a seminar and then a mathemat
ics tutorial the next day, Mr. Schmidt
began to think about taking the year
off to enroll. Back in Pittsburgh, he
showed a copy of the Life article to
Paul Mellon; about a week later, the
two discussed the college and Mr.
Mellon told Mr. Schmidt that he
should remain in Pittsburgh since
there was so much work to be done.
In fact, Mr. Mellon had decided to
enroll at St. John’s himself.
Mr. Schmidt was elected to the
St. John’s Board of Visitors and Gov
ernors in 1950; he became chair in
1954 and again in 1962. From r969 to
1974, he served as U.S. Ambassador
to Canada and did not participate on
the Board, but upon his return he
again joined. In 1980 he was made a
member emeritus.
The Adolph W. Schmidt Endowed
Thtorships were estabhshed with a
gift from Mr. Schmidt in r985. Alter
nating between the campuses, the
tutorship enables a faculty member
to take release time from teaching for
further study and the leading of a fac
ulty study group, either in the areas
of pohtics and economic and mone
tary theory, or in some other area of
importance to the program.
Mr. Schmidt was named an hon
orary alumnus of St. John’s in 1987,
and was given the Alumni Associa
tion Award of Merit in 1989.
ALSO NOTED...
Gretchen L. Berg, A75, died in
June 3000
Patrick D. Davis, A50, died in
January 3001
John D. Edinger, A34
Vincent W. McKay, A46
Ben Moskowitz, A50, died in June
2000
Col. Frederick L. Smith, Aa7, died
in November 1999
Robert Arne, SFG83, died in
November 2000
Theodore A. Buder, SF94, died in
August 2000
�{Obituaries}
In Memory of Robert Bart
Remarks delivered by Nancy Buchenauer at a
memorial servicefor Robert Bart, tutor in
Annapolisfrom ig4Q to ty~7 and in Santa Fe
from
to 2000.
Robert was my friend. And he was a great and
terrible friend. I first met him in 1979 when I
went down the hill from Los Alamos to apply
to be a tutor. He was the Dean in Santa Fe in
those days, and for me he embodied what a
dean had to be. Really, he embodied the col
lege. When I was appointed he told me that he
had serious reservations about whether any
one who lived 40 miles away could be a tutor.
My response was to form the determination
then and there that I would never miss a class
or Friday lecture, and I would never let my
students down in any way. I would show him
what I could and could not do. He had planted
in me an expectation that made me demand
more of myself than I ever had before.
That was the beginning of my education
from him in what the college was. He made
me desire to show him that I too was capable
of giving myself completely to something that
was valuable and difficult. In effect he was
asking me to be more than myself. I didn’t
know then what I later came to know from
watching what he did as well as hearing what
he said, that only in giving oneself to some
thing greater, outside oneself does one have a
chance to find out who one really is and so
really to be something.
From his love of art he taught me to see.
From childhood my mother had taken me to
museums and said, “Look, isn’t that beauti
ful?” But when Robert took me to Michelan
gelo’s statue of Moses he asked me a question.
Pointing out the curl of the upper lip, he
asked, “Is he feeling contempt?” Robert
taught me intelligent looking. He showed me
that the best paintings and statues demand a
response from our innermost selves. Just like
poets, artists use the tricks of their trade-per
spective, rounding, color, light, shape-to
express a meaning, to show us what is impor
tant about their subjects for human beings.
Painting technique is a language as much as
written words or musical notes, and one can
learn to read and understand from it the truth
of being a human being. A building in the
hands of a great architect becomes an organic
whole designed to satisfy our craving for
wholeness: our lives are elevated by it and
made more orderly and purposeful. If one
looks at Manet’s painting, “Le balcon,” one
sees the artist Berthe Morrisot looking out
Robert Bart
and down, with ferocious intensity: perhaps
above all, artists by looking are teaching us
that it requires effort to look and that no part
of the world we inhabit is just present for us
without our labor.
Nick Maistrellis, by mentioning to me what
he was thinking about saying here today,
helped me to understand that the key to what
came to be my friendship with Robert is learn
ing, that is, my learning. That was an
inevitable consequence of how Robert did
everything and of who he was. He was posi
tively unable to keep anything at a “safe” dis
tance, from which one might think or talk
about it as if one were not involved. To every
thing and everyone he had an immediate, vis
ceral response. Never for him was the life of
the mind divorced from our personal relation
ships to one another, and the one always
importantly informed the other.
He taught me that taste is absolute and that
people of integrity have to judge. His judg
ments often made me terribly uncomfortable,
but I also learned from them that to stay alive
and awake and questioning, to encounter peo
ple and ideas genuinely, one has to make judg
ments. Part of why Robert was such a holy ter
ror to many students and colleagues was
because in his presence everything one said
and did was constantly and relentlessly judged.
There could be no off-hand, unthinking
remarks, because he was thinking all the time,
and he was unscrupulously honest about what
he thought. At times he would take enormous
offense at a chance remark, unable himself to
believe that the words were not intended,
because for him everything was intentional.
But he suffered also from staircase self-hon
esty. He would go through paroxysms of
remorse over what he had said to people. He
also had the peculiar quality of frequently
{The College -Sr. John’s
College ■ Spring 2001 }
43
doing more justice to people behind their
backs than he could do to their faces. It was
not uncommon in Instruction Committee
meetings for him to speak in praise of people
whom he only bristled at face to face, and at
such times nothing of what one might call per
sonal feeling clouded his ability to evaluate.
This intellectual generosity was accompa
nied by a truly remarkable generosity in other
ways. AU his life he lived by a standard of
extreme ascetic economy while giving prodi
gious amounts of money to the college and to
his friends. In the last years of his life he
became friends with a young woman he hoped
would help him to remain in his home a little
longer, but when he learned of her desire to go
to graduate school in Washington, he made up
the difference between her scholarship and
what she needed to be able to attend. When he
had first come home from the hospital after his
second heart attack, I was spending seminar
nights staying in his house, and I woke up one
morning finding him sweeping the snow off
my car with a broom, hardly able to walk. For
him it was easy to give to and to spend on oth
ers and next to impossible to spend on himself.
He was terribly lonely and often agonized
by a sense that he had driven away some of the
finest friends he had had. He told me once on
one of the rare occasions that he spoke of his
past and his childhood that in school he had
never had a friend. I came to see how coming
to the college meant so much to him personal
ly as well as intellectually. At the college he
made the first real friendships of his life. He
needed others around him constantly, and his
life was best for him when he could spend two
meals a day in conversations with one other of
those he cared about. Once someone became
his friend they were a part of him forever,
even though there were few with whom this
did not take the form of a constant struggle.
Bill O’Grady once said of St. Paul that just
exactly a man who found it hard to love would
have to struggle to come to know (and to say)
what love is. Those words could just as well
have been said about Robert, for because love,
the most intense and close relationship of one
human being to another, was so hard for him,
he devoted his life to trying to see it, to learn it,
to say it, to do it, and to give it to others. Such
was Robert. I think he was a great man. 4"
The college has established the Robert Bart
Endowment Fund, to be usedforfinancial aid
for students. Contributions can be sent
c/o Advancement Office, St. John's College,
1160 Camino Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe, NM
87501-4599
�{St. John’s Forever}
he King William Players
“girl trouble” as a result of his effort. Al
staged the American pre
Sugg (A54) played the Skeleton, a mysteri
miere of Thomas Cranmer of
ous spirit figure who offered counsel to the
Canterbury, a verse drama
embattled Cranmer. Jo Thoms, wife of
about Henry VIII’s archbish
tutor Bert Thoms, played Anne Boleyn
op who suffered martyrdom
(third from left in the photo) and also
as a result of his stance on the kingdesigned
’s
the set and the costumes, which
divorce from Catherine of Aragon.included
Two
a medallion necklace for the king
productions took place-February 9 and 10,
that was fashioned from tin can lids.
1951-in the Great Hall. A group of students
Richard Edelman (A51) produced and
had read and discussed Charles Williams’
directed. In his quest for authenticity,
difficult, disturbing work the previous
Edelman tried to rent furniture appropri
spring and vowed to put on the play. Talk
ate to the period but was unable to find it.
about a production: this one took nine
When
he spotted some pieces that looked
months of preparation and involved a hun
like
they
’d work in the lobby of Lowe’s
dred students and townspeople.
Valencia Theater in Baltimore, he wrote
Tutor Hugh McGrath played Cranmer;
the owners, who allowed the KWP to bor
his dramatic bearing and resonant English
row the furniture. Always avant garde, the
accent must have been perfect for the part.
King William Players employed unusual
Paul Rickolt (A52) was Henry VIII (second
three-leveled staging and at times they
from the left in the photo). According to
played their roles standing-or racingnews accounts from the Annapolis paper.
among members of the audience. And, in
The Evening Capital, Mr. Rickolt spent
the St. John’s spirit of trying to get to the
months growing a beard so that his looks
would be authentic. 1951 was not a big year
root of every issue, tutor Winfree Smith
for the popularity of facial hair, and he
gave a lecture before the play on the
reported being stared at and experiencing
British Reformation period.
T
{The College -
St. John’s College . Spring 2001 }
From the college archives
COMES THIS 1951 photo OF AN
elaborate King William
Players production.
V
► ■'
�{Alumni Events Calendar}
Croquet Match St. John'’s vs. U.S. Naval Academy
Saturday
atj, 1 p.m.,
(Rain date; April 29)
CLASS OF
Summer Alumni Program, Week 1
Section I - The Art ofLiving Well
Readings from Montaigne’s Essays and
Chuang-Tzu
Led by Mark Rollins and Krishnan
Venkatesh
If to philosophize is to learn how to die, by”
what can we learn how to live? These semi
nars will constitute an imagined conversa
tion between one of the greatest Taoist
sages and the i6th century Frenchman who
first wrote the personal essay. Although the
cultural roots of these two men are quite dif
ferent, both share a deep suspicion of
human claims to know, and both draw from
huge treasuries of story and anecdote in
their nimble interrogations of life. They
engage many of the same issues-among
others: dying, illness, disability, ambition,
thought itself, and even the value of doing
nothing-and introduce us to some surpris
ing teachers. Lord Wen-Hui said, “That’s
good indeed! Ting the cook has shown me
how to find the Way to nurture life.”
Section II- Two Dialogues With God
Readings from The Bhagavadgita and
The Book of Job
Led by Phil LeCuyer and Michael Wolfe
Participants will explore two conversations
with God, one from the Hebrew scriptures
and the other from an Indian epic. Morning
seminars will revolve around Job’s
encounter with the Lord in the Book of Job.
Afternoon seminars will be devoted to Arju
na’s exchange with Krishna in The Bha
gavadgita.
7
A
,
Informal mini-reunions happen at the
Croquet Match. Last year, the class of
’89 MET on the lawn; they brought new
<*•
All-Alumni Art Show
in Santa Fe
BABIES, SPOUSES, FRIENDS, AND LOTS OF
FOOD AND WINE.
lecoming aooi - Annapolis
o' tiuii lecoming aoor
■ ® ' it'
- Santa Fe
Frid!
Reunion classes: 71, 76, 81, 86, 91, and 96
September 30
Reunion Classes: 36, 41, 51, 56, 61, 66, 71,
76, 81, 86, 91, and 96
JT
Summer Alumni Program, Week
^unudy) JLLiy xo j?ixuHy, j
fflta Fe
Mysteries and the Law:
The Nature ofEvidence
Led by Eva Brann, Grant Franks,
and Barbara Lauer
Who done it? How do you know who done
it? How does the polity justly deal with he or
she who done it?
This week of mixed media and conversa
tion addresses questions of crime, investiga
tion, and punishment. Through the eyes of
modern filmmakers and both contemporary
and ancient playwrights and authors, we
will examine the influences of perception
and judgment in relation to mysteries. Texts
include Billy Budd, Eumenides, Twelve
Angry Men, and Pirandello’s So It Is (IfYou
Think So).
{The College
- St John's College • Spring 2001 }
For information on events,
contact the Offices of Alumni Activities:
Tahmina Shalizi,
Director of Alumni and Parent Activities
Santa Fe - 505-984-6103;
tshalizi@mail.sjcsf.edu
Roberta Gable,
Director of Alumni Activities
Annapolis - 410-626-2531;
alumni@sjca.edu
�STJOHN’S COLLEGE
ANNAPOLIS > SANTA PE
Published by the
Public Relations Office
Box 2800
Annapolis, Maryland 21404
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
Periodicals
Postage Paid
�
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<em>The College </em>(2001-2017)
Description
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The St. John's College Communications Office published <em>The College </em>magazine for alumni. It began publication in 2001, continuing the <em>St. John's Reporter</em>, and ceased with the Fall 2017 issue.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The College" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=56">Items in The College (2001-2017) Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection.
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St. John's College
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Annapolis, Md.
Santa Fe, NM
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St. John's College Greenfield Library
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thecollege2001
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44
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The College, Spring 2001
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Volume 27, Issue 2 of The College Magazine. Published in Spring 2001. Misnumbered as issue 3.
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St. John's College
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St. John's College
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Annapolis, MD
Santa Fe, NM
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2001
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text
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pdf
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Goyette, Barbara (editor)
Borden, Sus3an (assistant editor)
Behrens, Jennifer (graphic designer)
Mulry, Laura J. (Santa Fe editor)
Johnson, David
Hanlon, Erin
Wolff, Peter
Balkcom, John
Eoyang, Glenda H.
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English
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The College Vol. 27, Issue 3 Spring 2001
The College
-
https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/6000ce628b9c12de7dd73c8bb1995edd.pdf
1e31c95a58ad4b1ad8f3c4c869929f25
PDF Text
Text
�STJOHN’S
College
ANNAPOLIS ■ SANTA FE
On Faraday
The College (usps 018-750)
ichael Faraday was the Horatio Alger of Victorian Eng
land. His father was a not-especially-successfnl black
smith who had emigrated to London from Westmorland
when the family fell on hard times. Faraday was born
there in 1791. He went to school until he was 13 and at 14
he was apprenticed to a bookbinder. Through reading,
the young man became fascinated with science. By the
time he was 19 he was conducting chemical experiments on his own, with equip
ment and materials he was able to scrounge, and he attended public lectures at
the Royal Institution with tickets provided by one of the bookbinder’s patrons.
In a positive effort at self-improvement, Faraday worked to purge his accent of
Cockney origins. He corresponded with like-minded young men who also sought
to expand their intellectual horizons. He considered science a noble activity and
once wrote: “My desire was to escape from trade, which I thought vicious and
selfish, and to enter into the service of science, which I imagined made its pur
suers amiable and liberal.”
On a long shot, without any introduction, Faraday wrote Sir Humphrey Davy,
the eminent chemist, and enclosed the notes he had taken on Davy’s lectures.
Later, when Davy injured his eyes in an experiment, he sent for Faraday to write
for him and serve as an assistant. From there, Faraday’s rise in the very active
Victorian world of science was swift. By 1813 he had been appointed Chemical
Assistant at the Royal Institution.
By 1835, Faraday was the director of the laboratory at the Royal Institution. He
lived upstairs, having married the daughter of a well-to-do silversmith, and had
his laboratory in the basement. His focus was experimentation and on explaining
to the public the principles governing nature.
In r83i he began research into electromagnetic induction, resulting in a paper
that established his reputation. He published 400 articles and books, including
the monumental Experimental Researches in Electricity.
Scientists in Victorian Britain felt a civic responsibility to use their expertise
for the public good. Faraday made recommendations on railway safety. In his 60s
he traipsed over rocky seacoast terrain to visit lighthouses and study how to
improve their operation. He was called in to investigate a fatal mine explosion.
He tried to improve the quality of steel by making different alloys.
Faraday wasn’t a mathematician, and his experiments did not depend on or
seek to find a mathematical explanation of the world. Faraday belonged to a
strict Christian sect called the Sandemanians. He saw the natural world as
divinely created, and sought the natural laws he felt reflected God’s will.
Maxwell, who later developed the equations that described what Faraday had dis
covered about electromagnetism, called him “The Great Electrical Philosopher.”
M
~BG
is published quarterly by
St. John’s College, Annapolis,
MD and Santa Fe, NM.
Known office of publication:
Public Relations Office
St. John’s College
Box a8oo
Annapolis, MD 21404-2800
Periodicals postage paid
at Annapolis, MD
Send address
changes to The College
Magazine, Public Relations
Office, St. John’s College,
Box a8oo, Annapolis, MD
21404-2800.
postmaster:
Annapolis
410-626-2539
b-goyette@sjca.edu
Barbara Goyette, editor
Sus3an Borden, assistant editor
Jennifer Behrens,
graphic designer
Advisory Board
John Christensen
Harvey Flaumenhaft
Roberta Gable
Katherine Heines
Pamela Kraus
Joseph Macfarland
Eric Salem
Brother Robert Smith
Santa Fe
505-984-6104
classics@mail.sjcsf.edu
Laura J. Mulry, Santa Fe editor
Advisory Board
Alexis Brown
Grant Franks
Robert Glick
David Levine
Margaret Odell
John Rankin
Ginger Roherty
Tahmina Shalizi
Mark St. John
Magazine design by
Claude Skelton Design
�{Contents}
Page Z2i
Commencement 2001
DEPARTMENTS
Elliott Zuckerman delivered a series of
“preludes” for graduates in Annapolis; in
Santa Fe, Cornel West urged graduates to
challenge the assumptions of contempo
rary mass culture.
Page
2, FROM THE BELL towers
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
z6
Sophomore Seminar
Forever
All Johnnies have wrestled with the
questions about faith, suffering, God,
and mortality. But some alumni, whether
by conviction or vocation, live in a world
where theology is more than a speculative
study.
Faraday, the Experimenter
Balkcom Inauguration invitation
Liberty Tree clones
New dean and GI director appointments
McDowell’s facelift
Poetry Slam highlights
Philanthropia news
The studs of St. John’s
Mortimer Adler, an appreciation
II ALUMNI VOICES
•
Marx Redux
36 ALUMNI NOTES
ALUMNI
PROFILES
38 Barbara Rogan (SF73) is a novelistshe can’t help writing
Page 2/0
31 Robert Bienenfeld (SF80) markets
tomorrow’s cars today
Rousseau and Realpolitik
33 Tia Pausic (A86), a lawyer by training,
works to build democracy in Croatia
Five alumni in the world of politics discuss
how the political philosophy on the pro
gram relates to the issues they deal with in
their professional lives.
36 Catherine Allen (A69), a cultural
anthropologist, focuses on the people
of the Andes
Page 28
40 LETTERS
It Takes Two Villages
41 OBITUARIES
Timothy Miller considers what it means
to learn in a community in his Dean’s
Statement.
•
43 HISTORY
•
Page /j-6
Nick Maistrellis on Leo Raditsa (page 43)
The colorful past of Hunt House
PAGE 46
43 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Say It Isn’t So
What happened to St. John’s domination
in croquet?
ON THE COVER
Michael Faraday.
Illustration by DavidJohnson.
•
Finding lost alumni
•
Welcoming new alumni
•
Amendment procedures
48 ST. John’s forever
�2.
{From
the
Bell Towers}
The Experimenter as
Entertainer
Michael Faraday was more than “the great
electricalphilosopher. ”
Who would think the burning of
an ordinary candle a fascinating
subject of study? Michael Faraday
did, and his lecture on the topicoriginally delivered for childrenwas re-created this spring at a
conference on Faraday held in
Annapolis. “There is not a law
under which any part of this uni
verse is governed which does not
come into play, and is not touched
upon, in these phenomena,”
wrote Faraday in the introduction
to his lecture “The Chemical His
tory of the Candle.”
Grant Franks (A78), a tutor in
Santa Fe, donned the garb of a
nineteenth century gentieman
scientist (a suit put together by
his wife, based on a pattern for an
Abe Lincoln Halloween
costume) and grew three
month’s worth of side
burns in order to play
Faraday. His demonstra
tions performed in front of a
crowd of students, faculty, visi
tors, and children kicked off the
three-day conference. Franks-asFaraday showed how a candle
forms a cup for the melted wax,
how capillary attraction occurs as
a candle burns, how a candle’s
vapor is combustible even after
the flame is blown out, why a can
dle flame is brightest at the top
and darker toward the bottom,
and how tongues of flame differ
from a single candle flame,
among other things.
Learn
ing the
hues to the
talk was
the easy
part. More
challeng
ing was
assembling
the props.
“Finding
different
kinds of
candles,
shaping the glass tubes, practic
ing the technique of piping gas
out of a flame, figuring out how
much copper chloride to add to
the alcohol to make a green
flame-it involved a lot of
STUFF,” says Franks. Faraday
dehvered public lectures, not in
an academic setting but at the
Royal Institution. The lab where
he carried out his own experi
ments was in the basement.
“Faraday is important because he
learns about the world by manipu
lating it with his hands, not by
casting it into algebraic forms
that he can play with on a black
board,” says Franks. “Of course,
no scientist is obhvious to experi
mental results, but Faraday is
especially wonderful in the way
his thoughts take physical form in
the apparatus he builds.” Faraday
understood the idea that there
can be some show business in science-“Faraday was, among other
things, the precursor of Mr. Wiz
ard and of Bin Nye the Science
Guy,” says Franks.
The conference (sponsoredby
the Dibner Fund) focused on two
issues: How does experiment lead
one to knowledge of nature, and
how can such knowledge be made
accessible to others, especially to
non-scientists. Faraday is particu
larly apt as a focus for these ques
tions, says Annapolis tutor
Howard Fisher, one of the confer
ence organizers. While Faraday’s
Experimental Researches in Elec-
Santa Fe tutor Grant Franks,
FaRADAY,
PLAYING THE PART OF
demonstrates the characteris
tics OF flames.
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
tricity is read in junior lab and
several of his experiments on
electromagnetism and electro
magnetic fields are performed,
his method of thinking and his
approach to experimentation are
themselves worthy of investiga
tion and thought. The confer
ence’s keynote lecture was dehv
ered by tutor emeritus Thomas
Simpson (A50) on the topic “Was
Faraday a Mathematician?” Other
lecturers included David Good
ing, from the University of Bath
(U.K.), Frank James, from the
Royal Institution of Great Britain,
and Ryan Tweney, from Bowling
Green State University. In addi
tion to the lectures and the candle
demonstration, the conference
featured a roundtable discussion
of Faraday’s “Lecture on Mental
Education” and some student
demonstrations of classic Faraday
experiments.
Faraday, whom Maxwell called
“the great electrical philoso
pher,” has been studied at St.
John’s for more than 30 years; a
part of his 7th series on electro
chemical equivalents was done in
senior lab and small segments of
the nth series on induction in
junior lab. About four years ago,
Annapohs adopted the Santa Fe
manual for junior lab electricity
and magnetism, which included
much more generous portions of
both Faraday and Maxwell, who
developed the mathematical
equations for the phenomena of
electromagnetism that Faraday
showed. A book by Howard Fish
er, Faraday’s Experimental
Researches in Electricity: Guide to
a Eirst Reading, has just been
published by Green Lion Press
(run by Bill Donahue, A67, and
Dana Densmore, A65, SFGI93);
Green Lion has also just come out
with a three-volume reprint of
Faraday’s Experimental Research
es in Electricity.
“The conference was a great
delight,” says Fisher. “I saw
again, first hand, how deeply
Faraday’s way of pursuing a ques
tion resonates with ordinary read
ers who respect a natural clarity
in the things around them.”
�{From the Bell Towers}
Balkcom Inauguration
Set for September
All St. John’s College alumni are
invited to attend the inaugura
tion of John E. Balkcom as Santa
Fe’s fifth president. Events will
take place on Friday and Satur
day, September 14 and 15. Dr.
Hanna Holborn Gray, president
emeritus of the University of
Chicago, will give the inaugural
address. Students, faculty, alum
ni, and staff have been working
on committees to organize the
celebration, which wiU include
events for all segments of the
college community. The theme
“Inviting Conversations” was
developed to capture a sense of
Mr. Balkcom’s vision for his
Liberty Tree
Lives On?
When the Liberty Tree suc
cumbed to damage from Hurri
cane Floyd in the fall of 1999,
lovers of the tree took heart in
the fact that there were several
offspring: a seedling planted
across front campus, in front of
what is now the Greenfield
Library, by the Daughters of the
American Revolution in 1889 is
now a very large tree; a Liberty
Tree descendant from a seed
hatching project begun by the
Caritas Society in 1975 thrives
on the grounds of the U.S. Capi
tol; and some crack scientists at
the University of Maryland are
working on cloning the Liberty
Tree using shoots taken from
the tree’s new growth just
months before the hurricane.
Now it seems that the baby
Liberty Tree on the Capitol
grounds may be endangered
itself. A plan to expand the Capi
tol building with the construc
presidency: a commitment to the
program, including his intention
to further relations within the
college community and expand
relationships with those who are
unfamiliar with the college.
On September 14, students,
faculty, and staff will launch the
weekend with a picnic on the
soccer field, followed by an all
college Chicago-style softball
game (an athletic challenge that
resembles “mush ball”). On Fri
day evening, inaugural guests
and college community mem
bers will join with the Santa Fe
community for a performance at
the newly renovated Lensic Per
tion of a visitors cen
ter calls for the Lib
erty offspring, along
with 83 other trees
that have national
significance (some
planted by Congress
men to honor people
or events important
in their state’s histo
ry) to be cut down.
The tree, planted in
1978 by Maryland’s
then-senator,
Charles McC. Math
ias, is now 40 feet
high, with a trunk
that is almost ao
inches in diameter.
Because the tree is
so large, moving it
would be expensive and perhaps
fatal. However, after a couple of
articles in the Washington Post
and the Baltimore Sun reported
on its fate, the Liberty progeny
suddenly appeared on the list of
trees slated to be moved rather
than chopped. Rebecca Wilson,
former public relations director
at St. John’s and the planner of
forming Arts Center in down
town Santa Fe. Students and
alumni, in addition to profes
sional musicians, will perform in
honor of the occasion.
There will be an Inaugural
Breakfast for guests of
the college and dele
gates from distinquished liberal arts
institutions on Satur
day morning, followed
by the official Inaugu
ration at IO a.m. on
Meem Library Placita.
Immediately after the
3
installation of Mr. Balkcom, a
reception will take place on the
Upper Placita. Saturday evening,
the festivities will conclude with
a Student and Alumni Waltz
Party in the Great Hall. 4-
John Balkcom will
BECOME Santa Fe’s fifth
PRESIDENT IN AN INAUGU
RATION THAT CELEBRATES
THE
St. John’s Program.
''The clones
have been
recalcitrant to
rootformation
...bittwehaveni
given up.''
The Liberty Tree, ca. 1955.
WILL ITS OFFSPRING SURVIVE?
the Liberty Tree seedling project
in the 1970s, expressed dismay
about the transplanting. “I don’t
think it can survive the move,”
she told the Baltimore Sun. She
hopes instead that the design of
the visitors center can be
{The College- St. John’s College • Summer 2001 }
modified to save the trees.
As for the clones, Gary Cole
man, a University of Maryland
professor who took cuttings of
Liberty Tree shoots, says in an email that he is still working on
the project. “We have estab
lished tissue cultures and have
managed to increase the number
of cultured shoots through this
process. Although this is good
news, the clones have been very
recalcitrant to root formation,”
he says. “We haven’t given up
and will continue until we suc
ceed.” 4-
�{From the Bell Towers}
New
Appointments
FOR Dean,
GI Directors
Bill Pastille GI Director, Annapolis
What qualifies
a tutor to lead
the Graduate
Institute?
Annapolis
tutor Bill
Pastille has one
idea: “An
advanced sense
of not knowing anything.” As he
begins his three-year term as
Director of the Annapolis Gradu
ate Institute this summer, Pastille
discusses his Socratic take on life:
“Socrates has become more and
more understandable to me, his
repeated refrain: I know that I
don’t know. People either regard
that statement as a sham, false
modesty, or they try to take it seri
ously,” Pastille says. “Socrates
seems to know all the answers,
but the more I live with him, the
more I see it’s just a simple
human truth. We’re constantly
pretending to ourselves that we
know something so that we’U have
something to hang onto.”
Pastille earned a BA in music
from Brown University and an MA
and PhD in musicology from Cor
nell University. He became a tutor
in 1986 and served as assistant
dean from 1994 to 1996.
It’s entirely likely that Gradu
ate Institute students share
Pastille’s sense of not knowing.
Outgoing Director Michael Dink
has recently written that they are
in some sense more self-selected
than undergraduates because
“they have decided that they are
in need of a liberal education
when they had passed the stage of
life when such a need is often con
ceded, if not heartily endorsed, by
common opinion.”
By SusgAN Borden (A87)
Frank Pagano GI Director, Santa Fe
As the newly appointed director
of the Graduate Institute, Frank
Pagano has struggled with the
question: what is an administra
tor? Undoubtedly the title brings
with it a slew of managerial mess
es, loads of paperwork, and tons
of added concerns. But Mr.
Pagano, like many tutors, looks
beyond the trifling details to the
heart of his job. He believes the
role of the administrator is to
“think about how to keep the pro
gram alive,” and to work to main
tain the integrity of the program.
Before joining the faculty at St.
John’s, Mr. Pagano taught at the
University of New England. Class
es geared towards professional
training began to replace the lib
eral arts focus of the college, and
the emphasis placed on grades
reminded him to appreciate the
importance of a liberal education.
It should come as no surprise,
then, that Mr. Pagano views his
move to St. John’s, “where the
grades were not paramount,” as
the beginning of a “second life.”
But this was not his only “sec
ond life.” Along with marrying
tutor Janet Dougherty and father
ing two children, Rachel and Ron,
Mr. Pagano counts his work with
the Eastern Classics among his
life-changing experiences. Teach
ing classes in both Chinese and
Ancient Greek have illustrated for
him the uniqueness of both intel
lectual traditions. Yet, he sees a
startfing similarity between the
Chinese and the Hellenic views of
history, and he understands this
similarity as a “point of contact”
despite their differences. While
on sabbatical, Mr. Pagano pre
pared two lectures on Herodotus’
Histories, and the past fall semes
ter he led a preceptorial on Sima
Qian’s The Records ofthe Grand
Historian. Studying these two
eminent historians has provided
him time to reflect on the nature
of historical thought and how it is
capable of traversing the wide gap
that distinguishes Eastern and
Western culture.
Mr. Pagano sees this sort of
inquiry as crucial to the life of the
graduate program. In his eyes.
Eastern Classics provides an
excellent complement to studies
in Western tradition. It helps stu
dents discover, through another
cultural perspective, “how human
beings choose to live their lives.”
Students in the Graduate Institute
in Liberal Education also apply
themselves to the study of this
question, but within the context
of their own cultural heritage.
Mr. Pagano understands that by
keeping the idea of their “point of
contact” active, he keeps the two
halves of the Graduate Instituteand the study of their distinctive
programs-vigorous and alive.
By John McCarthy (SFoz)
David Levine Dean, Santa Fe
David Levine (A67), appointed
dean in Santa Fe this spring,
brings to the office the experience
of being a Johnnie himself. He
feels he knows what it means to be
on the other side of the desk, and
often tries to view his administra
tive tasks from the perspective of
a student. That knowledge cou
pled with 15 years of teaching
experience, including holding the
positions of assistant dean and the
director of the Graduate Institute,
prepare him for the role of dean.
His academic career was not
always aimed straight for the
office of the dean, or St. John’s
College for that matter. He spent
his first year of undergraduate
work at the University of Pennsyl
vania, and it was not until he
encountered that “sting ray” of a
philosopher, Socrates, that he
made a move for St. John’s. “Plato
(The College ■ St. John's College ■ Summer sooi }
“Should the dean wear jeans?”
GI Director Frank Pagano
(left) and Dean David Levine
(right) address all manner of
QUESTIONS IN THEIR NEW ROLES.
ruined my medical career,” he
says. Mr. Levine also had no idea
when he was a student that he
would ever become a tutor. After
completing his graduate work at
Pennsylvania State University,
and while he was teaching at the
University of Oklahoma, he
received a call from the dean’s
office offering him a position on
the Santa Fe campus. He accepted
because he knew that the interac
tion with colleagues and students
would be of a high caliber at St.
John’s.
He has thoroughly enjoyed the
teaching side of the St. John’s
experience, and is ready to meet
the challenges associated with
being dean. In that role he must
address a variety of questions and
demands, everything from
“Should the dean wear jeans?”
(Mr. Levine sports denim rehgiously) to decisions about faculty
employment. He sees his new role
as an opportunity to become more
involved with student life by meet
ing with organizations such as the
Graduate Institute Council, the
Student Polity, the Student
Review Board, and the MoonTag,
and by eating in the dining hall
more often. In support of stu
dents and the importance of their
opinions in the decisions of the
college, Mr. Levine would like to
see the Student Committee on
Instruction re-instated. 4"
By John McCarthy (SFoi)
�{From
the
Bell Towers}
Of
Bricks
AND
Mortar
Venerable McDow
ell Hall is covered
with a fretwork of
scaffolding this
summer, as the
exterior of the 259year-old building
undergoes a reno
vation. Workers
from the A.J.
Marani Company
and Coastal Exteri
ors in Baltimore
are cleaning the
brick, chipping out
deteriorated grout,
and putting in new grout (22
tons of it) where necessary. The
cupola, whose tin roof had devel
oped several leaks, is being re
roofed with lead-coated copper.
Begun as the governor’s man
sion for the colonial head of the
Maryland colony in 1742, the
building was abandoned before
being completed because of a
dispute between governor
Thomas Bladen and the legisla
ture, which thought his original
plan for the house too
grandiose-£3000 for a house
with a central three stories and
single-story wings extending to
each side, a colonnade of pillars,
and on the inside marble floors
and elaborate woodworking.
When St. John’s was chartered in
1784, the state gave the building
to the college. By 1789, the first
classes were being taught in it.
As late as 179a the college’s
Board was stiU petitioning the
General Assembly for funds to
complete the hall. Until the mid1800S McDowell (named for the
college’s first president) served
every function on campus-it was
the only classroom building,
dormitory, dining hall, and pro
fessors’ quarters (the hbrary
Draped in plastic
sheets and
COVERED WITH A FRETWORK OF
SCAFFOLDING, McDoWELL GETS A
FACELIFT.
hved in the octagon room under
the cupola). During the Civil
War, McDowell became the
headquarters of the Union Army
Medical Corps, which used the
college as a hospital for
exchanged prisoners.
On February 20,1909,
McDowell was gutted by a fire
which began in the cupola and
destroyed much of the front of
the building. At the time
St. John’s had compulsory mili
tary training and ammunition
was stored in the basement, but
students managed to remove it
before fire caused an explosion.
The building was rebuilt accord
ing to its original design. A com
plete interior renovation in 1989
reconfigured former administra
tive offices on the first floor into
classrooms and included modern
heating and air conditioning.
Repointing the brick this sum
mer proved somewhat controver
sial with the Annapolis preserva
tion community, some of whom
felt that grout hke the original
(made from lime and
oyster shells) should
be used, rather than
the cement and lime
compound proposed
by the contractors.
After a review by the
Annapohs Preserva
tion Commission,
the contractors’
methods were
approved. “This
building was con
structed in several
phases over a period
of many years,” notes
John Christensen,
the Annapohs admis
sions director who
has written a book
about the architec
ture and history of
McDowell. “Its brick
and the mortar hold
ing it together are of
different kinds. So
this careful restoration is impor
tant because it will ensure the
building lasts another 250
years.”
Tutor ExtraCURRICULARS
Peter Kalkavage, a tutor in
Annapolis, has a new transla
tion of Plato’s Timeaus out. It’s
published by Focus Press . . .
Annapolis tutor Amirthanayagam David (A86) has a
lecture “ ‘I Know Thee Not, Old
Man’: The Renunciation of Falstaff’ published by the Universi
ty of Chicago Press as a part of
his teacher David Grene’s
festschrift. Literary Imagina
tion, Ancient and Modern:
Essays in Honor ofDavid
Grene.. .Annapolis tutor emeri
tus Curtis Wilson is the author
of a chapter called “Newton on
the Moon’s Variation and Apsidal Motion; The Need for a
Newer ‘New Analysis’” in the
new book, Isaac Newton’s Natur
al Philosophy, published by
MIT.. .Santa Fe tutor emeritus
{The College. St. John's College • Summer 2001 }
5
Charles Bell is featured in two
recently published books by New
York photographer Mariana
Cook. The first. Couples: Speak
ingfrom the Heart, shows Mr.
Bell with his wife, Diana Bell. In
the second. Fathers and Daugh
ters, he is with his daughter Carola. . .Annapolis tutor Andre
Barbera has recently published
articles in The New Grove Dic
tionary ofMusic and Musicians,
Macmillan Publishers; “George
Gershwin and Jazz” in The
Gershwin Style: New Looks at
the Music of George Gershwin,
Oxford University Press; and
biographies of Aaron Thibeaux
(T-bone) Walker and Dianah
(Ruth Lee Jones) Washington in
American National Biography,
Oxford University Press...
Annapolis tutor Adam
Schulman’s book review oIAll
Shook Up by Carson Holloway
appeared in the Wall Street Jour
nal in March. The book’s subject
is the potentially destructive
effects of popular music.. .Santa
Fe tutor William Alba is run
ning the Bard Writing and
Thinking Workshop in Santa Fe
this summer. The workshop,
sponsored by Bard College, is for
high school students interested
in creative writing. Mr. Alba has
also started a publishing compa
ny, Pulley Press, specializing in
small runs of books that are chal
lenging to print. The hrst book
is An Oz Album, a collection of
visual poetry related both to
Dorothy’s journey in Oz in
search of a way home and to a
person’s hfe in Chicago in search
of love.. .Annapohs tutor Eva
Brann’s new book. The Ways of
Naysaying, has been pubhshed
by Rowman & Littlefield. It’s the
third part of a trilogy that
includes The World ofthe Imam
nation: Sum and Substance and
What, Then, Is Time?. ..
Annapolis tutor Jim Beall had
articles pubhshed in Proceedings,
the U.S. Naval Institute, “Tech
nology Policy and Military
Readiness at the Dawn of the
Millennium” and “Restore the
Focus on Technology.”
�6
{From the Bell Towers}
Franz Strum
Slammin’
Stanzas
(SF04) delivers
VERSE AS PERFORMANCE ART IN THE
FIRST ANNUAL POETRY
In celebration of National Poet
ry Month, Meem Library and
the Bookstore in Santa Fe spon
sored the campus’ first annual
poetry slam in April. Poetry
slams make a competitive art of
performance poetry. Partici
pants are judged on both the
content of their poems and the
quality of their performances.
The most exciting performers
interact with their audiences,
and the structure of a slamwith poets advancing in the
rounds according to their judged
scores-depends on the performer-to-audience and audience-to performer relationship.
At the St. John’s slam, a panel of
judges from the college commu
nity that included tutor David
Carl, library staff member Tim
Taylor, and junior Paul Obrecht
rated the 15 high-energy contest
ants on their delivery, content,
form, and style.
The poets exhibited great
variety in form, style, and above
all-content. From haiku to
blank verse to pure rampage,
the contestants never let the
audience’s attention waiver. Not
for a second. The contestants
were students, freshmen to sen
My Lady’s Blancmange
(3poem by winning slammer Mirabai Knight, SF02)
iors, with one lone, brave tutor
(William Alba). The rounds
were fast-paced and fun. The
decisions about who should go
on to the next round and who
should join the audience were
difficult indeed. Mr. Carl said he
was “impressed with the virtu
osity and level of skill” of the
poets. The first place winner
was Mirabai Knight, a junior.
Knight proved herself a true
actress: with each poem she
changed her stance, her accent,
and her tone.
—Marika Brussel
Ye Gods! Her smile, a tender eel
whose spark and sinew strike the fray
of pallid, melancholy meal
awash in jellied consomme.
The ringlets twining ‘twixt her thumbs
along a swathed stretch of brow,
beneath which Thought’s Dark Lantern hums and sput
ters rich, (as per allow)
the treacle-coats of mallow, ripe
until they wither, sweet and spenthut yet they wax, as folds of tripe
unfurl to zaftig firmament!
The pearly spiralling within,
whose snares admit of no escape,
the slumb’ring lips and sinking chin,
the ridge of silk, the sulk of nape...
My bosom fluttersOh, my soul!
Would that her ochre eyes were mine,
and intermittent brilliance
through a patient augure’s agar shine.
Student
ExtraCURRICULARS
On campus, they are united by a
single program. Off campus,
their interests are as numerous
as the entries in the Lidell-Scott
Lexicon. Here’s a quick look at
what Johnnies are doing off-campus these days.
Ellie Kocezela (SF04) and
Erin Hanlon (SF04) traveled to
Nashville, Tenn, to attend the
aooi Amnesty International
Annual General Meeting as rep
resentatives the SJCSF Amnesty
group. They spent three days
attending panel discussions and
participating in breakout ses
{The College- St. John’s College ■ Summer sooi }
SlAM.
sions as they looked for ideas to
make the campus group more
effective.
Adriana de Julio (SFoi) has
won a one-year fellowship with
the National Institutes of Health
to conduct cancer research and
Susannah Daniels (SFoi) has a
conservation internship at El
Malpais National Monument in
Grants, N.M. Philip Bolduc
(SFoi), Brian Ballentine (SFoi),
Karen Gosta (SFoi), and Justin
Kray (SFoi) have internships to
teach English in France through
the French Department of Edu
cation.
Elizabeth Royal (Aoi) will
spend two weeks this summer at
the Claremont Institute, a con
servative think tank, as a Pub
lius Fellow. She will attend semi
nars on political philosophy and
the American political tradition,
contemporary political issues,
and political rhetoric and writ
ing.
Among the 18 Annapolis stu
dents pursuing Hodson Trust
internships this summer are
Randy Pennell (A02), interning
with the Philadelphia ybers;
Hannah Ireland (Aoi), working
with a documentary production
company; Lydia Frewen (Aoa),
learning to make violin bows at
the University of New Hamp
shire; and Peter Heyneman
(A02), attending the Sewanee
Writers’ Conference.
�{From the Bell Towers}
Phoning for Philanthropia
Tuition only covers about 75% of
what it costs to educate students
at St. John’s. The rest comes
from the endowment andfrom
contributions to the Annual
Fund. Phonathons are part of
the story behind those contribu
tions.
Q: You throw a phonathon and
who shows up?
A: In the case of St. John’s, 33
alumni from classes spanning 48
years, from Everett Wilson (A56)
to Hayden Brockett (A04).
Q: And just what does everyone
do (besides making phone calls)?
A: Eat dinner and compete for
prizes for the most donations
and the most new donors (the
phone calls involve chatting with
alumni, outlining the college’s
needs, and asking for $$$).
Q: So where do you throw that
phonathon?
A: In Annapolis, it’s the Conver
sation Room-where else? In
Santa Fe, it’s the Senior Com
mon Room.
Q: And who sits where?
A: Interestingly enough, says
advancement officer Mary Sim
mons, at the Annapolis
phonathon the very youngest
and very oldest choose to sit
right next to each other. It’s a
Alumni phoning alumni;
EFFECTIVE FUNDRAISING AND
SUCCESSFUL FUN.
social event that brings alumni
together for a good cause.
Simmons reports that the
spring phonathon, held May 15,
was a success. In Annapolis, ao
volunteers made 619 calls, rais
ing $r6,arr.5o from 149 donors.
Among the donors, 63 were
making their first gifts to the
Annual Fund. In Santa Fe, 13
volunteers made 38a calls rais
ing over $4aoo (gifts are still
coming in). Of Santa Fe’s 59
phonathon donors, aa were
making their first gifts. These
high proportions of first-time
donors are particularly satisfying
to members of Philanthropia,
the alumni organization dedicat
ed to fundraising among fellow
alumni. While Philanthropia’s
goal is to increase alumni finan
cial support to the college, it’s
not just the number of dollars
they want to increase. The num
ber of donors counts too; foun
dation and corporate support is
often linked to the percentage of
alumni who donate.
Ginger Roherty, Director of
the Annual Fund for the Santa
Fe campus, is a fan of the
phonathon approach. “There is
a tremendous synergy when
phonathons are conducted
around seminar tables and there
is a great sense of everyone
working toward a common
goal,” she says. “Everyone is
truly having a good time and
enjoying each other’s company.”
Phonathons are one tactic
Philanthropia employs to
involve alum
ni in financial
support for
the college.
They also
solicit alumni
with bro
chures and
letters and
they organize
reunion class
es to focus on
social events.
7
cyber-networking,
3,035,763
Dollars given by Alumni
and giving.
FYOl
Annapolis cam
pus vice president
2,083,984*
Jeff Bishop says that
1,953,944
FYOO
Philanthropia
1,520,683 FY99
expects to meet its
FY98
goal of a ten-percent
increase in alumni
participation in the
Annual Fund.
“We’re laying the
groundwork for the
plus $5,000,000 from the estate of Paul Mellon
future of the col
lege,” he says.
2,187
Number of
“More young alum
pYQj
Alumni Gifts
FYOO ■
ni are becoming
1,710
acquainted with
FY99
Philanthropia and
FY98H
recognizing the col
lective power of the
number of gifts
given to St. John’s.”
Before the creation
of Philanthropia,
alumni giving was
around 20%, well
below the median of
other small liberal
arts colleges, which
garet Odell (SGI97), Rachel
is 44%. “Today, we’re up to 25%,
O’Keefe (A82), John Oosterhout
with reunion classes making the
(A5r), John Wood (SFoi), Elaine
biggest improvements, now up to
Coleman Pinkerton (SGI88), and
30%. “While we have a long way
Inga Waite (SF87).
to go,” says Bishop, “we feel
Philanthropia’s leadership
confident that someday we will
recently
changed. Leslie Jump
get there.”
(A84) is the new chair of Philan
Philanthropia wants to thank
thropia. Other members of the
the phonathon volunteers,
Steering Committee are Amber
including Mary Pat Justice
Boydstun
(SFpp-overseeing “spir
(SGI71), Katherine Haas (A60),
it” activities), Eloise Collingwood
Merle Maffei (AGI86), Harry
(A79-overseeing communica
Zolkower (A82), Chris Olson
tions),
Brett Heavner ( ABp-over(A78), Thea DelBalzo (AGIoi),
seeing
the
reunion class leaders),
Rosamond Rice (AGI81), Karen
Marta Lively (A78-at large), Paula
Salem (A76), Everett Wilson
Maynes (SF77-overseeingpoh(A56),Tom Tandaric (A98), Pilar
cy/membership), Becca Michael
Wyman (A86), Tim Pomarole
(A97-overseeing strategy), and
(A98), Steve Wilson (AGI99),
Amy Thurston (A95-overseeing
Jim Heyssel (A84), Hayden
events/phonathons). -ijiBrockett (A04), Isadora Sageng
(A03), Stephen Steim (A03),
Stephanie Porcaro (A03), Brooke
Lee (A03), Gin Behrends
(AGI90), Anne Ferro (A80), Joni
Arends (SF89), Carisa Armen
dariz (SF99), Claiborne Booker
(A84), Kit Brewer (SGI98), Alex
is Brown (SFoo), Peter Dwyer
(A86), Geri Glover (SF80), Mar
{The College -St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
Philanthropia seeks volunteer help
from all alumni who want topar
ticipate, whether in a small or
large role. Ifyou ’re interested,
please call or e-mail Maggie Griffin
in Annapolis: 410-626-2534,
m-griffin@sjca.edu or Ginger
Roherty in Santa Fe: 5O5-g84-6og<).
�8
The Studs of
St. John’s
Ostensibly as a fundraiser (but
primarily for the novelty value)
several juniors in Santa Fe cre
ated the wildly popular “Studs
of St. John’s” calendar. Featur
ing the 15 most macho men per
suaded to pose for a project ini
tially dismissed as a dubious
attempt to raise money, the cal
endar turned out to be a raging
success. While this “success”
was mostly realized in terms of
school-wide interest rather
than fiscal returns (due to con
fused leadership and poor
financial forecasting), the
entire project served Santa Fe
well. It’s not every year that the
campus is hit with a Studs calendar-and despite the lack of a
precedent, the outrageous pic
tures amused all those exposed
to the handsome visages and
physiques displayed in the cal
endar.
The project was conceived to
finance the so-called Junior
Block Party, another first for
Santa Fe. The block party-held
on a pleasant sunny day in
May-featured live music, a bar
becue, outdoor games, much
{From
the
Bell Towers}
lounging in the sun, the third
annual women’s arm wrestling
contest, and kegs of beer to help
facilitate the atmosphere. The
block party, financed by pre-pro
duction sale of the calendars,
treated all to a good time and
lived up to its expectations.
Unfortunately, with a business
plan that drew on the dot-com
legacy, the calendar’s start-up
money got spent on the party
and there were no funds left to
produce the calendar. After
many rounds of creative negoti
ations with several businesses in
Santa Fe and a few helpful mem
bers of the St. John’s adminis
tration, the calendar was pro
duced at a cost far below initial
expectations-with photos of
superb quality and ridiculous
content.
—BY John
Rankin,
SFoa
Greatest Hits (in Russian)
Valery Serdyukov (left),
the governor of Leningrad, recently
LiSA RICHMOND (RIGHT),
PRESENTED A GIFT OF 30 RUSSIAN BOOKS TO
GrEENFIELD LIBRARY AS BuD BiLLUPS, COLLEGE
ThE BOOKS INCLUDED WORKS BY ToLSTOY, DoSTOEVSKi, Chekhov, and Pushkin, The governor was in Annapolis to
SIGN A TRADE AGREEMENT WITH PaRRIS GlENDENING, GOVERNOR OF
Maryland, and expressed an interest in donating books to a local
COLLEGE. The Russian classics found a home with the other
“greats” at the St. John’s library.
LIBRARIAN AT THE
A point of history: As John
Rankin points out, it’s not every
year that the college is hit with a
Studs calendar. But such an
event did happen at least once
before-in Annapolis in 1987,
when Ben Birauss (A88) pro
duced “The Men of St. John’s.”
Drawing on the non-PC transla
tion of the college motto “I
make free men out of boys by
means of books and a balance,”
TREASURER, LOOKED ON.
the calendar featured comely
men posing in St. John’s-esque
situations: Krauss in front of
the pendulum pit mural, Steve
Hulbert (A87) in the King
William Room, Chandran
Madhu (A88) in front of an
Apollonius proof, Mark Shiffman (A89) at the switchboard,
Jeff Kojak (A89) at the plane
tarium, Andre Wakefield (A87)
in a music room, Scott
Vineberg (A88) near the French
Monument, Toby Barlow (SF88)
in a Humphreys bathroom,
Vince Pruden (SF89) in the art
gallery. Matt Krawiec (A88) at
the boat house, John Lavery
(A87) in the weight room, and
John Pronko (A90) in the con
versation room.
La plus qA change;
St. John’s studs in
aooi and 1987.
{The College - Si. John’s College • Summer 2001 }
�9
{From the Bell Towers}
Mutant Gene
Discovery
When Marc Priest (Aoi) began
an internship at the National
Institute of Allergies and Infec
tious Diseases during the sum
mer before his senior year, he
thought he’d be learning some
lab techniques and helping out
with minor projects. Instead, he
discovered a gene mutation that
was causing a i6-month-old
patient to be particularly suscep
tible to common bacterial infec
tions that most people fight off
with no trouble.
Under the direction of Dr.
Steve Holland (A79), Priest set
out to find what was causing the
patient’s interferon gamma
receptor-alpha
deficiency. They
knew that a gene
mutation pre
vented the
receptor from
processing a
chemical that is
essential to the
functioning of
the body’s
immune system.
He isolated the
gene, cloned it,
and then com
pared it to normal genes to
locate the mutation. Priest
found that both the child and his
mother had a deletion on the
gene that acts as a chemical
receptor for the immune sys
tem’s pathway. “After I found
the mutation I met with the
Marc Priest, shown
AT GRADUATION WITH
President Nelson,
LOCATED A GENE MUTA
TION THAT CAN AFFECT
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.
patient and his mom,” says
Priest. “I explained to her that
the child’s condition was treat
able. This was certainly gratify
ing.” Treatment consisted of
injecting double the amount of
the chemical that cannot be uti-
barred, music-wise)
Annapolis Homecoming 2001 . The
traditional Saturday
Take a handful of Annapolis
alumni and ask them which
building, Mellon or McDowell, is
closer to the heart and soul of the
college. Only the incorrigible
will say Mellon. Yet Mellon’s FSK
lobby has been the site of all
Homecoming registrations in
recent memory as well as the big
Saturday evening cocktail party,
when the acoustically
challenged room
echoes with a din ren
dering individual
words inaudible.
This year we say,
“Enough of this.”
Homecoming (Sep
tember 28-30) will at
last reflect the fond
feehngs of alumni for
McDowell, with regis
tration moved to the
cozy quarters of the
Coffee Shop and the
cocktail party moved
to the Great Hall and
the first and second
floor classrooms.
Other decidedly non-lobby
events will include:
• A career panel, both for cur
rent students and job-chang
ing alumni
• Two rock parties, one Friday
night in the boathouse (all
seventies music, sans disco),
one Saturday night in the
Coffee Shop (no holds
night waltz party in the
Great Hall
Seminars running the gamut
from Plato to Emerson,
from Robert Frost to Chfford Geertz, from Shake
speare to Toni Morrison,
with a seminar on Harry
Potter for children
Reunion dinners, picnics,
croquet games, and
cocktail parties, for
reunion classes 1936,
1941,1946, '95>-1956,
1961,1966,1971,1976,
1981,1986,1991, and
1996
• The Special Meeting
of the Alumni Associa
tion, where Nancy
Lewis, John Moore and
Beate Ruhm Von
Oppen will be made
Honorary Alumni
“Essay Conference” by
Jo Ann Mattson, A(i7
{The College- St. John’s College - Summer 2001 }
lized because of the
missing gene. “This
particular deletion
occurs in only one out
of 200,000 patients,
but it is significant to
study it. Looking at
the few that are with
out the receptors in
their immune system pathways
helps us to understand how the
pathways work. This helps us
understand how to help normal
people who are susceptible to
such bacteria as tuberculosis,”
he says.
• The Saturday night Homecoming banquet, where Tom
Williams (A51) and Warren
Spector (A81) will receive
the Alumni Association
Award of Merit
• The Soccer Classic, with the
alumni rarin’ to avenge last
year’s loss to the students
• The Homecoming auto
graph party, with alumni
and faculty authors signing
books ranging from western
novels to translations of
Aristotle and Plato
• Sunday brunch at the home
of President Christopher B.
Nelson (SF70)
The Homecoming lecture Fri
day night will be dehvered by
Abraham Schoener (A82), who
will speak on “The Biology of the
Fermentation Vessel.” Before
and after the lecture, students,
faculty and alumni will gather,
yes, in the FSK lobby. Some
things never change. 4"
Contact the Annapolis alumni
office at 410-626-2331 or alumni@sjca.edu to registerfor Homecoming.
�IO
{FromtheBellTowers}
Mortimer J. Adler, An Appreciation
ortimer Adler-a teacher,
author of books that
popularized themes in
philosophy, and compil
er of the Great Books
published by Encyclope
dia Brittanica-died on June 28 in San
Mr. Adler played an important role in
Mateo, Calif., at the age of 98.
the establishment of the St. John’s Pro
gram, of which he was a vigorous support
er over many decades. From the earliest
days of the New Program he visited
St. John’s, both in Annapolis and Santa Fe,
many times to lecture and to meet with fac
ulty and students. He was an articulate
spokesman for liberal education and for
the reading and discussion of great books
as central and fundamental to it. Along
with such colleagues as Scott Buchanan,
Stringfellow Barr, Mark Van Doren,
Richard McKeon, and Robert Hutchins,
he made a major contribution to the estab
lishment of great books programs not only
in Annapolis and Santa Fe but also in
New York, in Chicago, and all across the
country.
In the more than three dozen books that
Mortimer Adler wears a crown after being
he wrote, Mr. Adler sought to clarify for a
PROCLAIMED, A LA NaPOLEON, THE HOLY EmPERwide general audience a variety of pro
OR OF THE Western World in the 1992 lec
found philosophic questions illuminated
ture PRANK.
by the study of the greatest authors. His
books included How to Read a Book, How
to Think About War and Peace, The Differ
then went to the University of Chicago as a
ence ofMan and the Difference It Makes,
professor of the philosophy of law.
Aristotlefor Everybody, miHov: to Think
Mortimer Adler did not believe that the
About God.
full exercise of intellect was something for a
Born in New York City, Mr. Adler
small academic elite. In 1946, he joined with
dropped out of De Witt Clinton High
Robert Hutchins to organize a Great Books
School when he was 15, and worked for the
program for the general public and arrange
editor of the New York Sun. Deciding that
for the Encyclopedia Britannica to print a
he wanted to study philosophy, he attended 54-volume set of such books, for which he
Columbia University and completed the
contributed the Syntopicon, a guide to the
course of study, but did not receive a diplo themes, questions, and arguments to be
ma because he refused to take the swim
found in them. In 195a, he organized the
ming test that was a physical education
Institute for Philosophical Research. He was
requirement. Even without his degree,
editor and then chairman of the board of
however, he became an instructor in phi
editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica
losophy, and in 1928 he received his PhD
beginning in the mid-1960s. He organized
(eventually being granted a BA by Colum
and led seminars for executives at the Aspen
bia in 1983.) He did research in psychology
Institute, and initiated the Paideia Project
and taught at Columbia from 1923 to 1930,
to make practice of the liberal arts and dis
M
cussion of great books central to the high
{The College- St. John’s College • Summer 2001 }
school curriculum.
At St. John’s, Mr. Adler is
remembered as an energetic
advocate of studying the great
books and practicing the liberal
arts-one who never stopped ask
ing the big questions, both theo
retical and practical, and who
always relentlessly insisted on
clarity in discussing them. He
showed himself as such a man in
the course of visiting this Col
lege as a lecturer, with undimin
ished vigor, for almost sixty
years. In the early years, his lec
tures were several hours long,
which gave rise to the tradition,
ever since the late 1930s, of
interrupting his talks with a stu
dent prank. Some were simple
like the first, which consisted of
a hall full of alarm clocks which
all began ringing at exactly one
hour into the lecture. Some were
quite elaborate, like the one in
which the curtain opened
behind the lecturer, to reveal a
tableau of students costumed and posi
tioned to resemble the Renaissance painting
“The School of Athens”: there was a Homer
in it, and a Virgil, and a Plato, and the restbut no Aristotle; out came a student, who
placed a wreath on Mr. Adler’s head and
escorted him into the scene, to take the
place of Aristotle. Mr. Adler loved it. He
took the pranks as they were meant to be
taken-as signs of affection and regard for a
man who loved reading hard books, asking
deep questions, clarifying alternative
answers, and making thought make a differ
ence in the world.
Mr. Adler is survived by four sons: Mark,
of Chevy Chase; Michael, of Grand Junc
tion, Colorado; and Douglas and Philip,
both of Chicago.
A memorial will be held for him at 9:00
a.m. on Saturday, September 29, at Homecoming in Annapolis. 4"
—Harvey Flaumenhaft
For a retrospective ofpranks staged during
Mortimer Adler’s lectures, see page 39.
�{Alumni Voices}
MARX REDUX
By Sarah Fridrich, SF99
n the two-year anniversary of my senior oral-on
my essay concerning Karl Marx and his discus
sion of capitalism-I found myself, late at night,
scribbhng a letter in a notebook near my bed
side. It was addressed to Ms. Engel, the chair of
my senior oral committee.
The letter began: “I’ve been
thinking about and slowly sort
ing out what excited me about
Marx’s assessment of capital
ism. Now, I would like to contin
ue the discussion that had only
just begun at the table in Meem
during my oral. You had posed
several questions to me about
my essay. The most troubling
question was about revolution.”
Recent protests at the World
Trade Organization talks in
Quebec, Washington, D.C,, and
Seattle had given me new incen
tive to decipher what Marx was
trying to say about capitalism. The protes
tors questioned whether impacts that world
trade agreements could have on the environ
ment and on the populations and socioeco
nomic stability of developing countries
would be brought to the discussion tables.
Sitting comfortably at my mother’s home
in Annapolis where I grew up, I wondered
why they thought these things. Why did pro
testors believe, even though many of them
had no first-hand proof of it, that certain
issues were not being addressed? Why did
they feel compelled to shout and carry
signs?
It had been five years since I’d participat
ed in similar activities. I’d started a petition
signed by the majority of female students
demanding that the administration permit
us to wear long stockings during the winter
months at our CathoUc high school. I’d
Sarah Fridrich, who currently works in
MARKETING in AnNAPOLIS, WRITES SONGS AND
PERFORMS WITH HER BAND IN HER SPARE TIME.
marched past the White House with a body
of young people shouting to be heard on the
issue of gay rights. I’d made posters and got
petitions signed while shouting for more
culturally diverse faculty and curricula to
serve the needs of a diverse student body at a
small liberal arts college in upstate New
York. Then, in 1994,1 enrolled at St. John’s
and I knew there wouldn’t be shouting, it
wouldn’t be necessary.
I became accustomed to being heard and
having fruitful discussions-in attempts to
figure out what it means to be human-on
topics such as heroism, war, and revenge;
truth, knowledge, and intellect; god, cer
tainty, and morality; rights, givens, and
{The College- St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
assumptions. At times I may have felt like
holding up a sign to get my point across, but
it was never necessary. In silence, I often
learned more. I found that, by listening, I
prepared others to better hear me.
When the discussion turned to Marx’s
essay on alienated labor, I felt compelled to
put some words on paper, but there was still
no need for it to be fluorescent poster board.
In my senior essay, I managed to say a few
things and to clarily what he meant when he
criticized the German Ideologists and when
he talked about the effects of capitalism on
society. But when the hour for the senior
oral was up, it felt like I had just started to
uncover what I needed to know from Marx.
Ms. Engel asked why I thought that non-vio
lent revolution was possible within Marx’s
philosophy. I really didn’t have an answer.
The dilemma highlighted my need to sort
out what Marx said from what Marx had
inspired me to say. This would take much
longer than the weeks we had to write an
essay. Working in the business world after
graduation gave me the opportunity to test
my understanding of the philosophy that
labor in capitalism is a commodity, and that
capital must create more capital.
Two years later, on the couch in my living
room, I wondered if these shouting protes
tors might benefit from a Johnnie-like dis
cussion on Marx’s ideas. Had Marx laid the
foundation for these protests? Did the pro
testors know it? Maybe not. In my letter to
Ms. Engel I submitted: “Much of Marx’s
concern about capitalism was that it dehu
manized common laborers ... Yet in Europe
and America most of those labor issues have
been addressed in the time since Marx
wrote. Might Marx’s insights on capitalism
still shed some light on current issues of
working conditions? Is there a connection
between the globalization of trade and the
nature of capitalism as an ever-expanding
economic system? ... Should I be making
some signs and protesting?” I haven’t felt it
necessary.. .yet.
�{Commencement}
COMMENCEMENT
2001
Ed Moreno (Santa Fe) and
Barbara Goyette (Annapolis)
BY
he
graduating
Mr. Zuckerman attempted to clothe
seniors-95
in
the inevitable graduation bromides in
Annapolis and in
attire appropriate to St. John’s. He said
in Santa Fe-chose
he would present the seniors and mas
as their com
ter’s candidates with seven “preludes,”
mencement
which “have no required form. They may
speakers one each
be perfectly made miniatures; or they
from the two basic
may be mere fragments, famously
pools: tutors at
baffling to the experts.”
the college whose real thoughts they
The subject of the first prelude was the
have been curious about for four years Tutors Peter Pesic and Janet Dougherty
claim that at St John’s, the books are the
CONGRATULATE THE SaNTA Fe GRADUATES.
and “outsiders” who might have
teachers. “It is easy enough for me to
thoughtful words to send them on their
agree with the truism,” he said, “for one
way. In Annapolis, tutor emeritus Elliott
of my own exaggerated opinions about
Zuckerman presented a perfectly constructed, wittily pack
teaching is that all a teacher can do is point to something.
aged set of what he called preludes, while Harvard professor,
Since in the St. John’s seminar the places pointed to are in the
author, and lecturer Cornel West wove the theme of radical
texts... that gives us both a role, the person pointing and the
questioning into his address to the Santa Fe graduates.
page that is pointed to. And this becomes a richly complicat
ed process when, in the course of a seminar or a class discus
Bromideless Preludes in Annapolis
sion, all the participants are doing the didactic pointing.” Mr.
Before the assembled seniors and the a6 master’s degree can
Zuckerman’s second prelude also had to do with his role as
didates and all their families and friends, plus students and
teacher: “Even though I was officially an historian, I never
alumni, Elliott Zuckerman, who’s been a tutor since 1961, was
worried about our not doing official history. I have seen what
introduced on the bright sunny morning of May 13 by Presi
happens elsewhere when lectures on the Greeks intrude upon
dent Chris Nelson. It cannot be said of Mr. Zuckerman that he
Homer, and Machiavelli is crowded out by arguments about
is incapable of uttering a trite remark, but it can certainly be
when the Renaissance began...”
said that he is incapable of uttering a trite remark and not
Third, Mr. Zuckerman related anecdotes from his own stu
identifying it as such. This character trait put him at some
dent days, when he was enrolled in a course at Columbia
thing of a disadvantage in delivering remarks at a graduation,
taught by poet Mark Van Doren on Narrative Art. The course
since, as he said, “Abromide [which is a commonplace] is rec
included works like the Iliad, Don Quixote, and a novel by
ognizable not necessarily by the inevitability of its words but
Kafka. “The exam, as I remember it, consisted of two ques
by the triteness of the very thought behind the words...Bro
tions. The first question was: Which of the books in the
mides are not only the expected material of commencement
course did you like least? The second question was: To what
speeches, but they are the substance of Graduation Day
deficiency in your character do you attribute not liking this
itself.”
book as much as the others?...In classes in cultural history or
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer aooi }
�{Commencement}
‘‘‘ Use your intellect to cut though the thicket ofmass tastes
and mass culture...''
Cornel West
{The College- St. John’s College • Summer zoot }
^3
�14
{Commencement}
lost, or known students who have felt lost.
the history of ideas there was one sort of
“Perhaps at such times it might be useful to
final exam that I found particularly vex
remember the grapefruit crate, and to think
ing. I refer to the Imaginary Conversation.
of oneself as not entirely lost, but as in some
One is asked to compare the view of (say)
way
analogous to the stray object that is both
Saint Augustine and Hegel and Jane Austen
lost and found and therefore neither lost nor
on (say) what is the most important pursuit in Elliott Zuckerman in Annapolis (above).
found. Allow oneself to hang poised, like a
life. I was never able to get started on such a Santa Fe Seniors reflect on Cornel West’s
QUESTIONS (below).
character in Henry James who may want to
comparison because I couldn’t decide how
give two contradictory responses at the same
these miscellaneous characters should
time.”
address one another. Does Saint Augustine
Mr. Zuckerman wove the theme of myriad-mindedness versus sin
call Hegel George? Is it in good taste for Jane Austen to ask Augus
gle-mindedness
throughout his address, and concluded with a prel
tine to convey the greetings of Emma Woodhouse to Santa Monica?
ude
on
the
subject.
A fable of La Fontaine, he said, is about a bat who
At St. John’s College the students can engage in the Great Conver
finds himself twice trapped in the nests of different weasels. The first
sation without such stifling problems of entering into it.”
time, he convinced the mouse-hating weasel that he was a bird; the
Prelude number four involved the study of biology at the college.
second time he convinced the bird-hating weasel that he was a
“We used to do a whole year of biology lab in the sophomore year,”
mouse.
“And even though such myriad-minded animals are lovable
said Mr. Zuckerman. “There was a student who, in the seminar, was
enough, it is difficult for people to remain entirely comfortable with
particularly taken with Plotinus, and with a principle called the
mixed natures in these days that still recommend the Romantic
One, which, as you know, is transcendental and undifferentiated. It
virtues
of sincerity and authenticity, virtues that seem to imply one
happened that in the lab that student failed utterly to complete the
ness. So it may not be so bad to take as a model La Fontaine’s inven
fruit fly experiment. It was suggested at his Don Rag that he simply
tive Chauve-souris.”
couldn’t deal with the fruit flies because there were so many of
them.”
Facing the Big Questions in Santa Fe
The fifth prelude included a story about Mr. Zuckerman’s gradu
ate school experience at Cambridge, where he became friends with
An uncommon May rain in Santa Fe marshaled the St. John’s Gollege
Watson and Crick at the time they were discovering the double helix
Glass of 2001, their families and friends across campus and into the
structure of DNA. He and his literary friends had not been open with
Student Activities Genter for commencement exercises on May 19.
Watson because he was a scientist. “Part of our prejudice,” said Mr.
Beneath a soft glow through skylights, in undergraduates received
Zuckerman, “had been owing to the fact that those were the years
the Bachelor of Arts degree, and 26 received the Master of Arts in
when there was a sharp split between the sciences and those pursuits
Liberal Arts degree. Nearly 700 visitors watched as the members of
that were known as the Humanities. They were even called the Two
the largest of the Santa Fe campus’ 34 graduating classes received
Cultures, and there were scandalous revelations about physicists
their degrees.
who had never read Euripides... and
The commencement was the first
poets who didn’t know how many equa
major event in the Student Activities
tions bore the name of Maxwell.”
Center, the new building-opened last
Not all Mr. Zuckerman’s preludes
fall-that overlooks the Atalaya Trail
were from the academic world. The
Arroyo. Although commencement is
sixth told of a boy at a summer camp
usually held outside on Meem Library
who constructed a lost and found box,
Placita, the crowd seemed not to mind
a grapefruit crate that was already
that rain forced the ceremony into the
conveniently divided down the middle
new space. The graduates and many vis
into two sections. For each section he
itors gathered in the gymnasium, while
had a sign, one reading LOST and the
others watched from the mezzanine.
other reading FOUND...Day after day I
The Anasazi Brass and the St. John’s
watched people come up to the box ...
College Chamber Choir performed,
trying to decide which half ...was the
with selections from the Brass includ
more appropriate repository.” Some
ing two trumpet tunes by Henry Purcell
times, noted Mr. Zuckerman, he has felt 5
and from the Choir, “Regina Caeh” by
{The College- St. John’s College • Summer 2001 }
j
�{Commencement}
15
Gioaccino Rossini and “Sicut Cervus” by Gio
to raise the courage to evaluate the evaluations,
to interrogate the most basic presuppositions
vanni Palestrina.
The event was a milestone for the college. In
and prejudgments in the spirit of intellectual
his first commencement as president, John E.
humility-back to the grandpop, eye-pop, potBalkcom revealed fondness and love for his first
belhed, big-lipped, flat-nosed Socrates,” West
ensemble of graduates, recalling numerous
said.
occasions on which students welcomed him into
He continued, “Tradition is not something
you inherit. If you want it, you gain access to it by
the college community. Balkcom had become
president of St. John’s College in Santa Fe just Cornel West in Santa Fe (above).
means not just of hard labor but sacrifice, com
nine months earlier, after a long career in busi Annapolis graduates parry and party
bat. Looking deeply inside of yourself, and
after the ceremony ( below) .
ness and management consulting.
always acknowledging that when you look inside
Commencement speaker Dr. Cornel West, the
yourself you’ll see, in part, the antecedent reali
Alphonse Fletcher Jr. University Professor at
ties, the histories, the social structures that have
Harvard University, called upon the graduates to use their critical
in part shaped us, but never render us captive, because we’re agents.
thinking to challenge and question the seductions and shallowness
We can make choices and commitments and decisions.”
of mass culture and to remain true to their humanistic training. West
In an address filled with references to Leo Strauss, Montaigne,
Nietzsche, Seneca, and St. Paul, West brought a very contemporary
is known for his best-selling book Race Matters, which triggered a
national debate on race issues. Touching on influential traditions in
focus to the age-old question that faces all graduating students: How
religion, philosophy, democracy and populism, he lectures on race
to adopt away of life of “genuine questioning.” That questioning, he
said, “has to go hand-in-hand with the legacy of Athens: the spiritu
issues, education and other subjects. Dr. West Uved part-time in
Santa Fe throughout the academic year. He attended lectures at the
ality of genuine loving, serving, situating oneself in a story bigger
than oneself, being able to locate oneself in a narrative grander than
college and stayed to participate in discussions that followed, which
is how the students got to know him. As in Annapolis, the seniors in
oneself, that tries to tease out the better angels of one’s nature, to
Santa Fe choose who will be invited to give the commencement
get one out of one’s egocentric predicament.”
West said young people might realize the importance of not “sell
address.
West posited the essential question: “The one question that will
ing their souls for a mess of potage,” but they nevertheless must
continue like a drum beat to confront you, the most frightening
somehow confront our market-driven civilization, where the guid
question, the most terrifying question, the question that sits at the
ing principle is “the nth commandment: Thou shalt not get
very center of the humanistic educa
caught.”
West concluded his remarks by urg
tion; What does it really mean to be
human? We will not get out of space and
ing the graduates to continue to use
time alive, and what are you going to do
their “intellectual and existential
armor” acquired at St. John’s to fight
in the meantime?”
West illustrated his point with refer
for justice, “not because you would
somehow create a better world
ences to Socrates’ remark in Plato’s
Apology, that the unexamined life is
overnight, but rather, as my grand
not worth Uving (and to Malcolm X’s
mother used to say going all the way
addition: “the examined life is
back to gut-bucket black churches and
painful”). As Socrates, who was on trial
Jim Grow Mississippi, that ‘if the king
for questioning the “pretenders to wis
dom of God is within you then every
dom” of his day. West challenged the
where you go you ought to leave a little
graduates to use their intellect and to
heaven behind.’ Leave the world just a
“cut through the thicket of mass tastes
little better than how you found it,” he
and mass culture” that dominate socie
said.
ty in the present day.
Both commencement addresses are
“Intelligence is a manipulative facul
ty. It allows us to evaluate immediate
on the web. Elliott Zuckerman’s speech
context. But intellect is about awe and
is at www.sjca.edu, and Cornel West’s
wonder and astonishment. It forces us
is at WWW. sjcsf. edu.
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
�{Johnnies on Theology}
SOPHOMORE SEMINAR
FOREVER
Reflections on theoloflcal questions by religious alumni.
BY Sus3AN
Borden, A87
t St. John’s, we come to seminar
seeking answers bnt walk away
with questions. Nowhere is this
more true than in sophomore
seminar, where we read the Bible,
the “A saints” and Martin
Luther, Dante and Chaucer. At
year’s end most of us gather our
thoughts, settle on answers, and
resolve to live with our doubts and difficulties. But some, by
conviction and often vocation, live in a world where theology
is more than a speculative study. They are pastors and can
tors, rabbis and chaplains, ministers and seekers. Their lives
are a permanent search, where the questions of sophomore
seminar are forever open.
Bible ioi
The Bible is the stepping stone in the rushing stream of reli
gion at St. John’s-no matter what their religious upbringing
(or lack of it), sophomores all read and discuss the Bible as a
part of the program rather than as a basis for belief. For some
students, it’s hard to separate past associations and to address
the text directly; for others, reading the Bible opens their
minds to a new world.
The Rev. Janet Hellner-Burris (SF77) remembers her sen
ior enabling oral: “I had boned up on all those seminar books
and I was ready to go,” she says. “The tutor asked me, ‘Ms.
Hellner, do you remember the story of the prodigal son?’ and
I thought, ‘Come on, I grew up on this stuff.’ He said, ‘It’s in
Matthew,’ and I said, “No, it’s Luke 15.’ And then they knew
who they were talking to.” Familiarity with the text, says
Hellner-Burris, did not turn out to be an advantage: “I had a
miserable exam. I could not get beyond a Sunday school
understanding of the story.”
Hazzan (Cantor) Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo (A95), howev
er, had never read the Bible until sophomore seminar. The
son of a Jewish mother and an Italian-Catholic father, his reli
gious background was fairly limited: “The only Judaism I had
in my family,” he says, “was when my mother got angry at my
father. Then she would say, ‘Frank, don’t forget you’re a
Jew!”’
When Lanzkron-Tamarazo finally arrived at the sophomore
seminar table, he says it was an awakening; in some ways, a
rude awakening. “To hear about a God who destroys an entire
world of people except for Noah, to hear about a God who
would let Abraham sacrifice his son, to learn about David
betraying his soldier, that made me angry,” says LanzkronTamarazo. But, he says, that anger led to some lively discus
sions in the Nick Capozzoli-Wendy Allanbrook seminar and
brought him to study Hebrew with tutor Michael Blaustein
(A74) for a year and a half.
Nine years later (five of them spent studying at the Jewish
Theological Seminary of America), Lanzkron-Tamarazo is
now a cantor. Both his training and his cantorial practice
require the reading of the Talmud and the AfwAraa-biblical
commentaries that inform the Jewish interpretation of the
Torah (the first five books of the Bible). “You can’t read the
Torah just by reading it as a book,” he says. “What makes it a
part of the Jewish tradition is the way the rabbis understood it
in the writings of the Talmud and the MishnaT
Lanzkron-Tamarazo’s problems with stories like the bind
ing of Isaac were put to rest by the commentaries. “I asked,
{The College. St. John’s College • Summer 200 f }
�I?
ing to him because of his work.
“I think there is a tragic char
acter to existence. God, for bet
ter or worse, created the world in
a certain way and we have to deal
with the consequences. That
may be blaming God some, but
that’s all right with me. I think
God knows there’s lots of trouble
in this world and it’s not all our
fault. I guess I’m more involved
now with how to manage the cre
ation as we find it, not so much
asking how it became this way.”
The relationship of God and suf
fering comes up often in Dillard’s
work because of the degree of pain
he encounters and because of the
population of patients he works
with: mostly poor, sometimes
undereducated, and often with a strict religious background
that features a punishing God. “One of the main things patients
here need to believe is that you don’t have schizophrenia
because of sin. It’s a medical thing, not the response of an angry
God,” he says. “That’s a big issue for people here. They think
they’re suffering because of something they did.”
“Why is the universe as it is?” he asks. “The longer I con
tinue with my faith and ministry, I become less and less clear
about issues that were so plainly clear when I was growing up.
I’d like to have God come out looking good, but I think it’s a
process where the universe is emerging and God’s under-
how could God tell Abraham he’s
going to he a father of a multi
tude of nations and then ask him
to destroy his only son?” he says.
“I was bothered that Abraham
would go ahead with it, even if it Outward symbols of religion like a church steeple or meno
rah SERVE AS reminders OF PROFOUND THEOLOGICAL ISSUES.
was God who asked.” As it turns
out, the great rabbis of the ages
have had some of the same prob
lems. “The rabbis weren’t so
troubled by God as by Abraham.
Before this story, Abraham ques
tioned everything and haggled
with God. But when it came to
Isaac, he said okay. He went up
the mountain and lied to his only
son,” says Lanzkron-Tamarazo.
Janet Hellner-Burris (sf 77)
“A hero can be flawed.”
Yhave a deeper understanding
ofthe question ofsuffering than
I did in college, but I don i
have the answer
What About Job?
Reading the Bible as a book, as it’s done in sophomore semi
nar, leads some students to examine the stories in an almost
literary way-the implications for their beliefs recede into the
background as the stories’ universality is considered.
Rev. David Dillard (A89), a psychiatric chaplain at a state
mental hospital in Kentucky, wrote his sophomore essay on
Job and says that, in the context of his current work, the ques
tions of that book remain. “Why are people born with mental
illnesses? Why should they suffer the way they do? How is a
righteous God involved in all of that?” he asks. The questions
he first dealt with on a theoretical level now have more mean-
{The College - St John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
�i8
{JohnniesonTheology}
Y think ofinterfaith work as an opportunity to share
our glimpses ofGod. None ofus, by assumption,
has seen Godface toface, but each ofus has
experienced God in a variety ofways.""
Clark Lobenstine (A67)
standing is emerging too. I think God is struggling with cre
ation as much as any of us are.
“There’s a theology called ‘God Wins’ theology, where we
do everything we can to make sure that God comes out look
ing good. If there’s a problem, it’s not God’s fault, it’s some
thing else’s fault. I don’t think God respects that frame of
thought any more than a free-thinking individual would.”
Dillard knows there are objections to his point of view: “One
criticism of this kind of thinking is that I’m anthropomor
phizing God, but I can’t bring the other kind of theology into
a room with a patient.”
Rev. Hellner-Burris, pastor of an urban church facing urban prob
lems (violence, addiction, poverty, racism), also struggles with the
question of suffering. “I have seen so much suffering in my workthat question doesn’t go away,” she says. “I would say that I have a
deeper understanding of the question [than I did in college], but I
don’t have the answer. All I know is that I would rather live with God
and all of those questions than without God.”
The Rev. Dr. Glark Lobenstine (A67), director of an interfaith
organization, tells the story of William Sloan Coffin, a former chap
lain at Yale: “His son was killed and someone gave him the tradi
tional line about it being God’s will, and Coffin lashed out and said,
‘To Hell it was! God was the first to cry!’”
As for Lobenstine’s understanding of God’s relation to suffering,
he says that for him, it isn’t a question of how to understand suffer
ing but a challenge of how to remain faithful in the face of suffering.
“I am very clear that God never promised us a rose garden. There are
joys that are part of the spiritual journey, some of which come in the
midst of pain and suffering and some of which come in what appear
to be much easier ways.”
Glimpses of God
When Lobenstine was in high school, he asked God to make clear
His personal love for him. “I never doubted the existence of God,”
says Lobenstine. “But I wanted something more personal.”
The summer before his senior year, Lobenstine was in a car acci
dent. “It was my fault. I broke the windshield and they had to pull the
glass out of my mouth, but no one was injured,” he says. “I was very
struck by this being the answer to my prayer. God didn’t cause the
accident, but I felt he protected me in it. I responded to that experi
ence, a revelation to me of God’s love, as a calling to my ministry. I
was God’s to do with as he wanted.”
Lobenstine’s ministry is an unusual one. As director of the Inter
Faith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., he works with
people of many faiths and representatives of many communities on a
host of social issues from housing and child welfare to racial toler
ance and interfaith understanding. Through his work, Lobenstine
says, God is revealed to him in many ways: “I see a great variety and
depth of God’s love. Although I’m profoundly grateful to be a Chris
tian, I know from Sana the Muslim and Jan the Baha’i and D.C. the
Hindu the great joy they have in their own relationship with God and
the depth of that relationship with God.
“I think of interfaith work as an opportunity to share our glimpses
of God. None of us, I assume, has seen God face to face, but each of
us has experienced God in a variety of ways. By sharing ghmpses,
whether we are all Presbyterians or all Muslims or all Catholics or of
diverse faiths, we deepen our understanding of God while we grow in
our appreciation of our own traditions and our understanding of
others’.”
In her own spiritual journey, Vicki Manchester (SF71) has seen
glimpses of God through different religions, from her Episcopalian
childhood to a time when she attended a Jewish temple to now, when
she has found what she was searching for in Tibetan Buddhism.
Manchester says that faith does not demand understanding. Rein
carnation, for example, is an important idea in Tibetan Buddhism,
and although it doesn’t make sense to her, she has faith that it will.
“I keep listening to my teachers and seeing that everything else they
say makes sense. My respect for the dharma, the teachings, has
steadily built up, mainly because it works. Being kinder to people
really did increase my own happiness. That’s kind of a law of karma
which is connected to the idea of reincarnation,” she says. “A lot of
the teachings are mysterious to me. I can’t understand all of them,
but I have faith that someday, maybe, I will.”
The Rev. Rachel Frey (Agi), an associate minister at a suburban
parish, agrees that questions of doubt can live within a faithful per
son. “I wrote my senior essay about doubt,” she says. “I asked if you
could be both faithful and doubtful, something I was thinking about
and wanted affirmed.” Now, after seven years as a minister, she says
she no longer looks for answers in theological readings. “I have
more life experience that affirms my faith,” she says. “When I was at
St. John’s, I thought about God in an academic way. Being a minis
ter, my experience with congregations of faithful people has led me
to believe in having a relationship with God, as opposed to thinking
philosophically about a concept of God. I used to believe because it
was logical, but now I believe because of the things I see in people’s
lives.”
Frey, who works part-time at the University Christian Church, in
Hyattsville, Md., says she set out to find a position at a church with
more than one minister so she could continue learning from some
one with more experience. “I’m at U.C.C. because my senior minis
ter, Marshall Dunn, is the kind of minister I wanted to be with and
work with and learn from. He’s an excellent pastor. He loves his
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer soot }
�{Johnnies on Theology}
19
''When I was at St. Johns, I thought about God in an
academic way. Being a minister, my experience...has led
me to believe in having a relationship with God.''
Rachel Frey [A91]
church and he’s beloved by his church. He loves people and he loves
being a minister, which sometimes seems kind of rare. There are a
lot of disheartened ministers out there.”
Keeping the Faith
As a pastor at an active and diverse church near Pittsburgh, Rev.
Hellner-Burris has sought to avoid the disheartened minister syn
drome by focusing on her prayer life. She recalls a time early in her
ministry when she saw she was heading for burnout. “I became com
mitted to daily prayer,” she says. “For me the inner journey is what
feeds the outer journey. The inner focus of my prayer life has been
crucial to my outward expression of ministry. I can’t do one without
the other.”
For Dillard, the psychiatric hospital chaplain, the difficult cir
cumstances of his work keep him from burnout-an irony not lost on
him. “This is a place where there’s a lot of suffering and mental
anguish, but we’re able to do some good and help people out.
Patients really give us the greatest affirmation.” As an example, Dil
lard describes a group he leads in geriatric music: “These folks can’t
remember what they had for lunch, but they remember all the words
to the a3rd Psalm or ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart’ or ‘The Old Rugged
Cross.’ We’ll use these songs to access memories and emotions.
We’ll sing the old church song ‘Break into the Garden,’ and it’ll
bring somebody back to a little country church in Kentucky.
“It’s a gift to worship with people who really want to be in a wor
ship environment, a gift to be in a service with people who aren’t
driving up to the church in a Jaguar. They come with a rawness you
rarely see out in the real world where people put on their church
clothes and church personas and don’t show their true selves.” -#■
Theology Bookshelf
David Dillard (A89) is a psychiatric chaplain at Central State Hos
pital in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a member of the Alliance of
Baptists. He recommends:
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Tragic Vision and Divine Compassion: A Contemporary
Theodicyiyj'^&aAy^sAey
Either/Or by Soren Kierkegaard
The Crucified Godby Jurgen Moltmann
Rachel Frey (Agi) is associate minister at University Christian
Church in Hyattsville, Maryland. She is a member of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ). She recommends:
Desiring God: Meditations ofa Christian Hedonist
by John Piper
Walk in the Light and Twenty-Three Tales by Leo Tolstoy
The Christ-Centered Woman: Finding Balance in a World of
Extremes by Kimberly Dunnam Reisman
Janet Hellner-Burris (SF77) is pastor at the Christian Church of
Wilkinsburg in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. She is a member of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She recommends:
Jesus and the Disinheritedby Howard Thurman
Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating
Pedagogy ofthe Oppressedby Paolo Frieire
Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo (A95) is hazzan (cantor) and education
director at Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim in Cranford, New Jer
sey. He is a member of the conservative movement. He recom
mends:
The Guidefor the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides
The Talmud over 500 years of rabbinical commentaries
The Jewish IFtzz-by Josephus (around 37 c.e.)
Clark Lobenstine (A67) is director of the Interfaith Conference of
Metropolitan Washington in Washington, D.C. He is a member of
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He recommends:
The Illustrated World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom
Traditions by Huston Smith
A New Religious America by Dr. Diana Eck
Vicki Manchester (SF71) has taken refuge vows as a Tibetan Bud
dhist. She recommends:
The Dhammapada (teachings of the Buddha)
Liberation in the Palm p/’FoMr/ZazztZby Pabongka Rimpoche
Ethicsfor a New Millennium by His Holiness The Dalai Lama
The Art ofHappiness by His Holiness The Dalai Lama
The Four Noble TFiztAj by Venerable Lobsang Gyatso
What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula
{The College - St. John’s College ■ Summer aoot }
�ao
{Politics}
ROUSSEAU
AM) HKAI.I'OI I I IK
How alumni in the world ofpolitics are influenced
by their St. Johns background.
By John Rankin, SF03
rom a C-SPAN production studio
to
the diplomatic negotiating table in
F
Cyprus, St. John’s graduates have
found their calling in the field of
While the alumni
interviewed
for this article
politics
and government.
Could
express a great appreciation
for
their
education,
they
this array of positions held by alum
see the value moreniinindicate
the mental
tools and skills
they
a connection
between
picked up at St. John
than in the
content ofread
the pro
the’spolitical
philosophy
at St.
gram. Reading political
careersphilosophy
chosen? was not particu
larly persuasive for any of them in terms of choosing a
career; they felt a desire to get involved and pursue
the causes important to them. However, all the alum
ni profiled value the fact that they have read the
majority of the political texts that played a role in the
evolution of western political thought, and they cite
this as an indispensable background for a thoughtful,
substantive take on the political world of today.
The stories of five alumni follow: an ambassador, a
television producer, a writer and television panelist,
and two who work at think tanks.
Donald Bandler (sfgi 73)
“Getting things done-that’s what it’s about,” quips Donald Ban
dler, American Ambassador to Cyprus. Appointed to the post by
former President Bill Clinton in May 1999, Bandler faces the
complex and delicate issues concerning this small island nation
off the southern coast of Turkey. As ambassador, Bandler’s pri
mary mission is to represent American interests in Cyprus. This
involves everything from providing political analysis to the U.S.
State Department, to managing the 200-employee embassy in
Nicosia.
Recently,
John’s and
the he played a role in facilitating a major sale of
Boeing planes to the commercial fleet of Cyprus Air. The issues
facing any diplomat in Cyprus demand thoughtful analysis and
careful handling. Divided since 1974 by a Turkish invasion, the
status of the island as a whole, and potential unification, remains
uncertain. Tensions run high, and lives have been lost in demon
strations and uprisings.
Bandler came to this post with a solid background in interna
tional diplomacy. After j oining the State Department in 1976, his
career took him to posts in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe,
where he participated in the negotiations leading to the
unification of Germany.
Consistent with the practice of political appointees, Bandler
submitted a letter of resignation to President Bush when he took
office. The Bush administration, however, has given no indica
tion it would like him to leave, and Ambassador Bandler expects
to stay at his post.
Bandler’s connection with St. John’s began during his under
graduate years at Kenyon College, where he met several profes
sors who had studied with Leo Strauss and other academics
involved in the Great Books movement. Bandler married Jane
Goldwin (A71, daughter of former Annapolis Dean Robert A.
Goldwin, A50) and completed the Graduate Institute in Santa Fe
several years after graduating from Kenyon.
{The College- St. John’s College • Summer sooi }
�{The College* St. John’s College • Summer 2001 }
�{Politics}
^...the conceptualfoundation acquired
from studyingpoliticalphilosophy can be
very helpful in thepolicy debate.
Donald Bandler [SFGI73]
Philosophy Meets Politics
Bandler discusses the role that his political philosophy background
hasplayed in the world ofRealpolitik in ‘"Philosophy Meets Politics. ”
Talking with John Rankin caused me to reflect on whether and how polit
ical philosophy, my academic concentration at Kenyon College and St.
John’s College, was a good background for a career in international rela
tions. The short answer: a resounding yes.
Early in my career I had the privilege of working as Special Assistant
to Dr. Paul Wolfowitz, currently the Deputy Secretary of Defense. As
Director of the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff, Paul assembled
a group of 20 or so policy thinkers-many grounded in political philoso
phy, some taught by students of Leo Strauss-with a mandate to provide
an independent judgment on policies developed largely by career
experts. The policy debate often turned on issues that would appeal to
the student of political philosophy: What are the necessary conditions
for security of human rights? What deters hostile human behavior?
Fear? Hope? And why are so many people so desperately poor, i.e., what
causes poverty? Or the better question: what causes prosperity?
Later, I had two assignments in Paris, six years in all, ending up as
Charge d’Affaires at our embassy. The ambience alone was a political
philosopher’s daydream: Ben Franklin’s statue in the courtyard. Jeffer
son’s name carved at the top of the list of U.S. Envoys. Rousseau and
Lafayette memorabilia to explore. Even the pervasive reek of Gauloise
cigarettes did not dent the pleasure of a bistro lunch with Jean-Francois
Revel, a visiting Alan Bloom or Robert Goldwin. But Paris was not all
atmospherics. France wields considerable international influence and
enjoys playing her role as a counterweight to America. Although the
French Revolution and U.S. Constitution emerged at a common
moment, 1789, France had a string of different regimes and the U.S. only
one. Understanding the similarities and differences is important in
striving for good relations and cooperation. For its part, the French
“classe politique” is steeped in history and political theory that rein
forces its self-image as a competing pole of civilization. This comes out
in foreign policy seminars (“colloques”), which are often contentious
and are taken seriously. So too, are our discussions with French leaders
in the Elysee Palace, the Prime Minister’s office, and the Foreign Min
istry. Realpolitik generally prevails in those sessions, but the conceptu
al foundation acquired from studying political philosophy can be very
helpful in the policy debate. And when the U.S. and France agree, it is
usually a lot easier to build an international consensus.
Political philosophy also figured large in my work in Germany on its
reunification and on Israel’s peace negotiations with the Palestinians
and Jordan-and it is at the heart of my current ambassadorship. “The
Cyprus Problem” revolves around whether and how to negotiate a set
tlement to reunify this island that has been divided along ethnic lines
since 1974. Debate centers on “political equality” and whether the set
tlement should be a federation, confederation or some hybrid. The
issues parallel those in the Federalist Papers, especially debate over the
respective powers of the states and central government. I maintain an
intensive dialogue on these subjects with the Greek-Cypriot and Thrkish-Cypriot leaders on the island, in UN-led talks, and in unofficial study
groups led by U.S. academic experts.
I would hasten to add that political philosophy is only one of many
fields that provide a good background for a career in diplomacy. In fact,
the best preparation is probably a good liberal arts education, one that
dwells on books of lasting value, leads students to grapple with funda
mental ideas, values inquiry, and cultivates the art of serious conversa
tion.
Seth Cropsey (spya)
A Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Wash
ington, D.C. (a public policy think tank generally labeled con
servative), Seth Cropsey studies national security and defense.
Newt Gingrich, Lynne Cheney, and former Annapolis dean
Robert A. Goldwin are just a few of his well-known colleagues.
Cropsey analyzes how the United States military may best take
advantage of new technology. He studies the questions raised by
the increased accuracy and range of new weapons systems. As
history has demonstrated, technological advances such as the
longbow in medieval times and the Tomahawk cruise missile of
today can render old strategies and plans useless or even deadly.
Cropsey’s work creates new methods the military can use to keep
their tactics resonant with their technological capabilities.
Cropsey also studies the implications raised by the “kinder
and gentler” military of today. In recent years, the American mil
itary has undergone serious structural changes and adopted new
training methods. American military personnel often find them
selves in foreign countries as “peacemakers”-an ambiguous
type of policemen far from the typical (and expected) role of a
soldier. This often frustrates individuals in the armed services,
as few enrolled in order to police the streets of an unfamiliar
land. Furthermore, the character type the military has tradition
ally rehed on to excel-those interested in taking risks and test
ing themselves in combat-is put off by the style of the modern
military and less inclined to enlist.
Cropsey began his career in national security in 1981 as a
recent St. John’s graduate concerned with the relationship
between the United States and Russia. He has served as a profes
sor at the Marshall European Center in Germany, run jointly by
the governments of the United States and Germany. There,
Cropsey taught military personnel from former Warsaw Pact
countries principles of modern liberal democratic governments
{The College - St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
�{Politics}
^3
''Because I work in politics, lam especially
grateful to have read works related to societies
organizing themselvespolitically, from Plato
andAristotle to the Federalist Papers. ”
Eloise Collingwood [A8o]
and related national security issues. He also worked with Ronald
Reagan and George Bush, Sr. as the Deputy Undersecretary of
the Navy from 1984 to 1990.
Cropsey values his St. John’s education for enabling him to
deal with a wide range of material and understand the fundamen
tal issues at stake. He suggests one change to the program, which
should not come as much of a surprise considering the path of his
career. “Edward Gihhon \Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire\
is no longer on the program, and he should he,” says Cropsey.
Eloise Collingwood (A80)
C-SPAN producer Eloise Collingwood uses the problems of
Washington, D.C., as the raw material for a television show.
Collingwood is responsible for getting C-SPAN’s national morn
ing call-in show, “The Washington Journal,” on the air. This is no
small task. Each day begins at 4 a.m. Collingwood thinks up seg
ment topics for the show, finds guests, determines the leads for
each segment, and works with the director and technicians to
ensure a seamless program. Collingwood reviews scores of arti
cles from newspapers, magazines, and the Internet to stay on top
of the issues and find new material for the daily show; under
standably, she values St. John’s for helping her learn how to get to
the gist of an argument and relate ideas to one another.
Like many Johnnies in politics, Collingwood finds the pohtical
books she read in seminar valuable in her professional life.
“Because I work in politics, I am especially grateful to have read
works related to societies organizing themselves pohtically, from
Plato and Aristotle to the Federalist Papers.”
Tom G. Palmer (A82)
Palmer is a Fellow in Social Thought at the
Cato Institute, a public policy research
institute in Washington, D.C. He publishes
papers, lectures at universities and insti
tutes around the world, and edits book man
uscripts and policy papers, determining
whether they meet Cato’s standards. He is
also director of Cato University, which gives
seminars on the principles of free markets,
limited government, the rule of law, and
other issues central to modern classical liberalism.
The libertarian Cato Institute suits Palmer’s interests well.
“My life work has been dedicated to advancing individual liber
ty,” he says. The Cato Institute has allowed him to immerse him
self in the study of the ideas he loves. In his work. Palmer fre
quently revisits texts he read at St. John’s. However, he feels that
books do not always hold the answer. “I learned at St. John’s that
there are lots of people who read a lot, but who have no wisdom
or who are bad people, and many more who don’t read much, but
who are wise and good,” he says.
Palmer does suggest some improvements to the program. He
argues that St. John’s “seriously underestimates the importance
of economics” and cuts off the study of economics with “one of
the most disastrous dead ends in the history of thought: Karl
Marx.” Palmer would like to see inclusion of the work from the
Marginahst Revolution of 1871, in which economists Karl Menger,
W.S. Jevons, and Leon Walras independently solved several prob
lems facing the classical economics of Marx and Adam Smith.
Will of the People?
In January 2001, Palmer and two colleagues, John Samples and
Patrick Basham, released a paper titled '"Lessons ofElection 2000. ”
Among other contrarian views ofthe election, the authors argue that
the electoral college should not be discarded, high campaign spending
did not discourage voters but actually increased voter turnout, and
the misguided appeals to the "will of the people ” by politicians on
both sides of the debate represent a confused claim to a concept
opposed to the nature ofAmerican representative democracy.
The United States is a constitutional republic, not a regime intended to
embody “the will of the people.”
Talk of the will of the people is profoundly misleading. Indeed, the
idea of the will of the people is a deeply authoritarian idea completely at
odds with the idea of government under law. It derives, not from the
American Founders or from any “Whiggish” antecedents in Britain’s
constitutional history, but from the radical authoritarian and anti-liber
al philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who postulated a “general will”
of the people as the foundation of the state. According to Rousseau in
The Social Contract-. “The general will is always right, and always tends
to the public good; but it does not foUow that the deliberations of the
people will always have the same rectitude. We always desire our own
good, but we do not always recognize it. You cannot corrupt the people,
but you can often deceive it; and it is then only that it seems to will some
thing bad.”
As political historian J. L. Talmon noted in his classic study of the play
ing out of Rousseauian politics, “The very idea of an assumed preor
dained will, which has not yet become the actual will of the nation . . .
gives those who claim to know and to represent the real and ultimate will
of the nation-the party of the vanguard-a blank cheque to act on behalf
of the people, without reference to the people’s actual will.”
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer zoot }
�{Politics}
24
''Thepersonal is the universal [in America]. Each
individual experience is a chapter in the larger
drama called the American Story.
Robert George [A86]
The United States is not based on some grand notion of the will of
the people. American government depends on the more modest idea
that the people may delegate certain limited powers to a representative
government operating on principles and procedures set out in our
Constitution.
If by “will of the people” pundits have in mind the Constitution, that
is closer to the occasional use of the term by the American founders. But
current debate indicates that what they have in mind is, instead, whatev
er the will of the people is (should be) about particular matters ofpolicy,
or who should be president. If the Constitution is the abiding will of the
people, then it sets the terms within which policies and officers will be
selected, and continual recourse to the “will of the people” is otiose.
The phrase “the will of the people”-along with “dimpled chad”-has
no place in a system of equal liberty under law. Instead of confusing our
selves with airy metaphysical talk about the will of the people, we
should, with Jefferson, “with courage and confidence pursue our own
federal and republican principles, our attachment to our union and rep
resentative government.”
Robert George (a86)
As an editorial writer for the New York
Post, Robert George writes five or six
unsigned pieces for the newspaper each
week, covering issues from the national
level to the local concerns of New York
ers. Where George really lets loose,
though, is in his regular columns for
National Review Online. Favorite topics
of recent months are Bill Clinton’s par
don fiasco and the early stages of Hillary Clinton’s senate
term. George’s columns feature slick appeals to his view of the
issues and a rhetorical flair unmistakably his own. Although at
heart a thoughtful commentator, his columns often leave the
reader more impressed by his brazen style than his cunning
erudition.
Before working at the Post and National Review, George
helped staff the communications office of former Speaker of
the House Newt Gingrich, writing speeches and press releases
and formulating public relations strategy. He then went on to
coordinate the efforts of grassroots organizers with the
Republican National Committee. His latest project is serving
as a regular panelist on the Saturday evening CNN show “Take
5.” On the show, he discusses topics from politics to popular
culture -with two co-hosts and guest panelists.
My Independence Days
Last year, Robert George took a breakfrom his clever and combative
style to write a sentimentalJuly 4th columnfor Salon, com, “My Inde
pendence Days. ”
Here we celebrate the Fourth of July. For this writer, everything that the
dream called America represents can also be found in two personal
“independence days.”
The first is January ai, 1971. It was the day an eight-year-old boy first
landed in the United States at JFK International Airport. At the time,
U.S. hospitals were experiencing a nursing shortage, so the boy’s moth
er responded to an inquiry from New York City’s Mt. Sinai Hospital. The
boy wasn’t happy about leaving his island home. It was only later that the
lesson of taking advantage of an opportunity when presented sunk in.
Fortunately, a volatile case of air-sickness endured by the young boy on
the flight over did not prove to be a portent for future experience in the
United States.
Living in a country for close to three decades, there are any number of
days and experiences that might stick out that also symbolize America.
But this writer selects November 3, 1989....the swearing-in ceremony
[for my citizenship]. The event itself was rather low-key; ultimately, it
seemed somewhat prosaic. The poetry was supplied moments later as
the new American emerged into a crisp Maryland morning and looked
up in the sky. There, fully unfurled over a government building, was Old
Glory flapping in the wind. Couldn’t have been more perfect if Spielberg
had directed it.
Many people consider the passage of the first 18 years as the initial
step from childhood into adulthood. This particular r8-year passage
marked a period separating arrival and “Americanization.” Other
opportunities followed. Less than three years later, a few of the writer’s
words ended up in the last speech Ronald Reagan delivered at a RepubUcan Convention. Just a short phrase, but for a young island immigrant, it
was certainly a thrilling, awe-inspiring moment. And then, a few years
after that, the immigrant found himself writing for the first Republican
Speaker of the House in 40 years.
As we celebrate the nation’s birth, it’s not a bad idea to pause and con
sider our own personal “independence days.” These are the moments in
our lives that stand out as uniquely American. At one time, for many, it
was the Ellis Island arrival. For others, it’s starting a business, beginning
the novel or casting the first vote. These are the days that connect each
of us intimately with the opportunity that is America. The personal is
the universal here. Each individual experience is a chapter in the larger
drama called the American Story. The opportunity to excel within the
story is the connection we all share, regardless of race, gender, or any
other superficial attribute.
{The College -St John’s College • Summer 2oot }
�as
{The Program}
It Takes Two Villages
In his Dean s Statement, Timothy Miller considers
what it means to learn in a community
By Barbara Goyette, A73
very year the chairman of the
Instruction Committee
(which alternates hetween
the dean in Annapolis and
the dean in Santa Fe) submits
a Dean’s Statement of Educa
tional Policy and Program. Topics for the
Dean’s Statement vary from the hroad to
the more specific; sometimes the Statement
serves as an institutional don rag or propos
es major changes to the program. This year,
Timothy Miller, acting dean in Santa Fe,
characterized his topic as “the intrinsic
fundamentals that make this small college
precious to its memhers and also a precious
resource within the larger educational
sphere.”
The Statement begins, “For St. John’s
College it takes two villages-one in Santa
Fe and one in Annapolis. Even in an age of
spin the notion of a village has an appeal
Timothy Miller (right) included passages
that is not merely sentimental. Reaching
FROM Simone Weil and William James in his
more deeply into our souls, it suggests
Dean’s Statement.
mutual care and nurture, the daily support
of family and neighbors, help in emergen
cies, the sharing of rituals . . ., recurring
celebrations . . ., and ceremonies by which,
often recedes to some vanishing point in
as thinking animals, we mark the stages of
the future.” Tenured tutors are more likely
our growth, maturity and decline.”
to be granted partial or full leave from
Mr. Miller discusses the primary goal of
teaching, and they are more likely to have
the college as the education of young peo
added responsibilities such as administra
ple who are emerging from adolescence to
tive posts that free them from the class
early maturity. The college must meet their
room. A result is that on the Santa Fe cam
educational needs and see to their personal
pus, throughout the 1990s, “approximately
needs and interests as well. That American
60 percent of tutors have been tenured, but
colleges and universities operate on a fourtenured tutors have taught only about 40
year cycle to bring students to this desired
percent of the classes. . . Clearly a majority
maturity makes for some difficult decisions
of our classes depend on the energy and dis
along the way.
tinction of our newer tutors.”
He expands on some of the problems this
Mr. Miller also discusses the perennial
compressed schedule creates for tutors,
problem of there being too many books to
whose primary responsibility is to “teach
read in too little time. The Statement sug
and make ourselves as competent as possi
gests alternatives for dealing with the music
ble in all parts of the St. John’s program.”
and visual art tutorials-including a sugges
In their early years, faculty must spend
tion to move the visual arts tutorial to soph
much time and effort to learn the parts of
omore year and to focus more time in lan
the program they are teaching. Even after
guage tutorials on writing. He also
receiving tenure, tutors find that the goal of considers a larger question: “We intend our
teaching at all levels in all areas of the pro
program of studies to have a wholeness that
gram is still elusive-“achieving that goal
does not exist in the typical college curricu
E
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
lum. Whatever our judgment
about the incompleteness and
inadequacy of specific parts of our
program most of us believe that
the program as a whole is greater
than the sum of its parts.
Whether this wholeness may be a
reflection of a wholeness existing
in the world is worth our atten
tion...”
Passages from William James
and from Simone Weil illustrate
some approaches to this question
of how it’s possible to pay atten
tion to the most important things.
In a passage from Psychology,
James lays out an approach to
learning that demands “willful
attention in study,” while Weil
denies the effectiveness of will
power and posits that leaving our
selves open works better: “Attention con
sists of suspending our thought, leaving it
detached, empty, and ready to be penetrat
ed by the object,” she writes.
Mr. Miller cites a passage in Weil’s
“Human Personality” that addresses “the
proper balance between the individual
intellect and the collective in which an indi
vidual has its natural origins”: “When sci
ence, art, literature, and philosophy are
simply the manifestation of personality they
are on a level where glorious and dazzling
achievements are possible...But above this
level...is the level where the highest things
are achieved. These things are essentially
anonymous...The human being can only
escape from the collective by raising him
self above the personal and entering into
the impersonal...” This passage serves as a
source for his final question: “Are we over
weening in the hope that our lives as stu
dents and faculty at St. John’s College are
directed toward the sacred realm of the
impersonal?”
Thefull text ofthe Dean’s Statement is
online at www.sjcsf.edu/academic/
deanoi. htm, or is availablefrom the Dean’s
Office in Santa Fe (505-g84-6o7o).
�{Alumni Notes}
1935
Richard Woodman writes: “Glad
to read the article on St. John’s in
the Smithsonian^ February aoor
issue. Those prior to the 1937 class
did get a good liberal education
with a chance to see the Maryland
legislature and U.S. Congress in
session without having to wait in
line and go through metal detector
systems. It was a poorer but it
seemed a kinder world in some
respects. I wonder how many of the
class of 1935 are stiU alive and
working as I am.”
1936
Gilbert Crandall, a Civil War
buff, recently had articles on that
subject published in the Washing
ton Times and the North Georgia
Journal.
1938
Frank Townsend reports that he is
still alive and thriving.
1942
Ernest Heinmuller writes about
two classmates: “Bill Ruhl died in
January. As a community leader in
Salisbury, Maryland, he was prop
erly honored by a large gathering of
friends and officials at the funeral.
Some of you 4aers might like to
send a note of encouragement to
Al Poppitti (use the register
address). Al suffered a severe heart
attack but is showing improvement
daily. I have been busy working for
World Vision, a ‘feed the hungry’
effort for Rwanda and other Third
World peoples.”
1949
Oscar Lord reports that his son,
Lt. General Lance W. Lord, USAF,
is Commandant of the U.S. Air Uni
versity Maxwell Field, in Mont
gomery Alabama.
copal parish in Palm Springs, Calif.
“This Sunday ‘work’ and a variety
of physical problems keep me from
attending Sunday alumni seminars
in Los Angeles. Health problems
hit us hard from Christmas into
January. Son David broke his left
leg and is in a wheelchair, and wife
Rita is on oxygen 24 hours a day
due to emphysema. So I get food
and run errands until we get David
on his feet and Ruth free of oxygen
tanks.”
1950
“I regret not being able to attend
the 50th reunion of my class this
last fall,” writes Tom Meyers. “My
health is generally quite good, but
that of my widowed sister is not.
Perhaps I will be able to make the
next one. It will not be quite the
same, but one does what one must.
Amazingly, I will be 80 years old
this coming October-both
astounding and amusing.”
stayed in pubs, B&Bs, and resort
hotels. “It was a blast!” he says.
“Great scenery, great people.”
Jennefer Ellingston is active in
1953
Charles Powleske reports: “My
fourth year of retirement finds me
at work on ‘The History of BCIU
(The Business Council for Interna
tional Understanding)’ where I
began working in i960.1 also con
tinue to be active with BCIU’s
working group that brings about its
annual benefit at the Metropolitan
Opera (since 1984); also still active
in the affairs of The Princess Mar
garita of Romania Foundation as a
member of its board. I still ‘rest up’
in Mexico when I can (Puerto Vallarta, mainly) and, in 2000,
enjoyed April, May, and October
there.”
1955
Priscilla Bender-Shore and
Merle Shore (class of ’54) write
1951
Alfred Franklin sends a message
to classmates; “Our 50th reunion is
this year. Myself, Ray Stark, and
Herman Small are starting togeth
er a committee for setting up the
agenda. We would like to expand
the committee to establish what the
class gift should be, who we can get
to tutor, and choose the reading.”
from California. Priscilla curated
and juried an art exhibition,
“Susan B. Anthony on Mt. Rush
more,” for the Santa Barbara Coun
ty Arts Commission. The exhibit
ran from February through April
and celebrated Women’s History
Month. Eighteen artists were repre
sented. Priscilla gave two lectures
in connection with the exhibit.
William Roberts writes that he
spent last March bumbling around
England, Wales, and Scotland. He
A Happy Accident
ARL Hammen
(A44) sent in the following contribution:
“I was a Maryland scholarship student, class of 1944.
Going to St. John’s was a happy accident for me. I last
Mostly I studied visited
oyster metabolism
taught cellular
and
comparative
the campus and
in October
1999, and
enjoyed
seeing
physiology courses.
Also
ran the Boston
Marathon
times.
Sinceand
a few
classmates.
Most of
my career12was
teaching
retirement in 1993
I have in
taught
freshman
biology at of
a community
col
research
biology
at the University
Rhode Island.
lege several times and have held other part-time jobs, the most interest
ing: enumerator for the 2000 census. I became so good at obtaining
information that I was promoted to denominator. Beginning in August I
C
Richard Frank was made an hon
orary member of the Societe Asiatique.
The Rev, Frederick Davis says
that he is still assisting at an Epis
1956
plan to teach math review at the Ringling School of Art and Design, one
of the best art schools in the U.S. I remember that Jacob Klein said that
if you have a mind at all, it is a mathematical mind. My running career
continues. In 2000 I was ranked number one M75 in Florida for both
5 km and 15 km.”
{The College. 5t. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
the Green party and reports that it
now has 84 elected officials. “Yes,
we are small, but everyone is grow
ing green or withering away. Global
warming continues and the Arctic
ice cap loses four inches a year.”
1957
Arianne Laidlaw writes that she is
going to Vietnam as the guest of
people she and her husband spon
sored in 1975. She will spend three
weeks there, from Ho Chi Minh
City to Hanoi. She also plans a few
days in Hong Kong and Bangkok.
1959
John McDevitt says that he con
tinues to teach part time at the
community college and to make
dulcimers and harps. His daughter,
Gianna, has joined with his wife in
the operation of a country general
store and trailer park.
“ISI Books of Wilmington,
Delaware, has just brought out my
newest (of nine) books,” reports
Hugh Curtler. “It is entitled
Recalling Education and it propos
es a traditionalist approach to high
er education that is counter to the
major trends today (except, of
course, St. John’s) where the liberal
arts are in serious jeopardy.”
i960
“I am in the third year of a fouryear great books program at the
University of Chicago downtown
campus,” writes Peter Ruel. “We
meet once a week for three hours
(one and a half seminar and one
and a half tutorial) for three iiweek semesters. Forty years makes
a difference in how one reads a
book. It is definitely worthwhile to
return to what we all loved as young
people, and breezed through ivith
little understanding.”
1962
Lenke Vietorisz reports a new
web site address: members.net/
rrrepasy.
�{AlumniNotes}
Jon Cohen retired last summer
after ai years as a social worker for
the State of New Jersey.
David Schiller writes that he is
planning to deliver another paper
for the International Society of Chi
nese Philosophers in Beijing in July
2001.
David Benfield has enjoyed elec
tronic correspondence with various
classmates and suggests that the
class of 1962 plan an electronic
reunion to coincide with Homecoming 2001. “At this reunion we
can make plans for a real face-toface reunion in 2002 to celebrate
40 years of reality. Write to me at
david.benfield@montclair.edu.”
1964
Judith Laws Wood has moved to
Visalia in the San Joaquin Valley of
California. She is a reference librar
ian at the county public Ubrary.
1966
Constance Baring-Gould writes:
“Congratulations on the Smithson
ian article! My sister wrote to me
about it and I really enjoyed reading
it. I still protect my books rather
than my hair-I’llbet we all do!”
1967
Meredith Burke continues to
publish editorials on the subjects of
AIDS control and negative popula
tion growth. Her pieces have
appeared in the San Francisco
Chronicle, the San Francisco Exam
iner, the San Diego Union-Tribune,
and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Hope Zoss has been appointed
Associate Director of Development
at the Chemical Heritage Founda
tion in Philadelphia.
1968
Ellin Barret (SF) writes that
there are several St. Johnnies in the
San Francisco Bay Area who are
involved with a winter production
called the California Christmas
Revels. Revels uses a unique form
of music theater to dramatize the
celebratory traditions of diverse
cultures and eras. Both profession
als and amateurs perform, and
there are carefully planned
moments of audience participa
tion. The 2001 show will focus on
music as a force for ethnic and reli
gious reconciliation, drawing espe
cially on Irish-Celtic heritage, to
portray some of the unifying
themes underlying the on-going
struggles that beset warring fac
tions over generations. This year’s
script is built on the story of the
greatest Irish harper of all times,
the blind O’Carolan, who, against
great opposition, steadily dedicated
his life to using music to heal enmi
ty among peoples.
Antigone Phalares (SF) has been
a part of the Sacramento alumni
seminar group for over 20 years.
“Our crown jewels are Marion and
Tom Slakey,” she writes. “How
lucky it is to have our very own
St. John’s tutor and tutoress to con
tinue those enriching conversa
tions we began long ago, in
Annapolis and Santa Fe. This
is life lived to the full.”
“Our daughter has joined the Peace
Corps. We are planning to visit her
in the Dominican Republic this
spring,” writes Carol Neitzey
Dale (A).
tour the ancient Temples in Noa
(Japan’s first capital), and see
Kabuke. He is a professor of Pedi
atrics, Physiology, and Biophysics
at the University of Southern Cali
fornia and Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles.
1969
“Got caught in the dotty-com melt
down. An interesting experience
but one I don’t want to repeat,”
writes Frances Burns (A).
Joseph Baratta (A) will be teach
ing the history of math at Worces
ter State College in Worcester,
Mass., in 2002.
Carl Severance (SF) is now living
in Lexington, Ky., teaching adult
education (GED Preparation). His
wife Deanna is Director of Ken
tucky’s historic Frontier Nursing
Service. His son Alex is in his sec
ond year at Boston College Law
School, and his daughter Sarah
Sebestyen is pursuing a singing and
song writing career in New York.
Greetings may be sent to
carlsev@aol.com
1970
Allison Karslake Lemons (SF)
Steven Hanft (A) says, “In nine
reports: “I am currently teaching
French part-time at Wichita State
University and at East High School
in Wichita. My husband, Don
(SFGI), teaches physics at Bethel
College, in North Nevrton Kansas,
and my oldest son, Nathan, is a
freshman at (dare I admit it?) Ober
lin College, studying piano (among
other things). I’m afraid making
money just isn’t in the genes; but
we’re leading enjoyable lives (and
possibly even somewhat virtuous
ones) all the same.”
years I can retire.”
Thomas Keens (SF) received a fel
lowship for Foreign Scientists to
Japanese Institutions from the
Japanese Foundation for Emer
gency Medicine. He spent nearly
two weeks at the National Chil
dren’s Hospital in Tokyo. He gave
two major presentations on his
research on sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS) and discussed
SIDS and respiratory research with
Japanese colleagues. He also had a
chance to walk in the East Gardens
of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo,
Catherine Carroll (A)
announces her marriage to Gilbert
T. Lusero on January 6, 2001, at
their home in Portland, Oregon.
She continues to practice law, spe
cializing in domestic relations;
Gilbert is semi-retired. They will be
traveling to Spain and would like to
hear from any St. John’s people
who are there now or who have
travel suggestions, recommenda
tions, or reminiscences they’d like
to share. Their address is 8100 SW
68th Place, Portland, OR 97223.
Maya Hasegawa (A) and Bor
Wycoff (A) were sorry they missed
the 30th class reunion in 1999.
Maya’s father Ichiro had become
very ill and they went to Richmond
several times that autumn to visit
before he passed away Christmas
Eve morning. Maya continues to
work at the Boston Housing
Authority, overseeing compliance
with civil rights requirements man
dated by HUD. Bob, working for
{The College. Sr. John^s College ■ Summer 2001 }
ay
Data Dimensions as a systems con
sultant, survived Y2K and now
looks forward to at least several
more years of steady employment
dealing with the changes required
by the 1996 HIRPA legislation.
“This January we detoured into
Annapolis for a few hours on the
way back to Boston from Richmond
and strolled around the campus,
stopping in to see the new library,”
they tvrite. “We had the sensation
of being ‘ghosts,’ invisible or nearly
so, to the students there, as doubt
less past alumni were invisible to us
when they stopped to gather mem
ories as we lolled around on a donothing Sunday afternoon in 1967,”
Hudi (Schneider) Podolsky (SF)
reports: “I’m now the executive
director of the National Coalition
of Essential Schools-back to the
world of teaching and learning that
I love so much. It has taken me a
long time to come back to this
great work, but my sojourn in the
profit-making world has given me
skills and perspectives that I can
now put to good use. You can see
what we’re up to at www.essentialschools.org.”
1971
Vicki Manchester (SF) is teaching
English and drama at the CIUA
Charter School in Colorado
Springs. “I helped to start the
school four year ago and after three
years of incipient chaos the school
is stabilizing and even has a waiting
list. I get to seminar lots with the
seniors. On the non-professional
side I took refuge vows as a Tibetan
Buddhist in 1998.”
Jane Goldwin Bandler (A) and
Donald Keith Bandler (SFGI73)
are currently living in Cyprus
where Don is serving as the Ameri
can Ambassador at the U.S.
Embassy. Jane is a psychological
counselor with a specialty in par
enting skills. They have three chil
dren: Lara (25), a PR account exec
utive in New York City, Jillian (23),
beginning University of Maryland
Medical School in 8/01, and Jeff
(24), in eighth grade in Nicosia,
Cyprus.
�a8
{Alumni Notes}
The Writer as Addict
Praising a writerfor writing is likepraising a crack addictfor
assiduous smoking. Writing is an addiction, and like all addictive
substances, it stokes thepleasure centers ofthe brain.
Emma Roth in Suspicion by Barbara Rogan
BY Sus3AN Borden, A87
mma Roth, the main charac
ter in Barbara Rogan’s (SF74)
novel Suspicion, is, like
Rogan, a full-time writer and
part-time soccer mom. Like
Rogan, she’s Jewish, has a
love of jazz, and lives on Long Island. But,
Rogan says, Emma is not her. “The main
thing about Emma is that she’s very vulnera
ble, emotionally fragile,” says Rogan,
“whereas I, despite my share of occasional
woes, am as healthy as the proverbial horse.”
Still, even without knowing Rogan, you
get the feeling that the two have a lot in
common, especially when it comes to writ
ing. Rogan agrees with Emma’s comparison
of writing and addiction. “That speaks for
me very accurately. Writing has always been
the thing I do that gives me the most pleas
ure and the fact that I can make a living at it
is great. That reinforces it: when you get
published and get paid and get all the
stroking that goes with it.”
Rogan says she always wanted to be a
writer. “I always could write, even as a kid I
had a talent for writing, a great love for
words. I was a huge reader. That’s what led
me to St. John’s in the first place,” she says.
At St. John’s, Rogan wrote several good
essays, but was nearly silent in class. This
led, temporarily, to an interesting problem:
“There was one essay that was so good and
so out of line with my participation in class,
that I was accused of plagiarizing it. It was a
Jungian analysis oiDon Quixote. I was into
Jung that year and it kind of clicked for me
in one essay,” she says. “There was a great
One of Barbara Rogan’s St. John’s essays
brouhaha, a lot of fuss made in the attempt
WAS so good, she was accused of plagia
to find my ‘source.’” When the smoke finally
rism. She took that as encouragement to
cleared and it was acknowledged that Rogan
BECOME A WRITER.
had written the essay, many of the tutors
involved in the investigation told her that
in 1974 after she graduated from St. John’s
she should be a writer.
and moved to Israel. There she worked as a
Though an accusation of plagiarism is an
production director and English editor for a
unusual source for encouragement, Rogan
Tel Aviv publishing house while she wrote
took it as such and started writing seriously
E
{The College- St. John’s College • Summer 2001 }
her first book, which she describes as a prac
tice book. The following year she opened her
own literary agency, which eventually
became the largest in Israel, supplying over
50 percent of the Israeli market for translat
ed books. In 1980, Rogan met and married
Ben Kadishson, an Israeli musician. Their
first son (they have two: Jonathan, 18, and
Daniel, 14) was born during the 1982 war in
Lebanon. During the same year Rogan’s first
novel. Changing States, was published
simultaneously in England, the U.S., and
Israel.
“Getting my first book published was a
huge thrill and it was published in three
countries. I was so new to the business I
didn’t realize what a terrific piece of luck I’d
had,” she says. Rogan’s good fortune has
continued. She now has seven novels to her
credit and is co-author of a non-fiction book
about the Middle East. Two of her books- A
Heartbeat Away and Rowing in Eden-wcxc
Literary Guild selections. Her 1999 book.
Suspicion, was a Book-of-the-Month Club
featured selection.
“Every book is a thrill. And a heartbreak
usually. It’s a tough career; not the easiest
business to be in. You never really feel suc
cessful entirely,” she says. Rogan explains
the trials that come with a book’s publica
tion: “Very rarely do things just click and go
the way you want them to. I’ve seen it from a
lot of angles: as an agent, as an editor, and as
a writer. There’s always a lot of expectation
built up around publication and it doesn’t
always pan out.” She discusses the econom
ics of book distribution, advertising, and dis
play: “Most books that are published have
little or no advertising budget. They’re just
shoved out the door with the hope that
someone will pick them up. The advertising
budgets go to Nora Roberts and Stephen
King-a guaranteed return on investment.
But publishers do this for sound business
reasons. I have maybe the misfortune of
understanding their point of view; neverthe-
�{Alumni Notes}
less, it is often frustrating for the writer.”
On the whole, Rogan has heen among the
more fortunate writers. Her hooks have
been reviewed in the New York Times and
the San Francisco Chronicle. They have been
released as audio books and published in
eight languages. The movie rights to Rowing
in Eden were optioned and the movie rights
to A Heartbreak Away were sold to MGM.
Rogan says that A Heartbeat Away is a
favorite among her books, combining sever
al subjects important to her: a hospital set
ting, which grew to interest her after her son
dragged her to a number of emergency
rooms when he was little; jazz, an interest
she shares with her husband, a jazz musician
when they met; and Jane Austen-Rogan bor
rowed the plot for the book from Pride and
Prejudice.
Rogan doesn’t always turn to the Great
Books for story lines, but program works are
often present in her books. Whether a char
acter is compared to Don Quixote, shudders
when she thinks of Medea, or hides a piece
of evidence in her copy of Kant’s Critique of
Pure Reason, Rogan’s ease with the great
books will seem familiar to Johnnies.
Not that she feels at ease with all of St.
John’s. “I still have nightmares about
Greek,” she says. “I dream that I took a year
off and came back and couldn’t remember a
single word.”
Although she has long since left Monte
Sol behind, Rogan remains in the classroom.
1972
JuanHovey (SF) reports: “My wife
EUse Cassel and I, being now empty
nesters, have bought a lovely town
house at the far northern end of
Topanga Canyon Road in the San
Fernando Valley, up on a hilltop
among huge stone outcroppings and
oak trees that formed the back
grounds for the Tom Mix movies, for
the Lone Ranger TV series and, it is
said, for one or two scenes from the
John Ford classic ‘Stagecoach.’
There are bobcats up here plus at
least one mountain lion and plenty
of coyotes, of course; people tell us
there is also a small herd of wild
goats in these mountains. I continue
to write a weekly column on business
finance and insurance for the Los
Angeles Times and contribute to a
number of other publications on the
same subjects. Life is sweet!”
She writes quickly,
notpausing to
think, just letting
the words spill out.
Later she will cut
and edit ruthlessly,
hut not now.
First drafts are
playgrounds where
anything goes.
FROM
Suspicion
now as a continuing education writing
teacher. She encourages her students to
write quickly, the way she describes Emma
as writing, but she doesn’t practice what she
preaches, Rogan approaches her first drafts
with a bit more deliberation. “I plan more
carefully and have to rewrite less than I used
to,” she says. “I’m trying to be a httle bit
more efficient. I try to plan out my themes
James Burress (A) notes that his
son, Toby Burress, is entering the St.
John’s class of 2005.
Louise Romanow (SF) sends this
report: “I find it amazing how busy
one can be and not be earning any
money! Bill’s and my son Curt is now
14 and cycles to school every day, a
rare event today. I continue to push
the catbriar back, planting indige
nous shrubs and perennials under
the forest canopy around our house.
I’m active in the League of Women
Voters, a bunch of opinionated
women-always lively discussion, and
I produce our newsletter and do a bit
on our web site. Keeping up with
technology keeps me learning new
stuff every day.”
1973
A medical journalist for more than
20years, Nancy Plese (SF) is cur
29
more and let the story drift less.” Before she
starts a chapter, Rogan writes a list of goals
and makes notes on the interweaving plot
lines she has to work with. She then thinks
up ways to dramatize her goals and invents
incidents that do so.
Rogan says that her new approach to writ
ing might be related to the fact that she’s
now working on her second mystery. “Mys
teries have to be plotted more succinctly,”
she says. “With a character-driven novel,
you can meander a little bit more.” Her new
mystery, to be published by Simon & Schus
ter sometime in aooa, is centered on a
reunion of old school friends who vowed to
get together again after ao years. When the
time comes, one of them is missing-mur
dered by one of the friends.
The idea for the book, Rogan explains,
grew out of real life, when she and a group of
classmates vowed to meet on the eve of
aooo. “For some bizarre reason a lot of us
did remember and six months before the
night we started reaching out and contacting
each other,” she says. “It was a pretty amaz
ing experience and the book grew out of
that.” Any chance that some of her SF74
classmates will recognize themselves in the
book? Unfortunately not. The group that
inspired the mystery was from Rogan’s high
school in Westbury, New York.
rently Executive Editor of The Pfizer
Journal, a bimonthly health policy
publication with an audience of sen
ior health policymakers. She is also
the mother of two, Andrew (17) and
Katelyn (7), and recently celebrated
the 22nd anniversary of her mar
riage to George Lewert. She lives in
Brooklyn, having moved to New York
in 1973, shortly after graduation.
“My son’s search for the right col
lege brought back memories of the
decision to go to St John’s, which
was one of the best decisions I have
made in my life,” she said. “On a
daily basis, I draw on the knowledge
and experiences gained there.”
“A bill has just been introduced in
the Michigan legislature to require
the teaching of ‘creationism’ in our
public schools, which is, of course,
the starter’s gun to revisit Origin of
Species,” writes JoN Ferrier (A).
“Jane Spear (A) and I both begin
our sixth decades this year, hoping
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
that the owl of Minerva truly does fly
at dusk. Tuesday’s New York Times
reported on the launching of scien
tific studies to assess the medicinal
properties of hallucinogenic drugs
such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocy
bin in treating alcoholism, phobias,
and other illnesses. Is there no limit
to the powerful strangeness of life?
Let’s hope not. May chaos find us
ready.”
1974
Virginia Newlin (SFGI) is retired
but teaching autobiography, working
as a poet, and volunteering as an
environmental activist.
“I’m a family practice physician
working at Lovelace,” writes Anne
Ashbrook Fitzpatrick (SF). “For
fun I sing with the Albuquerque
Women’s Choral Ensemble and the
Harmony Project.”
�{AlumniNotes}
3°
1975
John A. White (SFGI) has had his
book Kevvy published by Xlibris of
Philadelphia. “Set in future time, it’s
an epic novel with twin themes, a
society that has abolished marriage,
and which has made scientific dis
coveries which are too successful. It
provides ideas and value exploration
for the thoughtful, and adventure,
science fiction, sex, and romance for
folks looking for a good yarn. It’s the
culmination of many years’ work.
Further information is at www.Xlibris.com/Kewy.html.”
Howard Meister (A), having suc
cessfully defended his very cool the
sis, “Media and Metaphor,’’ has
received the MA in media studies
from The New School in New York
City. He is currently looking for suit
able employment as a teacher,
writer, exhibit designer, or curator,
following 20 years as an internation
ally exhibited visual artist. Howard
can be reached at
HMMeister@aol.com.
Jim Jarvis (A) says, “I enjoyed see
ing so many classmates at reunion
time last year. Hope we can have as
good a turnout for #30.”
G. Kay Bishop (A) is commissioning
a “musical commentary” from com
posers Chris Turner and Rich Robe
son. Text for the pieces will be drawn
from her poetry, including poems
from the collections Zero and The
Book ofLillith. Plans are to combine
the five performance and text pres
entation on a CD to appear next
year.
1976
Victoria Hanley (SF) has written
The Seer and the Sword, a fantasy
novel for young adults. Published in
December 3000 by Holiday House,
it is also being published in Britain,
Denmark, Holland, Germany, Spain,
Finland, and Japan. Hanley is a
Montessori teacher and massage
therapist; she says that although she
didn’t finish St. John’s, “the experi
ence of daily dialectic during that
time has influenced my life ever
since.” The novel, which garnered
praise from reviewers, is about a
princess who discovers she has the
power to see the future but must
confront the issues of greed and
revenge and perhaps fight to save
her kingdom.
1977
Ann Worth (SF) writes; “I am an
active member of the Local 510,
Sign, Display, and AUied Crafts. We
set up tradeshows and conventions
in the greater Bay Area and I am fre
quently the steward. Anyone want a
new job?”
Susan Holton (A) reports: “For the
last four years I’ve worked as a senior
designer for Tribune Media Services,
one of the companies, along with the
Chicago Tribune, of the Tribune
Company. I design everything from
sales collateral for our properties,
which include columnists, editorial
cartoonists, and comic strip cre
ators, to corporate brochures and
web sites. Through it all I’ve also
maintained a freelance illustration
and graphic design business. Cur
rently I’m one of the artists on the
Millennium campaign for posters for
the Northwest Indiana Forum.”
Jon is still enraging DAs as he suc
cessfully defends ‘innocent citizens
wrongfully accused of heinous
crimes.’ I am in the lower profile job
of engineering manager at Zairmailsee what my team is doing at
www.zairmail.com.”
1980
Liz Pollard Jenny (SF) was the
organizer of the first Alumni Art
Show, held in July in Santa Fe at the
campus gallery.
Nancy Jene Cline Wright (SF)
writes: “No major changes; still
teaching, still married to the same
fine fellow, still in Richmond, Vir
ginia. I do have a computer now,
with an e-mail address: cornishogre@earthlink.net. I have not
figured out how to forward things to
multiple addresses, and probably
won’t anyway, but enjoy watching
the way things end up moving about
to multiple groups of people with a
few button clicks-a different sort of
‘Great Discussion,’ I guess. I’d enjoy
hearing from fellow Johnnies.”
David Pex (SF) is the director of
finance for RuleSpace, an Internet
infrastructure start-up company. He
got certified as a scuba diver fast
year, dove in the Cayman Islands,
and is off this summer to St. Vincent
and Tobago for more diving and
snorkeling with his family.
1978
Larry Ostrovsky (A) writes: “I
have been living back in Anchorage
for the past seven years. If you can
look beyond the typical western
sprawl, it’s really kind of an undis
covered gem of a city. There’s excel
lent hiking and skiing, long summer
days and crisp winters. There’s even
some big economic scheme every
five or ten years to keep everyone
excited. If anyone comes through
this way. I’d love to hear from them.
My e-mail is Larryostrovsky@h<itmail.com.”
1981
Mary Filardo (A) wrote an editorial
in the May i edition of the Washing
ton Post. As the executive director of
the nonprofit 31st Century School
Fund, she outlined the phght of the
physical facihties at the D.C. public
schools. Her editorial stressed the
importance of planning for the
future and of keeping a good handle
on current design and construction
needs and services.
James Schamus (A) co-wrote and
was producer for “Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon.” He’s worked with
Ang Lee on other films in addition to
the Oscar-nominated surprise hit
about Chinese warriors, such as
“The Ice Storm” and “Eat Drink
Man Woman.” Schamus also wrote
the lyrics for Crouching Tiger’s
theme song, “A Love Before Time.”
Marilynn Smith (SFGI) reports:
1979
Marie Toler Raney (A) and Jon
Raney (A74) report that they are
“still happy in Portland, Oregon in
our house ‘Wits End.’ Soon to be
empty nesters, we expect to find it
easier to come east to see friends.
“I’m still working at Coachella Val
ley High School in the Southern Cal
ifornia desert-and looking forward
to retirement (or is it re-focusing) in
about a year and a half. Teaching
composition and literature at the
College of the Desert is a great joy.
So are my four grandchildren!”
{The College. St. John^s College . Summer 2001 }
1982
Lemuel Martinez (AGI) ran on the
Democratic ticket for the 13th Judi
cial District Attorney post in Albu
querque. He’s an assistant district
attorney and an instructor at the
University of New Mexico who was
formerly a public school teacher for
ten years.
Eileen M. Renno (A) is living in
beautiful southern Oregon on the
east fork of the Illinois River. “I am
the proud mother of two daughters,
Molly (17) and Katy (6). I am work
ing in Human Services as a Job
Coach for The Job Council. I work
with ‘hard-to-serve,’ long-term wel
fare recipients, supporting them in
their efforts toward self-sufficiency.
It’s a challenging and rewarding
position with never a sometimeslonged-for dull moment. I miss the
Chesapeake Bay and look forward to
visiting family in Shady Side and
Frederick, Md., this summer. It’s a
happy thought that I’ll be visiting
Annapolis and St. John’s again, too.”
1984
John L. Bush (SF) says that he has a
new place of employment-he’s work
ing in the office of the university
architect at Virginia Tech in Blacks
burg, Va. “I’m enjoying walking to
and from work every day. Elizabeth
is finishing her masters degree at
Virginia Tech in plant pathology.
Salem is finishing his senior year of
high school at Blacksburg High and
looking at colleges to attend. He is
hoping for an athletic scholarship for
track and cross-country. Loran is
finishing his freshman year of high
school and enjoys playing soccer and
basketball. Hope everyone is well
and prospering.”
Karl and Lisa Walling (both A)
write that Karl is now a professor of
strategy at the Naval War College in
Newport, R.I. Lisa is now the direc
tor of the Tiverton Public Library
system.
Barry and Cynthia Hellman (both
A) have a new daughter, born 11-700, named Abigail Faith Hellman.
They now have three children, Barry
III (14), Joel (7), and the new baby.
Tracy Mendham (A) e-mails: “After
living in Brooklyn, N.Y., for nine
�31
{Alumni Notes}
Thinking in the Future Tense
BY
Barbara Goyette, A73
A
yjobistothink
/I about the
! I future,” says
/ I Robert Bienenfeld(SF8o).As
senior manager
of alternative-fuel vehicle marketing for
Honda, Bienenfeld works to promote the use
of cars that run on fuels other than gasohne.
The present is rapidly approaching the future
as far as internal combustion engine technolo
gy is concerned. What with the energy crunch
in California (and elsewhere), the high price of
gasohne, the arguments about the best ways to
deal with environmental problems like pollu
tion and misuse of non-renewable resources,
hybrid automobiles-which are fueled by gaso
line and electricity-are in the news today.
Bush has proposed a tax incentive to encour
age sales of hybrids. The American auto com
panies are working to develop hybrid versions
of their top-selling SUVs. Honda and Toyota
promote their small hybrids in hip ads in
major magazines like Time and the New York
er. Movie stars, gear-heads, and environmentally-sensitive politicians are buying the Hon
das and Toyotas currently on the market.
“Technology is changing all the time, and
I’m optimistic about how social priorities are
changing, too,” says Bienenfeld. “We’re con
suming way too much petroleum and we need
to be really concerned about that. There’s
been progress, but we need to go further.”
Alternative-fueled cars are one factor in the
mix of regulations, proposals, and products
that aim to help us deal with these current
problems and prepare us for the future.
Bienenfeld has worked for Honda since
right after he graduated. “I knew I wanted to
go into business, and I didn’t want to go to
graduate school right away to do it. I thought
my St. John’s education was great for any
W I
years, my partner Dana Chenier and
I are moving back to Massachusettswe’ll be relocating to Natick in May.
In July, I’ll be graduating from the
MFA in Writing Program at Vermont
College. For the time being, my
e-mail address will be
tmendham@nish.pair.com.”
Sue (Price) Gavrich (A) e-mails:
“My husband Bob and I joyfully
career,” he says.
“At St. John’s I was
used to picking up
a new, difficult
book every week
and then applying
myself to under
stand it. I thought
about the business
world; ‘How hard
could it be?’”
After a threeyear stint as a con
tractworker, Bienen Robert Bienenfeld
WITH the Insight,
feld was hired
Honda’s hybrid.
full-time. He worked
in parts inventory
management and then spent a year and a half
in Japan. In 1993 he was assigned to the alter
native fuel task force. Over the past decade
Honda has developed cars that are fueled by
natural gas, battery electric power, and a
combination of gas and electricity (the
hybrid). The Insight, a hybrid, uses its gaso
line engine for most driving but has an elec
tric motor as a supplement. When the driver
brakes, the battery recharges. “It’s a huge
challenge to provide alternatives to gas-pow
ered vehicles,” Bienenfeld says. “However,
the social and environmental benefits are
great, like reduced dependence on imported
oil and reduced emissions.”
Bienefeld helped Honda launch a battery
electric car in California in 1997. Although
the car was very advanced, battery electric
cars are not new. It turns out that electricity is
a very old method of powering cars. At first,
electric cars outsold aU others. Other fuels
had their drawbacks: steam was dangerous,
and gas engines were smelly and noisy. How
ever, when demand grew for travel between
cities, the battery-powered electric cars fell
announce the birth of our daughter,
Anna Lucy Gavrich on October 18,
2000. You can see pictures of Lucy
on her web site, www.annalucy.com.
We recently moved to a Craftsman
bungalow in Alameda, Calif., which
is basically Mayberry with good
sushi. I’m working from home as a
self-employed fee-only financial
planner. You can e-mail me at
sue_gavTich@moneywell.com.”
into disfavor with the
public, who instead
bought gas-powered
cars that could travel
farther. Now, the
almost perfect infrastructure-with a gas
station every corner
makes introduction of
alternative-fuel cars
difficult. The supply of
natural gas is in the
hundreds of years, says
Bienenfeld, and Honda has developed a car
that runs on natural gas. But there are only
about 1,500 places around the country to
refuel such a car, as opposed to 200,000
places that sell gasoline. Bienenfeld is work
ing with another company to develop a home
refueling appliance for natural gas vehicles.
“The answer to the marketing challenge is
in education,” says Bienenfeld. “We have to
look at innovative advertising, reach key opin
ion makers. A variety of people have to throw
their support behind these new cars-the
automobile magazines, the environmental
groups, even government.”
Bienenfeld is also busy with the next step
in the consideration of the future: product
planning for Honda-thinking about what the
next generation of Accords, Civics, and
Odysseys will be like. He’s been pondering
the difference between speculating and plan
ning. “I read Paul Erlich’s The Population
Bomb while I was in junior high,” he says. “I
was really influenced by that book-what he
thought was going to happen. Yet every pre
diction he made was wrong...In 20 years we’ll
still be planning for the future-after all, we
never really get there. The principles will be
the same: you need to have a really clear
understanding of your goals and mission.”
John Wright (A) has published
short stories in Isaac Asimov’s SF
magazine and in Year’s Best Annual
(David Hartwell, ed.) His two
novels, Golden Age (sf) andLa.st
Guardian ofEverness (fantasy), are
due for publication in aooi and
2,002, by Tor Books. John is a retired
attorney, newspaperman and news
paper editor. He presently lives in
fairy-tale-like happiness with his
{The College .St John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
wife, the authoress L. JAGI LAMP
LIGHTER (A85), and their two chil
dren, Orville and Wilbur Wright.
1985
Sarah (A) and Dan Knight (A84)
write that they had a wonderful time
at Homecoming weekend. “It was
great to see everyone and we were
�{AlumniNotes}
3^
surprised by how relaxed and ‘at
home’ we felt on campus.”
Robert George (A) is going to be a
regular on a new talking head show
on CNN, airing Saturdays at 8:30
p.m. The show, called “Take 5,” pre
miered on March 17.
Karen Bell-Andrews (A85, also
AGI93) is married to Ben Andrews, a
singer very popular in England and
currently on tour there. She is an athome mom working on her PhD.
With their three children, Amelia,
Eliza, and Ian, they live on a historic
old farm in Fairplay, Md. (near
Hagerstown). Karen raises cows and
chickens as well as bees.
1986
Debbie Jones Humphries (SF) is
stiU teaching part-time. She loves
working with graduate students. She
has also started homeschooling her
two sons, Ranier (5) and CameronJack (3), “and that’s keeping me
busy,” she says.
Julie (Spencer) Moser (SF) sends
this request: “Would anyone who has
experience teaching in a Paideia
high school please contact me? I’m
helping found a new high school and
I need your advice. My e-mail is
rainyday@taosnet.com.”
1987
is so much fun and we love him so
much we can hardly stand it,” says
Claudia. “I would love to hear from
classmates-it seems like just yester
day we were at Homecoming for our
loth reunion. Please e-mail me
stackc@uncwil.edu.”
1989
Pamela Jeffcoat (SF) writes: “I
finally got a job as a Russian inter
preter, and now I’m starting to learn
Turkish. I play ping pong with a lot
of Chinese guys but so far, I haven’t
learned a word of Chinese.”
Koko Ives (A) writes that she now
has two beautiful daughters, Zoe and
Cate.
1988
Alden Joseph Stack was born to
Claudia Probst Stack (A’88) and
Joe Stack on October 29, 2000. “He
Roberta Faux (A91) live
in downtown Baltimore where they are restoring a historic
building that functioned as a pharmacy with living quarters
above. Roberta received her MA in classics in 1999. After
receiving his doctorate in composition from Boston Universi
ty and teaching for several years in Colorado, Travis now
operates a music production studio. The Apothecary, with Frank A
(Ago). “We love doing this stuff and are always looking to work with
on interesting film and video projects. Music from some of our recent proj
ects can be heard at our web site www.mp3.com/TheAp0thecary.”
T
Marion Gunn Jenkins (SFGI) is still
in retirement, living in New Haven
next door to her only grandchild and
her daughter and son-in-law. “I’m
active observing local and regional
government for the League of
Women Voters of New Haven. I hope
to take up my study of Greek which
gives me great pleasure despite the
obstacle of age.”
“Young Adam Pittman was born
April ig, 2000,” writes Clinton
Pittman (SF). “Thought about a
Homerian name, but then decided
against such a radical step-not
everyone gets all those Odyssey ref
erences in Oh Brother, Where Art
Thour
“I am leaving my job as an attorney
in the Antitrust Division of the U.S.
Department of Justice to take up a
one-year Visiting Assistant Professor
post at the Northwestern University
Law School, where I received my JD
in 1994,” writes JOE MILLER (A). “I
will be teaching intellectual property
law courses. My residence at the Law
School starts June 4, 2001. One
thing will not change-namely, my
permanent e-mail address at
findjoemiller@hotmail.com.”
Amanda Dalton (A) played the
parts of Delightful and Nadine in a
Colonial Players production of Dear
ly Departed this spring in Annapolis.
A professional clown who graduated
from Ringling Brothers’ Clown Col
lege, she has appeared in summer
theater productions for the past sev
eral years.
Charlotte Glover (SF) reports:
“I’m living with my husband David
Kiffer in beautiful, wet Ketchikan,
Ala., and we are enjoying our first
child, a darling boy named Liam
Benjamin Kiffer, born December ii,
2,000. So far, his favorite ‘great
book’ is Bugs in Spaced
ravis Hardaway (A91) and his wife
our four-year-old daughter, Imogen,
loves her Montessori pre-school.
Hope all is well with the many
friends I’ve lost touch with.”
Margaret (Meg) Lewis (A) is work
ing at the Academy of Natural Sci
ences in Philadelphia as a Ubrary
specialist. She invites alums and stu
dents to visit.
The MP3 Scene
1990
Margo Maganias Thomas (A)
writes: “What a difference 12 years
makes! My husband Bill and I are
still living in Arlington, Va., and
appreciate its village/urban charac
ter. We’re planning on renovating
and expanding our Cape Cod which
over the past four years has become
too small for our family. Our oldest.
August, is enjoying kindergarten and
GenevaMacDonand Pulgham (SF)
co-authored a book with her sister; it
was published in igg? by Texas A&M
Press- Women Pioneers in Texas
Medicine.
Fritz Hinrichs (A) writes; “I am
very pleased to announce two great
gifts of God to me. On March 25,1
had the privilege of marrying
Christy Hass of Rocklin, Calif. On
January 4, we were blessed with the
birth of a beautiful girl-Annabelle
Faith Hinrichs. With great grief, but
also trust in God’s loving provi
dence, I must also relay that after let
ting forth a short, beautiful cry, she
mysteriously passed into the land of
the living (Job 1:21). We would love
to hear from you all-contact us
through our web site, www.gbt.org.”
Sundance Metelsky (AGI) and Tom
Oehser, her partner of nine years,
were married on May 7 in Luray Cav
erns. More than go people attended,
including their children, Bela Wolf
gang Zoltan Seaton Williams Metel
sky Oehser (son, age 5 ) and Zina
Xena Metelsky Oehser (daughter,
age 14 months). Johnnies in atten
dance included Johnny Metelsky
(Ag4) and Lydia Rolita Metelsky
(Ag6) and honorary Johnnies, John
Metelslcy and Ethan Billotte. Also on
hand was a film crew from the cable
TV show, “A Wedding Story.” The
episode will air sometime in Septem
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
ber or October on The Learning
Channel. Sundance says, “The wed
ding was a unique celebration, fea
turing the casting of the circle and
calling of spirits, a hearty group
singing of‘Yellow Submarine,’
humorous legal proceedings featur
ing Tom’s cousin, Tina Oehser, who
asperged the couple with water from
the sacred springs near the Oracle of
Delphi, Tom and Sundance being
wrapped in a blanket held up by four
friends (one doing the holding in
spirit) and time in total darkness in
the cave, a talking stick in which
each attendee had a chance to offer a
blessing, and closing with the Grate
ful Dead song ‘Ripple.’ If you want to
know when the episode airs (or just
want to say hi!), please e-mail me at
sundance@toms.net.”
1991
Nate Downey (SF) is helping to
organize the tenth reunion in Santa
Fe this summer and would like to
gather e-mail addresses for any and
all classmates. E-mail him at
nate@sfpermaculture.com with
“Hegel rocks! ” in the subject line.
Elliott Tullock (SF) writes: “In
December I will complete training at
the Texas Maritime Academy and
receive a third mate unlimited ton
nage any oceans license. Upon
receiving my license I will sail on a
general cargo steamship trading
from the U.S. Gulf to Europe and
Africa. Wife Diana and son James (3)
are doing well. We expect to return
to Belize next year and take up
ranching and tropical fruit cultiva
tion when 1 am home from sea.”
Karen Andrews (SF) recently par
ticipated in a group theme show fea
turing “functional/dysfunctional”
art at the Flux Gallery in Denver.
�{AlUMNiPrOFILE}
33
Democracy Brokering
IN THE Balkans
BY Roberta Gable, A78
hat moment after you graduate
election systems (our
forte!) and party-building
from law school (in the case of
Tia Pausic, A86, Harvard Law
to commercial legal
School) can be one of the most
reform and economicfree moments in life. The rig
related issues like pension
reform, the creation of
ors of the academic world are
small and medium enterprise, and the devel
behind you, and the long grind towards
opment
of trade unions. The CDP opened the
becoming a partner somewhere looms
ahead;
Zagreb office in May of ’92, and Pausic was
but in the meantime, Sisyphus can take a
the first executive director.
couple of weeks off and relax. Pausic cele
She had been back to Croatia three times
brated her freedom by going with her father
on CDP business but now we’re talking
on the Croatian Fraternal Union of Pitts
immersion. There was the language to be
burgh’s more or less annual trip to Croatia
reckoned with (“I tried not to be afraid of
(her father is Croatian and her mother is
speaking”), the lack of consumer goods (“I
Romanian). They had a swell i8-day trip,
including a weeklong cruise on the Adriatic.
developed a scavenger mentality that has
been hard to shake! ”), the toilet paper (“like
Then, back to reality, and Pausic moved to
tree bark”), and her living situation. She had
D. C., where she had a typical entry-level j ob
a small one-bedroom apartment, which was
as an associate at a fairly large law firm. They
did government contract work and also some
not only her home, but also the CDP office
and the crash pad for any CDP visitors.
international and immigration work, which
Pausic set to work developing projects to
was Pausic’s area of interest.
In the meantime, as a result of the Croat
submit to funding agencies, both public and
private. For example, the Children’s Hospital
ian vacation, she became involved with the
in Zagreb was in need of a mobile medical
Croatian American community in D.C.
clinic, since they were basically the only pedi
Young professionals, mostly children of
atric hospital in the country and also tasked
recent emigres, would get together and talk
with health care for refugee children
politics: it was 1989, and change, with the
throughout Croatia. She found funding with
prospect of multi-party elections in Hungary,
the Soros Foundation to purchase and equip
Poland, and Czechoslovakia, was sweeping
the vehicle, and in 1993 they were then able
Europe. And then they did more than talk:
to help children in remote places. (By 1999
they started to host visits from democratic
the local hospitals were enough recovered
political leaders in Croatia, hoping to get
U.S. governmental support for free elections
that the vehicle was then donated to the mili
tary unit in charge of mine-clearing opera
there.
tions.)
Finally they decided they needed to form a
By 1994 she had to face reality once again.
non-profit organization to support this work,
She was making next to nothing working for
and the Croatian Democracy Project (CDP)
a non-profit, and had deferred her law
was born. As the situation in Croatia heated
school loans for two years, but now had to
up, Pausic’s interest in government contract
think about shouldering that burden again.
work cooled down-her pro bono work for the
“I left in December ’93, thinking I was
CDP became her focus.
never going back. I cried on the plane to
In 1991 war broke out in Croatia. The CDP
Frankfurt.”
(and Pausic, the president thereof) realized
Back in Washington, she camped on her
that the only way they would succeed in
sister’s couch and continued to help out at
bringing democracy-building resources from
the U.S. to Croatia would be to open an office
the CDP while she looked for a job. She
talked to the president of America’s Develop
in Zagreb. And what exactly are “democracy
ment Foundation (ADF) about possibly get
building resources,” do you ask? In response
ting involved with their projects. In March
to the democratic changes in eastern Europe
in the eighties, an industry of support grew
1994 he called her and told her that USAID
had issued an RFA (Request for Applications)
up in the United States, for everything from
T
{ T H E C o L L E G E . St. John’s College ■ Summernoot }
Tia Pausic (bottom row, far left) poses with
Croatian friends and co-workers.
for a human rights project in Croatia, and
asked her if she would help write it and be the
Chief of Party (basically, be the person who
would be in charge if the grant were given).
She would, she did, and ADF, a non-profit in
Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded the con
tract for a project to strengthen the abilities
of the human rights organizations in Croatia.
So, having left Croatia expecting never to
return, she moved back in October ’94 to
provide training, give technical assistance,
and bring grant funding to the Croatian
groups. This time her set-up in Zagreb was a
lot different. The grant was for $2.5 million
over a three-year period. She had her own
apartment, and in her office she had actual
equipment, actual staff, and an actual salary;
and she had become fluent in Croatian, fluent
enough even to be a Croatian/English inter
preter. She designed a grant program, but
when they were about to give their first
grants in ’95 the government initiated a mili
tary operation to seize occupied territory
from the Serbs, and Zagreb was bombed,
making for a certain amount of, shall we say,
uncertainty in her life. Nonetheless, they
stayed, the occupied territory was liberated,
and life got back to more or less normal.
A pleasant influx of additional funding
turned the three-year $2.5 million project
into a six-year, $10 miUion project, which
from mid-1996 focussed on displaced persons
and repatriation issues. The pursuit of happi
ness continues abroad for Pausic. She left this
June for her next posting with ADF-Sarajevo,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, where she will be
directing a $4 million, three-year project cre
ated to provide training, technical assistance,
and grants to local nonprofits to encourage
more civic participation, advocacy, public
private partnerships, and coalition-building
among the local groups.
�{AlumniNotes}
34
Christopher Johnson (SF) says: “I
Dianne Cowan (A) is still in Boston,
recently completed my PhD in com
parative literature at New York Uni
versity. My dissertation, ‘Hyper
boles: Exemplary Excess in Early
Modern English and Spanish Poetry,
and its Origins in Classical Epic and
Rhetoric,’ won the Outstanding Dis
sertation Prize in the Humanities for
2000-01 at NYU. Currently, I am
also teaching at New York University
and City College, but this summer
I’m off to a friend’s organic farm in
the Pacific Northwest to clear the
head and get the hands dirty.”
still working for the same software
company. Her e-mail address is diannecowan@mindspring.com.
1992
Kate (Griehs) Sullivan (SF) and
her husband John Sullivan (SF94)
live in Austin, Tex., where John is a
project manager for 7-24 Solutions
and Kate homeschools their four
children, Madeline (7), Jack (5), Lily
(3), and Claire (i). John’s e-mail is
Jsullivan@724.com and Kate’s is
Kate@willdev.com.
Boaz Roth (AGI) recounts his
recent life: 1999, marriage; 2000,
baby #1; 2001, home ownership. He
asks: “Will I ever get a chance to
read Proust again?”
“The charter school I’ve been work
ing on for the last two and a half
years finally got chartered, so we’ll
be opening in September,” says
Taeko Onishi (SF). “It will be a
multi-aged, project-based K-5 school
targeting low income families in
Troy, N.Y. It is an outgrowth of a
community learning space for K-12
in a local public housing neighbor
hood where I work now. I’d love to
hear from any and all Johnnies.
Come for a visit or just get in touch,
ktaeko@hotmail.com.”
Amy Elizabeth Parton (A) says, ‘I
am working as a clinical research
monitor in the pharmaceutical
industry. Still enjoying life in Austin,
Tex., and would love to hear from old
friends. The rest of the world knows
me by my middle name so I can
reached by e-mail at elizabeth.parton@austin.ppdi.com.”
Elyette (Block) Kirby (SF)
reports: “I’m having a baby in May
and soon after will be transferring
from The Netherlands to the UK
with my job at Amazon.co.uk. I enjoy
working at Amazon where every
interview situation seems to fit in a
discussion on who one’s favorite
authors are. I am what’s called a
‘communications specialist,’ which
means I write a lot. My husband I
hope to be settled in the London
area by June and would love to hear
from anyone close by-or far away!
My e-mail is elyette@hotmail.com.”
Trish Dougherty (A) reports that
Sean Donald Dougherty was born
5/5/01; he joins his big brother
Owen and his mom and dad in
Orwell, Vermont.
Simon Bone (SF) sent in a photo of
himself in front of Kant’s grave in
Kaliningrad. “He is still dead,”
notes Simon.
J. Elizabeth Huebert (SF) received
her MD from University of Nebraska
Medical Center, May 5, 2001. She
will do a one-year internship at
Broadlawns Hospital in Des Moines,
Iowa, and then return to Omaha for
three years of specialty training in
anesthesia.
Alec Berlin (SF) released an album
of original jazz in October 2000,
“Crossing Paths.” It is available at
www.cdbaby.com/alecberlin. Since
then he’s been composing a lot and
working in the new media world, all
the while freelancing in bands
around New York City.
1993
Jennifer Council Jones (A) moved
to Newport Beach, Calif., where she
is opening an office for an ad agency
and having a great time learning to
surf.
Nereos Gunther (A) writes, “I am
completing my period of indenture
in the City of Baltimore and plan to
begin an entertainment web site and
educational association for vivisectionists.”
Valerie Duff (SF) is currently
teaching at Boston University and at
Harvard Extension. She plans to
take a year off to attend Trinity Col
lege in Dublin, Ireland. While there,
she will be in an MA program in cre
ative writing. Valerie received an MA
in creative writing from Boston Uni
versity, and has since published
extensively in Agni, Salamander,
Verse, and other literary magazines.
She was managing editor of Agni
(the literary magazine of Boston
University ) for two years.
Aaron Mason (SF) works as a mar
keting writer/editor in the NYC
offices of STV Inc., as an architectur
al consultant; most projects involve
public transportation planning.
Aaron and Nick Gray (SF97) were
both involved with a theatrical per
formance in New York City in
March-Mercury Retrograde: An
Evening of 4 Original Short Plays @
the Sanford Meisner Theatre. Aaron
wrote a lo-minute play called “Mr.
Oedipus,” which is, he says, “artful
ly directed by goddess-on-wheels,
Elysa Marden. Appearing with the
hilarious Laura Agudelo (roles of
Hillary and God), I play the title role
of a man trapped between two
conflicting identities. One personali
ty is an angry white rap star (sound
familiar?), and the other side of him
remains a reclusive author of chil
dren’s books. It is VERY loosely
based on the original Oedipus.” In
another lo-minute play, “Bye Bye
Love” by Milton Johnson, Aaron
plays the proud owner of a trailer
home, a Trans-Am, and a hidden
past... “‘Bye Bye Love’ is directed
with zen-like poise by the
unflappable Beth Ouradnik. And
Nicholas Gray has written a 20minute play, ‘Coat Room,’ directed
by the wise and wooly Sean McGlynn.
‘Coat Room’ is a romantic farce that
takes place (where else!) in the bed
room/coat room of a party. Mr. Gray
plays a lovelorn twentysomething lad
in the midst of a messy separation.”
Anna Vaserstein (A) writes that she
and Warren Ellison announce the
birth of Daniel Vaserstein Ellison on
May 6, 2001 at their house in Jeri
cho, Vt.
Jenna Palmer (SF) and James
Michel (SF92) send word that Jenna
received her MA in literature at San
Francisco State University with a
thesis on Jane Eyre, as well as
certificates in the teaching of com
position and reading. She is current
ly teaching at San Francisco State
and the College of San Mateo and
hoping to hook a permanent posi
tion. Jim’s law practice is in its fifth
year and has recently moved to
downtown San Francisco. You can
{The College. St John’s College ■ Summer aooi }
contact them at jpalmer@sfsu.edu
and jamich@pacbell.net.
Jeff Natterman (AGI) is currently
involved with the Johns Hopkins
Urban Health Council and Baltimore
City Schools. He says, “I could spend
an hour at least describing the
deplorable conditions of the elemen
tary schools in the city. In particular,
their books are in some cases 20
years old (history books with
Richard Nixon as the current presi
dent); their libraries in disrepair and
mostly empty of books of any kind.
The city pleads for more funding
from the state; the state attempts to
meets the needs, but fails...badly! I
have developed a program called
‘Great Books for Great Kids: The
Tench Tilghman Project.’ This pro
gram targets just one elementary
school in Baltimore City. I am hop
ing to solicit either funding or ele
mentary school age resource books
for the school by August 2001.1
believe these children will never rise
above a ‘mediocre at best’ environ
ment without the best possible
resources for learning starting with
books. Please contact me if you’d
like to help out;
jnatterm@jhmi.edu.”
Special greetings to the class of ’93
from Amalia Uribe (SF). She writes,
“I have two pieces of good news to
report. First: Graduated with honors
from Massage Therapy school in
October 2000. Since November I
have been a full time certified Mas
sage Therapist, and I absolutely love
my new career. I work at a chiroprac
tic clinic and at a small day spa, both
in the East Bay of California. Sec
ond; On July 14, 2000,1 eloped!!! I
am now happily married. My hus
band is Mustapha Moutri; he is 28, a
2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon
Do, and is from Rabat, Morocco. We
are quite happy big smile, and NO,
there are no plans for little ones just
yet. I would love to hear from any of
you, but especially from my class
mates: My e-mail is
amaliacmt@yahoo.com (this is a
new address). If any of you have tried
to get in touch at the old address, I
have not had that for a few months,
so please try again. I would also very
much like to hear from: Jonathan
Bricke Rowan (SF96) Will and
Amy Glusman (A93)
Julie (Girone) Martin (A) and her
husband Eric announce the birth of
their second daughter, Josephine
�35
{Alumni Notes}
April. She was born on April 24.
Says Julie, “I’ve been a housewife
since Charlotte, our first child, was
born three and a half years ago. At
the moment, we’re still in
Somerville, N.J., although we’re
moving to a house on an organic
farm in Hopewell, New Jersey, this
fall, where my husband is the care
taker. He’s still the executive chef
and manager of a fine-dining
restaurant in Hamilton as well. Any
Johnnies interested in either line of
work (especially the farming
apprentices are always wanted),
give a call.”
Matthew Wright (A) writes:
“Hello to everyone. Michelle, Anne,
Emily, John and I are still living in
Philly. We are homeschooling and
living in a small intentional commu
nity we helped get started last
August. I would love to hear from
people at matthew.wright@wholefoods.com.”
1994
Sarah Liversidge (A) and Mike
Afflerbach (A) were married Sept
16, 2000 in the Great Hall. Their
reception was held on the back lawn
of the house of President Chris Nel
son and Joyce Olin. Many Johnnies
were in attendance. The Afflerbachs
are still living in New Bern, N.C. and
are enjoying racing sailboats. Sarah
will be taking her architectural
exams this year and Mike is loving
the radio biz.
Peter Bezanson (SF) has been
appointed tutor at the College of the
Humanities and Sciences in
Phoenix, Arizona. The College of
the Humanities and Sciences is a
great books distance learning col
lege established in 1997; it offers
undergraduate and graduate educa
tion in the humanities with concen
trations in imaginative literature,
natural science, philosophy and reli
gion, and social science.
Kenneth Wolfe (SF) is spending
this year as a visiting assistant pro
fessor at Reed College. He received
his PhD in classics from UC Berkeley
in May 2000.
Paul Barker (AGI) will be moving
back to Maryland from Ohio. He has
been appointed principal of John
Carroll School in Bel Air.
Antique Information Systems
Tracy Whitcomb (A) says she is still
enjoying life in Burlington, Vt.
Michael ViLLACRUsis (AGI) writes
n article about Randolph Stakk (A98) called “Under
that he and his wife Jennifer had
ground Mail Road” appeared on the front page of the New
their first child on February 15,
York Times metro section in May. Stark, identified in the
Emily Rose.
article as an entrepreneur, is interested in the under
ground pneumatic tubes installed in the 1890s to carry
Sarah (Van Deusen) Flynn (A) says:
mail throughout the city. He wants to use them to hold
“We are enjoying Guam. It’s a very
fiber optic cable which would connect with telecommunications nice
systems
place for young families. Ethan
that already exist. The pneumatic system was state-of-the-art in several
is stationed here at the Naval Hospi
East Coast cities until about rgrS, Stark discovered, until it was phased out
tal until September 2002.”
by a quicker and less expensive form of transport that could also carry a
greater volume-motor wagons. It was not until 1953 that the tube system
Thea Agnew (SF) is still living in
was closed. Stark is quoted in the article as saying it would cost “about
Alaska. She’s working for herself
$roo million a mile to repUcate the conduits today...making even five miles
writing grants, particularly working
of them a worthwhile resource.” He’s currently searching for the original
with rural development in Alaska
blueprints for the system.
Native communities. She completed
an MA in history in May 2000 focus
ing on 19th century encounters
and coordinate the distribution of
Patricia Greer (AGI) wiU be a tutor
between Yupik Eskimos and Russian
marketing materials for the various
at the Santa Fe campus next year.
Orthodox and American Protestant
FtvS products. She will be responsi
missionaries.
ble for sales materials and press kits
Dan Farley and Elizabeth Rhodes
on projects as diverse as the upcom
Farley (both A) write: “In addition
ing local Fox World Productions ver
to our daughter, Hannah (now three
sions of “Temptation Island” and
years old), we have a son, Dylan,
the movie based on popular chil
born May rq, 2000 (Mother’s
“John and I are busy planning our
dren’s author R.L. Stine’s story enti
Day!).”
house-to be built this summer on
tled “When Good Ghouls Go Bad.”
our II acres of slightly wet paradise
A
1996
1995
Emily Murphy (A) was one of four
Pennsylvania graduate students to
receive the Outstanding Graduate
Student award from the Pennsylva
nia Association of Graduate Schools.
Of course, she says, “around here
it’s ‘for the Glory of Old State,’ but I
think that a lot of the credit goes to
St. John’s as well.”
Susan Talkington (SFGI) is cur
rently working as a software engi
neer for the Seattle offices of Mer
rill Lynch. She married Ian
MacGillivray of Santa Fe in March
2oor, and the two are currently
residing in Eldorado.
Rontt Koren (SFGI) has been pro
moted to Manager, Marketing, Fox
Television Studios. Ms. Koren will
continue to develop marketing
opportunities for Fox Television Stu
dios, including top series suppliers
Regency Television and the Greenblatt-JanoUari Studio, alternative
studio Fox TV Studios Productions,
international production specialist
Fox World Productions, Fox Televi
sion Pictures and non-fiction pro
duction companies Foxstar and Nat
ural History New Zealand. Ms.
Koren will continue to help design
icksT
in central Maine,” writes Allison
Eddyblouin (SF). “The girls (Mary
Catherine and Thalia) are great
homeschooling is a blast. It was
great to have Jason Voigt come visit.
He will be doing the same boat build
ing program that John did four years
ago! Any other Johnnies want to
come visit? If so, drop us a line.”
Mara Giles (SF) writes, “Just read
Geoff Marslett (SF) currently has
the Spring 2oor The College and
enjoyed reading about a distant and
not-so-distant past of my own. I rem
inisced about my years on both the
Santa Fe and Annapolis campuses. I
am enjoying my life very much with
my non-Johnnie husband, a biology
professor, and our wonderful daugh
ter in Nebraska. I work for a comput
er software company located in New
Mexico and feel quite lucky to be
able to telecommute. I still enjoy the
academic life, can’t seem to get away
from it (married into it), and am pur
suing more (yea!) degrees in litera
ture and philosophy with hopes
of...??? Well, let’s just say it’ll ruin
the surprise if I tell you now. Best of
luck and regards to each of you.”
an animated short film out called
“Monkey vs. Robot.” For more infor
mation, check out his website at
WWW. swervepictures. com.
Rosemary Ingham (AGI) writes: “I
retired from teaching at Mary Wash
ington College in May and am spend
ing the summer at the Utah Shake
spearean Festival where I will be
designing costumes for Two Gentle
men of Verona and The Fantask-
Nada Khader (SFEC) is teaching
French and private tutoring students
at the United National International
School in Manhattan. She’s also a
Girl Scout troop leader.
{The College. St. John ’5 College ■ Summer 2001 }
Jon Stephen Pearson (SF) is com
pleting requirements for an MFA
degree in comparative literature
while teaching literature under an
assistantship at the University of
Georgia in Athens.
Amy (Norman) Morgan (A)
reports: “I was married in June
1998. During the ‘99-00 school year
my husband (Bill) and I taught Eng
lish and methodology to secondary
school English teachers in
Ovorkhangai, Mongolia. Now, we
live in the Cincinnati area where
Bill teaches elementary school
music and I teach English to foreign
business people and their spouses. I
am applying to study applied lin
guistics at Indiana University or
�{AlumniProfile}
Cultural Jam Session
Anthropologist Catherine Allen explores the culture ofthe Andes.
BY SUS3AN
Borden, A87
cattered
throughout
Catherine
Allen’s
(A6g) office
are Andean
textiles-woven pieces in
reds, black, and white
with patterns marching
down one side and up
the other. Allen nods
towards one, a woman’s
shawl, and points out
the seam down its cen
ter. “You’d think that
they’ve just taken two
complete pieces and
sewn them together, but
it’s really a single pat
tern,” she says. “The
two halves are part of
the design. In the
Andes, everything needs
a companion.”
Allen’s knowledge of
Andean culture goes
well beyond textiles. An
anthropologist, she did
her fieldwork with the
Quechua-speaking people in the Peruvian
region of Cuzco, where she lived and partici
pated in community life by harvesting and
planting potatoes, cooking, learning to spin,
and helping to herd animals. She has written
many articles, a book, and a play that draw
on her fieldwork in the Andes. And she has
just won a Guggenheim Fellowship to write a
book examining Andean expressive media
(such as storytelling and weaving) and write
another play.
Allen didn’t start out as an anthropologist.
She was originally interested in classical
archaeology, an interest that led her first to
St. John’s and then to the University of Illi
nois to study archaeology at the graduate
level. It wasn’t long, however, before Allen
found herself frustrated with the narrow
focus of archaeology. “I was interested in
questions of meaning, questions that needed
Catherine Allen (second from left)
SWITCHED from IMAGINARY TO REAL FRIENDS
THROUGH THE STUDY OF QEROS, ARTIFACTS FROM
THE
Andes.
a living context” she says, “but all the peo
ple I was studying were dead.”
In pursuit of her master’s degree in the
iconography of ceramics from the southern
coast of Peru, Allen spent hours staring at
museum collections and studying pictures of
ceramics. She learned plenty about the
ceramics themselves, but little about what
they were used for. “It was like having the
grammar of a language, but not knowing
what any of the words mean,” she says.
When she considered questions of meaning,
she had only her own mind to consult: “I felt
like I was making up my imaginary friends.”
Allen moved from imaginary to real
friends during her dissertation research.
{ The C o llege-St. John’s College • Summer 2001 }
which began with the
study of lacquered
wooden cups called
qeros. Although the
first part of her project
brought her back to
museum work, the sec
ond part sent her into
the world of people,
meaning, and anthro
pology.
Qeros date back to
the 17th century, but
they are still used for
drinking rituals in
some communities in
the Peruvian highlands.
Allen decided to study
one of these communi
ties, Sonqu, hoping
that current drinking
rituals would shed light
on past qero uses and
answer the questions of
meaning she had been
formulating. Allen went
to Sonqu and immersed
herself in the communi
ty’s way of life. While
her academic interests centered on the per
formative aspects of life (storytelling, cere
monies, and rituals), Allen found herself
focusing on the community’s everyday
modes of interaction.
“What I studied was a kind of etiquette,
really,” she says. “Ritual is an intensified
expression of everyday courtesies.” Among
the people of Sonqu, the basic vehicle of rit
ual is the coca leaf, always chewed in a cere
monial context. And so her dissertation
moved away from the qeros that had brought
her to Sonqu. “I ended up writing on coca
chewing,” she says. “Coca is the bare bones
of their ritual life.”
Allen completed her dissertation. Coca,
Chicha, and Trago: Private and Communal
Rituals in a Quechua Community, in 1978.
Ten years later she published The Hold Life
Has: Coca and Cultural Identity in an
�{AlumniProfile}
37
''When Ifirst studied culture, I thought
ofit more as a symphony: each person
has apart to play and the culture gives
you a score. But the class made me realize
there isn i any score; culture is something
that is always emerging ''
Andean Community,
the book that devel
oped out of her disser
tation. It is still in
print today, read pri
marily by anthropology
students; a second edi
tion is in the works.
And as her book is a
perennial at universi
ties, Allen is now a
perennial at George
Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Hired 20 years ago as a newly-minted PhD,
she is surprised to find herself still teaching
there. “I never expected to stay,” she says. “I
thought I would go on to a small experimen
tal college, but I began teaching in an era
when experimental programs were folding
or contracting.”
Allen says her longevity at George Wash
ington is primarily due to the congenial
atmosphere of the anthropology department
and the university’s Division of Experimen
tal Programs. Through this division, Allen
has collaborated with colleagues from the
school’s religion, art, literature, history, and
political science departments. In 1993 and
1994 she wrote a play. Condor Qatay, with a
colleague in the theater department and the
two teach a class together: “Anthropology in
Performance.”
She describes a typical exercise from one
of their classes: “Rather than explore a situ
ation intellectually and analytically, we do
an improvisation. We set up situations like
waking up or harvesting, assign participants
kinship and household roles, and have them
play out these situations without speaking
English.” It is through negotiating these
improvisational roles that students gain
insight into the rituals of another culture.
But Allen says that it’s not just the students
who benefit from the exercises: “I’ve
learned a lot from teaching and watching
the improvs,” she says. “I get flashes,
moments that show me how cultural prac-
Catherine Allen
tices grow out of the dynamics of the inter
action of a group.
“When I first studied culture, I thought of
it more as a symphony: each person has a
part to play and the culture gives you a score.
But the class made me realize there isn’t any
score; culture is something that is always
emerging,” she says. “Culture is more like
jazz. You have some basic sequences in your
head and general expectations of other peo
ple, but the jam session never comes out the
same way twice.”
Starting this Septem
ber, Allen will have the
chance to further her
studies of the cultural
jam session. As the recip
ient of a Guggenheim fel
lowship, she’ll have a year
off to work on two proj
ects. The first is a book
on Andean aesthetic
strategies. It will include
examinations of story
telling, weaving, and ceramics. “It draws on
my original interests,” Allen says. “I’m finally
going to include a chapter on qeros."
The other project is a second play. “My
first play. Condor Qatay, means the Condor
Son-in-Law. The condor carries off the Indi
an maiden and becomes the son-in-law,”
Allen explains. “This play is the converse:
the star woman who marries an Indian man.”
Like the textiles in her office, the two stories
form a single design: they are reflections of
each other, companions.
Catherine Allen’s FAVORITE BOOKS IN
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Argonauts ofthe Western Pacific by Bronislaw Malinowski
The Nuer by E. E. Evans-Pritchard
Tristes Tropique (or The Savage Mind) by Claude Levi-Strauss
The Ritual Process by Victor Turner
The Interpretation of Cultures by Clifford Geertz
Purity and Danger by Mary Douglas
Pigsfor the Ancestors by Roy Rappaport
The Spoken Word and the Work ofInterpretation
by Dennis Tedlock
Unnatural Emotions by Catherine Lutz
Andean Lives by Valderrama, Escalante, Gelles, and Martinez
{The College- St. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
�{AlumniNotes}
38
TESOL at the University of Cincin
nati in the fall.”
“I am completing study for my mas
sage therapist certificate and plan to
eventually specialize in maternity
care and rape recovery treatment,”
writes Erin (Hearn) Furry (A).
She’s heen married to William C.
Furhy tV for a year. Erin has plans to
start an Alaska alumni chapter after
this summer. “If anyone is interested
in helping, I can be reached at celebrinthol@usa.net.”
Loreen McRea Keller (AGI)
writes that she and her husband
Greg are expecting their third child
in May-“maybe a third girl? We
can’t wait to find out! ”
Jennifer (Wamser) Deslongchamps (AGI) writes: “The
year after graduation, having just
returned from a year studying
medieval philosophy in Pisa, I met
my future husband in a laundromat
in Fairfield, Conn. Paul Deslongchamps and I were married in
January 1999 and this October we
were blessed by the birth of Thomas
Robert. While I’ve been taking this
year off. I’m currently ‘all but dis
sertation’ at Yale, where I’m work
ing on the notion of infinity in the
work of Meister Eckhard and
Nicholas of Cusa.”
Scott Field (SFGI) and his wife Jes
sica will celebrate their fifth anniver
sary this summer, and they will have
their son Henry (born September 33,
3000) along. “I’m still teaching fifth
grade, although I now have senior
elective psychology and a philosophy
course to teach as well,” says Scott.
“Finally, I’m putting all of that liber
al arts background into my perform
ances each weekend at ImprovBoston, the improvisational comedy
troupe I’ve been performing with for
over three years now.”
Erica Maria Ginsberg-Klennt
(SFGI) writes: “We sailed away from
Annapolis in 1997 and stayed in the
Bahamas for a year before crossing
Panama to French Polynesia. I’ve
been writing articles on technomodism (the use of technology to make
your location irrelevant) for French,
German and Italian magazines. Our
daughter Antonia Tahia was born in
Hawaii in August r999 and we are all
moving to the south of France this
summer with the ‘Pangaea Nui.’
Check out our web site, www.pangaea.to for more stories.”
1997
Ryan ViGUERlE (SF) writes: “Shortly
after graduating from some college
no one’s ever heard of, I moved out
to LA to try and make it as a writer.
Then, after floundering about for a
few years, I decided to go back to
school and am now studying at the
American Film Institute. A swell
place. Greetings maybe sent to
raoulduke@mediaone.net.”
Rebecca Michael reports that she
and Mike Gaffney (A95) are getting
married in Annapolis on June 39,
3003. They are living in Jack
sonville, N.C., where Mike is sta
tioned for the Marine Corps. Rebec
ca is finishing her master’s thesis.
Kit Linton (A) and Sonya Schiff
Linton (Aoo) were married last
September and are living in
Washington, D.C.
Romance novelist HiLLARY FIELDS
(SF97) had an article in Cosmopoli
tan (April 3001) called “The Tough
Girl Trap.” She offers advice to
“strong women” whose independ
ence is seen as a threat by men. She’s
the author of two books. The Maid
en ’s Revenge and Marrying Jezebel.
“I finally got my dream job-working
in the ‘new’ field of agri-tourism,”
writes Mary Beth Stevenson (AGI).
“I am the assistant manager of a site
in Grafton, Wise, called the Family
Farm. It is a 135-year-old, 46-acre
farmsite. I five on site, too, in a stone
farmhouse built in 1890. Any Wis
consin alumni should check it out.”
Postcard from Panama
Luke and Rachel Trares (both A)
have moved to Fort Worth, Tex.,
where Luke is attending Southwest
ern Baptist Theological Seminary in
the hope of becoming a church
planting missionary, probably some
where on this continent. “I am really
enjoying school,” he says. “Please
don’t hesitate to contact us with
questions about Christian ministry
(ltrares@yahoo.com).”
Genevieve Goodrow (A) writes:
“Hooray! I passed the bar exam and
started work, and while it’s nice to get
paid I’m beginning to fantasize about
school again. At least I have plenty of
time to read while commuting.”
Christopher English (SFGI) and
Diane Shires (SFGI98) are getting
married on December 37, 3001 on
Catalina Island, Calif., 170 years to
the day Darwin set sail on the Beagle.
1998
“Lest anyone is interested, I am cur
rently working as a flight instructor
for Swissair at the Flight Safety
International Academy in Vero
Beach, Fla.,” e-mails Ariel Szabo.
“Through the Swissair Aviation
ow I’ve been in Panama with the Peace Corps for
School (SRAS), I train pilots for both
almost four months. I spent three of these months
Swissair and Austrian Airlines. If
in training, in a suburb of a suburb of Panama City.
anyone is interested in information
Had a great host family (whom I visited and partied
concerning airline careers or flight
with for my birthday), and made good friends, both
training under the new European
Panamanian and American. There were 17 other
regulations (JAR/JAA), please feel
free to contact me at Thesmophopeople in training with me. The best of training? Los Carnavales”
they rivaled Brazil and definitely beat Mardi Gras in Newria@mac.com.
Orleans!
Recent graduate Valerie Whiting (Aoo) writes
aboni her assignment in the Peace Corps.
N
Now I live in La Raya de Santa Maria, in the province of Veraguas, almost in the middle of the country. It’s hot, dry, about 800
people. We have TV, water, and some houses have indoor toilets,
but the house I’m renting has a latrine. As an environmental edu
cation volunteer, I work in the school (K-6) doing projects and
teaching English (oh joy!). More so, this community needs organi
zation. I’m a hit because my town meeting actually had 100 people
(out of 800). Trying to end the family feuds, religious clashes
(Catholic vs. evangelical), and pohtical partisanship seems to be
my main goal.
I love Panama-the music’s loud and tacky, the food’s greasy (and
sometimes unrecognizable as to which animal it came from), we all
paint our toenails hot pink and wear tight jeans and tank tops. It’s
my kind of country.
I’m still feeling out the Peace Corps and its effectiveness here.
I’ve only got one month in site, so we’ll see how that goes. If any
one would like to reach me, my mailing address is: Entrega Gener
al, Santiago, Veraguas, Republica de Panama, or
valeriewhiting@yahoo.com.
David Braden (SFGI) teaches fifth
grade math at Casady School, a pri
vate Episcopal day school for grades
K through 13. He and his wife have
three children: Hannah (almost5
years old), John Henry (3), and Paul
(i), and they are expecting their
fourth in October.
Kristina Rodriguez (SF) writes:
“We had another baby boy in Sep
tember 3000. We named him
Matthew. I’m currently living in
Alamogordo, N.Mex., where my hus
band manages an Applebee’s. I’m
fortunate enough to stay at home
with my boys.” Greetings may be
sent to brianandtina@tularosa.net,
or 1454 Columbia Ave., Alamogor
do, NM 88310.
Nathan and Heather Greenslit
(both A) five in Worcester, Mass.
{The College. St. John's College ■ Summer aoot }
�39
{Alumni Notes}
Summa Adlerologica
dler goes with Prank the way
that Reality goes with Week
end.when
Andhis
thetalk
Adler
Prank
has
John’s was in 1937,
lasted
over
a longer pedigree
than Reali
two hours. The following
year, students
were
tysomething
Weekend. Mortimer
determined to do
about the over
Adler
’s first
lecture
at St.
whelming length. They
gathered
every
alarm
A
clock on campus, brought them to the bal
cony of the Great HaU (where lectures were
then held), and timed them to ring one hour
into the lecture. In Adler’s biography.
Philosopher at Large, he recounted his reac
tion to that first prank: “I stood my ground,
waited for the din to subside, and then, with a
smile and bow to acknowledge their ingenu
ity, completed the lecture. The students plot
ted another way to defeat me.”
Such a plot was executed the following year
when, again an hour into the talk, someone
cut the power to the Great HaU. “Utter darkness-and silence-reigned for a moment,”
wrote Adler. “I knew they expected me to rise
to the chaUenge, so I took matches out of my
pocket and continued the lecture by matchlight for the brief interval it took for a mem
ber of the faculty to restore the electricity.”
They were married in June 1998 and
have a beautiful daughter, Emily
Ruth, who is now a year old. Heather
taught middle school math and sci
ence until Emily was born. She now
tutors and sells Discovery toys. Nate
got his master’s degree in cognitive
science from Johns Hopkins last year
and is now in a doctoral program at
MIT called “The History and Social
Study of Science and Technology.”
They are expecting another baby
sometime in August.
Lorna Anderson (A) is engaged to
be married on May 25, 2002, to
Aaron Johnson, a classical pianist,
and they are both living and working
in Chicago. Lorna flirted briefly with
a career in journalism, was accepted
into Northwestern University’s
Medill School of Journalism, and
after two months decided she’d leave
the hot pursuit of the ephemeral up
to someone else. She is now working
part-time and writing poetry, which
she has come to admit was her voca
While the records
of decades of Adler
pranks have been lost
to the coUege, the
pubhc relations
office still maintains
a hefty file stuffed
with reports of lec
ture high jinks.
According to a
igUr clipping, prank
ing seniors scattered
throughout the audi
Adler — named Holy
ence interrupted the
lecture with their own Roman Emperor
DURING A PRANK —
conversation. They
COMPLETES HIS LEC
imphcated Adler in
TURE WITH CROWN IN
some of the world’s
PLACE.
most significant works
and deeds, including
Adler Grossing the Delaware, Adler the
Great, Adler’s Last Stand, The Critique of
Pure Adler, Thus Spake Adlerthustra, Summa
Adlerologica, Cain and Adler, E Pluribus
Adler, Huckleberry Adler, and Wealth of
Adlers.
The 1984 prank featured a “This Is Your
Life” segment where Adler’s parents were
interviewed. Mrs. Adler, played by Nancy
tion all along. She also volunteers for
a great books organization in the city
and has been leading poetry discus
sions at venues throughout Chicago.
She welcomes a visit from anyone
passing through.
Mease (A84), spoke of her son’s early
years: “Even as a baby he had this annoy
ing habit of going on and on, and we
sometimes thought he’d never stop! He
would latch onto some topic. I think it was
the forms first, and ethics later, and he
would just keep talking.”
In 1987, television journalist Bill Moy
ers filmed Adler’s lecture for a series on
the Gonstitution. WeU before the event,
then-president WiUiam Dyal (HA89)
assembled the ringleaders of the senior
class and swore them to a prank moratori
um. When junior class members heard of
their oath, they decided to take matters into
their own hands. They went to Maria’s Pizze
ria, bought a pepperoni pizza, and wrote in
large letters on the box, “From the Junior
Class.” Midway through the lecture Thomas
Burke (SF91), dressed as a delivery boy,
brought the pizza onstage to Adler. Adler
reached into his pocket, pulled out a ten, and
gave it to Burke, who propped up the box on
the front of the lectern to remind the audi
ence who had delivered the pizza-and the
prank.
Moyers declared it fine television. “A little
prank at St. John’s probably keeps the mind
awake,” he said.
Ruth Busko (SF) is currently living
in Columbia, Md., pursuing a mas
ter’s degree in acupuncture at the
Traditional Acupuncture Institute
there.
Tilman Jacobs (SF) has been living
1999
From Scott Larson: “I am writing
this note just to let you know some
recent events in my life. On March
18, 2000,1 married my long-term
girlfriend Jennifer (nee Rodgers)
(AGI99). On December 7th 2000,
we had a son, Oliver Scott Larson,
weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces. We are
both (my wife and I, not our son)
working at Thomas Jefferson School
in St. Louis.”
Kelly O’Malley (A) is pursuing a
master’s degree program in forestry
and ecosystem management at Duke
University’s School of the Environ
ment.
in Sweden since last August and
plans to stay for another year in
Europe.
2000
Andre Rodriguez (SFGI) is cur
rently teaching eighth grade Ameri
can history; he’s applying to law
school.
Stacy Allen (AGI) reports that
she had a son, John Brady Allen,
9 lbs., 5 oz., born one month after
graduation.
“I am now a student in the psycholo
gy department at New School Uni
versity in Manhattan,” reports James
Lewis (SFGI).
{The College .St John's College . Summer 2001 }
Calling All Alumni
The College wants to hear from you.
Call us, write us, e-mail us. Let your
classmates know what you’re doing.
The next issue will be published in
November; copy deadline is
September 20.
In Annapolis:
The College Magazine, St. John’s
College, Box 2800, Annapolis, MD
21404; b-goyette@sjca.edu.
In Santa Fe:
The CoUege Magazine, St. John’s
College, Public Relations Office,
1160 Camino Cruz Blanca,
Santa Fe, NM 87505-4599;
classics@mail.sjcsf.edu.
Alumni Notes on the Web:
Read Alumni Notes and contact
The College on the web at:
www.sjca.edu - click on “Alumni.”
�{Letters}
On The College
Whether it is a work slowdown
from the world of writing ency
clopedia articles, anticipation of
Jon Ferrier’s 50th birthday this
coming Wednesday, or my own
youthful longings, I do not know.
But my week has been full of
dreams of Prince George Street,
Thucydides, (never really TOO
far from my psyche, I confess) the
scent of boxwood, and the glories
of an Annapolis spring.
When I opened my mailbox
this Saturday morning, I found
the new issue of The College. On
this Saturday afternoon when I
would rather be enjoying Reality
weekend than cleaning house,
please know what a joy and com
fort this brilliantly-conceived,
marvelously-executed “new”
magazine brought to my soul, my
heart, and, ah, my mind!
Some mail days are better than
others. Thank you for being such
an integral piece of a pretty good
mail day.
—Jane E. Spear, A73
I have just completed The College
cover to cover and take my
(proverbial) hat off to you all for
the obvious work and resulting
high quality. My wife graduated
from the Graduate Institute in
1991 and I only completed half
the program before 1 went on to
(gasp) make money! The one
regret of my life is not complet
ing the, G1 program. The concept
and the execution of The College
is wonderful! Please keep up the
hard but great work!
—Sean P. Scally, AGI89
In your introduction to the new
alumni periodical, you asked
readers to “Let us know what you
think.”
Here’s what I think.
I think the new format is excel
lent. It allows for lengthier and
more serious treatment of issues
than The Reporter. The content
of the first issue was excellent
and thought-provoking. It invites
alums to reflect on how they
might interpret their current
lives in light of the program. The
professional format is appealing.
I hope to see wonderful things in
the future.
“This hath offended; oh, this
unworthy hand! ”
-James A. Cockey, A71
—Michael Ciea, A78
I’d like to commend the staff of
The College for a wonderful new
format for your publication. It’s
much more enjoyable to read. In
fact, for once, I read every arti
cle.
—Lisa Lashley, SF80
Good show-big improvementexcellent start. And only
St. John’s could offer a wrestling
bout with Aristotle and then deal
with the technicalities of dehcate
training of the very, very young a
few pages later.
Go to it. St. John’s ranks near
the top (or at the top) of Ameri
can educational institutions. And
I’m glad that at least one of my
children had the benefit of it.
—Donald Harriss
Historical Accuracy
I enjoyed your article about the
r95i St. John’s production of
Thomas Cranmer ofCanterbury
[“St. John’s Forever”], but I must
point out the obvious error,
about which I suspect you have
already heard many times.
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
did not “suffer martyrdom as a
result of his stance on the king’s
divorce from Catherine of
Aragon.” His stance on the
divorce actually made his career
with Henry VIII, and led to his
appointment as the first Protes
tant archbishop of Canterbury.
He continued in his position
under Henry VIII and Edward VI,
and only got into trouble under
Queen Mary. She imprisoned
him because of his Protestant
involvement, and coerced him to
a recantation of his Protestant
views before his execution. He
then dramatically reversed his
position again before he was
burned at the stake, asserting
that his only sin was his previous
recantation of his Protestant
position. Before dying, he put the
hand which had signed the recan
tations into the fire, saying.
More Great Books on
Parenting
I loved the parenthood piece in
the spring issue [“The Education
That Is Parenthood”]. The Pro
gram is surely an excellent prepa
ration for parenthood, since,
whatever the great books may be
about, it trains you in open and
respectful dialogue, the proper
relationship with one’s child. Of
books about parenting, I have
fond memories of Children the
Challenge, by Rudolph Dreikers,
Hawthorn Books, New York,
1964. It too fosters such dialogue.
And for little children of course
Dr. Spock. With reference to
Janette Fischer’s letter on
Galileo’s talents, it’s evident
from Dava Sobel’s recent
Galileo’s Daughter that he was an
attentive and loving father too.
—John A. White, SFGI75
I am breaking a 25-year silence to
share this one thought with the
St. John’s community. The best
book on parenting I have ever
read, in fact the best book I have
ever read, the book I would keep
if I had to give away every other
book I own, the book I have
bought ao copies of over my life
and given away to troubled par
ents and been thanked again and
again for the gift.. .was not
included in the list. From the
first time I read it 15 years ago, I
said if there ever was a book writ
ten about parenting for a mem
ber of the St. John’s community,
it is Whole Child/Whole Parent
by Polly Berrien Berends.
—George Kiberd, A7a
I read your recent article on par
enthood with enjoyment. I am a
mother of two, a La Leche
League leader and something of
a “birth junkie,” and I’d like to
recommend a few more books.
For birth. Dr. Bill and Martha
Sears’s The Birth Book, and
Birthing From UY'zAzzibyPam
England and Rob Horowitz.
{The College- St. John's College • Summer 2001 }
La Leche League’s The Woman
ly Art ofBreastfeeding is essen
tial for nursing moms, and
Dr. Sears’s The Baby Book is a
wonderful book on parenting
and baby care. The Sears books
promote attachment parenting
breastfeeding and holding the
baby whenever he wants it, carry
ing him in a sling, co-sleeping.
This produces secure, independ
ent children, contrary to what
advocates of the old “don’t pick
that baby up or you’ll spoil him”
school might say.
I also wanted to mention the
large part that breastfeeding can
play in the first year or more of a
baby’s life, since it wasn’t dis
cussed in your article. Breastfed
babies are smarter, have stronger
immune systems, and have a
lower risk of leukemia, MS, obe
sity and heart disease later in life.
Breastfeeding moms have a lower
risk of breast, ovarian, and cervi
cal cancer, as well as a lower risk
of osteoporosis. In addition to its
many, many health benefits for
mother and baby, breastfeeding
helps to forge a stronger bond
between them, and gives the
mother a wonderful parenting
tool as the baby gets older. Nurs
ing is a wonderful way to soothe
the bumps, bruises, hurt feelings
and tantrums of toddlerhood,
and I didn’t think it should be left
out of a discussion on parenting!
For more information on breast
feeding, check out www.lalecheleague.org and www.breastfeeding.com.
—Tamara Steblez Ashley Aga/gs
Hurray for Planning
I was excited to read in “One Col
lege-How to Make it Really
Work” (Springissue) that “...the
Management Committee pre
pared a framework for a college
wide strategic plan that considers
needs and resources well into the
future.” What a great idea!
—James Laws, SF86
Corrections
Probably due to my somewhat
illegible scrawl/penmanship
�{Obituaries}
C. Thomas Clagett Jr.
Class ofiQsg
C. Thomas Clagett Jr., a retired business
executive who graduated from St. John’s in
1939, died on June 18. Mr. Clagett served in
the Navy during World War II and became a
lieutenant commander. He worked for the
Zeigler Coal Company beginning in 1947; he
was board vice chairman and head of the
board’s executive committee when the com
pany was bought by Houston Natural Gas in
1973. Mr. Clagett continued to serve on the
board of the new company until he retired in
1985A lifelong resident of Washington, D.C.,
Mr. Clagett was involved with many civic and
church groups, including Decatur House,
the Navy League, the Masons, the Sons of
the American Revolution, Washington Hos
pital Center, Washington National Cathe
dral, and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime
Museum. He was also a yachtsman and sailor
who established the Leiter Trophy, in honor
of his wife, who died in 1977.
He is survived by a son, a daughter, and
four grandchildren.
Constance Darkey
Constance H. Darkey, who was known to
every generation of New Program students
and tutors, died May a6 at her Santa Fe
home of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of
eighty-four.
She is survived by her husband, tutor
emeritus William Darkey; a son by a previ
ous marriage, Peter Nabokov, professor of
anthropology at UCLA; by a daughter,
Catharine Darcy, who works with a real
estate firm in San Bernadino, Calif; by a sis
ter, Sally G. Holladay of Schroon Lake, NY;
and by a number of grandchildren.
Mrs. Darkey was born and grew up in Min
neapolis, Minn.; she graduated in 1938 from
more letters
there were a number of typos in
the Alumni Notes for a listing I
submitted which appeared in the
1986 section in the Spring 2001
issue:
Firstly, I married Graham Gar
ner, not Grant as listed once in
the note. I work for the Friends
General Conference of the Reli
gious Society of Friends (not the
Religions of Friends) and my email address is lucyd@fgcquak-
Wells College in Aurora, NY, where she
majored in Engbsh literature and drama and
then did graduate study in literature with
Professor Lane Cooper at Cornell University.
In Annapolis she became deeply persuad
ed of the rightness of the St. John’s curricu
lum, a conviction which never waned. For
several years she was manager of the College
Bookstore in Annapolis, resigning in 1944 to
take an editorial position in New York with a
trade publication.
Returning to Annapolis in 1947 she, with a
group of other parents of young children,
became involved in an enterprise which
resulted in the Key School. She was first the
librarian and had great fun buying books and
then devised the school’s history program,
which she taught delightedly.
She understood and was an enthusiastic
supporter of and participant in both the
intellectual and social life of St. John’s, well
understanding that these were not separable
provinces.
She favored the idea of the western cam
pus and once in Santa Fe took up her resi
dency with all of her considerable energies,
making new friends, reading widely and
deeply in the literature and history of the
Southwest, and traveling throughout the
entire region. She put her new knowledge to
work first as a docent in local museums, and
then became the librarian of the Wheel
wright Museum of the American Indian.
When her husband became the dean of the
Santa Fe campus, she again turned her ener
gies to the social life of the college, acting
for five years as hostess to visiting lecturers
and to generations of students.
She was a regular and excellent partici
pant in Gommunity Seminars, and for one
year she was happily a co-leader of an under
graduate seminar.
er.org not lucyd@fgquaker.org.
The wedding was really beautiful
by the way-a really perfect day.
—Lucy Duncan, SF86
Editor’s Note
Due to a computer software
glitch, many households received
multiple copies of the first issue
of The College. We hope the soft
ware problem is corrected and
apologize for loading up your
Donald S. Elliott
Class oftg48
Donald S. Elliott, who taught at Garrison
Forest School for 30 years, died on March 13.
Mr. Elliott also wrote children books devoted
to teaching about music, “Alligators and
Music,” “Frogs and Ballet,” and “Lamb’s
Tales from Great Operas.” At the private
school in Owings Mills, Md., where he
taught, his favorite course was an interdisci
plinary one that combined art, literature,
history, and music.
Mr. Elliott was born and raised in
Lutherville, Md., and entered St. John’s
when he was 14. He received his degree in
1948 and went to work for the Baltimore Life
Insurance Company in the actuarial depart
ment. He left to become a teacher at Garri
son Forest School. He is remembered as a
Renaissance man who taught himself to play
the piano, read philosophy and literature
constantly, and built his own swimming
pool.
He is survived by his wife, Cielito Obina,
and by three sons, two daughters, and four
grandchildren.
ALSO NOTED:
Elizareth D. Hatch, A76, died in Decem
ber 1998
John A. Joh, Class of 193a, died in March
2000
Craig Allen Johnston, A95
Kenneth Lenihan, AGI88, died in May
2001
Jesse Elhert Morgan, Class of 1954
F. Scott Seegers, Class of 1967, died in
February 2001
Tad Sanwick, Class of 1938, died in May
2001
George F. Wohlgemuth, Class of 1919,
died in June 2001
mailboxes unnecessarily.
Contacting The College
The College welcomes letters on
issues of interest to readers. Let
ters may be edited for clarity
and/or length. Those under 500
words have a better chance of
being printed in their entirety.
Please address letters to; The
College Magazine, St. John’s
College, Box 2800, Annapolis,
MD 21404 or The College Maga
{The College- St. John’s College . Summer soot }
zine, Public Relations Office,
St. John’s College, 1160 Camino
Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe, nm
87505-4599-
Letters can also be sent via email to:
b-goyette@sjca.edu, or via the
form for letters on the web site
at www.sjca.edu - click on
“Alumni,” then on “Contact
The College Magazine.”
�{Obituaries}
42,
In Memory of Leo Raditsa
emarks delivered by tutor
Nick Maistrellis at a
memorial service for Leo
Raditsa, tutor in Annapo
lis from 1973 to aoor. Mr.
Raditsa died in January.
R
I first met Leo in the mid-yos when we
shared a sophomore seminar-the first of
three seminars we shared over the next
35 years. We may have a record. I liked him
immediately although we disagreed, almost
from the beginning, about many things; poli
tics, the college, the purpose of seminar. I
thought of him as a political conservative
because of the passion with which he
believed in the inherent evil of the Soviet
empire. But he himself rejected that label.
He thought of himself as a partisan of free
dom and humaneness. He was also deeply
skeptical about the college’s approach to the
books. He did not believe they could be read
without the context of the struggles which
surrounded their birth, and without the con
stant guidance of a teacher.
At bottom, Leo believed that the task of
the tutor is to show students what is impor
tant in the extraordinary books we read
together. I, being more conservative,
thought that no such thing can be done in
seminar, and that all we can do is to allow
students the occasion to examine their own
insights into the books. For me, the main job
of the seminar leader is to wait and listen,
whereas for Leo it was to assert and provoke.
What he cherished most in seminar was oneon-one exchanges between himself and a stu
dent who was responding to something he
had said. He told me that he didn’t believe
students could sustain an important conver
sation just among themselves. This made for
seminars in which there was always at least
the possibility of tension between the tutors.
I found being in seminar with Leo difficult
and wearing, but also very exciting. If we had
not been in seminar together, I do not know
if I would have ever allowed myself to know
and care for this extraordinary man.
Many people one meets are interesting for
what they know or for what they have done. It
is much rarer to meet one who is interesting
in himself. Leo was one of these. I have
often, over the
past many
years, experi
enced a lack
which on
reflection
turned out to
be a need to
have lunch
with Leo, just
to be with him.
In every
encounter with
him you knew
you were in the
presence of
someone.
Every opinion he expressed had that in it
which marked it as one of Leo’s utterances.
In this way he had of always being truly pres
ent in every conversation, Leo was one of the
most intimate human beings I have known.
Leo always said what he thought, and what
he thought was never ordinary. His thinking
had for me the following quality; he seemed
to be the conduit for opinions coming from a
deeper source, rather than the originator of
them. His own awareness of this quality of
his thinking is probably reflected in his
respect for the discovery of the unconscious
by classical psychoanalysis, and especially for
the work of Freud and Wilhelm Reich. I
remember so many occasions when he said
things I could not possibly have expected, or
expressed opinions I could not imagine any
one holding, that I could spend hours relat
ing them. One in particular happened 25
years ago in the sophomore seminar we
shared. In those days we read John Calvin’s
Institutes ofthe Christian Religion, a formi
dable book best known for its austere teach
ing on the predestination of souls for salva
tion. Leo had never read it before, and came
to the seminar very excited. It was his open
ing question. He looked at the class and said,
“Isn’t this the sweetest, the warmest, the
most humane author you have ever read?” Of
all the things I could have imagined being
said about Calvin, this was the least expect
ed, and yet, it became the beginning of a very
good discussion, for it challenged us to
reassess our own first opinions. What Leo
saw was that the doctrine of predestination
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer noot }
removed an unbearable burden of
responsibility from human beings.
This story also has its own irony, for
it shows Leo being a seminar stu
dent in the best St. John’s tradition
in spite of his own doubts about
being a seminar leader.
Leo cared about his students.
His manner was often abrupt and
challenging. He was sometimes
grumpy. It is hard to know how
much of this was from the chronic
pain in his leg, for he never com
plained. He could be unfairly criti
cal, and judgmental. He often mis
judged students. But, he cared
deeply both for their learning and
for their personal welfare. He didn’t talk
about students very often, but when he did
he surprised me by how much he knew about
them. He was impatient with what he saw as
phoniness, and much of his harshness was
directed against perceived laziness, or what
he thought was the mere parroting of fash
ionable opinions for effect. But if he thought
a student was doing his best Leo could be
extraordinarily gracious and encouraging. I
remember two occasions when he saved me
from unfairly undervaluing the written work
of students, when I had allowed myself to be
too critical of superficial defects. He was
often more generous in formal evaluations
than in oral exams. We were together on
more than one occasion on senior essay com
mittees when he was very harsh in person to
a student to whom he gave a good grade on
the essay itself. His response to this apparent
discrepancy was to say that he thought the
student was too pleased with himself, and
needed to be woken up.
My favorite times with Leo were outside
class, and especially when we were not talk
ing about college matters where he was usu
ally furious about a decision that had just
been made by some officer of the college in
which, all to often, I was implicated. I loved
to hear him talk about Italy. He cared deeply
about the world, and in his presence I cared
about it more too. We had both adopted chil
dren at about the same time, and it was with
him that I shared my feelings about the spe
cial joys and challenges of being an adoptive
parent. He gave the best dinner parties.
�43
{History}
HUNT HOUSE
The sprawling Santa Fe-style adobe home with the courtyard
perfectfor viewing sunsets once belonged to a colorfulpoet.
BY Alexis Brown, SFoo
new president for the Santa Fe campus travels to Asia, Bynner had a newfound love
and appreciation for poetry. He settled down
occupies the Hunt House, and as he and his in the hills of Santa Fe and began to expand
on his poetic expression, using the simple,
wife begin planning for their future there, elegant styles of Asian poetry.
is it, exactly, that the house named
one wonders about the house’s history. Not forHow
Robert Hunt, Witter Bynner’s partner, is
much is known about the house in the hills now being used by the college as a home for
president? This isn’t the house Bynner
across from campus, even less of our con its
lived in on Santa Fe Trail-the house where
famous parties
were held. Instead, it’s a
nection with the man who donated it to thethecollege,
poet
sprawling set of buildings, a main house with
Witter Bynner (1881-1968).
two guest houses surrounding a courtyard.
A
In 1922, Witter Bynner moved to Santa Fe, a
place he would call home the rest of his life.
For decades, Bynner was a prominent citizen
in Santa Fe and an active participant in the
cultural and political life of the city. He had
no official affiliation with the “new” college
that was built in Santa Fe in the mid-sixties.
His association with St. John’s was a result of
his appreciation and respect for the college
and its program.
Bynner and Robert Hunt, his companion
of more than 30 years, lived in a house on
Old Santa Fe Trail. There they held parties
that attracted artists, literary figures, and
celebrities who lived in or were visiting
Santa Fe-people like D.H. Lawrence, Ansel
Adams, Errol Flynn, Robert Oppenheimer,
and Georgia O’Keefe.
In his 87 years Witter Bynner produced
many volumes of poetry, translated Greek
and Chinese works into English, taught
poetry classes at Stanford and Berkeley, trav
eled throughout the world, and made numer
ous friends. Yet despite his achievements few
Americans recognize his name. Bynner’s
obscurity is mostly due to the 1916 “Spectra
Hoax,” in which Bynner and Arthur Davison
Ficke, writing under pseudonyms which they
later revealed, established “Spectrism,” a
supposedly new school of poetry that attract
ed many advocates. When Bynner and Ficke
revealed this “new” type of poetry as a hoax.
and their
identities,
they offended
many of their
peers, and
thus lost
respect in the
literary
world.
Despite lack
of recogni
tion from his
contempo
raries, Byn
ner contin
ued to
Santa Fe president John
produce many Balkcom and his wife carol
excellent writ are new residents of the
Hunt House.
ten works
throughout his
lifetime. He also translated Iphigenia in Tauris from the original Greek to English in
1915. During these years, he lectured
throughout the United States on poetry and
women’s suffrage.
In 1917, soon after the Spectra Hoax, Byn
ner visited Japan and China, spending
approximately two months in each country.
He wished to explore Asia and to escape
America’s involvement in World War I. A
staunch pacifist, he loathed Europe’s war
and strongly denounced violence. After his
{The College -5f. John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
Up in the hills, it affords wonderous views of
Santa Fe sunsets.
The story goes like this:
Hunt and Bynner were travel
ing south to sell a house they
owned in Chiapas, Mexico,
because they were planning
to move into a new house in
Santa Fe designed andbuUt
by Hunt. On the way, though.
Hunt died suddenly. Bynner
was so grief-stricken that,
although Hunt left the house
to him, Bynner could neither
move into the house by him
self, and nor could he sell it.
A year later, Bynner had his
first stroke, and was confined
to living in his own house, the one that had
been site to so many parties.
Neither Hunt nor Bynner ever lived in the
house Hunt built, but they are now both
buried near there, in a spot marked by a
bronze statue of a dog once loved by Hunt.
When Hunt died, Bynner acquired the titles
to both houses. Bynner himself died in 1968,
leaving both houses to St. John’s, presum
ably because he admired something about its
philosophy of education. The college sold
the Witter Bynner House on Old Santa Fe
Trail because it was too expensive to main
tain. But, luckily, the Hunt House still
stands strong, home to a new president.
�44
{Alumni Association News}
From the Alumni
Association President
Senior Dinners:
Welcoming the
Newest Alumni
Dear Johnnies,
St. John’s may have you for four years, but the
Alumni Association has you forever after. That’s
the message alumni pass along to their newest fel
low alums—the soon-to-be-graduated seniors-during Senior Dinners. These dinners, which take
place in Santa Fe in January and Annapohs in
April, have become an important tradition for the
seniors and for their alumni hosts alike. It’s a
chance for Johnnies who’ve been out in the “real
world” to welcome students into the Association.
The hosts, the college, and the Association all
work together to make the evening a success. The
Alumni Directors, Tahmina Shalizi and Roberta
Gable, choose the local restaurants (with input
from participating alumni). The students choose
the friends they want to go out with. And the
alumni hosts put their social skills to good use in
bringing the evening together.
Leo Vladimirsky, a member of the Annapolis
class of 2001, says he enjoyed his dinner at North
woods with Mark Middlebrook (A82) and Robert
Bienenfeld (SF80). “The food was great-Northwoods being one of the best places to eat around
Have you received your copy of the St. John’s College Alumni Register aooi? Have
you checked to make sure your own info is right? Have you seen who’s lost and
who’s found? (More about that later.) Have you scanned your
class to see who’s married or divorced? Who’s moved or
changed johs? Have you used the new e-mail section to send ehellos to old friends? I certainly have, especially because I’m
getting ready for the 25th reunion of my class!
Glenda Eoyang
We owe a note of resounding thanks to Roberta Gable, Direc
tor of Alumni Activities in Annapolis, and her team for the
tremendous work they did preparing the Register. Every five
years, the Alumni Association and the college fund the effort to collect data about
alumni and to publish that information for all of us to share. The Register is an
excellent tool to help us stay connected with each other and with the college.
Many thanks to all!
Now, about those lost alumni.... As you browse the new Register, you’ll note that
some names are marked with an asterisk for “address unknown.” These are alum
ni who have lost contact with the community. The Alumni Association and the col
lege will be making an effort over the next few months to rebuild connections with
these missing persons. You can help! If you’re in touch with ones who are “address
unknown,” please contact them and encourage them to get in touch with the col
lege (or call or e-mail the Alumni Office so that they can follow up). A phone call, a
note, or an e-mail will provide the information tie that hinds us.
I hope your summer is joyous and rewarding and that you have a chance to partici
pate in some of the summer’s alumni activities: Homecoming in SF, Summer
Alumni Weeks, GI graduation, various chapter gatherings, listserve conversa
tions, or a private visit to one of the campuses.
For the past, the present, and the future,
Glenda Holladay Eoyang, SF76
ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Whether from Annapolis or Santa Fe,
undergraduate or Graduate Institute,
Old Program or New, graduated or not,
all alumni have automatic membership in
the St. John’s College Alumni Association.
The Alumni Association is an independent
organization, with a Board of Directors
elected by and from the alumni body.
The Board meets four times a year, twice
on each campus, to plan programs and
coordinate the affairs of the Association.
This newsletter within The College
magazine is sponsored by the Alumni
Association and communicates Alumni
Association news and events of interest.
President - Glenda Eoyang, SF76
Vice President - Jason Walsh, A85
Secretary-Barbara Lauer, SF76
Treasurer - Bill Fant, A79
Getting-the-Word-Out Action Team ChairTom Geyer, A68
Web site - www.sjca.edu/aassoc/main.phtml
eoyang@chaos-hmited. com
Mailing address - Alumni Association,
St. John’s College, Box 2800, Annapohs,
MD 21404 or 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca,
Santa Fe, NM 87505-4599.
{The College- St. John's College ■ Summer 2001 }
�{Alumni Association News}
Annapolis. It was a nice conversation among
people who didn’t know each other,” he says.
The students knew each other, he hastens to
add-“we all decided to list each other on the
forms the Alumni Office sends out, to be sure
we’d be with our friends.”
After an initial discussion in which each sen
ior talked about his or her future plans, the con
versation turned to more general matters about
college life, graduate school, the business world,
working as an engineer, and other matters, says
Vladimirsky. There wasn’t any purposeful net
working, but the students all got the feeling that
their alumni hosts cared about what happened
to them and would be willing to help out in job
searches or with graduate school advice. They
also learned a fife skill-how to “taste” wine.
Mark Middlebrook, who lives near the Napa Val
ley wine region, demonstrated how to swirl the
wines around in their glasses before smelling
and tasting.
“AU around, it was a nice evening, and it’s
great of the Alumni Association to do this for
seniors,” says Vladimirsky. Himself, he’s not
sure what he’ll be doing come fall. After some
rest from academic matters, he’ll probably go to
graduate school. He knows he can count on
alumni for advice or networking once he has an
idea of where he’d like to study. One thing for
sure, though, “the chocolate cheesecake at
Northwoods was great.”
Amending the
Amendment
Mechanism
In order to make it easier to explain proposed
changes in the Alumni Association By-Laws to
the alumni ofthe college, the Alumni Association
Board isproposing thefollowing amendment to
the By-Laws:
In accordance with Article XIII, Section I of the
By-Laws of the St. John’s CoUege Alumni Associ
ation, notice is hereby given that the following
by-laws amendment has been proposed by the
Alumni Association Board of Directors. This
amendment will be voted upon at the Special
Meeting, September 29, 2001, 2:00 p.m. in the
Conversation Room in Annapolis.
The amendment to Article XIII is indicated in
capitals.
ARTICLE XIII
AMENDMENTS
SECTION I. Any and all provisions of these ByLaws may be altered, amended, added to, or
repealed by a majority of the membership of the
Association, present in person or by proxy, at
any regular or special meeting of the member
ship, provided that a copy of any proposed
amendment shall have been mailed to each
member at least six weeks prior to that meeting
OR PROVIDED THAT A NOTICE, AS SPECI
FIED HEREUNDER, SHALL HAVE BEEN
MAILED TO EACH MEMBER AT LEAST SIX
WEEKS PRIOR TO THAT MEETING. THE
NOTICE SHALL INDICATE THE ARTICLE(S)
AND SECTION(S) PROPOSED TO BE AMEND
ED; AWEB SITE ADDRESS DETERMINED BY
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT WHICH A
MEMBER MAY ACCESS THE COMPLETE
TEXT OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT;
AND A STATEMENT INFORMING EACH
MEMBER HOW THEY MAY RECEIVE A COPY
OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT BY MAIL
OR FAX.
Amendments to these By-Laws shall be sub
mitted to the membership upon the vote of the
Board of Directors, or by Petition of at least fifty
members in good standing which is received at
least ten weeks prior to the date of the meeting.
SECTION IL Unless so stated, any amend
ment to these By-Laws shall take effect immedi
ately foUowing its adoption.
The Croquet Match is a favorite gathering
SPOT FOR 1980s AND I99OS ALUMNI (lEFt).
At the Match Alumni Association Board
MEMBERS sported SHADES PRINTED WITH
“Beat Navy” — in Greek, of course.
CHAPTER CONTACTS
Call the alumni listed belowfor information
about chapter, reading group, or other alumni
activities in each area.
ALBUQUERQUE
PHILADELPHIA
Bob & Vicki Morgan
505-880-2134
Bart Kaplan
215-465-0244
ANNAPOLIS
PORTLAND
Valerie Garvin
410-280-6119
Dale Mortimer
360-882-9058
AUSTIN
SACRAMENTO
Jennifer Chenoweth
512-482-0747
Helen Hobart
916-452-1082
BALTIMORE
SAN DIEGO
Roberta Gable
410-295-6926
Stephanie Rico
619-423-4252
BOSTON
SAN Francisco/
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Ginger Kenney
617-964-4794
CHICAGO
Lorna Anderson
847-467-3069
DENVER
Elizabeth Pollard Jenny
303-330-3373
LOS ANGELES
Elizabeth Eastman
562-426-1934
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL
Carol Freeman
612-822-3216
NEW YORK
Fielding Dupuy
212-974-2922
NORTH CAROLINA
Susan Eversole
919-968-4856
{The College- St. John’s College ■ Summer soot }
45
Jon Hodapp
831-393-9496
SANTA FE
John Pollak
505-983-2144
SEATTLE
Kyle Kinsey
206-715-1081
WASHINGTON, DC
Jean Dickason
301-699-6207
ISRAEL
Emi Geiger Leslau
15 Aminadav Street
Jerusalem 93549
Israel
972-2-6717608
boazl@cc.huji.ac.il
�{Campus Life}
Say It Isn’t So
What happened to St. Johns domination in croquet?
VI Sus3AN
Borden, A87
e were, perhaps, a bit smug. We
were, you might say, a tad over
confident. And we were, no doubt,
somewhat drunk. But still, it doesn’t
add up. When did smugness become
an obstacle for a Johnny? What good
is a croquet team that’s not overconfident? And why would a
martini or two ever keep us from the Annapolis Cup?
And yet it happened. After a nine-year win
ning streak and a 15-3 series record, St.
John’s lost the 19th croquet match against
the Naval Academy, held the last Saturday in
April on the front campus.
While we were unahle to contact Imperial
Wicket Paige Postlewait (Aoi) for this story,
her teammate and next year’s Imperial
Wicket, Jonathan Polk {A02), has some
insight into the loss. “We might have heen a
little overconfident,” he says, “but I’m
tempted to think of it as just a combination
of bad luck-lots of people’s different bad
luck in combination.”
“It’s been a pretty rough year for us,” Polk
says. “We didn’t compete in the National
Championships and we didn’t start practic
ing until about a month beforehand.” (Why
the team didn’t go to the Nationals, where
they were three-time champions, is another
story-involving a change in the game from
traditional nine-wicket to something called
“golf croquet.”) Still, he says, even with the
late start the team logged so much playing
time they felt they were ready to play and
prepared to win.
An article in the Trident, the Naval Acade
my’s newspaper, suggests that the win may
be a result of strategy, the players’ lucky ties
and lucky mallets, or brainpower-the team
included two Trident Scholars and a Pownall
Scholar. Word around town is that the Acad
emy brought in a croquet coach from Yale to
beef up the middies’ strategy and skills.
Whatever the reason, says former Imperi
al Wicket Bob DeMajistre (A88), the mid
shipmen deserved to win. DeMajistre attend
ed this year’s match, as he does most years.
One of the college’s four losing Imperial
Wickets {1987), DeMajistre is well qualified
to analyze the play. “I watched the court
where we played the first lost game and the
mids were shooting very well, they were dead
on. They were making long shots, they were
hitting balls. And we weren’t.”
Johnnies, as usual, were a bit more fla
grantly OUTFITTED THAN THEIR OPPONENTS.
{The College. St John’s College ■ Summer zooi }
�47
Steven Werlin (A85), St. John’s first
defeated Wicket, recalls that losing was no
surprise to him in 1985. “Two separate cro
quet things were happening at St. John’s that
year,” he says. “There were serious croquet
players and then there was the croquet team.
The only person who fell into both groups
was James Hapner (A85).” Only later, Werlin
says, did croquet play become more serious
and practice become intense.
Once practice did take hold, it became St.
John’s secret weapon. Or perhaps not so
secret, as it was revealed in a Sports Illustrat
ed article, “The Best of Everything” ( April
28,1997, special issue on college sports).
Citing the croquet match as the Most
Obscure Rivalry, the article quotes a Naval
Academy plebe explaining St. John’s strate
gy: “They’re out practicing croquet every
afternoon! Alabama should take football this
seriously.”
Louis Elias {A91), another former Imperi
al Wicket, recalls the year his team lost the
match (i99r). “I sort of knew we were going
to lose all along,” Elias says. “I lost heart
Jonathon Polk lines up a long shot (top).
Polk AND Imperial Wicket Paige PostleWAIT WAIT THEIR TURN (BOTTOM LEFT) WHILE
CURRENT Johnnies enjoy the festivities
(bottom Right).
{The College -St John’s College ■ Summer 2001 }
that year. The hype and media attention [G<2
covered the event] and the reaction to the
attention seemed, to me, to detract’from the
spirit of the event.” Still he says, the loss was
not without a silver lining: “I figured we
were due for a loss if only to keep the Acade
my interested.”
DeMajistre agrees that an occasional loss
can serve a strategic purpose: “The main
reason to lose is so that the mids will come
back. You got to throw them a bone every
once in awhile. ” *
�48
{St. John’s Forever}
These photos of student desks were
TAKEN BY EdWARD GrAY, CLASS OF I934.
The date on the photos is 1933.
From the 1933 yearbook,
THE Rat Tat, describing the
TENOR OE COLLEGE LIFE AT
St. John’s:
...Like all other freshman classes we gave lit
tle evidence of ability, although we did study a
bit between building bonfires, attending rat
meetings and football, basketball and lacrosse
games...One of the outstanding features this
year was the inauguration of the new presi
dent of the college [Amos W. Woodcock].
Another was the coming of Hopkins. What a
fight! If you don’t believe me, ask the
Annapolis police, the Annapolis firemen or
the jail keeper...By the time we were juniors,
we had forgotten most of our high school and
prep school training and were beginning to
realize that it takes a smart man to admit
there is plenty he doesn’t know...Each one of
us came here with ideals and aims. Some of us
have done things we set out to do, others have
done more, others have met with disappoint
ments. Most of us brought little to St. John’s
with us. The amount of knowledge and the
number of friends we take away with us
depends on the individual. Everything the
school could offer us was placed at our feet.
Who picked it up and who trampled it is
another question.
{The College. St. John’s College ■ Summer zoot }
�{Alumni Events Calendar}
Homecoming 2001 - Annapolis
Friday, septemDcrau-siwflay, September 30
Reunion Classes: 1936,1941,1951,1956,
1961,1966,1971,1976,1981,1986,1991,
and 1996
Homecoming Highlights
Friday, September 28
• Homecoming Lecture by Abraham
Schoener (A82): “The Biology of the
Fermentation Vehicle”
• Wine and Cheese Party in the
Dining HaU
• Rock Party in the Boathouse
Saturday, September 29
• Memorial Service for Mortimer Adler
• Saturday Morning Seminars
• Children of alumni seminar on Harry
Potter (followed by croquet)
• Freshman Chorus Revisited led by
Elliott Zuckerman
• West Street Story, a reprise of the Class
of 1981’s senior prank show
• Alumni-Student Soccer Classic
• Autograph Party
• Cocktail party in the Great Hall and
McDowell classrooms
• Homecoming Banquet: Tom Williams
(A51) and Warren Spector ( A81) will
receive the Alumni Association Award
of Merit; Nancy Lewis, John Moore,
and Beate Ruhm Von Oppen will be
recognized as new Honorary Alumni
• Waltz Party in the Great Hall
Sunday, September 30
I
• Rock Party in the Coffee Shop: Robert ■
George (A85) will make a cameo DJ 3
appearance
i
• Champagne Brunch at the President’s
House
-
?
‘
I
t
A Johnnie is a Johnnie—no matter if their
GRADUATION YEAR WAS IN THE 1950’s OR THE
1990’s.
Inauguration of John Balktom as
Santa Fe President _____ - '
-1
Friday, September 14 and Saturday;
September 15
“Inviting Conversations” is the theme of
this inaugural weekend where festivities
will include:
Friday, September 14
• Picnic on the soccer field
• All-college Chicago-style softball game
• Performance at the newly renovated
Lensic Performing Arts Center
Saturday, September 15
• Inauguration at 10 a.m. on Meem
Library Placita
• Reception for all in attendance will
take place on the Upper Placita
• Waltz Party in the Great Hall
For information on events, contact the
Offices of Alumni Activities:
Tahmina Shalizi,
Director of Alumni and Parent Activities
Santa Fe - 505-984-6103;
alumni@maiLsjcsf.edu
Roberta Gable,
Director of Alumni Activities
Annapolis - 4io-6a6-253i;
alumni@sjca.edu
�STJOHN’S COLLEGE
ANNAPOLIS • SANTA PE
Published by the
Public Relations Office
Box a8oo
Annapolis, Maryland 21404
ADDRESS service REQUESTED
Periodicals
Postage Paid
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>The College </em>(2001-2017)
Description
An account of the resource
The St. John's College Communications Office published <em>The College </em>magazine for alumni. It began publication in 2001, continuing the <em>St. John's Reporter</em>, and ceased with the Fall 2017 issue.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The College" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=56">Items in The College (2001-2017) Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
St. John's College
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, Md.
Santa Fe, NM
Contributor
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St. John's College Greenfield Library
Language
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English
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
thecollege2001
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
paper
Page numeration
Number of pages in the original item.
48
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The College, Summer 2001
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 27, Issue 3 of The College Magazine. Published in Summer 2001.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
St. John's College
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
St. John's College
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Annapolis, MD
Santa Fe, NM
Date
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2001
Rights
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St. John's College owns the rights to this publication.
Type
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text
Format
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pdf
Language
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English
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
The College Vol. 27, Issue 3 Summer 2001
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Goyette, Barbara (editor)
Mulry, Laura J. (Santa Fe editor)
Borden, Sus3an (assistant editor)
Behrens, Jennifer (graphic designer)
Johnson, David
Harvey, Keith
Eoyang, Glenda Holladay
Brown, Alexis
Maistrellis, Nicholas
Hellner-Burris, Janet
Goyette, Barbara
Moreno, Ed
Fridrich, Sarah
Flaumenhaft, Harvey
Rankin, John
Knight, Mirabai
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