1 20 5655 https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/a1800d2fd1c79c41f563df1f19b9386a.jpg 6f61599f205f4505eb57ae000b7fcc6d 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 Image Collection—Annapolis Description An account of the resource <p>The Greenfield Library Image Collection houses over 5,000 photographs, postcards, drawings, and other graphic materials.  The images in the collection document the history, academic, and community life of St. John’s College. </p> To learn more about the Greenfield Library's archives use policy or to obtain high-resolution images, please see the <strong><a title="Image Collection Use Policy" href="http://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/libraries/greenfield-library/policies/#photographicarchivepolicy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Library’s Image Collection Use Policy</a></strong>.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="Photographic Archives" href="http://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=7">Items in the Image Collection—Annapolis Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library 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 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context imagecollectionannapolis Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Physical Dimensions The actual physical size of the original image 25.5 x 20.5 cm Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data 1 black-and-white photographic copy print 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/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SJC-P-2211 Title A name given to the resource Copy print of a photograph of Main Street in Annapolis, Maryland Description An account of the resource Copy print of a photograph of Main Street in Annapolis, Maryland. <br /><br /><span>The original photograph is dated 1870 and is in the collection of the <a href="https://speccol.msa.maryland.gov/pages/speccol/collection.aspx?speccol=985">Maryland State Archives</a>. The image was used in the book, </span><em>"A Complete &amp; Generous Education" 300 Years of Liberal Arts, St. John's College, Annapolis</em><span> (Annapolis: St. John's College Press, 1996), page 32.</span> Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource circa 1996 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bachrach, David, 1845-1921 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 Type The nature or genre of the resource Still Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource jpeg Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Copyright undetermined https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/13755e30541307fb9afd539d42bbff92.pdf a62556688b583c68bb9a9f318d55c76e PDF Text Text Sr JoHN'S COLLEGE SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 87501-4599 • (505) 982-3691 Community Events Calendar OCTOBER 1988 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx DON'T FORGET! September 28 Wednesday, ~ PM SPECIAL LECTURE: DR. RUPERT SHELDRAKE, British biologist and author, will discuss his new book, The Presence of the Past. Co-Sponsored by International synergy-Institute and Sol Y Sombra. $5 at the door. Free to St. John's students. The Great Hall. September 30 . Friday, ! PM LECTURE: Peter Widulski, Professor of Humanities at Fordham University will speak on "An Introduction to Hegel's Philosophy of Right." Free. The Great Hall. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx October ! Saturday, starting l PM *FILMS: Theme - Atomic Allegories "La Jetee" 1962 - France - Directed by Chris Marker - 29 mins black and white. "Dr. Strangelove" 1964 - Directed by Stanley Kubrick - 1 hr 33 mins - black and white. "Insi9nificance" 1985 - Great Britain - Directed by Nicolas Roeg - 1 hr 50 mins - color. �October 4 Tuesday, ~ PM SYMBOLIC HISTORY - THROUGH SIGHT AND SOUND: "Nature, the Perceptive Field: a Heraclitean Celebration of the Modern Universe." Tutor Emeritus CHARLES BELL. Free. Junior Common Room. October 9 ~ Sunday, 3-6 PM ART GALLERY OPENING RECEPTION: JANET LIPPINCOTT, owner of the Lippincott Studio-Gallery on Canyon Road; participant in over 75 invitational and juried exhibitions nationally; showing of large paintings and mono-prints. Free. Exhibit from October 4 - 31, Wednesday through Sunday, 1-5 PM. October 11 Tuesday, ~ PM SYMBOLIC HISTORY - THROUGH SIGHT AND SOUND: "Cycles: Patterns-of History, Early Civilizations; Where Are We Now?" Tutor Emeritus CHARLES BELL. Free. Junior Common Room. * * October 12 Wednesday, ~ PM SPECIAL LECTURE: JOHN H. HOLLAND, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, will speak on the topic "Learning in Machines and Man." Part of the Santa Fe Institute Lecture Series. Free. The Great Hall. = October 15 Saturday, ~ AM ! PM COUNCIL ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SYMPOSIUM: "The European Community: How Will It Affect the United States?" Co-sponsored by St. John's College. Speakers include: Congressman Bill Richardson, Nancy Ballack, US State Dept., Steve Kramer, Ass't Professor of History, UNM, Conrad Latour, Professor Emeritus of History & Government at Beaver College Center for Education Abroad, Vienna. The Great Hall. Tickets are $5 to C.I.R. members with advance reservations; $7.50 to members and the public at the door. Luncheon at the College is $7.50 with advance reservations required. Send reservations and payment to: C.I.R. PO Box 1223 Santa Fe, NM 87504 Telephone: 982-4931. �October 15 Saturday, l ! ~ PM FILMS: Theme - Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You ••• "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" 1939 - Directed by Frank Capra - 2 hrs 5 mins black and white. "The Manchurian Candidate" 1962 - Directed by John Frankenheimer - 2 hrs 5 mins - black and white. October 18 Tuesday, ~ PM SYMBOLIC HISTORY - THROUGH SIGHT AND SOUND: "Greece: The Tragic Myth and Deed - Homer to Plato, Fruit of the Fall." Tutor Emeritus CHARLES BELL. Free. Junior Common Room. October 22 Saturdayc l ! ~ PM *FILMS: 'fheme - The Legalities of War "A Soldier's Story" 1984 - Directed by Norman Jewison - 1 hr 42 mins color. "Breaker Morant" 1979 - Directed by Bruce Beresford - 1 hr 47 mins color. ~ October 25 Tuesday, ~ PM SYMBOLIC°JiISTORY - THROUGH SIGHT AND SOUND: "The Alexandrian Melt: East and West, Backgrounds and Convergence." Tutor Emeritus CHARLES BELL. Free. Junior Common Room. ~ October 28 Friday, ~ PM ST. JOHN'S CONCERT SERIES: PTanist PETER PESIC, the Musician-in-Residence at the College, will play an all-Beethoven recital. Featured works will include: Op. 2 No. 1, Beethoven's first published sonata, OJ?. 81a "Les Adieux" sonata, and the "Hammerklavier" sonata OJ?. 106. Admission at the door is $6 and $3 for senior citizens and non-st. John's students or by season pass to patrons of the Music Series. Film Showings: 7 PM & 9 PM+ Admissions: $3, Double Feature $4 The Great Hall opens at 6:45 PM. CHECK SWITCHBOARD FOR LAST MINUTE CHANGES. �xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx UPCOMING EVENTS IN NOVEMBER November 15 Tuesday, 4:30 - 6:30 PM ANNUAL SEMINAR DAY: A Graduate Institute program. More details in the November calendar. ~ November 15 Tuesday, ~ PM SPECIAL LECTURE: STEWART. BRAND, Editor/Publisher of "The Last Whole Earth Catalog" and "The Co-Evolution Quarterly," will speak on the topic "The Media Lab at MIT: Neural Nets and Global Communication." Part of the Santa Fe Institute Lecture Series. Free. The Great Hall. November 22 Tuesday, 7 PM PRESIDENTIAL SEMINAR: DR. MICHAEL P. RICCARDS will lead a seminar discussing The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway.~o fee. Limited to 25 people. Call 982-3691 ext. 289 for , reservations. Santa Fe Hall Room 105. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx :> 0 0 Al m {J') {J') n 0 Al Al 6 6 z Al m 0 c: m ~ m 0 � 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. 4 pages 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 Santa Fe Community Calendar, October 1988 Description An account of the resource Event calendar for the Santa Fe campus community, October 1988. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Santa Fe, NM Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-10 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Type The nature or genre of the resource text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource pdf Language A language of the resource English Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context SF_Community_Calendar_1988_10 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John’s College Calendar https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/7fbd3c9f9e5125974195817d1125ba3c.pdf 94fb3b021ce916d1efdd30f3652f8339 PDF Text Text THE AD FLY The St. John's College Student Weekjy Volume XXIV, Issue 15 In This Issue ... Annapolis, Maryland January 21, 2003 Letter from the Editor Dear Loyal Gadfly Readers, Oil and Water: Christian Fundamentalism and a liberal Education? By Aaron Maclean Page8 Vihat Wm Become of the Febbie Class? By Erica Naone I am writing this letter to the polity for a few reasons. First of all, I would like to inform you of a major change that has occurred in the structure of the newspaper staff I have first of all, done away with all section editorships and have thus effectively demoted half of our contributing writers from the rank of section editor, to that of staff writer. This change has nothing to do with the newspaper staff, but is the result of 1) the fact that it was just a title and had no bearing on any responsibilities of the holder and 2) that it has come to my attention that the opinions expressed by the editors have been mistaken by some readers for official positions taken by the Ga4ffy as a whole. Thus, to avoid any further confusion, apart from my new co-editor and myself, all other editors are now officially staff writers. This brings me to my second reason for writing this letter. It has been expressed, both to myself and in letters to the Gac!f!y, that some members of the polity feel that on certain issues the Ga4ffy has become too one-sided in its coverage, and that furthermore, the Gadffy both mocks and abases any printed opinion that does not correspond with the paper's overall world view I can understand how some confusion may have occurred as the result of certain articles and editorials; however, I wish to assure the polity that nothing could be farther from the truth. The Ga4ffy makes a point of publishing as many of the submissions we receive as is possible. Occasionally, members of the Gadffy staff have a desire to respond to these submissions. Any submissions offered by the Ga4ffy staff in response to a past article or editorial are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Ga4ffy staff as a whole. These types of submissions are treated no differently from any submission offered by an infrequent contributor. The sidebar on page two of the publication has always offered a disclaimer to this affect, and, just so that there are no more misunderstandings, I have changed some of the wording in the disclaimer in order to make our position clearer. I encourage all our readers to read the new disclaimer and let us know if you have any suggestions. I would also like to point out that this disclaimer is the reason that we do not feel it necessary to print further disclaimers in regards to individual submissions. With that business out of the way, I have one further announcement. In an attempt to always search for improvements in the quality of our publication and to ensure a connection with our readership, I have decided to complement the position of Editor-m-Chief •:Ji.th 2, co-editorship, Cathy Keene, the paper's former production manager, will now, along with myself, serve as a co-editor for the paper. This decision was made in order to maintain an efficient production process, and in order to continue our strong connection with our readers. That being said, we have a great 1ssue for you this week, and I hope that you continue to read, and let us know if you have any suggestions. Sincerely, Cooper N. Gallimore Gadfly Co-Editor �THE -vGADFLY Gadfly Mailbox one around. Having lived some, having read in earnest, and having been brought up as a Christian, I think myself qualified to say that it Co-Editors is not self-evident at all. His addressing the Dear Gadfly, Cooper N. Gallimore The discussion recently sparked in the Gad- polity as if the non-Christianity of any of its Cathy Keene . fly about Sir Robert Burbridge's letter before members could only stem from their not hav· Winter Break makes me worry that the issue ing thought about the issue suggests that the Production Manager : underlying it may become an ongoing topic of speaker himself has not thought through his Ervin Romero · polity argument. I believe that he would not own beliefs fearlessly enough to realize that they Business Manager : consciously publish a letter more apt to do could not have been born of reason or reading Elizabeth Laughlin · harm than good, so I will attempt to make my alone. Perhaps this sermon would have been more : reply in a manner that is provocative of more Contributing to this Issue inspiring to people who had never heard of · thought than bile on the part of those who Christopher Utter : may read it. My greatest problem with Mr. Christ. But none of us here are heathens beAdamGarber · Burbridge's letter, though, was that he wrote it cause we have not read the Bible. And if it, Daniel Shwartz : in so incendiary a fashion that I find it difficult and Augustine and Anselm and Thomas and Erica Naone · to believe it could do anything other than of- the rest have not persuaded us, then I doubt Aaron Macl.ean : fend those to whom it was addressed. I do anything short of some manner of revelation Mark Ingham · not want to drag this discussion out, but I could - and revelation does not stem from Katy Courtright : want to address the issue at hand in a way that condescending rhetoric. I would very much like Jennifer Silgals : might explain why the original letter was ob- to be a religious person, but I am afraid that a Leo Pickens compassionate call to faith from a believer . jectionable. would be insufficient to make me into one, Reason alone inclines many to think : geology's somewhat lengthier account of much less what was given. Mr. Burbridge's letFounded in 1980, the Gadf!yis the student weekly · world history is more plausible than Mr. ter had the character of the pompous speech distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and : Burbridge's six thousand years. But Mr. of a rich man passing a bum on the street and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors : Burbridge chose to alienate his audience right telling him he should get up and go buy himemeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and self some better clothes and shave. The issue Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa · from the beginning by making an assertion underlying unbelief is lack of means - and Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the · that is trivial to Christianity, rather than saying sole responsibility of the author(s), and do not : any number of other things that would have not laziness. (That image, incidentally, is courtesy of my necessarilly represent the views of the Gadf!y or : been uncontroversial and more than sufficient mother - to whom I spoke of this over break the views of the Gadf!J editorial staff. The Gadf!y · to his story. Why mention this, of all things, reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit sub- : when it is obviously so likely to be inflamma- - who is Christian - and whom I think of missions in any way necessary to publish the most . tory and so unlikely to be helpful in the con- as very much more than an accident of genetics thoughtful, informative, and thought-provoking : text in which his modem audience lives and in her kinship to me. Shame on you, Mr. newspaper which circumstances at St. John's perBurbridge, for saying something to us all that · thinks? mit. . I am sympathetic to Mr. Burbridge about could only serve as an insult to our families, in a letter purportedly sent because you wished Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better · the commercialization of his holy day. I realchance of being published than those longer than : ize the importance, to a Christian, of spread- our lives were better.) Infidels have Mr. Burbridge's prayer for life. this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for . ing the Word. But the most obvious answer, In response to his prayer, this living agnostic grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. : it seems to me, to my question above, is this: The Gadf!y is not obligated to publish all submis- · bitterness and a misguided drive to confront. wishes he might learn to be a better example sions and will not print anonymous submissions : Not a desire to be helpful. And I worry that, of Christianity if he intends to positively imexcept under special circumstances. · were it widespread, his apparent desire not to press those of us who have not been so blessed : say that something might transcend reason, as he with the virtues of his faith. Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax--Cassie Sherman deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. · but rather to choose examples in his rhetoric Please make checks payable to the Gadf!y. For : that would seem to those who do not already display advertisement prices and information, call · agree with him to stand in direct opposition Hip-Hop Ain't All Bad : to it, would be destructive to the College. 410-263-2371, x2212. Dear Gadfly, I strongly doubt that anyone who has atI do not wish to take issue with Mr. Crotty's Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission : tended this college for more than a year has for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions · somehow managed to avoid thinking about political beliefs, or with the opinions that he will be accepted as long as they are legibly writ- : Christianity. Were it self-evidently the correct expressed in last week's article. That's no~ to ten, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail sub: way of living - to be Christian - either life say that I agree with him, and I most certainly missions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail sub. itself or reading the Bible would bring every- do not, but there are a great number of people missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. 2 Further Response to Burbridge Christmas Letter on campus, who could better address, and probably will address, the ideas which he felt kind enough to share with all of us. I believe that, in regards to the majority of matters that he commented on, he and I will just have to agree to disagree. However, as he appears to be greatly misinformed about the nature of a subject that is very near and dear to my heart, I feel that I, as a decent human being, am obligated to set him straight on a few points. While it is true, that much of the commercial rap music (a high profile off-shoot of Hip Hop) found on BET, MTV, and countless mainstream urban radio stations glorifies misogamy [sic?] and the accumulation of wealth through crime, and while many of the MCs responsible for such music Gay-Z, Nelly, Cash Money Crew) bask in real or imagined gang affiliations, such music and artists (if you want to call an untalented poseur [sic?] like Nelly, the modern equivalent of a black Vanilla Ice, an artist), are not representative of the majority of us involved in Hip Hop culture world wide. Commercial rap, which is presented in the media as mainstream Hip Hop, in the form which it exists today, is almost entirely acreation oflarge musical corporations (such as Interscope), who saw the urban music industry as an opportunity to invest in poor communities (an activity which Mr. Crotty certainly encourages), and proceed to turn the first wholly public American folk music movement into one of the most revolting forms of pop music ever to stink up the airwaves with its presence, by encouraging and (more importantly) funding those artists which glorified a pseudo -culture of inner-city violence. The majority of Hip Hop MCs have devoted large portions of their poetry to assaulting the false world created by the gangsta-rappers, most of whom insist that their music is "just entertainment," which, of course, it is. Mr. Crotty, however, appears to be suggesting that their music, which, as he says, perpetrates the urban "cycle of poverty and violence," should be removed from the face of the planet. I agree, and afterwards we can more on to eradicating the taint of films which canonize war and related violence (Saving Private Ryan, Gettysburg, We Were Soldiers, etc.), and the world will at last be spared the savage cycle of destruction in which such movies have kept in locked. As a side note, I would also like to state, for the record, that there is no such thing as "tagger culture." Graffiti was one of the four original elements of Hip Hop (along with MC-ing, DJ-ing, and break-dancing), and those of us who write it (or rather, in my case, wrote it), are as disgusted by gang graffiti as Mr. Crotty appears to be. It is ugly to look at, and, almost exclusively, poorly executed (aesthetic concerns are as important in graffiti as they are in any other visual medium). It is also, quite naturally, the cause of a great deal of violence, and makes the streets very unsafe for artists uninterested in marking territory. It also composes a very tiny fraction of all the tags, bombs, and spreads found on boxcars, overpasses, and mailboxes across America and the rest of the world. --Jacob Thomas, 'OS makes the assumption that the friend is "the man who both seems and is good." Socrates then points out the contradiction: if justice harms one's bad enemies, one makes them more unjust, and it is absurd to think the just could bring about the unjust. And Polemarchus finally concedes that the just man will not harm "either friend or anyone else." In my review, I say only the following about what justice is: 1.) Facts, not feelings, should be the guide to just action, 2.) It is just to give one what he deserves, 3.) Just action demands consideration of whether another is good or bad, the former deserving one's good will, the latter deserving "to be shunned." When these are united into a single principle, justice is to reward virtue Howland Lecture Review and punish vice. The specific rewards and punishments will vary. Most often, praise Discussion Continues and condemnation are the appropriate acDear Gadfly, tions respectively; other times physical force My thanks to Mr. Schulman for his J anu- is necessary against one's enemies. The esary 14 letter regarding my review of the No- sential divergence between Polemarchus and vem b er 12 Jacob Howland lecture, me is that I do not believe a person who is "Storytelling and Philosophy: The Ring of physically harmed necessarily becomes more Gyges." He is correct that Mr. Howland did unjust. Nor do I consider punishments not not suffer any extraordinary violence at the involving physical force to be harm at all. hand of this critic. I expressed a sincere ap- Indeed, since the man of vice has free will, preciation for the lecture in my review, be- the punishment of his vice could potencause I am convinced that despite its real tially help him to change his ways. In any philosophical flaws, much can be gained case, the good are not responsible for from it. If it were both a philosophically making men bad through punishment of flawed and thoughtless lecture, it would their vices; the bad men are responsible if indeed have been worthless. But despite its they do not rid themselves of those vices. flaws, it was one of the better lectures since Consider the nation's judicial system. It last August, as is evidenced by the fact that is just, we say, to imprison a burglar. It it still has people thinking. seems obvious, when one takes this realBut one additional correction is neces- life example, that the burglar is not made sary. My idea of justice has twice been more unjust by virtue of his imprisonequated with that of Polemarchus in the ment. It is within the burglar's power, and first book of Plato's Republic. While I see his power alone, to keep or change his how one can confuse my position with his, ways. Furthermore, if anything at all there is an important distinction, one that would lead to continuing or expanding would give Socrates a much harder time. injustice on the part of this burglar, it And as Socrates imagines Protagoras to re- would be to tolerate him: For if he knows spond in Plato's Theaetetus, so do I now he can get away with this crime, he is more respond: "When you ask someone ques- likely to commit more crimes in the futions in order to canvass some opinion of ture. Note, though, that the primary manimine and he is found tripping, then I am festation of justice is not, in my formurefuted only if his answers are such as I lation, physical harm, but moral praise should have given; if they are different, it is and condemnation. Socrates ignores this he who is refuted, not I." (166b) notion of justice entirely. Justice, Polemarchus says, is, "to render I maintain, therefore, that 1.) My posito each his due." (331e) He elaborates, as- tion on this issue is not the same as that senting that justice is, "To do good to of Polemarchus and 2.) Socrates does not friends and evil to enemies," or that it, ''ben- refute my position. efits friends and harms enemies." In this he --Daniel Schwartz, '06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . . THE GADFLY . 3 �~"!f!EX at t~~rushMi!2t1.~!! §knilqlL~!Yilieoili~e Staff Writer eye, are all uniquely Avery. "He wasn't trying to belong to a particular group," said Mrs. Kaufman. "He loved the world around him and wanted to paint it." This fact is evident in bis many landscapes, especially, Vermont Landscape (1941 ), the subtle colors and slightly distorted perspective of which evokes the rolling forested hills of the Vermont countryside where the Avery's would often vacation with the Kaufman's. Avery did not paint this in situ; in fact he never painted out-of-doors. He preferred to make sketches and paint in oils later on in his studio so that he could devote his full attention to the work. Mrs. Kaufman recalls Avery being blinded by the California sun to such an extent that he would be forced to make quick sojourns to the seaside with a water color or pencil set, and do full scale paint- relatively smoothly textured painting. The piece is clearly influenced by Mexican and Japanese art. The warm, pastel purples and yellows remind one of native Mexican weaving, yet Sally's hairstyle and the potted plant nearby are obvious Japanese features. Sally and Milton were meant to be together. They completed each otherasfullyasanycouplecan. Averywasvery low key, a "man of few words" to use the cliche. Sally, on the other hand "was very bubbly'' according to Mrs. Kaufman. She was the one who made sure he painted, and paint he did as often as he possibly could. Sally's words flowed into Avery and he digested them into color and line. It is preferable for true artists to communicate through their art. Indeed, Louis Kaufman said that he learned far more thro'ugh visual art than through music. Milton Avery, whose works are on display at the Mitchell Gallery until February 22, is a master of color and style. Many of his works are suggestive of Matisse, Picasso, and Braque, but with a quality unique to themselves. The works on display are from the collection of Louis and Annette Kaufman, who were close friends and benefactors of Avery. The latter was a true artist. He worked in a factory in Connecticut during the day to support himself and would paint by night. ''.Anyone who is willing to work all day and then come home to paint is a true artist," as Mrs. Kaufman says. His works did not begin to sell until he was in his forties, the first work being bought by none other than Louis Kaufman. Kaufman, a violinist originally from Oregon, was first introduced to Avery by the abstract expressionist Mark Rothko in 1927. Kaufman immediately bought a painting, Still Lift with Bananas and a Bottle, for $25. Louis enjoyed the work and company so much that he brought many of his socially connected friends to see (and buy) the work for themselves. Needless to say, this helped the artist beyond measure, and secured bis livelihood for the rest of his life. Among those whom Kaufman brought to visit Avery was his future wife, Annette, on their first date. Mrs. Kaufman immediately fell in love with the work, and soon after with Kaufman, whom she married a year later. In fact, Louis proposed three days after they had met, "that's Mrs. Kaufman posing before two Avery Portraits. what Romanians do," said Mrs. Kaufman. ings, such as California Landscape (1942) indoors. Which is reminiscent of what Mrs. Simpson The latter is an excellent example of the artist's said to the future Edward VIII upon his pro- developing sense of texture and color; the tarposal that they marry immediately, "we're not like black on the cliff face; the palate knife strokes delineating the blades of sun-baked grass; the Romanians, you know." But fascinating as that is, I suppose I should heavy, cream-colored paint on the barns, untalk about Avery's technique and all that. I en- doubtedly quite similar to the paint and texjoy Avery's work immensely, simply because ture thereof used on those very barns. The of the variety of styles. One painting in par- palate-knife texture mentioned is obvious in ticular, Chinese Checkers (1941 ), is a rather cub- Avery's later paintings. In the portrait of his ist piece in a Matisse sort of way. But then wife and muse Sally, called S al!J with a Skull again, it is nothing like a Matisse; the colors, (1946), Avery marks bis wife's features with the 4 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . The nuance of a brush stroke influenced by emotion can speak volumes about the subject. Perhaps this is why Mr. Kaufman liked portraits of artists so much and collected them. One wall of the Mitchell Gallery is devoted purely to these portraits not only of Avery but also of others such as Chaim Gross, Leo Lerman, and Thomas Nagai. The latter, painted in 1929, depicts the solemn Japanese man with a blue scarf. The scarf stands out particularly in this otl1erwise earth-toned piece. The technique ........................ continued on next page . . _ continued from facing page 1s mteresting, but limited, a good example of his early work; the color speaks to the viewer, but not the technique. Averyuses "color field" in the piece, especially in N agai's scarf: substituting pure color for texture and form. "When this piece is contrasted against Avery's Self Portrait with Red Tam and Scarf (1938), the artist's development is clear. He has started to incorporate Picasso-like shading, emphasizing the brighter parts of the work, while using more texture; although he has not yet started to scrape the paint with his palate knife. Avery is difficult to read in this painting; the raised eyebrow and sideways glance could indicate skepticism, perhaps thinking that no one would be interested in a painting of him. On the other hand, a melancholic tone comes across as well. The tam, dangling cigarette and red scarf are almost too obviously symbols of "the artist". I prefer this painting to the one of Nagai, though, simply because it is subtler in its manner of communication. Another excellent example of this is Avery's ~oLermaninMidziSolomonHtudio (1948). It 1s a rough, textured, and not particularly detailed piece, forcing the viewer to look in the stylistic details rather than in the image itself. The scraped rust colored wall of the Solomon's studio along with the mere outline of the artist's tools, are a superb way of showing us how the studio feels. It is a workshop: Spartan, not particularly clean, with the bare essentials needed for creating works of art. The completed sculpture in the foreground, together with the neat, pinstriped suit of Lerman, is in sharp contrast to its surroundings. The former two are painted with clear blues and smooth strokes, while the walls are lashed with crosshatching from the palate knife. Avery's portraits of his friends the ~ufman's are other animals all together. Two :In particular are my favorite paintings in the show, despite the fact that they are earlier works. L11is Kaufman with &d S11spenders on a White J'.L:- (1931) and Portrait of Annette in a Green mn; •· Dress (1933) are lovingly painted with the skill ;.~fa master. Both use very basic colors, yellows, reds, and greens, and this is their most appealing feature. Louis is portrayed with heavy yellow brushstrokes and an expres- sion of amusement. His wife is beautiful in a striking green dress and perfectly colored dark red hair, the same as she has today. Both their features come across as an_ . . gular and chiseled, qwte different from his later pieces, which I generally prefer, but in these two the technique and color come together to create two exquisite paintings. Across the room is the latest piece in the collection, The Convalescent (1949), a selfportrait painted while Avery was recovering from a heart attack. The palate knife strokes, often used on the face, are reserved for his flann~l shirt ~nd hair, while smooth, grays and v10lets highlight the ghostly pale complexion of the artist. This piece reminds me of nothing but Avery himself; it is difficult to see the influence of any other artist. ~erhaps it is best for such a personal paintmg. In my interview with Annette Kaufman I was able, at least for an hour or so, to mee; Avery and see how he really was. He was a master of his trade, and an influence on all who knew him, artist and layman alike. "He changed Mark Rothko" Mrs. Kaufman said. Vincenzo Spagna was described as being "Cezanne-esque", but it is more likely his close friend, Avery, influenced him more. I am grateful to Mrs. Kaufman for allowing our gallery to exhibit her collection and I hop e the enur·e commuruty can benefit from · ' it while it is here. The New Movement is Born By Adam Garber, '05 Staff Writer In recent weeks numerous newspapers, liberals, conservatives, and academics have wondered what happened to the power of the people. They claimed that radical movements are over with. People will not come out to march, we will not see hippies camping out in parks and bashing windows. They are right. No longer do only hippies walk in the streets. At the October War Protest in DC people whispered of the change in demographics. You would see a lady marching with the help of her walker, or a little child leading chants. This past weekend marked the official inauguration of a new movement. With estimates ranging from 200,000 to half a million people in DC only 25-30% were students. The rest were made oflocal residents, the people who would walk into a McDonalds, or wear fur coats to keep off the cold. It ranged from people who were against war in general, to Republicans who were against unilateral action. It spanned generations from elderly grandparents struggling along the 3-mile walk, to dreadlocked hippies climbing trees. All sorts of religious groups came out demanding "No War". The booming voices of Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindus, and other denominations held hands in solidarity. All of this was truly in the spirit of the weekend. With many people carrying signs quoting Martin Luther King you could feel his spirit descend upon the crowd. Last time Reverend Sharpton claimed, "You are the children of Martin Luther King. We march for him and with him." This time the vision was realized. . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 5 �Lecture Review: Goethe If the poet's pure hand draws, Water will compact. By Daniel Schwartz, '06 Staff Writer Annapolis tutor Margaret Kirby delivered a lecture on January 17 about a man relatively unfamiliar to many of us, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. The title, however, promised a lecture accessible to anyone. "The Moment is Eternity: An Introduction to Goethe's Poetry;' succeeded, in the end, in being just that: a fine introduction to some fascinating poetry. She opened with a line about how our examination would have to be shaped by questions about temporality and atemporality. Goethe believed that the moment is eternal, that there is permanence in change. This paradoxical and self-contradictory idea, said Ms. Kirby, is reflected in both his explicit statements and in his dynamic vocabulary, which includes words like, "flow, stream, transform, change, create." One way this relationship between temporality and atemporality is reflected is in Goethe's contrast between the fluid and the With this excerpt, she began to look at the original German language to make some of her observations. "Schopft" is cognate with scoop, she said, and ''ballen" means to contract. The water, then, is acquiring shape. In this manner, Ms. Kirby proceeded methodically through the poems on the handout. She showed an explicit evocation of the Heraclitian flux in "One and All," and, in another poem, an image of a fluid sky, which shows that the highest things are fluid. The ninth excerpt depicted stars both unmoved and wandering, because it is a regular and lawful motion. But such law amid change is not restricted to the heavenly world. Even the lily, revealed the tenth excerpt, is governed by such celestial. To illustrate these opening remarks, Ms. Kirby dived right in by pointing the audience to the first of thirteen excerpts of Goethe, with both the German and an English translation for each (one excerpt was from Kant) on a handout given to the audience: Stars, mirrored, gaze down at the glittering Of the wave that beats against the cliff, ... And, in a delightful approach of using the poetry itself to bring out new thoughts, she proceeded to describe what this shows us: the relationship between the two realms, that of the stars and that of the waves, the celestial and the fluid. In some ways, something seemed to be missing from the beginning of Ms. Kirby's lecture. Nothing was said about Goethe's life, his time, his contemporaries, his philosophy. While a few minutes of such information would have been enjoyable, Ms. Kirby's approach had the virtue of tackling her main concern immediately and directly. Indeed, the lecture proved so teeming with thoughts just about the poetry that there was not any time for such an introduction. Ms. Kirby used her second excerpt to illustrate Goethe's view that the poet gives form to the fluid element. s Poetry After likewise analyzing the third stanza, Ms. Kirby reflected on the fact that moonlight, not sunlight, engenders lucidity, though only a reflection. She suggested this might be because one can see through the flux of reflections their eternal law. The moon is not just a reflection; there is something deeper to it, just as the lily does more than just change: it blooms according to an eternallaw. And one sees this universal law through the particular. Thought, Ms. Kirby went on to say, somehow embraces its very pastness and futurity bringing them into simultaneity. Midnight, she suggested, is significant in that a day has passed and yet another one is coming. So at midnight, all of time contracts in some fashion into that single moment. Since thought, not the thinker, embraces the past and the future, it seems this simultaneity of time is part of time itself. In the first stanza, the boy perceives particular stars; in the second, the young man perceives stars as a collective; but in the third, the old man is receptive to the universal embodied in the particular phenomenon. The particular represents the universal; the image discloses laws. Ms. Kirby's explication of At Midnight made up the whole second half of the lecture. It was thorough, to say the least, taking into account the nuances of the German and the meaning of the poem as a whole. The title, she pointed out, gives a precise temporal setting. The end of each stanza, too, reminds us that this is a fixed moment, at midnight; yet the poem portrays successive stages of an entire lifetime. The key to this paradox is that it shows the same moment experienced in diverse forms, as it appears in early, middle, and late life. To the boy of the first stanza, midnight evokes terrors, and the sublimity of the stars only diminishes the child's own stature. Like Alice, he grows smaller until he fears he might vanish altogether. The cemetery he must cross to get to his father's house brings to mind the possibility of total annihilation. But father is there, too, meaning that death and salvation are in close proximity. The syntax, meter, rhyme, and rhythm of the first stanza all reflect this. The meter and syntax are casual, the rhyme imprecise, the rhythm uneven. The hard K's in line two's spondee (in the German) show the boy's eternity. The lecture was wonderful. It fulfilled its promise of being introductory, yet the depth of its analysis offered something new to even those who have already read Goethe.Not only is it hard to resist the desire to read Goethe after listening to such a lecture, but one also gained the knowledge ofwhat to look for when going about such a reading. If Ms. Kirby's goal was that kind of introduction, she succeeded admirably. hesitation. The second stanza shows a young man drawn to his beloved. It begins with a threefold expression of time: ''When I then later." And the first clause lacks a main verb. The fourth line of the stanza proved interesting: "I, going, coming, sucked blessedness." Ms. Kirby noted that the embrace occurs entirely between the two participles, as if contained in the comma. 6 1 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . t~~bies: A Dying Breed Staff Writer As the new Febbies settle in, it's strange to remember Febbies are an endangered species. According to Dean Harvey Flaumenhaft, the last Febbie class in Annapolis will arrive in January 2006 - just before this year's Febbies graduate. That means this year's Febbies will be the last class to experience the unbroken tradition of the Febbie Nation. o:er the years, the pressures of being a Febb1e - shorter breaks, less time to write the freshman essay, and an accelerated program have caused a fellowship to grow up around the experience. On Saturday, Jan. 18, last year's Febbies had a party to initiate the new Febbies in the ways of the Febbie Nation. They passed on the famous story of Febbie Dad Mark Ingham and the CIA, showed pictures from the beach trip over Febbie summer, and tried to give the new Febbies an idea of what they're getting into. Emily DeBusk, a member of the new Febbie class, said, "I love the Febbies ahead of us. I thought [the party] was such a kind gesture .... They just showed you what it's going to be like in the future of Febbie-dom." From her experience so far, DeBusk said, she can foresee a balance of challenges and fun things ahead. For some of last year's Febbies, that balance is part of the closeness of the Febbie class. Isaac Weiner, a Febbie from last year, remembers doing cool stuff over the summer with the other Febbies, such as camping and whitewater rafting. He also said it was nice having everyone in one dorm doing their essays at once, helping each other out. Though reluctant to speak for the class, Weiner said he felt last year's Febbies met the intense demands of Febbie year by assuming a responsibility to each other that tutors encouraged and that made classes work well. However, the things that set the Febbie experience apart are the very reasons the college plans not to continue the Febbie program. In a 2001 letter to The Gadf!J, Flaumenhaft wrote, " ... the decisive reason for the change is instructional." "The regular freshmen get a school-year with 6 more weeks of reflection and conversation together," Flaumenhaftwrote. "They also have more time to prepare their essays, and are less likely to suffer a change of tutors between semesters. Finally, we hear again and again that students who've been January freshmen enter the sophomore year exhausted. They don't have enough of a break at the end of the summer to overcome their fatigue before school resumes." Flaumenhaft also noted the loss of seminar readings the Febbie program skips. Some of last year's Febbies tried to compensate for the problems Flaumenhaft mentioned. Weiner said about half his Febbie class participated in "guerrilla seminars" finding a tutor and some Febbies willing to read one of the skipped readings and have an unofficial seminar. ''I don't feel like I really missed anything," he said. "You can do those kinds of things if you want to." Turning another possible disadvantage to an advantage, Weiner said switching tutors rnidyearwas "edifying" A newperson asking different kinds of questions helped give a new perspective on a subject, he said .Febbie reactions to the intensity of the program point to one of the main arguments in defense of the program. Flaumenhaft said many very good students come to St John's as Febbies, and it's good to gtve these students the opportunity to come here. However, the Febbie program was started to fill out the freshmen class. These days, Flaumenhaft said, the college is "overwhelmedwith applications." ''All but a few of the students who enter at midyearwouldlike to enterin the fail, but are told by us that there's no room for them unless they wait until midyear," Flaumenhaftwrotein 2001. Both WeinerandDeBuskcameasFebbieswith the ho~ of better financial aidinJanuary. Though both said they didn't want to wait a whole year to start college, theythoughttheymighthave still found a way to come to St John's if being a Febbie hadn't beenanoption.Weinersaidhewouldhavett1edthe Santa Fe campus, and DeBusk said she might have waited a year even though she didn't want to. The likelihood that students who want to come to St John's will make it here with or without the Febbie program seems to be part of what Flaumenhaft has in mind "On balance," Flaumenhaft said, "although [the Feb~ program] allows students to come right away, ... we like to have everybody a regular freshman." . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 �Fundamentalisml the Christian Fellowshipl and Liberal Education: A Letter to the New Vine . of Christianity in relation to the liberal arts, or so at least it seemed to those of us watching · C ·d · th · f th at least in relation to those arts as they are con- from the outside. ons1 ermg e size o e ceived 'of at St.John's. entering class that year, a surprisingly large ~umIt was exactly three years ago when I had the Paul Spradley represented both a mindset ber of freshman seemed to beco~e associated opportunity to write my first article for this and an organization - the SJC Christian Fel- immediately with the ~~owship, or leaned paper. I was reporting on the arrival of the lowship _ which remain popular here at the gradually toward asso_ctatton _over the course January Freshmen, Class of'03: my future classCollege, and which, as will come ~s no sur- of the year. P~rhaps 1t wa~ simply th~t more mates, and the objects of much curiosity among prise, I don't much care for. I say this up front, people were beingv~ public ~bout their memmy friends and me. As a part o f my 'coverage,' and the rest of this article will be an attempt to bership than before: 1t was difficult to gauge. I sat in on customary meeting of the Febbies give an account for my distaste, not for Chris- In any case, meetings were forthwith moved with the leaders of student organizations. One tianityas such, but fora particularkindofProt- from the Campbell Common Room _to ~e by one the archons stood in the well of the estantism that one can find popularized as the Chase-Stone Basement, and the organ1Zat1~n Conversation Room, and spoke about the virpseudo-orthodoxy of our Christian Fellow- enjoyed a thriving me~bership and~ affiliatues of their clubs. Paul Spradley - then a . senior, and also my RA - was there to repre- ship. Let me admit at the outset that, though ti.on with fundament~st_ Pr~t~stanttsm. I use the word 'affiliatton Wlth great care: it I have been an interested observer of the orgasent the Christian Fellowship. I remember disnization since my freshman year, I have only is quite clear that the Fellowship, in th~o~,con­ tinctly how Paul stood up slowly, stretching ever been to one meeting, and that was really ceives of itself as an umbrella organ1Za~o~ of out his long frame, and opened his remarks. only a surprise party for a friend of mine, to sorts, which ~elc~mes as members Chri~ttans Motioning with crossed hands first to his which a member of the Fellowship was kind of all denomIDattons, as well as the simply temple, then, to his heart, he said: enough to invite me. Thus, the account that curious, religious or not: ~e:ertheless, char''I've been going to school here for some follows is less a history of the organization, tering principl~s have their limit~, ::nd we ?ught and more a limited account of it from my own as well to consider the Fellowship s practtces. I time now, and I've discovered - as you will point of view as an outside, and interested, invite all concerned to visit the Fellowship's that while St. John's does a lot for your mind, official website' which one can get to from the ob server. it doesn't do much for your soul." Upon my enrollment at St. John's, Paul SJC site. There,.one can find sche_d~es, anSpradley, as I have noted, was the archon of nouncements, a "loose" ~embers~p list, and Now, I knew Paul reasonably well., and knew the club. We lived together on First Campbell, other information. There is one pamcular p~s­ that he was involved with the Fellowship; but where he was the RA. He was a nice guy whose sage in the announcements, presumably wntnot knowing much about the organization, door was almost always open, who was will- ten by the present Archon, who maintain~ ~e his comments shocked me, to say the least. ing to help with the work of freshman year, site, which I wo~~ like ~o quote from. It is his Back then; in the dawn of my St. John's career, have a conversation about anything, and who, report on a Chnsttan hip-hop concert ~at he I was under the impression that this college, quitefrankly,worehisChristianityonhis sleeve. and another me~ber _of the Fellowship a~­ perhaps alone among the institutions of Somehow, with Paul, this behavior wasn't usu- tended at the Uruvers1ty of Maryland, BalttAmerican secular education, spoke to both the soul and the mind, if such a distinction can be ally very bothersome. I remember sharing a more County: made anyway. My trust in that was one of the sense of disgust with him at a slick, profes"One of the best parts of the evening was things that brought me here, and the seminar sionally done 'Creation Science' presentation the hip-hop band's inter-song readings of the freshman year did nothing but put on in the FSK lobby by the older brother interludes: between songs, different members bolster my optimism. Now, in the gloomy of some students here. Upon reflection, I reof the band gave their testimonies and talked dusk of my term, when filling out my height alized that we were disgusted for different reaabout what it was like for them to come to and weight for a graduation gown feels a little sons: I was insulted by the whole affair; Paul Christ after a life of sin and wretchedness, and like having the measurements taken for my own simply thought that the Stevens brothers (who how now their lives are ruled by hope in God coffin, and when the books I read are not nec- were running the show) had simply gone a and not hopelessness in darkness." essarily so optimistic, I still think so: and the little overboard with their rhetoric, and so had This stuff isn't for sissies. The language is absurdity of Paul's claim, in the light of our lost the sympathies, and thus the souls, of the explicitly that of the "born-again" strain of reading list, seems ever as evident. If St. John's audience. The next year, after Paul's graduation, a thought popular in some strains of contemdoesn't do much for your soul, I remember porary Protestantism, strains which tend ~so thinking; maybe you aren't doing much at St. Stevens brother took over the archonship of the Fellowship: John, the elder of the two then to prefer literal interpretations of the Bible, John's. especially of Genesis, and which tend to have Paul's comment started for me an interest enrolled (and there were many, many more roots in rural, and especially southern, areas. in the role and place of religion at St. John's Stevens brothers out there in the world, one Indeed when one reads the list of Fellowship that I have maintained ever since. In particular, of whom ran the traveling anti-evolution cir' members on the website, .it seems that, among because of my Catholic upbringing, the sopho- cus that had put down stakes for a night in those who declare their hometowns, those more year readings, and other experiences, my FSK). That year also witnessed a sudden infrom the south outnumber those from other thoughts have largely revolved around the place crease in membership for the organization, or '" By Aaron MacLean, 'O J 8 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . regions at a ratio of four to one. What is even more striking about the list, is the fact tllat you don't see the names of too many Catholics,' or for that matter, of] ews or Muslims, or anyone but Protestants. All the sundry members of other Christian denominations, of other faiths, and even of the vast aimless flock of the faithless are invited: but none attend, at least not to the extent where they might be considered members. One of the people listed among the membership is a man named Kirk Ritchey. In the words of the page administrator: "Kirk runs the Annapolis-area BSU. We are not BSU or affilliated [sic], but enjoy a friendship with them." BSU stands for Baptist Student Union. These exist all over the country, and ours in Annapolis is devoted, according to its website (www.annapolisbsu.com), "To improv[ing] the spiritual well-being and the quality of discipleship, fellowship and service of all college students in the Amlapolis area so that we might propagate the Christian faith and bring glory to God." Very well- and presumably as Baptists, given their organization's name. I've been to the BSU a couple of times during my days at St. John's. Its right next to the Academy, on Hanover Street, and it has a decent game room. I remember playing pool there with some friends - we had been invited by a member of the Fellowship - as a group of about a dozen Johnnies in the next room watched a TV movie based on the Left Behind series of Christian thrillers. The series details the 'end times' as prophesied in the Book of Revelation, portraying events as they would occur if the Apocalypse descended upon us in the present day. Shocker: the UN SecretaryGeneral turns out to be the Antichrist! Though I missed them on the few visits that I made, it seems that the BSU transacts much of its spiritual business with lvfidshipmen, and its "friendship" with the SJ C Christian Fellowship provides an opportunity for Johnnies, Middies, and others to come together in shared and informal religious commerce, under a Baptist banner. Of course, whoever wrote the note about Mr. Ritchey and the BSU on the SJC Fellowship page was somewhat stretching the common meanings of "friendship" and "affiliation" by distinguishing so sharply between them. I think what he must have been getting at is that the Fellowship has a close, yet unofficial relationship (an 'unofficial affiliation'?) with the BSU. This piece of information raises an obvious question: why is there no public "friendship" with, say, St. Mary's, or St. Anne's? The question begs an obvious answer: because the Fellowship does not share with Catholics or Episcopalians any sort of compatible religious sensibility. They are much more comfortable in a relationship with Baptists, who (and I grant that Baptist doctrine does not necessarily constitute a unity) take very seriously notions of being ''born again," and are more comfortable with so-called 'creation science' and otherliteralist interpretations of the Bible. The Baptist tone- which, more expansively, one migllt simply call the evangelical tone - is prominent at the Fellowship. In addition to the regular weekly meetings and supplementary 'Praise and Prayer' session, the Fellowship hosts weekly study groups, in which students come together to discuss books pertaining to their interests. Very typically St. John's - but what isn't so typical is that the study groups are segregated by sex. The Men's Bible Study group is presently reading Every Man} Guide to Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time (On the Fellowship's schedule: ''It's a terrific book replete with biblical backings for its ideas and practical wisdom and advice."). The ladies, gathered in the Woman's Bible Study group, are studying ''biblical womanhood" by means of reading a book called In the Beginning, by Gloria Cotton. Both the sexual division itself, and the reading materials which are being studied, indicate a sort of rural, traditional mindset familiar to anyone who has experience with serious evangelical Christians. All of this information, which is to the end of demonstrating the Fellowship's theological roots in evangelical Protestantism, is a little unnecessary. When it comes down to it, one needs look no further than whom the Christian Fellowship selects to be its archons. Last year, it was John Stevens. Keep in mind, this is a man who invited his older brother to come and tell St. John's students - to lecture us that the earth is six thousand years old, that man and the dinosaurs cohabited the earth during the short period of time between the creation and the flood, and that carbon dating is a scam perpetrated by the high priests of the cult of reason. They didn't care much for homosexuals either, if I recall: it seemed to follow logically at the time. After Mr. Stevens graduated, who took over but "Sir" Robert Burbridge, who recently graced the pages of this publication with some holiday greetings to all of us in the Polity. It was entitled, "Christmas: A Christian Perspective". Let me not mince words: this letter was an abomination. My reaction to it was somewhere between disbelief and disgust; and it is entirely the inspiration for my present attempt to set down thoughts that I have long been considering about the Fellowship. Any preference that I once held, that it might be better to keep my thoughts to myself, and to let people live their lives, ceased when Mr. Burbridge decided to stop keeping his thoughts to himself As for the letter, I spent a while thinking about how best to respond to it, but I think the job was done very adequately in last week's Gadf!y. My own reaction probably more closely mirrored Isadora Sageng's anger; but I think the irony of Dan Malkiel's excellent letter was probably a healthier response, and deeply amusing as well. I am, in a way, very grateful to Ms. Sageng and Mr. Malkiel, both for stepping up to the plate and saying very articulately what a lot of people were thinking, and for saving me the trouble of having to respond in this article, and thus getting too angry to remain clearminded. As it stands, let me just try and say with some clarity what it is that troubles me about the Christian Fellowship, the cllaracter of which I've tried so far in this article to establish; or at least, I'll try to say what troubles me about the organization insofar as it exists here at St. John's. Along the way, I'll have to say a few brief things that seem pretty obvious about our education here; please don't think that I am implying that what follows about St. John's isn't common knowledge for all of us in the Polity. What we do here at our college is engage in a sort of education, the practice of which is to expose us to the most interesting articulations of the most important questions, and some proposed answers, which men have entertained across some very wide expanses of space and time. There are some restrictions on the dimensions of those expanses, and even within them the books on our curriculum represent a highly selective canon. Yet our reading list in both seminar and tutorial represents an honest attempt to expose us to the best thoughts about the most important things: to make us cosmopolitan, in the very best sense of that word. We bother to be so educated, and the faculty bothers to lead us along the way (and to engage in perpetual education itself) because we value our freedom. As thinking men and women, it seems to us that intellectual freedom, the freedom of the mind from ignorance, from propaganda and falsity, from the false idols available for worship in anyplace and in any time, is paramount both as a necessary means to political freedom, and as a good which is simple and grand in itself. We learn, to employ a cliche continued on page 10 . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �continued from page 9 sion for a single teacher, such that one stops to I used a hundred times in two years as a tour question things except within narrow limits; guide, to think for ourselves - or, at least, we and such that one becomes what I would call a try our hardest. disciple, rather than student: this is the death Along the way, we are exposed to any num- of the mind. ber of opinions and doctrines, some of which, So it is obvious, why Christian Fellowship, depending on our upbringings, and on predi- which has its roots in an extreme form of Protlections developed as we grow more independent-minded just from being away from home, we come to consider as being very valuable, and some of which we come to consider as being less so. This situation is consummately natural, and is appropriately fluid. I once found Lucretius to be thought provoking and very profound; now, when I turn back to him, I can't help thinking that he is interesting, but a little shallow. Perhaps in the future, I will favor him more than I do today: who estantism closely aligned with literalist biblical knows? My mind works like this, and so, I interpretation and evangelical fever, should suspect, do most people's. trouble me. My concern is really on two Indeed, one thing that seems implicitly self- grounds: for the damage the Fellowship seems evident from some of our customs here at the to be doing to the souls of some of those college is that we are meant to be students of who are its members, who are, after all, my many, but disciples of none. It is hard wired colleagues in a common endeavor of liberal into almost everything we do. We may see it in education; and, as an organization, the utter the careful attention the curriculum pays to ten- lack of piety the Fellowship shows toward the sions in the so-called 'Western Tradition'; in customs of its larger community, the college. the steadfast refusal of our faculty to just tell It is almost as if there were, in some Protesus what they are thinking in our classes - in- tant bible college somewhere in the South deed, :in the fact that there are two tutors as- which we will say is a bastion of literal exegesis signed to each seminar; and in the lack of sec- of scripture and of'creation science' - a group ondary and interpretive materials in our assign- of students who have founded a 'Plato Club.' ments for class. To be free means making up Let us posit that the founding principles of one's own mind about things: to follow the this college include a practical submission to dictates of a single teacher, or a single doctrine, faith and a slavish pursuit of life in Christ. Yet to immoderate extremes, is a form of slavery, within it, this club of Platonists, of philosoand thus contradictory to the spirit of liberal phers as it were, submits not to faith but to education. That one will be guided by this or reason. Now, imagine that the club grew large that man's learning, be he an actual teacher in and popular, and that it both attracted stuthe here and now, or someone encountered dents new to the college, and recruited among only in books, is inevitable and welcome. It is those disenchanted with their biblical studies the very stuff oflearning, to develop a love for and their lives in Christ. There would be somea particular way, or ways, of knowing things, thing of a mismatch. or for a particular body of knowledge. This Forgive me for that analogy, but I think it kind oflove is the life of the mind; but a pas- illustrates well the utter strangeness of the 10 flourishing of fundamentalist Protestantism at St. John's. How can those who partake of that vine, in Mr. Burbridge's memorable imagery, really take seriously much of what we read here? How can the work of the freshman year be taken seriously, if one holds it as gospel that, though those authors claim to guide us . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in fundamental matters, they missed the chance for the revelation in truth, and were thus, as souls, lost in every fundamental way? How can Spinoza - a Jew - or Darwin, or Nietzsche, be read without the tongue firmly in the cheek? How can Mr. Burbridge sit in class, surrounded by those he knows to be condemned to eternal damnation, and listen seriously to what they have to say? It defies the imagination. Could St. John's, for a fundamentalist Christian, be merely a means for studying the West: its good traditions - Christianity - so as to better worship them; its neutral traditions - like, say, geometry, or pagan conceptions of virtue - because they might be neat; and its evil, atheistic strains - like Epicureanism, or evolution - so as to learn how to refute them better? Such a vision of St. John's is utterly perverse, and involves a fearful shielding of the soul in a powerful prejudice, in order to keep oneself safe from the very real perils that education necessarily threatens in order to do its liberating work. I don't mean to belittle those perils. It is a fear of moral emptiness in which all extremisms - fundamentalist Protestantism included - are ultimately rooted, and this fear is deeply tied up with the process of education. Educa- ti.on might leave one stranded in a dark and vents its followers from ever emerging from bitter skepticism, having taught one that the the first stage of common understanding, in comforting dogmas of one's childhood show the case of those who come to St. John's from up only sickly-pale in the light oflearning, and rural, traditional backgrounds and already take having offered one no alternative to them, but their faith seriously; or that it appeals to those a carefully honed faculty of reason which keeps who are too terrified by the dangers oflearndestroying every new place of intellectual rest ing, or even just the simple cruelties of life the mind might consider. The danger of edu- unrequited yearnings for love and acceptance cation is that it might leave us cynics tending which tend to be the most brutal at the age toward nihilism. We all know this, because when one pursues education, and drags these we've all been there, at least for a time. lost souls back to a false and shallow certainty, Pascal is, as far as I have read, the author on at the expense of the possibility of wisdom. the program who most directly deals with this It's hard being free. It involves a constant matter (though many others, not the least of motion of the mind, a liveliness of response whom are St. Augustine and Plato, do as well). to what we learn, a sense of wonder at new He identifies, though not nearly so tritely as ways of seeing things, and a critical sense for I'm about to make him sound, three stages of evaluatingwhatwe are told. It involves doing intellectual progress: simple, half-educated, and battle with the fear inherent in education: but wise. The simple stage was where we all spent the situation is really not so bleak as some our childhoods: we believed in Santa Clause, would make it sound. Much evangelical rhetoin a Sunday school version of our faiths, and ric of the present day goes to great lengths to really, in anything else that anyone told us. present the world as a place with only two opEducation, liberal education, is all about get- tions: life among the saved, and among the ting away from this stage. It's not for every- lost. The first is a place of safety, comfort and one. The second stage, that of being halfway- love; the second is the land where educated, is the rough patch. We know just postmodernist-feminist-homosexual-hedoenough to see that much of what was told to nist types dwell. It is the frightening bogeyus when we were children is worthless; this world of free-thinking criticism, of contempoknowledge turns us into skeptics, and we ter- rary moral license, and it is to be avoided at all rify ourselves with the power of our criticism costs. But at St. John's - and here is really the and disbelief. Some people remain here, crux of my confusion -don't we learn, perhaps trapped in uncertainty, their whole lives, and better than at any other school, that there are some perversely enjoy its terrors, and take a other ways to live our lives besides these two, certain pride in facing them unflinchingly. that the West is rich with other traditions which Some return in fearful droves to the comfort- stand in contrast to the bleakness of modernity? able dogmas of their childhood, refusing to I tis entirely possible that Christianity might be a be critical ever again, because criticism revealed a part of one of these other ways of living one's world too terrible in which to live. life: I don't by any means intend to pronounce Genuine learning ought to take one beyond on the relationship between Christianity as such this level, to a third, where we continue to re- and liberal education. Faith may very well be a ject what was simply misguided among the part of wisdom, and of freedom: that discusbeliefs of our youth, but we do realize that sion is itself a fascinating one, and is a theme of some of what we knew then seems to remain, much of what we read here. I merely intend to in altered form, worthwhile. We have, by this pronounce on the perversion of Christianity expoint, learned new things about ourselves and emplified by the particular strain of Protestantthe world, about what is natural, and what is ism prevalent in our Christian Fellowship. I don't merely useful and customary; and we learn to mean for anything to follow from my opinions tell the difference between these things, and other than discussion: though, on the basis of give them all their do respect. These sorts of his letter alone, which in its discussion of the knowledge, which constitute a kind of wis- Jews bordered on hate speech, Mr. Burbridge dom, allow for an intellectual life which is at ought to resign as archon; if he does not, the peace with itself For Pascal, the wisdom of Delegate Council ought to revoke the this third stage consisted in Jansenist Catholi- Fellowship's charter. Yet most importantly, we cism; it might fairly be thought to be found in are all engaged in a common project of pursumany other things as well. ing education, and we do so by means of frank My fear about the evangelical Protestantism, and open discussions. This is a matter with and thus for at least some of the members of which our educations, and indeed, our souls, the Christian Fellowship, is that it either pre- are concerned. So let's talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . I. I 11 I i . I • �Discovering The Art of War with The Real St. John's Review Midshipmen By Katy Courtright, '06 Staff Writer By Cathy Keene, '06 Editor St. John's made an attempt last Tuesday, Jan. 14 to solve two problems associated with the College in a single move. Appeasing those who claim that there isn't enough Eastern culture in the Great Books Program, St. John's organized an extracurricular seminar on The Art of War by legendary Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu. Written around 500 B.C., this "great book" about how to conduct an army during war has influenced generals for thousands of years. Many people are surprised it isn't on the list of program readings. Then, for one night to resolve the trouble with working in a vacuum, the College chose to invite another group to join the seminar table. Who better to discuss war with than several dozen midshipmen? Functioning a lot like a regular seminar, Johnnies and Middies who had done the 50page reading arrived in McDowell Hall that evening and were assigned to various classrooms. Two tutors, one from St. John's and one from the Naval Academy conducted each they grew more accustomed to the open environment and began to participate more. Overall, it seemed as though everyone benefited from the communication, and friends were made on both sides. Although this isn't the first Johnnie/ Middie seminar that has taken place, the last time both groups gathered to discuss books was several years ago. These seminars used to meet once or twice a year, but for the past few years, no one has been able to organize one. Luckily, this year several tutors and students from both campuses were interested enough to coordinate this activity. If students remain enthused about these seminars, they will ~on­ tinue to occur periodically in the future. Admittedly, I would like to see future seminars like these take place. They are the only opportunities I've found to talk seriously to nonJ ohnnies about books. I love my regular seminar, but it's great to get a chance to see what someone else thinks about a reading, too. Especially someone who doesn't go to St. John's. Other than these seminars, where else could we find Middies to talk to about something we've both read? seminar. Beginning with an opening question, the seminars operated on schedule from 7 until 9:30 pm. During this time, everyone took part in the conversations as both schools rece3ived the chance to communicate together in an academic environment. "I thought it was a wonderful experience," said Febbie Shawn Arnold after the seminar culminated. ''Everyone stayed focused on the conversation. It was a lot of fun." Third year midshipman James Antoniono agreed. ''I really enjoyed the seminar. I feel like we learned a lot from one another. Ifwe could do this again it would be a wonderful opportunity for both campuses." The seminar I personally took part in went very well, and students from both campuses listened intently to what everyone had to say. No arguments broke out, and all the students were tolerant of each other's opinions. Discussing everything from the morality of war to the necessity of spies during peacetime, the students all seemed to be genuinely interested in the discourse. The only flaw I saw in my own seminar was that a few of the Middies were rather hesitant to speak, but as time went on SCI Minutes for Friday, Jan 17 By Mark Ingham, '05 In attendance this week: Our new Freshman Reps: James Page & Donald Stone Sophomore Reps: Eric Gleysteen & Jillian Sico Junior Reps: Meredith Licari & Anderson Tallent Senior Reps: Mary Townsend & Sonia Wisniewski Co-Chair: Mark Ingham Absent were co-chair Maya Alapin and secretary Thomas Juskevich. Accreditation sub-committee members: Mr. K.alkavage, Ms Higuera, and Mr. McFarland Guests: Bryson Finklea Qr), Dillon Wright-Fitzgerald (So), Katy Cortwrite (Fr), and Chester Martin (Fr) This week, the SCI met on Friday rather than on Thursday in order to meet with Mr. Kalkavage, Ms. Higuera, and Mr. McFarland to discuss the section of the accreditation report evaluating our undergraduate academic program. Our college is currently in the middle of a re- accreditation process that takes place every ten years. St. John's takes this opportunity for the sort of self-reflection that we hope will result in making our college even better. 12 ishment of tracking a few years ago. Students that already had facility with French used to be placed together so that they could learn at an accelerated pace. Now the classes are mixed. Some of the experienced students of French are helpful to others, but have been known to complain of boredom or to be looked to as authorities. We ran out of time for discussing the senior material in any detail. Thus, the senior reps were particularly urged to talk to members of the accreditation committee at a later date. The members of the accreditation board said that they were interested to hear more student thoughts about the undergraduate academic program. If members of the polity are interested in seeing a copy of this report or have comments to make that might be useful to those revising the report, please talk to a member of the SCI, or to Mr. Kalkavage, Ms. Higuera, or Mr. McFarland. The report received praise for being a generally interesting and accurate story of what we do here at the College. SCI Members went on to point out various points where the report might be improved and to answer questions about sections of the report that the tutors wanted specific feedback on from students. A few of the issues that we discussed at length were as follows. There are ongoing tensions in our program about how to adequately prepare students for the algebra ofJunior and Senior Math and Science. It was suggested that some extra time might be spent on algebra at the end of the sophomore year, or that the algebra exam might be improved. The lack of coherence in the sophomore language logic/ rhetoric segment was discussed as being a problem that has haunted the program for many years. The junior language program seems to have been both benefited and harmed by the abol- . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Every ten years, the St. John's program is reviewed by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) and, as the last time the program was reviewed was in 1993, it is yet again that time. The Middle States Association is one of six regional accrediting associations that serve colleges in the United States; its purpose, other than to give substance to our undergraduate degrees, is to prompt institutions of higher education to reevaluate their curriculums to see if they are meeting certain standards. Rather than focusing on the flaws of a program, the MSA aspires to motivate colleges into finding ways to remedy their inadequacies and to nurture their good practices; even so, we still have to meet their standards in order to be accredited. The difficulty is not so much in the nature of our program as it is in how we determine or judge students' learning. Most institutions look at the outcomes; the learning process is only the means to an end. St. John's, on the other hand, isn't as concerned about the end as it is about how we get there, and here at St. John's, we believe that learning process should be a shared activity. And because of our emphasis on the process as opposed to the outcome, we are not cutting-edge-we don't have all the new, up-to-the-minute classes and technology and research in which many universities pride themselves-and the trouble with standards lies in what others think to be useful. But we are and have been accredited before, so someone up there must, like us, see the incredible value of a St. John's education. Furthermore, this year's accreditation is particularly significant in that it is the first time St. John's is pursuing a dual review: in addition to the MS.A's review, we are being reviewed by the American Academy for Liberal Education, which specializes in liberal arts programs. Now, the way the accrediting institutions work is they have the college conduct a selfstudy and compile a report on its program, along with the program's strengths and weaknesses. Mr. Kalkavage, Mrs. Higuera, and Mr. Macfarland have been working on such a report for about a year, and it must be finalized and sent in by June. This 100-page document will be read by the accrediting institutions, and in November of this year, they will spend three days on campus, talking to students and administrators, sitting in on classes, and generally getting a feel for our program. Mr. Kalkavage remarked at the beginning of Fridafs SCI meeting on the report that one of the particular difficulties in writing the report was remembering to define many of the words we take for granted, like archon or don rags or tutorial. The meeting was attended by the three tutors responsible for the report, along with guests from every year, all interested in sharing their take on how each part of the program should be represented to outsiders, so that the report would be true to the reality of our situation. Subsequently, so that it seems the accrediting institutions have availed, the conversation turned from discussing the validity of the report to discussing the inadequacies of the program itself. The meeting began with the sections on freshman classes. Most of the problems with the report itself were mere hiccups that are easily fixed, and, anyway, the report ended up being the means for a much more inclusive discussion on problems students have with details of the program itself The attending freshman didn't have much to say regarding what they would like done better so that later material could be more easily understood, possibly because they haven't done it yet, and the upperclassmen didn't have much to say, which may have something to do with the freshman program's is the most stable and virtually unchanging nature. But we did discuss why it is important for seminar to be interconnected with other parts of the curriculum, and we discussed the importance of writing and studying Greek grammar in the language tutorial. For the sophomore classes, the algebra test was the hot topic. Mr. Macfarland asked what could be done' in the sophomore math to prepare students for the analytical math in the junior year, while Mr. Kalkavage suggested that the algebra test might need to be conducted differently. Many students cram for the test and barely pass it their freshman year-so that when the junior year rolls around, they are at a loss and have forgotten most of the basic algebra that they need for, say, calculus. A proposal was made for what most of us would consider being non-Johnny algebra classes or reviewing sessions for sophomores, primarily the ones who had a poor grade on the test. Then logic, from the sophomore language tutorial, was briefly mentioned-most seemed to feel that this part needs to be more rigidly structured, at least so that all of the sophomores are learning it at once, so that they can relate it to their other classes. Mr. Kalkavage remarked that the problem with logic has been around since he began as a tutor at St. John's 26 years ago. Even more briefly mentioned, some sophomores wanted reaffirmation of the reasons for studying music to such an extent. For the junior year, Mr. Kalkavage was keenly interested in the math ~torial. Many felt that the book used to assist students in learning the calculus proofs is being relied on too heavily; one senior remarked that she has seen students bring it alone to class, and that anyone who doesn't have it is made to feel to be an outcast. On language, some students were still wondering why French is the language of choice for the last two years here at St. John's. The discussion more or less ended with a discussion on tracking, with the idea that we should focus less on the technical aspects of a subject and more on the deeper questions, so as to give students more common ground, since not everyone has the same degree of experience in such classes as music or math. By the time the meeting was over, the senior classes still hadn't been discussed, but the attending tutors said to keep in touch with them and to let them know any thoughts students might have on the program and its integrity. Make yourself heard ... ubmit to the Gadfly~ Tuesdays@ :30pm BBC 709 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 13 I 11 �Ptolemy Stone Readings By Jennifer Silgals, '06 St. John's Resident Tree-Worshiping Weirdo u s::: =·- -=. ..c ca = Reading of the week: James McNeill Whistler, The Gentle Art of .Cl (.) Making Enemies CV') Aries Mar. 21-April 19 Begin to live your dreams, just not the ones where the giant snake-headed monster comes after you and your loved ones in a fiery reign of vengeance. Get off the couch and try those things you've always wanted to do. Take risks. Don't be such a pansy, already. We love you, but do something. Reading of the week: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere or Sandman comics (if you dare) Taurus April 20 - May 20 Things in life hurt sometimes, but making things harder than they really are hurts even more. We all enjoy dwelling on our pain, but, sometimes you need to let go and move on. Things can get better, but only if you stop losing yourself to your pain. Jump-start your emotional healing and take charge! Heilig! Reading of the week: Anything by Edgar Allen Poe Gemini May 21- June 21 Remember to brush your teeth this week. A bad first impression can ruin everything for the best of people. Things are looking up for the Gemini who is willing to put a little work in, but, that means you actually have to work. Yeekl The choice is yours. Choose well. Reading of the week: Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass Cancer June 22 - July 22 Sometimes, you might have to look beyond the black and white to find the true crux of an issue. If you're having troubles, or just plain confused, go deeper than you might have before. Things are never quite as they seem, and the more nonsensical they are, the worse it gets. Good luck. Reading of the week: Plato, Parmenides, 148D-end Leo July 23 -Aug. 22 This is your time. Everybody loves you, and many people are even willing to admit it. Use this to your advantage. Fluff up your charm and go be social. Good things can happen when you socialize. Especially when you're a Johnnie. Oh very much yeah. Q) (.) t.n Emotions run high and you don't know what to do. My suggestion? Chill out. Get some coffee with a friend, or better yet, try a noncaffeinated beverage instead. Don't be afraid to take some down time if you need it, and always remember that your friends are there for you. Reading of the week: Selected pieces from Calvin and Hobbes (thecomic strip, that is) ca en .c: Virgo Aug. 23 - Sept. 22 "' c co ... > CD ·~ J!J «S CD ~ =- bO ..... ftl co .... .c ...., ·== cu ca ... ·-.... () 0 cu cu ~ -Cl ca ::s ca E "'Cl Q) cu 1:1.. Ci1') I co Q co - ·> =>< >. a:; .... = ::::s I: ta c: C) CD I: CL) CD - ,.._ ..c: = ·"' ·- "' RI RS ".:I • ....... c: ca (.) ~ !5 ffi u.diJ -· ~ c::. l!l Qii ~ ~sgi~ ~~it! • a_ • g~ LI.J ~;.~~~ i;iil o:i~r~ ti§~~ ~ :IS~LULU-i ~0:8~ f2~8:g~ §8~g ~ 1" Libra Sept. 23 - Oct. 23 Don't give up just yet. Opportunity may not be knocking, but you know, people have cell phones now and house calls just aren't as common as they used to be. Keep your eyes open, and you just might find that the little slice of something good you've been searching for is sitting right across the Quad from you. Reading of the week: Antione de SaintExupery, The Little Prince Scorpio Oct. 24 - Nov. 21 George W Bush would call what you need in your life "strategery." I'd just like to say that a little cunning never hurt anybody. If you want to win the game, you've got to keep sharp. The tricks of the trade might require a little good natured trickery. Just don't get yourself into any trouble. Or, at least, if you do, don't call me to throw your bail. Reading of the week: Aesop Fables s Sagittarius Nov. 22- Dec. 21 Something is happening and you are a key player. What that something is, the stars won't tell me because my last offering of Cafe Randall fruit was a little dry. I suggest you watch your back, though, and make sure that the things in which you get yourself involved are what they seem. Avoid the shady, embrace the highly amus- ing Reading of the week: Charles Bowden , Down l?J the River: Drugs, Monry, Murder, and Famify Capricorn Dec. 22 - Jan. 19 14 Q - = ·........ = ·- THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i I' Everybody loves distractions as much as they hate them. Just ask the seniors. Still, distractions can be deadly, so shun them like a bad Aristotle translation and trudge on. In the end, when you've finished everything you've had to get done a day early, you can drink lemonade in the sun/ cider in the warm Coffee Shop and laugh at the pathetic stragglers. Reading of the week: None. Wouldn't want to tempt you. .. Aquarius Jan. 20 - Feb. 18 Take a break from the hard life and go taunt a Capricorn. You need to de-stress, anyway, so why not give yourself five minutes to breathe? I'm not saying you should blow off everything and join a strange alien-following cult. I'm just saying to take some you time. Go to Chick & Ruth's instead of Cafe Randall on Tuesday. Live! Reading of the week: Anne Lamott, Bird l?J Bird Pisces Feb. 19 - Mar. 20 You want attention. Badly. It's understandable. Maybe you have a great idea or a dumb joke and you just need someone to listen to you. Still, don't fight for attention. Ifit doesn't come easily, maybe it's not worth it. Find someone with whom you have a good repartee and compare notes. You'd be amazed at how good being paid attention to can feel. Reading of the week: Louisa Luna, Brave New Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 15 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 ''Vince Lombardi felt that every fiber in your body should be used in an effort to seek excellence, and he sought this goal every day of his life with complete dedication. He stated this thought eloquently to us one day in a meeting: 'The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence regardless of their chosen field or endeavor." Bart S tarr,from Gary Walton} Bryond Winning. Let us now praise tenacious women, or at least nine of them. I'm referring to the Nymphs who upset the league leading and undefeated Furies. Surely you felt the shock waves across campus at the conclusion of their narrow, two point victory this past Friday afternoon. I twas truly a team effort, with a dedicated focus on defense and rebounding, by these women: :Misses Cassells, Wilcox, Koscinski, Strickland, O'Donnell, Dobbs, and Stewart; and some fine leadership by player-captains :Misses Gregory and Vermaak. Athlete of the Week honors for the women goes to the febbie rookie phenom, :Miss J. Lo of the Amazons. After only her second week of play, J. Lo is picking up the game pretty quickly, and has demonstrated an almost instinctive understanding that most of the energy in a basketball game should be directed towards good defense, quick, smart passes, and determined rebounding, as opposed to just scoring The men's team handball season has completed its second week of play, with the Guardians and the Druids winning their respective encounters. I'm reminded out of the box that this game is won, too, on defense, and if you don't have a good goalie, well, you got a whole lotta problems. That being said, I'm in awe of anyone who dares put on the, shall I say, "Gloves oflgnorance" and stands in front of in their direction from close range. My admiration is therefore directed to these following courageous (foolhardy?) goalies: Mssrs. Collier, Morochnick, Mangold, Erkenbrack, and Turnquist. Athlete of the Week honors for the men goes to the hard playing and hustling Guardian, Marco Powell. Mr. Powell, admittedly the stature of a shooting guard type, plays many, many sizes huger, however. He is tough on the boards, tough on dee, and is a tough man to stop when he wants to go to the whole. Mr. Powell is one of the league's leading scorers, and a big reason why the Guardians are holding securely onto second place in the men's league, at the same time looking with a hungry eye on undefeated Tsunami in first place. Wanted: Sports Editor for a small weekly Campus Newspaper. Pay: None Stock Options: None Health Care: None Benefits: None Years Automatically Deducted fro Penance in Purgatory: 300 All interested applicants should have love and devotion to St. John's athletic and be willing to strive for a better an safer college communi All interested applicants send the Gadfly letter in campus mail, e-mail, or speak t one of the editors in purpose Remember, your eternal soul is at stake! Have an Opinion? Make yourself heard ... Submit to the Gadfly Tuesdays @ 4:30pm BBC 709 thenetand attempts to block the rockets aimed ' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 16 . . . . : . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gallimore, Cooper Nathaniel (Editor in Chief) Keene, Cathy (Co-Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXIV Issue 15 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-01-21 Description An account of the resource Volume XXIV, Issue 15 of The Gadfly. Published January 21, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 24 #15 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/0806e0f46033622a656822f5660ac9e6.pdf c78fb8d80e0e074fc9dd45b5f150c8ec PDF Text Text In This Issue .. ~ TlIE GADFLY The St. John's College Student Week{y Volume XXIV, Issue 16 Done With Dante: Has the Tuscan Overstayed His Welcome? By Nick Colten Page5 SCI Responds to Religious Controversy By Donald Stone Page5 Annapolis, Maryland January 28, 2003 Studentsl Faculty Speak Out About Cafe Space By Cathy Keene, '06 Editor As students watched the bamboo floors and glass walls being installed next to the Conversation Room in Mellon Hall last semester, many began to gossip about what could possibly fill that space. Rumors describing everything from Starbucks to an art gallery circulated the campus, and everyone waited intently for the construction to be completed. However, now that all the excitement has died down and the room has been opened to the public, students and faculty alike admit that they feel a bit cheated. Just what exactly is that space being used for, anyway? "I initially thought the administration was going to tum that place into some kind of coffee shop, which sounded like a good idea," said disappointed freshman Eleanor Clark. ''But now I guess it's just being used for doing homework. That's fine with me, it's a good place to study, but I think they could do a little something more with the extra space." lYiiss Clark isn't the only one who feels the "grand opening" was a bit anticlimactic. Several other students and faculty members are also murmuring about the mostly unused area. "I thought it would have made a great place to put hot drink or pastry machines, but so far only one little coffee machine has been installed, and even that's broken;' said Francis VanNess, Secretary to the Assistant Dean. ''You would think they would put something else in there for the students and administration." Freshman Julie Janicki agrees. "Right now, especiallywith the other coffee shop closed, putting any kind of food or drink machines in there is a good idea. There are some vending machines that do sell soda and chips, but students would benefit a lot more from purchasing some kind of'real' food outside of Cafe Randall. That would make the area more enticing for studying, too." Although no physical work currently is being done on the room, several faculty members are bouncing around some ideas for the cafe. There is talk of"healthier" vending machines, such as those that sell sandwiches and juice, for instance, and maybe adding some more couches and blackboards for students who use the room for studying. Senior Cassie Sherman is presently working with the Art Society to set up paintings along tlle walls, and even the Environmental Club is talking of making it into a type of art gallery. However, none of this has been decided for certain yet, and ideas are still circulating. Until some agreement is reached, the area will go on fi.mctioni.11.g ~s a study room. "I really don't know what they are going to do with the space, but I kind of like it the way it is," admitted freshman Jake Smith. '1've been in there a few times to study, and it's very relaxing and quiet. However, they could improve upon the area, given all the ideas that are floating around I just hope they come to a consensus soono" 0 �Gadfly Mailbox THE ~GADFLY More Responses About the Christian Fellowship (after the first, or usually the second year of study). I notice that Mr. MacLean, though praising this manner of collective education, particularly in placing emphasis on the cooperative spirit involved in having a good class, has begun his questioning of :Mr. Burbridge's stance, the stance of a fellow student, not with a question mark, but with an accusation. And he doesn't end with an accusation, but also makes a hefty political demand. His invitation to converse comes third and last. Unfortunately, I recall that the last time Mr. Mailian published a major article in The Gadf!y, he also ended his article with a demand on the DC (this was about the injustice involved in the DC passing the polity court legislation.) Frankly, I would prefer to try to take_ Mr. Mailian's invitation seriously and turn back to the questions he raises about the current face of the St John's student. I have a lot to learn about the individuals who take part in this organization, and a lot to learn about Baptists and Protestants. I would like to hear Mr. Mailian say more about this "club of Platonists" he has in mind. (What, exactly, :Mr. Mailian is more liberally minded about that than a belief in God?) Butfirst, I would simply like us all to consider for a moment ifpolitical fire is necessary--or helpful-in fuelling conversations here at St. John's, or whether we may more gently tum to our classmates and ask them if they have reasons for what they are claiming, and if they can respond to objections. Dear Gadf!y, Editors-in-Chief Cooper N. Gallimore Cathy Keene I have grown increasingly bored with The · Gadf!y over the four years that I've been here. : While the articles might be informative about · events at St. John's, chances are, I have already : seen or heard. (It's a pretty small school.) It · also surprises me that so many freshmen are : writing articles on proceedings at the college-a · school that they've only attended for one full . semester. Aaron MacLean's article on Christianity : and the liberal education, on the other hand, is · the sort of the article that The Gadf!y should : strive for. It is a serious reflection on ques. tions that he has considered over his entire col: lege career. I completely agree with all that he · said, but more importantly, it was a provoca: tive article, not simply informative. In fact, · this entire debate has been one of the better : discussions hosted by the publication in a long · time. The Gadf!ywas named such for a reason: it would do well to live up to it. Production Manager Ervin Romero Contributing to this Issue Samantha Warburton MayaAlapin Christopher Bareford Nick Colten Donald Stone Katy Courtright James Page Catherine Pisha Jennifer Silgals Claire Voyance Leo Pickens Business Manager Elizabeth Laughlin Founded in 1980, the Gadf!J is the student weekly distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the the sole responsibility of the author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of the Gadfly or the Gadf!Y staff. The Gadf!J reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to publish the most thoughtful, informative, and thought-provoking newspaper which circumstances at St. John's permit. Samantha Warburton, '06 Dear Gadf!y, I have only one point to contribute to what I expect will become a controversy in The Gadf!y over :Mr. Mailian's article, "Fundamentalism, the Christian Fellowship, and Liberal Education: A Letter to the New Vine." Mr. MacLeanhadme generally convinced the : whole way through. He is right to wonder if a · student may realize the full potential of a St. : John's education in the frame of mind he Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better · sketched as ubiquitous among the members of chance of being published than those longer than : Christian Fellowship. Indeed, how much is too this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for · much allegiance to one's personal beliefs in terms grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. : of becoming liberally educated? Have I myself The Gadfly is not obligated to publish all submis· left enough behind? I am sure about the answer sions and will not print anonymous submissions : to neither of these questions, ones that require except under special circumstances. · much consideration about the process oflearnYearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax- : ing and being taught. What I do feel confident deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. · that I have learned about the process ofbecomPlease make checks payable to the Gadf!J. For : ing learned is that it takes a community to edudisplay advertisement prices and information, call . cate an individual. St. John's is not simpfy an 410-263-2371, x2212. : education in the sense of a college with a cunicu. lum. It is also a community. Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission When you agree to undertake the education . for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions : the school offers, you become part of a collecwill be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail sub- . rive, a "team player." 1bis is obviously why the missions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail sub- : overly contentious or belligerent among us are · evaluated, spoken to, and expelled if necessary missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. 2 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . · : · : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sincerely, MayaAlapin, '03 Dear Gacf!y, Christians: the idiot backwoodsfolk of St John's. Jews are a difficultpeople aboutwhich to write, given that such writing seems immediately to spruk intense emotion. I am Jewish, and I have little doubt that Sir Robert Burbridge, who is my good friend, wrote his Christmas greeting with more a keen appreciation for God's blessing on the Jews 1han the derogatory hatted towards them VJithwbich heis charged. I nonetheless recognize that my viewpoint is not shared by many members of our community, and so I have a proposition. But first, by way of introduction: As a follower of Jesus, I am somewhat astonished thatthev1ewswbichhave been voicedrecently in TheGacf!yag.iinstthosewho follow him. I would . have imagined those whose opinions are strong enough to induce Gat!f!y submissions would have done better research prior to writing. For not "intending to pronounce on the relationship between Christianity as such and liberal education," and for not "meaning for anything to follow from your opinions other than discussion," Mr. MacLean, you have certainly done your best to malign the Christian Fellowship and Iv.fr. Burbridge in particular. Especially consideringthatyour experience with the Fellowship consists of a birthday party. Do not be offended at my pointing it outunderstand the absurdity of the idea that you have enough information about the Fellowship from that "experience" to pronounce on its continued existence, and at the same time take a minute to consider that your letterwas targeting real people-real human beings, like yourselfin most respects. The topic of the relevance of faith in a liberal education is ofpro found importance, so I applaud your!llisingittothegeneralawareness. Ialsobelieve itoughttohaveavenuefordiscussion. Butinon:ler to dispel the idea that such a conversation might overload the synapses of any participating ruralist of faith, let me address a few points made by previous authors. The Christian Fellowship excludes no one. It maybethecasethattherearefewerCafuolic,Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, or other members, but it is not for lack of the Fellowship's willingness. The same holds true of its association with the Baptist Student Union-we have a friendship with them and use their facilities because they offered. Itisnot the Fellowship's exclusionary practice that keeps it from enjoyinga fiiendshipVJith any and every church in Maryland In the same way, you would not criticize the crew team because theydidnothave a large membership demographic composed of "night people" (due to their earlymomingmeetingtimes), or because they weren't sponsored by Exxon. The telati.onshipis a two-way choice. In the same way, followingJesus is a choice: no one is born into it, Mr. :Mallciel One may be bom into a household of practicing believers, but it is oalybychoicethatonemayenterintoarelationship wifu the living God. (ie. one must employ critical fuoughtto appreciate two or more altema1ives from which to decide.) Further, it is therefore not appropriate to suggestthata Christianis simply following orders from an ancient book; it is to follow Jesus himself that makes one a Christ-follower. I am SUtprised to hear criticism that denounces the "bom again" strain of Christianity, when Jesus himself declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom ofGod unless heis bom again." (John3:3) Everyone who has passed sophomore year, and probably many freshmen, ought to recognize that ~passage comes from a book on our program, lncludedin our "highly selective canon." For other YearboOk . 'Last year's'y'eru:o06k:i~' ." ''"·' .·:".- >.·.·.·.·:.. <.< ·:·:'.>·\··~·'>"'.~''..A'.':/.'-!._"'"'. .the bookstore•. ate Theie ~\'aiJa~i~.'!hi~;~~ a ateyearbookfotthiS. ··· ·~ru:1Y:'~fti~ till1t ••. ~res~~.·. ·Assisfatit tt' passages on the significance of birth and also on condemnation, one need read only slightly further in the third chapter ofJohn and also in the first. Therefore, I\fr. MacLean, when you address bomagain Christians, you are in fact addressing all ofus, or else you are not addressing Christians at all As to whether faifu is opposed to reason, as is suggested by the example of the "Plato Oub;' I offerfuefullowing:''inteilectualfi:eedom"isachieved by faith, not by reason. One's reason does not cease to function simply because one believes something wrong or applies one's reason to a false premise. "Propaganda" does not alter one's ability to reason, it attempts to alter and influence belief In other words, a person is not ignorant because he or she doesn't know how to reason, it is because he or she doesn't know which foundations upon which to build-which premises trust Logically, fuerefon; weoughtnotto askwhether people ofexpress faiths are capable of rational discussion, orwhether they ought to be allowed here, butratherweoughttoask, "Whyaren'tweallfaifuful?'' Isitmoreperfectto beeversearchingforthe Truth (which is the same as not to find it), or to actually discover it? Is it therefore more perfect to put our faith in reason itself and to be satisfied to scrutinize every book on fue program indiscriminately, as Iv.fr. MacLean suggests, that to ultimately pronounce wise judgment on the validity of that which we read-to detennineforourselves whether each titleisworthyofa place in our hills? And ifwe should eventually find something (especially which is on the program) thatwouldmo1ivate a significant number ofJohnnies, whom we all probably take to begenerallymorecriticallyawarethatmostpeople, to put their faith in it to the exclusion of others, oughtwenottoapplyourselvestosuchanimpetus rather than castigate those with faith? In on:ler to cut short this response, andin order to facilitate asomewhatspeediercli.scussion--mkeeping with our traditions, I propose that those with interest in the topic of faith in education, or Mr. Burbridge's letter, or simply continued discussion of the Gadfly exchanges meet at an open forum. I hear that the SCI is hosting one on Feh 9 in the boathouse, about which I have little information. Ifthis is not the case, I will make arrangements to set one up in the comingwee.ks. Keep your eyes peeled for bulletins around campus this week. AIL ARE WELCOME (as far as I am aware) to whichever forum takes place. There will be no set agenda, except that hopefully peaceful resolution can be achieved as to the issues recently raised. All who come, please come in peace, and let's talk. Christopher Bareford, '03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 ,I �Fritz Lang's M Moves Terror Out of Silent Film By Nick Colten, '05 Staff Writer M was the first film that Fritz Lang made with sound. It is said to be his favorite, and it is probably his best. It manages to raise very important and difficult questions concerning the nature of justice, while also being quite stylish and very suspenseful. In addition, Lang shows masterful control of both light and sound, and even more importantly, darkness and silence. The story, which was inspired by a real case, is set in a large city terrorized by a child-murderer (played by Peter Lorre) on the loose. The citizens are suspicious of everyone, and false accusation and fights break out. The police are unable to catch him, and ineffectually search for him among the criminal underground. The members of the criminal organizations are upset because they know the murderer isn't one of them, and the continual police raids are bad for their "business." Everyone believes the murderer will kill again because he sent a letter to a newspaper boasting as much. The crime bosses meet in order to come up with a plan to stop the child-murderer. They see him as a monster who must be exterminated because his actions are an abomination. They see it that way because he does not kill for any practical purpose. As the head of the crime syndicate, Schraenker, explains, ifhe and a cop run into each other on the street-and it's a matter of him spending the rest of his life in jailonly one of them is going to die. It's just business. Furthermore, the gangs are running low on money due to the police scrutiny. Schraenker describes that in the language of a businessman: revenue sources, funds for the dependents of the incarcerated, not having the capital with which to develop new opportunities. While the bosses discuss how to catch the child-murderer, the scene cuts to a sl1Il1lar meeting being held by government officials. The humorous juxtaposition of politicians and police with the crime bosses is heightened by a contrast between the ridiculous comments being made at the former meeting with the practical ones being made 4 at the latter. For instance, the police have a graphologist studying the murderer's letter to the newspaper and commenting on the sexual pathology that is indicated by the handwriting. The section of the film ends with both the police and the crime bosses coming up with independent plans to catch and punish the killer. Another interesting example of cross cutting in the film takes place in the opening scene. It shifts between scenes of a woman cooking and doing chores around her apartment and scenes of the murderer approaching a little girl playing with a ball. His scenes are quiet except for his whistling Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain Kings." He buys the girl a balloon, and the two walk off together. The apartment scenes are quiet, too, and you can see the woman becoming more worried as the day gets later. Finally, the silence is broken by a knock on the door. The woman hurries to open it, but it's only a salesman. The woman rushes out into the hall. The scene cuts to a shot of various uninhabited places in the building: the stairwell, the courtyard and the attic. All the while, you can hear her yelling her daughter's name. The scene then cuts to a park. From behind some bushes, the little girl's ball rolls into view. Then it cuts to a shot of the girl's balloon caught in a power line, then blown free. All the while, the mother's voice can be heard calling for her daughter. There are many other scenes that are done equally well. A few others are also shot in tense silence, and then punctured by a shout or a whistle. Lang also makes great use of light-especially shadow- a style one rarely sees outside of silent films, and almost never after the advent of color film. He also uses some interesting camera angles to good effect, though the between the legs shot of a fat homicide detective sprawled on a chair, talking on the phone, was more odd than interesting. And most of the images were either quite spare (like the kitchen in the first scene) or bursting with little details (for instance, a bar top covered with weapons and loot confiscated during a raid). In addition to the story, cinematography, and direction, what makes M such a great film is Peter Lorre. His portrayal of Hans Beckert the schizophrenic murderer is amazing. At times he is frightening and loathsome, and at oth,er times he is tremendously pathetic. Some of it is simply due to Lorre'.s physical features-his short height, chubbiness, bulging eyes and whiny voice; but much of it is his acting. He does a fine job of conveying both the pitiable and despicable aspects of his character, just using his eyes. If Lorre hadn't done such a good job, I suspect that the ideological conflict of the film would be far more abstract. Instead, we are forced to face the killer's humanity, and thereby pity him. We see Beckert luring children to their doom as well as the terror on his own face when his pursuers are closing in on him. We're also shown the co.ldhearted Schraenker who, unlike Beckert, is a remorseless killer; and although we feel his outrage toward the incorrigible child-murderer, we are also forced (by Beckert's defense of himself) to ask ourselves if Schraenker has any claim to moral authority. Possibly the greatest achievement of the film is its unwillingness to easily resolve these questions. The film concludes with some conclusion being made concerning Beckett's fate, but instead of telling us what it is, Lang has a shot of grieving mothers who respond to the unstated decision by saying, "That won't give us our children back." SCI Minutes for Thursdayl Jan. 23 By Donald Stone Freshman Representative In attendance: Co-Chair: Mark Ingham Freshman Representatives: Donald Stone and James Page Sophomore Representatives: Eric Gleysteen and Jillian Sico Junior Representative: Meredith Licari Senior Representatives: Sonia Wisniewski and Mary Townsend Guests: Isaac Smith (Sr.), Prose Cassells Or.), Justin Lanier (So.), Katy Courtright (Fr.), Chester Martin (Fr.) Absent: Maya Alapin (Co-Chair), Thomas Juskevich (Secretary), &Anderson Tallent Qr. Rep) The SCI met over lunch hour in the private dining room this Thursday as usual for our weekly meeting. This week the SCI discussed what role one's personal beliefs should have in the classroom at St. John's. It was agreed upon from the outset that everyone comes to St. John's with opinions, ideas, and beliefs, that may not be as formed or thought through as they will become through our education here. (I myself have had the experience of my ideas changing from week to week depending on the seminar readingQ On the one hand, people mentioned that one's own experiences and beliefs could greatly add to a classroom discussion. Others mentioned that it is these "Great Books" that we are supposed to primarily be discussing in class. We pondered together over what was the best way to address this issue. A few ideas were: (1) to host a seminar with a reading, (2) to have a forum on it, and (3) not to discuss it at all and to let it be. We eventually agreed that the issue at hand is of sufficient concern to the academic life at St.John's for us to take it up. I tis the chartered purpose of the SCI to "serve as a forum of discussion for matters concerning the academic life of the college." So we decided not to just let it be. We continued ponderingwhatitwould be best for us to do. Finally, we decided to host a conversation with a panel of tutors. We decided to phrase the question in something like the following way: "what ought to be the relation between personal beliefs and inquiry in a liberal arts education?" The date we have set for this discussion is Sunday, February 9 from 2:30pm-4pm. Location will be announced next week. I hope to see you all there! Does Dante Belong in the Program? Sl .00 off any Potato I-lours: l 0 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday 11 :30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday By Nick Colten, '05 Staff Writer Among the Program books, the Divine Cometfy is unusualinmanyrespects. Most striking perhaps is the extent to which the reader is beholden upon commentary to make the work intelligible. I can think ofno other seminar workwe read thatis so in need of contextual information. All of the books wereadcanbemorefullyappreciatedwiththeaidof secondary soun:es, butthe premise bebindhowwe conduct Seminar is that "Great Books" can be read, discussed and leamed from without supplemenmryinformation. The Divine Comecfyruns counter to that. So much of it presupposes knowledge of Medieval Catholicism and numerous people and events of the 13 and 14 centuries. Without this information, much of the dialogue is obscure and many ofthe allegories are incomprehensible. Itisalsonoteworthyfortheamountoftimewe give to it With its.six seminars, it occupies the longest consecutive stretch devoted to one author's work insophomoreyear (assumingthattheBiblewasn't written bya single author). Few authors receive more seminars than Dante. HomerhaS seven;Hegel, eight; Kant, eleveo;Aristotle, seventeen; and Plato, twe.ntythree. The Old Testament has nine seminars, and the New Testament and Thomas Aquinas both matcliDantewith six each. What makes this so impressive is that unlike these otherwriters, Dante seems to have little influence on thelaterworks we read Many earlier authors clearly influenced him andhe can be appreciated for modifying and interweaving their ideas or style, but no one seems to do the same for Dante. This is not to say that Dante was not influential, for surely he was, but within the scope of our reading list only Milton'sPt7mUl.oJtseemstohavealineagethatcan be traced back to Dante. If the Divine Cometijs merit lies more within itself and not in its relationship to the rest of the Program, then we run into another problem; the Divine Cometfy is a poem (or poems) and we are reading it in translation. 'That alone diminishes our ability to appreciate its virtues. Furthermore, according to Mr Tuck, the language and verse of Dante are particularly difficult to translate into English. Since poetry and Dante's status as a poet are such animportantpartof theDitineCJmet!y, theextenttowhich we lose his verse might roughly correspond to the amount we lose of the genius of Dante. PethapstheimportinceofDanteandhisrolein the Program is something that a member of the polity would like to write in to The Ga4f!y about; or maybe it's something that the might wish to discuss. At the moment, the Divine C.Ometfy (perhaps along with Dante's Vita Nuova) seems to me to be better suited for a preceptorial than for Seminar. As a precept, aspects of the poem which are scarcely discussedin seminar, such as the language and verse, could getmuchmore attention. The extensive commentary would also seem less out of place in a precept. In addition, this would free up six seminars, which could be used to read additional authors (moreRomansperliaps),morebysophomoreyear authors (City ef God, for instance) or read more thoroughly some of the authors we read only excerpts from (such as Tacitus and Epictetus). sa . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . 5 �. I :n An Objective Look at Recent Christian Controversy By James Page, '06 and Catherine Pisha, '06 Due to the recent controversy surrounding Mr. Sir Robert Burbridge's letter in the December 10 issue of The Gadfly and Mr. Aaron MacLean's response, we wanted to discuss our opinions about the attitudes of certain students, both with and without religious faith, and how these attitudes affect their interaction with each other in relation to the St. John's program. We would like to state, however, that our argument concerns two purposely oversimplified groups of the student body: students with and without religious faith. The opinions we attribute to members of these groups are extreme examples, and we are aware that not all students who are members of these groups hold these opinions. From our limited experience here at the college there appear to be two divisions of students: those with religious faith and those without religious faith. Many of those with religious faith, including some who share some of the beliefs expressed by Mr. Burbridge, tend not to share their beliefs publicly. There seems to be a prevailing attitude at St. John's that students with faith adhere to, which prevents them from feeling like it is acceptable to express their beliefs. We are not advocating expressions of religious doctrine inside the classroom, simply pointing out that there is a stigma attached to expressing religious views in nonacademic situations. The stigma we observed seems to be linked to the doctrine of "I don't know anything," which certain students frequently claim to practice. As we see it, this in itself is a doctrine, not something universally agreed upon. It seems to us that one who professes not to know anything would be wary of dismissing any ideas. However, various students who have explicitly stated, ''I don't know anything," dismiss religious ideas that they do not subscribe to. Since this behavior appears incompatible with the "I don't know anything'' doctrine, we wonder if people who profess this view and dismiss religious ideas hold other doctrines that they do not acknowledge and may often not even be aware of Specifically, we think these students subscribe to the belief that reason and logic are acceptable forms of searching for truth and that faith is not. Some who claim to hold the "I don't know'' doctrine have expressed the view that students at St. John's not only should not have religious faith, but they should not even consider having religious faith, because this would interfere with the "turning around" that the program causes within oneself. The inner change that occurs should not necessarily be assumed to include or exclude religious experience. We feel that the extreme views of both religious and non-religious students, in that they dismiss ideas that they do not agree with, attempt to limit the freedom of inquiry of others and themselves. Both close-minded faithful and rationalists alike share the same trait: working to convince others of their beliefs rather than questioning their own beliefs, forming their own conclusions, and allowing others to do the same. Football· Waxing Eloquent By Katy Courtright, '06 Staff Writer When we think of football, many of us think of a bunch of big, sweaty guys falling all over each other just for the opportunity to grab an oddly shaped ball and to run it to one end of a large, rectangular field. Sounds, well, ridiculous. But in terms like these, really, any game could sound ridiculous: soccer consists of a bunch of lean, sweaty guys with useless arms running around trying to kick each other in the shins and to get a ball into an oblong net; basketball has a bunch of tall sweaty guys who can't keep the ball in their hands trying to throw a ball into a tiny hoop that's ten feet in the air; baseball has a bunch of sweaty guys hitting balls with big sticks and running in circles. We could consider any game----even crew or fencing or, let's say, croquet-and any would seem ridiculous. What's the point? For those in the dark about all things sports, or just football, the basic premise of the game isn't difficult to understand. Two teams play on a field that is 120 yards long and 50 yards wide-ten of the yards on each end 6 of the length are devoted to a team's endzone. Starting near their own endzone, the team in control of the ball has four chances, called downs, to move the ball ten yards towards the opposing team's endzone; when they make at least ten yards, the chances start over and it's first down again. They can do this as many times as is necessary till they reach the opposing endzone. The ball then goes to the opposite team after either the first team scores by getting it to the endzone for a touchdown or fails to make ten yards in four downs. Doesn't seem so exciting, does it? No sport would when written into such bland terms. To be honest, I would completely ignore football and the Superbowl if it weren't for the nostalgic associations I make with it, because football reminds me of home, of my father and brothers. Sunday afternoon football was the best; all work stopped, no business was pressing, there was no hurry to go anywhere. This is where I learned the more subtle and complex qualities of the game, but I realized somewhere along the way that it's not about winning. It's about effort, sportsmanship, harmony. And for me it's about family. I remem- . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ber with fondness the time I spent with my family, Dad and my brothers on the couch with me, Mom at the table doing mom-stuff, always asking what was going on when the noise reached a crescendo. And it would get quite noisy. Close games are the best; watching one team get clobbered by the other gets boring after awhile, but if it comes down to the last two minutes and anything could happen, the adrenaline flows and then we get to see amazing feats of human ability. I'm still amazed at how far they throw, how fast they run, how high they jump-the same is true with almost any sport. I suspect that this may be the reason most people watch sports, because they can appreciate the skill, the training, the concentration, and the force of will needed to play a good game. So whatever the reason we watch (or even play) these games, whether nostalgia or admiration for skill, don't let the winning go to your head, and whatever you do, don't watch it alone-football is only a part of football, the rest is family. Pt_olemy Stone Readings By Jennifer Silgals, Resident Dream Interpreter · (just $2 a dream, discount rates for groups and recurring customers!!!) Aries.Mar. 21 -April 19 Give in and let it show. Whatever is inside of you, you can't keep it hidden forever. The people youloveloveyouforareason, and they'll always be there foryou That's right, folks! Itlooks like a good week for sap in the life of the Aries. Reach out to thoseyoulove. They'llhelpyououtandmaybeyou can help them, too. Not everyone is as open about their emotions as they might be. Why not start a trend of honesty? Sappy, yes, but how about true? Reading ofthe week: Emily Dickinson poems . TaurusApri/20-Mqy20 . , . . Keepoi:ikeepm .on. Alittlemorepushing,and you'll have lt all. ~may seem tough, but just ask a smoker: ,Quitting b~use ofthe cancer risk is Iknowlifecan be hard and the difficult goals you've set can simply ~ n~t worth working toward, but think about · it Don tyou want to succeed so you can have lots of money and a superstar significant other? Or at least save the starving children? I thought so. Reading f the week: . A---1:._ Goarp . John Irving, The Work/ ./'1JUJ1l8llg to sillywhenyoure~dieanyway.* GeminiM.qy21 -June 21 Restless much? Instead of reoiganlzing your m collection 17 times ortalkingincessantlyto yourself about frogs, why don't you throw yourself into a pursuit that is less likely to drive your roommateinsane? Tryanewproject Getthatpositive energy flowing Go out and save the world or paint your nails or something. Energy levels ebb and flow,sowhynotcatch thiswavewblleit'scomingin before it's too late? Reading of the week: Jostein Gaarder, Sophie} Wo& Can.cerJune22-Ju~22 Insanityprevails, but don't let it get to you Just because everyone else is running around in the cold wearingnothingbutlongunderweardoesn'tmean you have to. It doesn't mean you don't have to, either, but then, who am I to define insanity so a.rbitruil.y?? Emotions run high this week, but tty to take a step backandkeep alevelhead. Beingthere fut others doesn't mean youhave to sunenderyourself to them. Keep cool Reading of the week: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Grea!Gatsf?y Leo ]ufa 23 -Aug. 22 language is one of those things that you can't . ~inJohnniel..and,sowhynotusethistoyour 1dvantage and communicate a little with those .atutmd you? It's a goodweek to make new alliances, fruitful ones that may prove a great help in the fuPlus, havingfi:iendsis justfan! Embrace something you really love and then find people around you who feel the same. Start a new unofficial St John's Oub. Ignore the stares. Reading of the week: The OED ture. Virgo~g. 2~ -Sept 22 . Stop l~things boring If you want spice, work for it J?o something really strange for once, and never mind what everyone else thinks. Time moves fast at St John's and everything will be forgotten by the next Waltz party. The stars are in love rn: ·thchange, wh r. · so y notiollow their example and makethingshappen. Go,go,go! Itdoesn'thaveto be a drastic thing, though who says drastic can't be good? Reading of the week: Anything by Donald Barthelme wt Ltbra ~ept. 23 _Oct. 23 t d .1= I kn it1 ld tside, b ou an p....,. . ow s co ou utas l~ as you keep ~ovmg and have you back to the wmdandthesunmyourfuce,you'llsoonfotget:the stinoinn-m· ~urnose and i:;~~-., 'T'oo much sen·~~ ,~. . . ., 1 -' Get ousness dampens the fun that you do have, so, put down your seminar reading or big, scaty essay and have a little fun. Just remember to pick it back up again when you're done. Slacking off is fun, but deadly. Reading of the week: Douglas Adams. Anything. Just Douglas Adams. Yes. Scorpio Oct. 24 -Nov. 21 Love is a battlefield So is the back campus on Sundayswhenthere'sMeleegoin' down. You can't gothroughlifeafraidofwhatmighthappen to you ifyouactuallygotupandfacedyourfears. Embrace the source ofyour demise and take it out to dinner atanicerestaurant Whenit'snotlooking,slippoison into its food Then, sit back and relax. You can defeat the origin of your troubles, but only if you fight a bit Readingoftheweek: JorgeLuisBorges,Sekded Non-Fictirms Sagittarius Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Lookatyou, the belle/beau(notto be politically incorrect) of the ball! No, not the guy behind you (Unlessyou'renotaSagandarejustreadingthisfor fun) You are charming and wonderful, regardless of what your demonic ex has to say about you What to do? I say you use this chann of yours to your advantage and see what happens when the belle/beau comes to town. Trust me, you're won- derful. Readingoftheweek: TerryMcMillan,HowStelh Got Her Groove Back ........... . ... . .. . . . . Capricorn Dec. 22 -Jan. 19 Move forward, like a ball of pure green energy. Or,ifthatlastsentencemadenosensetoyon GET ..., ONWITHIT. Peoplehateaboringwhiner. Not tha t you are one or anything, I'm just reminding you Don't sit around pouting if things are going wrong: Don't sit around gloating if things are goingright Takethetrialsofyourlifeandturnthem m·to som~u.uui:; new Winte thenext GreatBook or ..tl.<~~ · take your fi:iends out to dinner. And remember, I am your friend, so, yeah, dinner. .. Reading ofthe week: Dr. Seuss, Bartholomew and the Oobkck Aquarius Jan. 20- Feb. 18 The undeniable need for change seems to be the petprojectofthestarsthisweek. Notonestoleave anyone out, they're extending this message to you, as well So change all ready. Get a haircut or wear something you'd never wear before. Read a new book (see below). G1ve the kid who's wanted to dateyousincethebeginningyearachance. .Maybe. Just do something. Readingoftheweek:Jack:Tomlinson,GrC:OOk- mg Pisces Feb. 19 -Mar. 20 I see two options for you this week. One, you stand back and take things as they come to you, or two, you get up and fight back. The first option leaves you feeling down and unfulfilled The second may leave you with a black eye or a missing tooth. You just need to weigh the options and decide. Don'tlet yourself get bullied in any direction. Youareyourownperson. LetitshoworI will beatyouup. Reading of the week: Beowuf *The opinions of the stars on smoking do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else, affiliated with the Gadfly/St. John's or not. . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 7 I I I I . ! �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404------:-:--:--:--:;---:-;----:-:-,::;:-:::-:-:;~::-"C':::::;::-::::J:::i-:~~~~hr~~ pushingtheballupthecourtwithspeed. For Scandal at St. John's: their efforts, the two of them are named co- January 2003 athletes of the week for the women. NOtes "More than a1!Y other plqyer, B.J. Armstrong took meditation to heart and studied it on his own. Indeed, he attributes much ef his success as a player to his understanding ef not thinking, just doing. ~ lot of g1!)'s second-guess themselves,' he sqys. Thry don J know whether to pass or shoot or what. But I just go for it. lf I'm open, I'll shoot, and if I'm not, I'llpass. When there} a loose ball, I justgo qfter it. The game happens so fast, the less I can think and the more I can just react to what} going on, the better it will be for me and, ultimate/y, the team"' From Sacred Hoops, by PhilJackson It was a week of upsets in our intramural leagues. Let's start with the women's side of things. The once dominant Furies (having suffered the loss of one of their three towers, :Miss Gardner, due to an injury) are now showing themselves to be vulnerable. Combine this with the huge absence of their co-grinch and leading outside threat, Miss Brillante due to a death in the family this past Friday, the Furies were no match for the hard charging Amazons, who handed the Furies their second loss in a closely contested battle, 24-23. Leading the way for the Amazons was Miss Schrick who played some tough dee and scored half her team's points, many of them from way downtown. And the Nymphs are now resurgent. Miss Strickland gave a strongperfonnance in the Red Women's victory over the D.C.'s this past Friday, scoring twenty points. But most noteworthy perhaps is the emergence of Misses Stewart and Clowes as players to be reckoned with. The two Santa-Fe transfers, having cast off-at least for now-the mellow-laidbackburntoutness that they brought with them from our western campus, are finding they can mix it up with the best of their aggressive and competitive sisters here in the east. This past week, Misses Stewart and Clowes both scored 8 points, cleaned the boards, and could be seen 8 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . And now for the men's side of things. It has to be seen as an upset of sorts, the Guardians thin victory over this past week 111 handball. FolloW11lg this overtime win, the Guardians now stand as the team to beat on Wednesday afternoons. Mr. Collier is emerging as one tough-nosed goalie, who also displays a gutsy penchant to range from the goal mouth and score now and then. And Mr. Goldsmith is proving himself to be the league's most potent offensive threat. I mean, let's face it, it's hard to stop the little, slippery, wily dude, isn't it? Kudos to the Waves Mr. Dawson, who, donning the 'gloves of ignorance' for his team, played one great game in goal in spite of ending up on the short end. The Spartans finally managed to put one in the victory column in the basketball league this past Saturday with their victory of the Druids. Mr. Finklea sank a clutch 20 footer with 1.5 seconds left on the clock to put the Spartans over the top. But the key overall performances came from a couple ofB teamers, Mr. Reiner, who scored a team leading 16 points, and Mr. Wilk, who, though he's never played the game before, and is still learning the rules, is making himself a huge presence on defense and dominating the boards at both ends of the floor. For his great game, Mr. Wilk: is named Athlete of the Week for the men. razo~ th~ Wav~s By Claire Voyance Over 85% of the St. John's College student body turned out in angry protest early this week when they learned that the College seal actually reads, "I make free books out of children." An anonymous sophomore spoke for the rest of the protesters when she said, " The inhumanity is appalling. That the college could condone such depraved actions makes sickly ironic all the focus on 'virtue' and the 'good' that inundates the program." Leading members of the administration calmed the students, speaking via megaphone from the roof of the Mellon administration building. The Dean informed the students that an early tutor known for his sense of humor had penned the Latin of the seal. The Dean further assured the students that the college had not, previously, been aware of the Latin's actual meaning. ''We thought it read 'I make free men out of children by means of books and scales'," said the Dean. He went on to assure the students that to his knowledge no books were actually printed on paper make from the skin of children. The true translation was provided by a freshman that had taken several years of Latin in high school. ''I never paid attention until this weekend," he said. "Then I actually read the seal and realized what it said." In a private interview the next morning, the Dean assured this reporter that since the College dropped Latin from the curriculum, "It's all been Greek to me." HISTORIC ANNAPOLIS FOUNDATION CELEBRATES CHINESE NEW YEAR: If you've always wanted to know more about Eastern traditions, plan to join the Historic Annapolis Foundation for a Chinese New Year Family Festival at the William Paca House and Garden at 186 Prince George Street on Saturday, February 1 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Cost is $4 f~r adults and $2 for children ages 6 through 12. For more information about this or other Foundation events, call410-267-7619 ext 2. � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 8 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gallimore, Cooper Nathaniel (Editor in Chief) Keene, Cathy (Co-Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXIV Issue 16 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-01-28 Description An account of the resource Volume XXIV, Issue 16 of The Gadfly. Published January 28, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 24 #16 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/aa7b8fbb017a8270e43966b3aa9bf3ce.pdf 747df0838264a16e2d28ec384eaa856e PDF Text Text In This lssue.u THE A The St. John's College Student Week!JI Volume XXIV, Issue 17 FL · · · · · · · · · · Annapolis, Maryland February 11, 2003 Th Hottest Tut rs of St. John's In Memory of Douglas Allanbrook: His 50th Anniversary Program Address Pages 6, 7 Oil and Water: Vegetarianism and a liberal Education? By Claire Voyance Page 11 You asked for it, and you got it! In response to recent surveys conducted bytheGad.ffi'to betterunderstand and meet the reading needs of the polity, the Gad.ffi' determined that the student body wanted to know, "Who are the hottest tutors of St John's?" Embarking on this Herculean endeavor was no small feat, and the Gadf(y has been spending months planning our strategy for determining "The Hottest Tutors of St. John's". Our investigations were conducted in the utmost secrecy, behind the closed doors of the Gadfly office (that just happen to be constructed of thin glass). We then sent our agents out into the field, inconspicuously tapping into the mind of the campus consciousness to determir1e student's favorite tutors. Based on our preliminary findings, we then created a powerful computer program that could categorize and evaluate each of the tutors based on looks, basic intelligence, annual gross income, general knowledge of "the good", SAT scores, whether they brought students food on occasion, number of trips made to Antarctica, a_nd whether or not they could answer the question, "What is the air speed velocity of a fully laden swallow?" Unfortunately for us, the Gadf!y computer crashed and we lost all our information. So, we loaded it up agaiu ... and agaiu, it crashed, BUT the third time ... it crashed yet agaiu and we gave up on the idea. Bereft of all our hard work and investigation, we determined that there was only one logical course of action ... to visit the coffee shop and randomly take pictures of every tutor we happened to run across. At this juncture, we determined that the most efficient and foolproof method of determining the hottest tutors from our list was to consult tilie Delphic Oracle, Unfortunately for us, the Gadfly bank account was running a little low, and we understand that time transportation technology has yet been invented. We were at the end of our rope. But then, inspiration! We created a method of choosing the pictures so random, that even Pollock would have approved. We hung up all the pictures on the wall ofthe Gatff!y office, and then proceeded to throw a piece of chewed bubble gum over our shoulders. \'{lhicheverpictures the wads ofchewed bubble gum happened to land on were dubbed to be among our exclusive yet completely random list We continued in this way until all the pictures had been hit (this took about five hours), and thus, we determined that our selection was complete. We hope that you enjoy this article and continue to write in your ideas. And please remember, this is all in good fun. We have such a great looking group of tutors here that we would have included everyone if we could, but there just wasn't room. So please hurry on over to pages 8 and 9, and view for yourselves the epitome of intellectual beauty and virtue. �1) Editor-in-Chief Gadfly Maiib x Difficulties With Dante Dear Gadfly, Cooper N. Gallimore the Progress of tlle 19°', 20"', and 21'' centuries, paying little attention to the horrors of the last two. We live in our oasis and read Kant, and leap theologically from -yes, Dante to the contortions of Kierkegaard. Does Dante help to bridge the gap? Yes, but he writes poetry, Italian poetry, hard to translate adequately. Is thatwhyT S. Eliot, who loved to quote bits of Italian and German in his English poetry, quotes the "figlia del tuo · figlio" (i.e., Mary) from St. Bernard's prayer in Dante's Paradise? Should one of our choirs sing Verdi's setting of it in one of his Sacred Pieces (Pezzi Sacri)? What cohesion can we restore in our shorter Reading List? What should, what can be sacrificed to make room for the historically and theologically importa_11t, even essential links? Which of the sacrificial lambs or lions should be given over to Preceptorials, if necessary even concurrent or parallel Preceptorials? Keep Dante and let people learn some Italian. Singing is a marvelous medium for learning languages - though it doesn't help with Greek, only with Latin (abolished from the curriculum before he 1960s) and German (abolished in the early sixties). A little additional grammer would help - in English too. Cheers for last week's Gadfly, especially the SCI :Minutes and Nick Colten's piece on Dante "in the Program", both relevant to the altercaProduction Manager tion about The Christian Fellowship, of which Ervin Romero I missed the beginning. The Dante article stirs up a host of questions and tentative answers Business Manager about TI1e Program and the Seminar Reading Elizabeth Laughlin List. 1fr. Colten gives us a useful list of the numPhotographer bers of seminars (or half-weeks) given to books Andrew Baisch or authors. I shall reshuffle it in order of freContributing to this Issue quency: Plato 23, Aristotle 17, Kant 11, Hegel Nick Colten Thomas Juskevich 8, Homer 7, Dante 6, matched by the New Mark Ingham Blake Gregory Testament and Thomas. The Old Testament, Anderson Tallent Christopher Utter · has 9, one more than Hegel, two less than Tim Pomarole Claire Voyance : Kant; the Good Book, Old and New; has 15. Sarah Wilson Toby Burress When do these readings come? They come Jen Silgals Daniel Schwartz : in more or less chronological order. Homer comes at the very outset of the Freshman year, All of our Kind, Good-Natured Tutors : for new students who may or may not have · read him before. The books that are Big as : well as Great tend to come after vacations, as Founded in 1980, the Gadjfy is the student weekly does Dante's Divine Comedy and Tolstey's War distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors and Peace. The comparable ''War and Peace" emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and of the twentieth century, Paul Scott's Raj QuarGovernors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa tet, cannot find a place in the Program, the Beate Ruhm von Oppen Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the seminar Reading List, because it is too long the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not even for a Preceptorial, but it has now, fortuThey Don't Mix necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadjfy nately, at least been the subject of a semesterstaff The Gadfly reserves the right to accept, re- long faculty study group that met twice a week. Dear Gadff.v, ject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to The introduction of Preceptorials in the publish the most thoughtful, informative, and I read ]\!fr. l\1acLean's "Oil and Water" article 1960s bought tlle abridged seminar Reading thought-provoking newspaper which circumin the Jan. 21 issue with a great deal of interest. List. The elimination of Gibbon and Calvin stances at St. John's permit. and the reduction of Luther from three semi- He expressed the hope that more discussion Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better nars to one was a serious loss: we lost the would follow from his opinions, and I would chance of being published than those longer than Reformation and just read Luther's "Freedom happily oblige him. First, so that we may apthis limit. Letters submitted will be edited for of a Christian", which hardly prepares us for proach each other with full understanding, I grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. the history that follows. Of course, we don't would like him to clarify several points in his The Gadfly is not obligated to publish all submis- do History, only intellectual history in its most article. sions and will not print anonymous submissions :Mr. MacLean: You characterize the Chrissignificant documents. This now delivers Seexcept under special circumstances. tian Fellowship as representing a certain "strain" niors to Hegel unprepared, unarmed, of Christianity incompatible with St. John's Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax- unwarned. If at least we still read Luther's tract education, but suggest that "Christianity as deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. on "The Obedience Owed to Secular AuthorPlease make checks payable to the Gadjfy. For . ity" - it turns out to be nearly total and goes such" is different. What is Christianity as such? display advertisement prices and information, call . from chapter 13 of Paul's Letter to the Ro- You refer to, and express some concern for, 410-263-2371, x2212. . mans to the duty to volunteer as auxiliary hang- something called a "soul." What is a soul? : men if there are not enough executioners to What does it need? Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission punish evildoers - we would at least not sweep You say, "To follow the dictates of a single for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions teacher, or a single doctrine, to immoderate : past the Lutheran Reformation, assuming it will be accepted as long as they are legibly writ· was all sweetness and light and liberation from extremes, is a form of slavery." What constiten, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail subtutes an immoderate extreme? How do you missions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail sub- the bondage of the papacy, preparing the way for the Enlightment of the Junior year and know? missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. Co-Editor Cathy Keene 2 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > > • • • • • • • • • • • > • You refer to "reason" as being in opposition to "faith," for example in your description of the hypotl1etical Plato Club. Please defuie "faith" and "reason," and explain why they are opposed. Should "the work of the freshman year be taken seriously"? Should Spinoza, Darwin, and Nietzsche ''be read without the tongue firmly in the cl1eek"? To answer "no" to these questions, you suggest, implies an "utterly perverse" view of St. John's. What constitutes perversity? How do you know? You claim that at the final stage of learning "we learn to tell the difference" between "what is natural, and what is merely useful and customary." Can you do this? If so, how is it done? If not, then how do you justify your claims against evangelical Protestantism? You claim tllat wisdom "might fairly be thought to be found in many other things" than Pascal's Jansenist Catholicism. How do you know this? You suggest that within the Christian Fellowship some find a "false and shallow certainty." What constitutes a false and shallow certainty? How do you know? You describe the state of freedom as "a constant motion of the mind, a liveliness of response to what we learn, a sense of wonder at new ways of seeing things, and a critical sense for evaluating what we are told." \V'hy would you characterize this state as freedom? Is it good? How do you know? You point out that "much evangelical rhetoric of the present day goes to great lengths to present the world as a place with only two options: life among the saved, and among the lost;' and you then suggest, "there are other ways to live our lives between these two." What are they? You say that it is "possible" that "Christianity might be a part of one of these other ways of living one's life," and that "faith may be a pan' of wisdom." Isn't speaking of Christianity as a part of something else inconsistent with Jesus' claims that He is "the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but through Me," that "no man can serve two masters," Paul's claim that "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Whom be the glory forever," and the commandment to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength"? You characterize various aspects of Christianity (or, if you prefer, a certain strain of Christianity), its attitude, and its handiwork, using such phrases as "distasteful," "insulting," "disgusting," "overboard," "traveling anti-evolution circus," "abomination," "troubling," "ex- treme," "utter lack of piety," "slavish;' "utter strangeness," "utterly perverse," "fearful," "powerful prejudice," "false and shallow certainty;' "perversion;' and "hate speech." \V'hat qualifies you to pass judgment on us in this fashion? up their ends of the Constitutional bargain, so should the SCI as Congress and not make any law regarding religion at St. John's. I admit the simplicity of this argument but I do not think that its simplicity betrays any falsehoods or omits any pertinent aspect of our present imbroglio. Let us remember that while we are all in a communion of learning, we are only so in such a manner that brings us to the same texts with the same politeness towards each other and the same respect for other's rights to do likewise. We are not in a utopian setting (if such would be a utopia) of homogenous manners of study, with the same priorities, biases, or motives. Whether such manners of study have God in mind is as inconsequential to our rights as if one does or does not believe in the forms. If we as individuals do not agree with others in their manners of study, as long as that other person is coming to the same text and behaving civilly, let us then consider our communion and agree with Jefferson when he said "If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve the Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safetywitl1 which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. I k..11ow, indeed, that some honest men fear that a republican govew..ment can not be strong, that this Government is not strong enough; but would the honest patriot, in the full tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm on the theoretic and visionary fear that this Government, the world's best hope, may by possibility want energy to preserve itself? I trust not. I believe this, the strongest Government on earth" (Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address). I extend warmly to all parties involved and the college community. Kind Regards, Ryan Mawhar, '04 Faith and The Constitution Dear Polity, I tis not often that in the course of our daily lives we are presented with abstract Constitutional issues. It is even rarer for an amendment to the Constitution to be represented in its entirety. But before us is unrolling an examination of Amendment One of our United States Constitution. I refer to the recent discussion regarding religion at St. John's. Rest assured that I do not wish to combat either side, but instead to moderate our course. This first amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right oft.lie people peaceably to assemble, and petition the government for a redress of grievances." To elucidate my thesis I shall interpret each clause of Amendment One to our present day situation. I do not believe that all of Amendment One refers to religion, but instead that all of the separate modes contained therein are manifest in our current overtly religious discussion. Mr. Burbridge freely exercises his religious beliefs. TI1e Christian Fellowship assembles regularly in a peaceable, and I wager an amiable, atmosphere. The SCI, who I deem in a sense to be Congress, will convene to discuss the issue. I claim that there is no issue. It appears that Mr. Burbridge has in no way stepped outside his bounds. It also appears that neither has j\fr Macl,ean. Addressing l\fr. MacLean's claims, however, we must decide whether his grievances are actual or illusory. My conclusion is simple and unadorned. Since Mr. Burbridge has not done anything but ruffle feathers with his ideas, and has maintained a position firmly within his rights, then it is the case that Mt. MacLean has been offended in sensibilities and not in any way as to have acclaim to anything more that his proclaiming his opinion contrary to that of Mr. Burbridge. To be fair this is all he has done. But it is here that the matter should be concluded. And since both Messrs. Burbridge and l\1acLean have kept •• > • • • • • • • • • • • > • • • • • • • • Apology The Gadfly staff would like to apologize for the tardiness of some of the material included in this issue. We did not put out an issue last week, not as a result of the long weekend, but due to certain technical difficulties with our computer and our facilities. \;\le have tried to include all submissions that were made previously, but obviously, we felt it best to not print those submissions that were time sensitive and thus, that were no longer of relevance. The Gadfly staff apologizes for any inconvenience and furthermore, hopes to inform our readers next time that we take an unexpected sabbatical.-ED • • • • • • • • • THE GADFLY . 3 �Polity Announcements From the Dean's Office: Concerning Your Essays Freshmen: The freshman annual essay is due on Monday, April 7. A typewritten copy of your essay must be submitted to each of your seminar leaders by the beginning of the seminar that evening. You should choose a topic or a book you really care about. Both the topic and the book should belong to the program of the freshman year. If you feel that you must write on something outside the program, make sure your seminar leaders know and approve. Your essay may be the occasion to think about a book or to think l?J means of a book; that is to say, you may try to interpret a text, or you may use the text to think out your own problem. Your essay, however, should neither simply recount what is in a book nor simply state what is your own opinion. Instead it should combine both - it should contain your own thinking as aroused by that of the author. Please submit a written statement of your topic to your seminar leaders by Monday, February 17. They will approve it or will help you to make it acceptable. Your essay should be between 2500 and 4500 words long. (That's toughly between 10 and 15 double-spaced typewritten pages.) Organization and form, down to spelling and proofreading, are very important. To give you some free time to complete your essay, your tutors will cancel all classes on Friday, April 4, and Monday, April 7. Classes resume with seminar that evening, when the essays are to be submitted. If you have any questions, speak to your seminar leaders (or to me). Sophomores: The sophomore annual essay takes on particular importance because of its part in the enabling decision at the end of this year. We try to determine, in your best interests as well as in those of your fellow students, whether you should continue into the junior year. The sophomore essay should demonstrate your ability to be thoughtful and to put your thoughts on paper clearly and coherently. In particular, it should suggest that you would be able to write a successful senior essay. 4 You should choose a topic or a book you really care about, preferably from the program of the sophomore year. As you know from your freshman essay, your paper should be neither a mere paraphrase of a text nor a bald statement of your own opinion. Rather, it should combine careful reading with independent thinking. You should pay close attention to the organization and form of your paper, down to spelling and proof-reading. Don't disgrace your good thoughts by shoddy presentation. Your essay should be between 4500 and 5000 words long. (That's roughly between 15 and 20 double-spaced typewritten pages.) Please submit a written statement of your topic to your seminar leaders by Monday, February 17. They will approve it or suggest modifications. You may wish to work with some tutor as an advisor. During the week from Monday, March 17 through Monday, March 24, none of your classes will meet except seminars. The essay is due Monday evening, March 24, at seminar. Your other classes will resume on Tuesday, March 25. Please be present and prepared. Please submit a written statement of your topic to your seminar leaders by Monday, February 17. During the week before your essay is due (Tuesday, March 25 through Monday, March 31) none of your classes will meet except seminars. If you have any questions, speak to your tutors (or to me). By Thomas Juskevich SCI Secretary The SCI held its regular weekly meeting on Thursday, February 6. In attendance were SCI Co-chairs Maya Alapin and Mark Ingham, Secretary Thomas Juskevich, Senior Representatives Ms. Townsend and Ms. Wischnievsky, Junior Representatives Ms. Licari and Mr. Talent, Sophomore Representative Ms. Sico, Freshmen Representatives Mr. Stone and Mr. Page, and several visitors. Sophomore Representative Mr. Gleysteen was unable to attend. The meeting began by finalizing plans for the forum on Belief in Inquiry in Liberal Education, which was held this past Sunday, February 9th, in the Great Hall. The bulk of the meeting focused on invitations for tutors for the SCI Potluck dinner, which will be held Sunday, February 23. We encourage all members of the community to attend the Potluck to enjoy good food and good conversation. The Tim Pomerole Seminar on LiberalEducation has been set for Wednesday, February 19th, from 7:30 - 9 pm, in the classroom on top of McDowell Hall. The reading for this Seminar will not be long and is yet to be announced. You can join in the discussion of potential readings for the Tim Pomerole Seminar on Liberal Education by attending the next SCI meeting, Thursday, February 13th, in the Private Dinning Room during Lunch. For an advance list of the possible readings, or to add a reading for consideration, please contact Thomas Juskevich through campus mail. Also to be discussed at this meeting will be the readings for the SCI's Plato in the Springtime. We hope you will come to share your ideas on these upcoming events. Political. Fbtufn ~r.£, Affirmatl )/.... ltwO:oll1e.q SCI Minutes for Thursday, Jan 30th by Mark Ingham, '05 In attendance: Juniors: The annual essay for juniors is due at seminar on Monday, March 31. Your essay should be between 4500 and 5000 words long. (That's roughly 15 and 20 double-spaced typewritten pages.) DC minutes: January 29 Presentation of Waltz Committee budget request by Mr. Hayden Brockett. Motion by President Sam Spalding to make request an emergency voting item. Seconded by Mr. Neal Turnquist. Waltz Committee request for $1800 approved by majority vote. ·Presentation of Outdoors club budget request by Ms. Julia Strickler. Motion by President Sam Spalding to reduce request to $250 and make an emergency voting item. Seconded by Secretary Blake Gregory. Outdoors club request approved by majority vote. SCI Minutes: February 6 ·Presentation of Swim club budget request by Ms. Julia Strickler. Motion by Mr.Jackson O'Brien to reduce to $350 and make an emergency voting item. Seconded by Mr. Ian Morochnick. Swim club request approved by majority vote. ·Presentation of Homework Help charter by Mr. Bobby Ramsey. Motion to amend section II.a.ii. of charter and make regular voting item by Mr. Spalding. Seconded by Ms. Gregory. Passed by majority vote. Blake Gregory, DC Secretary Co-Chair: Mark Ingham Freshman Representatives: Donald Stone & James page Sophomore Representatives: Eri.c Gleysteen & Jillian Sico Anderson Junior Representative: Tallent Senior Representative: Mary Townsend Guests: Hayden Brockett (Jr), Justin Lanier (So), Chester Martins (Fr), Jake Smith (Fr) Absent: Maya Alapin (co-chair), Thomas Juskevich (Secretary), Sonia Wisniewski. (Sr Rep) & Meridith Licari. (Jr Rep) The SCI met as usual in the Randall private dining room at 11:45 on Thursday. This meeting was mainly spent discussing organizational details for our upcoming panel discussion on beliefs to be held Sunday, Feb 9, 2:30pm-4pm in the General Hartel Room. We confirmed that Ms. Blits, Ms. Brann, Mr. Harrell, Mr. May, Ms. Renault, Ms. Seeger, and Mr. Sinnett had all agreed to be part of the panel. A few other tutors had still not confirmed whether or not they would be willing to be on the panel. So, the final panel will have an element of surprise! A question was raised about how to organize the discussion. The Rock (music) forum two years ago, as well as the Thought vs. Action forum last year had opened with a 45 minute panel discussion, followed by a 45 minute discussion open to everyone. It was suggested that tutors might be able to address the main issues on student's minds more relevantly and with more sensitivity if the discussion was open to everybody right from the beginning. Some objected that the quality of discussion might be higher and of more interest to all involved ifwe stuck to our initial plan of opening with a 45 minute discussion limited to the panel. We eventually decided on a compromise. We decided to post sheets on the SCI board to take polity suggestions for opening questions. We could then mail copies of these sheets to tutors so that they new which questions were on student's minds along with a recommendation of which question to open with. If any members of the polity have ideas for an opening question, please write it on the SCI board by Wed! We discussed how to phrase the issue on our posters. Some were in favor of using the word "belief'', so as to leave the topic broad enough to include the fundamental beliefs of those who did not consider themselves religious. Others were in favor of calling it a faith forum, or for wording the poster to more clearly articulate that this discussion has received its impetus from questions about what sorts of religious beliefs are compatible with liberal arts education. We all agreed that what we mean by "belief" in the context of this forum is something more fundamental than a belief such as "I believe that Canada produces better hockey players than Russia". It was argued that it would be sufficiently obvious to the polity, given the origins of this issue, that we meant such beliefs as "I believe that Xis the road to an enlightened and good human life". In the end, we took a vote, and most members were still in favor of using the word "belief" as we had originally planned. We discussed the pros and cons of having microphones for the tutors. We decided that it wolild be a good idea to have microphones, as we had at the last two forums. We arranged to have a member pick up bagels for snacks after the discussion. All members of the polity are invited to join us on Sunday. We have fair hopes for a most interesting discussion. i I, i . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 ' �i' The Program Old and New By Douglas Allanbrook Last week saw the passing of Mr. Douglas Allanbrook, composer, author, and tutor at the College for fifty years. For those current studentsmost of us, now--who never had the opportunity of stucfying the great books with him or knowing him personalfy, the most enduring memories of Mr. Allanbrook will be ones of him-at lecture and in concert- reading aloud his thoughts and performing his compositions. Mr. Allanbrook insisted that the simple rf?ythms of human breath and heartbeat underlie all ofour most sophisticated music and rhetoric, and indeed even inform our highest thinking about things like time and the soul. While no merefy written document could ever do justice to the magnificent sound of Mr. Allanbrook} reading, the Gadfly staff hopes that the re-printing of this address, delivered to the alumni of the College on the fiftieth anniversary of the New Program, might instead help this paper to remember Mr. Allanbrook in the most fitting mannerpossible, serving as a kind of score to what was the music of his voice. -Anderson Tallent, Fifty years ago Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan founded a program of studies at St. John's College in Annapolis. We are here tonight to celebrate that program, a program dedicated to the proposition that men are educable, a program grand in its aspirations and full of good sense in the ways in which it lays out its specific course of studies. Though it is difficult to imagine its having been instituted anywhere except the United States, the allegiance to the program may be found in the minds and hearts of thoughtful men everywhere. Two men are particularly linked with both the aspirations and the matter of the program, Mr. Buchanan and Jacob Klein. Mr. Buchanan was a quintessential Yankee, Mr. Klein a Russian Jew. Without the imprint of these two extraordinary men we would have no program. For all of us-alumni, faculty, and studentswho have studied the program with some care there is no tension in this heritage other than that implicit in the nature of discourse and study. Fifty years is a long span of time in the ordinary train of human events. Many students and many teachers have come and gone since those waning years of the great Depression, years already shadowed by the imminence of the second great war of the century. Technical changes both beneficent and terrifying have multiplied at a geometric rate these fifty years. Money and bombs can be mutually exchanged anywhere in no time at all. There has been a certain progress in the medical lengthening of our lives. Politics remains the same, though more expensive-a change in quantity that affects the quality. We are all tempted to say on many occasions as we grow older: tutto declina-everything is going to pot. The phrase belongs most properly in the mouth of Falstaff, in Verdi's opera. Verdi himself was of course at a remarkably advanced age to have been writing such an ebullient marvel. Falstaff is something of a fool, though a self-conscious one. He is also shrewd, no dumbbell. He contemplates his youth, his salad days when he was young and thin, a fetching page for the Duke ofN orfolk. The comedy for him and for us who are getting older consists in confusing our own waning powers with whatever there is out there that is perennial and young: love, romance, energy, glory, intellect, and sharp vision. It takes a certain distance to realize how perennially fresh this program remains as generations of students pursue its disciplines and goals. The senior classes it has been my pleasure to teach in recent years thrust in front of me the fact that this is not an experimental program but a program that works, and works for an amazing range of people. A class which discusses Valery and Wallace Stevens "'.'ith acumen and passion consisted a mere four years ago of highschool students, some where it should be pointed, let us examine its good sense. Its entrancing folly we will look at last. The daily round of its tutorials and laboratories is a slogging through elementary things slowly and methodically. There has never been any reasonable doubt as to what these elements are and where they lie. They are found underneath the common skills of daily life: the grammar, rhetoric, and logic of language, the reasoning and structures of mathematics, the daily experience of nature, the rhythm and tones of music. From the very beginning fifty years ago it was deemed essential that modem science be dealt with, both as theory and as a world of objects to be sensed and measured. Mfil1¥who are not acquainted with our regular classes find what I just said vague and just a bit pious. The very term ''liberal arts" is such a casual catch-all for almost any curriculum. There has also always been the vulgar and catchy phrase which would describe the program as the "great books course." People then quite naturally are apt to be either aghast or delighted to find that elementary does mean elementary. Sentences are to be parsed, congruence of triangles to be proved, nitrates to be distinguished from nitrites, the lack "These fifty years have shown the freshness, the good sense, d h d f h an t e gran eur 0 t e program. There is no history of the program, apart from aJ1 of US, oJd d h h an young, w 0 ave passed through it." of a urinary bladder in a bird to be noted, YankeeDoodletobe played on a musical scale constructed on a monochord. Tutorialareclasses with stubborn simple things to leam. What of whom knew no is studied in them is gra=ar, and whose not arbitrary. The procherished books, de- iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiO gram has never subpending on the generation, were Catcher in the scribed to the kind oflooseness which finds JYe, and Lord ofthe Rings. Only too often these ·· that it makes little difference what is studied as would be accompanied by that ever-present long as it is done with conviction and provides virago, Ayn Rand. One of our duties as tutors a "learning opportunity." What is studied in is to realize what can happen, to be aware of all these classes at the college is not cultural, nor.. that does happen in these four years. I would intended to be a sµbstitute for experience of hope that the program would retain its luster the world. For fifty years neither history nor for those of us who have spent our adult lives the fine arts have had a place on the program. in it. The reasons for the efficacy of the pro- Elementary education has neither the intengram should now be stated. But before we talk tion nor the time to expose students to th of its grand aspirations, which keep it pointed vast panoply of splendors which the wo exhibits, though a certain necessary nostalgia is present because we don't look at Chinese painting or the French and Russian revolutions, or, in general, leam to appreciate what a sophisticated man appreciates. There has been no faltering these fifty years that there be tutorials in language in mathematics, that there be laboratories, and (for thirty-four years) that there be music tutorials. As for modernity, we study its roots in Baudelaire, Hegel, Marx, Freud, and Einstein more thoroughly than any other undergraduate course in the country. The program does not change in essential ways. This is not because of stultification; the program stays as it is because it has its roots in reasonable judgments as to what is elementary. The tutorials and the laboratories often employ manuals and similarly uninspired materials. This again makes good sense if the learning of elements requires help, which it so often does. The program has always had the obligation to exercise a student in matters that in certain countries were traditionally dealt with in high-schools, gymnasia, or Iycees. Tutorials are, however, fixed on splendors. The grandest books are read: Baudelaire, the inventor of modem sensihUity. Einstein and Dedekind, Sophocles, and Lavoisier, and, .itl the freshman language tutorlBl, Plato's Meno, which deals with the crux ofhowmenleam :~and how they deal with what they leam. texts are read slowly and at length. They chosen as exemplifying the highest expresof the liberal arts, whether they be by speare, Euclid, Pascal, Newton, or \1\ese e are nearing the entrancing folly of the Sancho Panza plods through the of elementary gra=ar, logic, rhetoric, atics, and laboratory while simultasly Don Quixote canters on, reading Plato after three months of gra=ar, and ein after only the slightest acquaintance ·.:Maxwell's equations. If we leave the tutothe quest becomes more quixotic. The read Homer straight off on their ento the school, and the nearly unreadable text of Hegel's Phenomenology is the roadblock the freshman language tutorial but also prowhich seniors encounter as they begin their last vides the clue to how learning is thought to year. The good sense of the plodding part of come about in this program of ours. Let us the program and the enormous difficulties in list certain things that this implies: No answers dealing with the true elements cannot be coped given but every possible opportunity for an with without the ever-receding goal of encom- answer is provided, if there be an answer. Willpassing the very beast that has been set down ingness to live with the skepticism that may in writing. Sancho Panza and Don Quixote follow upon this. Wit, irony, and shrewd obbelong together. The death of the knight leaves servations as to what any particular person is capable of answering, given that person's make-up. Seriousness deeper than faith concerning this natural life-giving endeavor of the intellect and the heart. Living with and putting up with the open-ended and never-ending quest that lies behind conversation and argument. It is all these habits that lie behind our program, not any set doctrine of Platonic "ideas" or Platonic "politics." A certain role is then envisaged for a teacher or a tutor in this program. He may or may not be an expert in some field of knowledge. In class, with the help of books, materials, and instruments, he provides opportunities for learning, and he himselfleams as the perennial conversation flows. This is the lie of the program and hence of the college. It could be done just as well if we hired a bunch of twofamily houses and furnished them with chairs, tables, and blackboards . These past several years or so when I was on he search committee for our new presidents, Sancho bereft. Without Sancho the world is traveling around and talking to a great variety only half there, even though his shrewd horse- of people, it has been illuminating to me to sense is well up to ruling his "island." note that the program is known and widely For fifty years a proposition has been voiced respected for what it is, and not for what it is that the books are the teachers. A certain infer-· not. I have had the same experience in talking ence follows from this: Everyone in a class is a to many artists, writers and composers whom learner, including the tutor. This inference is I know as a director of an Artists Colony. What not quixotic. It is founded not only on the we are commands respect. Every college from importance of the books that are read but also here to Peoria exposes its students to a mixed on the understanding of how things are menu of liberal arts, fine arts, history, and, in learned-on an understanding of the soul. general, appreciation of what is appreciable. It Learning is not necessarily play, as some would would be foolish of this college to attempt have it, but it certainly involves activity on the any such thing. It would also be impractical, part of the learner. Opportunities for learning since most colleges and junior colleges are betmust be placed in front of the student, his ter qualified than we are to offer cultural educaopinions tested and challenged. It is for this tion. The more serious objection would be that reason that Plato's Meno is not only the core of I l ' continued on pg. 10 6 THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY. 7 ' I I �The Most Attractivel Most Virtuousl Most Intelligent, Most Random Tutors Begone Dull Carel An annual tradition! Once Again, Judy and Tony Seeger, Chaester Burke, Tina Davidson, Henry Higuera, Cary Stickney and Jon Tuck will be pickin' and singin' in the Great Hall to enliven the winter doldrums. Mr. Grenke made us put him in this list. He said he'd break us in two if we didn't. No, really. He said he would. He'd break down the Gadfly door and crush us between his very large hands. And anyway, what do you say to a man who could carry a life-size bronze statue of himself. But seriously, who could resist a man that even Rabelais would have approved of? Mr. Grenke ... you da man! Mr. Borjesson has been wowing the college with his tenor voice for years. He has also been wooing the College with his insightful comments about Shakespeare. Who knew the Bard of English Literature was so full of subtle innuedos? Mr. Harrell or Mr. Black. We're pretty sure it's Mr. Harrell. It doesn't really matter, though. They're both hot. We hear he likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So for all you Buffy-ites out there, talk to him about maybe starting up a club. Mr. May. We love Mr. May. Who doesn't love Mr. May?! His gorgeous smile and musical personality have been winning the hearts of students for years. And don't forget his perfect diction. Or that he knows everybody's name. He's a regular superman. Do you think he could help us with our Mystery Tutor? Aahh, Ms Kronsberg. We know her, we love her. Remember the days when she was the Assistant Dean, and you used to walk into her office just to 'Say, "Hi"? These days Ms Kronsberg is apparently teaching a Febbie class. Do they really know how lucky they are? We bet they do! Mr. Datchev has the greatest haircut on campus. All the males on the campus would kill for this hair. And the females ... ! mean. I could go on and on about his haircut. In fact I will. All day long. Cause we have space to fill. I mean ... damn stream of conciousness writing! That's what happens when you're writing a newspaper after reading Kerouac ... 8 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . Come see Judy sing the blues, Henry channel John Lennon, Chester play a zillion instruments, and Cary offend the entire state of Arkansas! Our bestiary includes foxes, whales and hippos! This Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2:00 pm, The Great Hall ' i rew Baisch tells us this is Ms Higuera. We Ms Buchenauer's strong, animat personality does not go unnoticed our staff. We don't really know tha:. much about her, but our bubblegu; was just drawn to her sharp and becoming profile. }t know for sure, but we'll take his word for it. ides, she has a nice smile. And she does ng doughnuts to her classes periodically. o doesn't like doughnuts? Therefore, who doesn't like this tutor? QED . We took a picture of this man, but the combined knowledge of the Gadfly staff, all three of us, did not extend to actually know his name. We thought maybe it was Mr. Maistrellis. Anyways, we're not sure, but the gum fell on his head, so we had to put him in. And besides, he looks like James Bond! C'mon, can't you see it? .............................. . THE GADFLY. 9 i I'• �continued from pg. 7 Lecture Entertaining,, ut Locking in Content the program would be diluted. It should be clear that without this program we are nothing in particular, though Annapolis and Santa Fe are charming towns and the local cultures of some interest. B Christonher Utter, '06 will probably guess 30 or 40 million. And Y r . . 1 I was delighted when I arrived here thirty- Staff Writer the same phenomenon occurs 1f a dta or some other unintelligent source indicates five years ago, one hot afternoon after riding the bus down from Baltimore, fresh from four The twentieth annual Andrew Steiner '63 the number, so it cannot be simple trust years as a professional musician, to walk into a memoriallecture was delivered (appropriately in the authority figure. The verbal equivaremarkably messy office and to begin talking enough) by his friend, mathematician John lent is exhibited by a Lily Tomlin routine to someone who did not consider music to be Allen Paulos. Paulos is lecturer in Math- in which she asks people in the audience the most important thing in the world. This ematics at Temple University, and has writ- how olive oil, palm oil, and peanut oil are was one of the principal reasons for my com- ten several books, one of which, A Math- made, and then asks about baby oil, the ing to St. John's. The program is and always ematician Reads the Newspaper, was the subject point being that people are very easily inmust be dedicated to the excellences of the rea- of his lecture. The talk, like the book, was a fluenced by what they see and hear. Anson. That there are other splendors is too ob- commentary on fallacious, misleading, and other example of people's confusion revious, one would think, to be argued. These non-existent mathematics in the news. garding numbers is the fact that most various splendors do not negate each other, Paulos introduced each basic area with a head- people do not properly conceive of the but the program rightly insists that there is a line, for example, "Recession Forecast if difference between very large numbers, hierarchy of them. We may not need Aristotle Steps not Taken," and talked on a related even if, and especially when, they differ to rank them for us, but he is a great help. mathematical subject. In this example, he by a great deal. One million seconds is There is also implicit in the program another brought up the fact that chaos theory pro- about eleven and a half days, but one bilperennial question having to do with the high- hibits anything resembling an accurate pre- lion seconds is about 32 years. In other est excellences. It takes the form of a kind of diction in the economy, but even without words, people are not very bright, or, at debate, or better still a conversation, as to the taking this into account, linear equations can- least, not particularly wary. He concluded ends of the intellectual excellences are they aimed not be useful in such a complex system with by emphasizing the fact that the general at the theoretical or the practical? so many variables. "You will never hear Pe- news questions, i.e., who, what, where, 'This may be stated more formally as enquiring ter Jennings say," said Paulos, "that the Dow etc., are hardly ever supplemented by their about the relationship between the moral and intel- went down 280 points without saying why, mathematical equivalents, how many, lectual virtues. Are we preparing for citizenship or even though it would be simpler to tell the how likely, at what rate, and many other for something higher, more open-ended, more truth: I don't know." He stressed the num- useful queries. But, unfortunately, as beguilingandentrancinglymoredangerous?Sucha ber of false predictions and statistics in the Paulos said, "it is amazing how quickly tension arises from the nature of the intellectual news, some meant purposely to mislead the people's eyes glaze over when someone e,'Ccellences. It is a philosophic question. public. For example, during the 0.J. mentions a statistic." People do not ask Tue college, ifone can speak ofit apart from the Simpson trial, Alan Dershowitz objected to these questions because they are not inprogram, must always be chary of making claims the use of the fact that Simpson had beaten terested. This is not to say that we should for its graduates. The program is no panacea for his wife as evidence because only one in one not read the newspaper at all, but, rather, success rnecessary for preparation for good citizen- thousand abusive husbands kills his wife. how important it is to question what we ship. It also cannot teach anyone to think "But," said Paulos, "Nicole was murdered." what we do read. The lecture was peppered -These fifty years have shown the freshness, the And the other corresponding statistic is that, with jokes, which was its best point. One gvod sense., and the grandeur offu,~ prograxn. There of battered women who are murdered, 80% joke on statisticians toward the beginning is no history of the program, apart from all of us, have been killed by their husbands. But, ran, "three statisticians went duck hunting; old and young, who have passed through it. If we then again, he also pointed out the fact that the first fired six inches too far left, the secare ashamed of this program, or bored with it, or statistics often vary according to the inter- ond SL"!: inches too far right, causing the third unhappy that it does not encompass a greater range ests of the group producing them. One of to jump up and say 'we've got him!"' The of cultural splendors, we have been poor students the main problems apart from misleading lecture was entertaining and interesting, both indeed. Its aspirations and humble good sense are information is a public which is too easily good qualities in a lecture, but unfortunately meant as a guide to all who would pay attention to misled. Toward the beginning of the lee- it was sorely lacking in a far more important their better selves. It is often an aid for those who ture, Paulos pointed out that people hzve area. content. T'ne lecture was basically a plug have not noticed what they came equipped with, been shown consistently to be influenced for his book, which would be fine in anwho have no need to recollect from what race they by the first number they see. He gave the other context, but not at a school. The lecare sprung We need not be abashed at being differ- example of the estimation of the popu- ture is meant to be part of the curriculum, ent, nor should we boast too fervently of or suc- lation of Turkey, and that, if one group is and so must have some relevant idea or incesses. We are a small place and the program will asked before hand whether it is greater or formation. However, I found the lecture never swamp the world What it does is too nor- less than 280 million, they may guess just entertaining enough to excuse the lack mal, to eA"iraordiruiry, and toolittleinterestedin suc- around 220 million, but if asked whether of subject matter, even though it is not at cess. Let's hope it will never lose its great-souledness. it is greater or less than five million, they all what I would call "model." 10 OH nd ter: Vegetarianism an Liberal Education? a By Claire Voyance I'm writing in response to the recent DC decision to fund a Vegan/Vegetarian Club. It bothers me that the College is giving money to an organization that clearly creates a bias towards other students and exists only to alienate itself from the rest of the student body. Historically, Vegans and Vegetarians have been associated with white, middle-class Americans. They are often associated with people who wear sandals in winter, and who wear flannel shirts in summer. Are these the kinds of freethinking, neo-hippie, treehugging leftist individuals we feel should be allowed to attend the College? How can Amy Taylor, Ar- Every year billions of potatoes are slaughtered in the name of vegetarianism. chon of the club, sit in class among her "peers" and consider seriously the ideas they offer, knowing, as she does, that she is in a room full of animal-killing, bloodthirsty maniacs? Does Ms. Taylor, to whom, I should point out, I've never actually spoken or seen, accurately represent the rest of the V /V club when she says, "I believe that eating Vegetarian and Vegan food is an ethical, healthy alternative [to the ravaged, bloated carcasses of mammals.]" And what about the Vegans who aren't represented in the V /V club? Vegans who are lactose intolerant, for example, but who condone the slaughter of"cute" animals like pigs and cows? This kind of discrimination is exemplary of this kind of activistic, dosed-minded person, un-\villing to accept the mealtime prerogatives of other students. Another thing that bothers me is the socalled "alliance" between the students who participate in the "Environmental Club" and the new V /V club. Now, I've never actually been to an environmental club meeting, but I heard this one kid in my math class say tliat he felt alienated and alone because he ate meat at one of their meetings. Are other St. John's College organizations not welcome? What about the Crew team, or the Melee club? There are plenty of other organizations on campus the V /V club might have joined forces with. But did they? No. Imagine if you will a Vegan Culinary institute somewhere in California. Imagine a group of students decide to go get hamburgers one evening, without inviting the other students. They have clearly violated the sacred ideals of their place of learning, and alienated themselves from their peers. In short, I wonder whether the V /V club should be allowed to be an organization at St. John's College, and whether Ms. Taylor should continue as their Archon. But let's open the table for discussion. I suggest a· Forum on "The role of Dietary Choice in a Liberal Education." Top Ten Complaints of Socrates' Wife, Xanthippe 10. "He's a bad parent my kids are sick to 5. ''H:e had a fling with an older woman. death of music and gymnastics and besides he 'She was a priestess who instructed me in the swears like a Phoenician sailor." ways oflove,' he said. Sounds pretty kinky if 9. "Becomes unusually reticentin the presence you ask me." of Strangers." 4. "Regarding that last one, he wasn't exactly 8. ''H:e is incessantly analyzing the relation- the most apt pupil, if you catch my drift!" ship, asking '\V'hat do you mean by that...." 3. "Ugly ain't so bad But ugly and poor is a 7. "He always owes somebody something. total deal-breaker." For example, he owes a cock to Asclepius. God 2. ''H:eneverasks for directions. 'J\1y immorknows when he'll pay him back. And he won't talsoulrecollects!'heinsists." apologize properly either-he never does." 1. "Everyooeknows the man's a total Sophc 6. "Whenlaskhimwhostolethelastpieceof ist." baklava, he says 'all I know is that I know nothBy: Tim Pomarole, A'98 ing,' and !Zrins." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 11 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '" �Some Reviews of Some Stuff By Sarah Wilson, '06 Staff Writer Stuff Do you ever lie awake at night in a cold sweat wondering if you are hip and/ or how you could be hipper? If the answer to either or both of these questions is yes, then I recommend you check out The Hipster Handbook by Robert Lanham. Even if the answer is no, but you would like to better understand someone in your life who insists upon listening to Tom Waits incessantly, perpetually quoting Camus' The Stranger, droning on and on about ''Buffalo 66" and worrying about whether or not their favorite bands are becoming too popular, you might find it useful This handy little book is sleek and easy to carry so you can have it with you in social emergencies and has a nifty bright blue cover for those of us reduced to quivering masses by flashy things. This book is a thorough anthropological study of hipsters; what they look like, what they do, what they say, what music they listen to, what they read, what films they watch. It begins with a list of 11 clues that you are a hipster and another list of 11 clues that you are not a hipster, so that you can identify your standing before embarking upon further study. It then explains hipster slang, so that you won't be caught using the wrong terms and sounding fin when trying to impress that deck Cronkite or tassel at the gallery opening. Translation: so you won't sound lame when_ trying to impress that cool boy or girl at the gallery opening. By using this glossary, you can tailor your speech so that only people hip enough to be worthy of your attention can understand what your on about! How cool, er, I mean deck, is that? From there, you learn about various types of common hipsters, from WASHes to UTFs to CK-1 s and beyond. The easy to follow guide walks you through the attire, dispositions, background, education, philosophy etc. common to different hipster personality types. Many Johnnies might consider looking at the Polit and Loner types and seeing if these types sound familiar for any reason. You will also find useful advice about what type of drinks to order at the bar, beers most favored by hipsters, the proper brands of cigarettes and clothing, how to do your hair and makeup, how to decide on the correct piercings and tattoos, how to eat, what movies, books and records to brush up on, and of course behavior and styles to avoid. You will even 12 . THE GADFLY find some dating advice, practical information about how to have a successful job interview and how to throw a dinner party and other tantalizing tid-bits. You also might be interested in discovering what parts of the city nearest you home hipsters hang out in, so you can go and join them. Once you have studied sufficiently, you can take the test at the end to find out if you are in fact deck, or still fin. I would highly recommend this book to look through on occasions when you have spent ten minutes reading the same sentence in Aristotle over and over again and still find yourself unable to process it. At times like this a little humor and reading of mindless drivel can help a frustrated student regain their focus. I would recommend it because everyone knows how much fun it is to label and pigeonhole oneself and others, and, as all clever people know, affectation trumps genuineness in any situation. in its serenity amid the shouts of the vendors and the babble of conversations. The expressions on the people's faces look tired and overwhelmed by the nonstop activity surrounding them. The vibrant nature of the colors, in addition to providing a palpable sense of motion and energy to a still painting, also sucks viewers into the street scene to experience it themselves. One can feel the heat of the sun and smell the aroma of sweat and cooking food. Onlookers can hear the vendors calling them, trying to lure them to their stalls with deals on their merchandize. One can see the colors glistening in the sun and feel the dirt beneath one's feet and the items in one's hands. Through the use of color and shape, Lawrence provides those who view his painting with a vibrant glimpse into a day in a bustling market, looking at both the scene as a whole and the individual figures he portrays. ·- -=.... ca (,) c:::: =u .Cl c.:> Q) ""' CL Ln Cl) RI -=. > .... ·- CG "' C) b4 CD ..... ftl .0 ...... c «S CD u .... cu cu ..... "' CL = = 0 .., = = ·co CG ::s .... a .c: e ...... .c ·-it - Cl) - ftJ "CS Q) CD CL en I .ct C'G co RI C'G -c::::t ·~ ·Cl) s:: C'G .... ·-" c: -· ~ fB ~ udn ~o~SO~ ~~~i;-; ·- ~~lli~! > =- ~~~i~ >- -i;i~~ - ~~i~~ ~ ...... = ......., ...·- = '"~!~, cu c: cu ~ .a:: Cl) C'O >< ~ ca u ~ i:C 8 33 f2~EEg §81~ ~ Other Stuff Jacob Lawrence's 1964 painting Street to Mbari, is a stunning whirl of color and activity. It depicts the bustle of a market place as the figures sell and buy fruits, fabrics, and livestock, while others eat, talk, and care for their children. It is a scene of tremendous life energy, but also a look at tired individuals as they navigate their way through the busy street. The colors red, white, blue, black, brown, green, and yellow that dominate the image provide it with continuity. This continuity creates the feeling of the market being one vast organism, a living, breathing thing that is indivisible. In this sense, the people all blend together in the hubbub of activity, interaction, and commerce. Anyone who has ever entered a busy shop or market knows the feeling of loosing oneself in the action. While the recurrence of prominent colors creates a linking continuity, the sharp lines and distinct shapes emphasize the individuals depicted. Each person seems to have his or her own story and identity. A viewer's eyes are drawn to the man leading goats down the street and called upon to wonder what he is thinking about. One wonders how much the man holding up the yellow fabric will sell it for and how hungry the figures eating rice were before they acquired their meal. The mother caring for her children located in the middle of the painting on the left hand side of the street is also a stand-out individual amongst the chaos. This is a quiet and tranquil scene that seems isolated i I I, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 13 �my Stone R a 1ngs ll By Jen Silgals, resident Greek Flashcai:d Tarot reader Staff W1·iter Aries Mar. 21 - April 19 This is one of those weeks where everything seems to be going right. Your ideas are always right, and your sixth sense is blooming. Keep your self confidence levels high and the world is yours. Smile. Smiles make you look like you know what you're doing. the computer games and DVDs and write your math paper. You'll thank me later. Libra Sept. 23 - Oct. 23 Taurus April 20 - Mqy 20 Three cheers for good moods! The stars are happy this week, as should you be. It's a good week for turning things around. Try being an optimist these next seven days. A simple attitude adjustment can mean the world. A shining sun makes it all that easier. Gemini Mqy 21 -June 21 Perfectionism paves the road to insanity. Don't drive yourself crazy over little details. Relax, otherwise, while stressing out you may miss something important. Let life lead you where it does this week. Don't be afraid to sit back and watch. Cancer June 22 - Ju!J 22 It's time to come out of your winter hibernation and show yourself for who you really are. Maybe you have a secret talent, or just a secret in general, that you've been dying to share. I'm all ears. Go ahead, sing it out! Or just h~. .'.12" HTu.-r~.J..,_'flg is good. Leo Ju!J 23 -Aug. 22 Clashes happen. \Vhether a small confrontation, or a gigantic blow out, you have to be prepared to take things as they come. Keep strong and sew up those old boxing gloves. As long ::i.s you keep in the fight, you can come out victorious. Virgo Aug. 23 - Sept. 22 You are a slacker. You know it, I know it. Procrastination is the name of the game. Now, however, ·comes the time for you to get off your slack butt and get things done. Put away 14 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . So, you wanna save the world this week? Maybe you should tone that goal down a bit and try for cleaner streets or better food in the Dining Hall (hint, hint) All that really matters, though, is that you focus your energy... then, you can do anything! Scorpio Oct. 24 - Nov. 21 Openness is the buzzword of your astrological week. Keep and open mind in Seminar and open eyes while doing your work. Be open to new experiences and people. Open the window when B'n'G turn the heat up too high. You get my drift. Sagittarius Nov. 22 - Dec. 21 "Things fall apart, they fall apart so hard ... You can't ever put tl1em back the way they were."* You don't ask for the problems you face and you can't expect everything to turn out perfe::t h""l t..lie end, but you <::'.11'. still find ~n active role in making things better. your current situation. Hunt it down and then use it for an excuse to throw a really big party. You know you wanna. Pisces Feb. 19 - Mar. 20 Looks like you've got a good week ahead of you. Don't worry too much about the past or get lost in the future. Focus on today. There's so much here in the present, just waiting for you to notice it. Put on your glasses and have a good time. Capricorn Dec. 22 - Jan. 19 Welcome to your spuia! time! Everything this week is magical. Take advantage of this wave of luck and take life for a joy ride. It's a good tini.e to start living to the fullest Just remember to floss after meals and sleep every once in a while. Aquarius Jan. 20 - Feb. 18 Okay, so things haven't turned out exactly as you planned. It tends to happen that way. Still, there has to be something redeemable in . ............... . Lectures: The Newest Endangered Species By Daniel Schwartz, '06 Staff Writer Student attendance of lectures here at St. John's seems to be the exception rather than the rule. At a college which promotes itself through its seminar, the lecture is dying. Students attend from time to time, rather than skip from time to time. And I know of only a few students, besides myself, who refuse to miss a lecture. On a good day, the auditorium might be half full. On a bad day, the scene is just horrifying. Sometimes, it seems more students attend the Saturday film than the lecture on the previous day. In fact, lectures are sufferi.ng so badly that I have heard students on numerous occasions ask at what time the lecture is to begin, as if they were finally considering attending their first lecture. Something or somebody is strangling the lecture. What? Who? Why? And what can the heroic few among us do to save it? First let us lay down the common rationalizations: 1.) They don't know about the topic, 2.) They have something else to do, 3.) They are not interested in the topic. 1.) But if a student does not know about the topic, then he especially needs to see the lecture. One does not learn more about a topic by skipping a lecture about that topic. This would be like refusing to read an author, because one doesn't know about the author. How are you ever goi.11g to learn about the author if you don't read him? 2.) Nothing else you might have planned is as important as lecture. Never make plans for Friday njghts; always make room for lecture. 3") Does one skip seminar if one is not interested in the topic? Then why would one skip lecture for this reason? If one wants to be knowledgeable, then one has to learn about some things that might not be of interest. These are nothing more than rationalizations, and there is a deeper reason why students feel it is acceptable to skip lectures. But first let us examine why one should attend lectures. Clearly, one learns important knowledge from a lecture that one might never get by just reading the great books. One might read Faust and never know that Goethe was also a scientist; one might read Spinoza and never know that he was excommunicated. But this is not what makes the lecture vital to one's education. A lecture helps one's listening skills. It takes Work to keep one's focus through a whole lee- ture. I tis a skill that everyone needs to practice. But this is not what makes the lecture vital to one's education. A lecture prepares one to read the Great Books. If one sees a lecture on Darwin and afterwards reads Darwin, one has a better idea of what to look for while reading. A lecture sets context. But this is not what makes the lecture vital to one's education. A lecture synthesizes. At any instant of reading a book, a student can only tackle one point at a time. One does not always realize what integrations can be made between what one is currently reading and what one has already read. But a tutor or professor, whether Johnnies like to admit this or not, knows more than a student and is better able to discover and explicate the connections among books. I doubt most students, without a lecture, would make a connection between Machiavelli and modem science (speaking for myself, Mr. Higuera persuaded me of that much, though I am still doubtful that it was a direct influence by Machiavelli). For, as Aristotle says in his Nicomachean Ethics, "If it were not that way, there would have been no need of a teacher." (1103b10) A student is a student, and his teachers know more tlun he, or ought to" Through the lecture, then, a student can benefit from the lecturer's years of study in a single sitting, just as society benefits from past discoveries and inventions and does not have to rediscover the wheel. But even this is not •vhat makes the lecture vital to one's education. What makes lectures vital, especially here at St. John's, has to do with method. A good lecture shows by example how to effectively structure a complex thought. One does not naturally think in an organized manner, and communication of thoughts even once organized is no easy task. A lecture, tl1en, shows by example how to explain complex ideas both orally and in writing. Indeed, the same principles used by a good lecturer apply in our classes. Students cannot just speak ideas as they happen to come to them; they must structure their thoughts and explain them in a comprehensible manner. This is not automatic, and the best way to learn is by watching people who know how to do it in action. Of course, iflectures are no good one will not benefit from them. The lecturers, then, have just as much a responsibility as the students. In fact, I suspect tl1e reason for poor attendance is partially the quality of the lectures. What makes a good lecture? One that provides the benefits listed above: knowledge, integration of ideas, and the ability to express ideas well. But I suspect, too, there is something more ominous behind the poor attendance. The main cause is the dogma that everything important can be learned through conversation. As a result of this belief, students see lectures as something extra and unnecessary. But nothing could be further from the truth. Students who do not learn from lectures how to express their ideas will not be able to do so in conversation. Classes will turn into arguments blown by the wind's whim. If I've managed to persuade you with any of these points, I will just remind you that lectures are every Friday at 8:15 in FSK Save the lecture, for your own good. 47 State Circle $1 .00 off any Potato Hours: l 0 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday 11 :30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 15 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 have a whole lotta height on their ball club, are you with me? The undaunted Ms. N0 tes 1s an Abstract Expressionist of basketball. Other coaches have difficulty scouting his teams, because he does not believe in a set offense. He likes his offense free-form. He tell his boys to spread out and keep the ball moving. "Just go fast, stay out of one another's way, pass, move, come off guys, look for one-on-ones, towon-twos, three-on-threes. That's about the extent." That is in fact, about the substance of basketball, which is almost never played as a five-man game anymore but is, rather, a constant search, conducted semi-independently by five players, for smaller combinations that will produce a score." From: "A Sense of Where You Are," By John McPhee Speaking of one-on-ones: the results of our own one-on-one tournament are 1n. In the A division, perennial alpha dog, the Waves Jerry Januszewski defeated Mr. Stewart (who, by the way upset Marco Powell) to take the title. In the very tough men's B division, another Wave, ]\fr. Peterson outlasted the hard-playin old geez Mr. Housley. And in the women's division, Ms. Schrick narrowly defeated Ms. Vermaak in a grueling contest of endurance. Coming up this Sunday: The very popular two-on-two. Sign up in the gym. Oh, almost forgot to mention it: because of his superb play in the one-onone, and his dorninant play all season long in the men's basketball league for Tsunami, Mr. Peterson is named Athlete of the Week for the men. Athlete of the \V'eek honors for the women goes to the unsung Ms. Dowling of the irrepressible Daughters of Camilla. Ms. Dowling has the difficult job of filling the middle for the D.C.'s, who don't 16 Dowling has done a great job all season l.J;l,t1(lti.)ttll:).~ml:5{'A!n<tet:bj~ei<kl>•·.llie playing defense and rebounding at both ends, battling all the while against some much taller opponents. And then in D.C.'s last game against the Amazons, Ms. Dowling discovered an appetite for scoring as well, and lit up the board with 10 points. Putting the Spotlight on 'President' Dobbyn By Cathy Keene, '06 Editor Freshman Mike Dobbyn gets to be our first ever Student of the Week simply because he was kidnapped by ninjas. In the recent novice-produced movie Bad Dudes, an evil gang of ninjas captures the president of the United States, played by Mike, in an attempt to destroy his "anti-ninja" bilL An infamous greaser-like duo, known as the Bad Dudes, is then called to help rescue him before it is too late. Following the plot of the original Nintendo game, the Bad Dudes are forced to fight several individual ninjas that eventually lead up to the Head Ninja that stands between the1n and the President's survival. Mike and seven of his longtime high school friends produced this 30-minute comedy "just for fun" last year. Although it was entertaining, none of them expected the movie to be officially released. That's why it came as a great shock when the New York International Independent THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . ' .. ' ' ' . ' . . . ' . . . . . . ' . One Bad Dude Film and Video Festival announced that it would be showing Bad Dudes at its annual presentation in New York City, April 2-12. Prizes ..-.:Jill be give11 to the best actors and producers at the Festival, and several casting companies, including Miramax, will be present to view the films. Mike admits that there is a good chance Bad Dt1des will win an exceptional award at the Festival, simply because he is now our first Student of the Week. � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gallimore, Cooper Nathaniel (Editor in Chief) Keene, Cathy (Co-Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXIV Issue 17 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-02-11 Description An account of the resource Volume XXIV, Issue 17 of The Gadfly. Published February 11, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 24 #17 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/4e8c86924b01918b61bb7f4dd1852c84.pdf c945a179a796ff2d6a82f4b8cc67053a PDF Text Text ������� 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 12 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, 2003-2004 Farewell Issue Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2004 Description An account of the resource Special Farewell Issue of The Gadfly. Published in [May] 2004. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 Farewell 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/117410567a0c97ea01a83ca2b1eb68d4.pdf c1e288504abf87004032ba7c00b934af PDF Text Text FL HE The St. John} College Student TWeek{y Volume XXV, Issue 1 n p tit By Cathy Keene Editor in Chief Quick Recap: . After much grumbling last spring among . sttidents and food service workers alike, things .)lidnot seem to be going well for the St.John's ~~tt+ing provider, Bon Appetit. Complaints •concerning everything from poor nutritional ·.:~ue to the general surliness of employees were ,~}.~vetwhelming campus, and many students / 1v{die debating the soon-to-be reviewed contract ~~;:;~fthe company. By and large, things were students were getting ready to desert olis for summer break, St. John's was · g a selection committee to review Bon .'s contract and performance for itself. ppetit had just fulfilled its six-year t;nt as of the completion of the spring ~' so everyone was prepared for the n. 'c<;>:riimittee, consisting of Chairman ... 'ard, Treasurer Bud Billups, Graduate ~resident William Pastille, Director of ..ris John Christensen, Assistant Dean er, Director of Student Services :Ranson, and student representatives Annapolis, Maryland August 26, 2003 B IV nthe Ian Morochnick and Hayden Brockett, began the analysis in mid-May. The Process: "We started by asking other sniall MidA tlantic schools about their food service providers. That's how we came up with the original list of possible candidates," said Mr. Linhard. "[So] we sent the request for a proposal to six comp~nies: Bon Appetit, Aramark (the service the Santa Fe campus uses), Parkhurst, Chartwells, Sodexho, and Continental Caterers. Of those, Bon Appetit, Aramark, and Parkhurst responded." Once there were three companies officially in tl1e running, the committee organized a background check. Prices, other campuses, previous reports, and a description of the services of each business were examined. Afterwards, individual presentations were conducted. These were analyzed by the group as a whole. Mr. Linhard then received feedback from the committee before making his final decision. The Verdict: "There really seemed to be a consensus for Parkhurst," said l'vfr. Linhard. ''We heard very good things from their references, and the presentation they did went well. Bon Appetit has done an excellent job at bringing our food service and catering operations to a new standard [the past six years]. We look fon1ar::l to building on their progress with Parkhurst." What Parkhurst Says: '1 am very excited about this upcoming year at St. John's," said the general manager of Parkhurst, Ryan Varnum. "Parkhurst trys to focus on small, intimate schools and communities. We are not into becoming another corporate monster. We hope to buy most of our products locally and build a greenhouse with an herb garden at the College in the spring. We are thinking about changing our coffee vendor to City Dock or another local company. We are also trying to setup a system Continued on Page 3 �THE Gadfly Mailbox ..-GADFLY We're Back... Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene A Kindly Note to Freshmen . Ah, blessed St. John's - the land of milk We here at The Gac!ffy have a large amount o . and honey. Where Plato is discussed on a excess charity around, and we felt as though a : d~ily basis, ':"altz parties keep the Saturday good way to let a little loose was to give the . m~hts rocking, and students with messy Production Managers freshmen some heartfelt advice about : hair and sandals can be found playing Martin Anderson Convocation. Historically known as The Mea . croquet on front campus all hours of the Melissa Thomas Market,' Convocation was a way to check out : afternoon. It's good to be back. the looks of each new freshman, and, sad to Well, that's not entirely true. Some of Photographer say, the occasional catcall was heard. Two and a· : us couldn't even bear to leave this glorious Andrew Baisch half years ago, the Assistant Dean decided t · land for a week, let alone the whole have the January Freshman wear robes in Contributing to this Issue : summer. And that's how you have this desperate attempt to cut down on this kind o Hayden Brockett · Gac!f(y. In your mailbox, no less. (Don't nonsense. Unfortunately, the nature 0 Nick Colten : get used to it. Next week you can find The Convocation, being to some degre Rachel Gillis · Gac!ffy in a box in the coffee shop, just like Joy Kaplan unchangeable, has continued to be compose : last year.) Mary Townsend in part of upperclassmen curiosity. This · But don't dismay. We have made a certainly understandable and even to som : co_uple of_ changes. Like me being the extent desirable-you are about to join 0 · editor, for instance. And Ian McCracken is city. We want to know who you are, wheth : the new executive editor, so anyone who you seem virtuous or merely a little scrufl : remembers him being on staff a few years But now, we are limited in our scrutiny to yo . ago can rejoice. He has made his neck, head, and the eighteen inches that app Founded in 1980, the Gac!f!Y is the student weekly · triumphant return. below the hem of your academic robe. distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and · We are also. re-implementing section staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors come now to the main point of 0 .. ementl, members of the Board of Visitors and editors. So anyone who has worked as a exhortation. Sweet freshmen, heed o Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa . : staff writer before is welcome to apply for collective voice of experience. Ifyou are a · Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the . one of the positions. Just talk to Ian or wear a long skirt or dress pants if you have the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not : me before September 1. We'd love to hear and wear nice shoes; Heels that you are necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gac!f!Y · from you. ~taff. The C:ac!f!Y reserves the right to accept, re- . Any~ne who's interested in being on very experienced walking in can make that lo walk across the stage excruciating and wob Ject, :ind edit submissions in any way necessary to . ~taff this year (freshmen most definitely Don't wear flip-flops. If you are a boy, publish the most thoughtful, informative, and . included) can come to our first official thought-provoking newspaper which circum· T dress pants or plain long pants if you hav; : meeting, uesday, September 2, 4:30 pm stances at St. John's permit. · and wear nice shoes. Don't wear cargo p . in Room 109 of Barr Buchanan. (Don't Both sexes, no matter what, wear some : worry, I'm sure you've seen the posters by Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better that comes below your academic robe. Bo ch_ani;e ~fbeing published than those longer than . now.) Anyone who just wants to write something if you have to. Shoes that are this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for : periodically can also do so. Just send your hAffway decent look remarkably outlandish grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. . letters and stories to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com to black polyester. A plain academic robe, The Gac!f/y is not obligated to publish all submis- : before noon on Sundays. All input is of the most awkward garments there is; sions and will not print anonymous submissions . welcome. Even your hate mail. except under special circumstances. make a person look pretty crummy (or . Also, don't be surprised if some they didn't have any clothes on undeme . random reporter with a big grin and a Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Taxthese simple rules are not followed. On deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. : camera stops you on the quad and asks for walk across the stage, take care to walk. P!ease make _checks payable to the Gac!f!Y. For : yo~ thoughts and a picture. Please comply. smaller steps. Don't be afraid to take display advertisement prices and information, call . This deals with our new feature time. If you do these things, you ~···· 410-263-2371, x2212. · ]ohnnieSpeak. It gets your opinion and accord with the situation, feel : pretty face in the paper. Tell all your friends. comfortable being stared at by peop1 Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission Well, I guess that's it for The Gac!f(y not to be strangers, and make us all br for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions news. Here you go. It's our first issue. will be accepted as long as tltey are legibly writ- . Enjoy. little more easily. We say this because ten, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail subWe look forward to getting to know missions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail subof you. Welcome t~ the Polity of .S Cathy Keene missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. College. Editor in Chief Executive Editor Ian McCracken where students can use their meal plan for the coffee shop as well as the dining hall. All in all~ I think it's going to be a great year." What Bon Appetit Says: An Open Letter to the St. John's College Community: Thank you for the opportunity to have served as your food service provider over the last six years. We have enjoyed catering to this ,poique student body and being part of a worldclass college. ,~ At Bon Appetit, we believe food service ~~!yes a much lal'ger purpose than simply {~l'.tstenance. Dining rooms are gathering places. ·.,. . · · g b:t'ead together helps to c:t'eate a sense mm.unity and comfmt. We recognize the ~ant role we filled and took great care to t our position on the St. John's College s. will miss being part of your community. BonAppetit at Students Say: 11, I saw how Bon Appetit !an things," homol'e Rachel Gillis, former employee "sh pit. ''And I've heard about the new c:ompany. But I reserve judgment what they decide to change." in general happy about the change," rochnick. ''I think the entire college t Bon Appetit had to make some however, I feel as if the students' ~sn't properly represented in the ~ommittee. I think that, in itself, is School receives $1 OM, Students Rejoice By Cathy Keene Editor in Chief This just in: Everyone is ftltly rich. St. John} has enough monry to buy the Naval Academy. All tuition bills and loans have been canceled. Leatherbound copies of Shakespeare are being given awcry in the dining hall, and all the faculry and stcif are receiving complimentary summer homes in the Bahamas. Or something like that. For those of you who have not yet heard, Annapolis alum Ronald H. Fielding, class of 1970, has just made St. John's history. After ignoring current stock market standards, investment fund manager Fielding was able to build a $3 billion mutual fund organization from the bottom up. Then, upon selling his firm to become senior vice president and portfolio manager of a multi-billion dollar municipal bond division, Mr. Fielding felt that it was his turn to give something back to the community. With this goal in mind, in early August, Mr. Fielding became St. John's largest benefactor ever by donating an astonishing $10 million to the financial aid fund of the College. He claims this is his way of showing thanks to St. John's for the amazing education and financial aid package he had received when he was a student. ''My St. John's education has been invaluable in meeting my investment career challenges more than a quarter-century after completing business school," said Mr. Fielding. "I hope that my gift reflects my support for this unique institution and provides the leadership for a fund-raising campaign that ensures the college's future success and financial health." For poor college students everywhere, The Gadfly would just like to say, "Thanks for thinking about us, Mr. Fielding." Charter new clubs! Debate the "real" issues! Dole out your fellow student's money! Pretend to wield unlimited power! Run for a position on the delegate council. All Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors who have been on the St. John's College Annapolis Campus for one year may run. Representatives are required for each of the dorms and for off campus housing. Elections will be in two weeks. If you are interested in running or helping out with elections, contact Martin Anderson via campus mail or email martinanderson82@hotmail.com no later than September 5th. 2 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 �Rgnson' s Out, Kaplan's In Joy Kaplan SF'87 Becomes New Director of Student Services By Ian McCracken Executive Editor No sooner had Ms. Kaplan joined up than the first Gulf On September 1,Joy Kaplan will assume the War intervened. She position of Director of Student Services, was slated to be replacing Andrew Ranson, who held the office diverted to for two years. Ms. Kaplan, a graduate of Santa CzechoslovakiaFe who spent her sophomore year in her recruiter told her, Annapolis, also holds a B.S. and M.A. in ''We're not sending Education from the University of New Mexico. Jewish girls to Arab Her teaching career has led her all over the world, countries right but, as she puts it, "St. John's is the one now." She environment in which I felt totally at home." abandoned the Peace Mr. Ranson, who made the decision to leave Corps route and last year, will be flying to Thailand shortly after found a job at the September 1. "I've got a one-year open-ended American School in ticket, and I'm just going to go and see what Alexandria, Egypt, happens," said Mr. Ranson. "I have an interest teaching English, in Eastern philosophy, and Thailand is kind which turned into a of in the middle of everything, so I can go job teaching theater, a subject in which she had elsewhere if I want to." no training. She managed to wrangle funds to Originally from the Boston area, Ms. Kaplan attend a workshop in Vienna, after which she graduated from Santa Fe in 1987, where she worked with Hassan al Geretly, the leading encountered such tutors as Ms. Nancy avant-garde theatre director in Egypt. Buchenauer, her freshman Language tutor, and One morning she awoke to find three soldiers Mr. Verdi, het freshman Seminar tutor (in with guns outside her door, "for protection." .Annapolis? Mr. Stephenson was her Music Deciding it was time to leave, Ms. Kaplan tu~oi). She worked in a photo lab for a year relocated to Istanbul, where she again taught hefo~ entering the Santa Fe Intern Program at theater. The air was so bad in Istanbul, the Univer~ity of New Mexico, which was however, that she spent only eight months o.tjg:inally designed for Johnnies. "I really there before returning to the States. encoutageallSt. John's graduates to look into Finding herself somewhat at loose ends, Ms. it; it's really a great program," says Ms. Kaplan. Kaplan contacted an acquaintance she had made Participants spend a summer in an intensive at an intemational theatre festival in Paris, who seminar-based program and a year teaching with landed her a job in Japan, where she would a partner in a Santa Fe public school. Through remain for the next six years, teaching English this program, Ms. Kaplan received a B.S. in to housewives, businessmen, and teachers. In Education from UNM, a New Mexico teacher's one case, she was hired to teach English to a license ohnnies get licensed in 3 areas: math, Supreme Court Justice preparing for a visit science, and English, which is rare!), and the from Antonin Scalia-in part because she was ability to include a year's full-time teaching from Boston and Scalia was from Harvard experience on her resume. she was asked to teach the Japanese judge Ms. Kaplan was then invited to take part in English in a Harvard accent. In six weeks, no the UNM Graduate Intern Program, which less. awards its participants an M.A. and gives them Her most lucrative occupation in Japan was another year ofteaching experience. She focused correcting the English translations of scientists on teaching English as a Second Language preparing to give papers in the West. "My St. (ESL), after which she decided she wanted to John's background really came in handy there," become a translator of Arabic women's she said. ''I was able to do a much better job at literature. How to get to the Middle East? working through scientific papers than most The old Johnnie standby: the Peace Corps. English tutors." a 4 Changes to Seminar Readings By Ian McCracken Executive Editor Two things have been added to the first semester senior Seminar curriculum this year: The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and selections from Hegel's Logic. One Marx reading, consisting of 38 ~j!,ges from The German Ideology, has ~een .eliminated to make room; two Hegel readings ~~ve been shortened and combined. The •·· j@lSlior class now reads Spinoza before :f4~bniz. The freshman and sophomore ....· · gs appear unchanged. Ms. Kaplan returned to the United States · 2000, where she was hired by the Dalai Lam sister-in-law to teach English at a Tibet nunnery in northern India. The Dalai Lam sister-in-law neglected to inform them~' who ran the nunnery; they were, natur somewhat hostile to Ms. Kaplan upon arrival. This caused her to realize that she spent her entire career attempting to befri and assist people who really didn't like het. Ms. Kaplan came back to America experienced hardcore culture shock: smissed the 90's--computers, Seinfeld, Clin cell phones. But she had arrived just in for Homecoming 2002, which she atten Annapolis. That year also happened to 15-year reunion. She was apprehensive; only spent one year in Annapolis, she a no one would remember her. Sh surprised, however--everyone recogniz and she experienced a welcome feeling: was the one place I felt like I belonge Ms.Kaplan. She connected with a group of al communicate via the ]-list ( www.charm.net/ ~ bfant/johnny/ g and found the Director of Student position on the St. John's Web site.· She. and the rest is history. Ms. Kaplan plans to stay at St. Joliit' not going anywhere soon." We welc · Kaplan and wish her the best of luck.' · he members of the Instruction ·ttee, who make changes to Program · gs, do so at the suggestions of tutors, •. ty, and students. They constantly review discuss readings: "There are frequent discussions about Hume," says Dean Flaumenhaft. Sometimes a change e, only to be changed back after a few ''We generally let a change stay for a · s, to see whether it works," says Mr. nhaft. ·s year boasts one such change: Hegel's hich had been on the Program until years ago. Some tutors argue for exclusively from the Phenomenology but the IC chose to put the Logic ''The selection we read is a specific "ble example of Hegelian dialectic," ean. ''We'll do it for a few years so of tutors have done it both ways, we can weigh the advantages and tages, and make an educated r change that has been heatedly is the addition of the Communist ere are some who call it merely ·c pamphlet'," says the Dean. that the Capital is too dry and the bigger picture can easily get · osophy of history aspect, and . class struggle. The Manifesto prief. This time, those people enhaft says not to read too e order-swapping of Leibniz "Most often order changes are exigencies of scheduling," he weekend falls before a long reading one year, and not the next-that could lead to a change in order." One of the questions frequently revisited is the subject of second-semester sophomore Language and its Logic section. "'Something ought to be done' is said very often," says the Dean. We used to read parts of Aristotle that deal with syllogism and rhetoric, but apparently it took a lot of time, and there was concern that what students got for the time was not worth it. "Many believed that the study of formal logic did not have the practical effect of helping students to reason better," says the Dean. '~s a result, we have a large variation in the time spent on it, and large variation in how tutors do it." The major change made recently was the change in the order of sophomore Seminar four years ago. They would start with Virgil, go through the Romans, then read the Hebrew Bible and New Testament together. ''We had a big long discussion," said the Dean, "and came up with many reasons for and against. Those in favor felt that as the freshmen start with Homer, the sophomores should start with Virgil, which is the same sort of thing, but different. This allowed the sophomores to read the whole Bible together, in one piece. Those against felt that though the Romans were an alternative to the Greeks, they weren't that much of an alternative, and that the Bible was taken much more seriously as an alternative put right up front. Also, if the entire Bible is read together, the New Testament seems like a fulfillment of the Old Testament, instead of that being a question. Also, it was chronologically better." Some~es readings have to be sacrificed to make room for a broader spectrum of thinkers. ''It's a crime that we don't read Emile by Rousseau," says the Dean. "It's a crime that we don't read Plato's Laws freshman year, it's a crime that we don't read Maimonides sophomore year. But what would you get rid of?" Decisions for the second semester are not yet final, and the Seminar reading list has not been released. Juniors, expect a small addition to Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, for the reading on the Antinomies. Seniors, look for more Nietzsche. The Political Forum and You By Nick Colten Last year, after a long hiatus, the St. John's Political Forum was revived. The purpose of the Forum is to foster interest and understanding of contemporary political issues and policy. It is meant to complement the abstract political philosophy that we get from many of our Program readings. Originally the Forum brought speakers to campus to discuss and debate a variety of current issues. During our first meeting last year we decided to change the focus of the group, though, and turn it into a study group (another St. John's institution that has sadly gone dormant) with readings of a political nature. Our reason for doing so was the amount of time and money (mostly the former) that we thought it might take to arrange for speakers to come. We read numerous essays, a few speeches, excerpts from a U.S. Supreme Court decision, and the U.N. Charter. In the end, the archon-Tom Juskevich, A'03--also brought in one speaker. This year we intend to keep reading an eclectic assortment of modern works. In addition, we plan on reading sections of Thucydides' Peloponnesian War. Several members of the Forum were very favorably impressed by last spring's lecture, ''Was Thucydides a Greek Historian?" and wanted to revisit the book at a more leisurely pace than is possible during freshman year. As the new archon, I would also like to reconsider bringing speakers to campus; whether or not the Forum decides to do that will depend on the amount of interest on the part of people involved with the Forum and the general interest among the College : community. I strongly encourage everyone interested in political matters to attend our weekly meetings. I am also eager to receive any suggestions for readings, topics or speakers from people who do not attend the meetings. Please send them to me through campus mail. Finally, last year I frequently wrote for the Gadf!y. Most of what I wrote was of a political bent. It's likely that-schedule permitting. I'll do so again, so I want to make clear that the · Political Forum does not espouse any particular political viewpoint, much less its archon's. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �. .;:1-),awn by Rachel Gillis. Slightly . by he .· . .~•·< ~ fl! Bo. k ( '.11.t) li1 !w., Stop (AO-. ....n.er c;.-r. .,,Jr. \ii.\..J.) Cj.·u ® N~~ .sa. flA.u. (s- h"'A- -. ~ ~) . r\ '>IO.flo t-~ '/( ~: 1't ito Jc,..\. .s........-. ;....,.... 'Ill:., ~ ~ .~ ..... ~ J.o ~'~" 1) Graul's - The only local grocery store within reasonable walking distance. 2) Rite-Aid - If you don't know what it is, you probably don't need it. 6 """~\.,,, 4\~l....\'d j~.._....J;t. - o.....-hi•k ........ ~wc:o\. 3) Art Things, Inc. - Need some exotic supplies? Try somewhere else. Need paint? This is the place. 4) 7-11 - Keep up the tradition of late night taco sauce runs during a blizzard! 5) Minimart - Expensive b there for emergencies if don't feel like walking £ 6) Joss Cafe - Sushi bar. if you want to see some dazzling knife work. Luck Emperor - Best · ese food around with a e lunch deal. Be sure to 'ck and Ruth's - You're Johnnies until you've their St. John's burger. - ....,.1- - J""" - Making yourself sick trying to eat the El Cid is another favorite pastime. 9) Mangia - Nice Italian food and they have pizza by the slice. 10) Potato Valley - These people do things with potatoes that are so good they should be illegal. 11) Annabeth's - Movies, . . movies, movies. 12) City Dock on Maryland Ave. - For those days that you just need a latte. 13) Galway Bay - Tis a grand place to go for those of ye with a craving for food from Mother Ireland. 14) The Smoke Shop - Got a nicotine addiction? Try this store. 15) Hard Bean - Books and coffee. What else could one ask for? 16) City Dock- Same as #12 but downtown. 17) Riordan's - Good burgers (and great wings that are half price Monday nights). Nice after seminar stop. 18) Aromi D'ltalia - Italian gelato. Go. Now. 19) Denny's - Late night pie runs for those with cars are a must. 20) Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria - Italian food worth dying for. Might actually be the form of the good. 21) Double T Diner - The only place in Annapolis still open 24 hours some days. Traditional hangout. 22) Melting Pot - Delicious fondue and perfect for a first date. 23)49 West- Guess where on West Street this is located. High falutin' coffee shop and favorite hangout. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 �Local Banks: Farmers Friendly, SunTrust Sketchy By Hayden Brockett Normally, the annual bank review in the Gaciffy is space-filler that the editor pawns off on some hapless freshman. A few freshmen read it, fewer find the time to act on its advice; the upperclassmen skip, as a rule, anything aimed at freshmen; and I'm not sure what the tutors do, but they probably are too busy to read it. This year, however, there are some changes to the banking policy that will affect both upperclassmen and freshmen rather significantly, and, loath as I am to mar anyone's enlightened ignorance of the outside world, I present that information here. I can't believe I really slogged through the mindless arcana of the banking world, but since I already have, you all might as well read about it. If you already have an account in town, or are in a hurry, skip to the dollar signs below. I will list the hanks I recommend most highly at the end. The criterion for inclusion in this article was that the bank be within walking distance. The things freshmen should probably look for in a checking account are probably no monthly fees, a minimum of nasty tricks designed to take your money, an ATM card that one can use as a credit or debit card (herein a "check card"), and, I suppose, online banking, since it may be convenient. Regardless of which bank you choose, it will always close at 2 pm every day but Friday. Annapolis Bank and Trust is the bank with a branch closest to campus, having its main offices on Church Circle. It is also where the school does its banking, so student clubs can get free checking accounts there without a minimum balance. Unfortunately, the same offer isn't extended to individual students. Their basic checking account has a $5.00 monthly fee, a $100 opening balance requirement, and allows eight free checks or ATM withdrawals per month (they're twenty-five cents after that). If one has a direct deposit set up (say from the school), however, the account is free and none of 8 Both accounts include free online banking and free online bill paying, which no other bank can offer together. Bank of America is a huge company, as it's name attempts to suggest, and has lots of ~TMs; unfortunately, it has a corporate attitude to match. I should also mention that it has received the vehement, profanity-laced endorsement of Tobin Herringshaw '05, who said, in a wretched Hispanic accent, "it's the best bank in the whole world." .. .$ The lady with whom I spoke at Bank of America assured me that any new accounts do not have minimum balance restrictions or the infamous one.,yisit-to-the-teller-per-month rule. So if you '~already have an account with these · iiestrictions, I bet you can go in and ask to . .. e them removed. In any case, after the year, there's always a $3.95 monthly fee ank of America, unless Daddy banks The Gadfly's intrepid reporter grills someone who may be the president of Farmers Bank. the above restrictions apply, although as soon as the deposits stop (say during the summer), the fees come back. There's no free check card or online banking. So, unless you go in pretending to be archon of a St. John's club (which has been known to work, although it's not recommended), it's probably not in a poor student's interest to bank here, which is too bad, since AB&T is one of the few local companies left in our town and does well by the college. Allfirst bank, winning the stupidest name award, has a branch on West Street a little ways past 49 West. We can all be glad that it will soon be taking the name M&T Bank. Whatever it's called, it offers "totally free checking," in the words of the person I spoke with, which means no fees, no minimum balance, as many checks and teller visits as one wants, and a check card. It takes $25.00 to open an account. Online banking is free (but bill paying is $2.95 per month), and for the first year, $250 in overdraft protection also costs nothing (other banks may make you pay). There's a free savings account included if you so desire. The only catch is that the checking account "goes inactive" after two months if you don't use it, which would be kind of a pain if you went home for the summer. SunTrust, on the corner of Fleet and Main . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . streets, apparently offers a free chec · account with a minimum balance of "aro $50.00," says the lady who answers t phone. The bank has a free savings acco online banking without bill paying (th feature is $5.95 per month), and the chec · account requires no minimum balanc Now, the SunTrust website contradicts wh the teller said to me, saying that only wi direct deposit of at least $100 per month the checking account free ($5 per mo maintenance fee otherwise), so one better ask specific questions when ope an account there. Some anecdotal evid should be noted: according to Carrie ·· '06, SunTrust takes about one week process in-state checks. And the local br recently lost a $700 in-person cash de of a student and has not yet returned money. Bank of America is also on Church C" and offers students whose parents h accounts with them a free checking aq; without any restrictions. The account stay free for five years and, like an ace at BA, includes a check card. Students parents don't have Bank of Am accounts can have free checking un · of 2004, whereupon there's a $3.9 month fee. This second option, ho also becomes free if one has direct d rmers Bank of Maryland, whose uarters have been on Church Circle 1835, is the oldest continuously ted bank in Annapolis, but not for It was recently bought out by the ·oe BB&T and will switch over to the e in October. What will the poor get out of this merger? Possibly the in Annapolis banking, actually. T (which stands for Branch Bank though one has to ask to find this Farmers say that the other's plan is we all know, they can't both be with a contradiction, we are called $ Squandered Youth My judgment in the matter is that it's : best to have an account with Farmers . . now and wait to switch over to BB&T. · That way one gets an account without a minimum balance or deposit, without any restrictions on usage, without a monthly fee, A Look Into St. John's Sordid and with a check card. (BB&Tcurrently has a ten-free-transaction-per-month limit.) Once History October rolls around, then overdraft protection is free (N.B. that this only means your check doesn't bounce-you still have to (Editor's Note: This column was designed !?JI the new pay a fee if you ask for money you don't have) Director ef Student Sen;ices, ]<!Y Kaplan. She sqys and checking one's balance online is also free. the College needs some forum in which thry can share Paying bills online costs $5.95 per month. the stories and legends that keep St. John's alive. All ef these articles have been researched to the best of Now, there's one ~veat. If you are 24 years : our abiliry. Thry are coming directfy from old alumni. old,BB&Twon'tgtveyouafi:eeaccount- . . there's a $5 monthly fee, unless you have : E~f!Y·) $. a direct deposit. But wait! The friendly South Asian guy at BB&T assures me that once they have your age (required ':hen .you op.en an account) they never ch~ck it, so it'~ possible ~o haveafreestudentchecking~ccount 'whenyoure 35." Just be sure not to go m and tell them that it's your birthday. Farmers Bank d?esn't haV:e this restriction (at least not yet), so if you do it now, no matter how old you are, you ~ho~d be set for no fees for life (o~ at l~st a significant portion thereof). If you think this sounds shady, the president of Farmer's B~ told me that one need only go down and talk with them to ~et an account without fees. But who are you gomg to ill lik th trust, someone who pays. b s e us, or e president of a bank that. Just got bought out and whose only concern is whether he spends one or two weeks at Monte Carl~? I personally trusttheguywhosenamelcouldn tunderstand Full Disclosure: I have been a Farmers Bank customer for three years. . Did you know that, before the 1970s, waiters worked in the dining hall? At that time, dinner : was a semi-formal occasion, and the all-male students were required to wear jackets and ties to dinner. Students who forgot these items were refused seats by the headwaiter. The waiters consisted mostly of freshmen in . the work-study program. There were usually . twelve to sixteen who worked dinner, and they divided up the tables evenly. Their job was to set out the large serving dishes and get people drinks and dessert. Dining hall hours typically ran from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, so it became b dl · t N-uing to get through the door. e am JUS -1 ~~ Waiters were usually done by seven. On one particular occasion, a student decided : he was sick of the strict dinner dress code, so . he opted to get it changed. He arrived at dinner : that evening wearing exactly what he was supposed to - a jacket and tie - and nothing else. Consequently, the code was not changed, but the gentleman was permitted a seat in the dining hall, considering he had done exactly what was mandated. . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �Su mm rtim 1n E By Mary Townsend The summer in Annapolis passed, in many respects, with an ease remarkable to the season. The weather remained cool for the better part of the time, and the Febbies themselves remained as calm or more so than the weather, moderate even in their traditional jumping off the bridge into College Creek, which they did in the daytime and with their clothes on. Lectures, extraordinarily well attended by tutors, Febbies, and resident upperclassmen, included a fine lecture.by Mr. Borjesson on Falstaff, a charmrng lecture by Mr. Kutler on his favorite irrational numbers, and an enchantingly Texas lecture on measurement by Mr. Sinnet. The After-Seminar Snack, as prepared by Febbie Mom Maya Alapin '03 and Febbie Dad Hayden Brockett '04 engaged in a twice-weekly battle to produce a more filling and more grandiose dish, much to the Febbies' continual profit and sincere enjoyment. Upperclassmen and friends of the Febbies (not to mention the GI's) also reaped the benefits of ham dinners, sponge cake filled with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, and sushi. Enlivened by the food, 10 nnap Us the Logos, assisted by the powerful efforts of Matthew Reiner '05 among others, was often in full swing. Even the Just Man made a frequent appearance in speech. Excursions this year included the Rehobeth State Park beach, white water rafting in Western Pennsylvania, and a trip to the National Gallery with the learned tutor Thomas May. Another favorite, genteel pastime of the Febbies was transcribing the amusing statements of fellows, made both in class, in a small entitled "Aoyoc, <\)£~OW;" it was changed to "Aoyot <\)£~rov" after a suggestion from a ubiquitous lab assistant, giving the title more grammatical accuracy ifless overt connection to the divine. A more potentially significant event was the power in Campbell being turned off, as planned, three days before essays were due, but as the temperate Febbies were for the most part already near the end of their papers, this challenge of F9.te had fortunately little effect. The Febbie concert went off with its usual eclat, with the singing of a three-part Handel chorus, Disdainful of Danger from Judas Maccabeus, which they didn't like, and In Exitu Israel de Aegypto in parallel fifths, which they did. Arthur Allen F'06 gave a stunning rendition of the recitative Am Abend da es kuehle war St. the from And c d wF rS By Cathy Keene Editor in Chief There comes a moment in every Johnnie's life, usually sometime after the first endless seminar reading, when students begin to realize that there really is life at the end of the pages. I know it's going to be difficult to drag yourself out of the abstract thought this upcoming year, but for the days when solid philosophy just won't satisfy your appetite, try to pursue some other enriching activities. Or at least check out the clubs. lviatthew Passion, the recitative that comes before Mach dich, mein Herze, rein. The concert finished off with a miniature version of the first chorus from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. A delightful cake was then served by the Registrar. The end of the term provided the reason for many a party, including a seminar party held at the house of tutor John Verdi, but the true heart of the revelry was found in the first-ever St. John's Texas Night. Begotten, planned, and executed by two Texas Patriots, Lord Thomas "LT" Burbridge F'06 and Deborah Mangum F'06, was opportunity to put by the ornery way.s of the North, and by means of T-borte steak, twice baked potatoes, and a ver;; moderate amount of cold beer for those of age, to pretend for a time that we were in the broad, friendly land of Texas. better way than this could there be, bid such a good summer good-bye. luck to the Febbies, as they set out in fragile raft of reason over the sea beauty and theology of Sophomore '·" Anime Club - Watch anime films. Art Society - Supports student artists. Paint, draw, and display your work around campus. Boathouse - Learn to row, kayak, or sail. Take a canoe, racing shell, or standard boat out on College Creek. This is available for novices through experts. Chess - Get together and play. It's that simple. Christian Fellowship - Come to be in fellowship with other Christians, pray, or just talk about spirituality. - St. John's smaller literary Send in your poems, stories, other creative work. Collective - Come and dance .<LuiciH.. a11 country dancing (like English dancing, not country and Listen to the Old Grey Cats. Be .. you might get dragged in. - Learn to scull or sweep-row in a shell on the beautiful Severn River. · mpetition in regattas is optional. oquet - Learn to play or just hang out watch. Prepare to beat the middies in . il. k Room - Open to students to lop their own photos and learn more tphotography. Specific hours will be ted. eY matters in a student government can attend meetings, but members vote and deliberate. m thin a Littl L Democracy Matters - Learn about campaign finances and other government budget matters. Take a stand for what you think "democracy" should entail. Energia - The more official literary magazine. Includes writing, photography, and other artwork. Environmental Club - Promote recycling, clean water, and a safe Arctic Wildlife Refuge zone. Learn about, and debate, other important environment issues. Affiliated with the Sierra Student Coalition. F-1 Club - Created for the foreign students at St. John's. Yes, both of them. Fencing - Learn to swordfight in a sophisticated manner. Choices include foil, epee, and saber. Try not to destroy the gym (and each other). Film Society - Come watch unforgettable movies on Saturday night. The list of films will be posted soon. The Gadfly - Help us put this thing out. Reporters, photographers, editors, and production people are all welcome. We want the support. Plus we're super cool. Gaming Society - Think Dungeons and Dragons. If you don't know what that is, show up and learn how to role-play. King Williams Players - The campus theater group produces two plays a semester. Will help you out during your sophomore year. Mabel the Swimming Wonder Monkey Ever seen Mystery Science Theater 3000? Come make fun of bad movies. Madrigals - The Madrigal group sings a few madrigals occasionally and lots of sacred pieces, from Palestrina to J osquin to Purcell. It has about 30 members. You should be able to sing a little bit, and onkey. Melee - Go to the Movers and Shakers meeting. You'll see what it's all about. Midnight Dodgeball - Guess what this group does. Objectivist Club - Study the objectivist philosophy and its origin. Learn about what sparked Ayn Rand's beliefs. Orchestra - If you would rather play music than sing it, come to these meetings. Produces at least two concerts SS a year. It's an everyman's orchestra. Don't let on that you play an orchestra-style instrument if you don't want to join. Outdoors Club - Leave Annapolis to go camping, hiking, and rock-climbing. What better way to flee Annapolis when you have a paper to write? Pink Triangle Society - Promote the discussion of sexual issues in a tolerant environment. Political Forum - Read and discuss famous political writings seminar-style. Pool Club - Travel to the local pool on weekends to hang out, swim, and relax in the hot tub. Primum Mobile - Sing and try to understand works of polyphony. For the more musically talented. The only club on campus needing an audition to join. Project Politae - Tutor local elementary school children in an array of subjects. Reality 2004 - If you haven't heard of it yet, you will very shortly. St. John's Chorus - Sing an wide-ranging selection of songs from Bach to Mozart with fellow students and tutors. Poulenc is a fave. Storytellers Guild - Meet once a week to read original or classic stories aloud to one another. Milk and cookies are involved. Student Committee on Instruction (SCI) - Holds weekly seminar-style meetings, debating important questions about the Program and instruction. Also hosts events like forums and potlucks to foster conversation among the polity. Ultimate Frisbee - Get together on back campus to learn a competitive version of the old summertime favorite. Vegan Club - Promote vegetarianism and veganism. Take trips to the best vegan stores and restaurants in the area. Sanction soy! Waltz Committee - Show up in your best outfit and be prepared to swing, tango, polka, and waltz the night away. Also teaches dance lessons. Yearbook - Help put together one book that will always remind you of St. John's (no, not The Bacchae). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P. 0. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 Fresh an B By Bryce Jacobsen, A'42 The reasons, both physical and metaphysical, why everyone ought to become involved our sports program are many. I list a few: 1. We have the best athletic program of any college in the country. 2. Exercise is good for the body ... unless you sprain an ankle, or something like that. 3. Most of us feel better, are more alert, and can get more work done if our bodies are healthy and our souls are relaxed. 4. Friendly competition is one of the really fun things in life. It is good for your soul. 5. Your circle of acquaintances will be greatly enlarged. This is good for the soul, provided you can separate the wheat from the chaff. 6. You will learn to accept, and bear with, thousands of split-second decisions from the officials, a few of which are wrong. This is very good for the soul. 7. Do you like to strive for, and achieve, specific goals? If so, consider our college blazers. They are much sought after, and the pathway is clearly laid out. Striving for goals is good for your soul. 8. It is probably true that more pure fun occurs in the athletic program than in a..-iy other area of the colleg~. Fun is good for your soul. s an Fr shman S uls 9. If you get involved in team sports, and become a "good team player," you have realized that there are things in the universe that are more important than your own ego. This is a great good for your soul. 10. The benefits of the exercise and friendly competition, learned while one is young, should be maintained for the rest of your life .. .i.e., they should become habitual. For virtue, as the Philosopher said, is a habit. 11. You will get to know numerous alumni, tutors, and staff members who participate in the program. This is good for your soul, or ought to be ... provided that they are the proper sort of role models. 12. Our showers are the best at the college always plenty of hot water. 13. Are you bothered by, orworried by, tobacco fumes in the air? Come to the gym. The whole building is a nicotine-free zone. 14. If you perform some sort of heroic deed on the athletic field, your name will be mentioned in our weekly column. Heroes are always acclaimed. But do not be carried away by this. Remember that, "the paths of glory lead but to the grave." 15. A high percentage of our best students are active participants in our program. 16. Those who play, stay. 17. The gym is not particularly well-equipped, as gyms go. But it has washers and dryers, and a Coke machine ... and I will explain to you, if you ask me, how you can get yourself in tiptop physical shape, without any equipment at all. 18. You can sit in an old-time barber's chair in my office ... you can pump yourself up or down, and adjust the slope high or low. Where else can you do that? 19. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. 20. It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. So there you have it ... twenty good reasons why you should participate in our athletic program. If you are not convinced by all of this, come and talk to me ... I can probably think of some more good reasons. Or better yet, talk with the upperclassmen. They will tell you all sorts of strange, interesting, and wondrous things. (This article has been re-submitted by our current athletic director, Leo Pickens. It was written originally by Mr. Bryce DuVal Jacobsen for the September 9, 1982 edition of The Gac!f!y. The late Mr. Jacobsen, class of '42, served as Athletic Director for St. John's from 1958 to 1987. He spent that time promoting the college's intramural team sports. In 1989, :rvir. Pickens took over the position.) r~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I I I I I I I I I I I I a I \ Your son or daughter will be very busy this year-perhaps even too busytotellyoueverythingtheywillbedoing. I I The solution? ~$ ~ I I I I I Keep up with the St. John rs community by reading the Gad-fly. Check one: Address: D Yes) I want a full-year subscription (about 25 issues) for $30. D I'll give you a try for the first semester. Here's $15, kiddo. Send checks through campus mail or to The Gadfly, P.O. Box 2800, Annapolis, MD 21404 L~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 12 . . . . : . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 12 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 1 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-08-26 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 1 of The Gadfly. Published August 26, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #1 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/b64cdf54afa3657bdd8e76e071444d69.pdf 0c09bff3ed8fe8f4e4ee99b6e750da6b PDF Text Text THE GAD FL The St. John's College Student Weekjy Volume XX1/, Issue 2 Annapolis, Maryland September 2, 2003 The South Has Risen A,gain By Hayden Brockett Staff Writer Freshman Orientation is usually not very interesting. It's just a tour and at-shirt, essentially. Some years, nothing happens at all. TI-Us year, however, the orientation contained an event worthy of being recorded for posterity. A battle was fought last Thursday afternoon, pitting two sides ofthe freshman class against each other across a chalk line in the grass. Orientations at other colleges abound in absurdities and cutesy torture. For instance, at Haverford College, the orientation extends all year, vJith weekly meetings for freshmen with their Peer Awareness Facilitators. That's how you know you're at a silly college: you need a facilitator to m.1.ke friends. At St. John's, we rightly feel that such is not the part of free men. This year's orientation organ1zers left the friendships to the freshmen and provided the basics. At St. John's we gave a tour of campus and of town, a meeting with the Instruction Comniittee, and a seminar on "Notes on Dialogue" by Stringfellow Barr. But there was more than mere information to be imparted. St.John's tries to educate the whole soul, continued on page 11 Alicia Clark-Barnes, Logan Smith, Elizabeth Tenney-Domanski, and EmilyTordo unsuccessfully attempt lo raise the hated Stars and Stripes near Mellon. T les From the ther Side of M non Although the excitement of registration on · · '''""«'~"and \Vednesday made several students to the construction taking over back ·•~mrm" there was no denying the thunderous '.11:Hmg1ng that echoed through College Creek Friday morning. While this disturbance or may not have caught our attention •.c;:l'!µ.ttng morning tutorials (not that there are ·;;;,.oc':><uc1.m; ~t this college who would zone out lass or anything), lunchtime brought ssive thoughts and theories on the .•.. otion invading our tiny utopia. $ome upperclassmen complained about the .overflow parking regulations and ble relocation of Spartan Madball in the most students, however, expressed a e of delight and confusion about the t gutting of back campus. I wish to assure you this vast disorder will not be permanent. In fact, my sources tell me the area behind Mellon will be sparklingly new come this time next year. But be warned. It's going to look a lot different. Let me explain. Returning students: I know you're sick of hearing about the housing crisis, but most freshmen don't know about it yet. Please bear with me. Just skip the next two paragraphs, and I swear I'll have some news for you in tlus story. The dornutories that currently exist at St. John's are designed to house approximately 300 students. St.John's optimal enrollment is somewhere around 450 students. Meanwhile, more than 485 students were admitted for the fall semester. Tii.at means that less tl1an twotlillds of St. John's undergraduate students continued on page 3 �'..,. Gadfly THE .,,...GADFLY Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene · Letter to the Editor: Executive Editor Ian McCracken -- Production Managers Martin Anderson - · Melissa Thomas *'~!~~fJ~~i<- :• Arts and Entertainhi~nt Anderson Tallent Mailbox - ~r Eill1~r : It needed no charity at all to read your first -· issue with pleasure. It contains just what the : freshmen need, but even an old Annapolitan · like myself could read with profit. I was : delighted by your catalogue of clubs: what a · .:vibrant community we are. .+·:::,;: correctly, Brava). '. ; ~ By Caihy Keene - · •Editor-in-Chief - •F~~nded hi"198o,ilie Ga4f!y'i~~the~fud:~;;~~hl~·~ that everyone has officially returned distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and : to St. John's and classes have begun on staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors . schedule, we thought our readers just might emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and · like to hear a little bit about what the _Governors, and :h_e offices at the St.Jo~n's Santa : administration tries to hide from the polity. Fe campus. Opmions expressed within are the · Th e secrets t h ey k eep 1 k e d away m the · · . .. _ oc " __ the sole responsibility of the au_thor(s)and do not : McDowell bell ' / -necessarilly represent the opID1ons of the Gacif!y . tower. The news they don t staff. The Gacif!y reserves the right to accept, re- . want students to know.·· Concert Next Tuesday By Mary Townsend Staff Writer Over the- summer, Eric Stoltzfus, Carl Page, and I have been working on some pieces o_f three-part polyphony. We plan to give a small concert on September 9, in the Pendulum Pit in Mellon Hall. The concert will start at 7:30 pm, and will most likely last for thirty-five minutes; it is presented not as a polished performance, but as an occasion for the community to hear what we have been studying and practicing. Three-part music, though not particularly common, is notable for the ease with which each line can be heard to be at once independent and a part of a coherent whole, and can be more gratifying to the first-time listener than many works -~ . ject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to A reliable source led us to College Creek late - publish #le most thoughtful, informative, and · after seminar last Thursday to grant us this thought-provoking newspaper which cir~um­ : ground-breaking news: This summer, St~ stances at St. John's permit. · John's was recognized in the 2004 edition of Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better : U.S. News & World Report as being one of chance of being published than those longer than fuis limit Le"tters submitted will be edited for . the ten best colleges in America. It was rated : number one for "encouragement of class grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. __ The Gacif!y is not obligated to publish all submis- · discussion" in the Princeton Review's annual •sions and will not print anonymous submissions _: college report. In addition, St. John's was· except under special circumstances .• , · included in Newsweek's "12HotSchools" for 2004; for beillgftie ''Most Old-School." These Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax- · reports were established from trends in deductible c_ o"ntributions are greatly appreciated. -.. admiss1ons and stud ent / tutor mte!V1ews. · · · Please make checks payable to the Gadf!J. For The Gadfly would like to offer display advertisement prices and information, call 410-263-2371, x2212. : congratulations to St. John's, but we know . that administrators try to de-emphasize the Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission : importance of these reports, so this for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions . information is typically kept secret. We promise will be accepted as long as they are legibly writ: we won't let the word get out about the St. ten, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail sub- . John's prestige. Just don't let anyone know : we're the ones who told you. missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. 2 m.R. zIP, on a larger scale. We will be singing some trios from Palestrina masses and Magnificats, two short pieces of very early polyphony by Dufay and Dunstable, and the whole of William Byrd's Three Part Mass, the source of the well-liked Kyrie in Sophomore Long Music. This mass is singular in its relation to the words that make up a mass; its musical interest is focused directly on the words as words, and consequently gives a special and unusual importance to the Credo, the part of the mass that lists,; the articles of belief. The attention paid ·to the words "Deum verum de Deo vero" and "secundum scripturas," usual translated as "true God from true Go and "in fulfillment of the Scriptures," very striking. It seems to claim that Jes could not be fully the Word of Go without somehow being embodied by specific words of the mass in their characti as rational, particular, and divin declarations. As such, it certainly makes· an interesting mass to try to understall with all the parts of the soul. I hope to see many there. It is alwa pleasure to have the appreciative educated audience that St. John's gene provides. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . continued from Front Page Annapolis are raised and more and more studen~ are forced to move off-campus,} ohnnies arehavmgtrouble findingaffordablehousingwithin a reasonable distance from campus. 1bis brings us to the back campus commotion. (You may all resume reading now.) consulting with students, the Delegate Council, and the Campus Planning Committee early last year, President Christopher Nelson announced inJanuarytheCollege's decision to buildanewdonn forAugust2004. Occupylngthecenterofbeautiful back campus, this donn will house between 30-40 students, slightly lightening the burden placed on students searching for a place to live. "It is thus our intention to reduce the size of the campus by roughly 25 students over the next few years (m keepingwith our long range plans)," said Mr. Nelson in a letter sent to the polity last semester, ".•.while also increasing the number of students ,who can be housed on campus to between 320 and Aft:X: l1>30." WhilethesechaogesmaynotcompletelyaDeviate housing problem, the College hopes to further ent over the next few years. There is of building an additional dorm, if there is still enough room on campus. Admlnistration :tlso . . sed building a garageneartheheatingplant help mcrease student parking space. Ifthe College is able to save enough money this construction for both thenewdonn and garage resume as early as next spring; If no changes in this year's budget; however, only one will be completed by next fall. til all of this is fully worked out, Buildings unds Supervisor Chuck Wallace seems to best advice for students who are worried possible housing developments: "Things to be coming together, but there's not too we can do until everything is decided. I think ~have to wait and see what happens i- Charter new clubs! Debate the tspnng." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 �The Gadfly presents Friday Night Lectures and You whom they've never had, or allow students to John's experience for a number of reasons, hear their tutors speak on subjects that are big and small. They provide an extensive unlikely to be discussed in the class that they account of a variety of subjects, some directly Along with the review of the local banks, relating to Program works or authors, some do have them for. each year The Gadf/y usually has someone write One of the best parts ofFridaynightlecture dealing with topics rarely addressed in our in decrying the low attendance at the Friday is the question period that follows the lecture. classrooms here. They can provide new insights night lecture, defending the institution, and Even though the text of the lectures do not into familiar books and writers, or expose us exhorting his. or her fellow students to match the greatness of the Program readings, to the unfamiliar, but in a manner typical of abandon. their errant ways and start coming to the former do have one advantage over the the College. lectures. Unlike the bank review, though, such latter, namely that their authors are still Last Friday's lecture, for example, contained calls for repentance are not expected at the breathing. This fortunate circumstance allows elements of both the familiar and unfamiliar. beginning of the year. Generally student Mr. Flaumenhaft addressed the interpretive the members of their audience to ask them . attendance-particularly among freshmen-is differences between two Program authors, questions, seek clarification or challenge their arguments. The result is at its high point for the Dean's opening lecture a conversation that is at of the year, then rises and least as interesting as falls depending on the the lecturelecturer and the topic: Last sometimes much more Friday's turn out though c so. The question was disappointing . period also allows enough to prompt me to numerous students write. I was especially and tutors to engage in disheartened to see so few discussion outside of .freshmen in attendance-classes. This is of made all the wgrse by the particular benefit to · size of this year's class. students, as they are Since this is a school able to observe tutors that does not primarily engage each other in teach by lecture, it is discussion (this occurs understandable that some even when the lecturer students may have an is not a tutor). aversion to lectures-I If these reasons to go <.count myself among are not compelling them.Thatthelecturesare enough on their own, on Friday nights, also makes them less attractive one ought to consider the reasons not to go. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison to celebratory-minded-among whom I also (who co-authored The Federalist Papers), over If you are not particularly good at learning by sometimes count myself. It's also possible that the meaning of another Program work, the lecture, it is probably a good idea tb challenge some want to be in bed by 9:30, as I once yourself by attending lecture. If you plan on U.S. Constitution (which the two also helped did-but only while I had a baking job that attending ll.Chool somewhere else after St. to write). As part of his account, the Dean began at 3:00 AM. John's, which will be the case for a majority oi also spoke on the nature of textual explication As for Friday night parties, I enjoy hanging and the additional concerns and effects of the students, it's likely to involve some lecturing; out and drinking beer as much as the next exegesis of texts in a political environment as better that you improve your ability fof guy-and before I turned the age of 21, auditory learning sooner rather than later. opposed to that of the academic one we are hanging out and drinking soft drinks. Lectures It is unrealistic to expect that every stud~ familiar with. (with few exceptions) are over before 10 pm; attend lecture, or that an individual stud The lectures give tutors the opportunity to generally they end by 9:30 pm. The question address the community as a whole on some attend every lecture (though some proba period, though well worth attending, is not a will). For better or worse reasons, I did subject that is of interest to them. This is a necessary follow up to the lecture. They rarely particular boon to tutors who have an area of attend all of last year's lectures--or all of go past midnight, and unlike the lecture, can interest that their current classes or the entire classes. Still, as with classes, lecture is part be left at anytime without being rude. The Program do not cover. It also allows tutors to the our St. John's education, and I think point is that even if you are not a night owl, it speak at a length that would be inappropriate we do ourselves a disservice by skipping is easy to accommodate both a Friday night in the classroom. The lectures also provide on them. lecture and a Friday night party. students with the chance to experience tutors Lectures are an itnportant part of the St. By Nick Colten Staff Writer 4 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One Man s Opinion Terra Firma 1 7976: Culture Medium for a Medium Culture By Ian McCracken Executive Editor Our nation's bicentennial celebration marked the death of the American soul. When Paul Revere rode through the streets of Boston, did he dare think that his courageous efforts would finally, two hundred years later, give rise to a society so depraved that it would place Wings at the Speed of Sound at the zenith of popular appreciation? If the brave minutemen at Lexington By Joy Kaplan Director of Student Services ~e are a community of intellectuals, idealists, mystlcs,andromantics ... but somebody has to be down to earth around here, soitmayaswellbeme. This column will periodically take the place of Squaml.eredYouth:ABrief GlimpseinwSt.JohnHordi.d Hirtory. Itwill be dedicated to useful information, practicalmatters,andothernon-academicconc.ems. Be There, Be Square! There will be orientation in the library for freshmenoverthenextthreeweeks. Youwillrec.eive anotemyourmailboxtellingyouonwhatdateand : atwhattimeyoushouldgo.Pleasepatrlcipate-you . willleamhbrarytricksthatyoumayneverfigureout onyourown,anditwillspareourlibrariansfrom having to answer the same questions 142times. MoreAbout Squares and Concord had, in a moment of precognition, known that Earth, Wind and Fire's Gratitude would be lauded above all other musical efforts-for three straight weeks, mind you-might they not ~lton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboyreached #1 (indeed, ought they not) have laid in late August 1975, heralding the dawn of Amerif~'s stagnation. will find that most people here are fi:iendly and appro~chable, althoughitmay seem like theyspeak a foreign language with their "polity"-this and "archon''-that If anyone tries to trick you into down their arms, then and there, and forgone their sacrifice, realizing it would be entirely in vain? beliPVinathattheyare"C00ler ·ThanThou,,,.Just · -·--.,, remember that the hipster in question is a geek, a nerd, oradorldfnot, theywouldn't beherem the Might not the architects of the Constitution have denied us the right to .·.•··choose our own entertainment, had they !Qiown that the body considered by most . of ~u~ citizens to be the authority on the a.rtlstlc merit of films, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, would choose ,Rocky as its Best Picture of the Year, out of ool of films including Network, All The · ent'.r Men, and Taxi Driver? mericans have chosen subpar ainment in the past, and Americans choose subpar entertainment in the . Usually, however, these choices are hit-wonders, summer action flicksin-the-pan pleasure inducers that will bly surface, but occur in unpredictable like chlamydia. We can't possibly em altogether, but they're generally d from one another by at least decent attempts at filmmaking and . Theygetalotofattention butit idly. ' •however, is some kind of aberrant f deplorable taste. It was this year . country stood up and said, "We te the middle! Let us bestow our high est h onors solely on the not-so-great! Let us laud the trite and tacky! Let us bathe ourselves in a catharsis of schmaltz!" . · Analumnusfi:iendofminerder5lo~to ~e College as ''The Island Of :Misfit Toys." You How could this occur? What confluence : firstplace! . ·· - .. of events and conditions were necessary to : . I washavingdinn~atan_outdoorcaferecently produce this nationwide. dearth of . W1th one of ~ur Se:ruor ReSJ.dents, when a group · · sop hi stlcatlon.? How could Frampton Comes : of motorcyclists began ~iia W1 out 1 They . ~-· ·--.,, ·th et Alive! (also known as "The Number-One ~appami~alteredfuettbikestomalremaximum Reason Punk Had To Happen") spend fiftyc : noise and th~per_fo~cewas choking us with five weeks on the charts? Even the slightly . exhaust while splittlng our ~a.rs. It was highly .better offerings the year presented. unpl~antuntilatough-lookingbaldgentleman (Fleetwood Mac's eponymous album, for : weannga b~muscle shirtatthenexttableleaned one) did little more than stretch the over and said, 'Youknow,somepeoplemalreme boundaries of mediocrity. ashamed of my gender!" We had a good laugh We can attribute a few weeks' worth of : over that, and I responded, "But we have to ask stagnant, barren pop culture to chance ourselves: \Vhatare they ownvmpensatingfor?" maybe. We might be able to write off th~ ._When. s~mebody on campus is giving you Rolling Stones' Black and Blue to the .. attl~~e, it is worth asking yourself the same inadequacy of the post-:Mick Taylor Rolling . ~stlon. If sOine~y sneer:- at your translation Stones. We can cut Led Zeppelin a little slack of Plato, ask to see his or her high school yearbook for Presence. We can even forgive America : I bety~ will fin!d that he or she was a member of for causing those albums to reach the top . Miirching ~andl If somebody suggests that you of the charts-at least those purchases were . are unfashionable, as~ him ~r her to tum around based on valid hopes. But John Denver's so that you can examme their back. I'm sure you Windsong? Number one? For shame ':"1findtapemarksfi:omthe"KICKMEHARD" America. For shame. ' SJgns that used to get posted there. If somebody T tells you that you listen to the wrong music, don't his has been : listen to them! As the magnet on my mother's One Man' S Opinion · refi:igeratorsays:Nobodycanmakeyoufeelttiferior Tit/esto/enfromNea/Stephenson~SnowCrash . . withoutyourconsent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .l!lllllllL. . . .£_._._.;_..-.,r~·-----------------------~~~~~~~~. Men on the Street OfferAdviceto Freshmen A Supposed 'Sinking Failure' Turns 'Swimming Success' By Hayden Brockett, '04 By Julie Janicki Staff Writer JohnnieSpeak: . · After I gave lots of advice to freshmen l_ast week, the Gadfly decided I should try asking other people what they thought for change. Here's what the crowd on the quad offered last Sunday afternoon. William Whittaker, '04 Second Randall R.A. Will Whittaker says. "don't count on the kid you hate bein~. disenabled." (Certainly not judging by the two years' dismal counts!) NelsonHernandez,A'99 ., .• . ·Jill'~ Sprightly alumnus and Washingtort Posf·- I I I I \ cub reporter Nelson Hernandez spent a lot 6f time thinking about his advice. The former editor of the Gadf/y, who inspired a generation of editors after him, and who can't stop writing articles about his alma mater ~ow that he's out in the wider world, wanted bis words to count. The result? ''These are likely to be the best years of your life, so make the most of Natalie Rinn, '05 "Play sports. It's good stress relief and we can always use more girls." Ian McCracken, '04 ."Forgetwomen's sports, I can always use more girls." At the beginning of the summer, a number of motion pictures were eagerly anticipated by the general public. I recall hearing much talk about Terminator 3 as well as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; action movies as well as creative interpretations of old stories seemed to be what us movie-goers were waiting for. I also recall how, at the beginning of the summer, I was only vaguely aware that Disney was producing a movie based on one of its most famous rides: The Pirates of the Caribbean. I knew, being the healthy female that I am, that Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp would be my initial incentive to go and see the film; I suspected that the film itself would be rather mediocre. Observe: the last movie Disney made that was associated with a park attraction was The Country Bears. Observe: the author of this article is twitching from the memory. As of June, Disney had yet to make a smooth transition to movies integrating elements from their theme parks, and despite assistance from the scriptwriters from Shrek, Pirates had dim prospects. Imagine my surprise when, instead of the poorly developed characters and plot line that I was anticipating, I found the film to have wonderful acting, witty dialogue, and a creative story. In the end, my initial interest in the physical attributes of Depp and Bloom served only as background to what was actually going on in the film and my status as a 'fangirl' (generally ~efined as a female who has an intense and sometimes unhealthy obsession with a specific form of entertainment) seemed completely ide the point when confronted with the fact at the movie was genuinely well done. ranted, I didn't leave the theater feeling as ugh I had learned any sort of profound n regarding the depth and nature of the an soul, but I did have a good time, and I d myself emotionally involved and moved e characters' journey. mentioned before that I found the acting e movie to be commendable. In truth, I e that the abilities of Keira Knightley beth Swann), Orlando Bloom (Will ),Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow), ,Geoffrey Rush (Capt. Barbossa) are what saved this movie from being like so many others that Disney has produced in the past few years. To be perfectly honest, although the script was entertaining and well thought out, and although the plot failed to stagnate or leave the audience behind while wrapping up all of the conflicts into a solid ending, it left out much in the way of distinct character development. In short, the actors weren't able to discern much about their characters through the dialogues and lesser performers in the roles would probably have killed the movie. Furthermore, I found the interpretations of the characters to be fresh and liberating from the stereotypes that the movie industry often presents us with. Johnny Depp's take on a slightly-mad, dashing pirate who covers up bis angstwith witand brevitywas absolutely hysterical at times and absolutely heart-wrenching at others; it was often difficult to truly understand what went on in the mind of Jack Sparrow or what bis motives may have been. As the villain in the film, Geoffrey Rush absolutely dazzled me with bis portrayal of a Captain that I could feel both contempt and pity for simultaneously, leaving me reluctant to relinquish any respect that I felt for his abilities as a successful man, despite his rather unjust actions in attaining said success. Orlando Bloom, considering he had to function as the straight-laced character and was forced to take a supporting role next to Depp, ·· completely embraced William Turner's struggles with class distinction between himself and bis true love. In addition, Bloom was realistic and believable as he came to terms with a past that bis character didn't completely understand and couldn't bear to accept until bis heart drove him onward. If there was anything negative about Pirates, it's that Will's journey was so important to the storyline but not enough time was given for the audience to examine bis nature; Bloom simply wasn't presented with a sufficient amount of material to work with. What adds to this problem is that in many ways, Pirates was really Jack Sparrow's story. The movie wrestled with which character fo place emphasis on, and the lack of truly distifict "lead character'\ and . "supporting character" roles was somewhat unsettling: . Perhaps the reason that I enjoyed Pirates of the' ..' - "' : --~><--,~ .. -< -~----___ _,._,,_- I did was - that it wasn't Caribbeatz as.wu~cas " afr:iid to b~ itself ahd&Clidn't attempt t~ fit mto any preset expectations. It avoided cQtili!Iement to a single genre and offered romance, l(ction, comedy, horror and drama at various points. It also tossed out preconceived notions about pirates, honorable men, adventurous women, and doting fathers, replacing them with new twists and turns while retaining depth. The story was fun, the actors were professionals, and the action was just enough to make sense given the context the movie. From this particular Johnnie·~ it gei:s my approval arid highest c recommendation. of them." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY. 6 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . 7 �~ Briarwood Books It By Anderson Tallent Arts & Entertainment Editor Nearly four percent of the world's children suffer from strabismus, and most of those from a variety of strabismus called esotropism, that is, are cross-eyed. Strabismatic children need not be cross-eyed, however, for strabismus can cause the eyes to turn upwards, downwards, inwards, outwards, or around in a circle. Strabismus is caused when muscles in the face grow too tight, or through excessive farsightedness. In the former cause, strabismus can be corrected with surgery, in the latter, with corrective lenses. Many children appear cross-eyed at birth, but this appearance is due to the presence of an extra growth of skin between the nose and the inside of the eye. For such children, sadly, there is nothing that'can be done. What remains of Briarwood Bookstore The Pre-Raphaelites were a group ofBritish artists, mostly poets and painters. Though one blame ... '') of Sir Phillip Sidney's cycle ''.A.strophil used the book, and meditating on the fact that might, on the basis of the name, suppose them and Stella." The sonnet was very exciting; in it Sir in the interim the hospital had been moved to a to have lived prior to the quinquecento, the PrePhillip Sidney describes the aspirations with which new building, I gave my beloved copy of Phillip Raphaelites flourished in the middle of the he began to study the works of Plato. Also, a Sidney up for lost I thought I would never see it nineteenth century. They called themselves Prephrase from the poem's eleventh line ("Great Raphaelites because of their dedication to the Expectation wear a mask of shame.") was again. Bill Clinton is a great man, and he was a great revival ofliterary motifs and pictorial techniques borrowed by Charles Dickens and used as the president One fine afternoon, President Clinton that they thought had been neglected because of title of one of his most popular novels. At 5:30 seized the opportunity afforded him by the fine the influence of the Urbine Master, and pm, after the class was over, Miss Summer Star weather, and made an excursion to our own modernity in general, upon the world's aesthetic and I were walking to the dining hall when we portside paradise. He walked along the city dock, sensibilities. The leader of the Pre-Raphaelite were accosted by a flustered Miss Rhonda visited the local bar, and mingled with the people, Brotherhood was Dante Gabrielle Rossetti. In Franklin, who informed us that our friend whom he loved. I like to think that he might spite of his name, Rossetti was a British subject, Hayden Brockett, had suffered a concussion that even have taken the time to visit the alma mater not an Italian citizen. Rossetti's father, Gabrielle afternoon in an intramural football contest of the man who wrote our national anthemRossetti, was an Italian exile who left Italy for between the Guardians and Green Waves. perhaps President Clinton even visited St John's. political reasons. I once saw a monument to Incidentally, Hayden had skipped the poetry One thing I do know for certain, or at least on Rossetti pere in a piazza of his home town of study group to attend the game. Instead of going the authority of Congressional investigators: so,' Vasto, a village in central Italy on the Abruzzo_ to dinner, Miss Star and I beat a track to the struck was president Clinton by the line ofboats> coast. The monument described Rossetti as "un hospital, where we found a bruised and bloodied puffing their proud sails, by the quaint fronts of poeta, un patriatore, ed un admitatore di Dante little Hayden, who had only suffered a severe cut the old row houses, and, I am sure, by the . [Alighieri, not Rossetti]" The piazza is located on his forehead when he collided with his extraordinary beauty of the Annapolis's gentle.1:0 on a cliff overlooking an olive grove, clouds of teammate Joe Gulhagen. Many people think that sex, that he was inspired to buy a token of mist, and the azure waters of the Adriatic. In Hayden received the scar on his forehead as an affection for his sweetheart, Monica. The gift Vasto, the old men put on their finest clothes at infant, at the Hands of Lord Voldemort, but I chose, an American classic- Walt Whi midmorning and spend the day sitting in benches was there when the doctor stitched him up at the along the cliff, reading the newspaper and talking hospital. When he was all patched up, I returned Leaves of Grass. Perhaps by now the reader is wondering · to one another in soft voices. to campus with the group of friends who had relation the preceding paragraphs have to On Wednesday, September 19th 2001, I gathered there after hearing the news. A few another. Allow me to say this. Senior yeaJ: attended the weekly meeting of Mr. Dugan's months later, I had the urge to read some Phillip bittersweet time. When the year begins, poetry study group, located in room 24 of Sidney over a cup of coffee on a free afternoon. greeted by the same familiar host of sights McDowell Hall. That semester we spent in When I went to my bookshelf, however, my smells. But now, one is faced with the realiza studying the Elizabethan poets, and for that week tattered copy of that author's works was nowhere that the beloved rituals of returning to sch our assignment was to read Sonnet 21 ("Your to be found. Thinking back to the last time I had words, my friend, right healthful caustics, are being performed for the last time. This imbues all things with an aura ofregret Moreover the s~oolis. filled with a host anew faces, person~ who 1n their own enviable freshness have no kno~edge of all that your years have taught you While I can be certain that the books of the program will always have their effect, I know that the students of the past, my friends, who have graduated or moved on from the college, will no longer delight the College with their beauty, and that older students whom I loved or admired will in a few short months, be all but forgotten by the commuruty in which they thrived. Rather than try then, to commemorate the glorious deeds of those past students I would like instead to offer a few lines of tribute to another beloved thing that is no more- the Briarwood Bookstore. When not viewed against the backdrop of the bookstore, which closed down for good this summer, the first four paragraphs of this article might seem, in Plato's phrase, "irrational as lines." But, the Briarwood Bookstore is like a curve thatis the locus of those same four lines. The Briarwood Bookstore offered an incredible variety of used books at reasonable prices, and the pleasure of browsing without any pres~ure to buy so~ething being exerted by the stores owner, David Grobanie. At the store ~ ona: purchased a really great old medical guid~ 1n which I found that information about crosseyed children. Also, I found a book of PreRa~h~te poetry and paintings. Pre-Raphaelite paini:m~ reminds me of Italy. More ~stomshingly, one morning when I woke up at '.Hl:30 am and had an hour or so to kill before ,b:l'.Unch was served, I decided to walk over to B. . . 11a!:WOod to pass the tl!ne. There, to my surprise .r:1d my delight, I found my copy of Sir Phillip Sidney. I don't know how my book made it but I was very glad to be able to re-purchase beloved book, but this time for much less I paid the first time. ~e is not the only story ofhappiness being ed through the purchase of a book from od..Evei:1 for our forty-second president, t Bill Clinton, Briarwood was the used tore of choice. A book he bought there ble to win him the heart of one talented lady. If you don't believe me, read the Ort so, in conclusion, let me again dedicate e to all I have loved that is now absent at the college: former friends, a former :t, and the former bookstore on Maryland Briarwood Books. I hope the T-shirt tmoves into the #62 storefront is a nice ·Tolstoy Sinks, Nuclear- Sub By Hayden Brockett Staff Writer The Gadfly staff recently came upon this item : on Asso~iated Press wire. Seniors, currently . engaged in the work of figuring out War and : Peace, should take special interest in the news . story, which is edited and appended below. Of : particular note should be the Russian Defense . Minister's condemnation of a certain sentiment . strikingly similar to one found in that work. Russia Orders Halt to Submarine Towing ByJim Heintz, Associated Press Writer : · : . : MOSCOW - Russia} defense minister blamed the sinking of a derelict nuclear submarine on carelessness he described as characteristic of the country and on S undqy ordered a temporary halt to the towing of decommissioned · subs. ''There were : deftnite/y elements · of this frivolous : Russian reliance · on chance, that everything will · work out," Defense : Minister Sergei · Ivanov saidfrom a : ship monitoring · search operations. ~ources as suggesting the pontoons had been placed zmproper/y and Ivanov said the submarine went to the bottom with its conning tower open. . 'Th~s cotifirmsyet again the simple truth that all znstructzons and orders must be taken serious/y "h said ' e Is it possible that those sailors had just read one of Tolstoy's numerous disquisitions abou~ the foolhardiness of trying to plan anything? Were they meditating on the beauty of .the. sea-foam and thinking to themseves, 1 , 'Life is God," while the deadly cargo sank to the bottom of the Barent Sea? What could have caused this tragedy? "The Russian spirit has a tenuous connection with the logos," says twice-senior Mary .Townsend. ''.A.s a people, they deserve our pity." The submarine story is not dissimilar from We at the : Ga4f!y think that · this modem-day : evidence only · serves to confirm the : truth of what Tolstoy described and himself . demonstrated in War and Peace: that Russians'"· : rely a lot on frenetic habits of spirit and not · very much on practical wisdom that is : common sense. Is it too far a stretch ; 0 say th.a; · Tolstoy's careless attitude toward science and : disdain of the Germans who practice it is : responsible. for his countrymen not closing the . door on this submarine? Or for that matter · Chetverikov's laissezfaire attitude toward~ : genetics? The sub went down in a storm, apparent/y after rough seas ripped off the pontoons that had been · attached to it for towing. Russian news reports cited unidentified Nary Nikolai Rostov's response to the onrushing French in Chapter 19 ofPart I. ""Who are they? Are they coming at me? Can they be rµnning at ~e? And why? To kill me? Me whom everyone 1s so fond of?"' .Nor will alert readers of War.and Peace forget Prince Andrei's wounding at the battle of Borodino, where he stood and watched while a shell exploded into his gut, all the while thinking ''I don't want to die." ' Let us hope for the sake of Tolstoy's mem~ry that ~e was only memorializing the .hereditary flaw in the Russian national character and did not, by writing what many call th~ greatest novel ever written, contribute to it. THE GADFLY 8 THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 I �continued from Front Page Musings on the convocation Waltz Writing Assistants, Hours The College has seen many a dancer come and go, men and women ~e. But it's ~e Staff Writer men who really make the difference; they re The Waltz Party this past Wednesday the ones who make the content of each This year's writing assistants was as is no; thankfully once more the dance, since, as the one who leads, it's ~P are Libby Edwards and Tim cus;om a damn good party. The music, loud the man which moves he chooses and tn what order. The mind recalls with fondness enough to satisfy the current generati?n's Kile. habits, was not too loud for co~versation; dancing with Tim Pomerole, whose ~tty the freshmen girls showed, in general, repartee and slinging Johnny sw1ng Ms. Edwards will be in the surprisingly good taste in dresses (no enlivened many a song by Frank Sinatra. And impossible-to-dance-in prom dresses to be then there was David Lee, the best dancer by coffee shop on: far in the last five years, whose glasses, as seen); both cases of champagne were sold the evening progressed, would slide further before the bartender's patience ran out. Many down his nose in direct proportion to the things, in fact, went very ~ell, despite the Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m. Waltz Committee's ~eglecting to purchase amount of sweat he produced. But did this Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. cherries for the food table, much to Mr. lover ofKierkagaard let that stop him? No sir. The graceful swoop, the rocking back on Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. Thompson's disappointment. . The· absence of last year's sen1ors, the heels, the stooped but jazzy posture Friday from 1 to 4 p.m. however, did cast a slight pall on the evening; would all remain just as lively at 1:45am as as always, graduation takes away several ~e they were at 11 :30pm. And who can for~et the immortal George O'Keefe, who remains dancers, and though it is painful to ment10.n She can also be reached for it the freshmen men did not, at th1s the only person to have ever succes.sfully appointments at extension p:rticular waltz, in ~eir persistent sitting swung this reporter's 5'10.5" frame tn the air? Men like him are seen no more today. 6954 or 703-587-9007. down, inake up for their loss. Dance lessons, But no one should lose heart. Even though, as part of Orientation t~s year, ~ad a fine attendance and a rather 1mpress1ve though Mr. Matt Mokey doing his inimitable Mr. Kile will be in the coffee number of young men and women with spotlight dance on "Stray Cat Strut" is now a thing of the past, let us recall that Mr. rhythm. But on the subject of the w~ltz, I . shop on: si fo the freshmen men that tt was Justin Lanier has two wh~le.ye.ars be~or~ h~ c inililike to leave so many of graduates and his equally tn1m1table twist Sunday from 7 to 10 p.m. ale '~lassfuates sitting and is lost to the College forever. their Freshmen, come to the dance lessons: unoccupied. Monday from 12 to 2 p.m. style cannot be taught, but coolTuesday from 7 to 10 p.m. lo oking moves Thursday from 12 to 2 p.m. and posture can, and by the beautiful Jenny He can also be reached for Windstrup '03, appointments at no less, brought each week from 410-267-6550 or Baltimore by 603-7 59-6990. special request, Tuesdays at 8:00pm in the They're there for you. Use Mellon Dance them early and often. Studio, behind the stage. By Mary Townsend \ I I Tim Pomerole demonstrates his avopua with Charlene Taylor-Burns. I \ I says, Abraham Lincoln's tyranny was all that kept in good stead The North, unable to take the heat Maryland in the Union) and the foreigners, ifthey and not surprisingly, feeling its bonds as fellow and the spirited part is that which makes forays had showed, would have been foreign observers countrymen less than the South did, had sent into the city. But while the spirited part is the seat with the southerners. many unsuccessful sorties into our territory. The of speech, words alone cannot mold the spirit. It The game on Thursday was to have begun jail was full of captured Northemers, while our must be trained, and we become v:irtuous by doing with a ringing of the old McDowell Bell, but a flagwas still safe. virtuous adions--we couldn't merely exhort the misunderstandingwith Security andJustinLanier's Mr. Abbott and Miss Townsend, both '04, in freshmen to courage, they had to engagewith the enthusiasm an unusual spirited world, to vie against enemies and beside made the start transport of friends in the quest for glory. take place glee, eagerly Howtomakethathappenin45minutes?For without it. This reported their Febbie Orientation, last year's seniors played Red reporter, despite conquests as the Rover, which admirably combines both aspects his 360 years of g a m e of courage-sallying forth and standing firm. 'This Connecticut progressed. semester, Capture the Flag is the closest we could Yankee blood, Miriam Keim, mortally come, at least until the school is willing fought with the '07, adroitly to shell out the money for a huge raft building South, having defended the contest beside College Creek. this summer conquests, You laugh at the game which you no doubt been persuaded keeping all Billies ·far away from played in elementary school, but at St John's, we by reading of forget what we learned and examine anew. And the Federalist their imprisoned fortunately, despite the lackluster support of the Papers and the comrades. Miss upperclassmen tour guides, about 40 freshmen novel The Killer Townsend's plan Justin Lanier stabs wannabe carpet bagger Jared Wilk ·to wear the decided to do just that. Angels to take Capture the Flag, as a game of strategy, appeals the part of beautiful civilization against mindless North down by attrition seemed to be working, strongly to the logistikon, the calculating part of and polyglot industrialization. Thus I can report especially when the speedy Logan Smith '07was the soul in Plato's republic, in young Johnnies. personally that the moment the South closed tanks finally captured. Paul Patrone and Vishal Sheth, But to integrate it more fully into the Program, behind its border, and looked around at its fellows, both '05, played admirable roles for the South, _ the tour leaders decided to contrive a couple knowing that it would dep~d on each man while Mary Ruffin '04 and lots of California connections. At St. John's we spend an entire year whether or not we would die with glory or freshmen whose names I didn't catch (sorry) were on the Greeks; the war which gave the Greeks impossibly beat the odds to victory, a feeling valiant warriors for the North. But the finale had not yet been fought. The their freedom and set apart Western Civilization instantly arose among us, hard to explain, but forever from other modes oflife was that against pretty damn similar, I'm sure, to what the Spartans bloodiest battle of the game, the Antietam of St. the Persians. The game was therefore to be in the at Thennopylae felt. John's, took place in the gym parking lot. Justin spirit of the E a r 1 y Lanier,'05,aftercapturingtheNorth'sflag,darted skirmishes were past its defenders and into open country. Freshman Greeks fighting the Persians. But frequent and EmilyTordo,however, wasinhotpursuit. Several how to divide tadicallypointless. ·times she. stretched for the Johnny's (tn two up the young This author was senses) tag to captureh1m, several times he eluded ones to get captured rather her. Grabbing his shirt, she thoughtshehadh1m, .·· anythingcloseto quickly, but this but a root, unseen beneath her feet, suddenly · · the proper ratio? proved to be a brought her down, chin-first, to the parking lot. Fortunately, at f o r t u i t o u s Blood was everywhere, although the cut to the this school we happening because valiant Miss Tordo's face proved to be minor. The his release came squeamish North.em generals decided that one . quickly - and · injurywas eno~ and after taking Miss Tordo to -afforded an easy theHealthCenter,concededthematch.Everyone glimpse at the knows that the South (or the Greeks) wins a tie, opposing side's and so victory was at hand A nUghty rebel yell rear. I found the rang out as the blue, lambda-emblazoned flag flag's general hiding was brought across the chalk. Eric Torgerson and Justin Lanier swipe the flag place very quickly, A school-wide game of Capture the Flag in but unwittingly October would be a hell of a lot of fun. Any of soul of America is of course the Civil War. hid beneath the flag for about five minutes while the freshmen who played can tell you that. Same lution? Divide up the Greeks and the waitingforachancetostickmyheadupandlook team divisions must be kept-that's very according to the home state of the forit. important. Even though the odds would be tants. North versus South. In this version, Returning to the Library side of campus, or greater against the South, it's likely that it would d fought for the South (as the state song Dixie as it had become known, I found the South again triumph, to the enlightenment and education of both sides. THE GADFLY. 10 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . 11 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 AD Notes Didy OU By Mr. Leo Pickens, Athletic Director now? I "I'm a follower of American politics." Rest easy, folks. Our president is in the loop. Nothing to do on Sunday nights? Desperate for friends? Brilliant and misunderstood? Lonely? Pathetic? "Those who play, stay." Bryce Du Val Jacobsen, Class of 42, Former Athletic Director and Tutor Emeritus Calling all KUVat. Women's Soccer starts Friday,September 5, at 4:15 p.m. We will begin with a soccer clinic to get those started who have never played before, and for those who want to brush up on their skills. Remember, no experience necessary. The St. John's Sailing Team will hold its first meeting this Thursday, September 4 at 4 pm down at the boathouse. All those interested in learning how to sail and/ or race lasers, 420s, and FJs are welcome. You sailors with experience are also encouraged to get involved. Want to sail on board a bigger boat?Learn how to sail aboard an Alberg 30'. Contact the skipper, G.I. Jay Berquist at J@ship.saic.com You Make the Call In soccer, a player takes a direct free kick from 20 yards. The player passes the ball back to his or her goalkeeper who does not touch it, and the ball goes into the goal. \"X!hat is the ruling? First one to me with the right call goes to the bookstore on me. (You can leave your answer on my machine at extension 2558.) Athletics/Fitness c·iass Schedule Day Time Place Aili.do Wednesday 6:30p.m. Mellon Dance Studio Fencing Tuesday Saturday 6:30p.m. 9:00a.m. Gym Gym Yoga Thursday 3:45p.m. Gym Dance Studio (Starts 9/18) Tai Chi Tuesday 4:00p.m. Boathouse (Starts 9 /23) Badminton Tuesday Thursday 8:45p.m. 4:00p.m. Gym (Starts 9 / 2) Core Resistance We know how you feel. Cl.ass Tuesday 12:10p.m. Gym (Starts 9/9) Pilates Mon, Wed, Fri Wednesday 12:10p.m. 4:00p.m. Gym (Starts 9/3) Join THE~GADFLY Come to our first meeting Today, 4:30 pm, BBC 109 Reporters, layers-out, photographers, cartoonists--we need you all. Don't be scared! Join us! 12 Nota Bene: It is never too late to join any of these classes. For further info, contact l\1r. Pickens. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 12 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 2 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-09-02 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 2 of The Gadfly. Published September 02, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #2 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/f53576bb20a685b24c1d7a53a6abfdaf.pdf 0a6f02cc3924d53fb7654754ff049ed4 PDF Text Text DFLY THE The St. Johns College Student Weekfy Volume XX"V, Issue 3 Annapolis, Maryland September 9, 2003 Johnnie s Experience in Iraq 1 By Thomas Greene Graduate Student By late l\1arch everyone was happy that chemical or biological weapons had not been used on U.S. troops in the Persian Gu1£ There was much talk in the media of a possible "red line'' that, if crossed, would trigger Iraq's use of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Itwas dw:ingthis time that my unit got word that we were leaving for Kuwait Seven weeks earlier I had been in the graduate program at St John's, however, I knew that the deployment of my MarineReserveunitwaslikely. As I had already served fouryears of active duty, I could have checked out of the unit and continued my studies. But I hadn't joined the Iviarine Corps to run away. Unfortunately, my wife and I had just moved here and my deployment would leave her without fuendsor fumilyin the area. Shewouldhave to struggle with classes at the University of Maryland while dealing with my deployment all by herself. I let my patriotism get the better of my judgment, and I felt ortsWire like to apologize to the regular of my Sportswire columns, my ±her, my grandmother, and both of my e officers, for leaving the incredible etic exploits of our college · cumented last year. But I'm back, and u're ready to forgive, I'm ready to "de another memorable year of sports with terrible grammar, poor spelling, ediocre---at best-jokes. But who k down upon my grammatical s from a superior standpoint when n Dean Flaumenhaft wished the class "the best of luck as your In this game the Spartans thoroughly con trolled the Hustlers. It is worth remembering that it began with a pretty miserable kick, however, from Spartan] ared Wilk, giving the Hustlers excellent field position for the first offensive series of the game. A sacked quarterback is another terrible way to begin a game, and the Hustlers' answer to their 10 yard loss from swift footed] ared Leto was for quarterback Dan Russel to throw an interception to Spartan Patrick "O" Sullivan. Thus began a series of dubious offensive possessions. Spartan quarterback Riley Ossorgin, obviously feeling omnipotent after singlehandedly defeating the Greenwaves, curiously made his first pass that great offensive desperation play, the Hail Mary. It continued on page 9 tremendous gu.ilt after I was deployed. 111e flight to Kuwait was unique mostly in thatwe took a civilian aircraft loaded with l\1arines with rifles, ammunition, helmets, flak jackets, etc.As we got closer to Kuwait I heard a femalelancecorporalfi:omano1her unit chatting with some of our JVIarines. When she foundoutwhatourmissionwasshebecameenthused and went on about what a neat job we had. Wewe_-re a supply unit that had been retrained for mortuary affairs. About that time the pilot announced that something had ocamed on the ground and that we were being diverted to Bahrain. That's when I started to get nervous What had happened? A navy officer behindmeretnalked that her husband was in Bahrain so they might see each other with good luck Then the pilot made another announcement-Apnlfao.&. I was smprised by everyone's good humor. As we emerged from the plane into the sultry night air, a gas alert sounded. Everyone scrambled into the gas masks. I hoped this wasn't a real attack continued on page 12 �~ I ' i ' Gadfly Mailbox THE ttVGADFLY Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene I i l t Take a Tutor to Lunch To the Polity: Which of you was offended enough by last week's Gadf!y to scatter the remaining two hundred issues over the floor of the Coffee Shop, pour liquid on them, and trample them? We here at the Gat!ft.y have come up with only three possible perpetrators: 1. The Russians, who don't want our pity; 2. Peter Frampton fans, who were too embarrassed to identify themselves but couldn't let a dig go by; or 3. :M:r. C. P., who, in a moment of brilliant eloquence, decided to write ''We Suck" on some of our posters. We realize the last is a stretch, but a list of two isn't nearly as funny. Sorry. Anyway, thatwasn'tverynice. Your money, after all, pays for us to do this, and we work pretty hard on it. If you have a gripe, send us a letter, and signyour name. Please don't do it again. --Ed. Dear Students: The ''TAKE A TUTOR TO LUNCH'' plan is in operation. It permits you to invite a tutor Executive Editor Ian McCracken (or, for that matter, anyone who works for the college) to have lunch with you in the dining Production Managers A&E Editor room now and then, for free. Just tell the person Martin Anderson Anderson Tallent at the door. If you're not on the meal plan you Melissa Thomas can still do it, and you yourself get a free meal Inside News too (but not too often, I should say). Mary Townsend Business Manager Tutors will appreciate this occasion for Katy Courtright Outside News conversing with you. Most of them are very Hayden Brockett pleased to be asked. You, on the other hand, Sports Editor Mike Malone get to play host in the easiest way, and to have the company of someone you may have wanted Contributing to this Issue to get to know better. Erin Callahan The Food Service and the Dean's Office Nick Colten Katy Courtright sponsor this plan, and I'd like to see it used Lee Goldsmith often and well. I say "well" because "often" by March Ingband itself might suggest that it would be fine to Julie Janicki invite the same tutor to lunch five times a week. Joy Kaplan Letter to the Editor: To keep the plan from becoming so expensive Natalie Rinn that we have to drop it, we set the following Webster Ye Concerning: 'The South Has Risen Again' limit: no more than four times a month may a Founded in 1980, the Gadf!y is the student weekly Historical analogy is at its best a tricky thing, distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and but I think the connection that Ml:. Brockett student be a host or a tutor a guest. staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors drew between the Persian War and American Sincerely, emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Civil War is particularly tenuous. It's true that the Harvey Flaumenbaft Governors and the offices at the St. John's Santa · Dean Fe campu;. Opinions expressed within are the : Confederate States ofAmerica and Fifth Century Greece did share an attachment to small-sized the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not · necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadf!y : sovereign powers, fought a war on their own Algebra Test staff. The Gadf!J reserves the right to accept, re- soil, and had a leisure class that relied heavily on ject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to · slave labor-but besides these things, the publish the most thoughtful, informative, and : comparison breaks down. The Union was no Dear Freshmen and Sophomores: thought-provoking newspaper which circum- Persia, and Lincoln was no Xerxes (''Maryland, This letter concerns the algebra test, which you stances at St. John's permit. My Maryland" notwithstanding). must pass to enter the second semester of the If one is determined to link Ancient Greece Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better · sophomore year. The nature of algebra may chance of being published than those longer than . with the American South of the mid-1800s be among the most interesting topics for this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for . however, I think that it would be more fitting to conversation in our program, but you simply' grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. · use Third or Second Century Greece. Both have to learn how to perform elementary ' The Gadf!J is not obligated to publish all submis- : regions had been renowned for their intellectual, sions and will not print anonymous submissions political and commercial achievements, but by operations and be able to show that you can..... Before the end of the freshmen year, all students' except under special circumstances. that time were in a state of decline from which must have taken the algebra test (which will be both are still trying to recover. In my opinion, Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax- . offered several times). If you pass, that's th the generals of the CSA also bear a greater deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. · end of it. If you fail, you should regard resemblance to Pyrrhus than to Leonidas. Finally, Please make checks payable to the Gadf!J. For : event as diagnostic, and learn some algebra. display advertisement prices and information, call the "polyglot'' industrial/industrious republics We have two student mathematics assis against which the two fought, for all their matry 410-263-2371, x2212. (Ms. Katherine Roach and Ml:. Bryson F faults, offeredamore opportunities to a broader who can help you in specific ways. You call Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission group of their citizens-as well as for nonfor a delay is granted in advance. Submissions natives-than could be found in the South/ get advice from the Assistant Dean Seeger), who administers the algebra tests. will be accepted as long as they are legibly writGreece. All sophomores who have not yet passed ten, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail subSincerely, test will again take it in the first term. missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. Nick Colten '05 2 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Febbie Febbiness sophomore tranifers from Santa Fe, like sophomores continuing from Annapolis, must take it till they pass. Sophomores, whetherfrom Annapolis or Santa Fe, cannot be admitted to the second semester unless they have passed the algebra examination by the end of the first semester. Dear Gadfly, Ml:s. Seeger will announce the date of the first algebra test shortly. Please remember that you must bring your ID card with you when taking the test. Sincerely, Harvey Flaumenhaft Dean . . : The Truth In creating the College's only newspaper, those of us who work on The Gac!f!Y realize that the St. John's community depends on us to report the facts accurately. We devote our time (outside of class) to interviewing, collecting facts, and writing articles as honestly as we can. There is only one thing we ask from the polity in return: Please forgive us when we make mistakes. No publication is infallible. That being said, here is what we need to correct from our last issue: 1. The jump from page one, Tales From the Other Side ofMellon, skipped two lines of text. Here is how the paragraphs should read in entirety: The dormitories that currently exist at St. are designed to house approximately 300 students. St. John's optimal enrollment is somewhere around 450 students. Meanwhile, more than 485 students were admitted for the semester. That means that less than two~s of St. John's undergraduate students able to live on campus this semester. s taxes in the Historic District of olis are raised and more and more . ts are forced to move off-campus, es are having trouble finding affordable g within a reasonable distance from : · : · · ·fltll . · In this year's debut issue of your publication, an article was written regarding the recent summer activities of the January Freshmen that covered events and dutifully acknowledged those who made contributions to their experience. The article, civil though it was, did not, in my opinion, capture the essence that distinguished the venture, and lacked a quality that its photographs sought to represent in its place. In short, the article lacked febbiness; Febbie febbiness, which is something difficult to imitate, let alone comprehend, and nearly impossible to define for anyone not included in its nation. Being a Febbie myself, however, I feel obligated to present a more just representation of our summer to the student body here at St. John's, for no other reason than to give some insight into our erratic and often esoteric tendencies. Febbiness is a complex phenomenon, and one that I would not dare explain with words. I am, therefore, presenting with this letter a series of authentic photographs taken at great personal risk, exposing the world that is Febbie Nation. Yours truly, Arthur Allen (F'06) addition, on page 11 The South Has Risen incorrectly identified sophomores Paul e and Vishal Sheth as being members class of '05. They will actually graduate I. I e sorry for these mistakes. Cathy Keene Editor-in-Chief · . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 �All Tomorrow s Parties 1 ' I I i I . ' S&C, rather than Reality, has become the pompadours; the sasquatch; ratatouilles; and of authentic Bacchic rite at St. John's, in that it course, Ransons. We yawn.) perseveres more through a fearful submission to The Mr. St. John's Contest was more likeit tradition than through any genuine affection for Everyone agreed that the red-haired Hoss Runt the party. It is something to be undergone, deserved the title for his hours of Russian suffered to be put on by Upperclassmen, and KettlebellLift:ing. Have you seen this guy? Like a attended by wary freshmen with overhyped writhing mass of pythons under a blanket! expectations. For many freshmen, S&C was an ATP is on the lookout for the hilarious hijinx, introduction to the defensive art of festivity gaffs, goofs, and befuddled quotables that occur appraisal: "Tbis party's not ready for us. Let's wait at and around coffeeshop parties. Unfortunately, an hour." no truly inspired inebriation was seen by this Even the dress requirement is in place---instead columnist, with the notable exception of SF of animal skins, we dress sexy! What a lark! The retransfer Mr. Chippendale's lengthy bicycleonly modification on the ancient Bacchanalia is helmetedinterpretative dance, a lusty depiction of that, instead of avoiding the fate of Pentheus, the East Getmans' conflicted attitudes toward the Johnnies seem to be warding off two more fallen Berlin Wall. The Sausage God andhis Meat serious wraths from the deity. For freshmen, it is Mistress were everywhere attempting to force a the fear of four years of unintentionalcelibacy. For merger of their own S&M Dark Dungeon upperclassmen, that of a year oflackluster parties universe with our own. For the last time, no,ATP that eventually devolve into the surreal does not want to be spanked. combination of Mr. In-like-Blank's solipsistic Finally, ATP should acknowledge some of contortions set to the silence eternelle music of the the more daring fashion statements of the night dreamy-eyed DJ Space-Cadet Like Christina Aguilera and Kelly Osbourne, Not that there was anything wrong with these individuals were truly pushing that proverbial Saturday night's S&C, as far as these things go. envelope, striving against the restrictive social The dance floor in the pendulum pit was slippery mores of this time. Honors of the night go to with beer, sweat and (unused) condoms. The Mr. BJank, who, like his namesake, model-actress music was loud and percussive, though at times it Ms. Diaz, exhibited miles of creamy thighs and favored too much trance and too many brain- shapely calves under his improvised booty shorts. dead hip-hop anthems (e.g, DMX's "Party Up Also ofinterestwere three sophomore males who (Up in Here)"). The lightshow apparatus made bravely asserted their right to wear latex pants. One everything oh-so triiii-ppy. A solid core ofdancers was dressed as a shimmery Spaceman, and remained on the floor the whole night, which another was announced as The Sexy Beast bodes well for the future (emn, of coffeeshop Overheard: ''I crocheted this bustier!" dancing). All Tomorrow's Parties was a re!jilarftature three The problem with S&C is that it advertises years ago, and has been resurrected ry our intrepid itself as the partywith sinisterintentions. The big columnist. joke is: we're all sexual predators, or, worse, Maryland U students. It's this big scary-haha camp spectacle that is identical to every other coffeeshop party except for one staggering innovation: body shots. At the risk of sounding like Andy Rooney, what irthe deal with body shots? It seems like it sets a dangerous precedent if we're going to root on and admire this, what's next? Will we restore gender equitywith crotch shots? (ATPwould like to note that the following activities are neither exciting viewing fare nor cutting-edge: body shots; keg stands; shotguns; funnels; shooters of all kinds; squiggies; The first S&C. Francis Scott Key, right. 4 Squandered Youth What's your Favorite Business in Annapolis? · By joy Kaplan : Director of Student · Services Good Idea, But... By Katy Courtright Business Manager I conceived of · Squandered Youth : before I was actually When asked what their favorite · hired, and upon business in Annapolis is, these few : starting the job, I Johnnies presented us with a nice little · spread the word to my selection to consider. : alumni friends that I · would like to publish John Coppadge ('06) did not hesitate : their memoirs in The to declare Starbucks, "for their triple venti · Gadfly. I thought I was skim caramel macchiato," while Luke : a genius, and as Jayapalan (F'06) preferred Hard Bean "they · usually happens when should all know where Hard Bean is : I am feeling clever, I The Gadfly can print whatever it wants. anyway." Well, you certainly cannot go · soon encountered wrong with a cafe and cheap books. : major setbacks due to a miscalculation on my During a freshman math tutorial scheduled · part: The first problem with this column is ri~ht before lunch, another student, (whose Arthur Allen (F'06) and Erica Freeman : that anything considered "inappropriate" for a (F'06) both went in for Annabeth s. Ms. : college publication, (for example: drunken ru:kn~e was Deathless One), was gracing us Freeman claimed that, atAnnabeths, "they . orgies), won't get printed The second problem with _his w~t and wisdom-about twenty have a nice variety. And it was sort of a : is _that a couple of the stories alumni are sharing overtune mtnutes worth-when Student X F~bbie tradition to go there on Friday . with me are about ... well, drunken orgies--or pushed back his armchair, stood up, went to nights to get movies to watch." Mr. : situations, which if mentioned in print, could the board, and began to draw rectilinear figures, Allen's first response was joking . ~ave litigious consequences. The third problem labeling the angles with letters. The rest of us incredulity that anyone would want to : is that as Director of Student Services, I happen threw occasional curious glances his way, but leave campus, but admitted, "I would say . to be the very person who has to make such mostly stayed focused on the conversation. The tutor completely ignored him. Annabeth s because it has movies. I mean, : declarations as, "The Ga4f!y can't print tharl It Finally, chalk in hand to be used as a everyone loves movies." Amen. . mentions drunken or;gie.rl" pointer, Student X turned to our beloved Is this not vexing! Polity members who tutor and interjected, "Excuse me, Mr. ... ?illon Wright-Fitzgerald ('05) went an · have done the sophomore language tutorial Jones? I would just like to point out that ;Clf;ltn:ely different direction and chose Art : more recently than I have, help me out here: f:.JJings because "it's one of the most · Does the science of logic address this pentagon L-U-N-C-H equals triangle N-0W" "Jtarismatic and unique art stores. It has : conundrum? If not, shall we call it "Kaplan's This I witnessed. Another spectacle of so~ality and character, and a great : Paradox"? Ifnothing else, I will settle for being nerve I only heard about took place while ctton of art materials and cards. It's . remembered by future generations as an another classmate, (hint: he made a film), a really fun store." . absurdity. was successfully making seminar run past Don't Try This At Home! ten o'clock. Did Student X again rise, like Of course, these are all great places to All of this bluster is to make up for the fact nent, but Erin Hughey-Commers' : that this installment of Squandered Youth is quite Godzilla from The Sea OfJapan, out of his ent reveals some sage advice for all : thin. While The Ga4f!y staff is busy researching armchair? No, not this time. Did Student X interrupt the conversation by calling on the ·"Idon 'th ave a favorite business · . . and fact-checking juicier stories, I offer you this tutors to be recognized? No, not this time. t spend money off campus because · week a mere anecdote: This time, Student X simply removed his tch my budget, except for A Johnnie of yore, who in order not to watch from his wrist and threw it with so~e onally." Sounds like a good idea to · exhaust The Gadf!J Legal Defense Fund shall force, (Imagine it, if you will-Make it a : remain nameless-although a couple of tutors Rolex! Why not! -spiraling in slow motion, probably know exactly which one of my a menacing mass of Swiss stainless steel or ' that's all that Johnnies have to . tmperttnent classmates I am referring to when a melted costly clock taking flight across ~he their favorite businesses for this : I say that he was either the most charming or empty vista of a Dali-esque seminar JohnnieSpeak . . the most insufferable person I have ever mettable .. .), hitting our movie star square in : had a talent for expressing his ... impatience the chest. . when classes ran over their appointed schedule. How's that for closure? . ::vm . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �hy nime? D, and V ampi.re Hunter D: Bloodlus!j. Dis an incredibly and they appreciate how the entire body is used to · complex character, having the difficulty ofbeingpait convey emotion. This is an individual p.referenc~, vampire but also a vampire hunter. By the second andlbringituphere because chances are, ifyou cant movie, he's been alive for well over 30,000 years, and I'm sure that you've seen it manifest in some stand the way that anime is drawn then _You'll "depressed" would not be an adequate word ~o form in our society. Be it through advertising, actual probably have little luck enjoying the storyline or describe his general state of being. He's noble ill episodes, cultural references, or merchandi.se, characters. battle, very alone in his personal life (cons1dermg Japanese animation (or anime: as the fans c:ill1t) JS a Formypart, thequalityofthedrawingis one of that most of his friends tend to die), and he never form of entertainment that 1s sweepmg through the prime motivations for my interest in anime; the strays from his purpose ofprotecting humans from the nation more and more ihese days. Depending styleofthecharactersisgenerallygracefulandsmooth vampires who would see them the way that humans on your normal activities, you may ~ve met this with delicate features, the backgrounds are full of craze head--on, accepting it or rejectmg1t as you saw vibrant colors and awesome angles, and the see cattle. D's interactions with other characters vary fit. Others, however, have managed to completely movements range from slick and flashy to between his two movies (I prefer the secon~ miss such a confrontation and are decidedly in the exaggerated parodies of real action (especially seen one, myself) but he is generally very quiet and it dark as to its nature or appeal. duringcomedicmoments). Considenngthatmany Tradition:illy, anime has accompanied the sowas almost impossible for me to read him durmg of the anime titles available originated from manga the first viewing. The more that I watched the c:illed 'Gamer' crowd, and people who frequently Gapanese comics), many stylistic attributes from film however the more I came to realize how to were involved in role-playing (like DunJ!fonS & comic-books are used in anime, such as question inte~ret his ;tares and silences, and thus I was Dragpns) or video games were the ones who had marks to indicate confusion, thought bubbles, or able to understand him. Vampire Hunter D ts not more access or initial interest init. Cons1denng the sweat drops to show exasperation. This gives the a character that you would find on a Saturday kinds of anime that have been acknowledged by the cartoon a different kind of twist, and I find that morning cartoon run, nor is he a candidate for a general population (Dragpnball Z, Pokimon, Yufi-Oh), overall, the animation does much to enlighten me Disney feature film. Even putting his kind of it's not surprising that many have not felt a great about the natures and motives of the characters. I character mto a live action movie wouldn't have urge to investigate this phenomenon more closely: find it more difficult to discern these properties in the same result- tl1e animation does more justice Given the.immatm:ity of the characters, the reliance Western cartoons, and it seems to me that the to his character than any human ever could. Both on action rather than plot structure, and possibly emphasis is more on the storyline itself and th~ attributes work together to define D's soul and some of the worst dubbing (read: using voice actors interactions ofmany characters ratherthanmdivid:ual in a language other than which the cartoon began) expose it to the audience bit by bit. joumeys. Therefore, part ofthe attraction for anime Anime characters are almost always this ric:h ever seen, it's not a wonder that many people.prefer comes from the beauty in thewaythatthecartoonJS and complex, integrating a 'Wide expanse of to stay under a :rock vmcre Japwese animation 1S drawn and from the qualities of the characters ihat human emotion and response. Characters that concerned are expres~ed through quirks unique to anime. Therefore, my intention in this article is to bring don ihave these kinds of complexities are generally This brings me to a second aspect of arume: the written as such for a particular reason. In the case to light some of the reasons why one could revere characters. Ithas beenmyexperiencethatcharacters and respect good anime and to ihen recommend of Pokemon, it's because the nature of the anime in anime are often more deep and meaningful than doesn't call for it, smce it's more of a happy-gosome various titles for those who WJSh to mvest1gate those gener:illy found in Western animation (there this form of entertainment a little more closely. I'll lucky attempt at wide appeal than an opportunity are obviously some e,'l:ceptions to this). To give an for emotional expression. In the case of some state up front that I'm not affiliated witl1 the ani_me example, one of my favorites is VampireH.unter D'. a of ihe more artistic (read: better done) forms of club at SJ C (due to time constraints), so my opilllonS half-human, half-vampire hybrid who JS the rruun rln nnt ,.,,fl.,ct the opinions of the club or 1ts a..~-ne, characters with httlc depth tend to serve character in two animated mo•nes ;~~~~~I~ also s~te that this article is entirely my own opinion, often formed through discussions with other anime lovers; much ofwhat I say is therefore open to disagreement or further discussion, both ofwluch I would welcome. This By Julie Janicki. Staff Write1· :ill being said, let us proceed . . The first characteristic aboutJapanese arumation that comes to mind is, not surprisingly, the way that it looks. This is a good topic to begin with, because it has come to my attention that people are divided into two categories regarding the actual animation: you hate it or you love it. To some, anime looks (and I quote my sister on this) "as though a few fiveyear--olds were given crayons and told to have some fi_m," and some find it bothersome that most of the facial expressions are focused around the mouth and the eyebrows. To others, anime is the most beautiful form of all cartoon (or even artistic) styles, as a counterpoint to balance those who have a lot. Anime is often more of a work of art than a simplistic form of entertainment. \Vorking together with the artwork as well as the character are the various plots that animes use. Just like any kind of entertainment, Japanese animation has a wide variety of stories to tell. Demons, witches, elves, regular humans, robots, hamsters (I kid you not) - all of these are used and placed into various positions to tell stories of adventure, romance, mystery, intrigue, or to just be silly. I would challenge anybody who claims that they can't find a story idea in all of anime that intrigues them. What's also amazing about plot structures in anime is that they don't go past their prime. This is to say that the Japanese are fond of stopping shows when they've become ridiculously popular, thus saving them from ihe Friends syndrome, where you want to put the show out of its misery since there's no more story to tell. It's been my experience that most anime has a natural, graceful story arc that tells the tale well. The audience may not leave happy or satisfied (as some stories do end sadly), but all generally reach some kind of closure. This all being said, it seems appropriate to recommend some titles to those who have become even slightly intrigued by this form of entertainment. If one is just starting out on tl1e anime path, I would suggest the following they're more on the lighter side, and generally won't tear out your soul to show you your own value as a human being. For those who enjoy comedy and romance as well as a bit of action, I would suggest Im!Jlasha, the story of a girl who goes back in time to the Japanese feudal era and who :meets a half-human, half-dog demon. It's currently my favorite anime and I find it to be quite entertaining. If you prefer more action and less romance, you may want to try Cov.Jboy Bebop, a series about a bounty hunter and his Joy of Melody Muffler By March Ingband Staff Writer A rebuttal to an ad hominemfallag; in Joy Kaplans' well-intentioned advice (Page 5 of last week's The Gadfly) and other transactions worthy of being transmitted to posterity that befall March Ingband the ograrian barefaotEn-ant-Canadian Hippie who endured many notable hardships and rare dangers in order to preserve his memorable style. "You silly agrarian barefoot Canadian hippie, go put some steel-toed boots on before entering my Manly Muffler shop." I did not listen to him. I simply walked away, picturing him as a high school loser with a kick-me sign on his back I was hired instead by Melody Muffler. It was a joy to work for Melody. She was very polite, and most importantly, she respected my style. Melody never told me that anything I did was wrong. As the days passed, many hot, sharp, and heavy objects fell upon my bare toes. But damned if I was going to listen to that jerk that once told me so rudely to wear steel-toed boots! Some people tell me that my toes slowly became more ugly, the longer I insisted on my chosen style of being at work. Some even had the gall to suggest that I should wear shoes to hide them. But beauty is a matter of taste (not unlike music or Plato translating). My toes simply changed, they did not become worse. I accept them just the way they are becoming. Incident:illy, I also slipped in puddles of oil, which caused changes to my head. Because of the changes that I was undergoing at Melody Muffler, some of my "friends" no longer enjoy hanging out with me, or even drinking with me. But as I like to say, the best revenge is to live well. So, now I have a larger multitude of friends than ever! My new friends are all very nice and polite and non-judgmental. It is so self-affirming to be with tl1em! And to tell you the truth, some of my old friends would make me feel uncomfortable at times. TI1erefore, I am glad to be rid of them. I sometimes wonder what that J\;fanly Muffler jerk would have had to say for himself if I had asked him why he did not like my style. But such thoughts are bad for my self-esteem (and such a question may have resulted in dialogue). At such moments of weakness I remind myself that I did the right thing by taking charge of my own life and just walking away. His loss. He probably thought that he was better than me just because he had been changing mufflers for a few short years longer than me. People who are rude, proud, or otherwise socially imperfect are necessarily unreasonable. Therefore, they are unable to teach anything to me. IVfister Manly Muffler should have listened to my quiet example by taking his own shoes off to discover the freedom of having his feet in the open natural air. Alas, he was not openminded. Perhaps he will never grow up from a boy to become a free man. As we all know, growing older is mandatory; growing up is optional. Michelson Memorial Lecture Dr. William D. Phillips Nobel Laureate ill Physics, 1997 will lecture on "Time, Einstein, and the Coolest Stuff in the Universe" Friday, September 12, 2003, at 7:00 pm Mahan Hall Auditorium United States Naval Academy X, the prequel and sequel episodes of series R.t1rouni Kenshin. In the meantime, I pe that at the very least, this article has helped .;~_e."rplain some of the reasons that people enjoy In order that they may also attend the Homecoming Lecture, students attending this lecture should seat themselves in the balcony, and leave promptly when the lecture ends at 8:00 pm. ~~e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 6 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . 7 �continued from Front Page Protecting Your Silicon Troy From Danaans install it and make sure that the virus definitions (the information that tells the program what to look for) is Many of us are content to remain blissfully current and updated regularly. Run ignorant of our computers and their inner virus scans on your computer weekly workings. After all, the adage "if it ain't broke, if possible. IF YOU WANT A FREE don't fix it" seems to be tailor-made for the ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM go to computer and its inner workings. In the wild www.asw.ca and download the home and wooly world of the Internet, however, edition. viruses are in their natural environment. Here 2. For Windows XP users, turn on are some basic steps you can take to make sure your built-in firewall (fo do so: Startthat your computer remains virus-free: > Settings-> Network Connections - By Webster Ye Tue Basics: >Local Area Connection-> Properties Proper protection can gaurd you from many viruses. 1. Don't open e-mail from suspicious -> Advanced (tab) -> Internet addresses or with odd subject headers. Connection Firewall). This provides a Nimda virus, use these programs located on 2. Downloaded images/files/music should basic level of security for your computer. Symantec's web site: http:// be virus-scanned whenever possible. 3. For All Windows Users: You can 3. Users of File-Sharing Programs beware - download a free firewall program at securityresponse.symantec.com/ avcenter/ many versions have hidden spyware embedded. www.zonelabs.com (specifically: http:// tools.list.html. Macs: Use programs that have been cleansed of www.zonelabs.com/ store/ content/ company/ 1. Mac OS X users: Don't worry, there has spyware such as KaZflaLite (www.k-lite.tk) or products/ znalm/ freeDownload. jsp). not been a single virus written for the OS X yet, Poisoned (www.gottsilla.net for Mac users) 4. Download anti-spyware programs such however, turn on the built-in firewall (System instead. as Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoft.de/ Preferences-> Sharing Panel-> Firewall Tab). 4. Download operating system security support/ download/) to ensure that malicious 2. Mac OS 9 users: There are some, but they updates whenever possible: Microsoft's Windows programs that may allow security holes in your are rare. Get a program such as Virex. Update sites Critical Updates security do not remain on your computer. Above all, without the most basic security (windowsupdate.Microsoft.com) and Apple's 5. If you suspect you have a virus, and you measures taken, Trojan horses may be able to S ojtware Update in System Preferences. cannot get it off using the anti-virus program, 5. If you find out that you do have a virus, take your computer to the Information sneak into your computer, and create massive havoc. Please help everybody by ensuring that email helpdesk@sjca.edu immediately. Technology (IT) Office ~ocatedin the bottom your computer is virus-free, as it only takes one Windows PC's: floor of Randall Hall) to get it checked. infected computer to start the process again. 1. If you have an anti-virus program (such 6. For infections of the Blaster worm and as Norton Anti-Virus or McAjee VirusScan), . .................. . . .............. . .................. Change Elections Change America By Erin Callahan Hi I'm Mr. Bob Po/itidan, andI wantyourmo~. Not ymrideas oropinions-ymrmongi. Dont have "'!Y mo~ w ive me? Then JfXJd luck ~ng those ideas rfyours heard at all. This is the basic scenario of power in politics as things stand today. Well, mostly. The politicians don't necessarily wantyourmoneyinexchangefora place on 1heagenda. Tueyneedthemoneytowinfueirelections, and a place on the agenda is what the politicians feel fueyatefote.edtograntinon:lertoretumthefavorand keep 1hat money coming As a result, politicians ate unable to address the wishes of the general public, even if theywanted to. So, if the general public doesn't have any money to contribute to elections,wberedoesthemoneycome from?Theanswec:largecorpo:rationsandthewealthy elite, who compose a fraction of one percent of the population. Believe it or not, these groups are victimizedby1hecuttentsystemaswell.lfarorporation chooses not to give money to a politician, its opinions ate of little wor1h and go llu:gely unnoticed. Thus, corpo:rations areforced to give money; and politicians atefarced to reciprocate and give their ideas andwishes priority over non-paying groups. Finally, where does this leave all the tax paying citizens, who have no extra money to make large contributions to elections? Inshort,we ate allunheani andunrepresented. 'What canyou do to fix1his? Come checkout DemomiEJMattmon Wednesdays at 4pm in McDowell 23! DemomlEJ Matters is a national organization with chapters on 50 college campuses across1hecountry;ThisyearweatestartingwithaFree Congress Campaign. Congre>smeninparticular spend 50%oftheirtimefandmiiing$600Kforeachelection. We -will be petitioning Congress to support public financingforstateandfederalcledions. Throughpublic financing, candidates collect signatures and $5 donations to qualify. The government gives them money to run their campaigns, and in retum, they agree not to accept any private money. Using this system, politicians are made accountable to votet"S instead of donors and would no longer be forced to spend half their time fundraising rather thatt addressing the issues.A smart and capable candidate,, who otherwise could not run due to lack of funds. would be able to participate. Corpo:rations and the wealthy elite would no longer have topaypoli~. in on:lerto be listened to, and the generalpublic '' be represented properly. Sounds good, doesn't To share your opinion or for more infonna contactErin Callaban,Paca208 DemomiEJ Matters is a national non-profit, partisan group worlcing to preserve access to democ:ratic system. was the first of several poor plays, which forced the Spartans to punt. Dan Russell's return p~ovided the first exciting play of the game, his ~all~tic movements darting him alo~g the sideline for a considerable gain. I don t know who taught him to use his hips like that but every virile young man at this school could learn a thing or two from his sultry sashay. If Jared Wilk hadn't sacked Rus~ell for 20 yards Russell's 20 yard pass to ~w1?~t Knoll would have been a bit more inspir~g a_s a first major pass completion. But Wilk did, and it wasn't, and the Hustlers ended up turning over on downs at the Spartan 20 yard line. O~sorgin's second Hail Mary attempt was also incomplete, and he finally began to focus ~n the short passes. Their 3rd play in the senes was a 20 yard pass to Wilk followed by a pass to freshman Paul Wilford. The Spartans now found themselves within reach of the Hustler end zone. 0 ssorgtn's . . ~uick feet in the pocket gave Wilk enough tune to find a hole, and with a short pass from the former to the latter the Spartans now found themselves up 6 to 0. A successful two-point conversion with O . an ssorgin QB sneak then delighted the crowd. Some trial and a lot of error showed Wilk ~ta successful kickoff begins with the ball being teed almost vertically. His two consecutive faults were quickly forgotten on his third try, hich ·~ . wa~ a beauty. The Hustlers now began ~laymg with a f~cus on making multiple short ses, but a senes of mini-passes from Russel Kabe Erkenb~ak to freshman Logan Smith ved to b~ a nustake, as Smith just happened be playing for the Spartans. Perhaps brak mistook the red on Logan's shorts e red on the Hustler's shirts. This makes sense when you recognize the Hustlers .a very short team, and the top of Logon's are about the height of Hustler Dwight ·.~gardless the Spartans again had the thin spittin' distance of the Hustler's one, and a nearly identical play to their us t~U.chdown, with Ossorgin dancin' an and passin' to Wilk, put the s up 14 to zilch. Spartans again kicked to the Hustlers their offensive possession with' d it, a Hail Mary from Russel t~ Ws who because it was intercepted by en Kloch. And a few uneventful plays first half ended. second half almost looked like trouble for the Spartans, but it was never really in question. The trouble began when Oss?rgin opted not to pass to two wide-open rece~vers down field, but instead to lob to renaissance man Mathew Gates, whose fingers were actually so fast that they closed before the ball could reach him. The fumble was recovered b~ Hustler Ian Morochnik, which led Spartan Nick Garklavs verbally abusing poor Mr. Gates for not ~vin~ :'head first" for the dropped ball. ~ile its typically not the job of sp~rtswire writers to pass judgment upon polity m~bers-we leave that to the regular Gadf/y wnters-we'll make an exception for Mr. Garklavs and give him a dispara . emoticon :( gtng The Hustlers took the opportunity tom f£ . ore e ectively work the short passing game, and set up a beautiful play from GI quarterback Jay Hennicke to Knoll to tutor Jeffery Smith, to almost Dan Russel; Smith, unfortunately, was downed before he could get it off. The Hustlers gained about 60 yards on that play ~d showed how lethal the short passing game ls to any defense· A short run b Y H enruck e · and the Hustlers were on the board b t Russel's sweet, swe~t, hips were not enough ' u to score the two-point conversion. The Spartans then kicked off to the Hustler Charles ~80's Retro Boy Band Redux) Anderson 1n accordance with our wacky rul _attempted triple deek proved effective 1n real life than in NFL Blitz 2003 ' Char~e's l::~ and he gained about five yards. Maybe the shame ?f that return was the reason he could not ?nng himself to sleep at home that everung, and decided to sleep in the Paca common room ' instead 0 f w a1king to his . house on Monroe Court· Of course theremay be other reasons. Anyways the Hustler's offense was dominated by the Spartan's defense, especially Mr· Wilk, and eventually turned the ball over to the Ossorgin and Company. The game ended 30-6 with the final points probably ~eing scored by Ossorgin or Wilk. My attention during the last quarter was focuse~ on o~taining a urine sample from Mr. Ossorgtn as his playing style is just unreal He has the hips of Gene Kelly, the arm~ of Popeye-the sailor man-and the speed of a cheetah. And I won't even mention that he spent a year~ Santa Fe and wants to go back as I accus_e him of taking steroids. Surveillance phot_os_ in ~is bathroom have provided con".111~g pictures that he is feeling the results o~his ro1~s. How else could you explain the disappeanng Adam's apple and those firm sup~le breasts? And do we need to b~ remtnded of his seminar outburst when he bro~e two tables and nearly decapitatedadmittedly uruntentionally--a prospective? No · · . sir. Unfortunately this is what we have come to expect from the children of St. John's graduates. AC Milan vs Manchester United. Goooooooooooooooooooooooo caption continued on page 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 8 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 �Lower K vvai S ccer Review: igh in Number and Spirit By Natalie Ri.nn Staff Writer The pre-game stretch-circle is a familiar fixture for Kunai soccer women; this past Friday, however, with a record thirty-plus women present at the season's inaugural day, no stretchcircle had ever seen a circumference so great. As has become a tradition at the season's onset, St. John's renaissance woman, Roberta Gable, presented a season-opening speech to an attentive Kunai audience. After first inquiri..ng as to the number of freshmen women present and spotting only three hands, Ms. Gable remarked that rumors of a large and athletic freshmen women's class must have been erroneous. This conclusion is, of course, an honest mistake for one who forgets that this number is in fact a 150% increase in freshmen attendance from the year prior. In her speech that followed, Ms. Gable eloquently likened tl1e whole of Kunai soccer women to a welladjusted mixed salad; though each woman represents her own sundry ingredient, the Kunai ability to combine harmoniously such disparate parts and to create a complete "salad" greater than the sum of its parts, makes the Kunai woman, in the words of Ms. Gable, "[t]he most superior group on campus." No objections were raised. After a short session of clinics that served to refresh the players' basic soccer skills and mentality, the inaugural game was shortly thereafter underway. A new vigor was sensed by all present within the first moments of the game when freshman, Ashley Cole, with a nononsense-composure, effectively headed the ball, which was flying towards her head at a great velocity. One on-looker noted that a new era in KJmai soccer had begun. A 0-0 scoreboard remained well into the game, as both sides were rife with talent. This scoreless streak ended, By Lee Goldsmith Staff Writer however, when the finely tuned skills of senior, Johanna Thrall, split the defense on a breakaway and fired the ball into the mid-left net. Mr. Pickins blew tlie final whistle as the game stood at 1-0, team Blue. When all was said and done on that glorious Friday evening, however, all Kunai walked off the field as victors, having successfully laid the grounds for the most promising K;.mai soccer season to date. Permanent teams with more colorful names will be drawn next Wednesday morning at a 7:45 breakfast meeting by the Women's Athletic Advisory Committee. Women not officially on the roster: Do not fret. You already belong to a team through last name allocation. Your attendance is welcomed and encouraged at any point throughout fue season, every Tuesday and Friday at 4:15. Th California Recall and You By Nick Colten Staff Writer To all students who are legal residents of California: In less than a month, your state will be holding its gubernatorial recall election. If you are planning to vote in that election - and you should for reasons that I will explain -you need to ensure that you are registered to vote and request an absentee ballot from the California Secretary of State. Information on how to do so can be found at the Secretary of State's website: www.ss.ca.gov. It can take over two weeks for the state to process both forms, so you need to act soon in order for your vote to be counted. The recall ballot will consist of two separate questions: the first asks whether Governor Gray Davis ought to be recalled from office, the second asks which of the candidates you would prefer that he be replaced by. You have to vote on the first question in order to choose a possible replacement for him. This may sound ampus Thrives on strange - it is, in fact nearly every aspect of the recall is strange. Governor Davis was reelected in 2002, getting 48% of the vote. This summer, roughly one million signatures (a number equal to 12% of the number of people votes. The lieutenant governor, Cruz Bustamante, may still replace Davis though, as he is one of the 135 (!) registered candidates in this very special election. As it stands, if Davis is recalled, it is likely that it will only be by a narrow margin. This in turn creates a situation in which his successor my receive a half or even only a third of the percentage of votes that support Davis in fr.e first who voted in the recent election) were acquired for a ballot initiative aimed at Davis' recall. If Davis is recalled, the lieutenant governor will not automatically replace him - even though in California the two offices are filled by two separate of the ballot. It's your civic responsibility as a citize11 of a democratic republic (or two) to aid fue legitimacy of the electoral process (as illegitimate as this one might seem to some}; by your participation in it. As was during the last presidential election, voter turnout and a close race produce that do not convey a popular mandate elected officials. This is an important subj and one that I may write about again in coming weeks, but regardless of whethe not I do, please do your small part to grant some authority to the troub political situation that now exists in Y home state. As the wily warriors of the gridiron sauntered around the wreckage of their former battlefield, whose enduring turf holds the imprint of every footfall of the innumerable St. John's hordes that have combated fuere over the years, fuey went to inaugurate a new epoch 111 St. John's athletics. It is now the era of Athletique by the Creek. Now, beneafu the honzon of the boathouse hill, bombs will land. softly in the outstretched arms of racing rece1vers, and crosses will be booted dear into the harsh reality of the salty brine fuat is College Creek. And if one were to ask why the hi h . f g actton o such awesome athletes has been hidden out of the plain sight of those less courageous Johnnies, someone might answer that 1t 1s because fuere must be a new do built on the site of fue old field, and fue 0 : ; room for a new field is down by College Creek. Tb.is is incorrect, however. I have seen the light of the Lruth. And the light is the chosen one come to bJing an old champion back to it: once deserved pedestal, and only those who make the penitent pilgrimage down to the new h~me of Johnnie athletics are worthy to see ~11S spectacular power. This chosen one's name 1s Riley Ossotgin. ~<1just his first football game :in his destined r;os1t1on as the blue-backed, black-slacked Spartans, Riley and his holy made up of such cunning veterans as Nick the Russian, and Blake the faced and defeated the very talented of the Crown, also known as the \Vave. This was no ordinary contest, er. From the opening kick-off it was to all spectators tlJ.at the Wave had a at its disposal with which it could Im any human defense. And it could ly be said that if Agamemnon had great warriors as Dan Maul-andQuick, and Dana the other son freshman whose brick-red hair is . passionate embers that impel Jet>r th_en Troy would . -~ · 111 ten days and without the aid of :,Wooden horse. On the Wave's first took . t h em only two downs to deep_ into Spartan territory. Led by lship of Mr. Maul-and-Kill at and the Untouchable JaredRuleaux the field, the Wave seemed not to have lost any of t11eir dominance from the previous season. But, as if drawing on some divine inspiration,Jared Wilk broke through into the Green Wave's backfield and ripped the flapping flags from the Dan Maul-and-Kill's side. He had pushed the \'\Tave back and given the Spartans a chance to rise up and put a stop to the Wave's early encroachment. The Wave fuen turned the ball over on downs, putting the ball in the hands of tlle man who had come to fulfill the prophecy. Mr. Ossorgin calmly took the ball and moved the Spartans down the field for a touchdown. With two-point the conversion tacked on the score was 8-0 Spa:tans. This one drive would set the tone for the Spartan offense for the rest of the game. Riley could launch tlle ball just beyond the grasp of the Wave defense and into the hands of his holy soldiers. And when the pass was not there, his fleet feet could carry hinl around all manners of the swarmina Wave horde. Yet, the Wave was not daunted by the Spartans' expert efficiency on offense. Each time the Spartans scored , the W ave answered with a touchdown of its own. As the fourth quarter drew towards an end , th e score stood at 24-24, and the Wave had finally managed to stop the Spartans' gluttonous offense. They had a chance to escape the divine grip of the Spartans and walk away victorious. In the face of tl1is agonizing adversity, all the Spartans had to do was have faith that there was destiny at work; and, of course, when Justin Lanier stepped forward and intercepted a pass from Jared Ruleaux, it was clear that their belief had come to pass. Regulation time had ended, and the score remained 24-24. The Spartans would receive the ball in the w r Games ooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaalll!!!!! sudden-deafu overtinie, where the :first team to score.would claim the glory of victory. Everything had fallen into place for the destmed Spartan victory. Lo and behold! On the :first play after the kickoff, Ril ey passe d the ball to Justin Lanier who eventuall found Eric Gleysteen dashing forwarJ. \'\Then Eric crossed the plane between the barren field and into the endzone of milk and honey, a mighty roar spread over the crowd .. The Spartans had upset the champ10ns of a year ago as the writings of anC1ent scnpture foretold. It was a spectacular start to the season; it will be worth watchin to see how this battle between divine powe: and human power unfolds. In other action that day, the Druids used their mysterious earthly magic to bewilder the Guardians. They gained a 26-0 advantage early in the second half; and once the Guardians reared themselves out of their enchanted haze, it was already too late. The Guardians' struggle for a comeback made the score 26-14 in the end, and the Druids were the ones who won the day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 1 (\ -~-r"'<r7 ' ••••••• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 continued from Front Page because we didn't have protective suits ·with us and many chemical agents can be absorbed through the skin. But I wasn't scared; I just :figured it was a drill. Afi:erafewrrrinutesweweregiven the "all dear," and the buses drove off Scuds, however, did hit Kuwait that night and the following night My primary wish during that time was to be in some way useful I got my chance a week later. Two l'vfarines had been killed in combat Our unit was taskedwith preparingtheirremainsand personal effects for shipment back to the US. I was only observing at first As soon as the second body bag was opened, the major remarked that-whomever had bagged this Iviarine had been disrespectful in placing his dis=bodied hand by his face and told someone to move the hand down to his feet ,'\s some J\.1arines began to catalog the visible injuries, someone noticed thatther=ains already had two hands attached That was not a good moment I was tasked wifu bagging the other hand as an "unassociated portion." Once thatwas over I washed my hands and did a deliberate m=ory dump. But then the staff sergeant calledme back into the processi..>gtent The major had made a mistake on the evacuation number that he had told us to use. We would have to take fue hand out of the bag and place it into anofuer that had been correctly madred 'TI-1e experience was not as terrible as it may sound Theworstpartwas lxingcalled backinafter thinking I was done. I got into Iraq in fue midclle of l1.pril We had flown into an air base (Old Chesty) about 70 miles wuth ofB?.ghcb<! As the C-130 cargo plane flew low and slow over Iraqi farmland, I kept thinking about what an easy target we were. But all went well I did some convoys in Iraq. The people seemed mostly happyto see us, and theydidnotappearto be starving YetMarineshadtobewamedrepeatedlynottothrow food to the poor children lining the road. We were told that the more we threw our food, the more children would be attracted to convoys and the more they would be run over. Some in our urut didn't follow the order, though. Although I didn't see the incident, I heard that the wind blew a packet of food backinto the road, and a childhadracedoutin front of the following vehicle to grab it Luckily, he wasn't hit Stories of fistfights break:ingoutamongve1.ysmall dllidren over food thrown to them was common. Iraq was dusty, hot, and fly-infested. At least one third of my unit, including myself; came down with 12 vomiting and diarrhea. On base the smell of smoke was always present during the day. Large trash pits burned or smoldered constantly. During the day a working party had to drag out the rut-off 55 gallon drums that were under the latrines, pour kerosene in them, and stir the shit as it burned to make sure it all burned down. I had the pleasure of doing that only once, thankfully. Mail was tt=endously slow, but thankfully we had occasional access to satellite phones and email That made a huge difference. One night, while most of our platoon was watchingthenightlymovie, sustained gunfire erupted attheedgeofthebase.Itsoundedalotlikefuecrackers. Repeated yells to cut the lights were heard all over the camp. Another sergeant and I began to organize a defensive perimeter. Wewereattheedgeof the camp facing an empty dark field, and the guriJire had not stopped As I was putting on my flak and helmet one of the lance corporals asked me what he should do. ''\Vell, do whatever you would nonnally do when youareunderatt:ack,''Isaid.Idon'tthinkheappreciated my humor. We quickly got security set up and went on the lookout with our few pairs of v.ight vision goggles. I was surprised wifu how calm I was. But then again, the gunfire wasn't too dose. Word soon came down thatthegunfirewas :from a night exercise of some kind. When I got back to Kuwait the camp seemed wonderful Everything was free of dust, the mess tent served good food, there were no flies, and the port-a-johns, I swear, they seemed like palaces compared to thewoodenlatrines. In fact, onehad to be carefulwbileusingthelatrinesinlraq because strong winds would sometimes create a vori.ex that would send soiled toilet paper right back up atyou. One time I had toduckacirclingglob oftoiletpaperuntill was able to catch a dean comer. The worst part of my experience was back in Kuwait a week or so beforeweleft Ten l'vfarines had to be chosen to stay behind. There were some tense days before the final list was announced. I still send packagesofGatoradetoth=everycoupleofwecks. Overall! was very lucky. Noone shotatme, and my deployment only lasted about three months. I only lost a semester :from my studies, and I am now enjoying being back at St John's. It could have been much worse. TI1.0se who are in Iraq now seem to be havingamuch tougher rime. I just hope thathistorywill show that the sacrifices ·werenecessaiyforourpeace. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a.d. notes By Leo Pickens Athletic Director 'WhereasJohnnie Wooden, basketball, and winning are near(y synonymous to us, it is an oddity, but true, that 'winmizg' was a word that Wooden seldom used Wooden} teams dtdn t beat opponmts, they outscored them. His deetrphasis ofwinning has been commented on ma'!)I times l!J hisplqyers. "from Beyond Winning, by Gary M Walton Women's soccer got off to a great start this past Friday. In the full field game that ended the afternoon, the only score was generated by the wily senior Miss Thrall, who took a beautiful pass from Miss Stickney, and then split two defenders to set up her shot Methinks I was watching l\fiss Hamm herself. The rookie l\fiss Cone showed great speed, tenacity and hustle, and for her efforts, she is named Athlete of the \Veek for the women. On the men's side of the athletic ledger, tl1e football season got off to a great start with a sudden death overtime victory by the Spartans over the defending champion Waves. One the first play of sudden death, the swivel.hipped and strong armed Mr. Ossorgin found the sure-handed Mr. Lanier in the open to b~oin the play, and l\1r. Lanier then passed the ball to ]\..fr. Kloch, who theh hit Mr. Gleysteenin the enclzone for the score. Mr. Lanier also came up "vith a key interception earlier in the game. For his great play in the dutch, Mr. La11ieris named Athlete of the Week for the men. Okay, look Let's just make it a general policy that any time anyone scores a hat trick, his or her name will get mentioned in this column. I mean, come on, three goals in a game dese1.Yes some kudos, doncha think? Anyway, the Hustlers J\!Ir. Dan Russell scored tlu:ice on a tough Wave defense this past Sunday. Let's face it with his strength and speed, he's just one tough dude to stop, are you with me? You ~vfake the Call: Lz.st \"i;.7'.ee.k's puzzler 'V~$ 0nJ;'. by Ms. Victoria Smith, who works in the College's Public Relations department. I tis tl1e player takes his own goal. And now for this week's offensive player, in order to steps off the field. Is this legal? First one to with the right call goes to the bookstore on � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 12 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 3 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-09-09 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 3 of The Gadfly. Published September 09, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #3 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/9529f16c818fe399b75f8630e81173df.pdf 384d19bc5ffe5c6c2207c95cd7cfcdcc PDF Text Text FL HE Annapolis, Maryland September 16, 2003 The St. John} College Student Weekfy Volume X)(l/, Issue 4 Faces: ial R By Mike Malone Sports Editor Midnight Dodgeball at St. John's College is not your elementary school dodgeball, or even your high school dodgeball. No sir. For one thing your gym teacher probably never split teams into gays versus straights. And if he did you probably have some form of nondisclosure agreement and I'll leave it at that. A second major difference is what happens to your body: sore shoulders, aching legs, and the occasional broken tooth or bone. This is of the latter. . Steve Closs never saw it coming in the early of Saturday, September the 6th as he another dodgeball game in the world Temple Iglehart. The game began, as with the opposing sides facing off at ·iii·';; '.'ithe oonosite ends of the basketball court. They w: ·•xc.,1u,.-1tPrl for the archon to signal the beginning "''''·"m"'' game, which, as usual, sent the teams •·p;~'!""''uurm1.g for the balls lined up on center Reaching the line, Steve dove to the floor swept his arms back like a snow angel, · g two balls back to his team, which is unusual but not too unusual. He also hat was later described to him as a knee e face: He had no idea what had hapd: All he felt was "something really hard yface." That was all very unusual. After low he wasn't in any immediate pain; as the nerve damage. What he did have ~anticipation of pain, so he walked off to find some ice and some paper +his bleeding face. ent the rest of dodgeball icing and the gym, noticing that it hurt to move its extremities, but never looking in to see the damage. He then went to waking up he finally looked in a ,d noticed that the left side of his rt face, where the knee had impacted his cheek, was severely swollen. He assumed he had a broken nose, maybe some loose teeth, but felt rather nonchalant about the whole thing. Before lunch, as he cataloged the damage (swollen face, bloody nose, inability to chew solid food), he realized that he should at least see the school nurse. That never happened. Two times he went to security to get in contact with the nurse and both times they never got a hold of her. By 4:00pm he had given up on the nurse and had his friend, Sportswire Humanitarian of the \'\leek award winner, Sean Valles, give him a ride to Anne Arundel Hospital's E.R. His appearance didn't shock anyone in particularcontinued on page 14 Delegate Council Election Results Off Campus: Stuart Bannan Humphreys: Laura Mangum Mary Duffy Laura Manion Ian McCracken Ian :Morochnick Melissa Thomas Campbell: Brian Jones Natalie Rinn Chase-Stone: Mary Ruffin Paca-Carroll: Lord Thomas Burbridge Webster Ye Pinkney: Hayden Brockett Amy Taylor Randall: Will Whittaker -~ �Gadfly Mailbox THE -.rGADFLY Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene Executive Editor Ian McCracken Mr. Pashayan, Next Time, Use My Name To The Gadfly: Thank you for your letter. We would like to point out that you bravely signed your name to your defacement of our posters only after Mr. Hayden Brockett, our Outside News Editor, challenged you to do I must say, it was a pleasant surprise to so. open your paper today and finally read Production Managers Secondly, our posters were created not to something of at least slight journalistic merit Martin Anderson advertise our newspaper, but to ask members Melissa Thomas and personal interest. It was furthermore of the community to contribute to it and join Inside News gratifying to note that it was my own ''brilliant its staff. Are we correct in thinking that you Mary Townsend Business Manager eloquence" that goaded you into this modest, were completely unaware of what you were Katy Courtright but thus far unexplored, frontier of acceptable Outside News vandalizing? mediocrity, even though you seem to attribute Hayden Brockett Furthermore, the editorial comment in last Sports Editor my reasoned commentary to this "CP" fellow. Mike Malone week's issue was exactly that: an editorial comStrange of you to do so, as I was kind enough ment. For the names of its authors, see left. Contributing to this Issue to include my name, or at least the pertinent Charles Pashayan bits, along with it. I suppose, though, that -Ed. Nick Colten Leo Pickens when I'm not writing simple and necessarily Eric Forman Dave Prosper Cooper Gallimore repetitive phrases such as ''We Suck," I do have Letter to the Polity: Natalie Rinn Lee Goldsmith a tendency to scrawl, so I can see how you Jennifer Silgals Tobin Herringshaw might have had trouble understanding what It is time once again for the annual fall croSam Spalding Marklngham you read. This is probably not an uncommon quet tournament. The tournament is an inforChris Utter Thomas Jacobs problem for you, judging by the content of mal series of singles games played over several Webster Ye Julie Janicki your publication. weeks. There are two brackets, beginner and Founded in 1980, The Gadf!Y is the student weekly · My advice to you: don't waste your time advanced, and all are welcome and encouraged distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and with the Russians. From what I hear, they to sign up on the sheet posted in the Coffee • staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors : don't have the economic resources nowadays Shop. Please sign up by Saturday, as I would emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and · to trample a stack of paper, let alone buy like to see the games start next week. If you Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa : enough liquid to soak through all the fluff have any questions about the tournament or Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the . the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not · contained therein. You might want to question anything else croquet, please ask me or anyone necessarily represent the opinions of the Gadf!J : some Peter Frampton fans, but unfortunately, else you see playing. I'll see you on the courts. staff. The Gadf!Y reserves the right to accept, re- . you'd have to build a time machine and go ject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to : back to 1978 to find any. The cost is prohibitive Sincere] publish the most thoughtful, informative, and . and the requisite mental agility nonexistent, so SamSpal ' thought-provoking newspaper which circum- I suggest you maintain your current strategy Imperial Wic stances at St. John's permit. of making unfounded and libelous assumptions about people who say things you Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better · don't like. After all, it worked for Meletus, and Contra Jngband chance of being published than those longer than : yes, I did have to look that up. I support you this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for . Letter to the Editor: grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. · wholeheartedly in your efforts and would be The Gadf!J is not obligated to publish all submis- : glad to offer any assistance I can, for we clearly The Gadf!y and its writers need to improvi sions and will not print anonymous submissions have much to learn from each other; I have the a few specific ways. Let me spell them out to except under special circumstances. importance of writing out one's full name and contact information on all acts of petty I will use last week's ]qy ef Melot!J Mteffler Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax- · vandalism, and you the patent absurdity of example of what should never appear in deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. · advertising a newspaper to it's [sic] prime and spectable newspaper. Please make checks payable to the Gadf!J. For · First of all, is The Gadf!y a newspapet; sole demographic when they already get it display advertisement prices and information, call short story journal? This was not an articl~ automatically for free. 410-263-2371, x2212. It was a short story. I therefore ask, whj Sincerely, published in a respectable college news Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission Charlie "Charlie Pashayan" Pashayan This is a rhetorical question. ?viarch for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions . should not have been published. will be accepted as long as they are legibly writ- . Another thing, I called switchboard, ten, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail sub- : PS: Sign your name, ''Ed." parently there is no March Ingband li missions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail sub- . campus, much less on the staff of Thd · missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. A&E Editor Anderson Tallent The Registrar further confirmed my suspicion.. There is no March Ingband that is, was, or ever will be registered as a St. John's College polity member. Therefore, I conclude that March Ingband is not a real name. The Gadf!y staff: do your research! I have better things to do with my time than to do your homework foryoul As Joe said, it is against your protocol to publish articles unaccompanied by the real name of the author. Please, have some self-respect and obey your own rules! Furthermore, this little storywas utterly incomprehensible to me and to anyone else that I talked to. It claimed to be a "rebuttal" to a certain article of Joy Kaplan's, yet it does not once reference the article, nor does it reference the subject of Ms. Kaplan's article (St. John's College) in anyway. One would have to go through the effort of digging the previous week's The Gadf!y out of the paper recycling garbage to know what the heck the connection was. And then one would have to think about the story in order to try to interpret it. Since the article was surely not written by a great mind, .this thinking is a waste of our time. We.all have limited time. I ask: is it wise to d that time thinking about The Gadf!y "ar" or the writings ofgreat minds? Think about ..won'tbecryptichere. Myansweris:Nol The "articles" should not require thought. Of I am assuming that The Gadf!y writers are t minds. Next, I will persuade you of '.llulyGreatminds are born o11ly rarely among maybe a few every generation ifwe are .• It is extremely unlikely that those few would d one particular college in one particular and even if they did, why would they their time writing for The Gadf!y. On the hand, the books that we read on the Proe written by those few great minds across centuries of a great tradition. on't have time to think about The Gadf!y tis wiser to spend our limited time thinkt Great writings. Not only are there most no great minds among The Gadf!y staff; Ingband, a polity member who does ·st, cannot be a great mind. adf!y articles should provide thoughts for our amusement. A shoeless oil-changer has nothing directly to do e that advises Freshmen to picture signs on the backs of cooler-thansmen. We don't have time to waste out what you write! (U11less you can that you are one of those few great you alone should be read as more · ~- My advice to all future The Gad• terpretyourself All of those readers wise enough to be persuaded by this uncryptic letter will not waste there time trying to interpret your article ifyou don'tinterpretityourself Thus, if you don't interpret your own article, you will have wasted your own time and ours! Let me reiterate: don't write short stories to a newspaper, don't use pseudonyms, and lastly, interpret yourself! Sincerely, Mark Ingham Retractions The following people were instrumental in the production of last week's issue: CHARLES LOVETT BRAD KINNEY BEN STRICKLAND Also, Sam Huckins assisted Webster Ye in writing his Computer Tips article. Musical Rescue By Eric Forman Staff Writer Saving classical music is a necessary and worthwhile endeavor, and is, with a bit of creativity, inclusiveness, and marketing savvy, entirely possible. Dwindling audiences, shririking revenues, and limited outreach are major problems. It has long been disheartening to me to observe half-full concert halls in which I am the youngest person, sometimes by decades. These are the symptoms of a concert and record industry that charges too much for tickets and CDs, does too little to attract new listeners, and produces only anemic and uninspired marketing. These mistakes not only hurt the industry in the present, but also fail to capture the interest of younger generations, thereby ensuring classical music's future demise. The situation, however, is not quite as dire as it might seem. There are a number of encouraging trends that, if extended, will contribute to a classical music Renaissance. Here are three examples: Matt Haimovitz, the Israeli-born cellist, has gained notoriety by performing the Bach unaccomprulied cello suites in bars and rock clubs across the country. This innovative interpreter has exposed countless people to some of the most magnificent classical cello music ever written. With an average ticket price of $10, who knows how many new classical music listeners were bom every night of his tour? Bargemusic, the floating barge/music hall on the Brooklyn waterfront that offers passionate chamber and solo classical performances, is another example of the creativity and innovation that stirs audiences. This small but vital institution, founded by Olga Bloom, showcases talented up-andcoming musicians, all against the stunning backdrop of the East River and Lower Manhattan skyline. By supporting great music in an unusual and exciting location, Bargemusic affords an engaging spirit and unique context - one that makes for repeat customers. In terms of marketing, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has done a superb job of promoting itself in recent years. The L.A Philharmonic ad campaign, for its 2002-03 season, was widespread, incorporating television, radio, and print media, though its billboards were the most eye-catching and ubiquitous. It relied on a simple concept artistically-wrought photographs with related text playing with the abbreviation' -phil', as in 'J oyphil', 'Playphil', 'Gracephil' - but it was the kind of effective promotion that classical music desperately needs. Classical music needs to recharge itself One of the best ways to get listeners hooked is to put on quality free (or low-priced) concerts, which will help connect with middle- and lower-income groups. Another is to program imaginatively, with repertoire that neither alienates nor bores the audience. Student tickets are essential, but in addition to this, a discounted ticket should be made available for young adults who are no longer in school. Commissioning series of Bernstein-inspired lectures/ concerts, led by high profile (and photogenic) conductors and performers (e.g. Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yo-Yo Ma).for both children AND adults would be1 a fantastic venture for gaining new adherents. Classical music's endemic haughtiness needs to be replaced, as in the examples above, by a more populist and accessible spirit. The most universal art form deserves nothing less. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 2 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 �"Just Say No .. to Gray Davis 11 Or "There you go again, : By Webster Ye . Staff Writer One of the first events this Homecoming · Weekend was the Career Panel in which : distinguished alumni (mostly from the class of experience with politics, why would you want · 1978) spoke about their career experiences and By Nick Colten them to hold high office? Would you want an : gave descriptions of their jobs. Convened under Staff Writer "outsider" physician (who never studied · the auspices of the Career Services Director, medicine, but has been in movies or was a : Roberta Gable, and held in the Conversation A Follow-up to "The California Recall and CEO) perform surgery on you? : Room on Friday night, the alumni speakers You:" Ifl were forced to endorse a celebrity candidate . almost universally reiterated a common theme: The photo accompanying my article was not for governor : current Johnnies need to begin to think about of my choosing, and however, I'd have to . life after St. John's. should not be seen as go with Gary . The professions of the gathered alumni were my endorsing the Coleman. His . diverse, as befitting the nature ofJohnnies, and candidacy of Mr. personal contact with : ranged from an emergency room doctor (Marcus Schwarzenegger. The the former Nancy . Eubanks, .A'88) to a children's books author (K.ari aim of my article was Davis (no relation to : Jenson Gold, .A'78) to a "professional sophist'' simply to encourage the current governor) . (Mark Steitz .A'78). All of the experiences people to vote, and I bodes well for his : recounted were amazing and fascinating in their thought that it might be political future, but I · own right: Mark Middlebrook (.A'83) became a unseemly for me to tell don't know if Mr. : wine snob after a long relationship with computer people how they should Coleman has any · consulting, and sought to get his "St. John's fix'' vote. That being said, I personal qualities : by teaching seminar-style classes at St. Mary's did enjoy Mr. that would help him · College of California. Annemarie Catania (.A'97) Schwarzenegger's succeed either in the : managed to get into graduate school without photo, and thought election or once in · having to take the GRE and "without having a another well-known office. Ifhe doesn't, : clue about what to do about life after St. John's." Austrian might have that ought not to be Many of the speakers emphasized the fact found certain features in a problem. The : that "it does not really matter what major you're it worthy of ana!Jsis. former Miss Davis, · in, as long as you can think (Rebecca L. Brown, As someone who possibly with supernatural guidance, was able : .A'78)" when it comes to human resources people has lived in a state governed by a cast member of the movie Predator, I'll admit that there are to help another former actor who was · making decisions on whether or not to hire probably worse choices for the govemox of completely devoid of the qualities associated : candidate. As such, the Great Books Curriculmn California. I am generally ill disposed, however, with a statesman. He not only became the · has proven its ability to force people to think toward "outsider'' candidates, especially actors. Governor of California, but the Leader of The : clearly about such incredibly dense (and possibly Most of them-the current occupant of the Free World(!)-an avenue of career · beautiful) subjects as Aristotle's Metapf?ysics White House for instance-simply aren't advancement in which Mr. Schwarzenegger is : Ptolemy's Almagest is a boon and an advan · in the current job market. In the words ofS "outsiders;" even if they truly have no Constitutionally prohibited. : Schoedinger (.A'92), "the ability to take a questi : and then beat it to death" is an important skill· . almost any profession. . The Career Panel presented itself as a fo . for interested Johnnies (ofwhich there were Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and : many) to listen to the diverse possibilities, w Friday . lay ahead of us and to pump the speakers 9-1, 2-4:30 · information about those career fields. For . who did not attend the Career Panel but · : learn about the speakers' careers or a Tuesday . prospective careers, visitthe Career Services 12-6:30 : on first floor Pinkney. Mr. Drummond 11 New Health Center Hours 4 Tough Jew:.A Movie Review Professional Recruiting THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Tobin Herringshaw and Thomas Jacobs Staff Writers On the open sea of Hollywood criticism, films about Charist have never had smooth sailing. Take, for example, Scorcese's Last Tempatation of Christ, a film that instigated a theological uproar months before its theatrical release. Now, the Anti-Defamation League has lashed out at Mel Gibson for The Passion, his bloody take on the last days of Christ, (due out in December) saying the movie, "Could fuel hatred, bigotry, and anti-Semitism." What's refreshing about Tough Jew, an indie sleeper film from the up-and-coming Brazilian writer/ director Eugenio Avellaneda, is that, despite its highly controversial portrayal of Jesus, it's finding a substantial audience in Latin America's predominately Catholic population. Set in the post-modem paradise of Rio de Janeiro, the film opens with the first of Jesus' miracles, transforming bottled water into Jose Cuervo Tequila at Mary Magdalene's Quinceakra. Suddenly, Uzi-toting Roman soldiers roll ·· ·· U:pin white Escalades to arrest the politically ~~bversive poet Jesus. : i Enter Judas, AK-47 in hand, and a gang of ~obal revolutionary disciples in camouflage ·· es. Guns blazing, the disciples liberate ' from the tyrannical Romans and escape hijacked Escalade. The chase that ensues sin at over 12 minutes, and is arguably f the best chase scenes in cinematic history. e wheel is Peter, who races down the sque jungle mountainside, crashing into •Stand at the marina, only to escape a la at to the island of Capemaum, a safefor revolutionaries, artists, and .. Roll Opening Credits. 'Won't ruin it for you, but the basic goes like this: Jesus wins over the ·es with his peaceful poetic message oppressive Roman dictatorship hunts n. ·s m<;>vie is really a character drama, fted performances by Adrian Lester lack British actor with Jamaican the poet-kingJesus ru:i.d Gael Garcia xican actor best known for his role ma, Tambien) as the angry radical intensity that embodies Jesus' brotherly nature. Their greatest onscreen moment is during the act three denouement, when they find themselves surrounded by the Roman army in an ancient Incan temple high in the Andes Mountains. Using the well-crafted dialogue, Bemal's performance pours out the dichotomy of emotions drivingJudas towards his ultimate betrayal: grief for this friend and vindication for the political cause that he feel Jesus has abandoned. The impact of this scene suggests that the title of the film is less about Jesus and more of an investigation of the complex internal struggle within Judas. This powerful scene and the cliff-hanger ending might be why movie audiences have embraced its edgy interpretation with open arms, while back in the States, the Hollywood machine decides the fate of all Jesus films before post-production has begun. We give Tough Jew two thumbs up! Leo Strauss: Tough? ;< Poetry and Prose Writing Workshop October 4 Author Rose Solari will lead a writing workshop relating to the exhibition, Out of the Shadows: The Paintings of Helen Torr, A futrospective. The workshop will focus on what we feel when looking at a painting or sculpture, not what we know, and, through informal discussion and examples, will help us to see and to write better. At the Mitchell Gallery from 10 am to 3 pm. $10 (free for St. John's students) Registration required. Particip~nts will have the opportunity to read from their work on Octoher 19. October 79 Participants in the Torr writing workshop will read their prose and poetry written in response to the exhibition, Out of the Shadows: The Paintings of Helen Torr, A futrospective. At the Mitchell Gallery from 2 to 4 pm. Free. nly 25 years old) brings a nuance cation to Judas that hasn't been arlon Brando played Stanley in A Desire. Lester captures a peaceful Registration requested. 410-626-2556 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �Ptol my St n Horosco M k Th ir Trium hant By Jenn Silgals-the sophomore who everyone thinks is a freshman Staff Mystic Aries (March 21-April 19) Ever considered buying stock in Prozac? I'm not saying it'll become entirely necessary, but you might want to think about stocking up for the next few days. As nice as the weather has been recently, you're in for an attack of the emotional blahs this week. Sorry to bring you bad news, but, hey, everybody has a bad day... or week. .. sometimes. Reading of die week: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Dqy by Judith Voirst Taurus (April 20-May 20) Over-sensitive much? Maybe you got in a fight with a friend on Saturday night or one of your tutors didn't like your most recent interpretation in seminar, but that's no reason to get all tom up inside. This week you may be more susceptible to criticism of all kinds, but try not to let it get to you. You're still a great person even if your shirt really is ugly, and everyone knows it. Reading of the week: Homer's Iliad (Sorry freshies,Jen is lazy.) Gemini (May 21-June 20) It's a good week to be a Gemini Johnnie. .i.\lways curious and. ready to learn, yo-tu: creative energy is magnified this week. Topics even you in all your willingness to learn don't typically enjoy may seem especially open to you this week. Take advantage of this special extra dose of St. John's spirit, and really tackle the difficult. Read and enjoy! Reading of dieweek: James Joyce's Ujysses (For sophomores, Ptolemy could also be an option.) Cancer (June 21-July 22) Take time to stop and think this week. Instead of snapping to quick judgments or jumping to express your thoughts and feelings, really try to think things through before you act or speak. Consider all possibilities. Respond to problems using 6 s turn both your heart and your head. Make up new words and catch phrases to better express your emotions. Be weird. Reading of the week: The Dictionary of American S fang by Robert L. Chapman for your room or eating egg salad at dinner, I'm talking 180 degrees, Do-I-know-youcause-I-have-no-idea-who-you-are! change. Do something unusual. Something that will revitalize your concept of self. Something new. Reading of the week: Makeover Miracles: A Leo (July 23-August 22) Before-And-After Guide to Corrective Makeup, Cosmetic Surgery, and Anti-Aging Strategies by Every issue has at least two sides, as die happy cliche goes. Remember diis maxim as you go through the week. Don't ignore one side of an issue to justify an action or opinion. Be "fair and balanced," just like Fox News ... only... not ... Really, though, be honest with yourself in what you think and do and things should tum out nicely for you this week. Reading of the week: Or a movie, rather, called Momenta Virgo (August 23-September 22) Only one week into school and you're already tired? Come now, how hard can it possibly be? Or, is it more a question of how hard you've been partying thus far? There are two extremes in this situation. You find yourself either working all the time or parrying until the break of dawn. And it's killing you. What to do? The answer is simple ... find the mean and break free of the extremes. Reading of the week: Uh ... some Plato will do ... Libra (September 23-0ctober 22) Just because I tell you something ill your horoscope, it doesn't mean you're free of responsibility for the results of your "astrological fate." Just because you've been going along for the ride and letting odiers decide your fate, it doesn't mean you won't be held responsible for your actions. Live your own life, and face consequences of your actions, good o:t bad. Reading of the week: C.S. Lewis, The S crewtape Letters Scorpio (October 23-November 2 7) If you're feeling restless or uncomfortable with your current situation, maybe it's time for a change. And I'm not talking a new poster . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . Michael Maron Sagittarius (November 22-0ecember 2 7) This week, I suggest you take up talking to trees or join a cult, because, with as lax as your spiritual life has become, you need to do something. Okay, maybe not joining a cult, or even doing something particularly religious, but remember, there are supernatural forces in this world, it's been proven by science. Take some times to focus on the abstract, on the unexpected. Buy my new book. Reading of the week: How to Look at the Sky and Make Things Up, by Jen Silgals* Capricorn (December 22-Januaty 19) The time is right for contemplating the future, so make some plans on the advice of the stars. Plan something fun to do with die family over Parents' Weekend or get out the map and come up with a weird road trip for long weekend. Keep your eyes open for the just-plain-strange and use unusual land marks and travel stories to make your journey a success. Reading of the week: The New R.oadside America: The Modern Traveler's Guide to the Wild and Wondeifu! America's Tourist Attractions by Doug Kirby, Ken Smith, and Jvfike Wilkins Aquarius (Januaty 20- February 78) I have two goals for you for this week. One, be social. Two, spend some time outside. It's cooling down and, before you know it, wintet will be here. Now is the time for picnics back campus and reading seminar or a book out loud to your classmates. Nowis time for good, clean, educational fun Mother Nature as your hostess. And picnic Risks and Fr shman w rds: n By Cooper N. Gallimore Staff Writer College is quite a bit different from high school, as I'm sure many of the freshmen are discovering. It is riddled with its own new challenges and temptations, headaches and heartaches, and just general obstacles that are likely unfamiliar to many, either in kind or in degree. I say all this now; because die freshmen have been here two weeks and know all this from first-hand experience. That being said, I henceforili address this article specifically to die freshmen, however, its topic is very applicable to the rest of the college community as well. My fundamental advice to you is this: DO NOT SMOKE! At this point I imagine that the majority of you have either tuned me out, or are taking my extension of smoking as a forbidden fruit, and dius a license to go out and do just die opposite. Well, I can't stop you from smoking, and frankly I would be hypocritical if I tried, for I consider myself an avid and committed tobacco user. Then why, you may ask, am I urging you to avoid smoking? Well, perhaps I should rephrase my suggestion: Do not .smoke ... CHEAP tobacco. You see, if you are as intent as I am upon using a product so disastrous to your overall health, you might as well enjoy yourself while doing it. On any given 10:10 as I leisurely stroll across quad, I see dozens of hapless students . ..,,a,u.u1i; from their first class so that they can off of dieir pitiful cancer sticks . ·-~·~+~returning to their next class. I suppose some passing pleasure from these sabbaticals, but I can't help feeling sorry them. I say this because it is an undeniable the average cigarette is a gruesome, concoction of tar, additives, and >">l:Fa,<cco scraps. I understand that these people to them, but do they not realize there ne better (and, perhaps in the long cheaper) ways to fulfill their craving and aps even enjoy themselves? speaking of course about tli.e other two airborne types of tobacco product; cigars pipes. There are many advantages to pipes cigars as opposed to cigarettes. While they lljust as detestable (to the uninitiated) and . give you cancer, they are not as likely to the Art of Smokin hinder your aililetic prowess. I say this, because unlike cigarettes, you do not actually inhale the smoke and dius it does not (for die most part) enter your lungs. Basically die only smoke you are actually inhaling is the amount you inadvertently suck in from your own secondhand smoke. Thus you can smoke a cigar or a pipe and still run a mile without huffing and puffing. Now I know what you're thinking, isn't it more expensive to smoke tliese two products? Well, yes and no. Mind you when I said cheap earlier I didn't necessarily mean expensive. For cigars, you will be spending more every time you sit down to smoke one, since most cigars range from $3 to $15, however you won't smoke them nearly as often as you would a cigarette bodi because the price is prohibitive, and because it usually takes around 45 minutes to comfortably smoke a moderately sized cigar (though I have smoked some for upwards of three hours). I have found that for me personally, die price itself is something of an incentive to smoke them only occasionally, dierefore I view smoking a cigar as a recreational experience, not a nicotine fix. While I am by far much more of a pipe-user than a cigar-user, I must admit that there is just something extremely satisfying about sitting outside doing your Program reading on a beautiful Saturday afternoon widi a seven-inch stinking stick of tobacco hanging out of your moudi that a pipe just can't replicate. For me, a cigar is an occasion, a respite, and a treat. Pipes, on the other hand, are a cheaper alternative all around, and I would recommend to most. The real expense in a pipe is derived from the initial costs it entails. The pipe itself is usually die biggest investment. Your average pipe costs somewhere between $35 and $100, though you can cut this expense even furdier if you opt to go for the less sophisticated yet more integrally American method of pipe smoking, the corncob pipe, which can be obtained for about $10. Aside from the pipe itself, the other things you will need to get started are a pipe tool (for packing tlie pipe and cleaning the bowl), some pipe cleaners, a tobacco pouch, and if you are so inclined, a pipe lighter (unless you prefer matches). All of these accessories can easily be obtained for no more dian $20. So assuming you have opted for the corncob, and you avoid getting a $50 lighter, you are only $30 in the hole to start out. Now; obviously, all of this equipment is useless if you don't have pipe tobacco. Pipe tobacco comes in a wide variety of flavors from the sweet and light to the strong and heavy. One of the fun aspects of both cigar and pipe smoking is that there is such a wide variety of types and flavors to choose from, far more so than widi cigarettes. Determining what you like is just one of the many highly personalized aspects of this art. You can purchase pipe tobaccos in bulk, but for the amateur user still determining his /her preferences an eighdi of a pound is· a good quantity to start with and can be purchased for about $7. While this may sound more expensive than your average pack of cigarettes, consider that, since I doubt most new smokers and perhaps even some habitual cigarette smokers would be unable to handle (or have time) for more than one bowl a day. This tobacco should last you for at least a couple of weeks, or even up to two months if you only smoke it every once and awhile, say right before or after seminar. It is a great way to mellow out after an especially grueling discussion. Whether you choose to smoke or not is your own business, and I hope this article hasn't encouraged anyone who odierwise would never have thought of smoking to try it, because let's face it, tobacco is smelly, nasty, and causes cancer. But I'm just thinking back to my freshman year when I began smoking, and how it took me nearly a year of smoking inferior cigarettes to discover that if one must use a tobacco product, there are superior (and better tasting) alternatives. I wish someone had told me that. If you do make the decision to take the plunge into this most dangerous of arts, I encourage you to stop by tli.e Smoke Shop over on Maryland Avenue. There you will encounter a friendly and knowledgeable staff ready and willing to answer any and every question you might have, whetl1er die subject be cigars, pipes, or even cigarettes (which if you absolutely must smoke, please do yourself a favor and pay the extra dollar to get some decent imports). Ifl can help only one of you to a more sophisticated appreciation of the art of smoking, than I have do1;1; my duty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY. 7 �Ultimate Anime: Samurai X - Trust and Betrayal By Julie Janicki Staff Writer For those of you who were entertained by last week's article, and for the rest of you who were extremely bored and have for some reason decided to read this one as well, I have torn myself away from watching Fruits Basket episodes to write the promised review of Samurai X. Before I begin going over the content of this anime, though, I think it would help to clarify some of the more technical sides of Japanese entertainment. A great many Japanese animation cartoons are based on Japanese comic books, called manga. They're often produced during the same time that the mangas are being written and, depending upon when the manga is chosen for animation, may be months or years behind the current manga storyline. Anime episodes also have the tendency to veer away from the plot of the manga, changing names, character traits, and various plots - the degree of change is particular to each anime/manga combination. Outside of the anime series, artists can also choose to make movies (which may or may not have bearing on the anime or 8 manga plot), and/ or OVAs. OVAs, or Original Video Animations, are essentially episodes or sequences of animation that are released directly to video and that exist somewhere outside of the plot of the series; again, the degree to which the events in OVAs impact or correlate with the series or manga is different for every anime. In the case of Samurai X, it functions as an OVA to the anime Rurouni Kenshin, providing a prequel and sequel to the series. In order to keep this review at a reasonable length (thus making more room for sports and lecture-related articles), I'm going to stick to the prequel OVA, Trust and Betrqyal. This particular OVA consists of four episodes, each of about half an hour in length. Okay, the plot goes like this. The year is around 1856. It's a rather dark time for Japan, and the story marks the beginning of the revolution against the Tokugawa Shogunate. A little slave boy named Shinta is being taken away with other slaves to serve a new master when bandits attack the entire caravan. Although all of his companions are killed, Shinta is saved by the intervention of a master swordsman who decides, after the battle has been fought, that Shinta will come with him to learn how to fight in an obscure, ancient form of swordsmanship called Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu. The master also decides that Shinta's new name will be Ken shin. Kenshin spends the next several years of his life training in the style of his master, and he eventually leaves (despite his master's warnings to do otherwise) to join the rebellion against the Shogunate. Due to his amazing skills, Kenshin is recruited as an assassin and spends many of his early-to-mid teenage years killing literally hundreds of people. He feels no remorse, no guilt, mostly because he's convinced that what he is doing is the ultimate way to save people from further suffering. This be- comes complicated, however, when he kills a man, and, due to some interesting plot twists involving a betrayal in the rebellion, ends up married to the man's former fiance. That's right- he eventually has to face reality, and the consequences of his past. The OVA works to mature Kenshin's character, endingwith him vowing to never kill again as well as feeling a need to make up for all of the blood that he has spilled. This sets up the core series, where he spends much of his time repenting for his past actions and striving to improve the lives of others. The real beauty of the prequel OVA, in my opinion, is that it provides a dramatic counterpoint to the anime series while providing appropriate and realistic background informs tion on Kenshin. The core series itself is rafu comical and lighthearted, although there definitely a few intense, dramatic plot dev opments. Trust and Betrqyal, however, is mu darker and violent, spending more time sympathetic backgrounds and symbolic tions (the occasion and manner of sake is a central motif to the episodes). actual format of the episodes takes some ting used to, however, and can be extr confusing due to frequent and often unc uses of flashback; I had to watch various sc more than once in order to keep track of c nology and plot. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What's really good about this OVA is that it stands on its own merits; it has a natural graceful story that traces Kenshin's gro~ without requiring the core series to give context or meaning to the end. It also establishes itself apart from the anime in that the drawing style is decidedly more dramatic, and the voice actors are subtler, giving the episodes their own character and personality. Every aspect of Trust and Betrqyal has a calm, clean, focused sensation attached to it, whereas the actual anime can be slightly jumpy and curt. Even with the moderate to rugh levels ofblood and gore that accompany a few of the fight scenes, the episodes run flawlessly. The main attraction of this series, though, is Kenshin himself. In these episodes, his character arc begins with complete, genuine innocence and ends with a burning need to find redemption. His intensity is to such a degree that I found myself completely drawn into his world and to his point of view; I felt every betrayal, every bit of joy, every wonder he held with how peaceful life could become. His angst and suffering are slow to arrive, but once they rresent themselves, they completely overload .· your senses, leaving you with nothing else except an almost unbearable aawareness of your . ?wn humanity. I may sound like I'm .JtYFerbolizing a little here, but Kenshin is truly ·sensitive, dramatic character that drew me in dleftmewonderingwhich way was up; the gth and power of his mind and soul are cond to none. Tn all honesty, this isn't an anime venture ~nu'll want to investigate until you're comble with the anime style and you feel ready kle some pretty heavy emotional issues. ding is traumatic, and although there is of completion in the story, Kenshin's urney is far from over. Trust and Bellows a phase of Kenshin's life, transg him from an innocent little boy to a are man who has the lives of hundreds iple to account for. The only criticisms have .about this OVA is that if you aren't ood to feel uncomfortable with the can be entirely too sobering, the flash.e disorienting and can cause quite a bit ·on, and the gore level is at a pretty le level. If you're in the mood for . ywonderful anime, however, an exory, and a character that truly demoncomplexities of human nature I .tely recommend Samurai X: T:Ust I. JohnnieSpeak: Alumni Weekend By Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor He lives in Kensington, Maryland and when asked about life after St. John's said, after due consideration and in a measured tone, called life after St. John's, "a lot of hurly-burly with little intellectual content, but always interesting." Initially reluctant to speak to The Ga4f!y, Scott Saxman, A'94, finally did have something to say, though it didn't take the form of a simile, Homeric or otherwise. "The Peace Corps was a good time," says the classmate of Admissions office Bill '] ames Dean' Mo- This past weekend being Homecoming, The Gadf!y decided to ask the collected alumni some questions. Alumni generally speak on two topics ofinterest to current students: what the school was like when they were here, and what happens when one receives the reward given all faithful stud en ts at this school-expulsion. We chose the latter topic, it being all too presentin theminds roa:o. of the seniors on our Mark Lindlay staff, and thought .N67, who has rethe best place to get centlymoved back to the alums to talk Annapolis, declared would be the Satur''life is good" In a day evening cocktail valiant attempt at party where I was the requested Prosupposed to tend gram references and bar. And actually, as signifying his satisJohn OosterhoutA'51 invented Reality one might expect, I faction to be once found at least one alumnus who wanted to talk again in our fair school, Mr. Lindlay also spoke about his time here, which was fortuitous as he of making his way up from City Dock with his was the inventor of Reality. See the end of the cat to a place where he could plant his oar and article for this story. have the people think it a winnowing fan. The question put Vernon Padgett to the alums was and Henry Robert this: ''What's life like III are both of the after St. John's (and class ofl 941, the first if you can say it in a class to taketheNew Homeric simile, Program. Mr. that's great)?" I Padgett, who at more thought thi~ a more than 80 years old was neutral opener than elected a water comJoe Method's sugmissioner in Califorgestion, "does it get nia, said that he better?''which, while found life after St. open to interpretaJohn's "veryinteresttion as to whether it ing. I did lots of implies that St . things, not all of John's or the outside them successfully." Mark Lindlay A'67 world is worse (or Mr. Robert ofbetter), might have fered a more general statement to current stufurther saddened the alums. dents. ''When you first get out, you will have to Paul Cree, .N52 was seated along the wall next get used to a ~ay ofJif~wp.ere you don't have to the bar where I was supposed to be working. the opporturuty to cliscusseverythingyou want . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �Lecture Review: The Feminine Abstract and the Neuter Essential: Singular and Plural in Ancient Greek Ancient Greek. It is common here to experience incidentally, is why a neuter plural takes a singular this rapture, and J\fr. David admits to suffering verb. What, then, is a neuter singular? It is a particular instance of the general To dikaion is this from it even now. In any case, the point is that one must look at resingularization of dike from ta dikaicr, it is 'that All I can say about J\fr. David (well, not all, but the first thing I will say) is that he is an amazing the philological consequences when exploring ab- thing which is just,' itis, in other words, the essential part of the feminine abstract: a neuter essenpublic speaker. Perhaps this comes from so ~y stract concepts. In another conversation, a friend recitations of Greek poetry, perhaps not, but 1n asked J\fr. David, "can there be a plural for 'Truth' tial. Mr. David's radical claim for the evening was any case, the discussion I overheard while~ in Greek?" The immediate answer was, of course that all post-Socratic philosophy is characterized my way to the Conversation Room was filled with not. It is a feminine abstract. And yet, grammatisuperlatives, 'The best lecture fve ever attended," cally speaking, of course Truth can have a plural. by a move from the neuter essential to the femiHow is it that feminine abstract concepts can be nine abstract. From form to forms,in otherwords. being the gist of them, and I must agree. . 'To oti becomes 'ousid. 1bis move is a talring of .Alumni weekend lecture is always a nostalgic plural? Why are they feminine or abstract? Creating a plural seems to concretize the con- the abstract of one's thought and making it the event for the slightly older members of the audience, but I got the impression that, this time, it cept. In the case of Truth, pluralization indicates mother of that thought. Socrates was a virgin was for the speaker as well As Dean Flaumenhaft instances of truth telling, not a plurality of 'Truths.' and a mother. He never had a thought him;>elf pointed out in his introduction, J\fr. David is a Ananke, or necessity, when pluralized, can mean (or so he said) and yet he birthed many. :hilo~o­ two-foldJohnnie; alumnus, and tutor for the past torture. This is indicative of the unpredictable phy, in J\fr. David's words, lived and died with Socmtes. five years. But in addition to this, he seems ~o nature of these plural feminine abstracts. This separation of Socratic and post-Socratic And yet, the plural can often come to mean the exude an effluence of J ohnniness not found 1n philosophy is distinguished further by the lack of all. He genuinely cares about the Program and the concept itself. An example is ta dikaia, which is sanctity ofits components because he cares about not simply 'just things' but justice. It is plural per philology in later philosophers. Lexi.ca, as ~· Lady Philosophy. I draw this conclusion from a accidens,itis concrete, or collective, having a sense David pointed out, are the end products of phiof all parts of the concept. Is, then, this feminin- lology. It is a sort of grave-yard for words; each remark early onin his lecture. He began by recounting a conversation he had ity secondary to the notion of abstractness and lined up according to its first letter rather than its continued on page 13 with two fellow seniors, several years ago, on the concreteness? Another way to ask this would subjectof aHeideggerpapei: Heideggerhadasked, ''What is philosophy?" but had approached the be: 'what distinguishes first dequestion from a patronizing and prejudiced angle; clension nouns?' What does it he assumed some infallible sanctity of the Greek mean to pluralize the feminine? language. According to Mr. David, Heidegger has Isn't there just "one woman with an appalling lack of respect for philology, which many faces"? 1bis leads to examgoes handinhand with philosophy. A_ commo~ ining the feminine abstract perStraussian comment it that, philology 1S not phi- sonified. Lady Justice, in 11r. losophy, yet, according to Mr. David, a philoso- David's example from Hesiod. pher must be a philologist. J\fr. David later com- Pluralization of a proper name mented. that this. is true in reverse as well; one makes. a generalization of a must know the abstract to derive the meaning, if person's character; the Newtons that is indeed possible. ''Philosophy is studied and the Einsteins, for example. everywhere, and many universities offer PhD.s, But then, calling someone an but the move to philosophy comes from asking Einstein has this same effect; it is a the right questions. They are pick-up lines in the resingularization of the plural/ singles' bar of being." Being is ah original truth, concrete. A good example is that of that around which a study grows~ According to Mr. David, Heidegger, however, UnityinEuclid. His definition 7.1 did not offer an original truth in his unfounded is most accurately translated using praise of"the ancients," but rather an escape, and, Monas as Unity, a generalization; as J\fr. David notes of not only the students, but Heath, though, renders it as 'an the faculty and staff as well, "most johnnies are unit: This is the same phenomescapees." Heidegger is nai've; Greekitself cann~t enon mentioned; Unity pluralized lead us to being, and a refuge in the language 1s is 'unities' or 'units' but when "sheer escapism." But according to 11r. David, resingularized, it becomes 'unit'. "not every vacuity is an abyss." Heidegger is at1bis brings us to the neuter One artist's rendering of Mr David. Please note that the cp's at his feet are tractive because ofhis curiosity about actual being, essential. Ta dikaia is not plural, be pronounced as in the 'ph' in 'upheaval,' not as in the word 'philosophy' in addition to his rapturous relationship with but collective and concrete. This, By Chris Utter Staff Writer 10 If You re Looking at Usl You re Looking at Country 1 By Mary Townsend Inside News Editor The Alumni Homecoming Waltz on Saturday, in a strange though not wholly unsurprising turn, began and ended with country music. J\fr. Elliot Zuckerman, engaged to play waltzes, polkas, and tangos for the first two hours of the party, walked in to the strains of Kitty Wells, to the slight embarrassment of Hayden Brockett, Waltz Co-Archon, a citizen of Connecticut, and to the unfortunate confusion of several alumni. Five and half hours later, the lights shut off unexpectedly by security, the few brave souls left brought the evening to complete accomplishment with just one more song by Hank Williams the elder. Country music has come on the scene before at waltz parties; never before, however, has the conscience of the Waltz Committee allowed it to be played quite so much during the actual waltz itself The recent death of Johnny Cash gave initial license to a tribute in the form of"I Still Love Someone;" this made ''I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" by Kitty Wells seem like areasonable choice for a medium tempo waltz; following this, it was such a small step to "There )!eGoes" sung by Sissy Spacek from the movie ~·Coal l\1iner's Daughter;' a slightly Cajun twop predominating on the floor. After that, it the most natural thing in the world for erson Tallent and Mary Townsend, dancing their respective partners, to sing their hearts to Loretta Lynn's "Honky Tonk Girl." Ficonscience thrown to the wind, the waltz proper was finished off seventeen miny by the traditional "Sing Sing Sing" to room for the immediate playing of ''It God Who Made Honkey-TonkAngels." none for whom the words 'country muto mind visions of Clint Black, Reba tire and perhaps even the Dixie Chicks be 9 or precipitously contemptuous. In the the nice old man who sold me a couple LP'sinBristol, Tennessee, ''That just try." Country-ness, as a quality, has al.necessarily had an element of the selfto it, setting itself off specifically against or may not go on in the city, in order to · anything about it in words at all. at modern country music has left is .of this consciousness, no longer comth a sense of the land that gave rise to it 1 in the first place, producing the sad spectacle ofpeople trying to be as hillbilly as possible without having any idea of what it would be like to be ennobled by necessity and lonesomeness. The dancing continued to Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash as Committee members, friends, and hired girls from the Alumni Office mopped up spilled champagne and picked up a relatively small amount of trash along the sides of the Great Hall. Every now and then, an unknown alum, or a familiar junior or freshman would approach the DJ table to request a song, mourn J\fr. Cash, or merely stand rapt, listening to the sweet wail of the steel pedal, the gracious fiddle, the mournful harmonica. The work and the hour were light on the shoulders of all, and thus it remained until the stereo was put away and all went off to sleep at last. For a group of young men and women who teach lessons for, buy the food and liquor of, DJ during, and clean up after parties where Frank Sinatra alone makes up 11 % of total songs play~d, it sure does seem remarkable that in their secret hearts, to a man, what they really love after all is the music of this singular genre. The easy account is that one tires oflistening to swing music till the· cows come home. This is true enough, but Meno-like in its avoidance ofthe original question. Why listen to country music specijicalfy? To put it another way, ti esti country music? A worthy inquiry indeed. Nick Colten, who is said to have shot a man in Reno just to watch him die during his nine-year hiatus from the College, attempted the beginning of an account in the words ofJ ohnny Cash, "This world is rough, and if a man's gonna make it, he's got to be tough." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . 11 �Some Reflections on September 11th By Nick Colten Staff Writer tax cuts provide "economic" or "job security;" ignoring environmental regulations or drilling for oil in Alaska is "energy security." Last Thursday's Washington Post even related an incident of Mr. Bush referring to "9 /11" when asked about the huge amounts of money he is raising for use in his opponent-less primary race. Adding further to the cynicism, the winner of this "primary" will be nominated by the Republican party in Manhattan less than two weeks before the third anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The indefinite "war'' that we are in is also has almost unlimited potential to be used to push irrelevant a,gendas, hide errors and attack political opponents. One example of this is the invasion oflraq, a policy longed for by many in the Administration for over a decade. This in part was accomplished by the transformation of the socalled ''War a,gainst Terrorism" into the ''War on Terroi'-the change having coincided with Osama bin Laden's demotion from being mentioned daily by the Administration to being unmentionable. Around that time Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction" were being referred to as ''weapons of mass terroi'-just as now such as yet unaccounted for ''weapons" are being said to be a reference to both "weapons" and "weapon On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was at work in a bakery. I was shaping loaves of bread, listening to NPR, when I heard that a plane had cra,shed into one of the World Trade Center towers. The news was somewhat arresting, but only slightly more so than any other time I had heard of a plane or train crash. I'm not even sure that NPR had at that point deviated entirely from its prerecorded story segments. A little while later, when a second plane hit the second tower, it was clear to both the.NPR producers and me that something more than unfortunate accident had taken place. My first reaction was shock. After the shock had receded a bit, I was seized by the feeling that this was going to be very bad for our country. By and large, people-and by extension, countries-do not react very reasonably when they feel threatened. Americans, and the U.S., are no excepti~ns. The last hundred years offers innumerable examples of such errors in times of insecurity; the Japanese internment, McCarthyism, and the murder of civil rights workers, are just a few of the better known cases. The response to the terrorist attacks would most certainly have its share of ill-considered overreactions. I hoped that they would be few and of little lingering consequence; I feared that they would be many and would have a deep and persistent influence on our nation. So far, things seem to have fallen somewhere between my hopes and fears. What I grossly underestimated however was the cynical manipulation of the events of September 11 lh. Maybe it was because the attacks were too raw, too real, that I was fooled into thinking that no one would be so unscrupulous as to willfully misuse them. Perhaps I was a little overcome by the enormous comity exhibited by the public, politicians and even foreign nations in the wake of the attacks. I was also probably a bit niive and thought that in the face of clear and serious problems facing the country some of the petty concerns might be put aside. How wrong I was. Since the terrorist attacks, the Administration and its allies in Congress have used the events of Sept. 11 lh, either directly or indirectly, to justify n~arly every one of their actions. Policies pursued long before the attacks are now framed in the language of national defense: 12 Island and Maine were associated with the French for opposing Mr. Bush's massive tax cut; members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were warned by their former colleague,]ohnAshcroft, that those who criticize Mr. Bush's plan to use military tribunals to try terrorism suspects, "aid terrorists;" and last week Donald Rumsfeld told reporters that Americans who criticize the war progress in Iraq are helping to boost the morale and financial support of the partisans killing our soldiers. Has this dangerous and cynical strategy run its course? It's too early to tell. There are some hopeful signs that it has, but perversely, the disasters that suggest that it's nearing its end do not simply affect its proponents, but our nation as a whole. Two years after the attacks on the U.S., our country is arguably only slightly more secure. The purported mastermind behind the Sept 11 lh, Osama bin Laden, is still on the loose. After spending tens of billions of (borrowed) dollars, Afghanistan has largely been returned to the condition that it was in around 1989: a land of warlords with U.S. money and arms who traffic in heroin, and rising force of radical Muslims who can only look good in comparison to the systems." Executive privilege and national security are reflexively invoked to shield the Administration basic information requests (such cost estimates for the ''wai') as well as from scrutiny by Congress or even ind~dent commissions such as the one Mr. Bush appointed to look into intelligence lapses prior to S~t. 11 lh. The Republican chairman (the one who ~laced Henry Kissinger) of that commission was so frustrated by the uncooperativeness of the Administration, that he and his Democratic counterpart issued a press release complaining of their failure to be provided with pertinent documents and the insistence that "minders" be present during their interviews with military and intelligence officials-which was, ironically, Saddam Hussein's policy with his weapons scientists and the U.N. inspectors. In the "with us or against us" world view espoused by the Administration and its allies, those who fail to publicly support the Administration's agenda are at best unwitting supporters of our enemies. The leader of the Senate Democrats, TomDaschle, was compared to Saddam Hussein for his opposition to oil drilling in Alaska; R~ublican Senators for Rhode warlords. After enjoying near unanimous sympathy and offers of support from other nations-as well as the UN and NATO, the Administration has managed to, in varying degrees, alienate a majority of the people on the planet as well as a supermajority of the governments. One of the few governments that has supported the US, the Blair government of the UK, may not survive its association with the military policies 0£. the Bush Administration. After dismissing the UN as bordering on irrelevancy and threat · to punish the members of "Old Europe" w did not support our invasion oflraq, the US · forced to ask them to donate their financial sources and the lives of their troops in order help support a course of action that they ha: opposed all along! If a new administration does come into fice in 2005, it may greatly improve foreign tions without much cost to the U.S. A new ministration may also greatly help in the en to have an honest inquiry into the events lea up to Sept. 11lh and the appropriate meas that are needed to avoid future attacks. Pa for the aftermath of Bush's two wars as the ''Voodoo economics" of his tax plans, ever, may take decades--or even generatio continued from page 9 thatwouldgetmore students involved than the intramural sports program. Unsurprisingly, Mr. to. After a while, you'll look like most other Oosterhout began his description like this: "So I people except that you will look more deeply got a bunch ofbeer ...." The epicycle race, the Battle of Salamis, and into things than others." When Ms. Amy Oosterhout A'82 heard that ~r?omball were born, the last obviously dying I wasn't having much luck in my quest for m mfancy. But the first two events are 51 year-old traditions that live Homeric descripon today. The Real tions of life after St Show, the ThoJohn's said, "that's mas Aquinas race, probably because it the Real Play-all wasn't epic. It was these were added rather ordinary." She later, but the soul worked as a title abwas there at the instractor, getting her ception. In a final start in Annapolis, note, apparently, and then starting her contrary to what own business in the I've long thought, field. the "real" in RealNow this article ity was not origigets interesting: Well, nally supposed to sort of. John warn the seniors Oosterhout,A'51 is of the shameful Paul Cree, ~52 the father both of ugliness of the the aforementioned alumna and the St John's party, which has made outside world by importing it to our College for its way into the Annapolis City Code. The St. a weekend. Rather, the ''Real Olympics" were so John's Marching Calypso Orchestra was a later named because St John's students of the 50s ' . innovation (one that, for those who don't know. were very interested in finding out what was .• nrompted a city ordinance banning ''Marchio~ "real," a habit which extended to their activities Calypso Orchestras''), it would seem. Reality origi- outside of class. Students of today, of course, .; ~ally began as the ''Real Olympics," which has have no use for stale Latin translations of · . fortunately become a half-forgotten portion Aristotle; we prefer the ostensibly more meanthe party's more recent incarnations. Mr. ~ (to English speakers) and more directly sterhout had just graduated, but his wife was earned over "in itself." But I'm sure we all can at the school, so he was staying in Annapo- admit "Reality'' is vastly superior to "the Olyme got together with three then-juniors and pics in themselves." ed an afternoon of strange sporting events continued from page 10 : . : · · ancestry, most or all having gone out of use. Paradigms are the tools of philologists, and do not belong in the minds oftrue speakers ofalangua,ge; rathertheybelongwheretheyareatStJohn's, above the urinals. : . · : · : I tis tti:possible to translate the true meaning of a work USJng grammars and lexica; one must know the opposites to learn the true sense of an author's m~ Mr. Davidgave two illustrative examples: Plato juxtaposes muthos with logos, while Homer does the samewithmuthos and ~os. The 'mean: ing' of muthos found in a lexicon, therefore, is . useless; a mere epitaph in honor of the true sense · of the word. : Mr. David closed with a conjoining ofphiloso. phy and poetry into one. "Homer renders what : philosophers talk about. To know rhythm is to : know the riddle of being and becoming. No ar. rh~c p~osopher is truly a philosopher." : H~mer1s pnor both in time and actuality to Greek . philosophy, and all philosophy can be found in : Homer. He has not mathematics, but in other . maths he was the School of Hellas. : If anyone missed Mr. David's lecture, I highly . recommend either buyingacopywhenit becomes : available in the Bookstore, or listening to the re. cording in the library. His commentary on what is : at the ro~t of the Program, and of Western phi. losophy m general, is as insightful as anything I : have ~ver ~eard. As I mentioned at the beginning . of this review, everyone whom I have spoken with : agrees with me on this point At the opening of . thel~ture, Mr. David acknowledged threeimpor: tant mfluences on his life and work: Douglas . Allenbrook, David Grene, andhis father. I am sure thatallofthemwouldhavebeenextremelypleased with his talk as well. fix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 �continued from Front Page scans. He concluded that Steve had both the fracture under his eye and theLa Fort 2 fracture over his nose, as previously diagnosed, and also a La Fort 1 fracture under his nose, which had been previously undiagnosed. Dr Manson told Steve that he would reconnect the jaw with metal plates and screw and wire his jaw shut for a few weeks to set the teeth straight, and that he could do it operation, which Steve had not expected, was necessary. Itwas scheduled for Friday, which gave Steve the opportunity to spend some time at the Hospital. Almost every day his doctors would briefly check on him, asking about his eyes and how he was feeling, which came across to Steve as a personally vested interest. Friends from school came by occasionally, and he spent a lot of time talking to his mother, whose presence: Steve mentioned several times during my exclUSlve The Gadfly interview, made the experience "a whole according to Steve, a lot of the people waiting in the E.R. looked pretty messed up-and after a ninety-minute wait he was seen by a female nurse who took his temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. He was then see by a male doctor-which I mention not out of chauvinism but out of a deep journalistic scru. tiny-who touched his face and sent him to that evening. Surgery began around 8:30pm that everung. get some X-rays. The X-rays suggested that The last thing Steve remembers is the coldness his sinus walls were broken and full of blood, of the pain-killers-the staff told him that they lot easier." so the doctor sent Steve off for a CT Scan to Friday's operation was performed by the highly were the strength of about 5 or 6 beers-which confirm this. The CT Scan showed that Steve recommended Dr. Tefaro, who reattached Steve's were given intravenously into his left arm. Durhad a fracture which started from one side of ing the sri:-hour operation, Dr. Manson went nose in a brief four-hour operation. After it was his face, where his jaw normally meets his found that Steve's molars were colliding before he skull, ran over his nose, and then reached about between Steve's cheeks and gums to insert the could finish his bite, braces were put on as well as metalwork described to Steve as being to the the same place on the other side. This fracture the rubber bands, which act to allowed the bone below the line up his jaws. This was done fracture to detach and sink instead of wiring the jaws shut into his face. Where Steve once and willmake communication in had a slight overbite he now Steve's classes much easier. had a slight under-bite. The By Sunday the zombieness CT Scan also showed he had from the anesthesiahad worn off another fracture below his and the doctors checked him out. eyeball on the lower left orBut not before they could pull bit. This fracture seriously the gauze out of his nose, which concerned thedoctorwho felt "tickled and stung all at once." it could result in Steve losing Then they gave him his prescripvision in that eye, particularly if tions for antibiotics and painkillthey performed surgery. (fhe ers-Sportswirewouldlike to indoctors would be more conform our Santa Fe transfers that cerned with the possibility of Steve locks his door-andhe left vision problems than the posHopkins with his mother just afsibility of brain damage.) ter lunch, which got him back to Steve's E.R. doctor called for a school by 2:00pm. specialistwho reiterated to Steve Recovery will be marked in what he had already been told, stages. The rubber bands will be•'. God Bless Tall Steve. gave Steve his number, and the off in about two weeks, and a option to stay at the hospital . scale of watch parts. It would have been cooler weekly checkup will be the routine until th~ are until he was able to perform surgery, which would to w:ri.te.howthe doctors pulled back the skin on satisfied with his development. In the meantlme, . . have been Monday atthe earliest and Wednesday his face like in that movie, with that guy, but it's this normally active Junior will be taking some . at the latest, or to go home. Steve chose to go time off from the intramUral and crew programs home with conflicting desires to blow his nose- also pretty cool that they can do this kind of until his doctors give him the okay. As foi; stuff internally which means that all of Steve's to clear the blood out-but at the same time stitches are internal, except for the ones below Dodgeball participation, well, he'll show up, but realizing it would just start the blood flowing his eye. When Steve woke up at 2:30am Tue~y as foractuallyplaymg... again as he disrupted the blood clots. I wish there was a better moral to this stoiy Around the time he went home, 11:00pm morning, groggy and zombieish, he found ~s than "get a second opinion when you'renotworkjaw was not wired shut like he expected. This Saturday evening, Steve called his mother to tell was a result of the severe inflammation Dr ingright." I realize thereis a balancing act between her what had happened. Understandably scared Manson encountered. Steve was also told that going to the doctor whenever you sneeze, _an at the prospect of having major surgery, Steve they were unable to finish work on his nose be- continuing to play basketball on a severely sp told his mother he would like her to come to cause of the difficulty in inserting a new breath- ankle. But, at the very least, going to the nurse . Annapolis when she asked. She arrived from S.an ing tube into his mouth, which was also inflamed, give you that impartial opinion untainted by~ Jose California 25 hours later, and brought with own stoic views. Steve spent a good deal of her the phone number of Dr. Manson at Johns to replace the one in his nose, which is ~he~e thinking that what he had was nothing serio Hopkins Hospital, whom a friend ofhers from they needed to work. This left Steve with ~s when he would end up spending almost a nose held in place by external bandages on his college had called the best in the world at what in the hospital, with the doctors telling him Steve needed done. Dr Mason spent his lunch now symmetrically puffy face. could go blind in one eye. A CT Scan Tuesday revealed that another that Monday looking at Steve's X-rays and CT 14 KvvaiSoccerRe0ew Dirt (and Mud) from the Field By Natalie Rinn Staff Writer All you weak souls, divert your gaze: this past week on the Kunai soccer field was no place for the poor in spirit. After a final practice round on Tuesday, Kunai from around the land were prepared to take their first official Friday match-up by storm. Mother Nature, sensing the Kunai's greater cause, cooperated accordingly. The steady rain that commenced early Friday afternoon awakened the innerKunai animal spirit. As the clock struck 4:15, the back campus, which was otherwise deserted by the remains of the weakly constituted student body who sought shelter from the elements, was lovingly populated by the Kunai who stood warming up in full force. When the blood of all Kunai coursed through their veins, and when all cleats were sufficiently soaked through, the charge down to the lower field, via the stairway that leads to soccer glory, was made by the invigorated Kunai pack. Wednesday morning's successful draft meeting, conducted by Mr. Pickens and the Women's Athletic Advisory Committee (WAAC), laid the groundwork for even matches throughout the season; Friday's fI1eeting between what became team Blue and Team Red, did not disappoint. The action, · m the beginning of the game, was well balanced on both team's fields, as the game remained scoreless well into the first half. This equilibrium, however, would not be tolerated for long by a certain captain from team Red; Johanna Thrall began the scoring action with a hot shot that scorched the opponents' net and gave her team a 1-0 advantage. Shortly thereafter, another senior, this time from team Blue, decided she would no longer allow her team to remain in goal-deficit; this mission was Lisa Habegger's, which she accomplished with one beautiful shot that made it into her defender's left-net. Ms. Habegger's goal, however, elicited a call that was answered by Rhonda Franklin of team Red who, upon receiving a precision pass from senior, Rhiannon Dowling, added another point to team Red's score; thus the score remained 2-1 team Red at the close of the first half. The Kunai walked off the field in a relentless rain for a short half-time break, though it can be assumed that even nature's constant harassment broke nary a Kunai's spirit as the action proceeded into half number two. Team blue began with a charge and evened out the score once again (this reporter is currently missing the name of this scoring-suspect; any person holding information of the said suspect's identity or whereabouts, please contact Natalie Rinn, who will properly praise said suspect's valiant achievement in next week's edition). Proper homage must now be paid to a certain sophomore, Ms. Laura Cate, who nobly became team Red's scoring answer to the goal of the faceless Kunai from team Blue. After a year of harassment from the WAAC to come and dazzle the Kunai with her posh soccer skills, Ms. Cate has, at last,. committed to such high demands, and thus far, she has done it with style. Her all around talent can and has been harnessed in a variety of positions. Most often she resides at center-mid where she calmly directs and orders her team, weaving in and out of opponents. On Friday, her efforts were officially paid off after brushing aside her persistent opponents and placing a shot in team Blue's net, giving team Red the advantage once again at 3-2. As the fleeting moments in the game dwindled away, our Kunai jock of the week from last week, phenom freshman Ashley Cone from team blue, bolted a shot passed Red goal-keeper Rinn, who fruitlessly dove after her goal-destined kick. Urgency was felt by all, andin particular, by senior Blake Gregory, who lead her team's charge to take the game out of a 3-3 stalemate. After two beautiful shots on goal in the fading moments of the game, fate ultimately left this rain-soaked match in a scoring equilibrium, which was, indeed, indicative of the equality of skill and determination that was present on both sides of that glorious, muddy, Kunai field. attles in the 'Land Down Under Crikey! Here in the Land-Down-Under !Wn-under campus, that is) the wild beasts e been going crazy while fighting for cy as top-croc. These exotic species of es are not hard to encounter during this n of natural competition. In fact, while I, g for a privileged peek at these animals in tw.tural habitat, lay silently on the sidelines · ritualistic contest for dominance, two of er ones dashed so close to me that I was to survival mode. I rolled quickly to my eked my head beneath my arms, and t the serenity of a hearty meal and my y. When I lifted my head, I realized that the beasts had stopped, as one was holding the floppy, red tail of the other in his hand. How interesting such a ritual! And how dangerous to observe it without disturbance! If my reflexes were not as sharp as they are, I might not be here to w:ri.te this brilliant compilation of my research in the wild wetlands of St. John's Football. In the first contest between what I have determined to be those of the Tsunamid genus and the Hustlerin genus, there was much stubborn gnashing of teeth. Neither offense could mount a strong attack against the opposing defense. None of the dangerous Tsunamids, such as Nickus,Jarus, or Whitmanus, were given space to claw into the Hustlerin territory, which had been curiously demarcated by the use of white chalk spread into white lines over the field. What 1 an astoundingly sophisticated technique for such aboriginal animals! On the other hand, the Hustlerins would often penetrate into the Tsunamid territory only to be ferociously repelled upon entering. This is a clear indication that the Tsunamid is very protective of its own, yet indifferent to what occurs beyond its own borders. Such a disposition seems dangerous to their survival. They must have recognized that because this pattern of behavior changed in the second half The Tsunamidsimmediately took the ball down deep into their rival's territory on the operung kick-of£ From there it only took two plays to score and break the nil to nil tension. After this score, the Tsunamids established their dominance, particularly when Tsunamid Continued on page 16 THE GADFLY. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . 15 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 Continued from page 15 Whitmanus caught the ball in the end zone from his back having bobbled it. Such a display of skill in nature is awe-inspiring. Once the Tsunamids swallowed up a fumble from the young Hustlerin Dustinus, the competition was effectively ended. The Tsunamids established their dominance over the Hustlerins by a score of 16-0. The contest between the Spartacans and the Druishwas much different than the one preceding it. Both of these packs were ravenous for blood and mayh=. For example, just three plays into the game, Spattacan Kiltojfopened a deep Druish wound in their end zone; the Spartacans took a quick 8-0 lead. The Druish, however, seemed to feed on the smell of their own blood and responded in kind to the Spartacans. And it continued this way for the rest of the first half. Both packs chomped into their rivals' soft underbellies in hopes of bringing the other to submission. At halftime the score was 22-15; it was a wide-open, bloody affair, and I still had yet to confirm the rumors about a great Spartacan Ri!us Rex, of whom it is said could escape a pursuing predator with a simple shake of his hips and could open great flesh wounds with the cannon that is his arm. I always assumed these rumors to be mere folklore, without any grounding in nature. I was sorely mistaken. I watched this R.ilus Rex backtrack for twenty yards to avoid his pursuer and then heave a ball off his back foot into the arms of one of his herdmates. Unbelievable! With this king of the beasts in tl-1eir pack, ~d1e 5partc:cans began to bleed the Dmish to death. As the Dmish were trailing and the contest grew old, the desperation mounted in the eyes of the Druish. They began to make mistakes and those like Spartacan Lanieride made them pay. The final score was 44-21, which sounds like a blowout; but from what I observed, there was blood shed by both packs in this viciously offensive battle. And though the Spartacan herd established their dominance, tl1ey have exposed a weakness that another herd might be able to abuse. This is a difficult task for certain; the Spartacans sit as kings of the Johnnie Jungle with their 3-0 record. But I will have to come back down and make more observations before I name the Spartacans as the superior breed. Crikey! 16 . THE GADFLY a.d. notes By Leo Pickens Athletic Director "'Aside from talent and training,' says exercise physiologist David Costill, 'no factor plays a bigger role in exercise performance than does nutrition.' This is not news. As far back as the 1920s, scientists observed that eating a higher than usual amount of carbohydrates enhanced endurance and delayed the onset of fatigue by stockpiling glycogen stores in the muscles and liver." from George Sheehan On Running to Win s Yes, those old glycogen stores. Just when the poor, outmanned Hustlers/Kuvai squad thought that they were totally beaten down by a very youthful AlUilllli team, fresh legs and energy arrived in the forms of J'viisses Reilley Shannon and Chloe Leichman. The latter, Miss Leichman, is proving to be quite a force on the soccer field this year. Not only did she show remarkable poise in the AlUilllli game, but she also played well in the opening game of the women's intramural league the day before. For her powerful play and quiet tenacity, Miss Leichman is named Athlete of the Week for the women. I promised Mr. Alex Claxton that I would send a kudo or two his way for his part in putting one of the many Wave scores on the Horoscopes Continued from page 6 food versus ~1-ie dining hall... is it really even worth the question? Reading of the week: Patricia Hubbell, Pig Picnic Pisces (February 19-March 20) Ever see those Buddies? stickers around town? What are Buddies anyway? No, really, who are your friends? What do they mean to you? How can you tell them you love them? I suggest some sort of strange project, in the Buddies? vein. Now, I'm not telling you to go out and graffiti the side of board in this past week's Wave total mauling of the Guardians. Indeed, Mr. Claxton is one of the many hard-working players on this tough and talented Wave soccer team. But the guy who is really showing some great skills out there is the G.I. Mr. Nathaniel Whitman. Bicycle kicks, creative first touches, and all-around general smart play, Mr. Whitman is bringing it on. For his great game this past weekend, Mr. Whitman is named Athlete of the Week for the men. Another great bit of tenacious athleticism by a Johnnie this past weekend was logged by I'vfr. Mike Malone. This talented sculler rowed completely around Wye Island-a mere 12 miles-before most of the student body I bet was even awake this past weekend. Ask him about t11e importance of carbo-loading when next you get a chance. You Make the Call Last week's puzzler was answered by Guardian grinch Mr. Lee Goldsmith. It is not a violation of the rules if a player leaves the field of play solely to avoid being offsides. And now for this week's teaser: Is it permissible for the goalkeeper to take more than four steps whole holding the ball before releasing it? First one to me with the right call goes to tlle Bookstore on me. Leave your answer at x2558. · a building. I'm telling you to do something creative and new. Other than that, the doors are open. Reading of the week: Is actually website ... http:/ /www.discoverfun.com/ freeinfo/ SOOfun/index.html** *Okay, yeah .. I made that up. Read ~ornc;., Burroughs or L. Ron Hubbard ... or your own book. **Miss Silgals, the Gadfly, St. John's, Program authors, etc., are not for anything found on the Internet. .. it's a weird place. ,;;~ � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 4 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-09-16 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 4 of The Gadfly. Published September 16, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #4 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/70ec6c131aedb9cb99e4a1d0710766ac.pdf d4710e98f16f835f79631cfb0a5a02f8 PDF Text Text HE GA FLY The St. John's College Student Week{y Volume XX-V, Issue 5 Annapolis, Maryland September 23, 2003 What Did You Do During the Hurrican Paul Patrone "I walked around town with a friend of mine. I must admit, I've been in a lot of hurricanes, but I've never seen so many naked people running around outside before. Brian Jones ''I hung out with some of my friends in Paca and King George Street and all the points in between. I also yelled at Dan Schwartz about why he doesn't vote." Melissa Thomas ''IVIy friends and I ate red beans and rice and played pokeL We cheered when thepowerwentout, butit came back on an hour later." Shawn Arnold "I played bridge. I guess I must be an old woman or sornething. God, how boring." Matt McLean "1 made fun of the hurricane. I was yelling things like, "\Y/"hat hurricane? More like 'hurrican't."' "I taught Shawn Arnold how to play bridge." I held back the flood waters, says Harvey Flaumenhaft. Caitrin Hill hung out for awhile and walked around town during the storm. EventwiJly, I went to sleep." Chester Martin down to the dock and watched the It was a lot of fun." Erin Callahan my friends and I climbed up on the roof i\n..1.abet_h's and recited the King Lear speech storm. It was great!" Vishal Sheth. Shawn Arnold how to play bridge." Toby Burress pretty bad - I got hit by a leaf I also "Halo" until the power went out. Then tto sleep. Mother Nature's sweet wet irony. ? I �Gadfly Mailbox THE ....,GADFLY Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene Executive Editor - Ian· McCracken A&E Editor Production Managers Anderson Tallent Martin Anderson Melissa Thomas Inside News Mary Townsend Business Manager Katy Courtright Outside News Hayden Brockett Sports Editor Mike Malone Contributing to this Issue Ian Blaustein Gillian Brockett Bryson Finklea Julie Janicki Ian McMurtry Mr. Carl Page Mr. Leo Pickens Dave Prosper Natalie Rinn Kate Roach Anna Rubin Ms Judy Seeger Beth Siekiera Jenn Silgals Ben Strickland Laura Traina Webster Ye Founded in 1980, The Ga4f!yis the student weekly distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as we11 as tutors emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not necessarilly represent the op~ons of The Ga4f!y staff. The Ga4f!y reserves the nght to accept, reject, and edit submissions in any_ way nec~ssary to Publish the most thoughtful, mformatlve, and · h · thought-provoking newspaper whic circumstances at St. John's permit. Dear Editor, Mr. David's recent Friday night lecture has stirred.many. One presumes he intended to .provoke. As th~ community mulls over his calculated iconoclasm - a well-meaning and welcome critique for some, a petulant and destructive tirade for others - we all face an old and ever perplexing question": how, justly and accurately, to sift out philosophy from sophistry; how, reliably and decently, to distinguish the exploitation of wisdom from its love? Neither philosophy nor sophistry can afford routinely to provoke the communities on which they parasitically depend; yet both can hardly avoid stinging from time to time. If a community should happen to take offense, the indictment is always the same: corrupting the youth and failing to respect the gods. There is, moreover, always the same attendant anxiety: when 99 out of a 100 putative gadflies are rightly to be condemned as self-seeking pretenders, how does one recognize the rare exception, the civic-minded Socrates? . No amount of public passion, no degree . of skill in speaking, no technical competence, · : no science or knowledge, no particular doc. trines nor any set of truth-claims can, by them: selves, be sufficient ·or reliable signs, since all . may be manipulated for selfish ends. Adequate : appraisal of Mr. David's stand on Friday cart. not therefore depend on any true or IDterest· ing thing he happened to say, nor even on any · . false or repugnant one. Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better : chance of being published than those longer than this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for · grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. · The Ga4f!y is not obligated to publish all submissions and will not print anonymous submissions except under special circumstances. . . Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00.. Tax- . deductible contnbutlons are greatly appreciated. . Please make checks payable to The Gadf!J. For . display advertisement prices and information, call · 410-263-2371, x2212. Deadline: Sunday at noon., unless pennission for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions will be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail submissions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. 2 To the Polity: Speaking of the Health Service, we are trying out a new schedule, which will allow students to see a nurse from 12 noon to 1 pm during the week. If this is a valuable and well.used service, we will retain it. If it is not very important, I would like for the nurses to be able to have lunch with their friends. Please let me know what you think. And finally, I have been horrified, though (because I have seen it) not particularly shocked, to discover that the Buildings and Grounds crew calls our coffee shop the ''Pig Pen." A lot of paper and other stuff pass through the coffee shop, and too much of it is left on the furniture and the floor for others to pick up. The coffee shop does have recycling bins for paper, bottles, and cans, so there is no excuse for this mess. Please remember that this space belongs to all of us and pick up after yourselves. Thanks. Sincerely, Carl Page Tutor Dear Editor: With respect to Mr. Mike Malone's article in last week's The Gadf!J and the sorry fact that Mr. Steve Closs was not able to get in touch with a nurse the Saturday after he was hurt: . li h . . ti It's true, but 1t was a g tc ID c?mmuruca on and no fault of the nurses. ~ did speak to Mr. Closs that day and gave him my unprofessional opinion that he should go to the Emer: gency Room if he was concerned about his · injury, but I'm sorry that he wasn't able to : obtain a professional opinion. This shouldn't happen again. If it does, please let me know. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thank you, Judy Seeger Assistant Dean As you are already aware, all students are required to pass the Algebra Exam before the second semester of their sophomore year. The purpose of the Algebra Exam is to establish a baseline of algebraic skills that students need for Junior and Senior mathematics. The test is not overly difficult, and most students find it easy to pass the test after a few hours oflast minute cramming. Unfortunately these same students often run into problems with the more difficult mathematics because they have forgotten their algebra by the time they need it in class. In order to counteract this problem, and in keeping with the Johnnie spirit, we have decided to turn the so-called ''Algebra Review Sessions" into more of an ''Algebra Class." ALL students (and even tutors) are welcome. This includes juniors who are in need of these skills in the coming year, seniors who want to brush up on their algebra, people who never learned algebra in the first place, and anyone else who wishes to join us. The goal of these classes will be to present the information in the clearest way possible while leaving plenty of time for questions and general conversation. We will offer two different classes. The first will cover simplifying equations. The second will cover some basic Trigonometry, solving equations and graphs. The two classes will be held simultaneously on each of the four scheduled evenings. Please look for signs for the date, time, and room number. :Calling All Johnnies . By Cathy Keene · Editor-in-Chief Ring, ring, ring. Pause. Ring, ring, ring. Pause. Shuffle. Ring, ring, ring. Pause. Shuffle. Stam. pede to nearest door. Although it may seem · like many St. John's stu: dents were born with · cellphones permanently : attached to their ears, · there are still some who : refuse to surrender to the · technological era. For · those students who can. not be reached at all times, : pay phones are a necessity. If you are one of : these "unplugged" ·Johnnies, pay attention. ·Verizon Communica. tions has some news for . you. Five years ago, Verizon · installed thirteen · payphones around campus for public use. St. : John's signed a profit and loss statement with · the company, and the phones were required to : meetan$1800/phone/yearminimum.Aftertwo · years, none of the phones had even come close : to reaching the agreement. Three phones were · removed, but the minimum remained the same. : The following year, the phones still had not made · enough money. The College convinced Verizon : to leave the phones as they were, declaring their Your Math Assistants, Bryson Finklea and Kate Roach · profits would increase as time went on. Under thes\'! circumstances, St. John's has held ten payphones for the past three years. At least it had, up until now. Early last week, associates of Verizon again approached Treasurer Bud Billups and demanded that the phones be re-evaluated. On average, each phone has made about $150-$200 /year, falling drastically short of the $1800 agreement. Verizon could not economically let the phones remain for another year. After much negotiation, St. John's agreed to remove five of the ten campus phones. The phones to be removed include the two on second floor Campbell, the one in Humphreys, the one in second floor Randall, and the one in Barr Buchanan. The two phones in McDowell, the one in Paca, the one in FSK, and the one on first floor Pickney will remaID. ''I tried to keep the phones that get the most use, but none of them even came close to the minimum profit," explained Mr. Billups. 'That being said, I just tried to keep the remaining phones spread out around campus." As of press time, the phones have not yet been changed But by next week, the phones will be removed. lAll College Seminar Friday, September 26th s:1s P.M. Jorge Luis Borges' 'The Library of Babel" -up sheets and copies of the reading are in the Coffee Shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 11 ii �11 i I The Ghost in the Machine By Ian McMurtry Staff Writer It was 2:40pm on September 11, 2001, and as the Pentagon burned, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was poring through incoming intelligence reports and jotting down notes on the other side of the smoldering complex. Although most Americans were still shellshocked, Rumsfeld's thoughts had already turned to a long-standing foe. Rumsfeld wrote that he wanted the ''best mfo fast. Judge whether good enough (to) hit S.H. at the same time. Not only UBL (Osama bin Laden)." He added: "Go massive. Sweep it all up. Things related and not." - CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin. "Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like liberals do." - Ann Coulter Welcome to the Republican Matrix. The first quotation is an obscure piece of information, which has been completely ignored by American media outlets, including CBS (which never reported on this, except on the Internet). The second quote is poisonous opinion read by millions of people, for it is contained in Ann Coulter's number one best-selling treatise, Treason. In this book, she lionizes ex-Senator Joseph McCarthy as a noble Communist fighter and martyr for the Republican cause. In addition, she outlines why there should only be one political party in the United States because, of course, the Democrats are nothing but Socialist traitors. Her vitriol seems to come out of the twilight zone. It is unfathomable that she is so popular when her spin can be so easily refuted. Nevertheless, Ms. Coulter's opinions are accepted as gospel by many Americans, who for their own ideological well-being, will never check her endnotes. Ms. Coulter's hate-mongering, however, is not an isolated thing. She is not alone in her attack on dissent. Fox News, owned by avowed right-winger Rupert Murdoch, and the UPI, owned by the Reverend Sung Yung, who thinks he is Jesus Christ (literally, I am not kidding), present a constant barrage of ultra-biased coverage, where the Republican discussion points of the day on domestic and foreign policy are hammered home on the television news, talk-radio programs, and newspapers. The recent ruling by the FCC, on a two-to-one party line vote, ensures that large media mergers can still happen, meaning that America's news coverage becomes more and more homogeneous, which in 4 today's post-9 /11 environment, only benefits the end, instead of being impeached for lying to the country about Iraq's possession of the Republicans. In a larger sense, what I mean by "today's WMDs and the reason for going to war in post-9/11 environment" is that 9/11 didn't Iraq, Bush just slid a little in the polls. If only so much wake up America from its long and Clinton had been so lucky ... So here we are, fellow Johnnies. Bush's luxurious slumber of the 90s as it did blind approval rating is hovering somewhere beAmerica, sending us into a catatonic state of self-induced paranoia. During the initial post- tween the low-fifties and mid-forties. For a 9/11 coverage, gruesome images of chaos and man who has an economic record on par carnage rained on America's shattered psyche. with Herbert Hoover's, a foreign policy on About three thousand people were lost on 9 / par with Lyndon Johnson's, and a record of 11, and the media made us feel the impor- corruption on par with Richard Nixon's, this tance of each and every innocent life that was is absolutely amazing. Anyone who thinks extinguished on that day. In an instant, Bush Bush is not going to be incredibly formiwas transformed by the press from a marginal dable in the next election, however, is delupresident with little political clout, to a jugger- sional. He is going to have an even larger naut who could not be denied. Karl Rove, war chest of campaign funds than he had in Bush's top political advisor, sensing a tide of the last election, which was the largest fortune, addressed Republicans at an RNC amount ever assembled by a presidential canmeeting, and essentially told them to make didate. Ralph Reed, former head of the national security their signature issue, and ex- Christian Coalition, is going to undertake ploit 9/11 for all its worth. Just in case they an unprecedented grassroots effort on forget, Karl has scheduled the RNC 2004 presi- Bush's behalf to stir support in the evandential convention in New York City for a few gelical community. To explain his dismal days before 9 /11. With Bush's newfound economic record, Bush simply is going to political clout, Karl wrapped his bosses' for- wrap himself in the American flag and claim merly-floundering economic proposals in the that he not only inherited a recession, but American flag, and suddenly the Republicans that 9 /11 and the corporate scandals rockcould do no wrong on the domestic front. In ing this country made our recession so much the realm of foreign affairs, the Bush worse. Also, he will say that if it weren't for administration's PNAC neo-cons (Donald all of his tax cuts, many more Americans Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and Paul Wolfowitz) would be unemployed (more than the 2.5 went hog wild with a docile and submissive million who are already). Fox News, the propress, and finally actualized their dream of in- paganda purveyor of the Republicans, will vading Iraq under the pretense that removing work round the dock to rally the party faithSaddam Hussein was part of "The War on ful, and smear whoever the Democrats put Terror." During the war, the American media, up as being unpatriotic, self-serving, and in conjunction with the military, marketed es- treasonously liberal. The Democrats' nominee is going to have prit de corps brilliantly, planting its reporters with the troop. Stories about the courage of to rise above the fray and not engage Busllti individual soldiers, such as Private Lynch, were in the battle of mindless political rhetori . frequent and often hyped. Stories about the because the Republicans currently dominate untold-thousands of Iraqi civilian casualties this field. Unfortunately for the Democrats,. the current contenders in the Democratic were scarce and brief. With the occupation of Iraq now under- Primary are caught up in petty Bush-bashway, things are not as simple for the American ing and standard partisan red meat speeche$ media or President Bush. American casualties, that appeal to the liberal base, but not to who do get reported, persist almost daily, and the rest of a traumatized America (of which Bush is no longer so eager to bring up the 70 percent believe Saddam is responsible£~ imminent threat of Hussein's WMDs at his 9 /11). The Democrats need somebody political fundraisers. The "sixteen word" error has all of the strengths of the current D in Bush's State of the Union speech cost him cratic contenders, and none of their Vif at the polls, but a savvy damage control and nesses. Does such a savior exist? I say,' disinformation campaign in coordination with and his name is Wesley Clark. the media managed to stave off disaster. In . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Great Issues Keynote: Sandra Day O'Connor By Webster Ye Staff Writer Limited Public Funding OK for parochial school materials Gune 2000). On criminal issues, Justice O'Connor has sided with the following: Fleeing the police is reasonable grounds for a search an. 2000); Death penalty is OK if there is no mitigating evidence (April 2000); No tactile inspection by police for drug possession (April 2000); No roadblocks with drug-sniffing dogs (Nov. 2000). During the 2000 Presidential election, Justice O'Connor sided with the majority in blocking the hand recount of votes in Florida. On October 11, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will give the keynote lecture for the Great Issues Series at St. John's. The keynote topic is The Supreme Court and the Shaping of the Law. After the lecture, in typical Johnnie fashion, the audience will convene in seminar and have a discussion over Marbury v. Madison. Justice O'Connor is the first woman and the 102°d person to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. She was born in El Paso, Texas in 1930. Her major was economics at Stanford University, and she Speaking for The Ga41!Y, this writer sincerely graduated from law school at Stanford in welcomes Justice O'Connor to St. John's 1952. While working as the editor on the College, and hopes that his fellow Johnnies Stanford Law Review, she met John Jay will attend the keynote lecture even though it is O'Connor III, whom she subsequently on the Saturday of long weekend. For more married. In 1965, she went to work for the information about the Great Issues program, Arizona attorney general's office, and moved please contact Kathy Dulisse at 410-626-2530 on to the Arizona State Senate in 1969. In or Kathy.Dulisse@sjca.edu. 1973, Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to serve as the majority leader of a t1tate senate. Prior to her nomination by Pi;esident Reagan in 1981 to the Supreme C:ourt, she served as a trial judge (Maricopa 7ounty, 197 4) and a state Court of Appeals ~~dge (1979). ..: Since she was overwhelmingly consented ~~ by the U.S. Senate (99 to 0), Justice l;onnor has been one of the key compros on the Supreme Court. Her judicial dents generally show her not to be a al activist, and thus a practitioner of · !restraint. As such, Justice O'Connor made it clear that she believes that a 's role, including that of the Supreme , is to interpret and not to legislate. tice O'Connor's decisions on selected cases are as follows: wrote the Court's Decision on Parenthood v. Casey on June 29, 1992, upheld Roe v. Wade. supported the following Civil Rights te crimes should allow racial intent sentencing Gune 2000); Upheld the da" rights, informing people being of their rights Gune 2000); Boy may exclude gay scoutmasters Gune a Sandra D. in her younger years. Algebra Exam! Tuesday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, September 27 at 10:00 a.m. Mellon 206 and 208. If you haven't passed it yet, he there. Take your student ID. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �More Reasons Not to Trust College Reviews students at Santa Fe can seem more laid back on the surface, but they also seem more approachable. Students at Annapolis I would like to inform those of you who sometimes get a reputation for being more read "The News is Out" on page two of the competitive and cliquish, but neither school is second issue of-The Gadf!y, that the statistical really more studious. It all depends on the regurgitation is notyetfullshed. Itwas brought individual classroom dynamics.'' Anna Ahem, the other sophomore Santa to the attention of various members of The Gadf!y staff, myself included, that one particular Fe transfer, says pretty much the same thing. hot topic was left out of our last college review "The way the classroom cooperates depends story. And after laboriously following up on on each tutor and group of students. The idea the tip, I just thought our readers would like of the St. John's Program works the same for both campuses, and seminar discussions always to know: Yes. The rumors are true. St. John's continue outside of class, no matter which Annapolis did rank first in the Princeton Review school you attend. The classroom structure and for "Class Discussions Encouraged." Andyes, dynamics vary class-to-class and day-to-day, so St. John's Santa Fe did rank ninth. Annapolis it's impossible to define discussion at either also placed seventh for ''Intercollegiate Sports campus. I'll agree that one of the most exciting Unpopular or Nonexistent" and Santa Fe things about coming to Annapolis was the placed eighteenth. There. Are you happy? The opportunity for the change, but overall things are more similar than not. I suppose it's just story is complete. Well, not entirely complete just yet. After difficult to explain Santa Fe to people who the Annapolitan cheers died down, I was able haven't visited there." I, for one, have not seen the to snag a couple of minutes with a few Santa Fe transfers who were at least slightly curious other campus, so I thought that about the ranking. Some of their responses Anna's response about explaining made me wonder a little bit about the results, Santa Fe was rather intriguing, especially considering how she and too. Sophomore Philip Archer, who transferred Philip described the similarities and from Santa Fe this year, started off by telling differences. To make sure that these me that he was surprised by the results of both responses were not just standard rankings, academic and athletic alike. ''It seems sophomore transfer opinions, I odd to me that Santa Fe ranked lower in the decided to interview tutor Nancy intercollegiate sport category than Annapolis," Buchenauer, who was at Santa Fe he said. "I guess sports just seem to me to be from 1980 until 1997. Her response to the Princeton Review's ranking was more important here." Philip went on to explain how classes surprisingly similar to that of the sometimes compete against one another when students. "Sometimes I hear students take the weather gets nicer in the spring, but for much of the year, there is just too much snow either view of the two campuses," to want to go outdoors. Santa Fe is also "really says Ms Buchenauer. ''When I was quite isolated;' according to Philip, so there are in Santa Fe ... one student said the very few other colleges to do battle with tutors in Annapolis did all of the (excluding the College of Santa Fe, which talking. When I got here, however, the tutors seemed to be about the Johnnies occasionally play soccer against). As for the more controversial results, Philip same. There are always a few tutors says he really doesn't know why Annapolis who really do talk too much, but it's ranked higher in class discussion than Santa Fe. a mystery to me why people are Things seem to him to be just about the same thinking there is a discrepancy on both campuses. ''My initial response is that between the campuses. There are a there is no difference between tutors at Santa few small differences; I think there Fe and tutors here;' says Philip. ''I can see how may be a bit more formality here. By Cathy Keene Editor-in-Chief 6 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The biggest change I can see is that students aren't given ten minutes in between classes in Santa Fe, so it· may look to an observer as though students are coming to class late. That seems to be the only real difference, though." Although she admits that she doesn't know very much about the sports at either campus, Ms Buchenauer was rather surprised to hear about the difference in the athletic ranking. ''It seems to me that there are actually more athletics in Annapolis," she says. "It is not a serious difference in sports, but there are entire teams and crew in Annapolis. In fact, I think Santa Fe was even less active in sports when I was a tutor there, but I understand they've gotten a new gym, so that may have changed. Overall, things seem about the same." Well, the people from Santa Fe have spoken. I guess they would know the campus differences better than I. But I still wonderwh.at was going through that reporter's mind when he made the distinction. Perhaps, we will find out in next year's Review. Louisiana Alligator Hunting: Not Much Sport but Good Eating By Mary Townsend Inside News Editor The character of the alligator is well represented by its appearance: dark, fast, and sharp - the bookies, one might say, of the animal kingdom. In children's literature they wear sunglasses at night and play zydeco. They smell like the swamp and have a mean smile. If one lives in Louisiana, one is accustomed to being asked by foreigners if one has an alligator in the back yard. The answer ,~s~ 'No, thank goodness.' Alligators have what Dickens might describe as low cunning. Primitive, opportunistic, nasty, alliga. s delight in fighting and eating each other day, or rather all night, as they do their ting and living during the hours of the t. "If they come after you, you'd better says one native Louisiana schooler. Alligators are quite willing to attack dogs, and people. the 1920s, the hunting of alligators prohibited, there not being so many at time. Then, around the mid-1970s, the of alligators being so great that they ~ting each other even more than usual, was again allowed, or, that is, harem as a renewable resource was . This last is the phrase of David (pronounced in the Cajun manner d'), an alligator expert from Grand Louisiana. Each year, 30,000 alligaharvested from the swamps. There and of course, purses. The hunters are paid by the foot, the price of which fluctuating from $10 to $60, depending on the market. The meat stays in Louisiana and is sold to happy Southern Louisiana restaurant proprietors, of whom there are many, both in number and in quality. The meat of alligators is white. Many describe it as similar to chicken, but more rich. Mr. Richard describes it as being similar to pheasant. If you would like to hunt alligators on your land, you must contact Louisiana Hunting and Fisheries, who will inspect your property and tell you how many alligators you can take each year. Remember that alligators also eat nutria rats, which make tunnels in the levees, a system of long dams that keep the Mississippi in check. (There was a bounty on nutria rats this year.) Alligator tastes good fried, in soup, and in gumbo. are many more alligators today than there were at any point in the last hundred years. This is how alligators are hunted: You tie one end of a rope around a tree and make fast the other end around a cane pole with a clothespin. Close to the pole, attached to the rope, is a large, heavy hook, on which a chicken (dead) is placed. The height of the rope is no more than half a foot above the water. At night, the alligator comes and tries to eat the chicken. Some eat the chicken and escape, some eat the chicken and remain on the hook. Some alligators are more wily than others, no doubt because of the zydeco. In the early morning, you go out on your flat-bottomed boat and very carefully check each hook you have placed to see what is on it. If there is an alligator, it will still be alive, and "real mad." Lifting the hook out of the water, you take your pistol and shoot it in the head. It will bite you if you are not quick enough in doing this. The skin of alligators goes to France and Singapore, where it is made into belts, These pictures were taken from a very recent alligator hunt on a20,000 acre piece of swamp land next to one of Louisiana's largest oil fields, the wallets, boots, watch bands, Rockefeller Refuge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 �Ending the Rant: Samurai X - Reflection By Julie Janicki. Staff Writer Although I initially planned just to do a review of Samurai X: Trust and Betrqyal, I decided that I might as well write one for the other OVA, Reflection, if only to provide a conclusion to my most recent anime-inspired writing craze. As I have yet to receive any sort of hate mail, I have to assume that these articles are either of great interest or of no consequence to the polity. In the interest of the former, I provide my opinions on the sequel to the Rurouni Kenshin series. To save time and space, I suggest that those having problems recalling the general plot ofRurouni Kenshin, or who know nothing about it in the first place, go back and read my article in last week's The Gadf!y. That should not only fill you in on the general idea of the series, but it should give you a pretty good idea of why you should watch this anime in the first place. By the time that we reach the end of the Rurouni Kenshin series, Kenshin has managed to go through some significant personal battles. In some he has triumphed, in others he has had simply to learn what he could and move on. Much of his time has been spent on creating and refining a new fighting style that uses a reverse sword technique to disarm an opponent without killing him or her, and he has found what many (including myself) believe to be his soul mate in his friend Kaoru. Furthermore, within the sequel we find that he and Kaoru have a son: Kenji. For those who were hoping for a warmhearted sequel to the somewhat comical series, Reflection will disappoint you; with respect to drama and emotional content, it's even heavier than Trust and Betrqyal. Although by many accounts Kenshin should settle into teaching at a dojo with his wife and son, he finds that he is unable to rest, discontented with his inability to do more for the world. His past haunts him to the very last days of his life, and he is fated to be a wanderer from one place to another, always searching for more people to help, and greater deeds to accomplish and repent with. To tell this story, the OVA centers on Kenshin and Kaoru, examining their relationship and using their marriage to demon- 8 strate the full emotional complexities of each. This is an appropriate choice of perspective given Kenshin's relationship with his first wife (from the prequel) and the pivotal role that she played in his emotional and spiritual growth. The episodes are set up as a myriad of flashbacks and present-day clips, taking us through the way in which the relationship between Kenshin and Kaoru blossomed as well as the present-day storyline revolving around the final months of their lives. This technique does much to illuminate both Kenshin and Kaoru's characters; Kaoru's dedication to Kenshin is so complete that it is almost incomprehensible, and Kenshin's burning desire for peace often takes him away from her, leaving the viewer almost as world-weary as the swordsman himself. His angst is balanced, yet emphasized, by Kaoru's calm spirit and her desire to share in all aspects of his life. Although somewhat simplistic in format, the effect is intense and poignant, tearing through any preconceptions a viewer may have had about what it is to be in love or to be dedicated to another person. The OVA also takes some time to focus on the growth of Kenshin's son, Kenji, a man who desperately wants to be as great a swordsman as his father but who cannot forgive him for never being around. By telling their stories together, Kenshin and his family experience graceful, smooth character arcs that complete what the prequel and series established, bringing their journeys to appropriate closure. As I mentioned before, this OVA is exceptionally dramatic, and it has an incredible capacity to draw you in emotionally. Like the prequel, this is not something that you will want to watch if you're not in the mood to be spiritually challenged or if you're not used to anime. The artistic intensity, however, is certainly one of the reasons to see it in the first place, and if you've already viewed the prequel or the series, then you owe it to yourself to see how Kenshin's story ends. My criticisms about Reflection coincide with those I had of the prequel: The flashbacks can be confusing, the plot is rather sobering, and the gore can still be somewhat unsettling. Overall, though, I feel that it is done just as well as the prequel and that it is a near-flawless conclusion to the story of Rurouni Kenshin. Polyphony for the Polity . By Anna Rubin · Staff Writer World News: The AP Interpreted By Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor Darwin Meets Faraday Prospects for long-term applications seem ·~righter even than this god-given blessing, s10ce the battery produces less carbonic acid gas per watt than do fossil fuels. If you weren't in the pendulum pit at 7:30 : pm on Tuesday, September 9, you have my most : sincere sympathy. If you were, you know exactly . what I'm talking about and why it is such a shame · that anyone missed it. . To the uninitiated, the prospect of sitting : through a concert of five-century-old music, even . for just a half-an-hour, is not thrilling, to say the : least. Exposure to so much Latin in one sitting . seems like it would be very conducive to nap: ping, or utter boredom, but definitely not rapt . attentiveness. How very wrong I was. The pre-concert chatter died down somewhat : as Mary Townsend, Eric Stoltzfus, and Carl Page . (the 'three voices') unassumingly filed in, but : from the first "Ave;' the audience was reveren. tially silent. I was dumbstruck. Thiswas "classi: cal music"? Used to the pomp and bombast of · Wagner, Verdi, and Mozart, I was completely : unprepared for the pure, clean, yet expansive · sound that echoed through the stairwell like light : through a spinning prism. The words of Dufay, Palestrina, Dunstable, : and Byrd hold little meaning to someone who · has no knowledge of Latin, but no language : was necessary to understand the beauty and · depth of emotion in the music. As the half: hour swiftly passed, it became very clear that ap. preciating polyphony is not about liking or not : liking" classical music," but rather about recog. nizing the expressive power of the human voice. Not until well after the last echoes had sunk . in did the audience applaud the fantastic perfor. mance. If you missed it, I'm sorry to say, you : haven't got another chance to see this particular . trio perform again, though you can attend : Primum Mobile's - their parent group - concert, . when they have it. If that isn't quite enough, : you can contact Music Librarian Eric Stoltzfus . for recordings. Ifyou still are not convinced thatpolyphoni<:: . music is worth your while, well, I suppose it· : can't be for all ofus. The performance, h~' . left me thoroughly in awe of the music, the p : formers, and the acoustics of the pendulum . and I am determined to find a spare minute : figure out if said acoustics make everyone so . that good. But if they don't, I am perfectly · : ing to leave the terrific acoustics for those vo· · that really are that good. In a discovery sure to interest all students in the laboratory program at St. John's, researchers at the University of Massachusetts recently have succeeded in creating a battery cell that uses bacteria to produce electricity. Rhodoftraxftm"ducens, an anaerobic microbe that does more to connect the freshman laboratory with the senior than even the powerful shocks Faraday applied to the heads of cats, eats sugar and produces two ~gs: carbon dioxide and electricity. The dev1ce recently tested ran for 25 days without refueling, pumping out enough current to power a set of Christmas lights the whole while. The bacteria were placed in a glucose solution beside an anode, which picked up th e "lec t rons " an d" transported" them to e the cathode, thus making current, or so said ~e AP. The big news about this battery is its 83% efficiency-previous experiments have run at about 10%. "In the short term I see the .usefulness would be for chargin~ up battenes.that can be used in a cell phone, something like that," said Derek Lovley, one half of the team that invented the battery. King Properties Not Alone A report by theNationalLow Income Housing Coalition has scientifically confirmed i:hat what off~campus students have been saying for years 1s a national trend. Rents are rising all across ~e country. The national average cost ofhous~ and utilities is now $791 per month, whereas 1twas $576 in 1999. Public policy types calculate the national housing wage, defined as how much money a worker would have to eam in order to spend 30% of his or her income on housing. The housing wage increased nationally to $15.21, up four percent since last year, to become nearly three times the federal minimum wage. Maryland saw the largest increase in the country, jumping 12% to become the fifth mos: .expensive state. Not surprisingly, the Coalition, based in Washington DC, blame the Republican Congress and the Bush Administration for the trend, although their proposal for more public housing does little to comfort ~oon-to-be alumni, who'd better start preparmg accordingly. · Pass the Pasta From the "only confirming the inevitable" file comes the news announced at a recent Milanese obesity conference, that Italy's children ~re the fattest in Europe. Child obesity ~ates 10 some studies have reached 35%, beat10g out Spain where only 27% of the kids are overweight. The United States' level is about 13%. Some commentators have attributed this trend to a confluence of two well-known Italian ~assions. Though almost universally profes~10g devout love for the Pope, Italians have a birthrate that is less than half of the 2. l child per woman replacement rate, this despite no apparent slaking of their famed desire for lovemaking. At the same time, like all developed countries, Italians, particularly women are ~ving longer than ever before. The culpri~ behind Italy's latest problem should now be vividly apparent to anyone who has ever even visited a home where she presides: the Italian grandmother. Think of the millions of grandmothers-their only desire to stuff their offspring with so much Italian food that they end up with the same round, stout form as their well-.fed Italian forefathers-having only one, poss1bly two, grandchildren to nourish. Truly the grandmother, rather than the grandchild, has the harder lot in modern I tlay. In Pictures ... Colin Powell fails as chaperon of Paul Bremer. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �Olympics Come to Randalltown By Gillian Brockett Staff Writer Three years ago, on a dark and stormy September night, Ian McCoy and Tom Osborne, RA's of 3rd Campbell and 2nd Randall, respectively, got into a gentleman's argument. Ian, a Marine, chock full of testosterone, claimed that his residents were "the best and the strongest men on campus." Unable to. allow such an unsubstantiated statement go without a challenge, Tom pulled a one-inch Swiss Army blade on Ian. "Such a fallacy shall not go without consequences, you miserable maggot!" Tom roared, brandishing the blade at Ian. " My men are infinitely better than your Sophist Scumbags, and to prove 2nd Randall's superiority, I challenge you, and your men to a competition. A competition of Olympic proportions, which shall be called the RandOlympics! If I be wrong, then you may cut off my hair, but when my men triumph we shall take your prized army-issued boots as prize." The two men agreed, and thus the Rand-Olympics were bom. A date was set and each floor secretly devised two events each, with a fifth challenge created in common in the case of a tiebreak.. When the day arrived, the fierce competition waged between the two floors was in good, but bitter cheer. At the end of the four regular events, the score stood 2°dRandall two, 3'd Campbell two. All that remained was the daunting Crabwalk Stair Climb. Though each team won two events, it was clear that the gods favored the Randall men, for amongst them was the prized son of Aphrodite, Justin Berrier, with his rich ebony curls and lovely ankles. From the aid of his loving mother, the beautiful Aphrodite, the godly rapscallion was the reigning World Champion of the Crabwalk Stair Climb. When the referee cried, "Go;' Justin, of the illustrious mane, scaled the stairs 10 their unwitting opponents. In return, 2nd Randall revealed Ping-Pong and Wrestling to their Campbell comrades. Ping Pong was the first event, and ended without much question in favor of Randall, due to their champion Dana Kulp, a "Kungfu Master of the Ping-Pong." His challenger, Peter Leopold, showed an amazing ability to withstand the precision shots of Dana, but alas, he was vanquished with a hard slice delivered by Dana's skilled hand. Excited by their initial victory, Randall residents, 2nd and 3rd alike, were full of jeers and catcalls for the somewhat demoralized Campbell residents and supporters, but the next event was the Shopping Cart Derby, and Campbell natives felt certain that they could gain vengeance. As the races unfolded, the competition proved to be more difficult than the Randallites initially thought, and heat after heat put Randall further and further behind their clever counterparts. With the standings now tied, the teams moved on to the next Their fond memories event, Wrestling. Dustin of glorious battle, Sebell and Brian coupled with the McNealy, two strapping coincidence of Sam and veteran wrestlers, in theit Justin being RA's of 3'd first year here at the Campbell, and Will strong citadel of St. being the R.A. of 2nd John's, were pitted Randall left the haggard against Campbell's Max heroes thirsty to test fate "the Jewish wrestler". again. Kronberg and Phil In a ceremony, only Leaman. Dustin, a~, witnessed by a few experienced wrestlet~; fortunate 2nd Randall won his match wi~;~ and 3rd Campbell comparative ease, but~li residents Will match between Brian and Max raged on brandished his half-inch Swiss Army knife blade in Sam and Justin's direction and challenged more than thirty minutes. The experien theit men to ferocious competition of strength, wrestlers grappled against one another cunning, and stamina. Eager to display the footing and leverage, but finally Brian talents of theit godlike men, Sam and Justin declared the winner. The event over, the accepted, and the date for the competitions was crackled with excited voices, and sighs of set for two weeks from that Sunday. One relief and dismay. The teams paused for Sunday came and went, and today, the second but the crowds and competitors recon Sunday, arrived with adrenaline in the air. 3:30 p.m. for the final competitio Hurried excitement charged the currents of the regulation events-Human Chess. R quad as the two sides joined to unveil the events supporters speculated that their team they had cleverly concocted. For 3ro Campbell, easily win since Campbell was missing Human Chess, and The Shopping Cart Derby famed Chess Champion, and counsel were the grueling trials they had forged for Zeus, Max Farrago. However, as the start of the great Randall Hall, leaving Campbell's pathetic ones in the dust. Victory came hard to 2nd Randall that day, but the events that transpired live on in the remaining veterans: the robust Will Wittak.er, the salacious Sam Spalding, and of course the famous Justin Berrier, with the lovely ankles, all from that 2nd Randall team of great renown. approached, not all of the Campbell teammates were present, so the time was postponed. Suddenly, Mr. Farrago, wise in couns~l, bounded up the stairs, accompanied by a groan of displeasure from the Randall side. Soon after Mr. Farrago's return, Campbell and Randall teams organized setting up their players with Will as King for Randall and John as his Queen, wearing a striking red silk dress from Victoria's Secret, a light tan, three-quarter-length jacket, with rabbit fur collar, and a Lady's maroon Sunday hat. For Campbell, Sam, as Queen, wore a lovely off-white dress with a faint floral pattern that complemented his skin color well, and Justin was the stem King. The game began with slowly, but as it progressed, Mr. Farrago's inventive intellect took flight, and Randall's observant Ben Crane proved no match. With the exciting events :finishing in a tie, the teams moved to the Temple for the tiebreaker agreed upon: Dodge Ball. It was at this point when 2nd Randall proudly announced that for the last two weeks, at l:OOa.m., every Tuesday and Thursday they had been meeting in the gym to fine-tune theit Dodge Ball skills. 3'd Campbell and their supporters laughed at this proclamation, but their laughs were nervous ones. After a short delay the final event began, much more vicious and terrible than any of the other events, because this was for the championship. The stakes had been set at Will's infamous hat if Randall lost, for Justin's hair tJ;tthe defeat of Campbell, and emotions were • for not one competitor wanted to let ·.~his leader. The rules were set out before ~e players, and as the play was called, the air ,&eethed with anticipation. Supporters, pbell and Randall alike, held their breaths e players advanced on each other. But as game waged on, the number of Campbell rs thinned at an accelerated rate in arison to those of Randall. Victory was dall's grasp, but thanks to some good delivered by Matt Hanly victory was hed from Randall and handed to bell. ·tes booed and hissed at theit loss, not disheartened because the tiebreak. two out of three, and the teams lined to spar off in battle. This time the 2nd showed such composure, and while attempts were made by 3ro Campbell, me noted cheating by Campbell ers, the hard fought victory went to with a well guided shot that took out ted John Dodge, Campbell's last A Discus.<>ion of Friday's All •College Seminar on Borges By Ian Blaustein Staff Writer . The Library of Babel, like most any library, . contains Homer's Iliad. It contains not only : the Fagles translation, the Fitzgerald, and the Lattimore, but also the translation by : whichever unremembered scholar whose as. siduous rendering of Homer's Greek into 19th Century English was long ago replaced · in the Loeb Classical Library's favor by A.T. : Murray's work. This library also holds trans. lations of the Iliad in Spanish, Portuguese, : Yiddish, and a Samoyed-Lithuanian dialect of Guarani. More curiously, one may also : find in this library translations of the Iliad · which open with the goddess being im: plored to sing not of the wrath of Achilles, · but of his fear, and which end not with the : funeral of Hector, break.er of horses, but · with that of fair Helen. In this library, such speculative and spu. rious books not only exist, but have as their · legacies a world of criticism and commentary as rich as the one we know the true Iliad to have. Somewhere among the shelves of . this library sits your Senior Essay, even if it . isn't going to win the Essay Prize. That essay, naturally, can be found translated into a Samoyed-Lithuanian dialect of Guarani, : if such a language even exists. There is also in this library the unedited : version of this little notice, in which spell. ing errors abound, and in . which my tedious · musings on the endless list of · possible hooks goes on unchecked by the sagacity and discre: tion of the The Gadfly's editors, and in which I even fail to ex: plain that all · books imaginable must exist in this · library because this library, Jorge · Luis Borges's The continued on page 15 Library of Babel, is infinite, and is the subject of the All-College Seminar scheduled for Friday night, a reading only nine pages long. For those unacquainted with Borges, know that he was an Argentine, born in 1899, and called by some the most important writer in Spanish since Cervantes, though he published no work of more than twenty pages. Such renown for such output might seem incredible until one reads his work. In a few pages of imaginative prose Borges can delve more completely into an idea (or ideal) than many writers are able to in entire novels. Fans of Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Hesse's Glass Bead Game, Auster's New York Trilogy, or Pavic's Dictionary of the Khazars might all find precursors to these novels containing all their depth and sweep in only a few pages of Borges. Any who think that Zeno's Paradox is easily dispensed with or that Judas is simply evil or that Plato's forms are far removed from normal existence would do well to read Borges. It should be noted that my discussion above, which could be summarized 'How big is infinite?' is only the first and simplest question brought by The Library of Babel. I expect the seminars to all do much, much better. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 �r":'"' I ! The Gadfly Funny Papers Ptolemy Stone Horoscopes By Jen Silgals Staff Mystic Aries (March 2 7-April 79) Wit is on your side this week, so use it to your advantage. Snag that cute transfer you've been eying or finally get to know the quiet kid in your Language tutorial. You've got work to do and places to be, so go do your thing in those places. Libra (September 23-0ctober 22) Aren't you the smart one? No, really. We're all here because we have a little bit of brightness in us. You are no exception. Remember that mushy muscle encased by your skull? Don't doubt your own intellect and don't neglect it either. Use your head. Don't let your insecurities get the best of you this week. So somebody in your Seminar called your analysis "shallow, weak, and at best deeply stupid." Don't get angry. Just because this isn't the best week for you doesn't mean you have to run and hide. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Treat yourself well this week. It may be a little hard to get back into the swing of things after the free days afforded by last week's natural disaster, so don't push it. Go to a movie now that the theatres are open again or take a trip down to the docks to read. Do crazy things this week and get away with them, because you can. The stars want you to have a good week, so don't let anything stop you. Doors that are usually closed to you open this week. Quite simply, youuu cannnn doooo eeeeeeeet. Gemini (May 2 7-June 20) A lot of new things are happening in your life these days, and, yeah, it's overwhelming. Still, don't fall for a quick fix that will apparently make everything immediately okay. Take your time and, if math is really that hard, get some help. Cancer (June 2 7-July 22) By the end of this week, you may find your sugar and caffeine stashes mysteriously raided. You have a great deal of unexpected energy this week, and that can get really annoying when all of your friends are burnt out. Try to focus that energy into more constructive venues, or just run around the quad a few hundred times. Leo (July 23-August 22) Don't be a pushover this week just because you're tired or feeling unmotivated. Stand up for your ideas; don't be afraid to go on the offensive if defense isn't working out for you. Johnnies are opinionated and don't you forget it. Virgo (August 23-September 22) Gemini is typically the sign associated with sociability, but, this week, it's all you. 12 Pisces (February 79-March 20) Scorpio (October 23-November 2 7) Mystic's Note: Readings of the week this week have been preempted by the motion of Venus around the Earth and somebody named Isabel. Feeling bored? No attention span? I could technically start making a little money with drug endorsements, but instead I'll tell you to go find something new to entertain you and revitalize your focus. Rediscover an old pastime, but add a twist to it to make it new. Sagittarius (November 22-December 2 7) This week, don't be afraid to challenge things you have always held constant. Change is an inevitable part of the stars, and, if you find yourself feeling tied down by a problem, taking a new perspective on things may help you out. Capricorn (December 22-January 79) One of my seminar tutors last year was asked by a student whether it was a good idea to read footnotes while reading along in translated texts. My tutor's answer? A big, fat NO. Reading footnotes, he told us, distracts from the flow of the work. The moral: Don't get lost in accidentals. Keep focused on the real text of life. Aquarius (January 20- February 18) Come back to reality. And not the party with a capital "R." Fantasy worlds are great, but not so much when there's a real world in which you should be taking part. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1 .00 off any Potat Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Frid 11 :30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 13 �15 Greatest Americans This Week Installment: Saints and Sinners and lighting up a cigarette, were as familiar to me as breathing. By Anderson Tallent A & E Editor 15. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Elizabeth Ann Seton was the nation's first native born Catholic saint. She also founded our first religious order (The Sisters of Charity) based on the rule of St. Vincent de Paul; also, she founded the nation's parochial school system. A number of miracles have been attributed to her; among them the healing of a young girl. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton makes it on to the list not so much for being a Catholic as for having given America its due share of supernatural occurrences to be recognized by the rest of the world. It was a native of Annapolis, Bishop John Carroll, who received St. Anne int~ the Catholic clergy. Despite what some believe, Jesus never came to America, but Elizabeth Ann Seton was born here. Once I was down at City Dock around threethirty in the afternoon and I saw all the kids from St. Mary's high school coming out of school. What impressed me was thatI seemed to recognize all these kids. I had never met any of them, but I too had attended Catholic High School; thus, the after school rituals that I watched downtown, of un-tucking the uniform shirt, finding a convenient hiding place, For members of today's generation, accustomed as we are to trite similes, whose notion of ta erotica has been shaped by the banal romance-in-the-suburbs sitcoms and pop-songs on which we have all been nursed, these line might mistakenly be read in the same vein. But by this "fiery ring" Cash does not mean the tired flames of love that bum a lover's heart, and can only be extinguished by a woman's kiss; instead, he sings of the eternal fire and brimstone awaiting the soul that has surrendered its spirit to the wicked temptations of the flesh, of earthly love. Whosoever is not of the city of god belongs to the kingdom of the devil; Desire is truly demonic when it threatens to consign one to perpetual torment. Nevertheless, Cash's uncanniness has its tender side: 14. Johnny Cash (1932-2003). Merely to say the name is to conjure a host of dark images: prisons and prisoners, hard drugs and harder men, the joys of love, the wonders of the divine, the terrors of a life lived beyond the boundAt my door, the leaves are falling, aries of the ordiThe cold wild wind will come. nary. Looming over Sweethearts walk by together all these images, And I still miss someone. shadowlike, is the ghostly silhouette It is beyond the understanding, how such oftheManinBlack gentleness can abide with the brutality of himself. Cash's music is born of turmoil, and despair only occasionally dispelled by the beaI went up to Memphis, and I met Delia there, con-rays ofhope. Nevertheless, this rockabilly Found her in her parlor, and I tied her to a chair, renegade has been one of the world's most Delia's gone, one more round, Delia's gone. popular figures for nearly fifty years. Given the First time I shot her, I shot her in the side, · edgy character of the man and his music, one Hard to watch her suffer, so with the might wonder why Cash has never been censecond shot she died. sored, either by the authorities or the people, with litigation, or contempt. Perhaps it is because he is so goddamned real. Not only did Cash sing of Folsom Prison, or give a live concert for its inmates, he actually did hard time there. For Cash, it was no small matter to chronicle the conflict of a man and the order of society, between a mind and the order of ideas. I'm stuck in Folsom Prison I know I can't be free ... Or take, for example, the lyric "Ring of Fire'' written about an adulterous affair with June Carter Love is a burning thing And it makes a fiery ring, Bound by wild desire; I fell into a ring of fire. Compare Cash's obvious disregard for the authority of law to govern life, with the regard and benevolence that characterized his attitude toward society, for whose betterment he worked tirelessly, devoting years to prison reform, relief for bum victims, antiwar protest, and interracial fellowship. At a time when blacks and whites could not even use the same drinking fountains, Cash was inviting Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane to appear on his nationally syndicated television show. Note the compassion and rage evident in his perfor:l!llance of ''Wreck of the Old 'Ninety-Seven" a ftaditional ballad about the crash of a mailand the death of its brave engineer, Jo"Steve" Broady on September 27, 1903: · He was goin' down the grade makin' ninety miles an hour When his whistle broke into a scream. He was foundin the wreck with his hand on the throttle, Scalded to death by the steam. ·sis what makes Cash great, that for so e was able to live daringly beyond the of the conventional, thriving and deamong the paradoxes of the soul, in tnm of spirit that to most seems full of contradiction or evil.Johnny Cash is in spect an outlaw, and a philanthropist, such, a great Am~rican. Lucky Luciano. Words cannot explain w big Lucky Luciano was. In the hisrganized crime, there has never been powerful man alive. In 20 years, with . Olympics · continued from page 11 : · remaining team-member. The final game was : controlled as much as the last one by Randall, · but lacked none of the heart or fan enthusiasm. : With a bombarding of balls the last Campbell · player fell. : Left with sweet triumph, 2nd Randall · exploded in jubilation, but underlying : groans of defeat were heard uttered from the crushed 3'd Campbellers. With a final display of sportsmanship and dignity, the two teams lined up and processed past each other in the traditional ending of competition. Sam, Justin and Will announced that the removal of Justin's voluminous black curls would commence at 7:00 pm. 2nd Randall quickly disappeared to shower and change, and re-emerged just as quickly dressed in their best Sunday clothes, ready for photo ops and autographs. At dinner, the mood was just as jubilant as right after the game, but it became even more so as the gleeful 2nd Randallites set up the barber shop that would defile the godlike locks of Justin's head. Processing up the stairs to the sound of jeers, applause, and Du Haast, by Ram Stein, Justin approached Will. Scissors in hand, Will proclaimed that "This is what happens to those who doubt eteer, Lucky clearly had no respect for Ameri- : the power of Randall!" Justin, not amused, can law. Instead he was devoted entirely to · lit a cigarette and exhaled smoke in Will's self-aggrandizement and consolidating his : face. Charles "Kipper" Fletez-Brant, a key own nefarious empire. Such behavior eventu- · member of the Randall team, approached ally led to his deportation back to Sicily. : Justin with Bible in hand to read the last To these objections, however, can be made · rights to Justin, "Dearly beloved, we are the following replies. While it is true that Lucky : gathered here today to witness the removal lived outside the law, he was the first to bring · of the hairs of Justin Berrier. I shall read a order and stability to New York's seething un- : brief passage from Leviticus, Chapter 15: 2derworld, arranging business agreements be- · 3: 'When any man has a discharge from his tween Irish, Sicilian, and Jewish gangsters. But : member, his discharge makes him that alone is not enough to put Lucky on thelist. · ceremonially unclean. The uncleanness of his Itwas only after his deportation that Lucky would : discharge is this: whether his member flows Showhispatriotismfromanothercountry. When · with his discharge, or his member is stopped approached by the CIA, Lucky agreed to risk ex- : from discharging, it is uncleanness for him.' posingtheidentityofhisconfederates,byagree- · Thank you." With roars of laughter from ing to have his men help the USA to fight an : the crowd and scowls from Justin, Will insurgent war against Benito Mussolini. It would · commenced the cutting. After a few minutes havebeeneasy,andunderstandable,forLuciano: of trimming the long locks, the razor was to tell the Feds to go f@#% themselves. In- · unsheathed and the jagged cuts from the stead, he did his part to fight for freedom, even : scissors were smoothed out leaving Justin though he was never allowed to return to · with a cool new summer do, but the damage America. Admirably, he did not give up his life : was done, the victory won, and 2nd Randall of crime, butcontinuedhisillegalactivities from : has the bag of hair to prove it. So ended the Europe, while entertaining American celebrities.. 2nd some-what annual Rand-Olympics. the help of the 18th amendment, Charles Luciano went from being an average pimp to a God amongst thugs. With the help of a number of other famous gangsters, Lucky built upon the rackets of New York a single, business-like crime syndicate. It would come to rule the entire United States, and eventually, a good portion of the world. At first glance, Lucky Luciano seems an unlikely candidate for inclusion on a list of great Americans. A notorious murderer and rack- Luciano died in 1962, while en route to a meet- : ingwith a film director, who intended to make a . film about Luciano's life. . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 14 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 i I. I I I 1 I I ! : ,I �lHH. \JAlJFLY John's College >.O. Box 2800 ~nnapolis, MD 21404 't. Kuvat Doesn t Stop For a Little Rain 1 ly Natalie Rinn :taff Writer Another week, another article, chronicling Leroic Kunai soccer feats. It was a week of xtremes, both in weather and in scoring alent. Upon gazing down on the sunlrenched Kunai soccer turf last Tuesday, one 11ould never have guessed that, within a mere hree days, that same turf would be rapidly '.ncroached upon by Hurricane Isabel and he rising waters of College Creek. Before such perils were of eminent con:ern, however, the Kunai women indeed had here time in the sun. A fresh pairing of eams (Red and Maroon vs. Blue and Gold) :esulted in another dramatically close Red rs. Blue match; this resulting directly from he aforementioned scoring talent, led by nembers of both extremes, i.e. freshmen md seniors. The first of these goals, belonging to the cipper extreme and team Red, resulted from the crafty footwork of senior Blake Gregory. ~Is. Gregory, who had received a pass that led her into the left corner of her offensive field, thereafter wove through opposing traffic and placed a finely tuned shot into the left net, giving team Red a 1-0 advantage. Following, the scoring power of the opposing extreme, though residing on the same team, showcased its aptitude through the chosen one, freshman Ashley Cone. Strategically positioned in front of the net, Ms. Cone effectively used her quick feet as she put a solid strike on a loose ball, which found its way home into the Blue net. The crowd roared as team Red stood on top, and half one came to a close. Team Blue, however, would not remain in scoring dearth for long. Another member of the upper extreme, Johanna-get-the-job-done-Thrall of team Red, did indeed do the job. Residing in the center forward position in her offensive field, Ms. Thrall received a pass, which she diverted away from a nearby Red defenseman and proceeded to fire a shot into the Red net. Despite the heroics of Ms. Thrall and team Blue, the game ended with a W for team Red. Red's scoring power, however, was merely half of their successful equation; thanks to the bravery and nobility of a certain junior Janae Decker, the said result was made possible. Ms. Decker, sacrificing herself for her team, voluntarily plunged herself into goal, and as a first time goaltender, transformed herself into one bad-a** brick wall. Thanks Ms. Decker, we hope to see you back in goal soon. In the following days, as Isabel crept into Annapolis, a few weary Kunai soccer spirits thought it best, and understandably so, to pass on Friday's soccer outing. Athletic Director Leo Pickens, however, under the presumption that a little dosage of hurricane never hurt anybody, called the game officially on. Ten die-hard Kunai (including surprise first-time guest, Helen Kongsgaard of team crew) made their presence known as they conducted a rain-drenched short-sided game on the upper-back campus. Though it is unclear which team won, there was no confusion concerning the reaffirmed superiority associated with the Kunai name, a group that requires more battering than a hurri- Which soccer team, I ask, is going to stop this Hustler freight train? Once again, the Red Men overpowered their opponent, this time the Druids, and, yes, once again, the powerful and 1ust plarn fast Mr. D. Russell scored a hat trick. This is a team, though, with what you would call deep, deep, depth. And the guy who seems to set the table for Mr. D. Russell's finishes is the wily and elusive frosh, l'vlr. Sebell. For his sweet assists and all-around classy and unselfish play, ]\fr. Sebelli.:; namedAthlete of the Week for the men. helluva game in goal last week, throwing her body around with reckless abandon to prevent the opposition from scoring. Miss Decker is named Athlete of the Week for the women. Not s By Mr. Leo Pickens Athletic Director "The boat is a jealous mistress, calling for my attention and involvement. Something about the simplicity of the rowing stroke or the shape of the shell, so desirous of speed, compels us to perfect our oarsmanship, to row with elegance and effect." from Mind Over Water, by Craig Lambert 16 On the women's side, you gotta love it when the goalie gets her face down on the turf, diving for saves. You know, the kinda gritty play that John Madden himself would rave about. Anyway, I'm talking about the fresh woman l'vliss Decker who played one . THE GADFLY ' . . . . . . . . ' � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 5 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-09-23 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 5 of The Gadfly. Published September 23, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #5 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/5dfa32c2450cbe2cb696c03a7775381b.pdf b8f56e534001c75a85e180225ca4623d PDF Text Text GADFLY THE Annapolis, Maryland September 30, 2003 The St. John's College Student Weekb' V elume .XXV, Issue 6 Out of the Shadows Comes Helen Torr By Samantha Buker tion of the artist's search for material and meaning in her work. You can read excerpts from her journal that tell of the joys and despair of painting. Pages from her sketchbooks reveal her search for subjects. SheJiung with a crowd of American Modernists like Georgia O'Keefe and Paul Strand. While her compositions of flowers, shells, and pitchers reflect these influences and those of her husband, she made them her own. However, she was neglected in her lifetime. She sold one painting to a family member and exhibited only twice. Her greatest rejection came from Alfred Stieglitz. She lived in the shadow of her husband. Her love for him came first by choice. He was always supportive and encouraged her to do more work, but she strove to be his greatest support. Staff Writer Who is Helen Torr? She is the artist whose retrospective is at the l'vfitchell Gallery until October 24. You can meet her through the self-portrait that greets you as you enter the · gallery. She painted "I" towards the end of her career. Her brush did not gloss her age in youthful flattery. Even her palette is humble: Graygreens and black frame her pale face. Two things will first strike you: Blue eyes, artist's seeking eyes, dim yet penetrating, and a mass of vivacious red hair piled high upon her head. Her friends called her Reds. You might call the life she led an artist's fairy tale. It has the romance, the rejection, and the godmother's rescue. She met her husband Clive Weeds, while studying with him at the Pennsylvania AcademyofFineArts. Theymarriedin 1913. In.1919, the couple moved to Westport, Connecticut, where Reds would begin sketching with the man who changed the course of her life. Enter Arthur Dove. Of the two, you might have heard of him: He's famous for his illustrations. He was married to Florence Dove, who disapproved of his ambitions to paint. Reds and Arthur fueled each other's desire to work ;L~d understood each other much better their respective spouses did. So, in the . aucuuAH of 1921, they left Westport together to live a life devoted to art. Their path was charted on the seas. They spent their early years living in a houseboat and on a 42 ft yawl named Mona. Some the paintings in the exhibit were inspired the sight off the deck. The palette of of her abstract compositions embodies darkness of a stormy sea and the mystery the deep. · Her life adrift on the sea matches the sense 11 get of an artist adrift in a myriad of influces and also in herself. One of the most g aspects of the exhibit is the revela- continued on page 7 Conversations With the Head Librar·ian By Chris Utter Staff Writer Last week, The Gadf!J contacted the new Head Librari;m Andrea Lamb for the purposes of an interview. Ms. Lamb informed us that she does not grant interviews, but would &e willing to prepare a brief statement ifasked in advance. This seemed understandable enough, and we seemed co11tent, but for the fact that Mr. Anderson Tallent, who as usual was not really paying attention in the meeting, thought that we were talking about him when he heard the first few letters of"Andrea" which is a partial homophone of "Anderson." Before we could work out the misunderstanding, Mr. Tallent already had his heart set on being interviewed as Head Librarian, which he had taken as a great compliment. Rather than hurt his feelings, The Gadf!J decided to interview Mr. Tallent, as a sign of respect. I caught up with Mr. Tallent just a few evenings ago. Mr. Utter: Thank you for granting this interview, Mr. Tallent. I'm sure you can imagine the tight place I was in after the real · Head Librarian declined her chance. Mr. Tallent: Of course, my pleasure. Mr. U: Well, I guess I'll just go ahead continued on page 4 �1·"'"'1 I Gadfly Mailbox THE -vGADFLY Dear Editor, I apologize for not owning a copy of the paper any more, but I was concerned enough about the photograph of Leo Strauss and the accompanying caption to want to alert the Dean rather than simply writing to you myself. If there had been an article attacking Strauss, even in some way for his Jewishness, I suspect that standards of academic freedom would have defended your right to make a case. Instead, what seems to have occurred is a kind of prank. I want you to know that there are likely many in this community who were or would be offended by a joke that seems to trade on histories of racial or denominational hatred. I emphasize 'seems.' I suspect that you do not wish The Ga4f!y, in its continuing and valuable service, to offend some members of this polity unnecessarily. Sincerely, Mr. David Tutor Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene Executive Editor Ian McCracken Production Managers . A&E Editor Anderson Tallent Martin. Anderson MelissaThomas Inside News Mary Townsend Business Manager Katy Courtright Outside News Hayden Brockett Sports Editor Mike Malone Contributing to this Issue MayaAlapin Samantha Buker Nick Colten A.David Thom Green Blake Gregory Joy Kaplan Patricia Locke Joe Method Charlie Pashayan Leo Pickens Dave Prosper Natalie Rinn Dan Schwartz Jenn Silgals Ben Strickland Chris Utter No Offense Intended Mr.David, We honestly don't understand from where such offense might be derived, as we did not intend to be controversial. We did,. indeed, print a picture of Leo Strauss with the caption, "L~o Strauss: Tough?" The picture, however, had nothing : to do with Leo Strauss's Jewishness and everything to do with his dubious toughness. The movie review with which the picture appeared admittedly had nothing to do with . Leo Strauss;itwas simply called Tough Jew, the . Jew in question being Judas. We did include Strauss' picture simply because he was Jewish, Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better but only because there were no pictures actuchance of being published than those longer than this limit. Letters submitted will he edited for ally associated with the film, since, we have grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. determined, the movie does not actually exist. In any event, his Jewishness was not mocked The Gat!f!y is not obligated to publish all submissions and will not print anonymous submissions at all. Out of all the Jews that have lived, we except under special circumstances. decided to pick one who might be of interest to the College in some way, and also was not necesYearly subscriptions are available for $30~00. Tax- sarily tough. Leo Strauss fit the bill. deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. We have provided a more approriate picture Please make checks payable to the Gatif!J. For and caption (below). display advertlsement prices and information, call Founded in 1980, the Gat!f!y is the student weekly distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gat!f!y staff. The Gatif!J reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to publish the most thoughtful, informative, and thought-provoking newspaper which circumstances at St. John's permit. · 2 To the Editor: When I began reading Mr. Page's letter concerning Mr. David's Homecoming Lecture, my hopes were raised that it would serve to rectify the deficiencies of Christopher Utter's review the week before. The letter, unlike the review, acknowledged the · strongly divided reception that the lecture received. I, for one, could not understand how Mr. Utter could have failed to appreciate that the controversial nature of Mr. David's lecture would make it impossible for it to hold the unanimous esteem that his review said that it did. In addition to noting the polarized reactions to the lecture, Mr. Page's letter also cast light on, ''.An old and ever-perplexing question: How, justly and accurately, to sift out philosophy from sophistry; how, reliably and decently, to distinguish the exploitation of wisdom from its love?" In raising this question, it seems as if Mr. Page himself "intended to provoke." Who he was attempting to provoke, what sort of reac- -Ed. 410-263-2371, x2212. Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions will be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail submissions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. Response to Mr. Page's Letter Was This a Prank? Judas: Tough. (Picture from Jesus Christ Superstar, . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tion he was looking for, and even what the message of his letter was, however, are difficult for me to discern. In sending his letter to The Gadf/y, it seems clear that he wanted to make public his complaints both of the lecture itself and of the resulting controversy. Mr. Page's use of the phrase "calculated iconoclasm" leads me to believe that he does not stand close to. Mr. Utter on the 'welcome critique/petulant tirade continuum,' though I don't believe that his position is diametrically opposed to Mr. Utter's one of unequivocal praise. Mr. Page rejects the use of the features of the lecture in-and-of-itself as being unreliable or insufficient to adequately appraise Mr. David's status as a gadfly or mere pest. In doing so, he undercuts the position of all those who might use things such as "public passion," "technical competence," and true-or-false statements to base such claims. At the same time, Mr. Page does not offer any method by which we can discern whether a provocative figure is being "civicminded" or is simply a "self-seeking pretender." It is possible that Mr. Page intends this to mean that there is no way in which we can reliably, or even adequately, determine the one from the other; his appraisal of Mr. David's lecture, as with all such judgments, is only a matter of taste or opinion. Mr. Page, though, does appear to recognize Socrates as an example of the one-percent of provocateurs who act in good faith. If such is the case, then he must have some . means of distinguishing between the two. Perhaps his method is akin to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's famous standard for determining what constitutes ob'SC;enity: "I know it when I see it." If, howe:ver, Mr. Page's method for differentiating en lovers of wisdom and its exploiten is less intuitive than Justice Stewart's, I d I presume many others..,..-would be very r to read about it. tunately for our respective ennablements, however, some generous soul has taken it upon himself to save us from ourselves. By breaking the leather tips off of the three remaining cue sticks, he has done his best to ensure that, in the future, we will all have ample time to spend on mastering Ancient Greek. But surely it is more than just his dedication to that venerable and noble language that has inspired this great deed. By the incessant, tempestuous din of fevered immorality issuing forth from our den of billiards-related iniquity, it must have been clear to one so versed in the things of virtue that our very souls, too, hung in the balance. Not yet having read the New Testament, none of us has seen any precedent set for such a heroic act oflove. But when we consider along with this act the almost unfathomable humility belied by the fact that the one who did it declined even to take due credit for it, we are left truly speechless. Words cannot express our gratitude, even if they be written thrice over, in huge capitol letters. Even if they were underlined, printed on red construction paper, and followed by an exclamation point, there could be no words adequate to repay our mysterious benefactor. We can only hope the ones contained in this letter are a step in the right direction, but clearly they could never be enough. What more, though, can be done? Perhaps the very pool sticks that once oppressed us, having been stripped of their suitability for any other purpose, could be turned to the poetically just task of beating out a musical tribute to our unnamed friend upon the former poolroom's most sweetly resonant walls. In any event, kind sir, we thank you and want you to know that we recognize your character and appreciate the highest qualities thereof. Yours Gratefully, Charlie Pashayan Sincerely, Nick Colten A Sweet Touch of Selflessness The Gadfly, am writing the following as a thank you on behalf of the pool-playing comat St. Johns. Until recently, we, colly, had been spending far too ·much down on the table, and it was beginto reflect in our academic efforts. For- Tutors' Reading of Alcestis To the Polity: Euripides' play, Alcestis, will be read aloud by a group of tutors in the King William Room on October 8 at 7:30 pm. A reading is not a fully staged performance, and those of you who witnessed the Lysistrata last spring can attest that spontaneity and good will are more in evidence than polish. Nonetheless, we hope to bring to voice and life dramas that were meant to be experienced in three dimensions. We intend to read a tragedy in the fall and another Aristophanes comedy in the spring. You are warmly invited to attend, though if you cannot, please read the tragedy of your choice aloud with friends. Sincerely, Patricia Locke Tutor While Surfing the Internet... Dear Gadfly, I was perusing the SJC website, looking at the college clubs, when I happened upon the Objectivist Club. I wanted to find out more about this mysterious philosophy, so I went to the Ayn Rand Institute's website at www.aynrand.org. I thought the polity would be interested to know that if one searches for college chapters of this organization, St. John's is the only institution registered in Maryland. From this a student interested in Objectivism might draw the conclusion that St. John's College is the place to go for Objectivist study, us being the Maryland hub of the ARI and all. While I don't wish to argue here the validity of this conclusion, nor do I see young Objectivists flocking to St. John's, I thought it might be interesting to my fellow students to know more about the organization in which we represent the state of Maryland .. The listing contains a link to the St. John's College Objectivist Club, which link can also be found on the College's website. Sincerely, Thom Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 �r Library continued from page 1 and ask you the questions I had intended to Ms. Lamb. To begin with, what experience do you have as a librarian? Mr. T: You may not know this, but I have worked in a library before. In first and second grades after school, I was a "Library Helper" (a member of the group of students selected on the basis of their academic excellence to work aft er school shelving books); it was only recently that I realized this was the equivalent to slave labor. We "Library Helpers," as they called us, were in fact a crew of workers whose only recompense was a Starburst in the flavor of our choosing. Somehow, the school managed to make this seem like an honor: the old white-washing trick. I did enjoy making fun of the librarian, though, whose name was Ms Pinkston; she didn't hear very well, so we would call her Ms Penguin, and she couldn't tell the difference. Mr. U: Where did you study Library Science prior to becoming the Head Librarian? Mr. T: I would say I'm self-taught, except that I went to St. John's: I'm an autodidact. Mr. U: What has been the most difficult part of your job thus far? Mr. T: Well, I'll respond to that with groundless speculation, since I've done no work as of yet in the Greenfield Library. I would think that inventory is pretty challenging, especially since the library staff will never be able to locate on their shelves the books that I stole last year. Mr. U: Mr. Tallent, surely you can't be serious? Mr. T: Oh, but I am being serious~ my dear Mr. Utter. Let me explain. Currently the fine for overdue "visual materials" is one dollar per diem. If one neglects to return 4 the film "La Dolce Vita," which appears on two video cassettes, the fine is increased to two dollars per diem. I made this mistake last year, just before essays were due. I hesitate to discuss matters of personal finance, Mr. Utter, but let's just say that the fines were levied against me at a difficult time, seeing as the end of essay writing period did not coincide with payday at school. Hence, I was unable to pay the fines. Never- Hitting the books. theless, I thought it might be possible still to check out some books I was interested in consulting during the terminal stages of essay composition, namely the Greek text of the Metaphysics and the French text of Descartes Discourse on Method and Correspondence. When I approached the circulation desk, books in hand, and tried to check out these books, the computer emitted a hideous buzz, instead of the friendly chirp I was used to hearing. The attendant-I think he's a GI, but not the one that I think was dating the sophomore Jenny [Sweeney], a different one-told me I had to pay my fines. I was a little embarrassed, as he seemed to be enjoying his job too much, but I tried to explain my fiscal situation in terms as vague as possible, and assured him that I really needed the books. Then the smug b@%$!*"' told me that, "everyone 'really needs them,"' (he actually used the quote fingers), and went on to explain that it is the practice of the Library not to lend books when someone has an outstanding fine-no matter what the circumstances. My initial response was to become very angry, and for a few seconds I considered simply snatching the books from his hands and running out the door with them. On further reflection, this seemed hasty and immature: such a course of action would only lead to me getting caught and humiliated. Still, I was not about to suffer for the sake of a ridiculous and unnecessary policy, so instead, I returned to the Library later on and simply stole the books in question, sneaking them out of the building right under that snotty attendant's nose. I returned one of the books at the end of the summer, when I knew that they had already done their inventory; I thought they might have re-ordered the book, and then the Library policy ideologue would be inconvenienced by having to cancel the order. The other book I kept. Mr. U: Are you evet going to return it? Mr. T: Yes, but only if the attendant in question comes to me to apologize, and he has to be sincere. Mr. U: I see. Well, Mr. Tallent, I'm sure you've proven yourself the victor in that contest of wills, but nevertheless, you haV'e broken the rules. If asked, would you be .. able to suggest a punishment for yourself? Mr. T: Undergraduate Library privilege~ for life, unless a friend pays a small fine. ' Mr. U: That sounds fair. Mr. U: Does Lisa Richmond have h shoes to fill? Mr. T: I didn't know that Ms. Richmo was Dutch. Or did you mean to ask whe her shoes were hard to fill? Mr. U: I did indeed mean that, yes. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. T: Excellent. Well, since I'm not actually the head librarian, you must be asking if I am nervous about having this interview compared to the interview with Lisa Richmond [the former Head Librarian] that appeared in The Gadf!J three years ago. In a word, "No," because it was Hayden Brockett who interviewed Ms. Richmond, whereas you, Mr. Utter, are interviewing me. I find your writing to be urbane and high-minded; Hayden Brockett's prose, on the contrary, is pretentious and verbose. I can count on you, Mr. Utter, to maintain a tone that is mannerly and engaging, without presuming to hold forth on ''What the Parts of Courage Are" or ''What St. John's College Teaches." Mr. U: Let's hope I live up to such expectations, Mr. Tallent. What reasons do you see for a librarian not granting an interview? Mr. T: Because there's no talking in the library, of course! Mr. U: Off the top of your head, can you think of any knock-knock jokes or riddles about the Library? Mr. T: I heard that the Library used to be housed in the Cupola Room. I wonder how they fit all those books in there. Badum tschhh (snare drum sound). I know it's corny, but it's the best I could do on the spot. Mr. U: Oh no, it's quite appropriate, but I don't quite understand what it means. Mr. T: Well, presumably there were fewer books when the Library was housed in the Cupola Room, and so it was not difficult to find space for all of them. Mr. U: If you could change three things about the Library what would they be? Mr. T: First, equal numbers of bathrooms for men and women. The first and third floors are reserved for the fairer sex. Only the second floor is men-only: the one in the basement is unisex. Second, the Library's copy of Casablanca has been missing since at least my Freshman year. Either put it back in stock, or remove it from the list of available videos. Third, track down and bring to justice the perpetrator responsible for the theft of the Greek text of the Metaphysics from the Library. Mr. U: But Mr. Tallent, you stole it and have already confessed to it openly. Mr. T: You're right; scratch that. How about lowering the overdue fines? Mr. U: Anyway, to change the subject. What are your fondest memories of the Library? Mr. T: One time some friends and I snuck into the Library after-hours with the help of an employee and listened to the recording of Robert Pinskey's lecture on his translation of Dante. We sat in the Lillian Vanous Nutt Room. Mr. U: What qualifications do you think a librarian should possess? Mr. T: In general or at St. John's? Mr. U: Either one. Mr. Tallent has requested that a picture of Sir Sean Connery be published in conjunction with any mention of himself. Mr. T: A soft voice, of course; also a good knowledge of the alphabet and Arabic numeral system and the willingness to forget about minor overdue fines. Mr. U: Well, Mr. Tallent, thank you for your help, this will be a wonderful spacefiller for this week's The Gadf!J. Mr. T: You're quite welcome, Mr. Utter. Any time. WANT TO BE A HUMANITARIAN? The Bi-annual SJCA Blood Drive Wants You! Tuesday, October 7th in FSK Lobby Sign up to either give blood or volunteer on the day of the drive at the Sign-up table in Cafe Randall during lunch or dinner or Can the Harrison Health Center ext. 2553 Total blood-giving time about 30-45 minutes (registering, blood giving, recuperation). Volunteering includes manning the cookies and juice station / welcoming and registering. Any Questions? Contact Team Leader Nie Zakheim (through campus mail) or the Health Center (ext 2553). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �r I All College Seminars: The Friday Night Fiasco By Daniel Schwartz Staff Writer with a seminar.No one can deny that many at this college look down upon lectures, and, as a conseThis past Friday, in place of the usual lecture, an quence, that they have been on the decline. The All College Seminar, organized by the Student number of lectures replaced with concerts and Committee on Instruction, allowed well over one seminars--and the small number of students hundred interested students the opportunity to who attend the lectures we still have-is intolerdiscuss a non-program work: ''The Library of able. Lectures are too rare and too valmble at this Babel'' by Jorge Luis Borges. Is this seminar a school for a single one to be replaced. What makes good idea, or a bad one? Clearly, the All College Seminar offers some lectures vital, especially here at St John's, has to do great opportunities. It is a rare opportunity for with method. A good lecture shows by example students from the freshman to the senior class to how to effectively structure a complex thought, a share in a seminar, as well as an opportunity to process which is far from automatic. One's discuss some important work which our neces- thoughts neither organize nor express themselves. A lecture shows by example how to explain comsarily selective curriculum omits. However, the seminar currently replaces the plex ideas both orally and in writing Students usual Friday lecture and this is wrong In the New cannot just speak or write ideas as they happen to Program's early days at St John's, there were two come to them; they must structure their thoughts lectures each week. Then one of them was cut and explain them in a comprehensible manner. The All College Seminar is surely desirable, but Now, in addition, one lecture each month is renot at the cost of replacing a lecture. Tuesday or placed with a concert and two each year are replaced Wednesday night would be a far better time for it In fact, so long as they are not replacing lectures, the SCI has every reason to organize these seminars more often. Ifwe are having lectures, though, they ought to be good lectures. A good lecture is one that provides students with knowledge, helps them to chew what they are learning, and serves as an example for how to express ideas well To do this, it must contain information (knowledge) in a comprehensible form (for chewingthe ideas) and expressed well (as an example to the student). Mr. David's recent lecture serves as an example of the kind oflecture we need more often here. His lecture was certainly a good one, but it is an ominous sign that many students looked up to the lecture as an exception to the normal lecture. Great lectures should not be the exception. Let us, then, not only bring the lecture back, moving the All College Seminar out ofits Friday slot, but bring it back.in glory. The Plague and Poison Ivy: News from the Outside By Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor Beware of Cat A parasite infecting cats has been linked to mood swings and other disorders in human beings, according to reports from a researcherat the Charles University in Prague. Toxoplasma gondii apparently causes men to become irritable and morose, while inexplicably making women reckless and impulsive. J aroslav Flegr, the researcher in question, said, "It is not much fun. Our research has shown that toxoplasmosis raises 2.6 times the risk of a traffic accident by prolonging the reaction time of infected people. It is not only about driving accidents but also about the probability of being run over by a car." One million traffic deaths worldwide can be ostensibly linked to this bug. Mississippi News For those of who have lost track of Mississippi recently, The Gadf(y thought you should know that a special judicial review committee has been set up to investigate the Supreme Court of that state. Specifically, the commission will be examining comments made by Justice Chuck McRae, who allegedly has threatened to "whip" the chief justice. He has also supposedly said, "I have 369 days left in my term, and I intend to have fun on every one of them. I'm going to call [the ChiefJustice] a 'Li'l Tadpole' every day that I can." Mr. McRae was apparently upset after his electoral defeat earlier this year, and according to Chief Justice Edwin Pittman, "He put the court on notice: 'I will make your lives miserable."' This news might cast some doubt on the practice of electing Supreme Court justices; might it not? How an Unlikely Pair May Find You Miss Mississippi. make one want to have more. Vintners have to add about one bottle of white wine every three months to the barrels containing the wine, as the "angel's share," about one percent, evaporates each year. The barrel which experts recently opened, however, contains enough dry matter (300 liters of it) to show that the original vintage is still present. By Maya Alapin Senior Resident down my arm, and eventually ended up Two things are definitely at St. John's right everywhere else? Well, the answer could now: the plague and poison ivy. I should know; only be right here on our campus, since this is where I live, and this is where I set last week I had both. For those of you. who don't know, the up my sickbay. I have had the plague at plague is the disease of Johnnies--one that least six times in my four years here, but stays with us throughout the fall and winter. never this. To boot, in my four years on Yes, youcangetittwice. Lastweekone of the this campus, I can't remember anyone nurses warned me that she saw a record num- else having poison ivy, either. Needless ber of cases. And that was only the second to say, the worst part is trying to figure week of school. This means that the plague is out if the plague has taken on a new form here in high volume already. Beware: It's early this year, or what else other diseases are in the year, and it's probably here to stay. Do going around campus. So here is what I have learned: For the what you can to bulk up on vitamins and the very un-outdoorsy types like me, the rash like. Get your flu shot when it comes out. And don't forget that an ounce of prevention is is easy to identify from photos online. worth a pound of cure, especially when you are Ifyours looks like mine, youmight think stuffed up, have a paper to write, a proposition you have a lot of bug bites. The bumps to do, it's after-hours at the health center, arid contain oil, which gives a yellow hue to you don't have a car to get yourself to Rite Aid. the rash. If the area is small enough, a The plague was so bad this week that I was (very hot) hairdryer can be used to dry it leveled for three whole days. I stayed home. out (keep blowing until just before it hurts Where, then, did I contract the poison ivy that too much). Topical anti-itch cream is a must, started small at the tip of my finger, spread else you will scratch and spread. 6 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Art continued from page 1 Old Wine No need to worry about either of th items too much. But do take heed: The p is here, and ivy is everyw-here. news that should interest many St. 's students, the oldest surviving wifie ~world, a 531 year-old white Alsace, is ently still good. With rather high acidan alcohol percentage of9.4, this pomade in 1472, should be drunk sparalthough it's fine aromas of appar"vanilla, hazelnut, or camphor" might could continue to work. She never painted again, not even after his death. All she produced in those years until her own death in 1967 were holiday cards sent to family and friends. You can see these whimsical collages: thin veins of decayed leaves, feathers, bits of foil, mesh, and paper lace with love, from Reds. Her sister Mary found boxes of these cherished materials alongside her portfolios of drawings and paintings in the attic of her house after her death. All these things, paintings included, were awaiting the Salvation Army truck and shadowy obscurity; when the director of the Heckscher Museum, Eva Gatling, stepped in and rescued the works to hold Reds' first one-woman show. I encourage you all to meet this intriguing woman who lived for art and love by seeing the story of her life told in her canvases, most especially in her own relentless gaze. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 i �,F"' I This was theproduct of an immaturefreshman mind, published in Volume XXI, Issue 19 of The Gadfly, then a disreputable rag toutingyel/owjournalism, raqpictures, and lowbrow humor to be approved ef on/y !?Ji the ill-born. Some of thejibes m~ be obscure, as thejocularity was mired in the decadent mores of that tawdry era. Satire is the recourse of the feeble-minded ... Tales of the Torpedo Fish, or the Mid-Wife of Ideas By Joseph Method Staff Writer He'll shock you out of complacency! He'll birth your ideas, and then abort them! Socrates, a man of myth and legend. Upholder of the just and the Good, possessor of the philosophic soul, he roams the Athenian countryside and stalks the public places in search of those who clutch at the illusion of knowledge. No bronze soul may escape his gaze; no unfounded assumption can withstand his dialectical fury. Witness the righteous force of... THE TORPEDO FISH, MIDWIFE OF IDEAS. Socrates: No. Just kidding. How can we even talk about teaching virtue without knowing what virtue is? For that matter, how can we even talk about teaching? How can we talk? What are these words, and how Meno Meno: Can virtue be taught? Socrates: Depends. Meno: On what? Socrates: Well, there are numerous socio-psychological and genetic factors that determine how well an individual can acquire knowledge. Of course, a non-tangible quality, let us call it a 'trope,' such as virtue, may not have a single standard form, differing by culture and circumstance. It might be more appropriate to consider the acquisition of virtue as a process of acculturation, absorption of a set of mores and strictures shared by a social group, probably rooted in a more universal human nature. So, in a sense, yes, you might say that virtue can be taught, if we recognize society as an equal or significant partner in the role of moral educator. Meno: Really? 8 are they grouped? WHO AM I, AND WHY AM I WEARING A TOGA? Meno: ... Socrates: Sorry about that. It's passed. Such is the life of a philosophic soul. Someday there will be vast academies devoted to the fine-tuning of soul harmonics in order to achieve the delicate balance that is the philosophic soul. (They will, necessarily,_ be exorbitantly expensive, so that students may be stripped of worldly possessions.) Until that day, I must walk this path alone. Why don't you attempt to define virtue for us, so that we may reach an understanding and further pad out the dialogue? Meno: Okay, let's see. Virtue is being a good husband, a good citizen, and an insatiable monster in bed. Socrates: Ho, good Meno,, but those are EXAMPLES of virtue. Honest enough mistake, but we are looking for the nature of the thing, you see. <laughs> Meno: Oh, I get it. Virtue is skill at draughts, after-school specials, and being an insatiable monster in bed. Socrates: No, those are also examples. Meno: Plush animals? Socrates: No. Meno: Fondue? Socrates: No. Meno: Carnies? Socrates: NO. Meno: So, wait, is it being an insatiable monstSocrates: Look, you obviously' don't understand the principle. If I were to ask you, "What is music?" would you answer t'l:nu; the music of Rhythm and Blues , IS music, or would you say in-' stead that it is merely a genre music, of which there are o ers, including the musics of S and Death Metal? Meno: That would seem likely. Socrates: In the same way, we wouldn say that fondue is virtue, but rather that part of a form of virtue, of which Ca and plush animals equally participate. let us make the attempt again. Meno, do you suppose is virtue? Meno: Virtue is having pretty th" Shiny, shiny baubles. The sparkles catch eye, and I line my nest with them. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Socrates: By pretty things do you mean the good things? Meno: Please don't take away my preciousness. Socrates: I'll take that as a ''Yes." Now, do all men 'desire the good, which we un-· derstand to be the Dope and the $<X't? No. Socrates: But these are those who desire the Bogus and the Nast? -Yes. Socrates: Do you mean that they desire the Nast believing it to be the $a't? Or that they desire the Nast knowing it to be the Nast? -I believe there are both. Socrates: But we know that desiring after the Nast results in a condition known in the medical terminology as the Miserable Ill-_Starred, which, as anyone who's had it can tell you, hurts like a mutha. -To be sure. Socrates: All men, then, desire the fat, or else they consciously yearn for the persistent cough, chronic itch, inflamed fibula, topical leprosy, perforated cornea, glandular eruption, syncopated heaves, proboscal herpes, and pancreal migration that necessarily afflict the Miserable Ill-Starred. -So it would seem. Socrates: So, then, virtue is desiring those good things that we have mentioned, and others. Carnies and the like. -Certainly. Socrates: But may we seek to have these things through unjust means and call this virtue? -Certainly not. Socrates: Moreover, may we not say that there are Evil Carnies, that plush animals may be in their nature evil, and there is fondue that partakes of evil? - I suppose. I don't like to think about it. Socrates: Neither do I, neither do I. What I mean to say is that your definition of virtue contains a requirement of virtue. You reference the term to be defined, which, in a logical proof, is a big no-no. It threatens to initiate a condition of infinite recursion, which is the bane of mathematicians and programmers alike. You know, Bertrand Russell spent much of his life trying to develop convoluted rules of priority to make sense of logical paradoxes like "The Set of All Sets (Contains the Set of All Sets)." An interesting book on the subject is Giidel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter. Meno: How do you know these things? Socrates: It is because my soul is open to recollection, not only of past lives, but of future ones as well. It gets pretty hairy at times. Sometimes I think that if I could only figure out what the vida loca is and how one lives it, I could move into a state of communion with the form of absolute Truth. Meno: What do you mean by recollec- tion? This is wondrously new to me. Socrates: As the soul is immortal, so it has lived and will live many times over. The knowledge gained in these lives may b_e accessed in the present one. One simply di~ als up the appropriate former knowledge and awaits the baud screech of recollection. Connection speeds vary. In order to demonstrate this concept of Recollection, I suggest that we question this comely Boy here. Boy, come here. Do you know how to calculate a P /E ratio?-No. Socrates: What about four years' worth of compound interest?-No. Socrates: A train leaves the station in Chicago at 4 am and another leaves the one in St. Louis at 6 ... -Sorry. Socrates: Huh, the network must be down. But you can see how it works. Recollection promises a revolution in epistemology, creating entire new cadres of "recollection workers," who aren't bound by the constraints of right opinion. The politeia will be radically altered by this Recollected Knowledge Revolution. Meno: Hey, remember when I was all, "Can virtue be taught?" And you were all, "First let's find out what virtue is." What ever happened to that? Socrates: Let me ask you, Meno: Is anything teachable but knowledge?-! think not. continued on 12 Towel Racks: Necessary or Messassary? Followers of Martha Stewart, it's time to come out of the closet! Don't miss the highly stimulating FURNITURE FORUM to be held in the Conversation Room next Tuesday, September 30 at 3:45 with Real Live Architect Joe Cellucci, AIA. Joe is part of the-team creating our new dorms. Come help him design the desk of your dreams! All students are encouraged to attend! ]l!Y Kaplan Director of Student Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �Book Review: Swiss Family Robinson By Mary Townsend Inside News Editor film by the same title might naturally expect). It is written in a simple style, with very clear and precise language. Mr. Robinson, a clergyman, his wife, and their four sons, on their way to a colony in the South Pacific, overtaken by a storm and abandoned by the crew, are left on the ship caught between several large rocks. Awakening to find the sky clear, they make their way from the ship onto the island that, the night before, the sailors drowned themselves in the effort of trying to reach. What things they save from the ship, what things they are able to identify or make use of on the island, their projects and their contrivances make up the substance of their adventures on an island where, as it is said, human beings never trod before. This is the speech that they set over themselves: "God, to compensate for the weakness of man, had bestowed on him reason, inven- tion, and skill in workmanship. The result of these had produced a science, which, under the name of Mechanics, taught us to increase and extend our limited powers incredibly by the aid of instruments." The family's peculiar combination of piety and natural philosophy makes it possible for them to be, of themselves alone, civilized on this island. Whether building places to live, distinguishing various familiar plants and remembering their uses, taming the wild animals they come across, or sowing crops, fermenting palms or coconuts into wine, or spinning local varieties of cotton and flax, all are done with patience, skill, and forethought. Nor is regulation of the human things absent: four sons of varied ages, all with different amounts of boldness, intelligence, inventiveness are watched over, blamed and praised, and given the tasks for which the habits they posses suit them or that require The Third Man, directed by Orson Wells, was the first film shown by the St. John's Film Club in its time of resurrection three years ago. It contains an argument striking enough to be used by the immortal Andy Hui in the advertisement he made for this occasion. It is made by a character played by Orson Welles himself, attempting to account for his somewhat morally dubious activities: "In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love-they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." Now, I must admit that this failed to convince me right away; when all is said and done, Michelangelo isn't my favorite painter. (I may as well give myself away at the beginning, by admitting my preference Wmdliam Cassi~ for certain Dutch painters who SWI~ have, as I believe, a more direct interest in human nature.) But as there was little I could This handy Nature Key will help you learn about the various plants and animals that think of in response at the the Robinsons discover on their island. The Robinsons are a very knowledgeable family about plants and animals in general; Ernst himself knows many of the time, being largely unac, scientific names. It would have been very difficult going if they had not known so. quainted with the habits and much! the customs of the Swiss, I had to consider Mr. Welles' argument the stronger until I was better informed. I don't believe that we read anything by a Swiss on the Program, unless there is some unobtrusive paper in the Lab sequence by one of that country. In Turtle - a slow-moving reptile with a hard, Fuller's earth - a type of impure clay sometimes Cotton plant- a law shrub that produces round such a way the matter rested boxlike shell covering its body. The Robinsons found in caves. Its color ranges from white to seed pods containingwhite, fluffy fibers. Mrs. make an extremely good soup from its meat. brown. Robinson and Francis picked enough to make until about a month ago, mattresses the first time they saw it. when, upon the recommendation of Mr. Robert Abbott, I obtained and read The Swiss FAMILY ROBINSON"' Nature Key Fami!J Robinson. This book, narrated by the Mr. Robinson of that family, was first published in 1812 by a professor of philosophy at the university in Bern, Johann Rudolph Wyss (a much earlier date of publication than any patrons of the Disney 10 Rubber tree - a tropical plant with large, glossy, leathery leaves. Mr. Robinson makes rubber shoes and waterproof clothing from its sap. Coconut palm - a tall, branchless tree with a tuft of feathery leaves at the top. The monkeys use its hardshelled fruit as missiles to throw at Fritz and Ernst. Waxberry - an evergreen shrub with small, glossy leaves that bear berries covered with greenishwhite wax. The candles Mrs. Robinson makes: from it allow all to see after nightfall, when before their correction. The proper fears of safety of the mother and the necessary risks of the husband are acted on and given a place by the determinations of right reason. Together, their practical and family concerns make up a harmonious, steady activity of the never-ceasing application of information and skill. Here is Descartes without the vanity, Galileo without the bitterness-modem science made use of in the only way it could be the constant activity of a virtuous man. When one claims not to care about causes or nature for the purposes of inquiry, one must have a clear idea in what other realms these things are a necessary part of an account. When the natural philosopher says he doesn't care about the nature of a thing in this instance, what he most often means is that he doesn't care about the natures of things at all. The Swiss family Robinson knows that Mechanics does not talk about nature, but they have a very firm grasp on when it is necessary to know about nature-in every decision having to do with how and for what end they use their skill. Going back to the objection of Orson Welles, however-while it is all very well for someone on an island to live decently, to be civilized, in the end, what can it produce but well built houses or well built clocks? The good of this virtue cannot be the highest good; it cannot even be a good higher than many. Indeed, this objection resonates in the \Vhispered speeches made by older men to younger men, that Moderation and consequently its handmaiden, Practical Wisdom, are not philosophic, nor even philosophical. I would like to propose the opposite. Perhaps in the prudent apportioning of each thing to its proper place of our old friend, Practical Wisdom, lies the key to a properly metaphysical understanding and .positioning of all the varieties of Being. Perhaps if Descartes hadn't been so con~ced that he knew all there was to know out himself, about his own nature and at kind of thing it was, he would have able to tell the difference between the onings of his imagination and his intelJuniors, thrown into the true no-man'sof Junior Year, put off-balance by the lute refusal of the Program authors to outright what they mean, without the excuse of poetry (who knows what e the man is really thinking?) would do to acquaint themselves with the Swiss Y by the name of Robinson. Objectivism and the Program By Hayden Brockett and Ian McCracken The Gadfly Editors of Vario11s Sorts This article's purpose is to bring to the attention of the students an issue currently before the Delegate Council, in the hopes that they will make their opinions known to their representatives. Mr. Daniel Schwartz, a sophomore, has proposed a charter for the St John's Objectivist Club, the purposes of which would be to study the Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand, and to inform the polity of this philosophy by means of posters, pamphlets, lectures, and the like. This club, as stated in the final sentence of the charter's description of its purpose,:would ~e "in full agreement with the ideology and policies of the Ayn Rand Institute." No one denies the freedom of any person to meet and discuss any subject they deem worthy of discussion, at St John's or elsewhere. The proposed club's explicit prior acceptance of the Ayn Rand Institute's version of Ayn Rand's Objectivism, however, necessitates public examination of at least two concerns. First An essential component of Objectivism is thatit declares itself the "one true philosophy of man." That point can be debated, however, it is irrelevant to this discussion. What is relevant is that at St John's, we attempt to examine critically the many competing ideas that have shapedourworld. Ourultimategoalis freedom from any unexamined idea; in this pursuit, we attempt to reexamine everything we thought be- D.C. Minutes fore, in light of the ever-present possibility of its being untrue. Out of respect for the endeavors of others and of ourselves, we typically refrain from advocating the permanent truth of a'!Y ideology. One might be justified in saying, upon this realization, that an espousal of that sort would run contrary to the spirit of the Program. Second: The club does not actuallypropose to promote the philosophy of Ayn Rand; rather, it proposes to disseminate the ideology of the Ayn Randlnstitute. We ought to be wary of allowing extemalinstitutions to have a mouthpiece on our campus..If the Environmental Club wanted to become a branch of the corporate-funded organization Save The Planet, or if the Christian Fellowship wanted to join the Campus Crusade for Christ, this concern would need to be addressed in those cases. The tension between outside organizations and St John's clubs is not a new one; both the aforementioned clubs have had to confront it This club, however, would be founded specifically in accon:lancewith an outside organization as an essential component of its makeup. These, then, are the questions we wish the students to ask themselves: Ought a St. John's club be founded on the acceptance of the absolute truth of a specific idea? Ought a St John's club be a mouthpiece for an external ideological organization? Whyorwhynot? Pleaseshareyourthoughts on this matter with your D.C. representative., and, if you wish, come listen to the discussion at the D.C:s next meeting, today at 6:30 in the Private Dining Room. By Blake Gregory, D.C. Secretat) 9/23/03 6:30 pm: Presentation of SCI officer candidates . Sophomore class: Don Stone, Christopher Utter, Tess Gilman Junior class: Mark:Ingham,JustinLanier Senor class: Nate Stalnaker, Mary Townsend, Hayden Brockett 7 :10: Candidates leave room for voting Recommendations by Chair Jill Delston. 7:20: Motion to make election an emergency voting item by Sam Spalding; seconded. Election results: Stone, Gilman, Ingham, Lanier, Stalnaker, Townsend. 9/24/03 11:55 am: Presentation of Objectivist Club charter by archon Daniel Schwartz. Delegates question Mr. Schwartz about club purpose and its stated affiliation with the Ayn Rand institute. Discussion of charter. 12:30: Motion by Spalding to make charter a deferred discussion item; seconded. 12:35: Presentation ofHoi Strategoi Club charter by Christopher Utter. Delegates question Mr. Utter about charter. Spalding points out that charter does not conform to standard format, recommends minor, technical emendations. 12:45: Motion by Spalding to make Hoi Strategoi charter a regular voting item; seconded. they had been obliged to go immediately to bed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 �continued from 9 Ptolemy Stone Horoscopes By Jen Silgals Staff Mystic Socrates: Then if we discover whether : virtue is knowledge, we would know if it · were teachable. It would then be a simple : matter of determining whether there are (September 23-0ctober 22) · teachers of virtue in the world. For if there Clear up the clutter in your life. Whether it is : were not, we would have reason to doubt emotional or physical, you'll feel better when · whether virtue is a form of knowledge at you stop tripping over the mess and can actually : all. However, we might reach a comprofind your (physical or spiritual) socks. · mise by allowing those with 'correct opin: ion' to instruct others with their 'correct · opinions' of virtue. Or we could talk to i11.til11 ($' ·'Y' dD Aries (March 2 7-April 79) You've been acting too quickly, jumping into things without any thought. Intuition is nice, but so is reason. Just take some time to think before you act and all will be well. Wl"'Cmus (April 20-May 20) Stop standing outside of the action. You're just as equipped as the players in the game, so stop sitting on the sidelines. Anything you've ever wanted to do is open to you. Go for it. Mt>mml (May 2 7-June 20) Don't get upset if others don't take your advice. Just because you think you're right doesn't mean you actually have a clue. Even if you do know what's going on, sometimes people have to learn the hard way. fltCam (June 2 7-July 22) Embrace who you really are, even the quirky little parts you try to hide. It's better to just be honest with yourself. Loosen the filter on your personality, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. (July 23-August 22) Appreciate what you have and don't focus so much on what you don't. I know this is easily pontificated and less easily practiced, but it will make you feel better in the end. • :CUV1 (August 23-September 22) Use this week to learn more about yourself and your surroundings. Get out the old journal, or steal the journal of a friend. Exchange secrets with people you trust. Be open. (October 23-November 2 7) : our good liir IA)P 5m1NAI! Fim1Nt -:JO,_y lf% friend Anytus. Hey, what's up, ·man? Looks like an overall good week for you, as longasyoumakeitthatway. Youcanletlittle Anytus: Not much. You? things depress you, but why would you want : . Socr_ates: _Naw, no~ a whole lot. We were to? Enjoy life as it is, and life will be enjoyable. · discusslng vl!tue earlier. Anytus: Yeah?-Yeah. Socrates: So.-So. Socrates: Catamites treating you well?(November 22-December 2 7) : You know it. Socrates: Good to hear, good to hear.You might be feeling like a lot of things are . Ay-up. changing in your life recently, but are you sure Socrates: It says in the introduction that that it's not you who is changing? A little : you're a successful democratic politician. introspection goes a long way. · What's that like? Anytus: It's good, Socrates. Real good. : But, you know, sometimes it's nice to just (December 22-January 19) . sit back and relax with your friends. Just Try to balance your internal and external worlds : good decent folk, "the salt of the earth," I this week. Finding a comfortable balance . like to say. You feel no pre~sure to talk, to between your needs and the needs of those : have to answer for every little thing you around you will make life go much more . say. No one jumping down your throat, smoothly. : twisting your words around. It really puts . you in touch with the things that matter. Socrates: Amen to that. Anytus: Well, I need to be going. Keep (January 20- February 78) : up the good fight. Don't do anything simply out of guilt. Giving . Socrates: Now do you understand what without a giving heart is not really giving. : virtue is, Meno? Don't let yourself be pressured into doing . Meno: No, Socrates, I do not! Once.I things you don't find important or necessary. : thought I knew what virtue was, but now · I am not so sure. My mind is awhirl, my : conceptions are a rolling mass of confu• · sion; I feel the imminent onset of an exis: tential despair so great that I fear the dis~ (February 19-March 20) This is a resilient time for you. If things haven't been going quite right for you, or you haven't been feeling up to par, don't worry. Life is on an upswing. Look for new clarity coming soon to a life near you. The Universal Reading of the Week is Homer's Iliad, because there's something for everybody in that book. 12 From the Archives · solution of soul, mind, and body. I feel as : ifl_ were floating ~hrough _a cold and ~mpty; · void, my foundations having been stnpp~ . away from me. You are truly a torpe : fish, Socrates, for I have felt the devasta . ing shock of your dialectic. I feel col · Socrates. So very, very cold. Hold me. Socrates: You're welcome, my son. · now I, too, must be going. Oh, and Mdl . Meno: Yes, Socrates? Socrates: Virtue comes from the go . Everyone knows that. THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 13 �By Ian McCracken Executive Editor CROSSWORD The Gadfly Funny Papers Across • <, ,' COMEANDTRYOUR FAVORITES: Texas Salsa with Qleddar, fat free jalapeno sour cream and optional marinated grilled ddcken. Spinach, Feta,&: Routed Gadk Mix Garlic Butter with Cheddar Cuny Oressing with Pineapple and Greens 47 State Circle Down 1. Barbaric shouting 5. costs 10. Nicholas was the last 1LMarch7 12. Better than never. 13. Put one foot in front of the other 14. Funerial couplets 16. Fibula 17. British staple 20. Shooter 21. Sots 23. Thieves 25. "Half lapped in glowing gauze and golden _ _" - Tennyson 27. "Heat of the Moment" group 28. Poet's approach 29. Pad type 30. Sagos 31. Bookkeeper has two 1. Called 2. Rhododendron 3. Millstone's power supply 4. I pray in Padua 5. Opponent of Hercules 6. Twisting power 7. Sensory depriver 8.Meadow 9.Acid 15. Rod: formations 18. In a strange manner 19. Analyses 22. Celeryunit 24. Dutch cheese 25. Not Presb. or Meth. 26. GUAC chains Calling All Stout Hearted Men* Do You Think You're Tough? Well Now is the Time to Prove It! No one with any affiliation with the College at all, Is Pleased to Announce: Johnnie Land The 32nd Annual Joshua William Hyden St. John's College Swimming Championship Extraordinaire: To be Contested Along 500 Grueling Metres of the River Severn's Most Infamous Stretch: The Dreaded Sea Waif of Horrors. This Amazing Race will take place some afternoon before the 26th of October. The final date will be determined by the schedule of the entrants and consultation with genuine Prophets. If you would like to enter, talk to Michael Malone through campus mail or switchboard. · Amazing, and True, Race Facts *The average time of victory is thirteen _ minutes. That's nearly eight minutes slower than if the race were held in a pool. *Of all the people who have attempted the race, only two have finished. *Due to massive swells reflected off of The Dreaded Sea Wall of Horrors, major spatial disorientation is common to contestants. *Not a single fatality for the last two years. · This Year's Race Will Feature a Prize!* * *And all stouthearted women. Although if your11ame isn't Lynne Cox, you might not want to enter. ** Prize not yet determined. . . . . . 14 THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . .............. ......... . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 15 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 Kuvat Fighting in the Trenches Such an altered environment piqued the imaginations of the previously uninspired - members of teams Red, Maroon, Blue, and The picturesque grassy plane, residing Gold, who, in setting foot onto the swamp on the Johnnie side of College Creek, is of soccer impossibilities, transformed known to some as "Kunai Soccer Haven" themselves into members of The Brick and perhaps more crudely to others as "The House (BH), Maroon Monsoon (MM), Bas Lower Field." Both of these names, how- Bleus (BB; please consult Sarah Stickney for ever, became grossly fallacious appellations a historical explanation of the name), and for the swamp into which the "Kunai Ha- The Yellow Teen Fighting Machine (YTFM) ven" transformed as the Kunai set out for respectively. another head-to-head match last Tuesday. The final score in a game in which each Torrential rains that persisted throughout team's most formidable opponent was the the first half of Tuesday were responsible evil swamp and its corner of despair was a for the field's transformation. Though the 2-2 tie, resulting from two Hail-Mary shots field as a whole took on the texture of a from the swamp's periphery by junior wet sponge, a particular comer of the field, Natalie Rinn of combined team BH/ having been hit particularly harder than the YTFM, which were pitted against two beaurest, became "The Corner of Despair" tifully orchestrated goals by the nifty skills (which contained perhaps four inches of of seniors Blake Gregory and Johanna standing wet muck) as it thwarted one poor Thrall of combined team BB/MM. Kunai attack after another and claimed the A battlefield of a different kind was the previously dry bottom of a certain gradu- stage for the Kunai match-up on Friday, namely, that of an open-fire range for team ate Jessica Diamond. By Natalie Rinn Staff Writer cial teams, you know that crazy-legs Mr. Goldsmith is going to break one off for a big gain at least once per game. But the guy who is really proving to be the difference is their Q, Mr. Arnold, who has finally figured out how to get the offense moving. For his great game this past week, Mr. Arnold is named Athlete of the Week for the men. By Leo Pickens Athletic Director "If you don't have possession, get position." Old Soccer Adage Upset of the Week: I'm talking about the Guardians' victory over Riley Rex and his Spartan football team this past Wednesday. The Guardians play defense with a lot of intensity (I'm especially thinking of defensive stalwart Mr. Brockett here), and on spe- 16 . . . . : . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . Here's how I define "tough." You come off the water having just rowed 6,000 meters in a four with your hand all ripped up from the oar handle. You cooly, calmly, tape it \lP with athletic tape, drink a little water, and then hit the water again and pull another 6,000 meters, this time in mixed eight. I'm talking about Miss Eleanor Clark of the St. John's Rowing Club and her great display of tenacity this past weekend at the Ariel Regatta. For her toughness a.nd grit, Miss Clarke is named Athlete of the Week for the women. a MM/YTFM, whose unsuspecting targets were the members of the pairing BB /BH. Head firing specialists Gregory and Thrall from team MM/YTFM fired a few rounds of fun against a nobly battered goalkeeper, junior Janae Decker of team BB /BH, before each specialist decided to end the charade and fire one goal apiece. It was in the second half, however, when a moment of true soccer glory occurred. Gregory, finding herself with the ball at foot in her offensive comer, crossed the ball through the air to the left-mid net where it found the leg of Thrall, who then sealed the deal and batted a picturesque one-timer shot into the net to give MM/YTFM a 3-0 advantage. Team BB /BH, refusing to suffer a scoring shut-out, notched a goal by senior Lisa Habegger, whose searing shot into her opposing upper left net carried its own exclamation point. Thus ended Friday's match with a 3-1 victory for MM/ YTFM. � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 6 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-09-30 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 6 of The Gadfly. Published September 30, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #6 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/c01acbb9c311abb983a83848aad2591e.pdf f295af3d8eddd19dc27c16f690036ff2 PDF Text Text THE GA FLY The St. John's College Student Weekfy Volume ){){l/, Issue 7 Annapolis, Maryland October 7, 2003 King Properties Roy I Pain In Defense of the Real Estate Sultans Rip Off Students Objectivist Club By Ian McCracken Executive Editor By Daniel Schwartz Staff Writer Some of you may be unaware of the stranglehold Independence is the mvgnition of the fact that )'Ours King Properties has on offis the responsibility ofjudgment, and nothi11g can help campus housing options in JIOU escape it-that no substitute can do )'Our thinking, as Annapolis. They own a signo pinch-hitter can live )'OUT life-that the vzlest farm of nificant portion of the real se!fabasement and se!fdestruction is the subordinatirm estate in the Historic District, ofJIOUr mind to the mind of another, the acceptance of including the empty lot on an authority overyour brai11, the acceptance of his asserI\fain Street that, until recently, tions overfacts, his say-so as truth, his edicts as a middleheld a significant amount of man between your consciousness and)'Our existence. rubble and was surrounded The above was written by Ayn Rand, who, by a bright orange fence (upaccording to l\1r. Hayden Brockett's and Nfr. Ian perclassmen will fondly recall McCracken's article in last week's The Gadf!y, esthe "Historic Orange" graffiti poused a philosophy, which she called Objectivthat adorned its State Circle ism, that is contrary to the spirit of the St John's side). In fact, they reportedly Program. 1bis is just one claim by a Delegate Cou.. nhave the largest landholdings cil member tl1at demands some thought For, at in Anne Arundel County. Exstake in the current Objectivist Club controversy is cept by legacy, it is indescribnot just fue role of the DC in supporting dubs, ably difficult to obtain an but also the purpose and meaning of a St John's apartment tliat is not owned education. and managed by King PropEarly last year, I drafted a charter for an Objecerties; this would not be a tivist Club and presented it to the Delegate Counproblem if they were not such cil for approval This did not have to be a big deal One man's waste is another man's bath water. ~cb::ally unplevs<int landlords I did not want it to be one. But the DelP{0te C:ounKing Properties is owned and operated by tenants for the damages their own disregard cilrejected the charter, so the Objectivist Club conRon Hollander and his wife, Rita. Rita is the has caused. tiimed its activities as an unchartered club one you'll usually deal with (she generally goes This year, in response to the increased interest One former resident of an apartment at 8 by the name "Rita White" because it allows Maryland Ave relates this story: "My friend and correspondingly increased scope of activities to say, when asked if changes to the lease and I were subletting for the summer. About of the club, we are again seeking approval of our or apartment would be permitted, "I'll have a month in, our refrigerator broke. It took charter. Once again, the Delegate Council is giving to discuss that with the owners." Do not be three weeks for them to send a repairman. us trouble.111ey have raised nUlllerous objections ,•.,>. •. ~·vvicu. Rita is fue owner, and her last name is During that time, we had stacked up people's to our club, some of which I will now address. They have a history of ignoring summer storage dorm fridges in our living Firstly, in response to Mr. TI10m Green's letter :;;.:<:on1phunt:s, playing down critical faults in fueir room, which didn't really work all that well. to the editor in last week's issue: his letter is just and neglecting to address blatant The repairman finally came and inspected fue false. There is no way to search for college chapters of state renter's code, as well as fridge and he said fuat all fue Freon had leaked of the Ayn Rand Institute, because tliere is no g every available loophole to charge their continued on page 4 continued on page 6 Pinkey Common Room~ page 77 City Dock Art page 7.3 �Gadfly Mailbox THE -vGADFLY Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene Executive Editor Ian McCracken Production Managers A&E Editor Martin Anderson Melissa Thomas Anderson Tallent Business Manager Mary Townsend Inside News Katy Courtright Outside News Sports Editor Hayden Brockett l\fike Malone Contributing to this Issue Maya Alapin Dave Prosper Andrew Baisch Natalie Rinn Ian Blaustein Ervin Romero Anna Rubin Eva Brann Nick Colten Dan Schwartz Ben Strickland AdamGarber Blake Gregory Jacob Thomas Chris Utter Joy Kaplan Leo Pickens Webster Ye Founded in 1980, the Gadf!y is the student weekly distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadf!y staff. The Gadf!y reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to publish the most thoughtful, informative, and thought-provoking newspaper which circumstances at St. John's permit. Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better chance of being published than those longer than this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. The Gadf!y is not obligated to publish all submissions and will not print anonymous submissions except under special circumstances. Library: A Serious Matter To the Editor: I am sure that I was not the only reader to be offended by the tripe published on the front page of last week's Ga4ffy. And, no, I am not talking about the Helen Torr review. The thinly veiled "Conversations with the Head Librarian"-all but .authored by Mr. Anderson Tallent-was an affront to our community in several respects. Aside from exposing once more his unflagging narcissism (suffered daily by even his casual acquaintances), launching ad hominem attacks against various community members, including myself, and making the theft of a book for his annual essay, an occasion of sad necessity, an opportunity for personal glory, Mr. Tallent undercut the possibility of addressing the serious concerns that he indirectly raised. I twas obvious that Mr. Tallent has a couple of problems with the library, some of which are shared by his fellow students. Yet because he would rather show off his wit to "those · with eyes to see" than actually convince anyone . of anything, his critiques of the library fell flat, · as his speech has often done in all public fo: rums here. Perhaps if he were to love wisdom . better than his own knack with words, he might · hope to achieve what he often claims to seek. : I'd like to do my best to correct what Mr. . Tallent has done by presenting a short list of : very serious things that I think the library should do differently. My intent is not to criticize anyone personally, but rather to open up discussion of the library by offering some practical suggestions. Next week, when I am able to rein in my temper and to get in touch with Ms Lamb, I plan to write an article in more detail. If you have other items to add to this list, please speak with me or write in to The townies. Alumni, however, are much more like students and tutors in their book reading habits-shouldn't the library rules reflect this difference? '""'Purchasing decisions-who makes them and why? I'm not the only one to have noticed the new book shelf regulady-stGGk.ed with modem scholarly criticism. Are our pockets so full of money that we can afford copies of Program books as well as academe's latest fad? .....-What is the proper organ for student input in the library's policies? Should a student be elected to the library oversight committee? ....-Finally, we need to discuss the closing of the college bindery. The confusion and misunderstanding surrounding the decision harms the polity's perception of the library and of its forthrightness. Amusing though Mr. Tallent's article was, we should not allow humor to have the last word about the Library's role in our community. Ga4f!y. .....- Longer hours. After-seminar hours are a necessity. The library is a favorite place for stuYearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax- dents to study. Many of us have nine o'clock deductible contributions are greatly appreciated. classes the mornings after seminar for which Please make checks payable to the Gadf!y. For · we need books and a place for prepare. display advertisement prices and information, call : .....- The three-book summer limit for return410-263-2371, x2212. ing students is too restrictive. And why can't Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission : current students who happen to be here over for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions the summer check out audiovisual materials? Driving is a great time to listen to lectures, yet will be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail sub- currently non-Febbies are denied this privilege. missions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail sub- .....- Alumni borrowing privileges are currently missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. the same as "community members," i.e. 2 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sincerely, Hayden Brockett, '04 Maybe We Should Try This Dear Editor, Last weekend I lectured at a small school, Magdalen College, where I learned of the following purely wonderful custom. I shall recommend it to our Assistant Dean. Ifa student arrives for class after the tutor has closed the door, he or she reports to the kitchen to scrub pots for that hour. Sincerely, Eva Brann Tutor Behind the Eight Ball Dear Polity, General talk around campus about the poolroommayverywellhave been summarized in Mr. Pashayan's letter to The Gadf!y last week. Many of you are upset that Mr. Noam Gedalof (alumnus with me fromlastyearandmy live-in partner) and I have been complaining about noise from the poolroom; and subsequently about the limitatioos thatareimposedon yourusage of thatroom as a result of our frustrations. You all deserve an e&planation. 'When we moved in--around the same time p did-the poolroom was used mostly in the , and the sounds of the balls hitting over over and the occasional cue hitting our wall tolerable. Over the course ofthe past month, the noise has become unbearable. I twas fact, not the "mysterious soul-saver'' of Mr. an's letter, who angrily wrote email to Ms. at 5:14 in the morning a fewweeks ago, when e started, needless to say, in the middle of the noise, the increase in daytime traffic makes it virtually impossible for either of us to study, much less nap, in the middle of the day. I cannot practice yoga eithet, since that too requires quietness of mind. In sum, all the things that matter to all of you and to us--sleep, study, and serenity-are sacrificed in our lives if the poolroom noise continues. It is useful to know that the wall separating our apartment from the pool area is not an original wall of the building's (or so I have been told), but a cheap erection added long after construction. Even when no one is shouting or banging the wall, the pool balls sound like they are hitting the walls of our apartment. I deeply appreciate how understanding Mr. Nick Whittier (the pool room archon) has been of our situation. I expressed to him, as I express to all ofyou, that Ina(& do understand how much the students need this space to be accessible to hang out and relax in-I was a student just six months ago, and I too lived here on campus, and I too got tired of my room all of the time. Because we don't think the poolroom hours ought to be limited-just in case you can't write that paper atS am and a pool game is whatyouneedMs. Seeger, :Mr. Whitter, Ms. Kaplan, :Mr. Gedalof and myselfbelieve that the pool table ought to be retumed to its old home in Humphreys. The good news is that next year you might just get a real poolroom in the new dorm. The many acts ofvandalism v.rhichhave been committed in and to the poolroom next door seem unproductive and out of character for our community. I have no idea why the polity's cues have been ruined, nor why the doors have been kicked in and their hardware removed. I hope that this is not a form of protest, for it goes without saying that we are not living next door to your poolroom with the intention of wrecking your fun. Sincerely yours, Maya Alapin Senior Resident Why Not Have More Lectures? Dear Gadfly, Why are all-college seminars, concerts, plays and the occasional lecture (when, by the grace of God, we are allowed the pleasure of hearing one) all held on Friday evenings? Could it possibly be due to the fact that students at St. John's attend a college that is far from easy, and (as a result) devote the majority of their evenings (one would hope) to intensive study of philosophy, literature, poetry, mathematics, science, and foreign languages? I may be completely wrong, of course, in making this assumption (it has been demonstrated to me on numerous occasions in the past three years that my intellect is far inferior to that of many of my peers, which is to say that I might very well be the only person here who spends Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday nights studying). But on the off-chance that I may actually be mistaken, and owing to the fact that our college experience is so criminally deficient in vital lectures (as was clearly demonstrated in last week's The Gadjfy, a thneed being something that everyone needs), I propose that every Tuesday and Wednesday evening should now also be devoted to the enriching and valuable experience that lectures offer our community. Additionally, for those students not happy with a mere two or three lectures a week, the school should also offer supplemental lectures on Monday and Thursday evenings (say between 8pm and 1 Opm), as well as applications for transfer to other fine institutions of higher learning. Sincerely, Mr. Jacob Thomas p. I study is a rule that I respect, and one believe makes this little tiny college work. In world, I think ofit as a boon to each and one trying seriously to get an educationsince such a venture requires quiet time Aside from our sleep being mangled by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 �Freshman Chorus: Organized Noise By Anna Rubin Staff Writer Library Policy Harmful to Study D.C. Minutes 9/30 6:45 p.m.: Presentation of revised, re-submitted Objectivist Oub charter by Daniel Schwartz. 6:55: Delegates ask questions of Schwartz, discuss charter. 7 :20: Motion by O'Brien to make a regular voting item; seconded. Motion carries. 7:25: Voting to approve Hoi Strategoi. Charter approved. 7:30: Motion by Brockett to reopen discussion ofObjectivist charter; seconded. Motion carries. Motion to table discussion until end of budgeting process; seconded. Motion carries. 10/07 It's such an unassuming little booklet. 11 :55 a.m.: Balance from Treasurer O'Brien: $14,144.00. It's even a nice, non-threatening color- : 11 :56: Account of current budgeting situation by Spalding, i.e. that total budget requests tan-unlike the invasive orange of the lab · do not exceed account balance. Spalding asks for input from delegates as to how Council manual, and yet some freshmen regard it : with more trepidation than their heavy · should proceed. 12:00: Manion suggests that delegates review requests andinvite V2 of archons to meeting tomes of Plato and Aristotle. Why? Because : on 10/7 and other V2 to meeting on 10/8 to discuss budget requests. Majority of council it is full of music that they have to sing, no : matter how many times they complain that . agrees to adopt Manion's proposal. By Blake Gregory, DC Secretary they can't sing, are tone deaf, and can't carry a tune in a bucket. I never was one of the ones that fussed continued from page 1 ing, "My bathtub is filled with blue water!" about having to sing; in fact, I love to. With He intentionally didn't drain the water, to all of the complaining, however, I was un- out because someone had tried to defrost it prove it. A couple hours later, he called again der the impression that Freshman Chorus with a butter knife. We had not done this. As it turned out, there was a clause in the lease to inform King Properties that the water level was going to be one cacophonous ordeal : had risen while he was at work. Ron Hollander after another. If I had really thought about . that said that if any appliances were broken and the repairman went over to check it out; it, I wouldn't have worried as much as I during the tenancy, the tenants were responsible the repairman determined that the blueness did. Why did I even think that a school as for replacing them with a similar appliance. They of the water was actually paint. Our unnamed extraordinary as St. John's would have an didn't show us the lease when we signed the subletting agreement. We waited another week employee and Rita went up to the third floor ordinary, boring, and painful 'music class' and went through every apartment in tum, like the ones I remember from grade school? or so, and Ron Hollander and the repairman showed up at our door. Ron refused to give his looking for the source. Finally, Rita discovered Though we may have entered the Great · a freshly painted microwave, the owner of Hall sullenly and silently that first Thurs- : name, and just said, We're with King Properwhich had-wait for it-washed her brushes day, before long we had learned (as no doubt · ties.' I asked him for his name several times, but in the sink. The water that went down her countless freshman classes before us have he wouldn't give it. They took the fridge, scrapsink drain ended up coming out of the learned) that Johnnies could have just as ing up the hardwood floors as they did. They much fun sharing centuries-old music as we eventually took that out of the security deposit. plaintiff's bathtub faucet. Did King Properties perform a radical renocould sharing centuries-old books. It is quite They left us a minifridge. We called the Maryland va tion of the plumbing system in 2 Maryland a powerful feeling, to be able to take a piece inspectors, and they sent King Properties a warning; apparently it's illegal to rent an apartment for Avenue? No. In fact, they attempted to make of printed page, and, either with the class or the microwave painter pay for the ruined by yourself, turn it into beautiful (or at least more than 48 hours without a working refrigerator and freezer. King Properties said that since shower curtain (this attempt was later discon:+ recognizable) music. And, though it might tinued). They tout the "quaint plumbing" lit just be because Mr. Thomas May handed we had all those minifridges stacked up in the living room, they weren't in violation. They were a feature, part of living in "authentic Histomt' out some extra-special easy-to-carry-in tune Annapolis;' rather than drastically unhealthy: buckets, but I think we sound pretty good going to make us buy a new fridge, but we found out that the old fridge was thirty years old, so its To those who live on the second floor of that while doing it. I think that, despite all the initial grum- : value was zero. Finally they brought us an old, building: Beware. Unfortunately, there are almost no othel bling, Freshman Chorus is something that mildewy fridge, but at least it worked." According to a former employee of King options available to students living offwe are all enjoying and will look back on pus. Joy Kaplan is now running the Off-C fondly in our later years. Why else would Properties, they have a fridge and stove storage in a shed in back of one of their properties on pus Housing department and can help you the stairwells and hallways of the freshmen for other apartments. Ifyou are forced to a dorms be filled with strains of "La Madison Ave. Perhaps this person's new fridge a King Properties lease, don't let them push came from there. Marseilles" at odd hours? Why else would This same former employee relates another around, pay your rent on time (one day late, the gallery fill with applauding spectators they file eviction papers), and accept that, if (much to Mr. May's dismay) during class? enlightening story, this time regarding the building at 2 Maryland Ave (Mr. Black, pay attention!) receive any ofyour security deposit back at If not because we Johnnies love our quirky A tenant on the second floor called in complain- will probably be significantly diminished. old music, I do not know. 4 THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Mary Townsend Inside News Editor I would like to speak against the limit of three books at a time imposed upon registered students in the summer. I think of a summer in Annapolis as a time both of greater leisure and greater opportunity to read things that require sustained attention than the school year provides. How can one be free to follow up the study of anything in depth when limited to carrying home only three volumes at a time? If it is someone's ambition to read Herodotus, checking out two of four Loebs for the Greek, and the first volume of How and Wells on Books I-IV prohibits any further book of maps, any other book of history about this period, or even the Greek oflast two volumes to compare the beginning of the book with the end. This also puts other reading out of reach: If you've already reached your limit with Herodotus, that means there's no way to check out novels or poetry either. Nor is it feasible to always be in the Library to have access to these things: The Library's hours are shortened in the summer and fall, mainly within the hours of the working student. When I asked a Library attendant the reasons behind this policy, he explained that the Library hoped to prevent students from checking out a large number of books and then taking them to their far-away home in other states. This was my third summer in Annapolis, I said; perhaps there ought to be a different policy for students both living here and registered for the fall semester. He responded with a show of sympathy and this statement: That that seemed fair, but it would be too much work for the Library to accomplish. My plan would work as follows: A student could sign a form, also signed by the Registrar, with their local address and assurance of their being registered, and give that to the Library, who would make the necessary changes in the computer, which can be done with a few clicks of the mouse. I would like to propose that though this change would be more work for the offices involved (I don't think I will grant that it would be a prohibitive amount in itself at all), the benefit, allowing St. John's students to continue their habits of inquiry outside of the school year, would in every way outweigh any administrative difficulty that might arise. Currently, the Library does students a grave disservice; I think we should seriously consider the possibility of a change that would do so much good for the College. Pinkney Common Room Vanishes By Mr. Chris Utter Staff Writer As a resident of Pinkney, I am particularly aware of the tendency for common space to disappear around campus. Recently our common room was converted into an office, so The Gadfly sent me to investigate the cause of this sudden intrusion. ''Ms. Seeger and I were not informed," says ;.Ms. Kaplan. "Building and Grounds and ·oHousekeeping have been reorganizing their Ul1!1.ll.gement offices. Diane Ensor has changed 'tions and is now the liaison between the groups, so I guess she needed an office." Kaplan is acutely aware of the general probwith common areas in general here at St. 's. "Shrinking common space is never With the construction of the new dorms, are designed with loads of common the problem should be pretty much ed. And after the construction is complete, are plans to renovate the old dorms so should be even more space." ' twho made the decision to do away with on room in the first place? No one ~eems to know, but apparently Treasurer ups is partially to blame. He was hired of his practical nature, apparently, so uld not censure him. "I'm very imwith his clarity of thinking. He gets a bad rap because he makes the decisions no one else wants to make. All the unpopular decisions lead back to him. But the problem is a lack of space, not a lack of judgment," continues Ms. Kaplan. This problem of space is universal. ''We are one of the only colleges on the East Coast that has full-time faculty without offices. Where are they supposed to meetwith students in private?" But this is only one woman's perspective. The blame does undoubtedly lie with one man; who he is and the motives behind his actions remain unclear. These questions will lie at the base of a future investigation. A different problem furthers of our shrinking space, though, and discussion of this took up the bullr of my interview with Ms Kaplan. ''I'm at my wits end," she says. At the same time that students have been complaining about common space, other students (and perhaps the same ones) have been vandalizing the rooms that we do have. "How can we give more space to the students (and there clearly is a need for more), when so many are abusing what they do have." The recent attack on the pool cues in Campbell basement is disturbing enough. But then, after it was decided that the room should be locked and opened only at the request of Security, students actually went so far as to remove or jam the locks. The ideal situation, pro- posed by Ms. Kaplan, is an organization of students who would control the poolroom so that the administration would not have to get involved. Several students in each dorm (the RAs for example) would keep the keys to the common rooms and could open them at any time for students to use. In the meantime, it looks as though we Pinkney dwellers will just have to wait a while, at least until the first of the new dormitories has been completed, however distant a prospect that may be. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �Objectivism continued from Front Page such thing as a college chapter of the Ayn Rand Institute. Rather, the Ayn Rand Institute website offers, in order to help independently run college clubs and ~tudents seeking to find them, a database of those clubs. The Objectivist Club at this college is run entirely by the members of the club. We are not affiliated with any outside organizations. The current version of our charter makes no mention of the Ayn Rand Institute, and even states explicitly that the club may not make donations to a'!)' outside organization. (Meanwhile, the Environmental Club is affiliated with the Sierra Student Coalition, and the Christian Fellowship's current budget request does include spending non-DC money on missions in Africa. Make up your own mind about whether there is any hypocrisy here.) :Mr. Brockett and:Mr. McCracken ask: "Ought a St. John's club be a mouthpiece for an external ideological organization?" But the Objectivist club is no such thing. Its purpose is to provide interested students with the means to learn something about Objectivism, just as an Aristotle club would be of immense importance if he were ne- glected And what is meant by calling us an active club, as some in the DC have objected? The Objectivist Club provides a valuable service to the community by educating people about a rarely spoken of philosophy. Nobody; after all, complains about the active "evangelizing" of Plato in the Springtime. Have we ever disrupted ordinary campus life? No. We have showed videos andinvited the community to attend. We did not drag people to our videos. We have planned to invite speakers to the College and to invite the community to attend. We do not plan to drag people into the Great Hall to see the lecture. As with any lecture atthis college, if they want to learn what the speaker has to say, they can come. If not, they don't. Either way, the suggestion that anyone can be legitimately disturbed by any activities of our club is false and backwards. We provide a service, not a disservice. Now, I will address Mr. Brockett's and Mr. McCracken's claim that Objectivism runs contrary to the spirit of the Program: This claim is false: Consider this quote by Ayn Rand: Man has a single basic choice: To think or not, and thatis the gauge of his virtue. Moral perfection is an unbreached rationality-not the degree of your intelligence, but the full and relentless use of your mind, not the extent of your knowledge, but the acceptance of reason as an absolute. Objectivism regards virtue as the will to think, and independence, a specific virtue, as being in 6 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . charge of one's own mind. Are these contrary to the spirit of St. John's? I will leave that foryou to answer. I further ask:Mr. Brockett and:Mr. McCracken where they get the idea that the spirit of the St. John's Program is to refrain from advocating any permanent truths. For I, on the contrary, claim the two above quotes from Ayn Rand portray more accurately the spirit of the Program. For, if it is wrong to accept any permanent truths, making it wrong to have a club which studies permanent truths, why do we study Newton, Aristotle, and Descartes? Does Aristotle not put forth permanent truths? Surely, if Aristotle were here, and I told~ that there were no Unmoved Mover, he would disagree with me, asserting as a permanent truth its existence. Everyphilosopherputsforth permanent truths, even skeptics such as :Mr. Brockett and :Mr. McCracken. For to claim that it is good to avoid permanent truths is itself to claim as a permanent truth that avoiding permanent truths is good. That the acceptance ofpermanent truths is bad is merely Mr. Brockett's and Mr. McCracken's opinion; that opinion in no way represents the spirit of the Program. In the Program, we study ideas and debate them rationally; we are free to accept the ones we find to be good and reject the ones we find to be bad. Students reading Plato are free to agree or disagree with him. Students are free to accept permanent truths, whether that means God, forms, or Objectivism, or to reject them, with the understanding that the acceptance of those truths should be based on careful thought. :Mr. Brockett and :Mr. McCracken ask: "Ought a St. John's club be founded on the acceptance of the absolute truth of a specific idea?" But the Objectivist club is not founded on such acceptance. The Objectivist club is founded on the idea that Ayn Rand's philosophy is worth studying. Whether particular members want to accept that philosophy is open to them, just as whether particular students want to accept the ideas of a'!)'one in our program is. open to them. Students, whatever their opinion of Objectivism, ought not let the DC get away with their hypocrisy in this issue. The fact is that if the DC scrutinized other clubs as they scrutinize this one, they would have to revoke a number of club charters. Ultimately, the reason for the DC's scrutiny is that they hate Objectivism (even though they seem not to know anything about it). Indeed, DC President Sam Spalding admits thathis sole reason for rejecting our charter is that his conscience will not allow him to support a philosophy that promotes selfishness. I might respond to :Mr. Spalding by pointing out that selfishness, according to Objectivism, demands the virtues of rationality, integrity, justice, and honesty, amongst others. I might respond to Mr. Spalding that selfishness does not mean one acts like a brute and destroys the lives of others. I might respond to :Mr. Spalding that other people, according to Objectivism, can be ofimmense selfish value. But all of this would be irrelevant, for the DC's job is not to ensure that clubs study philosophically sound ideas, but to provide for whateverclubs students find valuable. Ought the DC be controlling the ideology of the campus by supporting clubs with which it agrees and hindering dubs with which it disagrees? Thatis the central question of this controversy. Reason and Emotion: Ayn &nd's Solution to a 2,000-Year-Old Problem A Lecture by Dr. Edwin Locke of the Ayn Rand Institute Tuesday, October 21 Great Hall 7:30 pm Everyone is welcome. Another Look at Objectivism By Adam Garber is connected to an outside or- Staff Writer ganization. While their charter does not specify the connection, the College Environmental Club is a part of the Sierra Student Coalition. As such, they do prescribe a certain type of environmentalism, which shares the same beliefs in solutions, non-violent of course, as well as legislative goals which we work towards as a region. This helps to guide the possible choices of the Environmental Club no differently than a connection to the Institute. From this analysis, it is clear that any claim concerning the offensiveness of the Club or the connection to the Institute is baseless in view of the facts. Additional aversion to this club leaves us in the middle of a witch-hunt, where an idea is being prosecuted for its general dislike. As a private institution, the College can choose to limit the ideas in its midst. The question is not whether we can, the Delegate Council's vote a year ago concerning the charter shows that, but whether we should limit ideas, and if so, what the criteria are for limiting. If we take the flow of discussion in a given seminar to be an indication of our philosophical bent concerning censorship, we realize that we do not support it. Not only are we willing to read books that, at one time, were considered heretical but later shown to be true, but any argument, no matter how apparently faulty, is allowed room to breath. We do not suffocate argumentation based on personal dislike, but consider it, and perhaps ultimately find it false. In the case of objectivism, we must allow the study of it, and if it is found to be false, then the charter will dissolve, not because of the DC, but because of the students of the philosophy. If, however, we do not find objectivism to be false but still come to an impasse about its interpretation, we should recognize the differing opinions and continue in an amicable fashion. Such is rhe nature of study. We cannot ethically censor ideas based on our unbelief in their philosophical rigor. If this was the case, some might remove An article in last week's Gadf/y brought to the polity's attention a heated debate within the Delegate Council: whether or not to charter the proposed Objectivist Club. While that article proposed this controversy in an unreasonable manner, filled with rhetoric and little reason or basis in fact, I hope to consider this debate, the consequences, and finally possible solutions in a more rational manner. Although I do have the same dislike for objectivism that many others maintain, I must confess that I believe the charter should pass. I have read most of Ayn Rand's works, however, I am still a communist of sorts and environmentalist. Each are opposed to objectivism, so much so that :Mr. Dan Schwartz, the archon of the hopeful club, has handed out literature concerning the self-hating nature of environmentalism. Despite my complete disagreement with this statement and many others, I believe the club should be chartered. Please keep both sides of my bias in view as you read my attempt at an unbiased examination of the situation. In the fall of last year, Mr. Schwartz proposed a charter establishing a club that would study and inform the polity of the philosophy ofAyn Rand, often called objectivism. As several students do not agree with the ideals behind this philosophy, the Club has been deemed by many as offensive, illogical, and lterhaps even a waste of time. But, before you consider the damage caused by such an idea in out midst, ask if you have been offended over past year. For the past twelve months, with.a charter, Mr. Schwartz has conducted a group on objectivism, even leaving pamoutside different events. All actions proin the charter have already occurred, and y knowledge, no one has been offended them. Since I am unaware of past comI must assume that Mr. Schwartz's acand hence the proposed Club actions, ffensive to the polity. e apprehension also has been expressed · a connection between the College outside organization. Unknowingly, ett and Mr. McCracken, the authors week's article on the matter, chose the 1llnental Club as an example. Their unmistake was that the St. John's EnviClub, in which I have been involved, Hobbes or Luther from the Program, for instance. If we say there is no value in an idea, we are simply stating our opinion. This college is based on the idea that: "I know that I do not know." Therefore, it is ridiculous to limit study based on the opinions of a few, especially when those few will not be affected by the study. In considering the trivial cause of this controversy, we have further reason to grant the charter. If Annapolis, and my hometown Atlanta, allow the Klu Klux Klan to march down Main Street and Peachtree Street, respectively, the people in our country recognize this to be an invaluable right. You can march not because I agree with you, but precisely because I do not agree with you. We would allow the march because of a belief in freedom; I am willing to let others demonstrate their conscience, assuming no personal damage occurs. At an institution which prides itself on openness and genuine discussion, we must maintain this not just in action, but in what we are free to study. Rejection of the Objectivist Club charter based on the grounds above, especially those of personal conscience, removes the intellectual freedom we value at this school, not because this hurts us or destroys our freedom, but because we are afraid of the results. We should not be afraid of allowing someone to study a philosophy that we personally consider to be wrong. We should never limit a liberty for a fear, especially a fear which, as the past year signifies, has no apparent merit. For these reasons, I believe the DC should allow the charter to pass. . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 �Terra Firm a: Old and New Topics On Saturday, September 27, I met a cow on By Joy Kaplan Front Campus who was grazing behind the Director of Student Services Welcome To St. John's sign. I've seen the movie Twister, so I figured the cow had been blown The No Name Cafe onto campus by Isabel. Feeling sorry for this refuThe Campus Planning Committee wants to gee, I asked her to meet me in the same place on hang a sign for the glassed-in lounge areainMellon Sunday morning. I went to Graul's and bought Hall, but first they have to come up with a name some Cow Chow, but when I returned to Front to put on the sign. 1bis is your chance to live Campus for our rendezvous, the pretty little cow forever! Thlnk of a name for what right now is was gone! If anyone has seen black helicopters being called "1b.e Mellon Cafe' and submit your idea to the Assistant Dean's Office via campus mail. All submissions will be turned over to the Campus Planning Committee on October 14, and hopefully, yours will be chosen. Firewood A student recently asked for firewood to be provided for all of the fireplaces on campus. Sid Phipps ofB+G said that firewood would be put out now that the cold weather is on its way. Firewood comes from trees felled on campus. Sometimes there is enough to see us through the winter, sometimes not. It depends on the weather. If we should run out this year and the Delegate Council chooses to buy a cord, there is a place on back campus for wood to be the problem of the French doors being left open, and the locks being broken. When those doors are open, Campbell Hallbecomes vulnerable. In order to keep Campbell Hall residents safe, we ask you to please cooperate by leaving the French doors shut. Bicycles Once again, Housekeeping has asked me to ask students to putbikes onbike racks, and not to make a pile of bikes in The Chasement We allkt10wwhat happens to bikes that are unregisteredwith Security orparkedi1legally. (They get taken away, and if the owners do not claim them, they get auctioned of£) It occurred to me that the reason why this keeps happening could be thatwedon'thaveenoughbike racks on campus, or because students are loathe to leave their bicycles out in the rain. I am campaigning to get better quality and quantity ofbike space on campus. Help me out by sharingyourideas for solutions. Is She, Or Isn't She? You've seen me on the Quad, in the Dining Hall, in the Coffee Shop, the Library....Yourmouthmakes a StnJle, you're voice says, "Nice to see you, Ms. K;'butlknowwhat you're mind is thinking: Is she, or Joy Kaplan's inner demons. isn't she.... A NARC!?! The answer to that question is: Nol hovering over campus, please report to the AsOr rather: No, not really. stored. sistant Dean's Office. Okay;tobehonestSorto£Butitalldependson you I only getnarc-ish when forced to, so p]ease,Be:Recycling Poolroom Have! And if you can't behave, then don't cause a' Last year, I am told, there was a student who We need anew PoolArchon and Co-Archons disturbanceandcleanupafteryoursel£Andifyour spent ten hours a week carrying the blue recycling becausethepeoplewhomanageditsowelllastyear Inner Demons get out of hand, or if you really · bins to The Loading Dock. 1bis is hard work either graduatedormovedoff-ounpus. For the time walking up and down dormitory stairs and it being, because of sleep/ study violations and van- meant to clean up after your Evil Twin, but you didn't wake up before Housekeeping or B+G ar~ ·· takes commitment. Sadly, this student transferred dalism in the poolroom, we have set up a system to Santa Fe, and so far, nobody has come for- whereby students call Security to unlock the pool- rived on the scene, then: Be a hero! Narc on them ward to take his place. The Environmental Club room and one student volunteers to be responsible yourself, and volunteer to make amends on their has been alerted, but I wanted to announce to until the room is locked up again. Hours have been behalf! You are probably wondering: Whatha~ the entire polity this opportunity to put your set from 9 am to 11:30 pm on weeknights, 12:30 values into practice. Ifyou are interested, please am on Seminar nights, (Se.curity can't open the pool- when I narc on myself? I will tell you: Praise! Honor! Candy! (Yi let B+G know. It may be possible to make this a room until 10:45 after Seminar), and 2:00 am on candy!) work-study job. If no students are willing to Here is an example, (true Story~, of a P manage it, then the recycling program will be can- weekends. an imperfect system and it will be much 1b.is is fectly executed self-narcification: Recently, S celed better for everyone when polity members relieve X did something stupid, resulting in~ Security from the burden of having to manage the their dorm. (Federal Law prohibits me froin Bovine Blues poolroom. The main reason for this new systemis themnotevenresidentsofPaca,hadcausedaprobvealing Student X's identity, but a little utilization of lem. The Gatfl!y Defense Fund put me in certain knowlAnd yet, when Housekeeping reported to me edge that buildings do not have the same rights as yesterday that the Humphreys students, so: If you guessed that Student X is a Common Room was full of litter and filth residentofRandall,youarecorrect!)StudentXcame (ag;ain), and B+G reported that the doors to the into my office and began to jump up and down Pool Room had been damaged (ag;ain), mywrathand back and forth, very much like those Masai ful reaction was, ''Well, if they are not going to reWarriors on The Discovery Channel spect it, then they do not deserve it! Let's shut it I confess, for a moment there, I contemplated down!"Theniaskedmyself; 'Who are 'they'?'' and calling Security, but my curiosity got the better of IrememberedmyownexperienceinPaca. Whatto me. "Student X:' I cried, ''What the hell are you do? doing?" When the new dorms get built, we have plans ''Dancing!" they explained, ''My RA told me to rearrange space in the current dorms to create that if I dance for you, you'll be more lenient 'With. more common space. Meanwhile, we don't have me!" enough, and what we do have is shrinking; How "<CLAPl><CLAP!><CLAPl>" I replied canweoftheAssistantDean'sOfficemakeacasefur Student X danced a crazy dance, I gave them a providingstudentsv.iithmorecoromonspacewhen blgh five, and then several hours of community so far this year, The Coffee Shop, The Quad, The service. Thewayitworksis: I calledB+G, the good Pool Room, and Humphreys Common Room people that X's misbehavior had inconvenienced, have all been repeatedly desecrated with litter and and asked them to recommend the quantity ofrime. ................. X agreed thatitwas fair and square, so we wrote up acontract,Xsignedit, and agreed to make arrangements with housekeeping to work. 1b.is all took a couple of minutes, and then X was on their merry way. "See you at Lecture on Friday;' I called out after X, "and don't forget to take a piece of candy from the basket on Carmita's desk as you walk out the door! X's attitude, X's nobility,X'shonestytotallymade my day. And then it happened again: A few days later,! got an email from a staffmember who works inanotherofficesaying, ''Pleasetellmethenameof the student who was doing community service in my office. 1b.ey did such a good job, I'd like to send 1hem a thank you note!" I beamed with Johnny damage? The strange thing about the Paca Hooligans Of Yesteryear was that it was not as if they hated The College. They loved St. John's, didn't want to be anywhere else, and yet, their actions were hateful and destructive. Such are the mysteries ofthe· human heart. Youwantmeto beg? Okay; I'm begging! If you care about your campus, use The Magic Of Peer Pressuretomakeotherpeoplecare.Ifyouthinkyou have a solution, share your idea with me because I am clueless. If you witness someone doing damage, report it. Those of you doing the damage now, kindly knock.it off. Please clean up after yourselfin common areas, i.e. put your empty bottles in the trash instead of all over The Quad, leave furniture thewayyoufoundit,makeuseofamopifyouspill something on the fl.oor ...you get the idea And if even after the peer pressure, the gnashing of teeth, the fasting and prayer, your Shadowprevalls, come to theAssistantDean's Office and do a crazy dance. Carmita's Candy Basket awaits you .. . ............... . Local Shuttle Service The Circuit Campus - Graul's/Rite Aid - Mall - Festival at Rive Harbor Center - Campus Pride. LONG LIVE STUDENT X! VIVA LA ··RANDAill :Make My Day, Punk l The important thing to understand about X's t-m:rc"lhcarionis this: IfXhadnot been such a person of conscience, other members of e Polity, namely, residents of Randall, would had to suffer for X's sins. You see, one bozo .cause a whole dorm floor to get fined and a few · canbringdownthemoraleoftheentirecom. It happened when I was a sophomore on pus. I was livinginPaca. Therewas a group who used to hang out in the common One night, they got drunk and trashed it. was talk of closing off the Paca Common because ofit. I was livid. Manypeoplewere. so unfair that everyone in the dorm should because a small group of people, most of The Times Wednesdays Sundays Depart 4:00 PM Return 6:30 PM Depart 4:00 PM Return 6:30 PM The Shuttle departs from the Carroll Barrister House Seating is limited to the fust nine shoppers who arrive to board. Contact Andrew Baisch (ext. 2554) if you have any questions. 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . ......... 8 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . �Has the Tide Turned? ing possibilities as probabili~es and probabilities as certainties, cherry-picking intelligence that fit its goals, and intimidating intelligence officers to only report what the Administration wanted to hear. These stories always came from anonymous sources and the \White House found them easy to dismiss. On July 6, Joseph Wilson had an op-ed column published in fue Sundq New York Times. In it, he revealed fuat hehad gone to Niger and what he did - and did not- find there. Now armed with a name and a specific event that appeared at odds wifu official statements by President Bush and others in his administration, fue Washington press corps began to take an aggressive stance toward fue \White House. about a man whose working wife uses her posiBy Nick Colten tion to provide her husband with work. Staff Writer The Novak column caused a bit of a stir. David Com, a staff writer of The Nation maga'The Ship of State is the only boat that leaks zine, noted that if in fact Ms. Wtlson was an unfrom the top." dercover CIA operative, in addition to comproIf President George W. Bush loses the 2004 mising national security, the government official election, one of the chief causes may be a man that burned her cover was guilty of a federal ofnamed Joseph Wilson. J\fr. Wtlson is a retired fense that carries a maximum sentence ofup to 10 diplomat who spent most of his career working years in prison and/ or a $50,000 fine. :Mr. Wtlson in U.S. embassies in Africa and the Middle East. refused to confinn or deny his wife's occupation, He was in charge of the Baghdad embassy in the but argued that purpose of rumors were less to weeks leading up to the first Gulf War, and helped punish him than to frighten other government to shelter Americans who were in danger ofbeing officials from coming forward wifu information, used as human shields by Saddam Hussein. Presiwhich was unfavorable to the Administration. dent Bush praised Ml:. Wtlson forhis bravery and Shortly thereafter, the commotion that Novak's patriotism. column stirred died down. In February 2002, Mr. Wtlson Then two weeks ago, it was rewas sent by the CIA to Niger to ported that the CIA had requested confinn whether or not Saddam that the Justice Department investiHussein had sought to acquire uragate the \White House to determine nium from that nation. J\fr. Wilson if someone there revealed the idenconcluded that the allegations were tity ofone oftheir undercover agents. without merit; that the foreign conSince then, it has been a front-page sortium controls Niger's uranium story everyday. The \White House has supply in a manner that precluded downplayed the investigation, tellthe possibility of the government ing reporters to question the Justice oflraq secretly buy1nguranium. :Mr. Department about it. As with the Wtlson reported his finding to the uranium claim in fue State of fue U.S. ambassador in Niger and also Union Address, President Bush apto the CIA officials who debriefed pears oddly unperturbed about the uponhisretumto Washington,D.C. situation, leading many to wonder Nearly a year after Mr. Wilson's Joseph Wilson and his wife have learned the hard way: don't mess with Texas. whether he is unwilling to, unable visit to Niger, President Bush, in the What followed was a bizarre interlude during to, or simply uninterested in discovering whether State of the Union Address, declared that, 'The British government has learned that Saddam which the Administration first stood by the State there are one or more felons among his staff. It is too early to tell how this investigation will Hussein recently sought significant quantities of ofUnion uranium remark; then parsed themin a uranium from Africa." On :March 7, thehead of manner reminiscent of Bill Clinton's evasions; turn out. The Justice Department for legitimate the International Atomic Energy Agency, then offered a variety of people ofuer than Presi- or illegitimate reasons may not find enough eviMohammedElbaradei, reported to the UN Secu- dent Bush to take responsibility for the seemingly dence to continue its investigation; this will esperity Council that the evidence that the U.S. pro- untrue statement--all the while President Bush cially be the case ifPresident Bush does not take vided his agency about Iraq's pursuit for uranium seemingly not angry that someone caused him to an increased interest in trying to root out who from Niger rested on a crude forgery. Less than say something embarrassing and politically dam- among his people spoke to :Mr. Novak-and aging. Finally, the \White House confessed that the who spoke with several other journalists who two weeks after Mr. Elbaradei's report, the UN inspectors were withdrawn from Iraqi and the in- claim about an African-Iraqi uranium deal ought chose not to report Ms. Wilson's identity. The to have been omitted from President Bush's press or the public may grow bored or distracted, vasion of that country began. especially ifnew revelations are not quick to come Two months after President Bush declared the speech. Shortly thereafter, on July 14, the syndicated to light. end of major combat operations in Iraq, with no At the same time, disappointment wifu the apparent success at uncovering any evidence of columnist Robert Novak wrote that a high-level recent efforts to develop nuclear weapons, ques- Administration official told him that Mr. Wilson's economy, our increasingly costly and long-term.. tions began to be raised with greater frequency wife was an undercover QA operative who worked commitment to Iraq, and the return ofvocal pub1ic · concemingfuequalityoftheintelligencethatwent under her maiden name, Valerie Flame. Novak's criticism of the White House on the part of into the pre-war assessments oflraqinuclear, bio- source alleged that :Mr. Wtlson received his mis- Democrats---ruideven theoccasiona1Repub11aitl,. sion to Niger based on his wife's doing-the sug- such as Senator Chuck:Hagel--suggesttome that logical, and chemical weapons. gestion being that he was selected out of nepo- something has changed in this country and that; Allegations began to appear in the news about the Administration repeatedly ignoring caveats and tism and not decades' ofwork in Africa and per- the invulnerability and triumphalism of the Bush conditions in intelligence reports-thereby report- haps that thereis something inherently suspicious Administration has come to an end. 10 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . AP, NY Post Interpreted By Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor Kubrick Meets Caligula i' Pope Said To Be Dying A prominent cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church has said publicly that Pope John Paul II is in "the last days and months of his life." Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Austria, who is considered a candidate for the papacy, told an Austrian TV station "the whole world is experiencing a pope who is sick, who is disabled, who is dying-I don't know how near death his is .... " Another Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger, was reported as saying that the pope was "in a very bad way" and urged the faithful to pray for the pope. The comments came soon after the pontiff unexpectedly named 31 cardinals to the college that will elect his successor. The consistory at which the men will receive their promotion was expected to take place in February of next year, but was moved up.to October 21 two weeks ago. The appolntments were all of bishops considered to be conservative and ensures that the pool o~ men who will elect the next pope agrees with John Paul II. All but five voting slots on the college are now filled, with members under the age of eighty being allowed a vote. Perhaps Their Bell Doesn't Work Either . The nation of Ecuador has begun a national punctuality drive which intends to stop the socially accepted habitual lateness that plagues the country. What was jokingly Called "Ecuadorean time" ended at noon last ~ednesday, when the country synchronized lts clocks and collectively agreed to try to be on time. President Lucio Gutierrez, himself .known to have trouble "getting started" and "finding parking" in the morning, was ,guoted as saying, "we have to be on time t the sake of God, the country, our people d our consciences." The tardiness has been · ated to cost the nation $724 million year. A St. John's College in Santa Fe is ~rte~ly observing the program closely, tng, 1f the campaign proves successful uplicate it "whenever." ' !' Beating out the edible gold craze of the late 90s for sheer decadence, the newest trend in extravagant dining for America's rich and lecherous was unearthed by the New York Post in August. Several catering companies in New York and Los Angeles now serve food, usually sushi, off the body of a nude or neatly nude woman. Body sushi, as it's called, costs about $700 per guest for three hours and requires specially Laura Bush prefers lovers to fighters. trained models who can lie still for that time. Gary Arabia, head of a catering company called Global Cuisine, invented the practice two Poem by President Bush to his years ago, but it has taken off just wife, Laura recently. "I'm being inundated ~oses are red/Violets are blue/ Oh my lump with requests," said Arabia, who 1n the bed/How I've missed you." works with his coterie of chefs "~oses are redder/bluer am I/Seeing you beside each model, restocking her kissed/By that charming French guy." body parts as soon as they empty. Arabia insists that the practice is aboveboard: ''You don't mess around with this year, but won't do bachelor parties. "It this. It's got to be done right." The service needs to be done with the handling and care isn't for hire to just anyone, either. Arabia ca- of professionals," he said. tered a 14-guest soiree on the Upper East Side Get Your Bikes Here! Students who have not yet registered their bicycles with the Security Office: BEWARE! Any unregistered bikes found in campus racks on Monday, October 20 will be removed. Students may retrieve them within two weeks - up until November 3. Shortly after that time, the College will be hosting an auction for the bikes and other lostand-found items in FSK Lobby. If you want to keep your bike on campus, register it now with the Security Office, located next to Pinkney Hall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 11 �Kuvat Clones lnvadel 'And, as I am an honest Tuck ... ' exemplify the sharp contrast between the dream-like world of the theater and "the wind and the rain" of the world outside. The magiIf you weren't at the lecture on Friday night, cal world of the comedies, such as the forest you should run and find a copy of the lecture settinginAMidsummer Night's Dream, create an transcript. Actually, you should beg, borrow, illusion for the audience, which for three hours or steal a copy of the lecture. That's how good is immersed in a reality where improbable it was. Mr. Tuck's lecture was easily one of the things can happen and there is always a happy best lectures so far this year and quite possibly ending. This happy ending is brought to a crashing halt by the epilogue, in which the auone of the most memorable in quite awhile. The lecture, entitled ''Restoring Amends: dience is suddenly reminded to forgive the acForgiveness, Philosophy, and the Shape of tors any transgressions they may have caused, Shakespeare's Comedies," addressed the epi- and that the world of comedy is nothing more logues of five comedies from Shakespeare: thana play. During the brief existence (or at least the illuTwe!fth Night, All's Wei/That Ends Well, As You sion) of a fictional reality, amazing things come Like It, The Tempest, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Throughout the course of75 minutes, into being, as shown when Rosalind (supposed Mr. Tuck addressed the ways in which philoso- to be a boy actor), inAs You Like It, is in the role phy and comedy are not polar-opposites. of a girl pretending to be a boy pretending to be Shakespearean comedies, Mr. Tuck maintained, a girl The temporary dream-like state that the are more philosophically relevant to us because comedy engenders is similar to the dream that of the easy empathy that we, as an audience, Socrates utilizes to educate and form the guardfeel towards the characters. While more amus- ians of his City in speech. The dream-like state ing because of their sometimes absurd plots, for both Socrates and Shakespeare is the key to the comedies are in the end far more sobering establishing a sense of wonder, which may lead to the path of knowledge. than any of Shakespeare's tragedies because they By Webster Ye Staff Writer Mr. Tuck unmasked. In a similar manner, Mr. Tuck created a reality-distortion field of his own on Friday night. The lecture, punctuated by Mr. Tuck's extremely well done reenactments of selected parts of the comedies, enveloped the audience in a sense of wonder and softened them enough with humor so that Mr. Tuck's ideas could slide into receptive minds. Mr. Tuck's lecture was driven by a plea for forgiveness from the audience, but it ended with a humor that belied the lecture's seri- By Ervin Romero Staff Writer It's a rare condition in this day and age to read any good news on the newspaper page. With objectivists breaking off pool cues, life can seem pretty unbearable at times here at St. John's. Most of the time, you're just keepin' your head above water, making a wave when you can. But life is more than mere survival-we just might live the good life yet. There's a time for love and a time for living. Sometimes you gotta take a chance and face the wind, like those kids who've started a new marching band on campus. Now the world don't move to the beat of just one drum. What might be right for you may not be right for some others. But ifyou take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, then there you have the St. John's College .March- 12 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . By Ian Blaustein Staff Writer By Natalie Rinn Staff Writer ousness. Johnnies on Parade Ervin Romero at his previous college. City Dock Art Pastenkos Disillusioned Lecture Review: ing Band. As front-runner drum major candidate Jordan Gannon, junior, puts it, "Give us any chance, we'll take it. Give us any rule, we'll break it. We're ...................... gonna make our dreams come true--doin' it our way." This enthusiasm extends to the rest of the bandmembers. Violinist/K.azooistLaura Traina, junior, says of the marching band, "As long 3$ we've got each other, we got the world spinnin' right in our hands. We gotta be the luckiest dreamers who never quit dreamin' ." But the hotly contested race for drum major could be the band's first and greatest trial. While Gannon is popularwith returning members, neW challengerJillian Sico 'OS has quickly gained popularity with the newbies, who now outnumber all returning members. "' ; First trombone and new member Rachet Hall, junior, says of Sico: "She's fantastic,~ of plastic, microchips here and there. She's a wonder; she brings love and laughter where." The race for drum major might be fierce, Sico feels the band will survive. "There ain't nothin' we can't love each other through. la-la," states Sico in a halting monotone. It was a pristine autumn day on Tuesday, the kind that lightens obdurate hearts and lifts the shadows from querulous minds. As Kunai pairings Maroon Monsoon vs. Brick House (team Red) and Teen Girl Squad* vs. Bas Bleus (team Blue) settled onto their home turf for another meeting of athletic prowess, the Kunai, being caught up in their elation, never suspected the foul play that would ensue. It all began as usual; senior Blake Gregory scored for team Red; following this, senior Johanna Thrall added her own for team Blue. The game continued, and the Kunai remained happily oblivious. It wasn't until the next two whistles, both resulting from another set of Gregory/ Thrall goals, that a few Kunai, beginning to slip out of their euphoric states, grew suspicious. But what was happening? Another whistle, another goal from Gregory; the sixth whistle, and another opposing point from Thrall. The confusion finally ceased when an unidentified Kunai slipped into full cognizance, and consequently, mild panic, upon realizing the horrific truth: Every "member of team Red and team Blue had 1become Blake Gregory and Johanna Thrall, respectively. Athletic Director/Referee Leo Pickens iled to himself as he thought, "So the · Soccer Muse has employed her clones · ."In an interview later that afternoon relayed that the last appearance of don~ of this sort, merely one of the Muse's y ploys, was several years prior on a day the said Muse perceived the Kunai to bit too confident, owing their soccer sses to themselves rather than righto the neglected Muse. e Kunai this last Tuesday, however, ed mysteriously impervious to the efof the cloning; the game's end was g near when, from amongst· the ess faces of Blake Gregory and a Thrall, one senior Courtney May Blue was distinguished from the she scored the game's seventh goal; without saying, Ms. May's goal was Anyone who enjoys viewingthe periodic exhibitions at the Mitchell Art Gallery will be edified to know that St. John's is not the only place in An. napolis now showing works by truly interesting , andchailengingartists. City Dock Cafe on1faryland : Avenueiscurrentlydisplayinganastonishingl.yhar· rowing exhibition by the under-appreciated Dale : Hall Hall's work, in its unflinching depiction of the horrorofexistence,istomyeyecomparablemainly to the portraits of Francis Bacon and the implacable scenes ofMax Beckmann. : In one piece, a young yellow Labrador retriever lies, limp and lifeless, in a green plastic tub. The style is opaque, melancholic. A small puddle of liquid · can be seen beneath the dog's chest, presumably her : blood, already congealing in the harsh light The dog's face is flattened unnaturally against the side of : the tub, its neck obviously flaccid in recent death. The scene's hopelessness is realized so totally that we, as v1ewers, can scarcely muster up the energy to wonder how this scene came to be, to ask who killed this poor dog, and why. Ominously, but appropriately, the piece is untitled. In sharp contrast to the untitled dog lying in green tub is the traumatic 'One WagginLoad'. Init, seven black Labrador puppies are piled in a red wagon, the camera fearlessly staring straight into : their faces, seeing in their eyes a whole range of : reactions, from mistrust at the far left and bald fear . atthefarrighttomelancholyandeventotalresignation in the center. One figure, either the most or least human, is frozen in the frame with its jaws : held open in a horrifying cry, the endless petrified · silence of which chills us to the bone. Clearly the : dogs can see approachingtbeirhorrifyingfate, though · we are left to wonder: The composirion of this : image obviously recalls stills taken at Treblinka or · Tule Lake, but the brightness of the colors and : conventionality of the child's red wagon suggest a · statement on the sublimated cruelty and violence of commonplace American life. In perhaps Hall's most challenging piece, eight rapacious whelps suckgreedilyattheirmother's teats, squinning and battling, their s1ill-blind eyes open: ing for the first time, dark slits of rupidity. They · appear unsure whether their greater desire be to tear : poor drops of nourishment from their mother's tired body or to deny their brothers that miserable sustenance. The mother lies, a feeble husk, withher back to the viewer. She looks at us over her shoulder, with the most ternble poignancy begging us *A correction to last week's misreported we know name. This one is correct. assisted by "Ms. Thrall." When all was said and done, "Ms. Gregory" scored one more for team Red and the game's unusual, though fitting final score, stood at a 4-4 tie. At the game's last whistle, each Kunai morphed back into her natural self and the Muse ascended back into the heavens, where it finds repose until an undisclosed future date.· In relieving opposition to Tuesday's saga of the clones, Friday's match-up flourished in its variety of new talent. The game began with a-first-time-in-four-years-feat; senior Gabrielle Pastenkos of team Brick House (and of combined team Red), making her first appearance on the offensive line, having been moved for the day from her usual defensive position, received a pass from freshman Alyssa Johnson, and in that fateful moment, netted her first goal. Those present erupted in congratulatory cheers and doled out celebratory hugs. Cool-headed Pastenkos, however, remained un-phased as she later stated that, having joined the scorer's bracket, had failed to sense the elevated state-of-soccer-being that she at one time believed to attend those who scored. All told, Ms. Pastenkos is simply a born defender. Adding to the plethora of new scorers was Ms.Johnson, also of team Red, who scored two goals of her own, one being the result of a picturesque one-timer from a comer kick, the other being assisted by Ms. Pastenkos. Capping-off the stacked offensive line of team Red was junior Nora Kelleher, providing solid passing and support in Red's offensive attacks. Red scored two more bdore the game ended, one from senior Rhonda Franklin and the second from junior Natalie Rinn, upon receiving a pass from none other than Ms. Pastenkos herself, who could do no wrong. Team Blue netted two of their own from Ms. Gregory and Ms. May, assisted by additional budding-talent, Ms. Mary Cockey. A noteworthy defensive performance was provided by senior Rebecca Mitchesson of team Blue, playing a key role in containing Red's offensive barrage. . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 13 �CRO The Gadfly Funny Papers Johnnie Land By Ben Strickland (ti.., i'(@T'1"ri .... \;1''11 ••• Don't Want the St. John's Plague? Get your flu shots Coming Soon To the Health Center near you! For more information, call the Health Center (ext. 2553). Across 1. Normal starter 5. Compete 8. Made "anal" mean "picky" 9, Manis one 11. Balconies 13. Simile word 14. Clay'snewname 15. Playing hooky 17.Avianabode 19. Strain 20. Poetic 24-Down 22. Rich vein 25. Type of virgin 28. Mag finisher 29. "Dig_" 30. Underground stem 32. Baby's first word 34. Source of power 35. Showed the way 36.Reps Down 1. Peon 2. Breastplates 3. Something to cut 4. Entrance to a mine 11 5. Of sight 6. Second word of the translation of the Socratic question 7. Like 25-Down 8. Custard in Cancun 10. Is in Nice 12. Nature's mirror 16. Mexican salamander 18. Quaternion 21. Usual cheer 23. Short presentations 24. At any time 25. Vigor's partner 26. And then some 27.Flaccid 31. Madhouse 33. The objective "I" 14 17 31 34 36 The Gadfly Challenge (Offering less physical risk than Pinkney Challenge) The Gadfly feels that the liberal art of grammar is somewhat neglected at the College, indeed, often neglected within the pages of this very newspaper. We would like to do what we can to give grammar its rightful place of pre-eminence; therefore, we have decided to heap honor and glory upon some person of grammatical excellence by means of this-our challenge. This Dylan Thomas poem, 0 make me a mask, is twelve lines long and all one sentence. It would be a feat worthy of the skill of anyone, old or young, to diagram every last clause, in the grand style, labeling each part of speech, and identifying every nuance of syntax. Accordingly, let all who believe themselves to be up to the task put themselves forward. 0 make me a mask and a wall to shut from your spies Of the sharp, enamelled eyes and the spectacled claws Rape and rebellion in the nurseries of my face, Gag of a dumbstruck tree to block from bare enemies The bayonet tongue in this undefended prayerpiece, The present mouth, and the sweetly blown trumpet of lies, Shaped in old armour and oak the countenance of a dunce To shield the glistening brain and blunt tl1e examiners, And a tear-stained widower grief droopedfrom the lashes To veil belladonna and let the dry eyes perceive Others betray the lamenting lies of their losses By the curve of the nude mouth or the laugh up the sleeve. All submissions should be sent to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com before October 17. The winner or winners will be announced in the October 21 issue, with all due solemnity and spectacle. 14 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 15 �THE. GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 So you thought she was a defensive specialist, too, did you? And then here she goes up to the front line, perhaps for the first time in her Kunai career, in this past Friday's women's soccer match. Not only does she score, but she beautifully assists on another. I'm talking about Miss Pastenkos, who, if truth be told, methinks surprised herself a little with this showing of her natural talent as a wing. But the woman who put in the really fine all-around performance this past Friday, playing both offense and defense and helping to hold the tough duo of J\!fiss Gregory and :Miss May to only two goals, was the talented Miss Grodotzke. She also plays a pretty mean goalie, doncha know For her superb all-around play, J\!Iiss Grodotzke is named Athlete of the Week for the women. Notes By Mr. Leo Pickens Athletic Director "Why should you row a boat race? \V'hy endure long months of pain in preparation for a fierce half-hour that will leave you all but dead? Does anyone ask the question? Is there anyone who would not go through all its costs, and more, for the moment when anguish breaks into triumph-or even for the glory of having nobly lost? Is life less than a boat race? If a man will give all the blood i.11 his body to win the one, will he not spend all the might of his soul to prevail in the other?" Oliver Wendell Holmes work his way unguarded into the comer of the end zone to receive his teammates' passes for scores. I lost track of how many times .Mr. Lewis pulled this off this past week. For his uncanny ability to get free in the pay dirt-and catch the ball to boot-Mr. Lewis is named Athlete of the Week for the men. I guess Tsunami has emerged as the teamto-beat in football, what with their big win this past Wednesday to put them in first place. And the dude who is bringing home the mail is their split end, Mr. Lewis, who managed to Don Rags! This is to remind you that first semester don rags will be held on: Saturday, November 22 Monday, November 24 Tuesday, November 25 Wednesday, December 17 Thursday, December 18 9:00 a.m. * - 6:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. * - 6:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. * - 6:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. * - 6:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. *- Please note the dates on your calendar and keep the time free for don rags. It would be wise not to make travel plans that conflict with any of these dates and times. Thanksgiving Vacation oegi.ns at 6:00 pm on. November 25, and Winter Break begins after Seminar on December 18. All freshmen must have their don rags before Thanksgiving break. We will schedule some sophomore and junior don rags before the Thanksgiving break and the remainder before Winter break. Tutorials and laboratories will be cancelled on don rag days. However, tutors may schedule classes during this time. Seminars will continue to meet. Please note that Seminars will meet on Thursday, December 18. * On rare occasions, we may have to schedule don rags beginning at 8:30 a.m. 16 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . . . � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 7 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-10-07 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 7 of The Gadfly. Published October 07, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #7 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/ee0002382a0c6a84475a038d338c5a4a.pdf 11bd74ab3ae2afe83ad86ca195b7851b PDF Text Text THE ADFL The St. Johns College Student U7eekfy Volume XXV, Issue 8 Annapolis, Maryland October 21, 2003 Parkhurst Acquires Chilla s Grillo for $1.50 in Assets, Legitimacy 1 By Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor Chilla's Grilla©, a mid-size heated food vendor based in Annapolis, Maryland, recently announced its acquisition by Parkhurst Dining Services in a deal said to be worth up to $20. The merger comes after more than two semesters' fierce competition between two dining hall services and the one-man operation praised by the SCI for "improving our communal life at St. John's." Parkhurst's St. John's manager, Ryan Varnum, says the agreement "is to the benefit of everyone," and Erikk Geannikis, President and CEO of Chilla's Grilla said on Sunday, "I'm proud to be working with such a great guy as Ryan." Founded by an enterprising young Brooklynite, Chilla's Grilla operates on a simple idea-start with high-quality, lowcost ingredients, cook them on easy-to-use equipment, and sell the product for the cheap price of one dollar. Specializing in three varieties of grilled cheese sandwiches, the venture gained a loyal following among the late-rising demographic of the student polity. At the same time, its remarkable business plan, with essentially one item of overhead, a $24. 9 5 grilling machine, gave the firm high profit potential, but also attracted the notice of St. John's largest food service and his friends were sharing a break on the quad. "Ryan came out shadows, cigarette in hand, and said are you guys talking about bread?"' Geannikis relates. The sophomore was ,,,~,,;,;;. 0 ~•an.1u!! in the boots" to see the manager ~moke Chilla and his new boss. of Parkhurst at St. John's in person, but Mr. Varnum was there to talk business. Chilla's Grilla has not always had a cordial relationship with St. John's College dining services. Some have alleged that its $1 grilled cheese sandwiches were made from materials suspiciously like those served in the dining hall. Actually, this was the main selling point to students, who felt significant frustration with Bon Appetit's inability to prepare its own ingredients in a tasty fashion, and with its general disdain of the student population's interests. Parkhurst's new management, instead of exacerbating the hard feelings, decided to respond to the situation constructively. "I told E:rikk that it was in everybody's best interest if we worked together," j\fr Varnum said on Saturday. Notified by his employees of Chilla's Grilla's activities, he looked into the story. "If anyone were to get sick from the food he served, Parklmrst [and �THE ..vGADFLY Gadfly Mailbox What is a Mother To Do? We Also Value Reason Dear Garff!y, In response to Mr. Ye's article in last week's rogue paper, the Gad!fy, I would like to reiterate: the club is independent of any outside organizations, including the Ayn Rand Institute; and also, neither Objectivism nor the Objectivist Chili is in anyway dogmatic. The philosophy of Objectivism encourages independent thought. It encourages honest and rational questioning; it condemns blind obedience to doctrine, whether the doctrineis set forth in theBibleorinAynRand's To the Polity: Question: Should I let my 15-year-old son see the new Tarantino movie, Kil/Bil/Vol R In the long weekend edition of the Gad!fy, Executive Editor Mr. McCracken describes the film as "glorious" Ian McCracken in its "virtually plot-free" creation of"scenes of A&E Editor Production Managers unimaginable violence that seduce without deAnderson Tallent Martin Anderson sensitizing." My problem is this: will I stunt my Melissa Thomas son's intellectual growth by denying him a "selfInside News Mary Townsend aware" meta-film that takes gratuitous violence Business Manager Katy Courtright seriously and manages to be ''breathtakingly elOutside News Atlas Shrugged. egant"? Or will the movie corrupt him by exHayden Brockett Sports Editor Since the Ayn Rand Institute cannot defend posing him to excessive amounts of') apanese Mike Malone itself against Mr. Ye's allegations, I would like to anime blood, Hong Kong kung-fu blood, and say a word about them. The Ayn Rand Institute Contributing to this Issue American exploitation-movie blood," making was founded by people who, by their own indeSamantha.Buker Patricia Locke : him fear the "chick revenge genre" that Larissa pendent judgment, have found Objectivism to Erin Callahan Leo Pickens MacFarquhar's Oct. 20 New Yorker story on be a true and much-needed philosophy-who, George Pogiatzis A. P.David Tarantino notes? Do I want him to develop the therefore, have found it valuable to create an InNatalie Rinn Eric Gleysteen omnivorous cultural tastes of Mr. Tarantino? stitute which aims to promote that philosophy. Daniel Schwartz Blake Gregory Do I want him to leam to discriminate between Certainly the Institute shares the spirit oflearnBeth Siekiera Daniel Harrell schlock/ self-aware schlock/meta-schlock? ing that we at St.John's are encouraged to have. Greg Singer Tobin Herringshaw Ms. MacFarquharmakes an interesting point During a conference run by the Institute this Laura Traina Joy Kaplan when she describes the minutiae integrated into past summer, for instance, there were lectures Chris Utter Andrea Lamb Tarantino's movies: ''The love of minutiae, like and courses on such people as Archimedes, Founded in 1980, the Gadfly is the student weekly : the love of pop culture, is a form of nostalAristotle, Victor Hugo, Karl Popper, and distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and · gia--a junk-food version of Proust's madeleine. Cornelius Vanderbilt Far from asking students staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors · But, unlike madeleine-nostalgia-nostalgia for emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and : a lost world, an unrecoverable childhood-miof Objectivism to tum off their minds to outGovernors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa · nutiae-nostalgia is nostalgia for a world that still side ideas, the Institute encourages their active Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the : study-not to close their minds to them nor to exists-for a life you're still living. It's a childlike the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not . grant them all equal validity, but rather to weigh emotion: a love of repetition, the homesick longnecessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadfly · ~ch one against the evidence of reality, to examing for an experience that took place only restaff. The Gadfly reserves the right to accept, re- : ine their interrelationships, and to use them to cently." Is my son OID enough for this experiject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to . foster one's intellectual growth. publish the most thoughtful, informative, and · ence? Should I press upon him the seven volIn this spirit of active-mindedness, I remind thought-provoking newspaper which circum- : ume set of Proust instead? students that Objectivism itself is a philosophy, stances at St. John's permit. My question is not one of pop vs. high culwhich can serve to foster thinking. It is to that ture. After all, Proust's Marcel or perhaps Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better : Mozart's Don Giovanni can seduce-without end, then, that you should attend tonigh~'s: chance of being published than those longer than · (Tuesday's) lecture given by Dr. Edwin Locke on desensitizing. I am more puzzled by the interthis limit. Letters submitted will be edited for : Ayn Rand's view of the relationship be lacing of aesthetic and moral considerations. grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. reason and emotion. It will beheldin the Grea~ The Gadfly is not obligated to publish all submis- Why are archetypal villains who chop and slash Hall at 7:30 pm. so compelling? How and why remain sensitive sions and will not print anonymous submissions to the violence? Is KiUBill different in kind from except under special circumstances. the slow-mo rolling heads into piles of body Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax- : parts in Homer's battlefield "feasts" for dogs From the Author's Perspectivedeductible contributions are greatly. appreciated. · and birds? Is reading or listening as powerful as Please make checks payable to the Gadf!J. For · seeingitallin Technicolor? To the Garff!yStaff and Those Concerned: display advertisement prices and information, call : I recently wrote a movie review with l\1r. 1l Please give me a rational account/likely story 410-263-2371, x2212. to provide my son that is more legit than a) Jacobs of a movie entitled, Tough Jew. A pi of Leo Strauss, an addition made on behalf Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission : Sure, it's a free ~ountry orb) Absolutely not, the Garff!y staff, accompanied the review. because I said so, that's why. for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions · later printed that you learned that the m Thanks, will be accepted as long as they are legibly writ- : Patrida M. Locke Tough Jew, is not real I have some concerns ten, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail sub- . Tutor your choice to include a picture and the sm missions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail submentmade. missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene 2 . THE GADFLY . Mr.Jacobs and I submitted (with the review) a page requesting that no editing of our writing take place and that you add nothing, barring any formatting issues. In a conversation with several members of your staff, I learned that you try to include a picture with every article. Is this a standard practice of news reporting? If so, does it rank higher in principle than disregarding the author's requests? The simplicity with which you ignored my request and that you saw humor in your selection of such a picture disappoints me. You later wrote that you included a picture, "only because there were no pictures actually associated with the film." As you learned before this statement was printed, I indeed had a picture associated with the movie. Regarding the statement made, "we have determined, the movie does not actually exist." I have an understanding of why you printed this statement your severely narrow sense ofhumor. It allowed you to find the inclusion of the picture of Leo Strauss to be funny, but it has also allowed you to destroy my future attempts at writing similar movie reviews. Many people believed the movie existed before your statement, including yourselves, and that was part of the pleasure of the article. Now that the cat is out of the bag, it seems pointless to tell an old joke after it is dead (For those still convinced it is real, look up the name of the author of the fake second book of Don Quixote.) A third and somewhat petty concem I have is over your editorial skills. I find it alarming that some of what you offer the polity reminds me of my freshman essay. Perhaps when your staff retypes the articles you should give them a thrice over. Maybe ask some of your contributors to look at them. Email the file to those who contributed to check their own writing. There are probably a hundred reasons why these sugges.rtions may be unreasonable for you, but the one ~;mson to print the submissions accurately it.$Upercedes them all-your duty as news reporters. Please respect your contributors and advise them whenever possible of any changes befored. I realize that underneath my arguments disappointment is your right to edit any subs; however, you state that this editing is the purpose of publishing "the most tful, informative, and thought-provokpaperwhich circumstances at St. John's " I guess one out of three ain't bad. Sincerely, Tobin Herringshaw A Final Comment Dear Garff!y, In response to Mr. Schwartz's article of several ~eeks ago, I have two points. Mr. McCracken and I said that at St. John's "we generally refrain from advocating the permanent truth of any ideology." The use of the word ideology was, I am sure, just as deliberate in our sentence as it was in Mr. Schwartz's original charter. Denying the permanent truth of an ideology does not mean denying the truth of an idea, nor does it make one a skeptic. An ideology, a word whose present meaning was simply made up in the 20th century, is some strange breed of system. In simple distinctions like these, and in the refusal of some at this campus to make them, lies the heart of the current difficulties. Second, as disappointing as it may be to Mr. Schwartz's desire to be martyred for his cause, the Delegate Council does not "hate Objectivism" as Mr. Schwartz alleged. Most members disdain its simplistic treatment of the serious matters which they consider at St. John's, and some may hold ill-will towards a person who cavalierly labels them "dishonest," "skeptics," and hypocrites, but I cannot imagine that they have the leisure to hate a belief system. As to the supposed hypocrisies of the DC, ignorance is a sufficient defense-it didn't know the Environmental Club made such statements as it does on its website, and was so concerned when it found out as to take it up with the archon. Future discussions will be forthcoming. And when the DC questioned the Christian Fellowship, its members told us that it does not deal with aid agencies as the Christian Fellowship; they said all monies going to poor people in Africa are collected from individual students and contributed privately by the archon himself. Finally, if anyone wants a study group, he should start one. It doesn't need a charter. Nor should it have any need to be called "The St. John's" anything. Sincerely, Hayden Brockett chi Actual!J, you didn i tell us about the pie. efter we printed the article. Were sorry we fittle joke; we felt telfing the truth better 011r "duty as news reporters. ''-Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 �Concerning the Charter Give the Library Some Credit Dear Polity and Delegate Council, I think that Daniel Schwartz's Objectivist Club should be chartered. Over the past few weeks there have been numerous reasons given for not chartering the club, and all of them are invalid. One constant objection has been the intimate relationship between the club and the Ayn Rand Institute. In actuality, there is little connection between the two. There is no mention of the ARI in the current version of Mr. Schwartz's charter. Mr. Schwartz has admitted to personally supporting the ARI but that has no bearing on the meetings of the club, since the meetings are predominantly focused on discussion ala seminar. The ARI is used only as a resource center for the club, providing things such as videotapes, pamphlets, and flyers, which are free of charge, and guest speakers. The primary goal of the club is to study Ayn Rand's philosophy, NOT the ARI's interpretation of it. Another objection was that Objectivism is hostile to the ideals of a St. John's education; this is false. Ayn Rand holds reason as man's only absolute. In the college's mission statement, it states the following as the primary aim of the seminar: "to develop the students' power of reason, understanding, and communication and to help them arrive at rational opinions of their own." Furthermore, it says, "reason is the only recognized authority." Maybe you do not agree with Ayn Rand's politics (capitalism as the only moral system) or ethics (selfishness as a virtue), but if you are going to this school, you certainly should be in agreement with her epistemology, which is founded on reason, and is the basis of her whole philosophy. There has been much support for the Objectivist club on this campus. Mr. Schwartz has recently collected about a hundred signatures for a petition for the chartering of the club; this number represents about 25% of the campus population. In light of this fact, and of the falseness of past objections, I exhort the Delegate Council, as a representative of the Polity, to accept the charter in tomorrow's vote. Dear Polity, It seems appropriate to submit these comments to the Gaeff!y for publication rather than to only one student through campus mail because, while it does contain reactions to Ms. Townsend's article, this article is meant to comment on a trend that has confounded me for quite some time; Ms. Townsend's article about library policy serves only as a convenient example: Ms. Townsend's suggestion is a credible one and I second it. I recognize the benefits and I am willing to do what I can to help her plan succeed. It would be great if the college could find a way for students to take out more books during the summer. However, the article is not simply a proposal; its comments are fused with implications that give the whole piece a defiant tone. I do not see the value in images of "grave disservices" or ''limits imposed" from which students need to free themselves. She says that the library does the students a disservice when what (I hope) she meant was that it would be great if the hbrary's potential to offer more were realized. There is less drama in the alternative, which wouldn't make the administration/library of the college sound like a lazy tyrant unwilling to do work for the benefit of the students. The plan conveyed in the article is compelling, but the image conjured up by the question of "how one can be free," and the implication that the offices involved would balk at mor11 work despite student benefit, seems excessive. It appears that the library attendant was the wrong person to speak with about the matter. The suggestion, being one that involves organization of two distinct parts of the college, would have been better received by Ms. Seeger - enthusiastically, one might think -whose responsibility it is to organize communication and cooperation within the college. In my experience, she takes student concerns very seriously and acts with their benefit in mind. Since the student concerns often seem expressed with this kind of unnecessary drama, I decided to vocalize my observation. Because I wasn't in Annapolis during my summers and worked for extended periods of time with people who were aauaf!y unfair and r11af!y didn't care about my thoughts, I have distinct respect for our college's interest in student concerns. Still, some students express themselves about even small matters as if the college had intentions of depriving them of their due. The frightening realities that my friends at other Sincerely, George Pogiatzis 4 colleges relate to me - including one about students not being able to check books out at all over the summer - make me think that our school has made tremendous progress and deserves acknowledgment for it. While I'm convinced that this experience is common, I'm afraid some students unwittingly behave impertinently towards the college by treating it as the object of their frustration when they find circumstances in it to be other than those they would prefer. Sincerely, Eric Gleysteen It is the custom each yearfar someone to write in, recalling the Gadflys of the past, and how, when he/ she was a fr11shman, the Gadfly r11alfy meant something; it was a place far real thought and inquiry, whm the most important controversies had a public and rightful place. The current Gadfly is then normalfy held up as an example ofsloth, monototty, and general uncoolness, and ur;ged once again to live up to its name as the thing that gets campus conversations going. Mr. Gfysteen} letter, on the other hand, is perhaps the first letter we have ever received that announces that the Gadfly is doing itsjob too well A gadfly, atty gadfly, should not be above stirring rhetoric; sometimes this is a political necessiry, whether the suf?ject is King Properties or our own library. We would like to thank Mr. Gfysteen, from the bottom of our collective heart, far his observations and far the proof that he provides of our success. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -Ed The Life of the Library To the Editor: The library of St. John's College exists to support the teaching and learning that occur in a variety of ways at the college. This mission was articulated by the late former College Librarian, Kitty Kinzer, and is upheld by me. Ms. Kinzer noted that the teaching occurs in the following ways: the practice of radical inquiry, the reading in the textual tradition of reason, achieving literacy in verbal, mathematical and musical texts, the practice of intellectual virtue in inquiry and opinion, establishing habits of civic responsibility, and contribu · to the invigoration of American education. all of its activities, the library seeks to parti pate in the program of the college and to fleet its philosophy of education. One of the marks of such an educatio experience is, theoretically, virtue. It is, fore, with some degree of consternation raise the question, "When, if ever, is the of library books considered to be a virtue?" That is the issue I would encourage the student community to ponder and discuss in light of the recent Gadfly issues. The book is symbolic at St. John's. Community norms are shaped by opinion, common practice, actions that are sanctioned, and actions that are not. The library building weeps daily from its structural problems, and the number of stolen books increases yearly. To find virtue in such a setting indeed may be challenging, both for the library staff, and the community it serves. The concerns raised by Mr. Brockett are valid ones. I am discussing with the library staff the issue of borrowing privileges in the case of continuing students residing in town for the summers, and we agree that some modification is needed. Hopefully, by the coming summer you will see and experience the changes. The possibility of extending hours to postseminar times is also under discussion, although extending hours is complicated by budget issues and staffing patterns. I add at this point that the library is now open an average of 86 hours a week. This puts us at the median for college libraries of comparable size, and please note that this is an increase from last year. My staff and I looked at extending the hours even more at the beginning of this term, but I regret to write that it was not possible at that time. With regard to the procedure for purchases, it is the case that all purchases are reviewed by the Library Committee, and so there is a system of checks and balances in place. This committee consists of three tutors and the library director. The current members are Pamela Knius, Kathleen Blits, and Adam Schulman. Speaking to the issue of student input, there is and has been quite a bit of student input in the history of the library. In response to student concerns, a stucommittee on the library was formed when · Richmond was here, and we could continue t practice if there is enough interest on the of the students now. Lastly, I must correct the misinformation ating around about the bindery. The library dery is still open, still staffed, and we have · d more books this term than we had reat this time last year. . e get in touch with me if you are interlll serving on the student library commitlhere will be, of course, limited appoint~ to this committee. We will be following ttem established by Ms. Richmond. Pax et bonum, Andrea Lamb, College Librarian Please Clarify Dear Editor, Que veut-il dire? Can anyone tell what Mr. Page is trfing to say? The word 'sophistry' is placed on the table, without any actual charge, so as to do its insinuating work in my disfavor. The final paragraph seems to suggest that the St. John's community ought to decide whether] am a sophist or not, but by ignoring completely both the content and the competence of my lecture. Surely this is itself an example of the sheerest kind of sophistry? Or perhaps it is a joke? I do not believe that either activity is worthwhile-that is, deciding whether or not I am a sophist, or ignoring my lecture. It was neither a piece of "calculated iconoclasm," nor "a wellmeaning and welcome critique," nor "a petulant and destructive tirade," nor a "stand". It was, rather, a philological exegesis, done in a rush. The germ of it was formulated in an e-mail to Dean F1aumenhaft in the early summer of 2002, but I did not have an opportunity to work it up until the weeks immediately prior to the term, while I was with my family in India. I would be most interested in criticism of the train of thought, from within and without the community-for all that it is a Johnny story. Some reaction I have received from students has been distressing, in the sense that some of you have been looking for a magic formula in what I said Formulations make philosophers famous, but they tend to stultify the activity of philosophy. Plato so distrusted the communication by means oflanguage, as against the communication of a leaping spark, which he claims not to have entrusted any serious teaching to writing. My own formulations were meant to be suggestive, rather than provocative; mostly they mean to inculcate a feeling for some of the potencies in the Greek language, as one factor in the work of interpreting some of the 'moves' made in poems, histories, treatises and dialoguesnot as a mystical index to the meaning of Greek texts. I believe that the practicing of the liberal arts, including philology, as opposed to achievements or results, is its own best reward. In speaking, and then reflecting on speaking, or reading and thinking about reading and what is read, or in general using language and then thinking about its use, one is obliged to make distinctions and to pay heed to oppositions. This in tum, it seems to me, compels one to look at being. The use of exemplary books in this activity adds dimensions to it, but there are gods also in thekitchen. If I have in fact made the worse argument seem the better, I would of course be keen to have this pointed out. The lecture should now be available in the bookstore. An alumnus from '83 was kind enough to format itin such a way as to save pages and ink. I have printed the actual talk I gave, with one exception (apart from ad libs): what I said about 'eidos' on the night was indefensible as it was put, so I have amplified my argument in the relevant paragraph. Although I am not in general a fan of the notion of a 'lecture review'-we do not have seminar reviews or lab reviews-I am grateful all the same to Mr. Utter for his effort. Cheers, AP. David Tutor P. S. To what history is Mr. Page referring in his second paragraph, when he speaks of99 out of a 100 putative gadflies being condemned? Where does one find that sophists get condemned? Don't they tend to do just fine by their communities? Or is Mr. Page saying that the vast majority ofpeople condemned for speaking out in their communities, or otherwise irritating them, in fact deserve the condemnation they receive? Then are there other more silent malevolents who are not condemned? The thought is not coherent, but that does not make it sophistical, and I'm sure Mr. Page can clarify. Fireciders! It's that time of year again! Every Wednesday at 3:30 pm, the Dean invites the students, tutors, and staff to gather around the hearth in the Coffee Shop for refreshments, fire-gazing, and conversation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �nother Lo k at Lecture Revie C Minutes By Blake Gregory DC Secretary 70/7/03 6:45: Motion to make full amount of $120 requested by Anime Club an Emergency Voting Item (EV1); seconded. Motion carries. 6:50: Motion to make full amount of $515.92 requested by Christian Fellowship an EVl; seconded. Motion carries. 6:52: Motion to make full amount of $465.75 requested by Darkroom an EVI; seconded. Motion carries. 6:54: Motion to make full amount of$1750 requested by Film Club an EVI; seconded. Motion carries. 6:55: Motion to make full amount of$2000 requested by Senior Prank an EV1; seconded. Motion carries. 6:57: Motion to make full amount of$1620 requested by Croquet an EV.I; seconded. Motion carries. 7:00: Motion to make full amount of $1185 requested by KWP an EVl; seconded. Motion carries. SCI Minut s By Cl>..ris B. Utter DC Secretary October 16, 2003 In attendance: Chairman IVIs. Delston; Sophomore Representatives Ms. Gillman, Mr. Stone; Junior Representatives Mr. Lanier, Mr. Ingham; Senior Representative Mr. Stalnaker. Also present:Ms. Sico, Mr. Brockett, Mr. Schreiber, Mr I<:iltoff, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Utter. Not in anendence: Senior Representative Ms. Townsend, bitten by a poisonous spider, We began with a discussion of the meeting time. Our usual secretary is unable to come due to a conflict, so alternatives were discussed. We found that no other lunchtime is better, and dinner is generally bad. It was agreed to change the meeting to Mond.ays at lunch beginning a week from the following Monday. Next, we discussed what was on the Agenda: Sending notes to tutors RE: Student/Tutor Potluck; Final arrangements for the Meno Seminar/ Seminar on Seminars; Information for re-accreditation of the College; Reviewing the charter. First we decided who would give invitations to tutors. Each tutor's name was read, and a student chose him or her. :Ms. Gilman w111 be 6 7:02: Motion to make full amount of $398.20 requested by SJCChorus an EVl; seconded. Motion carries. 7:07: Motion to make full amount of $9650 requested by Mabel an EVI; seconded. Motion carries. 7:08: Motio~ to make full amount of $132.20 requested by Storyteller's Guild an EVl; seconded. Motion carries. 7:10: Motion to make full amount of $81.00 requested by Pink Triangle Society an EVl; seconded. Motion carries. 12:05: Motion to make full amount of $300 requested by Orchestra an EVI; seconded. Motion cames. 12:07: Motion to make full amount of$323.24 requested by SCI anEVI; seconded. Motion carnes. 12:15: Motion to make full amount of$220 requested by Billiards Club an EVl; seconded Motion carries. 12:21: Vote to approve $11,385.18 budget package. Package approved. For 10/15: 11:45: Current account balance: $2,049.57. 11 :50: Robbins, Deitz present themselves as can10/8 didates for Board of Visitors and Governors 11:45: Motion to make full amount of$175 requested by Outdoor Club an EVl; seconded. representatives. 11 :51: Motion to make BVG representatives an Motion carries. EVl; seconded. Motion carries. 11:55: Motion to make full amount of$112.37 11:57: Motion to enter Vegan Club request for requested by Fencing Club an EVl; seconded. $105 and make a Regular Voting Item (RVI); Motion carries. seconded. Motion carries. 11:57: Motion to make fu.ll amount of$1850 re12:00: Reopen discussion of Objectivist Club quested by Reality anEVI; seconded Motion carries. with Mr. Schwartz. 12:00: Motion to make full amount of $40 re12:30: Motion to make Objectivist Club an RVI; quested by Art Society an EVl; seconded. Moseconded. Motion carries. tion carries. 12:35: Motion to make Objectivist Club an EVI; seconded. Motion does not carry. responsible for mikir..g t.lie invitations :md distributing them to the SCI. Following this was a discussion of the Meno Seminar/ Seminar on Seminars recruihnent procedure. It was decided that IVk Lanier would handle the details of which students would be in which rooms. We then discussed the fact that Mr. MacFarland requested a report of past activities of the SCI for By Daniel Harrell Tutor the re-accreditation of the school. This will be taken up next meeting. Before leaving we were reminded to make meeting times for any subcommittees we may be on. These committees deal with issues proposed for discussion at the :first SCI meeting, and will meet independently. Don't Forget: Please register your bicycles with the · Security Office this week. Unregistered bikes will be removed and sold at the upcoming auction. Security Office . THE GADFLY . . ' . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ' .. In the four years or so that I have seen "reviews" of the Friday Night Lecture in the Gadfly, I have waited for someone, anyone, to write a letter commenting on how odd and potentially misconceived a practice it is. But as far as I know, no one has done so, and indeed, the only letter I've read to make any comment at all on the practice was full of praise for it. But there seems to me good reason for taking a more critical vie\v. For doesn't any "review" of the Friday Night Lecture, however well-intentioned, inevitably distort the nature and purpose of that occasion? I suppose I'll begin with what everyone knows As I understand it, the Friday Night Lecture is an occasion in our Program of study at the College. This means that on the most elementary level, it's no different from any other occasion in our Program-for example, Seminar. Declining to go to Lecture, then, is not like declining an invitation to a movie or a play, but instead like skipping class. Indeed, as as the expectation goes, it's 110 different from ' ..SJloomr10 class. So isn't taking one's seat at the Lecture an zltcgether different of act from taking one's seat at a perfor- As I also understand it, the Friday Night has two parts: Lecture and Question True, those who attend the Lecture are allowed to come and go as they please . g the Question Period part, but it is still Period that completes the Fri- day Night Lecture, and it is the whole Friday Night Lecture that remains an occasion in our Program of study. This means, then, that the discussion in Question Period is not like the talking that goes on in a lobby or at a restaurant after a movie or play, but instead is like the conversation of Seminar. Indeed, if I am correctly recalling the words in our College catalogue on this matter, the Question Period ca_11 often turn into a seminar. So isn't leaving one's seat at the Friday Night Lecture an altogether different kind of act from leaving one's seat at a performance? Finally, as again I understand it, the reason that tl1e Friday Night Lecture is a part of our Program is to give students the opportunity to participate, there and then, in the thinkingsomething-through that is being conducted, there and then, by someone else. So isn't attending the Friday Night Lecture an altogether different kind of act from attending a performance? And if we had to summarize the essential contrast between being at a performance and being at the Friday Night Lecture, from beginning to end, wouldn't the formulation go something like this?-To be at a performance means being a spectator of it; to be at the Friday Night Lecture means being a participant in it. So I want to know: doesn't any ostensible "review" of the Friday Night lecture go wrong from the very start? It is literally, after all, a reviewing. It aims, as far as I can tell, to be a looking back-at what the reviewer saw and heard that night, along with a report of his reactions to those sights and sounds. Now, true, the reactions might be thoughtful, the looking back might be accurate, the review that results might be very well written. But I have to ask: what of it? The essential gesture of the engagement, it seems to me, is still spectatorial, which is why the mode of writing in reviews is inherently descriptive, rather than dialectical (no one's Annual Essay, I trust, would ever be a book review). This is also why the Friday Night Lecture that is written about inevitably starts looking like a performance the reviewer witnessed, rather than a Friday Night Lecture that the student participated in. And t.his means that the review has turned the Lecture into something it isn't, right? I don't know how many of us actually agree with what I just said, but let's face it-the reviews that appear do have paragraphs that amount to what you might find in a blurb on a movie poster, and those are ridiculous enough. But the Lecture seems to have become something about which you can say, in essence: "Thumbs up!" Or: "I'd give that lecture last week an 11 out of 1 O!" And then there's: "Don't miss it!" But since the actual Friday Night Lecture has come and gone, along with the opportunity to be a participant there and then, "Don't miss iti" has to be modified to: "If you weren't there, boy did you miss something! Go out and find a copy if you can, and be prepared to be enlightened! Entertained! Wowed!" I guess the instruction to find a copy is meant for those who missed Lecture that night-i.e., skipped class. continued on page 8 THE GADFLY. 7 �Lecture Review continued from page 7 Now, I know I'm greatly exaggerating the sound of this, and that no review really speaks in movie blurbs. Nor do any of the students here speak that way-until, that is, they become reviewers, and then they start having to write like reviewers, and then they sometimes come awfully close, despite their good intentions, to the blurb, don't .you think? Maybe too close? Don't they sometimes sound completely out of keeping with the occasion? It's not their fault, though-after all, they were assigned to review the Lecture, and a review is exactly what they're producing. It's the inherent act of reviewing that's completely out of keeping with the occasion. Maybe you're still not convinced of my claim (to recall: lecture review-thumbs downQ, so consider this: four years ago, I think, there might have been mention made of the Question Period in Lecture Reviews-but nowadays, the "review" of the Lecture never includes any account of the Question Period; nor, as far as I can tell, does it intend to. As far as I'm concerned, the reviews have just evolved into more perfect exemplars of themselvessince a Question Period can't be "reviewed," can it? Lecture and Question Period are in such a context inevitably two separate things, and the review of the Friday Night Lecture can only deal with the "lecture." This means that a visitor on campus who happened upon a review of the Friday Night Lecture wouldn't even know there was a Question Period. To me, this fact alone is a sufficient sign that the stance demanded in reviews of Lectures is other than, and likely contrary to, the stance that the Friday Night Lecture is meant to occasion. I suppose if you've followed my reasoning to this point, you might be thinking: ahhh, but if there were a review of Lecture that avoided all movie-blurb inanities, kept an elevated tone, offered a detailed summary of the Lecture and the Question Period, and then presented a well-argued critique that was informed by all that was said-there, you would have it: The Perfect and Irreproachable Review. Well, okay, let me grant that you would. Again I have to ask-what of it? It's still a review, and to me it's the reviewing in it that presents the problem. Here, we have its ostensibly perfect exemplification: a report of everything the reviewer heard and saw at the time that he thought worth mentioning, along with any opinions he formed. All perfectly expressed. So in short: a faithful document of the reviewer's "views," rather than an actual thinking-something-through with someone else. Like the Lecturer. In Question Period. With everyone else~ There and then. Which again, is the kind of engagement that the Friday Night Lecture is supposed to elicit, isn't it? Oh well. I'm sure I've gone on more than long enough. I can already hear someone else say: but if the reviewer did go to Lecture and Question Period, and participated with the best of them, what's the harm in his writing a review of it? Can't we have lecture reviews in addition to Friday Night Lecture? And wouldn't that even be better than just having Friday Night Lecture? Yes, I've heard this argument before. But, see, my susf>icion is that ifwe were all going to Friday Night Lecture in the frame of mind it is meant to encourage, and with the habits of mind it is meant to develop, there wouldn't be anyone who would want to write a "review" of Lecture, just as there wouldn't be anyone who wowd want to read one. The fact that there are both, and that the practice of review goes on without comment, is arguably a sign that something's wrong-not with the number of lectures, or the number of tutors and students who attend, but rather with a misconceived notion of Friday Night Lecture that we not only seem willing to indulge in these reviews, but also maybe carry with us to any lectures we choose to attend. I worry that we go as spectators who think Friday Night Lecture should be, in essence, a spectacle. Like an audience at a performance. But we're not ... are we? CROSSWORD Across Down 1.Huff 1.Levels 10 5. Chatter 2. Intellectual 10. Cutting suffix 3. Indivisible 12 11. Possessor 4. Coil kind 12. Set parts 5. Basically distinctive sound 14 13. Suppose 6. Paying attention 14. Hippomenes' opponent 7. Amelia et al 16. Rambling invective 8. Number of rules Moses broke 16 17. Abraham's progeny 9. Poetic before 20. Emulate Thespis 15. With great skill 21. Come out of hiding 18. Insect-eating lizards 23. Ten-ruble coin 19. 22-Down with a keyboard 25. Novice boss 22. 19-Down with a pencil 27. Zenith 24. Extinct, flightless birds 25 28. Containing6.022x10 23 of some- 25. Current measure thing (sorry. I couldn't come up 26. Spectral ejaculation 28 with anything even remotely clever) 29.Perch 30 30. Metrical composition Note to Mary Duffy: wait till 31. To bein the Vatican next week. I will beat you. 8 by Ian McCracken 2 3 5 4 6 11 13 15 21 26 THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 29 31 7 8 g Bob the Painter Paintsl Loves School By Christopher Utter Staff Writer duced and the way our culture is structured and meshed. C: What about the people here? B: I find everyone here wants to see himself in the column of success. Just look at the complexity of ideas, and the fact that this school offers forum for examining them; some great thinker might get his start right here and affect the next generation. Wednesday morning. I look down at my hand: ''Bob Paint" is written in red marker. Oh right, I'll have to do that tomorrow; Hayden said his coffee break was at nine. My God it's hot in here; my window has been stuck since the beginning of the year, and Building and Grounds still hasn't sent anyone. Well, it's only been a week and a half since I called them about it. I'll just go to the library. (A knock at the door.) I find, standing on the other side, an obvious B&G guy: medium height, painter's overalls, slightly graying beard, putty knife in left hand. "You have a stuck window?" he asks. "Yes, come in." I take note, and remember Mr. Brocket's description. "Are you Bob?" So that was my first meeting with Bob the painter, one of the most interesting of the handyman types at school. I met Bob again the next morning in the coffee shop to interview him for this article; I had seen him earlier that morning repainting the ceiling of my hall. He commented on the fact that some students had obviously been completing the "Pinkney challenge" of using the water pipes overhead as monkey bars. C: Have you gotten to know many of the To be honest, I had never heard of such a thing students? Bob took it pretty lightly, only commenting B: Not many, but some. I get to move on the fact that sometime our hall will be around the school a lot, doing what I do, so I flooded, all of those pipes being filled with get to know people, but not many on a deeper Water. level. I'm always struck by the diversity hereChris: How long have you been working so many different views coming together. There he,:e,Bob? are a lot of good folks here, and I don't think Bob: About seven years here, but I've been I've ever met a maligning one. · ting around Annapolis for a lot longer. C: Why did you want to work here in parC: Where are you from originally? ticular? ·, B: We moved a lot. I was born in KenB: My primary motivation is that it's much • but my father worked for IBM, so we more stimulating than other kinds of work in in Minnesota and Florida before we my field. You get to meet people who are thinkto Maryland. ing about what this education offers. Also, I at kinds of work do you do around really feel at home here, and get to make others ? feel at home too, so I love getting student asOh, plastering, drywall, anything that sistants. They share their thoughts on the readto be done, really. ings, and, since I've read a lot of the books on What do you think of St. John's? the Program, I get to ask them questions. It's It's a wonderful way for a person to look wonderful how they're always interested in how .the variety of ideas that the world's pro- things come together in systems, how our culture fits together as a structure. C: I heard you were a senior resident. How did that work out? B: After my first year here the Director of Student Services and the Dean asked me if I'd be interested. So I lived in Humphreys for two years, and that allowed me to get to know a lot more students as good friends, rather than passing acquaintances. I went to parties and did the St. John's thing (at least the dorm part). I organized some sports events like flag football. When you're a referee, whether in the game or the dorm, there seems to be a blind spot everywhere. C: What do you think of the Program here? B: Its good to have a place where you can pursue understanding through the curiosity of your environment. It's a humanizing experience, you know? You get to realize how little you know, but also how you fit in with it all. Developing a personal philosophy is an important part of that; it's spiritual, really. Innovations change the way we view each other. We used to be alienated by our mutual ignorance, but it's changing now. It's great that St. John's incorporates so much of the "new" in with the "old". An education like this helps us overcome the alienation, and students get to have some fun in between; there's an allowance of levity. Also, a lot of people criticize the lack of competition here, but when I play sports, I'm surprised how competitive it can get. Mr. Pickens makes sure it all stays in perspective, though. I think he's the one who completes the well-rounded curriculum by making sure we do have some competition here, while making sure it stays in its proper place. C: Well, thanks, Bob. I must say, you really have an insightful way oflooking at the school. I look forward to talking to you later on. It looks like we've gone over time a bit, I'm sure you have to get back. B: Oh, no problem. Thanks for the conversation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �Chillo's Grillo continued from Front Page presumably the college] would get in trouble," said Varnum. "I find that when people just talk to each other, things generally can be worked out for the best, so I decided to speak with Erikk and work out a deal." Chilla's Grilla last year began operations in the niche market of coffee shop food service, filling the gaps left by other providers. The coffee shop was closed on Saturday afternoons, and for a while, Sunday evenings, meaning that those who wanted an alternative to Randall Hall food or who missed the dining hall schedule were out of luck. Also, with the official Coffee Shop closed, most people would merely pass through the basement of McDowell during those hours, with little to keep them there or to induce them to start conversations with others. Sunday evening, a favorite time for many students, was especially dead. Chilla's Grilla changed that. On more than one evening last semester, as many as fifteen students at a time gathered around the grill to partake in the delicate feast of sandwiches and speeches. The phenomenon caught the attention of the Student Committee on Instruction last year, which was concerned with the state of our communal life. Bon Appetit's botched takeover of the Coffee Shop, and the secrecy and obfuscation that surrounded it, weighed heavily on the College. At a time when students and tutors engage in few casual conversations, when offices continue to grow in numbers and importance, when there are more staff members than ever whom students do not know, a threat to our main co=unal meeting place-the coffee shop-was especially troubling to the SCI. So at the urging of then-freshman representative Donald Stone, the Committee commended Chilla's Grilla for its vital service to the St. John's polity. Mr. Geannikis is looking forward to working with Parkhurst Dining and promises that the most important part of Chilla's Grilla will stay the same. ''A price increase is about as likely as Pluto hitting Neptune," says the grill master. Details of the plan include Mr. Geannikis paying cost for the supplies he uses, using an undisclosed algorithm, and the possibility of Chilla's Grilla making an appearance at the exhibition table in Randall Hall. Wednesday nights are the 10 "People are just now beginning to realize that I'm not a student," says Varnum, referring to his youthful appearance, "they're finding out I can actually get things done." And now they know with what discretion and prudence he can do them. Chilla's Grilla, after a two-week hiatus for Long Weekend and Oktoberfest, will resume operations this Saturday. "You're cheap and lame if you don't buy one," read the posters. "Come down to the Coffee Shop this Saturday," says Erikk. Besides the tasty sandwiches, there will be "wonderful conversation with people whom you wouldn't normally talk to." [The Gadfly would like to note that Chi/la's Gril/a is not actual!J a business and it is certainty not being run from a dorm room-Ed.] proposed time, although dates have not yet been arranged. Mr. Geannikis credits Mr. Varnum's wisdom and faith in .conversation for the merger's success. The modest Mr. Varnum had this to say for himself: "I just want to do the best thing for everybody." The Coffee Shop remains closed on Saturdays, and Mr. Geannikis's low overhead allows him to operate when the larger Coffee Shop couldn't make a profit. Mr. Varnum chose conversation and goodwill over punishment and rancor to solve his problem, recognizing that Chilla's Grilla's unconventional methods were providing a real service to St. John's, in spite of possibly controversial appearances. Students are urged to get to know Ryan Varnum (who goes by Ryan generally). Salvaging Recycling By Cathy Keene Editor-in-Chief After much debate about the St. John's recycling program, the administration has officially decided to maintain the current salvaging system. Buildings and Grounds will be employing one student to work between seven to ten hours a week, helping to preserve and empty the recycling bins placed around campus. This is good news for students who regularly make contributions to the tubs, as there has been talk of ending the program since the beginning of this semester. Although the College has been active in recycling for the past several years, the recycling program itself relies almost entirely on the participation of interested students. While this participation is expected to vary from year to year, it has been almost nonexistent so far this year. This is due partly to the transfer to Santa Fe of junior Scott Dunbar, who took responsibility for emptying the tubs last year. Students who support the program are also to blame, however, because no one has stepped up to take out the trash. Members of the Environmental Club met last week with Treasurer Bud Billups and Assis- tant Treasurer Steve Linhard last week to discuss the future of recycling at St. John's. Al_ though no one has yet volunteered to take responsibility for the bins themselves, almost everyone has agreed that the program is popular, especially within the administration offices. That having been decided, Mr. Billups and Mr. Linhard arranged to have a new B&G position implemented specifically for the recycling program, securing its status at the College. The final step in maintaining the recycling program comes with the fulfillment of this new position. Interested students may contact B&G Supervisor Chuck Wallace (ext 6930) for details. As Ms Kaplan said in the last issue of the Ga4f!y, "If no students are willing to manage it, then the recycling program will [have to) be canceled." . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Concert Review By Mary Townsend Inside News Editor something to do with The Tempest in a real way. The last piece, the sixth Brandenburg The concert this past Friday was well-at- Concerto, had the most musicians out on tended on the whole; few seats were empty, stage, including a cueven after intermission, and those present en- nous instrument joyed a solidly pleasant concert, which is not that was larger than always easy to come by when both performers the viola de gambas and audience are willing to be satisfied with and had an extremely novelty alone-intelligent and capable musi- low range; its identity cians playing worthwhile music. remained largely Ms. Wallfisch, a guest artist with Arco Voce unfixed except for set to play Bach's Partita in E major for violin, the opinion that it came on stage in a rather stunning red silk and might be what the velvet coat, with two full peacocks and a large program listed as a number of art deco roses; judging by her fre- violone. They took a quent rearranging of its many folds, she fast tempo to start, seemed to share my worry that such a garment and had to race a bit might pose some difficulties to the playing of to keep up; the first the violin. Before beginning the piece, Ms. viola de gamba it is) and all gave their parts Wallfisch chose to make some remarks about looked askance a little some thumps when called for. each one of the dances in the partita, with a at the presumptive The reception in Mellon's few slightly disingenuous attempts to dance violone's tuning, and glass-and-wood conservatory about in illustration. As she played, produc- considering the many boasted a new and interesting ing a remarkably clear tone, the red fringe fly- bemused glances of punch. A cheerful Mr. Stoltzfus ing, the six year old girl seated next to me had the second gambist, explained how concerts used to some trouble remaining there, much to the I don't think he had be occasions of great stress for embarrassment of her father; her instincts were much respect for him, until Mr. Crouse's accesMs. Wallfisch in the right place, however, as she was eager to their ensemble; Ms. sion to Audio-visual job; appardo what the music was telling her to, and dance. Wallfisch didn't seem to mind playing rather ently it was not unusual for the The next piece, apparently only recently louder than her fellow viola, and I think the lights to come up for intermission in the ~covered from an old manuscript in Bercellist was a little sorry that both violas didn't midille of a suite. We can therefore look forlin, was one of those winding Baroque pieces wait a little more for the cello's rather im- ward to the concert in November of I with slightly romantic sentiments. The two pressive lines, when they came; but they en- Fagiolini, Italian for "The Stringbean," as violins, Ms. Wallfisch and a member of Arco joyed themselves (they could hardly help it, an event promising little worry, least of all Voce itself, made a strong contrast with their the sixth Brandenburg concerto being what to our amiable Music Librarian. very different characters; Ms. Wallfisch bright, markedly precise, and Ms. Field, almost low: .surprisingly smooth between notes. Ms'. 'Carrai, the cellist, ready to take none of Ms. Wall~sch's grandstanding, looked particularly 1tl control of her instrument, as though e would always be playing it, and not the er way around. ~fter intermission, the harpsichordist exUled that the incidental music for espeare's The Tempest that they were ut to play was in fact composed only a dred years or so after the play itself was en, causing a music official of the col_seated near me to sigh with relief. The c was very interesting; I disagree with ~arpsichordist that the music was about c surmounting events and characters it did, most agreeably, seem to hav; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 11 �Nu bers and Statistics By E1in Callahan Democracy Matters Archon .!VIany of you may have seen seemingly random numbers posted around the campus this past week. These were all statistics demonstrating the power money has over politics. We will be discussing possible projects to address the problems evident in these numbers at the next Democracy l'vfatters meeting, Wednesday at 4:00 pm in McDowell 23. Until then I will let the numbers speak for themselves: - There were 0 Black and Hispanic senators in the 107th and 108th Congress combined. - There were 14 female (51% of the population) senators in the 108th Congress. - Winners outspent losers by a 2:1 margin in the 2002 Senate races. - \Vinners outspent losers by a 3:1 margin in the 2000 House races. - Oil and Gas companies contributed 47 million in 2000 and 2002 to all candidates. - Only 1/9 of1% of the voting age population - nearly 232,000 people- gave $1000 or more to federal candidates in 1999-2000. - Less than 1% of the population provides over 80% of all money in federal elections. - This fraction of wealthy Americans contributed 2 billion to the last election's campaigns. - This same group received 775 billion in new tax breaks. - 55 billion was lost from 1996 to 1998 in large companies evading taxes. - Over 60% of contributions to winning congressional candidates came in amounts over $1000. - Less than 2% of Americans give candidate contributions over$200. - 95% of major congressional campaign contributors are white and 81% have ammal incomes of$100,000 or more. - In 2000, candidates who raised the most money won 93% of the seats up for Congressional election. - The funding for political campaigns is now increasing at roughly 4 rimes the annual inflation rate. * These numbers are courtesy of www.commoncause.org, www.politicalmoneyline.org, www.democracymatters.org, and www.nvri.org. S irituai Expressi n in Paint: the rt of El Gr co By Samantha Buker Staff Writer You may have noticed the Madonna and Child with Saint Martina and S aintAgnes posted up all over campus. Its painter, Domenikos Theotokopoulos, better known as El Greco, worked primarily during the 16tl' century in a style known as Spanish Mannerism. He forms a strong triumvirate of Spanish painting with Goya and Velaquez. While religious themes dominated painting in the 15th and 16th centuries, El Greco painted from true devotion to piety. His artist's journey began when he studied icon writing on the isle of Crete. The tradition of icon writing is very different from the religious commissions common for artists at the time. By Joy Kaplan straight for the frosting by presenting my favor- years ago there was a contestto create the St. John's ,\n icon is not for art's sake or decoration of a Director of Student Services ite first The following was submitted by Chase- Fight Song (because the old one is lame). You holy place. Icons are venerated and provide a Stone Resident Assistant Martin Gaudinski: means of praying through a saint during one's may want to see ifyou can scrounge up a copy of This week's article kicks off a series of songs, Like all Johnnie lore, I am unsure as to the that. That was how this song was born. Mr. worship. The painter of icons is not to leave chants, and cheers written by Johnnies or about veracity of what I am about to say. I did get it Higuera claimed that he "was raped by the muse" his individual mark or glory in his own talent St. John's. Some people eat all of their vegetables from the horse's (Tutor Henry Higuera's) in creating it. I think every Johnnie ought to know with worldly illusion.ism. He is to portray a before dessert, and some eat their cake first. In mouth, but he told me years ago novv; and I am this song, and that it ought to be sung frequently, spiritual existence - the light of Christ emathis week's Squandered Youth, I am going now sketchy on it. That said already, about ten in my humble opinion. nating through a saint. The space in such painting is a spiritual plane that is not limited By Mr. Henry Higuera, Tutor Baffle Hymn of the Republic of Leffers to the laws of terrestrial physics. He left his :Mine eyes have seen the glory of the eidos of the good, Ratify the homelandandwenttoitalyin 1566. There he social contract. \Vhich is not the same as pleasure I have clearly understood, was employed in the workshop of Titian, and And I wouldn't take the tyrant's power even if I could. Ratify the social contract. he was also influenced by the work of Tintoretto. I'm marching from the cave. RatiJy the social contract. And then we'll all survive. These roots can be seen in this later work Marching, marching, towards the sunlight. of El Greco's. He painted it in 1597-99; it Humanistic limits on my freedoms are erased, Marching, marching, towards the sunlight. comprised the right side of an altarpiece in the MarchLn.g, marching, towards the sunlight. By d1e transo.:~11dental id~r/city of thnc and space, of San Jose in To!edo. The pa.h'lting I'm marching from the cave. So my atoms are determined but my will a different case. originally hung such that the two virgin marIt's pure autonomy. tyrs appeared to be standing behind the altar. 111e Fool conceives of God but thinks the faithful one deceived, They were ready to intercede with the worFor a greatest being whose reality is not believed, Hail the transcendental ego. shippers. Thus, he maintains the close relaIs a being through which something greater still can be conceived, Hail the transcendental ego. tion of worshipper and painted saint that is necessary in icon writing. You will also note Hail the transcendental ego. It's pure autonomy. that the spatial relationships of figure, ground, Which contradicts itself. Ontological P'-ebuttal. sky are unimportant to the spiritual aim Ontological Rebuttal. of the painting. The Christ child's head is on I've been through all the steps in my phenomenology, Whether master, slave, or in between, it's all the same to me. Faithfulness will ever scuttle same level as those of the two angels. For it contradicts itself. I'm unhappy, and I know it, so I'm absolutely free. arrangement echoes his position as one the persons in the Trinity of God. This I'm fully synthesized. .... ·.····••>c:~!iJ;;. ;;•;•,vu11Jtpo•s1t1oria1 equality is similar to the iconic The state of nature's character we know from good repo1t, ?: .. ··~''"'"of the Trinity inspired by Genesis 18 To be very solitary, nasty, brutish, poor, and short, I've undergone the dialectic. seen in'Andrei Rub!ev). So we'll give the sovereign all our rights and all the guns and forts, I've undergone the dialectic. And then we'll all survive. I've undergone the dialectic. I'm fully synthesized. Squandered Youth 12 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . Expression transcen alism. The hands of e: figure reflect the refine elongation of the Italian school. They are the most clearly defined features of the women and the angels. This sets the hands apart from the figure, and emphasizes the gestures of offering, love, and worship. The Christ child admires this beauty of his mother's hands. Perhaps El Greco is indicating the kind oflove Christ must have for humanity, if He is to offer Himself as a sacrificial lamb. The strongest contrasts of light and shadow and color in the painting focus ones eyes on Christ, yet the painting is alive "rith color and motion swirling around him. The clouds turning into cherubim were worked up so rapidly by El Greco's brush that one can almost feel the forceful breath of God move them. The cool blue cloud sets off the figures of the virgin martyrs Martina and Agnes. The position of their hands, almost touching at the bottom center of the painting, indicates the similarity of their stories and devotion. They touch each other in love through the foot of the lamb, Christ. St. Agnes, on the right, refused all her suitors, as she had no spouse but Christ. One suitor, who attempted to violate her, was struck blind. She, in turn, healed him through prayer (although Spinoza might claim otherwise). Martina, on the other hand, refused to sacrifice to idols. She was taken from her church and was tortured with iron hooks. Her torturers were thrown to the ground and had Paul-like conversion experiences. She was spared from an enraged lion (as El Greco indicates by the tame lion lurking in The Burial of Count Orgaz the background under her eloquent hand). She was then spared from a fiery furnace before being beheaded. The two saints know no more trouble of torment. They form a triangular frame around Christ with the mother of God, all the more obvious for El Greco's use of yellow, red, and blue - the primary colors. Christ is framed in two sets of threes: the women and the three choirs of cherubim. The three choirs form an inversion of the women's triangle, and thus lock the composition in place. The Christ child is firmly held in the center between the world below, which the two saints are still a part of with us the viewers, and the world above flowing with angels. If the religious expression of El Greco speaks to your theological and artistic senses, I suggest you get up to New York City between now and January 11th. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has the first El Greco retrospective in twenty years. This Madonna and Child is part of the exhibition, although its usual home is the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 13 �To Be Or Not To Be ... SportsWire: .Swim Race Fantastica How far will Hollywood go to make a movie? Below are four titles and accompan~g loglines for movies. Hollywood producers actually purchased rights for three of them, but one of them ls a fake. Can you tell · which one? The answer will be printed in next week's Gadf!y. Part 2 In A Series On How Great I Am Title: The Author Log Line: When a prominent New York writer meets a character from one of her books she struggles with him over who should be the author of his life. Title: Dead of Night Title: People Who Knock on the Door Title: She Hate Me Log Line: A middle American family's life is turned upsidedown when one of the members becomes a 'born again' Christian. This leads to a violent outcome. Log Line: A Harvard-educated biotech executive is fired when he blows the whistle on his bosses. He supports himself by impregnating high-powered lesbians - one them is an exgirlfriend. Swimming Wonder Monkey Days Let'~ Log Line: A young man killed in the Middle East is brought back to life as a zombie. When he returns home to his small town, his friends and family assume that he is shell-shocked from the war and are unaware that he is a creature with a murderous lust for blood. by LauraTraina and Beth Siekiera bufld an Jee cave! ~wootdboost ourHP and restor~ all status ailriie:Ots! . . ;-~~:to-~~~~~ Ott, Ncff~Wf(, °'I l.JM H£G£L.. ·, Otf AllJ~ v-JKAT \!&ls n1A.T A6oV'r.,. --. 14 l 'ft~? . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J j By Michael Malone Class Historian, Class President '04 ~c.w·.s rm-r >\GA\ ~l r> [.r•HA<E ~)'!. l.S. rt~""""(' ·~fi.~£.b \t.~ The Joshua William Hyden Memorial Swim Race has, historically, been one of the athletic high points of the year. Last year's race was a lot of fun both for the competitors and the dozen or so spectators who walked over to the Naval Academy campus. This year's race on Friday, however, was not quite so successful The turnout for the 32nd swimming of the sea wall was fantastic. Five people made it to a race that has only been completed by two people. This included the first-ever female entrant, Miriam Keim, and the first-ever freshman male entrants Laslow Ujj and Eric Allatta. Rounding out the list was the first-ever sophomore who showed up with goggles, Patrick Sullivan, and the first-ever returning champion, Michael Malone, who, like Time, is owned by AOL Time Warner, and who just happens to be writing this article. No reading was made of the water temperature. It was certainly cold. Ifl had to guess, and I will, I'd guess the water temperature was a negative billion degrees, but I won't specify what units I'm using: so there! Anyways, it was cold, but, as every experienced swimmer knows, getting in is the hardest part, and we quickly acclimated to the conditions. Except for all of the gunk floating in the water: that was just disgusting. And let's not talk about the taste except to say it was worse than New Coke. Nothing really exciting happened during the jirst 500 meters of the warm-up swim from Ji'le boathouse dock to the Severn River. Navy's coaches were heading out, and they poy avoided running us over with their ches. Oh yeah, Patrick kept complaining the should never have let Me talk him into this, on account of his being super cold. you believe that? What a whiner! Anyways s 200 meters from the mouth of College 200 meters from delicious freedom, 200 from the start of the race, when things apart. All I heard was a jumbled series of noises, sounded quite similar to someone talkthrough a police amplification systems. I know I'm not the only person at this l who has heard that sound before. I • just recently, when the Annapolis Police Department sent their S.WA.T. team into Anderson Tallent's dorm room to find that missing copy of Aristotle's Metapf(ysics (in the original Greek), I know I wasn't the only person who heard the officer demand that Anderson "drop the gun" over the thunder of the police chopper. So I turned around and saw a Department of Defense patrol car in the road on the other side of the creek. It didn't take long for the officers in the car to realize thatA) we couldn't hear them and B) they just ate their donuts so they had the time to come harass us. So they sped across the bridge and sped down the road to get on the same side of the river we were on. Ifanything was endangering the livelihood of those on the base it was the "reckless" driving of that first squad car. I don't remember where the second squad car came from. This time we clearly heard the PIGs-my acronym for Department ofDefense officerover their amplification system: ''Please swim towards the squad car." There was no exclamation point in his voice, so I don't include one in his quotation. We obeyed, and made our way over to shore. I was the first one there, and as I walked up the shore I think the officer was a bit surprised by my-quite striking-appearance in a Speedo. There were about fifteen seconds of awkward silence before I broke it: "Is something wrong?" I asked cavalierly. "Of course something's wrong," uttered the head PIG like a true dysteleologist. "Do you have clearance with the administration to do this?" Time for a slight detour: Now I could break down the speech patterns of the head PIG to show you how uneducated and crass he was, but instead I'll just make fun of his appearance. Of course he was fat. He also had a funny looking mustache: grey, with the bottomed trimmed up at an angle in the unpopular child abductor style. Now I don't want to imply that he is into child abduction: his tastes certainly ran to the more caprine. He had this look on his face like he had seen this a thousand times, which I find hard to swallow. Of course, he didn't have any problems swallowing anything. He was also unable to look at me. That is partly understandable since he was clearly envious ... ummm ... of my physique. Nowbacktothepoorlyrecollecteddialogue. "Of course not," I charismatically replied. "I thought this was a public waterway. I see public boats using College Creek all the time: kayakers, canoets, pleasure boaters." "Well when we see them we get them out of the creek because they're not allowed to," he perambulated. ''What about the local crew programs and St. John's College?" I gesticulated. "They have to get permission from our administration to use the water.... Oink," he fumigated. And then there was some more conversation about how if we wanted to do this again we should go through their security, and then one of the underling officers suggested we go through the administration, blah blah blah. Another slight detour. Now according to a reliable anonymous official of our phrontistery the College does not get permission from the Academy to use college creek. In fact he/ she/it clearly expressed frustration that the Academy continues to control a waterway she/he/it believes is not under their domain. And back to the action. 1 We did not part best of friends, but respected their request to get out of the creek. We were picked up by a SJC motor launch and dropped off back at the dock, shivering and glad that Laslow did not get deported. Now a lot of people have recently started calling me Aesop, orAeshole, orAssop. I guess it's because of the quality of the morals I tack on to the end of my stories in a hurried attempt to tie everything together and make a cohesive article. So here's another moral: be careful when you pick a fight with the cops. We knew we weren't doing anything to endanger the Naval Academy: just ourselves. We could have easily just kept swimming until we were out of their jurisdiction and done with the race, or I could have told them to "Just shoot me!" like Mr. Tallent told that sharp shooter in the helicopter during the infamous Library Book Return Operation of'03. Instead we just played along and left them alone. It really wasn't that important to us, and, when we go back, we'll do it in a way that they can't bother us. However, I am beginning to sympathize with Ice Cube and Body Count. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 15 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 Stressed-Out Johnnies: Unitel K uvat Soccer Review By Greg "Rook" Singer Staff Writer Contrary to the beliefs oflazy Annapolitans and indolent :Midshipmen alike, being a student at St. John's can be inordinately stressful. With Security auctioning off our bikes, and Ms. Kaplan trying to turn us into a horde of clockwork-orange style self-Narcs, what's a burnt-out Johnnie to do for peace and relaxation??? If only there existed a place to go on campus, a little spot of land where feminists and misogynists, Spartans and Hustlers, and, I daresay, even Objectivists and normal people could come together and find common ground to stand upon. Only, there isn't This "common ground" problem, therefore, is one concerning the maleficent nature of land, and so I submit to the polity that precisely what is needed here is a river. Not only a river, but a fleet of vessels to traverse it. I hereby ask that the administration dig us a river, that it be called College Creek, and that it be connected to the Severn and the Chesapeake Bay. I also ask that the school provide polity members with canoes, kayaks, rowboats, and sailboats to be used a.d. notes By Leo Pickens Athletic Director "I never practice, I only play." Harpsichordist Wanda Landowski Okay, let's face it. This tough dirt-dog from the under-the-earth, who plays outside fullback, week in and week out, always draws the thankless task of defending some of the women's league's fleetest and most skillful wings. And she never stops trying to stay right i...n their face, even though she frequently seems to get nailed pretty hard by errant balls and such stuff I'm talking about the ever-redoubtable super-frosh Miss Plaut, who for her non-stop hustle and sheer enthusiasm and determination is named Athlete of the Week for the women. Speaking of super-frosh, how about the gutsy performance of Druid goalie I\ifr. Horst in tlus past week's Druid tie with the Waves in soccer. l'v1r. Horst keeps tl1e Druids in the game, week in 16 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . by them at their convenience according to the terms of tl1e schedule below. Furthermore, there should be a boathouse built on the river, and a door to it as well, for tlie purpose of hanging a sign promulgating the hours of operation of tlie boatliouse, as well as means for contacting the professional and experienced stewards of tlie boatliouse, who shall be hired to keep tlie boats in order and teach polity members in the ways of seamanship. Perhaps witli these facilities, students will no longer have to destroy pool cues or write tirades to tlie Gadf!Y to curb tlie stress and murderous rage associated witli a liberal arts education. Assuming tliese measures are taken, I encourage all members of tlie polity to show tlieir support for tllls proposition by using tl1ese nautical resources as much as possible. (Hypothetical) Boatl1ouse Hours: Monday- 2:30-6:00 Tuesday- 4:00-600 Wednesday- 4:00-6:00 Thursday- 2:30-4:00 Friday- 3:00-6:00 Saturday- 1:00-4:00 week out, witli his great saves in tlie net. For his superb job as tlie anchor in tlie Druids' defense, Mr. Horst is na..med Athlete of the Week for the men. YES, THERE IS VOLLEYB.t'ilL BEING is an ongoing pick-up game, organized by one of our local alums, every Sunday evening from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Even tllough must of the players are Townies, Johnnies are more tlian welcome. Just show up and get in tlie game. You Make the Call The last puzzler was won by l'vli Jackson O'Brien. If tlle advantage after a foul and the official's call 'Play on' does not develop, tlie official should stop tlie play and award a free kick. And now for tllls week's teaser: On a throw in soccer, is it permissible to throw tlie ball against an opponent's back and play tlie rebound? First one to me witli the right call goes to the Bookstore on me. (Leave your response at x2558.) 0 • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • By Natalie Rinn Staff Writer The forecast was rain at 4 pm last Tuesday, fifteen nlinutes prior to Kunai kick-off Team Bas Bleus/Brick House (Blue) was set to face team Maroon Monsoon/Teen Girl Squad (Red). It was a day of defenses; Ms. Rebecca Mitchesson warded off one offensive Red attack after anotl1er at her position of sweeper for team Blue while Ms. Lisa Habegger of team Red was her own forcefield in goal, effortlessly deflecting team Blue's ill-fated shots. These defensive performances started a trend that, thankfully, held for the forecasted rain as well. As the game stood at 0-0, referee Leo Pickens blew the game-ending whistle, and each Kunai walked off the field with a communal appreciation to have avoided both the pain of defeat and soaked-tlirough cleats. In vast contrast to Tuesday's scoring shutout, Friday's match left no wont of goals; that is, not for a certain Ms. Alyssa Grodotcke. As the Kunai's latest prized freshman, she doubles as a solid defensive and offensive player. On Friday, however, Ms. Grodotcke certainly embraced her offensive nature. Botli team Brick House/Teen Girl Squad (Red) and Bas B!eus/Maroon Monsoon (Blue) had netted a go;il when Ms. Grodotcke decided to conduct a bit of a scoring-spree. Strategically positioned in all the right places in front of Blue's net, her feet had eyes for the ball alone, the result of which was one fine hat trick for Ms. Grodotcke and team Red. Adding to Red's offensive success were the defensive feats of Brick House's own, Ms. Janae "Brick Wall" Decker in goal for team Red. Only two bullets from the feet of Ms. Blake Gregory of team Blue were able to find a way around Ms. Decker's domain. Ms. Grodotcke's al}d Ms. Decker's efforts ensured team Red's tory over Blue, 4-2. � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 8 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-10-21 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 8 of The Gadfly. Published October 21, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #8 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/2dbf3024c44db8356a44dfac41e39229.pdf b1b55944cfa0ff2211391889167778fd PDF Text Text THE GADFLY The St. John's College Student Week!J; Volume XXV, Issue 9 Annapolis, Maryland October 28, 2003 Plato Tree Falls to Fear of Lawsuits; Necessity By Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor As most everyone on campus knows, the huge old tree that sat in the middle of the Campbell parking lot was felled this past Wednesday. What probably only Ms. Blits and Mt. Maistrellis know, however, is that this tree was a sycamore, P!atanus occidenta!is, otherwise known as the American Planetree. According to Ms. Blythe Woods, the school's landscaper for more than ten years, the tree was cut down "because it was a hazard in a high-traffic area." "It had already been cabled to hold its branches together and try to stabilize it," says Ms. Woods, who is certified by the International Society of Arborists. As any observer could see, one of the three-feet wide branches was entirely hollow. As it turns out, the rot extended through the trunk and down into the root system. In fact, when a workman cutting the tree down stood on its trunk, "he sank in to his waist" in the rotten wood. vv'hen Hurricane Isabel was forecast, many at the College were concerned that the tree might come down, but there was no time to take action. Buildings and Grounds staff held an informal pool about its chances; the tree surprised everyone, however, and weathered the storm adrojrably. Thankful for the reprieve, ]\ifs. Woods nonetheless recommended the tree to the attention of the Campus Planning Committee. Mr. May had previously been concerned that the tree might fall, but in 1993, when he was head of the Campus Planning Committee, the interim President determined that the College couldn'1 afford to pay for its removal. This year's committee, chaired by Ms. Kirby, decided the tree was in danger of collapsing. Frank Dudek, a consulting arborist, was in to give his professional opinion. His $300 report told the school essentially .Issue: IKEA, page¢ what it already knew~that parts of the tree could fall at any moment and that prudence dictated that it be cut down. While, he said, "you don't see many 72-inch sycamores around," the liability to the school should a branch crush someone's car was too great to justify saving the tree. He noted that the root system had been significantly violated by the parking lot, thus further weakening the already old tree. The tree in Campbell parking lot was the only American Planetree on the St. John's campus. It was, of course, the western version of the Plantanus orieta!is, which is the species readers of Plato will fondly remember Socrates and his beautiful Phaedrus sitting beneath in the last dialogue we read at St. John's. Our tree is survived by several cousins on campus, which are called London Planetrees, being a hybrid of the oriental and occidental species. One of these trees stands beside Woodward Hall near College Avenue; the row of trees that divides back campus are planetrees as well; and an even larger tree than the one we lost is hidden between Mellon and continued on page 5 The Vdult page.9,• �THE -.rGADFLY Editor-in-Chief - Cathy Keene Gadfly Mailbox Evaluating the Lecture 'Review' Dear Mr. Harrell: I believe you presented very strong arguIan McCracken ments for discontinuing the practice of reProduction Managers A&E Editor viewing lectures in last week's article, ''AnMartin Anderson Anderson Tallent other Look at Lecture Reviews." Your arguMelissa Thomas ments were so strong, in fact, that they forced the staff of the Gadf!J to think over what Inside News Business Manager Mary Townsend we were going to print in this· issue. AlKaty Courtright though we did ultimately decide to continue Outside News to print weekly "reviews" of the Friday Sports Editor Hayden Brockett Night Lecture, I don't want you to think Mike Malone your criticism was conveniently ignored. Contributing to this Issue Below are listed some of our own reasons Eric Gleysteen Dave Prosper for wishing to continue our lecture reviews. Mark Ingham Natalie Rinn Every student at the College knows FriThomas Jacobs Beth Siekiera day Night Lectures are mandatory, just like Nora Kelleher Greg Singer any other class. And every person affiliated Blake Kiltoff Ben Strickland with the College, including students, facAmy Taylor Sean Penny ulty, and staff, knows plenty of people who Laura Traina Leo Pickens never go to the lecture. As I have heard many Josh Weinstein Robert Pollack reasons and solutions for the lack-of-attenFounded in 1980, the Gat!f!yis the student weekly : dance problem already, I promise I will not distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and say anything more about it. My concern lies staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors with those who take the time actually to emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and read the reviews, whether or not they atGovernors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa tended the lecture. Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the It may sound incredible, but I personthe sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not ally know students who frequently miss the necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gat!f!y · Friday Night Lecture but later read about it staff. The Gat!f!y reserves the right to accept, rein the Gadf!J. While this may seem like a ject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to publish the most thoughtful, informative, and sign of pure laziness, many of these people thought-provoking newspaper which circum- later will buy the lecture text from the bookstore and read it for themselves. Some of stances at St. John's permit. them claim they just can't concentrate durLetters of 200 words or fewer have a better ing the hour to hour-and-a-halflecture, but chance of being published than those longer than they don't wish to miss it completely. Based this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for on the opinions and content listed by the grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. reviewer, these students determine whether The Gat!f!y is not obligated to publish all submisor not they want to take the time to read the sions and will not print anonymous submissions lecture in its entirety. except under special circumstances. While I agree this may be a poor reason Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Tax- to continue to critique the Friday Night Lecdeductible contributions are greatly appreciated. ture, these obviously aren't the only stuPlease make checks payable to the Ga4ffy. For dents who read the reviews in the Gadffy. display advertisement prices and information, call Most of our readers do, in fact, go to lec410-263-2371, x2212. tures but still feel the need to read about them. For these students, simply reading Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission someone else's thoughts on the lecture and for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions its arguments may help to spark conversawill be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail sub- tion after the question period and give stumissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail sub- dents other viewpoints to consider, keeping the ideas fresh and noteworthy. This missions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. Executive Editor 2 phenomenon can be observed even in last week's Gadffy, when Mr. David wrote a response to Mr. Cohen's response to Mr. Page's response to Mr. Utter's review of Mr. David's lecture. While this may be an extreme example, it is indeed true that people are still thinking and writing about Mr. David's lecture, partly because of the opinions expressed in its review. I also think it is interesting to note your explanation that "the reason the Friday Night Lecture is a part of our Program is to give students the opportunity to participate, there and then, in the thinking-somethingthrough that is being conducted, there and then, by someone else." I do agree that this is the major focus of the Friday Night Lecture; however, I believe this elucidates why ii: is different from a regular seminar or tutorial. Listening to the Friday Night Lecture is akin to reading a person's senior essay: you follow the writer's line of reasoning throughout his arguments and examples to understand how he reached his conclusion. When you have finished reading, if it is necessary, you ask the writer various questions about his paper to help fully to understand his deduction. All of this is for the sake of comprehending the writer's argument. As a Johnnie, however, I must now ask: what if I totally disagree with the writer's reasoning? I can see how the question period may be used to smooth out some of the complications in a lecture, but it is still just a fine-tuning of the lecturer's conclusion. After all, there is a defined difference between understanding someone's argument and formulating your own. As the question period simply allows us to ask;; about parts of the lecture in brief, I think it is a natural dialectic practice for a student to analyze the whole of the lecturer's argumen: · and write his own response to its conclu,-, sion. While a lecture review still is based on. the initial opinions of the lecturer, the re · viewer is allotted more leeway in making own arguments for or against those pressed in the lecture. When a reporter c talizes on this freedom, his review tends be more substantial and in accordance wi the nature of the Program than a simp "Don't miss it!" or "Thumbs up!" K I can understand your distaste for par.: ticular reviews that are rather trite or full "fluff" or lacking in actual opinions a THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the lecture. I believe, however, that the nature of the lecture review is such that it deserves its weekly place in the Gadffy. While we may not always write "The Perfect and Irreproachable Review," I believe we should keep trying-not as spectators, but as other rational beings that are trying to formulate their own thoughts along with those of the lecturer, in keeping with the St.John's spirit. Most Sincerely, Cathy Keene Editor-in-Chief highest ground in Annapolis, this is in fact necessary if water is to arrive in our homes at all. The lines that carry away our sewage are, of course, not pressurized, and in fact are usually quite empty of fluid (aside from the "traps" beneath our fixtures, which hold enough water to prevent unpleasant gasses from coming up out of the sewer). Indeed, they must not be pressurized, since they have openings wherever we expect water to drain, and they need not be pressurized, since gravity is sufficient to move the outgoing water at least as far as the street beneath our Plumbing on Maryland Ave homes. Dear Gadf!Y Staff, Readers, and Especially Thus the water that goes down the drain Residents of Maryland Avenue: upstairs, no matter how old the plumbing Ian McCracken, in his article on King in the building and no matter how negliProperties in the October 7th issue of the gent the landlord, has no opportunity to Gadffy, relates a story that he heard from a get into the pipes leading to our faucets former employee of the company. A resi- downstairs. dent of 2 Maryland Avenue, he tells us, once Even if an opening in the pipes leading found blue fluid in his bathtub, noted that to our faucets were somehow to become the level of this fluid rose while he was away, available to the water that has just gone and subsequently identified it as paint (pre- down an upstairs drain, the outward force sumably diluted in water) that had been of pressurized water would keep it out (and washed down the sink of one his neighbors the presence of puddles, and perhaps the upstairs. Mr. McCracken then formulates a sound of cascading water, would quickly hypothesis to save these phenomena, and notify the residents of the problem). this hypothesis is depicted in the presumThe blue water in the story cannot have ably staged and doctored photograph on the come out of the faucet, but must have come front page: "The water that went down [the up from the drain. Principles learned in the upstairs] sink drain ended upcoming out of freshman laboratory and perhaps the aid of the [downstairs] bathtub faucet." a simple diagram are all that one needs to Mr. McCracken perhaps thought that this see what forces are at work, here as most was the only way to understand the phe- anywhere else in residential plumbing. nomena since he does not identify his hyAs such, residents of 2 Maryland Avenue pothesis as being such, but rather presents have no more to fear from what comes out it as though it were itself one of the ob- of their faucets than the rest of us who use served phenomena. He suggests that King whatever water our municipality provides. Properties should "perform a radical reno- Those who fear contamination from the tub vation of the plumbing system" and that on the soles of their feet need only do as ..~e situation is "drastically unhealthy." He many residents of the dormitories who wear ;. exhorts the residents to "beware." · light and waterproof sandals into the show. . I hope that none of the residents of 2 ers. ~aryland Avenue, or any other tenants of Sincerely, ICing Properties, have so inconvenienced Robert Pollack ··· selves as to bathe only in places other their homes (or to stop bathing altoer!) for fear of their neighbors' sewage Letter to the Gods · g out of their showers. Dear Gadfly, The plumbing that delivers water into our The editors of the Gadffy are not flies, s and the plumbing that takes it out · they are gods. Gods, as we all know, tend ankfully, utterly distinct. The lines that to smite those hubristic mortals who dare water are, of course, pressurized. This to criticize the divine. (Sometimes with such cessary if water is to be pushed all the sarcastic questions as, "where were you when up multi-story buildings and to be I laid the foundation of the Earth and called cl out of faucets with force. Unless we forth the Gadffy?") all of our water to come from the I suppose I ought to explain myself, lest only the infallible ones in the Gadffy office understand what I am trying to say. Last week, the editors of the Gadffy wrote a sarcastic and undignified response to. a thoughtful, and well-intentioned letter by Mr. Gleysteen. My suspicion is that they did not in fact read his article. Mr. Gleysteen dealt with Ms. Townsend's article as a particular example of a trend that is unhealthy to a community of friends and learners. Ms. Townsend had concluded that those in charge of the library policy were doing us a "grave disservice" by the "limits imposed" on us of checking out only three books at a time over the summer. She seemed to have reached this conclusion after having talked with a "library attendant." If there are more substantial reasons for her conclusion, what are they? Mr. Gleysteen suggests that the defiant tone of her article was inappropriate and not justified by adequate evidence. Mr. Gleysteen goes on to suggest a more friendly and cooperative approach to changing the library policy. I do hope that we can all work together to allow us to check out more books over the summer. The response to "Mr. Glysteen" from the "collective heart" of the Gadffy editors was to rhetorically compare the library with King Properties (a current object of great disdain among students; a name with overtones of tyranny and injustice) and to thank him for saying that the Gadffy is doing it's job too well. I would hope that the collective heart of the Gadffy editors is not so hardened against well-intentioned critiques that they are closed to being improved. My assumption is that at heart, we all want this college community to be as good as it can be. To that end I hope that we are all willing to put in the necessary effort to make things better, including efforts of the library staff to improve the summer services. I commend the recent article by Mr. Brockett on Chilla's Grilla as a good example of an approach that will contribute to the healthy up-building of this community. In expectation of the editorial response, I've decided to conclude that The Gadffy editors are gods. This should nicely agree with their opinion of themselves and thus be accepted with good will and cheer. Hopefully by flattering such gods, they will forgive my transgressions and spare me from being smote with words in the pages of their infallible scriptures. Mark Ingham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 �What Do You Mean By Gadfly? Dear Gadfley, I am a very confused person and since this is not a good condition for me to be in, I am writing you to help to clear up some problems I have had over last week's issue, ·hoping to reduce my overall state of confusion by any small amount. First, who is Mr. Glysteen? Initially, I thought that perhaps you meant to write a response to Mr. Gleysteen's letter and had simply made a typographical error (twice), but I decided that that was unlikely since his name was printed very clearly, directly above the suspected misspelling. Furthermore, when I read the Editor's response and realized that it has nothing to do with Mr. Gleysteen's letter, it became abundantly obvious that the said response could not possibly be directed at him. Please tell me where I can find a copy of Mr. Glysteen's congratulatory letter to the Ga4f!J, since it does not appear in last week's issue, and I would like to read it. Second, I do not understand what you mean when you say, "A gadfly, any gadfly, should not be above stirring rhetoric ... " I looked up the word gadfly in the Oxford English Dictionary and discovered that it is a f!Y which bites and goads cattle. Despite the maxims of the Editor, it seems that gadflies are content to pester cattle without bothering with rhetoric. 'W'hen I saw no mention of rhetoric in the above definition, I looked up that word to make sure that rhetoric is not a type of cattle. The OED's definition of rhetoric loosely reads the art ofpersuasive or eloquent speaking. I would have had to conclude that there is no connection between a gadfly (or any gadflies) and rhetoric ifI had not thought of Socrates' description of himself in his Apology. This was an especially helpful insight since this newspaper was originally titled the Ga4f!J in memory of that famous passage (although now I think it is more of a satirical than an honorary appellation) and since the Editor's response seems to focus on the Ga4f!J qua newspaper and not qua insect. However, when I went to read Socrates' description of himself as a gadfly, I was dismayed once more to find no mention of rhetoric, but rather a description of a sort of rousing and upbraiding pest. Perhaps there is a sort of persuasiveness to be found in a gadfly, if incitement is persuasion. It lacks the elo- 4 quence of rhetoric, however, or so I think, and therefore I am still bewildered. I will not say anymore about Socrates' Apology, since I do not want to ruin it for those freshmen who do not know that he dies in a few weeks. Finally, who is this hermaphroditic "someone" who annually writes in to pester the Ga4f!J to live up to the days of Yore? If perhaps you could find and. silence him/ her, you could rid yourself of what sounds like a persistent upbraiding and sleep out the rest of your collective life. Sincerely, Blake Kiltoff We apologize for misspelling Mr. Gleysteen's name. We did not intend it as a joke-it was a simple error on ourpart. We also did not mean to misrepresent or disregard his letter-we are sorry for the confusion. We will use more discretion in our editorial comments in the future. A Follow-Up Dear Polity, All week, people have approached me, Mr. Gleysteen, to comment on my article and to express their confusion about the reaction that the Gadf!y had to it. I explained to them that I myself was having the same confusion until I had realized what had happened: rereading the Ga4f!Ys comments, I realized that they were not meant for me, but for a Mr. Glysteen. It all became so clear. The Gadf!y mistakenly placed their comments to him, which are obviously inappropriate with regards to my article, under mine because our names are so similar. However, I wanted to reassure everybody who read my article that my intentions were to caution the polity about excessive and unnecessary rhetoric; those intentions did not include commending this Gadf!y, or any Gadf!y, for publishing articles that use rhetoric appropriately, which is exactly what I foundwantinginMS Townsend'slibrarypolicyarticle. -Ed. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kudos to Mr. Glysteen on the Gadfly's approval, Eric Gleysteen Visit our kickin' SCI Minutes Minutes of October 23, 2003 the DC Minutes -~ HTML · ~ counterpart at: By Nora Kelleher SCI Secretary In attendance: Chair Ms. Delston, Secretary Ms. Kelleher, Sophomore Representatives Ms. Gilman, Mr. Stone, Junior Representatives Mr. Ingham, Mr. Lanier, Senior Representative Mr. Stalnaker. Also present: Mr. Armel, Mr. Brockett, Mr. Gates, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Sicco, Mr. Kiltoff, Mr. Vail Not in attendance: Senior Representative Ms. Townsend First on the agenda was Mr. Gates' presentation of a request for funding for the Eastem Orthodox study group. Mr. Gates explained that the group has fifteen members and has met four times so far. His request for $40.00 is to cover the cost of photocopies. After some suggestions for how to reduce his cost, the request was granted. Next, we reviewed the distribution of responsibilities in preparation for the Seminar on Seminars taking place Wednesday, Oct. 29 at8:30 pm. There was some discussion as to whether this is generally a good time for SCI seminars to take place. Ms. Gilman will be responsible for the food at the reception. We then discussed a need for an estimate of the number of people who will attend the Student-Tutor Potluck, which will be on Saturday, November 8 at 6:45 pm. This is needed in order to submit a request to serve alcohol at the occasion. The next issue on the agenda was to review the SCI charter, an annual duty. Ms. Delston . raised the only objection to the current charter, which began a heated debate. The suggestion involved changing the voting policy in order to include as voting members any student who has attended three consecutive SCI meetings. .·Ideas supporting the change included a convic-tion that this would promote the involvement .qf more students in SCI meetings and would :J?port the equality of representatives and . r students in SCI discussions. Criticisms a concem that this change would give false impression that voting is of central ce to the SCI and that it would give ts a privilege without the responsibili1: representatives have. The meeting without us having reached a decision. issue will be revisited at the next meeting. http://www.sjca.edu/users/ gadfly [DC Secretary Blake Gregory informed us last week that there would be no ''DC Minutes" this week. Here is an alternative to the regular ''M.inutes. "-Ed.] Corrections In the interview with Bob the Painter: - The Assistant Dean asked him to be a Senior Resident, not the Dean. - He has been here for seven years, but took three of those years off when his parents died. - He refereed football games; he did not "organize" them. Also, in the Chilla's Grilla article: Mr. Geannikis actually said, "shaking in [his] boots" not "shaking in the boots." By Thomas Jacobs Staff Writer 10/22/03 4:02 PM: Read title, author. Note acquaintanceship. 4:03 PM: Read words, "Motion to make full ... " 4:03:05 PM: Brief, unexpected nap. 4:10 PM: Pinched awake by fellow student. 4:11 PM: Motion to skip a couple minutes' worth of minutes. Seconded. Motion carnes. 4:12 PM: Read words, "Motion to make full ... " 4:12:05 PM: Brief, unexpected nap. 4:20 PM: Awoken by crash in coffee shop. Note to self: see a doctor RE: narcolepsy. 4:21 PM: Chat with friends RE: Leibniz reading for Thursday. 4:29 PM: Motion to finish DC Minutes. Seconded. Motion carries. 4:30 PM: Resolution to skip to the end. Seconded. Resolution carries . 4:31 PM: Read words, "Motion to make Objectivist Club an EVI." 4:33 PM: Pry remains of Gadfly from fireplace. N,ote to self: see a doctor. RE: burns . 4:34 PM: Motion to restrict my vernacular vocabulary during fire-ciders. Seconded . Cheers from fellow students. Motion carries. 4:36 PM: Secretly resolve to smack the next person who uses the word "Objectivist." Resolution passes. 4:40 PM: Glare at passing students, potential Objectivists. 4:42 PM: Smile at cute chick. 4:45 PM: Motion to recess. Lots to do: Leibniz to read, girl to flirt with. Note to self: keep an eye out for Objectivists. Tree continued from front page · : : : · : · the Mellon parking lot. The London Planetree is better able to survive in rainy climates than either of its progenitors, both of which suffer severely from anthracnose, a fungus which destroys their leaves until the warm, dry weather ofJune in tum kills it. Plane trees in general love warm temperatures and the wet soil of riverbeds. Freshmen and seniors, when reading the Phaedrusnext spring, will have occasion to think once more on a "very tall plane tree." They will want to recall the smooth, dappled bark with its circular designs, the broad, stretching branches, and the immense height of our own plane trees while reading. And we will all regret that the last hurricane to hit St. John's destroyed the willows which used to grow beside College Creek, thus removing from our collective imagination a living pictureof the description we all read (m the James Nichols translation of course): "Socrates: By Hera, this resting place is beautiful, to be sure! This plane tree is especiallywidespreading and tall, and the height and shade of the willow are altogether beautiful, and as its flowering is reaching its peak, it makes the place as sweet smelling as can be; and in addition, the stream flows most gracefully under the plane tree with especially cool water, by the testimony of my foot." . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �IKEA: Cheap Scandinavian Chic What could be more un-IKEA-like than Ingmar Bergman? Hayden Brockett does the Febbie Steve Swede-style. By Mary Townsend Inside News Editor Ikea is a store, as large as it is strange, where one can buy any number of things. It is sort of like its own land, in the sense that a theme park is a land. Its genesis and its principles come from Sweden. It is a huge building, about the size of three Home Depots, with a whole floor of show rooms, where the furniture is mainly set out as if in someone's home: someone's modish, Scandinavian home that could be in some fancy movie (but not at all by Ingmar Bergman). Many things are in bright, slightly off-kilter shades of green, blue, yellow, red, and orange; silver also makes a frequent appearance. The lower floor has plates, glasses, pots, wooden spoons, fabric, pillows, rugs, curtains, lamps; you must picture these ordinary things as all something that the J etsons would approve of, both in style and in gadgetry. Everynbject has a name: Habol, Morker, Vreten, Flaj, Sten, Ivar, Billy. The shopping carts have specially-designed wheels that allow the cart to move easily in any direction, even diagonally. All those who have ever tried to maneuver ordinary shopping carts, even those who have never knocked over a display, know what this means. The price scanner light shines in a moving geometrical figure. There are free 6 cookies in the kitchen displays; these cookies are very good. Ikea is the place to go if you want to buy reasonably well-made furniture that is not at all expensive, and don't mind it looking rather futuristic. The customers are of many nationalities; you will hear Spanish but also modem Greek, German but also Arabic. Various coverings for women of various religions are also to be seen. There not being much space in Sweden, apparently, there are many kinds of clever storage compartments, shelves, shallow closets, neat ways to hang your clothes in your room and have it look cool. Foolish knick-knacks there are, to be sure; but many things possess attributes of startling utility. It's easy to for the imagination to be carried away by the mod-Swedish surroundings. All those geometrical lines and almost punk colors make the appearance of another person almost a shock-the human beings one imagines using these rooms would have to be a whole lot more cool than the ones you see around you inhabiting bodies. To hear the checkout ladies gossiping in rhythmic slang put things back in proportion; it was still hard, however, to shake the temporary belief in a newer, cleaner modem world. In the living room area, I saw Jackson O'Brien '04 and a friend of his not from the . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . College. He was there to buy things for KWP's production of the Misanthrope. He said that he wanted the set to be decorated in "disaffected Manhattan." He had come to Ikea since it was cheap, and he could sell the things he bought afterwards to raise money. Now this must be the kind of thrifty thinking that gains the Delegate Council's high repute. I went to the plant section next, which contained many plants I have never before seen, and that do not make up any part of the New York Times Guide to Houseplants from 1976 that I found in West Virginia during Long Weekend. Nor did I recognize them from my days of window-washing at the Flaumenhafts. My first fairly simple~minded thought was that they must be Swedish plants, but a quick recourse to the science of geography convinced me otherwise. The plants seemed mainly tropical in constitution, which would preclude their being native to that country. At this point, it was time for dinner. Not surprisingly, there is a cafetetia where you can buy Swedish food. Fifteen Swedish meatballs, gravy, two potatoes, and some preserved lindenberries cost six dollars. My friend had Swedish apple-cake. An Indian lady in a beautiful sari next to me in line had two large plates of French fries with gravy. After dinner, I picked up the long flat box my new bathroom shelf was in at the dock, and rolled it to my car on a low-lying cart that possessed the same easy-moving properties the ordinary shopping cart had. had. I took it down this flat escalator, which had this surface that was made of a material that exactly interlocked with the wheels of the cart, which kept it from rolling down the incline. Standing on the back of the cart, I thought I would take advantage of the momentum I had gained, and speed off the escalator once I reached the floor. But the Ikea engineers had out-smarted me again. The escalator curves down into a trough before curving up onto the floor. But I made up for my disappointment by racing another cart in the parking garage.No one told me to stop, for which I was grateful. There is an Ikea store in Baltimore, and one opened recently in College Park. According to the official DC Metro website, the College Park store can be reached by a combination ofMetro and MetroBus. So as long as you can make it to New Carrollton, you can get to Ikea, though you might have trouble if you bought any furniture that came in a very heavy box. The store is only thirty minutes by car, however, and you don't have to spend more than five miles on the Beltway. Perhaps Mr. Baisch might be persuaded to drive the Polity van over one day. This is a long shot, though, so good luck catching a ride to New Carrollton. CROSSWORD Across Down 1. Vertical spar 5.Seraglio 10. Hunchbacked helper 11. Worship 12. Store for later use 13. Ischemia result 14. Accelerated climax 16. "Take On Me" group 17. Medieval instruments 21. Four-wheeled carriage 23. Give gratuitously 24. Not empirical 26.Alert 29. Cut a little 30. Bolivian capital 31.I'mone 32. Specific elsewhere l3. Hitler's deputy 1. Mass reference 2. Hercule creator 3. Poetic ruler 4.Comer 5. Arrogance 6. Off-the-cuff response 7. Sinbad transport · 8. Previous to 9. Maid starter 15. Swinging act 18. Star in Dijon 19.Arena 20. Makes alcoholic 22. Senegalese capital 25. Creep slowly 26. First octave above treble 27.Panda 28.Mttnic By Ian McCracken Executive Editor 6 7 8 9 30 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 i �Ask Us! Balkcom Resigns Nelson Does Double Duty his own words, Mr. Balkcom resolved "to blow the whistle on [him]self," after he reportedly The shocking news came last June-Mr. found that he wasn't capable of John Balkcom, the well-liked President of St. performing all the duties of the John's College Santa Fe for the past three years Presidency in a manner with which would resign on· September first of this year. he was comfortable. 'There are clues your body gives The Gadj!J article reporting this news comes you," Mr. Balkcom was quoted as nearly two months late-I first said I would write this article a little before Mr. Balkcom's saying by the Santa Fe New Mexican official resignation date. The story is however in June. ''I've lost a lot of sleep." still fresh, as it were, since although most people Mr. Nelson told the Gadf!yin Sepknow that Mr. Nelson is currently serving as tember that Mr. Balkcom did not President of both campuses, they may not expect to find the responsibilities know the circumstances behind his doing so. of a President to be as broad as Mr. Balkcom was selected the year before they are. "I just decided that somethe current seniors arrived. He took the office thing more was needed for this job of the departing President, Mr. John Agresto, that I can't provide," Mr. Balkcom a successful businessman and "anA-1 conser- has said. [Ihe Gadf!J has not spovative nut," according to a knowledgeable ken directly with Mr. Balkcom for source. A product of the National Review's this story.] While no one doubts the truth and other such conservative institution's misof the account given above, some placed but ardent love for St. John's, Mr. Agresto earned the ire of Santa Fe's students have speculated on whether anyby trying to browbeat them into morality. (It thing exacerbated Mr. Balkcom's is often heard in Annapolis that they need help troubles. Mr. Nelson acknowlin that department, but the question is how edges that Mr. Balkcom was a very to give it.) The controversy over banned par- adept fundraiser for the College ties and a new security force highlighted Mr. and that he felt comfortable representing the Agresto's importation of a political dogma, school to the outside world. Conflicts internal which, while claiming to have the same goals to the school were cited, however, in the New and grounding as does St. John's, proved ul- Mexican story, which quoted some Board timately too unexamined and too rigid to fit members and self-described friends of Mr. in here, at least as a public administrative policy. Balkcom. The confrontational and alarmist The search for a replacement consequently took tone of the article, written by Ms. Anne Conplace in an atmosphere of great tension at the stable and a former Santa Fe student Mr. Warcollege, with the Board of Visitors and Gov- ren Honaberger, was aggravated by the shrill ernors at some times split over whom to hire. words of some of its sources, many of whom It came as a great relief, therefore, when Mr. criticized the way the school is run. All quoted Balkcom took office. A Santa Fe GI alumnus praised Mr. Balkcom, Mr. Owen Lopez going and founder of a corporate consulting busi- so far as to say that he was "the best president ness, he brought an easy, humble manner and this campus has ever had, and I've known honest eagerness to the job. Students and fac- them all." But there were some newer memulty members alike admired his openness and bers of the Board who thought that too much genuine concern for the good of the school. power is vested in the Dean and Instruction Many fondly remember him inviting students Committee, to the detriment of the President's to shower at his home last year when a water position and Mr. Balkcom's satisfaction with main broke on campus. Furthermore, he was it. Both Mr. Nelson and lvfr. Balkcom have generally well regarded for respecting the lim- denied this claim. Along the same lines, however, the rumor its to the President's powers as outlined in the among students in Santa Fe is that other internal Polity, the founding document of the College. So why did Mr. Balkcom decide to leave? tensions are at least partly to blame for Mr. According to Mr. Nelson, "there was quite Balkcom's departure. One senior told the Ga4f!y a bit of self-knowledge in the decision." In that in Santa Fe "there are a lot of [staff mem- The Gadfly used to run a weekly column cal!ed "Ask ~s!" Stude~ts would send in their questions, and the authors of the column, who varied, would do their best to answer them by the next week. Here are some entries you might appreciate: By Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor 8 Q: If the Donner Party was Jewish, what would they do? Are humans kosher? -:-Anonymous A: In Judaism, the term ''kosher" is not used exclusively for ritually edible food. The expression can even be applied to people. Acceptable witnesses are called edim k'sherim; adam kasher is an upright, proper, observant Torah Jew. However, it's regarding food that ''kosher" or "non-kosher'' is encountered most often. I assume you want to know if people, as food, are kosher. The Torah (Leviticus Chapter 11) lists the characteristics of permitted mammals and fish, and enumerates the forbidden fowl. The only mammals permitted are those that chew their cud (ruminants) and are clovenhooved. Humans are mammals (duh), so the Donner Party, had they been law-abiding Jewish people, would not have eaten each other. -Brian Thorpe '01 John Balkcom in happier times. hers] who have been there for a long time," and who have grown out of touch with the college's needs. Mr. Balkcom was said to have been frustrated in his efforts to make some offices run more smoothly, which supposedly contributed to his departure. Students frequently use the word "administration'' to describe those who came into conflict with Mr. Balkcom. The usage is of course strange, since the college's Presidentwould seem to rank first among that murky group, and it testifies to the rumor's possible untruth. But ifit were to have a partial grasp on the truth, this rumor would raise the troubling specter of a President of St. John's College, well-liked by the students and faculty, having his decision to leave hastened by the attitudes of college employees The search for a replacement for Mr. Balkcom is on. The College has hired a professional re-, cruitment company to come up with a long list of names of possible candidates. A committee consisting of President Nelson, both Deans.~ ulty representatives, and Board representa~ will then winnow that list, eventually comi:ogtlp. with a small number of people to int~. Whomever they chose will have a difficult time filling the shoes of Mr.John Balkcom. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Q: Which way is shorter from the top of Francis Street-the Maryland Avenue route or the State Circle route? -Nate Carpenter, Melissa Coleman, and Matt Calise A: If you just want the quickest way to campus period, the State Circle way is slightly faster. Of course that way you end up on the edge of campus by the library. If you are going tp the Coffee ~hop or quad, you want to go up Maryland Avenue. -Paige Postlewait '01 Q: Who is John Galt? -Mark Alznauer and Bob Dickson, '00 A: Howard Roark laughed. Q: My ears are fine. How come I can't hear emergency vehicles when I'm tooling around on the highway-even if they go right by me in the other direction? -Chip Morrison A: Aw, Chip. P.P. A: I found some guy on the web who actively collects and restores old police car sirens. He lost his legs in an auto accident because a police car, in hot pursuit of another car, hit him. Weird. B.T. A: The typical recommendation for athletes s that they take in 2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight. This will form 15 to 20 percent of their daily caloric intake. Various sources suggest that the body will not absorb much more than this. As for the kidneys, who knows? I mean that. The experts are "unclear'' as to what long-term damage is caused by excessive protein. :i 'i Q: I would like to know exactly who is down with O.P.P. If possible, I would like a complete list of names, but, if that should prove impractical, I would surely be content with a number. -M.E.M. Maguire II A: What? Are you kidding? Every last lady and all the homies are down with O.P.P. I think that's everyone. Do you still want me to count? I Q: How much protein can a human absorb in 24 hours? How much can a human absorb before it destroys their kidneys? Does excess protein really hurt your kidneys? These are just some fascinating examples of what an Ask Us! column can be. Would you like to see this idea revived? Tell us! Drop the Gadfly a note in Campus Mail, or talk to any of the staff members you might happen to know. The St. John's College Waltz Committee announces The Parents' Weekend and Halloween Waltz Costume contest at midnight! $20 individual $50 group The Great Hall Saturday, 10:30 pm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 I, I I �! ,/ Night of the Panther By Webster Ye Staff Writer On Friday night at 8:00 PM, Apple Computer released its newest iteration of the Mac OS: Mac OS X 10.3 aka Panther. I attended the Night of the Panther event at the Apple Store Clarendon (in Arlington, VA) that night, and it was an amazing sight. The Apple Store has two giant Apple logos, which when lightened, resembled some sci-fi pagan temple. I got there at about 8:15, and the line outside the door had over 1000 people in it. This intrepid reporter decided that it was far more prudent to camp out in the nearby Barnes & Noble and wait out the crowds. It was about 11 o'clock at night before the line finally vanished inside the store, and when B & N kicked me out because it was closing time. I joined the lingering crowd outside, and waited my turn to get my hands on the holiest of holies: a copy of Mac OS X Panther. Unfortunately, the line inside was even more insane than outside, resembling that of a Tokyo subway station at rush hour, as people jostled for computer equipment and the (slim) chance to win a prize from the beaming Apple Store employees. It took an additional thirty minutes before I could wade through the crowds and get away with a copy of the software. Happily, the extreme wait was worth it, as this reporter can attest that Panther kicks Windows a** to an even higher degree. If you have a Mac, you should get it; if you have a Windows computer, think highly of getting a Mac. It costs $69 with an educational discount ($129 normally), and it can be installed on any Mac sold within the last four years. Exactly zero computer viruses have attacked Mac OS X, so Mac users don't ever have to worry about the Nimda or Blaster viruses. Panther improves on this by giving Mac users even 10 more security features. (such as the FileVault feature, which encrypts your data with a 128bit encryption key, making it nearly impossible for somebody to break in and see your computer files). Moreover, Panther has an incredible amount of enhancements and Finder improvements. Eager Mac users queue up for their Panther. In terms of coolness, Panther's most important feature is a new anti-window-clutter item called Expos. When you press a certain keystroke (of your choosing), all windows in all programs visibly shrink and array themselves across the screen like non-overlapping tiles. You just click the one you want to bring it forward at full size. This visual method of plucking a window from a haystack is so bril- Fireciders! It's that time of year again! Every Wednesday at 3:30 pm, the Dean invites the students, tutors, and staff to gather around the hearth in the Coffee Shop for refreshments, fire-gazing, and conversation. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . liant and addictive, you'll wind up using it dozens of times a day. Expos is easily the best way for finding one open computer window out of the many, and far more intuitive than any Windows method of finding a specific window. Mac users can also directly edit Microsoft Word documents with the built-in text editor (TextEdit), and save into the .doc format. Any Mac user who has the money should get Panther, simply because its like getting a new computer for sixty-nine dollars. It's that good. On a side note, the iTunes music softWare came out for Windows last week. Its a free download, and brings to the Windows side a mp3 player that beats out Windows Media Player and WinAMP. It can rip, mix, and burn songs, and it allows Windows users to use the iTunes Music Store, where single songs costs $0.99 and albums cost around $9.99. The 450,000 songs provide a wide variety of genres, and are of excellent sound quality. iTunes is a great music program. You can easily organize all your music, and the best thing about it is that it is free. All Windows 2000/ XP users should download this excellent music management software. How Can We Make the Most of Friday Night Lecture? I By Josh Weinstein Good Guy us felt quite like an abbreviated and stylized retelling of Milton's epic. Where another lecturer may have tricked out his thoughts with When someone turns to you after lecture and prominent inferential gear, Ms. Honeywell was asks what you thought, what comes to mind? more apt to display hers in carefully selected An image, questions, elation, a flashy word or observations and explicative descriptions phrase, claims with which you agree or disagree, made in the flow of Milton's narrative. These a vague sense of boredom or disappointment. rhetorical choices left her lecture with an unWhat if someone then asked you if you got derstated quality. So understated, in fact, that what you came for? some students with whom I spoke about the We oftenknowneitherwhywe go to lecture, lecture (and who had read Paradise Los!) felt nor what to do when we're there. So we often that Ms. Honeywell really hadn't said much. end up listening to the lecture passively, relying Others like myself had latched onto a claim or more or less on the lecturer to craft our experi- question or two. To what extent had we parence of the lecture for us. Thus docile, our expe- ticipated in the lecture's thinking-through? Ms. Claudia Honeywell riences may range anywhere from being swept How could we have made more of it? up into the lecture's rhetoric as wide-eyed and Writing this article has been an experiment one from the other. I thought that the style thoughtless spectators to falling into disinterest for me. Since I agree with Mr. Harrell that any of last Friday's lecture presented a distinctive if the lecture's rhetoric fails to captivate us. Last effort to review the lecture must inherently challenge along these very lines. I suppose we'll week Mr. Harrell wrote that lecture gives us an misconceive the event, I wanted to know see whether this effort was itself misconceived, opportunity to participate in the thinking-some- whether examining the ways in which lectures or whether there is a way of writing about thing-through that someone else conducts. What present their thoughts could bring us closer lecture that works with its overall aim to help does this mean, and how can we do it? to their content by helping us distinguish the us become better lecture participants. If we go to lecture to participate in another's thinking-through, then rather than merely being moved by the lecture's delivery, we must move ourselves to examine what it delivers. To be participants or active spectators we must penetrate beyond the mere spectacle of the lecture: within what we hear we must-like that shrewd Augustine--extractwhatis said from how it is said, because this ''what"-element contains the lecture's .. tlrinking-through. It is clear enough how to follow its thinking-through when a lecture marks fuewaywith a clearly articulated thesis, problem, ~question, and a trail of discourse cues signal·~ the premises and conclusions through which .it moves. But what about those lectures that i>n't offer such amenities to their would-be par. ts? We are the recent recipients of just such ·Lt.st Friday Ms. Honeywell took us on a tour Paradise Lost, smoothly blending quotation, · and interpretation as she brought us the text. For the most part, she folthe sequence of Milto.n's narrative in pro. through her five thematic sections, rather a prolonged inquiry or argument ce of her own. In fact, her transitions the text and her interpretations were so s that the distinction between the two to blur. the experience into which she drew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 11 i1 i I I: I ,I '' '!I �A Man for Nineteen Seasons John Stockton: Twelfth Greatest American Ever By Anderson Tallent A&E Editor On February 1, 1995, -Tolill. Stockton surpassed Magic Johnson as the NBA's all-time assists leader. Then, he played in all but eighteen games for the next eight years, averaging about nine assists per game for those years. After the game in question, the soft-spoken Stockton directed a flock of eager reporters to interview teammate Karl "The Mailman" Malone (he delivers!) instead of him, since, as Stockton put it, "It's Karl who scores all the points." Suchmodestyis characteristic of Stockton, who also leads the NBA in steals and games played for the same team. Assists, steals, games with the same team-three categories that are crucial, underrated, and eminently cool, that require intellect, imagination, and a love for the good of the team, instead of emphasizing vainglory and personal ambition. Night after night, Stockton did whatever it took to win, for nineteen seasons, in seventeen of which he played every single game. If it weren't for the necessary distinction of an example from a definition, the words "John Stockton" and "Team Player" would be synonymous. Stockton, a native of Washington State, and an alumnus of Spokane's Gonzaga University, played nineteen seasons as starting point guard for the Utah Jazz. His jumpshot might not have been the prettiest, its nearly flat trajectory the fruit of a childhood spent practicing endlessly in the lowraftered gym of St Aloycius Preparatory School Nevertheless, it was effective, earning a .515% lifetime field-goal percentage (fourth-highest ever among guards) and an incredible .826% freethrow percentage. Though he never played on an NBA championship team, Stockton participated in the playoffs in all nineteen of his seasons. He also helped America capture gold medals for hoops in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. 12 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . When I was in sixth grade, I earned the coveted starting point guard spot, and hence became team captain, for the All Souls Schoofs Bears JV Basketball team. As captain, first choice of jersey number fell to me: what else would I have chosen but twelve, the same numberwom by my beloved hero John Stockton? Stockton should be higher on this list than twelfth, much higher, but he himself would likely scom such praise. The number he chose for himself was 12, not 1, 2 or 5. Why number twelve? Because that's how many assists he averaged per game in high school? No. 'Cause that's how many months of the year his season lasted? Closer. It's because of something that Stockton, like all great point guards, felt pulsing in his veins: the life of his team. There are twelve men on a basketball team. After all, when Stockton left the floor in the closing minutes of his final game, amid a flood ofhearty cheers, he turned around, and, instead of waving in grateful acknowledgement of the support, hushed the crowd. The crowd was silent 'The game wasn't over, they shouldn't have been cheering yet." Therefore, we will let John Stockton's career statistics speak for themselves, as evidence of his place as one of the fifteen greatest Americans. - During his career, named NBA Player of the Week six times and Player of the Month once (February 1988). - Selected in 1996 as one of the "SO Greatest Players in NBA History." - NB.A's all-time leader in assists (15,806) and in steals (3,265). - Two-time All-NBA First Team selection (1993-94 and 1994-95), six-time All-NBA Second Team selection (1987-90, 1991-92, 199293, and 1995-96), and three-time All-NBA Third Team selection (1990-91, 1996-97, 199899). - Five-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection (1988-89, 1990-92, 1994-95, 1996-97). - Ten-time NBA All-Star selection who played in nine consecutive games from 1989 to 1997, averaging 7.8 ppg, 8.2 apg and 1.67 spg. - Named co-MVP with teammate Karl Malone of the 1993 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, dishing out 15 assists, with nine points and six rebounds. - Holds the league record for most seasons with the same franchise (19; 1984-85 through 2002-03). - Finished the 2002-03 season with 19, 711 points. - Ranks second on the NB.A's all-time list in games played (1,504). - Broke John Havlicek's record of 1,270 games played with one franchise when he suited up for the Jazz vs. Detroit on 11/26/ 00. - Played in every game in 17 of his 19 seasons. - Missed only four games in his first 13 . NBA seasons, all in 1989-90, before missing the first 18 games of the 1997-98 season w · recovering from off-season left kne arthroscopic surgery. - Played in 609 consecutive games from 2 13/90 through 4/20/97, the eighth-lo streak in NBA history. - Holds record for most seasons le league in assists (nine, 1987-88 through 19 96), most assists in a single season (1,164 1990-91), and highest single-season a ' per-game average (14.5 in 1989-90). -Accounted for seven of the nine s of 1,000 or more assists in league hi (Kevin Porter and Isiah Thomas) and po the top four single-season assist totals. - Served up the 15,000th assist of his at Houston on 3/10/02. - Became the all-time NBA steals leader in a 112-98 victory over the Boston Celtics on 2/ 20/96, breaking Maurice Cheeks' record of 2,310. - Led the NBA in steals in 1988-89 (3.21 spg) and 1991-92 (2.98 spg). - Finished 2002-03 with a career field-goal percentage of .515, the fourth-best percentage by a guardin NBA history behind Lewis Lloyd (.524), Maurice Cheeks (.523) and Magic Johnson (.520). - Participated in the NBA Playoffs in all 19 of his seasons. -Appearedin the 1997and1998NBAFinals against the Chicago Bulls, averaging 12.3 ppg, 8.8 apg, and 2.0 spg, while shooting .495 (55-111) in 12 contests. - Hit the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in a 103-100 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game Six of the 1997 Western Conference Finals to propel the Jazz to their first trip to the NBA Finals. - Matched the NBA Playoffs single-game record with 24 assists against the L.A. Lakers in Game Five of the 1988 Western Conference Semifinals. - A member of the men's basketball "Dream Team" that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and the 1996 Dream Team that won gold in Atlanta. •••••••••••••••••••••• • • ·carmina~ • • Burana • November 15, 8 pm : Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts Passion, Sex, Romance, and Fate! Join the Chorale and Chamber Orchestra for Carl Orff's powerful work that blends 12th-century secular ppetrywith 20th-century music. Exciting, and sometimes a :little scandalous, "Carmina Burana" is ·one of the most popular concert works the repertoire. • • • • • • • • • • • : • • • : • : • as where to eatin Napptown and exciting events and volunteer opportunities. There are a few projects still at the drawing board this year, inHello, vegans, vegetarians, and anyone who cluding a presentation on vegan and vegetarian is trying to date an individual who may fit into nutrition and possible involvement with Food one of the preceding categories: Not Bombs or other vegetarian-friendly volunI would like to tell you about the Veg*n (the teer organizations. I'm also looking forward to * standing for the letters one would fill in to some potlucks and restaurant trips. Lately, I've spell either vegan or vegetarian) club here at SJC. been talking with Ryan Varnum of Parkhurst We'reafairlynew about how we can club, started just make the food betlastyearwith the ter for veg*ns on intention of campus. I'd like to bringing people add that he's easy together to proto talk to, very mote veg*n inopen to suggesterests on camtions (especiallyrecipus. The purpes), and that he's pose of having a certified Dean an organization Ornish (you know, is to make it "Eat More, Weigh easier for each of Less) chef-so he us to find supknows aboutwhat port for projects veg*ns eat. Talk to Fed up with meat and to have him. greater access to information. The more people we have involved in this In the past, we have worked together to im- group, the better it runs. I encourage you to tell prove dining hall selection, hosted potlucks to me your ideas or if you'd like to be involved in teach the polity about how to cook veg*n food any way. We'll have a meeting sometime, but (and whatwe eatin the first place), taken trips to you may also contact me by campus mail or at vegan restaurants in DC, sold hard-to-find ve- Amys_Alcibiades@yahoo.com. I send out gan products (like vegan gummy bears!), pro- emails from time to time to let any interested moted discussion about the purposes and im- party know what's going on---if you'd like to plications of a meatless diet, and spread infor- receive mailings, please let me know. mation that may be of interest to vegans, such Be a Volunteer Wrapper wrap a pretry package or wouldyou like to learn how? The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation GDRF) is looking for volunteer "wrappers". November 28th-December 24th. • • Volunteers are needed and we'd love to have you! Please call Gerry Borger at 301-365-5814 to schedule a shift. Thank you in advance for your kind support of JDRF. . ••••••••••••••••••• • 1 Visit the website: www.jdrfwrappers.org Click ''View Calendars" then "Westfield Shoppingtown Annapolis" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY I 11 JDRF will conduct its Holiday Gift Wrap at Westfield Shoppingtown Annapolis from kkets are $27 /adults and $13 /students. • up rates available. 410-263-1906. ... r By Amy Taylor Staff Writer Can you • • • • • • • Calling all Vegans, Vegetarians 13 I' I I i �I Gadfly Funny Papers SWimmin Wonder Monke [aura, vb; do ynu makamewesr 1hese stupid t-shlrts? ~ERE~,. ~eirv6E1b /'\{(. W*ES1"~S Pla:EA&vr"~UN)S M·· · NI\> A RE.Sfot'SE '"R> '1"'\E ft.E~~oNSf. •.. HEil(~ /. lULY To A Cf'.l1)<:\S'M Gt::' A- roEM 1lW" MPEH. ~ Et> .,... \00 WEel< s "Go ...M) fl ""1t"11Dfl Of A l£PLY' 'f'• 'ftt~ MStbN$C$ 1"o A CM"\ Oil-·· \ __....... I Eexlebots MEET•- THE TROLL (PART 3 oF 7 Boathouse Classified By Greg "Rook'' Singer Staff Writer To Be Or Not To Be ... Title: Project Bigfoot Title: The Rising Log Line: Centers on a monster : Log Line: On graduation weektruck which has its own distinct · end, five graduate students are : trapped in their project building personality. . as they are hunted by family and · friends who have been turned in : bloodthirsty savages bent on kill· ing them. Title: TheMagicianofSyracuse Title: Let's Get Francis : Log Line: Centers on the life and · death of Archimedes, whose : amazing war engines helped defend the city of Syracuse while it : was besieged by the Romans. · : Log Line: Set during the holiday · season, two hamster brothers,Joe : and Francis, vie for the attention of customers inside a pet store in : a bustling mall. When a little gid · decides that Joe must be hers, : Francis runs away in a jealous fit, · prompting the ragtag crew ofloyal · : pets to embark on an impossible · mission to save their friend. Last Week's False Answer: The Au 14 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fayaway: Single,lonelywhite cabin cruiser sailboat in search of adventurous, fun-loving Johnnie boy, girl, or both! Size= 21 ft long. No experience with sailboats is needed; I'll teach you everything you need to know about how to use me and make me go. And don't worry about a long-term relationship--just take me out for a couple hours after class, or maybe a weekend quickie. So now do you want to get yourself tangled up in my rigging? Or maybe just enjoy riding my hull? It doesn't matter to me what you want to do, but I wantyou to have a taste of what I've got. If you're interested, meet me at the boathouse when I'm available. And bring your friends, too. I like it better that way. Fayaway's Boathouse Hours: Monday- 2:30-6:00 Tuesday- 4:00-6:00 Wednesday- 4:00-6:00 Thursday- 2:30-4:00 Friday- 3:00-6:00 Saturday-1:00-4:00 . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 15 1 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 Kuvat Soccer Review Mitchesson Scores One for Her Own Kind By Natalie Rinn Staff Writer An abbreviated dinner hour at Cafe Randall last Tuesday forced a similarly abbreviatedKunai match-up. To make a short story shorter, the Brick House/Bas Bleusv. Teen Girl Squad/Maroon Monsoon (Blue v. Red) game was, in two words: muggy, scoreless. As a side note to Tuesday's game, the Kunai wish to recognize the newest member of the prestigious Kunai fanclub, l\1r. Robert Abbott, for his unflagging viewing of the game, choosing Kunai viewing pleasure even over Thucydides. On to Friday's game. Itis true that Ms. Rebecca Mitchesson scored for her own team. Is this shocking? Yes. Why? While it was not officially the first time that Ms. Mitchesson scored, it was in fact the first to benefit her own team. Though nobody 1 Mr. Morbey plays soccer by just doing the simple things well-like making a good, crisp pass to the open man, for example. And on the gridiron, Mr. Morbey plays with non-stop hustle aµd enthusiasm. For his solid, allaround play this fall, Mr. Morbey is named Athlete of the Week for the men. Play of the Week: The Hustler football squad's score on the opening kickoff against the Guardians featuring a bomb from Mr. D. Russell, student, to Mr. ]. Smith, tutor, who caught the ball skillfully over his shoulder and then rumbled 40 yards into the end zone for a score. N0 t es By Leo Pickens Athletic Director ''It is not the same to talk of bulls as to be in the bullring." Spanish Proverb Athlete of the Week honors for the women this week goes to Miss Courtney May, who plays for Bas Bleu in the women's league and for the Druids in the men's league. Miss May executes some of the sweetest touches on the ball that can be seen in either league, and she plays with intelligence and cool grace. She also refs a mean game to boot. On the men's side of things, I have long admired the way the Guardians' 16 claimed openly that her goal for the other team some weeks back was a seditious one, as she remainedin scoring-debtuntilFriday's ma1ch, this underground theory could not be comfortably discarded Throughout the several games following the event in question, Ms. Mitchessonmanaged to save face by producing some admittedly outstanding defensive performances. Also, in a further attempt to give Ms. Mitchesson the benefit ofthe doubt, her usual residence at defensive stopper does not lend to a great deal of scoring opportunities. Even so, Ms. Mitchesson's Bas Bleus teammates, as well as Kunaiin general, were not altogether ready to call her ''loyal'' to the Blue cause. With the advent of Friday's match-up, however, the tides of suspicion towards Ms. Mitchesson's deepest alle.giancewere finally turned After two goals-as-usual by freshmen Ms. Cone You Make the Call No one answered last week's puzzler correctly. It is legal to throw the ball in against an opponent's back, provided that it is done in a sportsmanlike fashion. And now for this week's question: Can a throw-in be made from a kneeling position? First one to me with the right call goes to the bookstore on me. (Leave your answer at x2558.) Natalie Rinn off the field. and Ms. Grodotzke of team Maroon Monsoon/ Teen Girl Squad (Team Red), Ms. Mitchesson decided, at long last, to dispel any remaining doubt concerning her allegiance. Teammate Ms. Rlnn, deciding to conduct a bit of a test, set Ms. : Mitchesson up with a make-or-break scoring op. portunityinfrontofTeamRed'snet Totherelief : of all present, Ms. Mitchesson converted the pass · and scored, putting the ball into her opponent's net : rather than her own. Ms. Mitchesson was thereaf. terwelcomedinto the open arms ofrelieved team: mates. Two Blue goals later (and one beautiful assist : by freshman Minnesotan, Ms. Freya Thompson), · the game resided at a stable score of 3-2, team. : Blue, until the game's final moments. This · changed, ho~er, when the game's MVP and : annual pumpkin award winner, senior Kristi. ~ · Meador of team Red, decided against allowing ,\i : her team to suffer its would-be loss, and con. verted a rebound into Blue's net Not more thaa : 1.7 seconds later, Mr. Pickens, blew the game · ingwhistle (and suspiciously so, as Blue goal : Ms. Habegger might add). Thus, merely one · of many recent Kunai ties was completed. : game-standing at 3-3 with Ms. Meador's · . lous last moment goal . Be sure to stop by the lower field today (TI . day) and Friday to catch your last chance of · 2003 Kunai soccer season and to witness · amazing soccer feats. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 9 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-10-28 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 9 of The Gadfly. Published October 28, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 # 9 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/e5fcb5b7813826231601e364f43affbd.pdf 3b450b18f93d329846a3febd73b4c5a8 PDF Text Text THE A FLY The St. Johns College Student Weekf'y Volume )()(V, Issue 10 Annapolis, Maryland November 4, 2003 Black Ball: Middies, Fairy Queens, Brocketts by EI"Vin Romero Staff \-Vriter z ! fi: ~ ~ 12 ~ f>~erPandanceswithworldsyoungest,shorteslmiddie. This past Saturday the waltz committee hosted the greatest Halloween extravaganza ever. I don't know if was all done to impress the parents, but the costume waltz ball was simply marvelous. Kudos should be given out quite liberally to all who took part in the spectacle. "I saw people dancing. It was unusually bright in most senses of the word bright," said Jordan Gannon, star of stage and local press. Maybe it was because of the celebrities or the music or the costumes, but it seemed like everyone came out for this waltz party. There were students, parents, alums, even an exmiddie could be seen prancing around. And right around midnight, when all the champagne had been drunk, when all the glass slippers had been lost, and when all the Geritol had worn off, everyone left. Oh, it was magical. .. magical indeed. The best part was the costume contest hosted by the Chilla himself. That's right; Erikk Geannikis charmed the crowd with his wit and infectious gaiety as he crowned the winners of the singles and group costume prizes. In a lemony twist of delicious irony, our very own fairy queen Libby Durham gloriously won the singles contest with her "normal person" costume consisting of some sort of fur coat and suede pants. Not to be outdone, Mr. Hayden Brockett enlisted the help of his family and friend to take away the group prize as "the Four Ages of Hayden." It wasn't easy either. He had to rock-paper-scissors his way out of a tie with Mr. Berrier, Mr. ErkenB:rack, and Ms. Gregory, who were stunningly attired as, get this, Catholic school girls! Talk about fairy queens!!! Vishal was dressed like a pimp. I don't know if it was a costume, but it was off the chains, yo. Speaking of pimps, Tom Jacobs and the rest of the crew were at hand to the delight of all the ladies, young and old. And a middie might have lost his hat. All in all, I hear it was a great party. Maybe I'll go out for the next one, but I can't help to think that there will never be another one quite like it. That's what I get for listening to Mother. Rats. Parents' Weekend: Forced Family Fun ~ :::!Jfat'.SCJJtce. As students waited arL'6.ously for their a.i.-rival at the place of registration, others l&~~.po:nU•ere'd the ramifications on their secluded the mere fact that parents would sit in some ' .ssc:s brought out a previously neveru.rst of activity in tutorial; while others Y contemplated the number of books ther su._ndry items they could purchase using parental credit cards; and even more for.ward to logging some family time. At the same time, many were very an,'lious at the prospect of"forced funily fun," especially those Johnnies who are smokers, but whose parents don't know yet. The campus was beset by generational images of currentJoh1111ies, ai:i.irruige perhaps best exemplified by the "Four Ages of Hayden" in the Halloween Waltz Party. Many were also treated to the continued on page 3 Tutor Interview, Page 4 ~ Stem Cells, Page 10 . · • Kat Pisha and mother. Board R.eports, Page 12 �Gadfly Mailbox Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene Executive Editor Ian McCracken Production Managers A&E Editor Martin Anderson Anderson Tallent Melissa Thomas Layout Shoshana Goldstein Inside News Mary Townsend Business Manager Outside News Hayden Brockett Katy Courtright Sports Editor Mike Malone Contributing to this Issue Robert Abbott Elihu Dietz Erikk Geannikis Tobin Herringshaw Marilyn Higuera Samuel Huckins David E. Patterson Leo Pickens Sasha Robins Ervin Romero Anna Rubin Mary Ruffin Anna Schall Adam Schulman Beth Siekiera Jen Silgals David Townsend Laura Traina Stewart Umphrey Christopher B. Utter John Verdi Webster Ye Speciol thanks to Webster Ye and Christopher B. Utter for their hard u;ork on this 1veek s issue. Founded in 1980, the Gadfly is the student weekly distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadf!J staff. The Gadfly reserves the right to accept, re1ect, and edit submissions ill any way necessary to publish the most thoughtful, informative, and thought-provoking newspaper which circumstances at St. John's permit. Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better chance of being published than those longer than this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. T'he Gadf!J' is not obligated tJ publish all submissions and will not print anonymous submissions except under special circumstances. Deadline: Saturday at 3p.m., unless permission for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions will be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail submissions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. 2 To Aspiring Readers of Newton the Principids mortally precipitous heights, you are not in a position to care either way. The Notes will let you work, but they will not kill you. These are the proofs we read in the Principia that are not in The Centra!Ai;gument, but are in the NoteJ. Book I, Propositions V, LV1I, LVIII, LA.7VI. Bart's proofs are leaner; the difference in Pharaoh's cattle could not_ be greater than that between his and Densmore's proofs of Lemmas XII and XIII of Book I. When needed, Bart provides nourishment for Newton's own starved alternate proofs, as in Propositions X and XI of Book I. Also, Bart's diagrams and notation are often inventive and closely relate the lemmas to the propositions. In addition, to these specific merits of the Notes, there is, as Newton holds, great good in seeing the same otherwise. If you want to appreciate Newton, then read the Principia, confer with Bart, consult Densmore, and read it again. I have one warning: do not clainl ownership of these proofs unless you can master them. They will be particularly happy to demonstrate their motive powers when you are at the board. Unlike the Ornament of Our Time and Our Nation, The bloodless expanse of Ptolemy, Newton's SysMathematico-Physica! Treatise by the Eminent tem of the World is pulsing with force. Isaac Newton), or descending (as Leibniz Yours ivith good hope, claims in a letter to Clarke). On the other Robert C. Abbott Jr. hand, if you have unsuccessfully confronted Though the Principia is difficult to read well, there are exercises to strengthen your mathematical eyes. The best one is to build the proofs Newton only sketches. You should use all helpful means, including the popular book, Newtons Principia: The CentralArgument, by Dana Densmore. I will make a brief argument for including in your analytic toolbox another commentary, Notes to Accompany the 'Reading of Newton's Principia Mathematica, edited by Robert S. Bart. I describe Newton's proofs as sketches because they lack the logical steps which would make them rigorous; proofs in the Notes also lack perfect rigor, but the latter's gaps are scaleable by mathematicians of our order. Proofs in The CentralArgument, however, will give you only the slightest epistemic gradient. This difference is inlportant not only to your muscles, but your judgment. The less drastic the steps, the easier it is to forget whether you are ascending (as Sir Edmund Halley clainls in his An Ode on This Splendid From The Desk of The Chilla Hello, Polity. This is Erikk "The Chilla" Geannilris in 500-700 word form. I was asked by some of the Gadffy members to write a "State of the Grilla" address, just to clear up any lingering issues that may or may not exist as a result of the October 21st issue. The cover story, entitled ''Parkurst Acquires Chilla's Grilla for $1.50 in Assets, Legitimacy" was wonderfully accurate. Well, almost; I'm from Long Island and not Brooklyn as reported, but hey, who's counting. What's most important to convey is that I am a New York Mets fan. And I in- sist, that once Cliff Floyd's back from surgery, Jose Reyes is in top form, Ty Wigginton stops making rookie mistakes, and Tom Glavine wakes the #$%! up, we will have quite the team. Also, the article stated that a price increase is about as likely as Pluto hitting Neptune. However, as I delve deeper into the situation, I see that this momentous occasion may be closer than any of us think, and I've decided that even Freedompluteptune formed, grilled cheese sandwiches will still be dollar. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "'"' whether or not I am still selling my ridiculously delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. And, by the Dog, the answer is YES! 111e goings-on betvveen Parkurst and my operation are for the better. As many of you kno'xr, and I believe I am at liberty to say this now, the grilled cheese sandwiches of last year's fame were made on materials collected during a recurrent systematic liberation of necessary materials from the oppressive ranks of the Dining Hall. As Chilla's bloomed and Bon Appetit gloomed, and the barren wasteland that our Coffee Shop had become left everyone with a bad taste in their mouth, Chilla's Grilla grew to embody the Polity's strife toward our woe begotten catering service. While this had its appeal, it was NOT in fact the original goal of the Grilla. The goal was, and continues to be, to provide students, faculty, staff, and campus guests with a cheap, easy and fun way to enjoy hot food on campus between lunch and dinner on Sah.udays, and to spark lively conversation between unlikely faces. My purpose was never to "rise up" against Bon Appetit, and certainly not to rise up against Parkhurst. When I met Ryan Varn=, he understood this, and, using advanced dialectic and several propositions from Euclid's Book III, came up with to make everyone happy. I no longer have to systematically gather the materials to feed you folk throughout the meals of the week; I now just take part in a once-weekly transaction with I\fr. Varnum. And t..11.e only difference that you the patron will notice is an increase of quality We will continue to have the basic staples of white and wheat, American and Provolone, but as customers from 10/25 can tell you, sevenl goU!!Ilet cheeses occasionally make their way into the famous Grill. So in other words, the Gtilla is here, the Grilla never left, the Grilla is better, the Grilla is Sah.udays 1:30-5 in the Llie Grilla is a!!d ahvays w·;Jl be $1 "'"·'"' ~Hu.L the Grilla needs you there. So I think that answers all questions. I'd be .~iaa to answer any more, whether it be about Mets, the Grilla, or what J\1AY or 1'v1AY happen to Pluto a_n.d Neptune. I'd also to thank Hayden Brockett for writing that ~,t>1e11rua article a couple of weeks ago, .and, in '1;;~:.;{ "];';·:_',, news, for giving me the honor of judgannual Halloween Slash Parents WeekParty Costume Contest this past Rock beats scissors, that's all I Erikk M. Geannikis Parents, continued from front page somewhat incongrous or at least interesting sight of Johnnie parents dancing with current Johnnies. On both Friday and Saturday, the cafeteria was packed to the gills with Parkhurst's suspiciously "high-quality" food, and the presence of an actual lunch on Saturday seemed to be a deliberate attempt to convince parents that their children's grousing was so much sour grapes. However, the lack of the usual lines into the cafeteria may be more of an actual attestation that the Annapolis-area restaurants were e1'."}Jeriencing a very good weekend. In addition, in an incredibly welcome sight to fatigued Johnnies on Friday morning, there was a large pile of refreshments that many partook of before attending 9 o'clock tutorial. Friday morning and afternoon tutorials seemed even more animated with the presence of the four or five paternal groups that were present in many classes. On Saturday, parents had the chance to participate in a Meno seminar and a Euclid tutorial. Later on in the day, parents were treated to another excellent performance of the Dances of the Muses. Wrapping up Saturday, there was the first performance of "\'V'ho's Afraid of Y:trginia Woolf?" and an excitingHalloweenthemed Waltz Party. Parents' Weekend was ~n to the good Parents got to experience a taste of the life that we live, and we received the opportunity to reestablish contact with the rest of the world. All had a good time with a weekend that was as perfect as 1he weather. "d F1rec1. ers~' @ It's that time of year again! Every Wednesday at 3:30 pm, the Dean invites the students, tutors, and staff to gather around the hearth in the Coffee Shop for refreshments, fire-gazing, and conversation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 3 �Senior Tutors on Life, Coffee, and The Godfather In the past, the Gadf!y has interviewed new tutors to introduce them to the Polity. Because of the.budget troubles, however, there aren't an freshman tutors this year, so the Gadffy thought that we'd interview some seruor tutors. To my limited memory, the best of the mterv1ew ·y · t cl· tth fc 11 of2000 when the immortal Andrew Hui '01 questioned Mr. Miller, the then-Ms. Pfeffer, Mr. Sillnett, and the p1eces was prm e in e a.u ' · hi h I ld th th t th uld now departed Mr Stevenson. I used Mr. Hui's article as a model for a questionnaire I sent to five tutors, in w c to em~ ' ey co ans answers answer as many o~ as few questions as they chose. The responses we received are printed in the following columns. Mr. Sch anive too late for this issue. We'll print them next week; in the meantune, look online. . . . . . A d bout the questions themselves: :i'vir. Hui thought that the contrast between slightly dorky questions and highly intelligent wor a . . h The tutors gamely responded to most people was very funny. I tried to add a few more senous questions, as we11 as a coup1 umorous ones. e . f of the questions, serious and silly alike, although each took the fifth on a couple. As you'll notice, ~ach tutor has his or her ow::ea~ o avoiding a question he or she doesn't want to answer, a skill no doubt learned at the St. John's seminar table. We are very grate to em for putting up with our pestering. -Hayden Brockett John Verdi Highlights of my CV and what out the need for excuses. And this is what classes I'm currently teaching. it has turned out to be for me. Which Program author do you think I was born and educated in New York City, whereupon I headed west and com- has the most understanding of the wodd pleted a Ph. D. in Philosophy at a well- and which the least? The one who knows the least and the known California institution (not, however, known for philosophy). I started one who knows the most. What do you do when you can't sleep teaching at St. John's in 197 5 in Santa Fe and after I'd spent three years there, I re- at night? turned to California to pursue another deI never can't sleep at night. gree, this time in Psychology. Before long What do you think a tutor is? In the Tao Te Ching Lao Tzu attempts I came back to the College to stay forever. a partial answer to this question. "A tutor I'd heard that classes were shorter in Annapolis so I transferred to this campus in is best when students barely know that he If you could be anything other than a 1985. I served a few years as Assistant Dean, exists. Not so good when students obey tutor, what would you be? during the "wild west" days of student life. and acclaim him, worst when they despise A student. (During Reality back then, an unattended him .... Of a good tutor, who talks little, Do you believe in God? beer truck would sit on back campus day when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, Every day I thank God I'm an atheist. and night, a kind of golden calf for all to they will all say, 'We did this ourselves.'" What's playing on your car stereo right What is your favorite Homeric worship.) Right now I'm teaching Sophonow? more Language for the first time. (Ask my simile? Shakespeare's King Lear. , C'e.-'-'~-,, . I have two. The E.1st is fro1n the end of c1ass.; .i aiso 1 --~ & uGp.Ll 0 ..1.H nave c- 1..., .-o¥e u _,,_ ..&...1..1-a ...... . , What's your favorite food? Your fawhich I hadn't done since Mr. Tuck and I Book VIII of the Iliad. vorite color? Favorite Rock Group? As when in the sky the stars about the did it back in 1985, and I'm participating in Shredded wheat, dim gray, igneous. a faculty study group on the Iliad. On sab- moon's shining are seen in all their glory, With which Shakespearean character baticals my family and I have lived in Rome, when the air has fallen to stillness, and all do you identify most? to remind ourselves of things we are liable the high places of the hills are clear, and Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, bethe shoulders out-jutting, and the deep ra- cause he, too, has two vices balanced by two to forgot here. Why did you become a tutor? vines, as endless bright air spills from the virtues (if such can be). While in graduate school I heard about heqvens and all the stars are seen, to make With which character from The God" the College for the first time, and knew that o-lad the heart of the shepherd; such in their father do you identify most? b . it was the place for someone like myself numbers blazed the watchfires the Ttopns Luca Brasi: we're both fond of seafood. who never could make up his mind where were burning between the waters of How many cups of coffee do he fit in the traditional array of academic Xanthos and the ships, before Ilion. drink per day? departments. It was also, I suspected, a The second is from a poem by John More than I should, but less than I need, place for someone for whom teaching Updike, "Ex-Basketball Player." "His which is to say, the right amount. seemed a vocation, something one could hands were like wild birds." be dedicated too wholeheartedly and vvithT 1 .L 4 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~-Stewart Please list the highlights of your Curriculum Vitae and the classes you are currently teaching. If you would like us to use the CV published on the website, please say so. The only highlight right now is a recently completed paper on the distinction between reality itself and the accessibility of reality to thought, to be presented at an upcoming conference. Other bits of my CV are like things stored away and forgotten. (2) Sophomore Seminar, Sophomore Math, Junior Lab. Where are you from? Born and raised in and around Seattle. Moved to NYC, where I lived for about sixteen years. Why did you become a tutor? Being allowed to go through the Lab and Math parts of the program, and get paid for it, was an irresistible attraction. Which program book is your favorite and which program author do you think has the most understanding of the world? No steady favo1-ite, only recurring ones, too many to list. (2) I have no opinion on this. Which program book is your least favorite and which program author do you think has the least understanding of the world? In sophomore seminar we used to read something by Calvin. If it's still on the list, that's my least favorite. (2) Again no opinion. What do you do when you can't sleep at night? Depends on the cause. If it's a headache, I take an aspirin. What do you think a tutor is? I'd by giving a Meno-like answer: anyone generally acknowledged to Hence all SJC Tutors are tutors." the next step? We might go the , .·. ..._, of the Sophist and Statesman, realizing conversation an unwritten dialogue to the Tutor. Or we might turn away all so-called tutors to construct a tutor perhaps going on to agree that we described a paradigm laid up in fl. Or we might put aside all these bookdels and proceed on our own, as it our move. What's yom favorite Homeric simile? Ilfad 8.306-08: Helmeted Gorgythion, in the chest, bowed his head to one side Umphrey like a poppy weighed down by its fruit and the spring rains. Virgil, too, appreciated these lines. If you could be anything other than a tutor, what would you be? I'd "be" something that would allow me to continue doing what I do, namely, trying to think (really think) and thereby come to understand (really understand) a few things. What do you think of smoking? If by "smoking" you mean "smokin'!" naturally I tend to favor it. If you mean "smoking tobacco," of course it's a public health issue, and for some a private one as well. But other tllings concern me more. Consider, for example, the smoke being blown our way every day through the mass media. Analyze it thoroughly, but don't inhale! Do you believe in God? I have beliefs about certain practical matters, and certain matters of taste, but about sometlling as important as this I'm more interested in discovering the truth. Quid sit Deus? Do you believe in atoms? Much the same anti-answer. Whose work do you like more, Eliot or Austen? Klein or Strauss? Is this a pair of litmus tests? I like them all, so color me red and blue as well as white. What's playing in your car stereo right now? You remind me that I need to have a CD player put into our truck. In the house stereo: Dave Holland's "Not for Nothin'" or Ahmad Jamal's "In Search of Momentum [1-10]" or David S. Ware's "Freedom Suite." What's your favorite food, color, rnck group, hangout place in Maryland? The closest I ever got to rock was Jimi Hendrix. If there's a favorite hililgout around here, it's Gold's Gym. As for the rest of this question: You forgot to ask me whether I have a dog. With which Shakespearean character do you identify most? Jaques and Rosalind, turn and tum about, or now that you've made me think of it, imagined together as two presentations of the same individual. With which character from The Godfather do you identify most? Haven't seen it. Had you picked instead a movie by Hal Hartley or Jim Jarmusch, I could have given a most revealing answer. How many cups of coffee do you drink per day? Two usually, sometimes three. 47 State Circle $ l .00 off any Potato Hours: l 0 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday 11 :30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �---David Townsend Please list the highlights of your Curriculum Vitae and the classes you are currently teaching. If you would like us to use the CV published on the website, please say so. Father of four wonderful daughters, married for 30 years, BA ., Loyola; PhD., Harvard; JD., Yale. Senior Advisor for Seminars, Aspen Institute; Co-ordinated HIV/AIDS Task Force, Corporate Council on Africa. Current classes: Senior Language, GI Lit Seminar, GI Math Tutorial, Preceptorial on Thoreau. Where are you from? Originally from the mind of God; and in 1947, from Baltimore. Why did you become a tutor? I love books and the opportunity to discuss books and ideas with intelligent and caring students. Which program book is your favorite and which program author do you think has the most understanding of the world? Oh, that's like asking me to choose among my children. I enjoy them all, and especially those who have a deep, tragic, and spiritual vision: Job,Homer,Aeschylus,Sophocles, Virgil, Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Hegel, Lincoln, Baudelaire, George Eliot, Flannery O'Connor, et al. Which program book is your least favorite and which program author do you think has the least understanding of the world? Martin Heidegger. What do you do when you can't sleep at night? I wake up my wife, Kathleen; if she's too sleepy, I read What do you think a tutor is? Fortunate. What's playing in your car stereo right What's your favorite Homeric simile? Rhododactylos: I love the dawn dancingwith now? Bach's Double Concerto and Thelonius her rose painted toes, beginning a new and wonMonk. derful morning. What's your favorite food, color, rock Ifyou could be anything other than a tugroup, hangout place in Maryland? tor, what would you be? Chocolate-red--the Doors--the streets of Pope. Baltimore. What do you think of smoking? With which Shakespearean character do A slow form of suicide. you identify most? Do you believe in God? Prospero. Yes and in the humanity of His progeny. With which character from The GodfaDo you believe in atoms? The periodic table is an excellent account of ther do you identify most? I walked out of The Goc!father, I worked for the elements. the Organized Crime Strike Force in ManhatWhose work do you like more, Eliot or tan. Austen? Klein or Strauss? How many cups of coffee do you drink GeorgeEliot'sMiddkmarrhis one of the best novels ever. I prefer Richard Strauss--especially per day? None. Salome andALro Sprach Zarathustra. Marilyn Higuera Mrs. Higuera's reflections on selected questions asked to new tutors: I barely remember that I grew up in Detroit, Michigan. I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1977 with a B.S. and a M.S. After graduation, I was an associate mathematician at John Hopkins University until I became a tutor at St. John's in 1979. Many fortunate coincidences led to my appointment as a tutor. One of the main ones was that I happened to work with an alumnus (and nephew of a former dean) at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. When I became dissatisfied with the somewhat narrow and futuristic work I was doing there, this trusted colleague suggested I take a look at St. John's. He put me in touch with Mr. Kuder, also a former employee of the Lab. Mr. Kuder was very informative as well as hospitable. But it was my day of being a prospective tutor that revealed a 6 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . "brave new world" to me: students wanting to continue conversations in the Coffee Shop, a math class where one student spent the entire time at the board, a laboratory following no set agenda. The only thing I remember saying at my interview is that I, being badly in need of this education, belonged on the other side of the table. At the time, I went home and put every thought of being a tutor out of my head, but in retrospect I see that it was perhaps this very comment which inspired the Dean to offer me an appointment. It was, however, a truth I had uttered, and so for many years I thought the particular (and indeed only) way in which I could be a tutor was to recognize when a good conversation was occurring and get out of the way. With age and experience have come opinions and arguments and a host of "good" questions; but I still wonder if a tutor doesn't serve best when he or she lets students educat themselves. Questions about favorite and least fa vorite books are, of course, daunting. ter a certain amount of rebellion, I ha decided to answer your questions as £ lows. During summers I am most likel pick up Homer's Odyssey, the Bi Augustine's Confessions, Dante's Divine er!J, Euclid's Elements, Eliot's Midd!emarch, Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling. I'm not confident I'm getting a coherent understanding of the world from this collection, but time and again each of these books provokes me out of complacency with my patterns of thought and, more especially, behavior. With a sigh of relief, I can answer your question about my favorite Homeric simile. I trust you'll let me reply with a pair of thembecause it is their combination that most moves me. In Or!Jssry VIII. 523ff, Odysseus weeps ''.As a woman weeps, lying over the body of her dear husband, who fell fighting for her city and people as he tried to beat off the pitiless day from city and children; she sees him dying and gasping for breath, and winding her body about him she cries high and shrill, while the men behind her, hitting her with their spear butts on the back and the shoulders, force her up and lead her awayinto slavery, to have hard work and sorrow. .. " while at XXIII. 233ff, Penelope feels about her husband "as when the land appears welcome to men who are swimming, after Poseidon has smashed their strongbuilt ship on the open water, pounding it with the weight of wind and the heavy seas, and only a few escape the gray water landward by swimming, with a thick scurf of .sillt coated upon them, and gladly they set fopt on the shore, escaping the evil... " I have done senior laboratory too many ,~es to believe in atoms. I do believe in but expect to spend the rest of my life · gout what it means to believe in God. imagine it will puzzle others, as much puzzles me, that the Shakespearean char! most identify with is Lear. I suspect pathy is with him since I too have et figured out who I am-despite my ced age, I too have not figured out family is-despite raising one, I too am think "nothing comes from noth.ven though I would not have it so. not sure any of the above really s why my heart is with Lear as he in the storm; and so I keep readbook over and over. see the movie "The Godfather" at int .... some Beethoven sonatas playing r stereo at the moment. I have cut cups of coffee a day. I rather like tthews. And I find hiking in the ah amazingly restorative. An Extremely Important Halloween News Article by Laura Traina On the 31" of October in the year 2003, I, Laura Traina, adorned myself with the coolest Halloween costume ever. This esteemed costume consisted of a black string suspending one sheet of white notebook paper. On the paper's surface was a series of consecutive horizontal blue lines cut by a perpendicular red line that ran vertically through quadrants II and III of the paper. Inscribed were the words, 'The Coolest Halloween Costume Ever." There was, unfortunately, a certain gentleman with whom I engaged in conversation during luncheon who insisted that this was not the coolest Halloween costume ever. I have therefore constructed the following proposition in the hope that any confusion harbored by the insistent gentleman concerning this matter may be properly cleared. Laura's First Proposition There are entities known as Halloween costumes in existence. Since God is perfect, there must be some form of perfection known to man that we shall call "coolness." By the law of non-contradiction, any entity must either be cool or not cool Of those that are cool, no two can be exactly alike, because coolness is not pure perfection, which is only attributed to God. And so there must be variations in coolness demonstrated by the entities themselves. Hence there must be logical extremes at both ends of this gradation, the highest ofwhich we shall call the "coolest." If there is a given costume at whose essence are the words 'The Coolest Halloween Costume Ever," then this costume is the coolest Let the entity described above be costume A. I say that this Halloween costume is the coolest Halloween costume ever by virtue of its definition. Ifthis is not the case, then two things must logically follow: that the stated definition is false, verifying the costume's failure to be the coolest (for falseness can not take part in any form of perfection and must thereby be considered "not coof'); and that there must be some other costume that is the coolest. Let a different Halloween costume, B, be the coolest The essence of Costume B cannot consist of the same words, "The Coolest Halloween Costume Ever," as costume A; for no two costumes can be the same, as was stated earlier. Hence costume B must either state that it has a lesser degree of coolness, or that it is not cool, or it must give no written indication of its relationship to coolness. Obviously, if either of these first two conditions were true then B could not be the coolest, which is contrary to the supposition. Then A must be the coolest. If there is no written indication that B is the coolest, then there must be some other indication of this that is sensibly apparent. But man is not able to recognize the coolest of an entity by sense alone, for only God can do this. Even if the coolest of men attempted to perceive the coolest of another entity, he would ultimately fail, because entities of differing types cannot perceive the exact degrees of each other's coolness by sense alone. But the definition of coolness was stated such that coolness is a form of perfection known to man. But no other entity can perceive the coolness ofB but God, which is absurd. Hence A must be the coolest Q.ED. Visit our kickin' HTML counterpart at: http://www.sjca.edu/users/gadfly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 �Greek Chorus Strikes Again Smokin' Euclid by David E. Patterson The human being is only capable of enduring a finite amount of monotony and Here at St. John's every freshman is forced stress, especially when the stress and monotony to spend his or her first year suffering through are directly related. This is the very reason that the long and pedantic thirteen books of Jean Valjean, in Victor Hugo's Les M~serables, Euclid's Elements. One proposition after tried to escape from prison as many tunes as another has decorated the chalkboards of every he did. However, there are methods of Freshman Math tutorial since the beginning alleviating Euclidian torture during the of the year. preparation for class. The most natural me~od Every day, students work and memorize a is to smoke tobacco while reviewing Euclid's set of propositions to demonstrate in class, proofs. If our reader does not find _the r~ason and at the end of each tutorial the propositions for this herbal balm presenting itself that had been done are of no more use and a ubiquitously, there is no amount of argument new set of propositions must be imbibed. that can convince him or her of the veracity of Methodically each proposition is constructed our argument. and observed for a few moments, only then to Smoking is a time-tested method for be erased to make room for the next. Like a relaxation and an ideal distraction from the wave, a freshman Euclidian proof arises out inanity of life. Any one who smokes a pipe of turbulent chaos, slowly building itself up realizes how soothing and liberating it can be. to a towering apex, only to immediately tumble A good pipe-smoke literally places a person in and smash against jagged rocks below; in order his or her own little world and allows him or to make room for the next. her to think what ever needs to be thought, in On and on these cyclical patters repeat privacy and peace. If a person cannot see from themselves, adding to the peculiarity of Euclid the example set by Sherlock Holmes and his at St. John's, which, like all things that inspire calabash pipe, that tobacco smoke is conducive to make rational, orderly, and by Samuel Huckins methodical thought easier, . The Mitchell Art Gallery has recently that person is beyond · unveiled its latest offering: "Rembrandt: The salvation. : Consummate Etcher and Other 17th CenIt seems clear that the . tury Printmakers." This show will last until mathematical propositions : February 20, 2004, and presents an assortof Euclid can be made more . ment as informative as it is beautiful. There palatable by tobacco because : are divers selections ranging from a self-potof the mere natures of Euclid . trait of Rembrandt to an incredibly detailed and tobacco. The former : siege map. The exhibit features prints by demands what the latter · Dutch, Flemish, Austrian, and French provides. There is a clear and : printmakers such as Dujardin, Callot, Ho~, . evident harmony between the · and Vorsterman. There are also several dis:twain that naturally draws the deep thought, is a mixture of paradoxes. It is one to the other. Thus, it seems that tobacco : plays highlighting various aspects of ~e both constant and chaotic, soothing and can make Euclid as enjoyable as it should be. : printmaking process, such as the materials disconcerting, ancient and novel. This is a Furthermore, the Mayans pioneered in both · and techniques utilized by artists of the fascination that should be counted among the the study of mathematics and in the cultivation · riod. For those especially interested in th¢ fascinating experiences of a person's life that of tobacco. Wouldn't it seem reasonable to : pieces presented, a descriptive catalog pub~ : lished by Syracuse University is available 6 only happens once.· assume that since tobacco has been so helpful Yet, as we approach the end of the first to modem scientists, such as Freud, Einstein, · purchase. Please endeavor to take advant semester without having finished half of the and Stringfellow Barr, that its early : of this outstanding opportunity. Keep Elements, it seems to some of the freshman advancement has a direct correlation with the · following dates in mind: November 12, that that the study of Euclid has a striking progress of American mathematics? Lastly, to : "brown bag" gallery tour by Lucind similarity to the perpetual torment that the gods the one who is adamantly not willing to accept · Edinberg, December 7, afternoon gall. devised for Sisyphus in Hades. Really, what self this natural harmony, I can give no hope except : tour, and January 9, a lecture on the exhi respecting mortal can possibly construe being to encourage that person by reminding him or · tion by Domenic Iacano. A full re~ew. coerced into being the force behind a cosine her that Newton is not likely to be stricken : the show will be given in an upcoming sue. wave as being in his or her best interests? from the reading list. The Conswnmate Artist 8 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ervin Romero Staff Writer They stepped out in black as if from the distant shadows of an age now passed. They circled and stomped and with accents once left for dead on the fields of time, they sang the songs of the Muse. They were the Greek Chorus and they performed twice this past Parents' Weekend. Amirthanayagam David and Miriam Rother collaborated for the third time to produce a reinterpretation of the Dance of the Muses and Aeschylus' Agamemnon. It's hard to describe exactly what was performed. Mr. David is quite certain that the Dance of the Muses is a genuine reproduction of the ancient Greek performance style. But the performance of Agamemnon is more of an educated interpretation of what might have actually occurred on the Greek stage. Whatever, it was, it was awesome. It was in Greek mostly. Mr. Tuck came out to read the English translation of the Agamemnon for those without an understanding of the Attic tongue. And while the beauty of the words strung together into thoughts were cause for enjoyment, it wasn't until the players stomped to and shouted in the Greek rhythms that the poetry became alive. At no other time has live poetry transcended even language itself than it did with Mr. Jordan Gannon's performance as the phulax in the beginning of the Agamemnon. It was in the intonations of sound and movement that meaning was conveyed. The excitement and joy of a guard seeing the symbol of the end of the war were so clearly captured by Mr. Gannon that one could not help but to share in his excitement. "The phulax is a quirky role in the Agamemnon," said Jordan Gannon, who took part in the production for the second year. The part of the phulax was played by Mr. Davidlastyear. Thisyear,though,Mr.David stayed behind the scenes as producer/ director while the students both past and present performed. Mr. Noam Gedaloffled the chorus quite well. While he aid not have the impassioned role of his younger days (He played Haemon the first year) he commanded the dancers, as he did last year, with vigor and sprezzatura, "Themis!" It's safe to say that the Greek chorus has become a part of St. John's. I'm sure we are all looking forward to see how it grows and evolves in years to come. This year's production and those of the past are on tape and could be checked out at the library. If you missed it live, go check them out. Backstabbing 101 by David E. Patterson : . : . : . : : · : . : · : · : · : : Hoi Stratagoi is one of the newer gaming clubs to grace J ohnnieland, having been chartered at the beginning of this year. The club plays strategy board games, such as Diplomacy, Colonial Diplomacy, Risk, and Axis and Allies. At the beginning of each session the club divides into a number of gaming groups each lead by a stratogos (a game master) who is chosen by their group for the evening. Members of the Polity are welcome to group themselves together in order to start a game. All they have to do is to contact the Polemarch (the Archon) and request a game board. Diplomacy and Colonial Diplomacy are, however, the most frequently played games by club members. Diplomacy and its numerous derivations, such as Colonial Diplomacy, are international intrigue and grand strategy games. The objective of each player is to create the largest empire and force the capitulation of the other players. During each turn players spend time negotiating with each other for a set amount of time, then writing the orders for their nation, which are read by the stratogos. There are no dice. One's results are based solely upon his or her coup d' oeil and talent. (ed. In other words, your ability to lie and convince someone that you are not backstabbing them.) Hoi Stratagoi usually meets every other Friday at 6:30 in the Hodson Room. For more information and specific times contact Chris Utter at cbutter@sjca.edu. . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �Cloning Lecture: Sibkos Unite! By Christopher Utter Staff Writer On Friday, Stephen Forman, both an alumnus and a father of a student, was kind enough to inform a captivated Parent's Weekend audience with the basics of his field: stem cell research. After graduating from St. John's, Dr. Forman went on to medical school at UCLA. He is currently the chairman of the Bone-Marrow Transplantation department at City of Hope National Medical Center. Before beginning his talk, Dr. Forman commented on the incredible opportunity our school provides its students, and made the common though true observation that we are prepared for anything we might want to do in the future. The lecture itselfbegan with a reference to the debilitating effect September 11th had on this and related research. Since that time the main focus seems to be getting back on track with regard not just to the progress of research, but also obtaining the necessary NIH and other funding that has been lost. The format of the lecture as a whole reminded me very much of post-doc research presentations I saw over the summer, which was useful, though I suppose to be expected. He gave a list of goals for the talk, and then began in true Johnnie fashion with a definition. A stem cell is a kind of cell capable of differentiation into other cells and can reproduce itself-two essential factors when combined. Stem cells in different tissues are responsible for their creation and regeneration. For most human cancer cells, one needs 10"9 cells in the body in order to show up on a screening test, and by then it is often too late. The only two possible treatment methods known so far are to kill the cancer cells by means of radiation therapy or to use stem cells to regenerate lost cells or to combat the cancer cells themselves. Sometimes donor cells will come from a family member. Often, though, such a donor does not exist, in which case the patient must appeal to a stem cell bank that relies on blood donations. Stem cells are harvested from the umbilical cord of newborns, which have the ability to differentiate more easily into other types of cells. As such, some families have re- 10 sorted to having another child in hope of obtaining a genetic match with the patient, and in doing so, save the live of the cancer victim. Unfortunately, this method of gathering stem cells has caused much concern ever since its first introduction. Be that as it may, drastic measures are often necessary with something that has such a wide-ranging effect: when there is hope to save someone, why not choose additional life to death and despair? In the next part of the lecture, Dr. Forman explained more of the fundamentals of stem Forman says no, but many disagree. Since 2001, he has not been able to use federal funds to work on anything but a very limited kind of research, that which involves the stem cell 'lines' already in existence. The opposition to his work is not founded on one principle, though. There are many cautions and dangers to take into account, but Dr. Forman made it clear, in my opinion, that there is a difference between what he is doing, and what needs to be feared. There are two types of human cloning: embryonic and therapeutic. Groups that want to do away with the latter often use the former, citing arguments such as eugenics and misguided religious cults. Therapeutic cloning, though, is a completely different matter; because a living human being could not result from such a procedure. It is simply the creation of some particular kind of tissue through the cloning procedure, and does not require any form of prenatal environment. As it stands now, though, research is legally prohibited on both kinds because of a misguided correlation between the two. But why would anyone be in favor of embyonic cloning? The primary motivation is infertility, followed by the loss of a ~ child. In both these cases there are alternative methods that are easier, both for emotional and practical rea~ sons, than embryonic cloning. His ~ patients in particular have an interest 0.. in infertility treatments. Donors, adoption, or the preservation of eggs, sperm, or fertilized eggs are all.. viable options for someone who has undergone radiation therapy. And, at the end of the day, his business is to ensure the preservation and continuity of human life. "On a difficult day I think about my patients, and looking their faces reminds me of the importance this work." I enjoyed this lecture immensely. I found clear, with a perfect balance of simplicity lack of patronizing explanatory remarks. I say it is an unusual and controversial choice a St.John's lecture in general, but especially parents' weekend. The subject was handled carefully by the speaker, however, as o Johnnie can do, that all seemed extr pleased, and the standing ovation was more sincere than usual. i cell research. All tissues, are derived from stem cells, because the first stem cell was the fertilized egg. In principle, because of the identical DNA contained in each, any cell has the ability to be any other, but original stem cells are able to do it with more ease. Between ten and fifty percent of in vitro fertilization patients donate their unused eggs to research, because these are capable of forming any part of the body; the procedure for 'coaxing' them to do this was patentedin 1998. This, of course, is where the debate over what an embryo is, and when it is a human being begins in this case. It is, by definition, a two-celled tissue grown from a fertilized egg. But is this potential human life or actual? Can we equate the potential with the actual? Dr. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 'Woolf' A Howling Success by Ian McCracken My parents, for a few years, moonlighted (moonlit?) as stage actors in New York. Big deal, you say; whose haven't? I agree. It's not really that big of a deal, but at least that bit of knowledge clues you in to the possibility of a modicum of familiarity with the theatre on the part of my parents, a possibility you would not, until my imparting that information to you, have been remotely aware of, unless you happen to be one of the few St. John's students to have actually met my parents (who are, I'm sure you'll agree, very nice people) and have been privy to some essential parts of their life stories, a privilege accorded to few, if any, other than myself and the one Johnnie who knew me when I actually lived with my parents, and therefore spent more time than a cursory meeting might afford speaking with them. Let it be said that one if not both of my parents have read and/ or performed and/ or directed Edward 'Albee's "Who'sAfraidofVir·ginia Woolf?" at one point or ··~--"'~._.~~· :another in their illustrious caf!eers. When I told them that I seen a production Saturday night put on students, they were shocked-truth be told, ·· t smirk might have made its way across father's face. "That play? That's a pretty 'catedplay;" saidmymother. 'Wasitbearpoor dear?" "Actually, Ma," I replied, "it · damed good." The performance really was pretty swelle best St. John's production since Equus," y; I didn't see Equus, so I can't judgelatge part to its excellent cast. Mary Duffy; a, relaxes into her role as if it were expressly for her. She plays a boozy, witty, desperate woman, and does it she's real fun to watch, or genuinely horas the situation warrants. Brian Jones, ys a fairly detestable but comparatively guy, was very engaging up on stage. acter's an opportunistic phony; Mr. it perfectly-a little too well, maybe. not turn me off entirely to Mr.Jones. 'd like to see more of him in future Though all the performances were really, really good, the stars of the evening were the freshmen, Monica Johnson and Benno Kling Monica Johnson plays inebriated throughout a significant portion of the performance, but to perfection. Her timing and demeanor are impeccable. Her character provides welcome relief from the vicious dialogue being enacted on all sides, as she looks drunkenly; blithely; ignorantly on. Yes, she plays a "simp", but an extremely endearing one, and a delight to watch. I believe, in fact, thatl may have fallen in love with Ms. Monica Johnson. · : · : : . · : : . : BennoKiingwasabsolutelygreatasGeorge. : He seemed to have the most · stage time, but he was never a : Who 1'VXVIatches C the Watchmen.? drag. He was completely in . command ofhis character- : and what a character! Mr. · Kling saw him through acute : By Anna Schall humiliation, acid wit, bitter · spite, indifference, defeat, apol- : A bold statement: whoever you are, whatogy; rage. Normality evaded . ever your tastes, there is a comic book (now for him, but, again, that seemed : sale in the bookstore, hint hint)for you. This to be the character. Yes, his · comic book, if you so choose to purchase, hair was implausibly grey- : could be easily be one of the best books that seated close onstage as we, the · you read this year, even if you did all of your audience, were, his hair and : seminar reading. In truth, this comic is not a face were a little tooincongru- · comi~ at all; it is the first book to be termed a ous to be taken seriously- : graphic novel, and the first to explore the real but his acting is plenty good · potential of this pigeonholed medium. It is enough to make you forget that small oddity. : called T~e Watchmen, and is by Alan Moore and Kudos to Mr. Kling for a stellar performance! · Dave Gib hons. The play as a whole was, I admit, a bit unThe bookis about ultimate human weakeven. The first act was terrific-witty; engaging, · ness, the decay of society and the puzzling hilarious. The audience was able to laugh with : nature of heroism. It is set in a world where confidence. The second act, however, was far · the USA never lost the Vietnam War, and where more demanding, and here the production : superheroes have been outlawed. The Watchdragged a little. The turn from slightly uncom- · men starts off with the one of the three reforta ble co!11edy to downright black : maining superheroes in New York City (the pseudohumor might have been taken at too high : Comedian) dying in a suspicious murder. The a speed. The audience reallywasn't sure when to . long-banned costumed vigilantes are awakenlaugh, although the humor was there and the · ing to a sinister plot in a falling world where jokes were well delivered, because the cruelty of : grave-robbing, a resurrection of the specter of the characters gets far crueler and less funny real : nuclear holocaust, and a society ofexcesses work fast, and the play doesn't prepare you for it. The . together to foreshadow the greatest damnaaudience and players got back into stride for the · ti.on of all time. third act, however, where the production recov- : The new Comic Club is doing a series of ereditself nicely, just in time for the payoff. Given : se~ars on The Watchmen, and, though you the relative difficulty of the play; I'd say director . mlssed the first one, you still have plenty of IanMorochnickacquittedhimself admirably. . time to prepare for the second one, which will Far be it from me to give glowing reviews of . be on November 12 in Mellon 106 at 7:30 PM student productions of complex plays, but this : and covers chapters 5-8. one deserves it. Go see it. WHO'S AFRAID OF VIR6111A W\" LF7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 11 �Board of Visitors and Governors Meet, Greet by Sasha Robins, Student Representative to the Board The St. John's College Board ofVisitors and Governors held one of its quarter-annual meetings on the Annapolis campus lastweekend The Boardmeets twicehereand twice in Santa Fe every year, and concerns itself with all aspects of the college, from admissions to financial aid to buildings and grounds. This Board is, effectively, the silent hand that rules our college; the members, who are elected to three-year terms, each bringwith them a vote that comprises, in theory, the most powerful decision-making body on either campus. Board members are elected upon nomination by the Alumni Association, which has several seats reserved for its choices per election period, and by existing Board members. Although there are currently, out of the sixty-member council, more alumni than ever before, a diploma from St John's is hardly enough to secure a position; our Board members are elected based on their substantial contributions of both their time and money to the college. Many of them are successful businesspeople, lawyers, judges, activists, and friends of the college. The fall meeting began on Thursday, October 23, for the members of the Visiting Committee, who attended classes and ate in the dining hall in an effort to understand and communicate with the students. As Board member Steve Thomas would recall at the later Plenary session, students told him both that, without equivocation, the faculty and staffwere the greatest oppressors, and that the faculty and staff were the greatest champions and benefactors of the students. Such conflicting reports further emphasized the feeling of the Board that these two elements of the college-the students on the one hand and the administration on the other-lacked a unified relationship. Such a goal looms large both in the minds of the Board members and of the students who seek to familiarize their peers with "the other half" Fridaywas a busy day for all committee members as they met in smaller committees to discuss specific goals. The committees, among others, include: Accreditation, Investment, AlumniRela- 12 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . tions, Finance, Management, Outreach, Admissions/FinancialAid, andBuilclings and Grounds. For the final meeting of the day, all members broke into three seminars to discuss the document which the Annapolis campus will present to the accreditation committee later this fall. The document, which has taken the accreditation committee of Mr. Kalkavage, Mrs. Higuera and Mr. Macfarland over a year of painstaking work to research and create, was a central subject for this session of the Board Every ten years, St John's seeks to renewand reinforce its status as an institution ofhigher learning by participating in a grueling up-close look at itsel£ The three tutors, with imput from the Instruction Committee, the faculty as a whole, and many students, has completed a comprehensive document that asks questions about what our mission is as a college, on what basis we hope to asses our students, and what kind of education we can accurately say each diploma recipient receives. The task was not an easy one, and many of the necessary difficulties involved came out in the seminars. However, it was the general opinion of the Board that this study has been exhaustively conducted, and will no doubt receive approval and constructive advice from the Middlestates andACLEE when they come. Friday night ended in a pleasant reception at Mr. Nelson's home, where Board members and faculty and student representatives had a chance to mingle and discuss more closely some of the vast issues that had been raised earlier in the day. The plenary session of the Board ofVisitors and Governors took place on Saturday morning in the conversation room, where members of all the committees were given an opportunity to report to one another on the progress that was made in the smaller groups on the previous days. The session also included a report from the President and the Deans ofboth campuses, as well as the unveiling of the William Dyal portrait Mr. Dyal served as President of St John's College Annapolis for only four short years, from 1990-1994, due to a sudden and severe medical problem that forced him to step down. A local Annapolis artist has created a beautiful portrait in honor. Mr. Dyal, who was present at the unveiling with his wife and who is now enjoying better health, said that, upon seeing the portrait, "[the artist] did the best she could considering what she had to work with." Later, Mr. DJal told us that he was nervous about having to hang in the great hall for decades to come; hopefully, this will not be too strenuous. One of the largest issues that the Board is dealing with right now was made clear by the multiple reports given by President Nelson, who is temporarily serving as President for both campuses. A special committee has been formed to find a new president for Santa Fe, and, thereby unite Mr. Nelson into a whole person again. Other highlights of the meeting included a hearty thanks to Mr. Ronald Fielding, Alumnus '70 and Board member, who donated $10 million to the school in recent months, the largest single gift St John's has ever received Appropriately, Mr. Fielding applied to St. John's after his top choice schools accepted him without enough financial aid; when St John's offered the right amount, he had no choice but to come, and by the time another school's offer came through during his freshman year here, he was already aJohnny in all of the important senses of the word. Ms. Sharon Bishop, A'65 and Chairwoman of the Board, also bestowed upon St John's a generous gift of $1 million. Like Mr. Fielding, Ms. Bishop lacked the funds to pay for college comfortably; she struggled every year to pay tuition by workingineverymomentofhersparetime.Now; she hopes this gift will do whatever it can to make it even a little bit easier for students in similar situations to continue their education here at St John's. The only issue the Board was unable to resolve was the distance between itself and the students. The Board believes that this seems due more to the reluctance of the students to communicate, with the Board members, skepticism that such.... communication would effect change, or simple ignorance of the Board and what it does. The Board, in contrast, also believes the students to be::;;. the most important part of the school and th the true focus of their job. Participation by student representatives was both encouraged appreciated, and members went out of their to interact with them. Perhaps some small could be planned for the students and the B together during their next meetingin the sp · order to facilitate a more open exchange of' between these two branches of St John's. community that believes that we'll never I we don't speak, we have been eerily silent comes to that which we don't consider worthy our time. Ifwe are worthy of theirs, let the con sation begin. BV&G Committee Reports by Mr. Elihu Dietz Student Representative to the Board Last Friday, October 24th, I attended two Board of Visitors and Govenors meetings on alumni relations and buildings and grounds. The information that was reported to the board during these meetings is stated below. For further information about the board and its function, I refer the reader to Ms. Robin's article in this week's issue. Alumni Relations Committee The idea for St. John's license plates, proposed by Annapolis alumnus Joel Ard, has seen success in Maryland and so far 50 checks have been received by various alumni across the state. The Alumni Office has hopes to make the license plates available in at least New York as well, although the cost that the state had proposed is a hindrance. The license plates provide no financial benefit for the college although the high level ofinterest among alumni suggests that it is a valuable service. With the arrival of the newly-designed College webpage, expected to be running in about 4 to 6 weeks, alumni will be able to register on the website and search for contact information about their former peers. The register / may also provide a way for students to contact · alumni who work in a field they are interested in pursuing. There were 306 registered alumni for · Weekend this year in Annapolis. umni Weekend in Santa Fe in July was also success, although there are traditionally fewer attendance. There were also 9 or 10 alumni o came for their orientation in August and met with great excitement from freshthere who conversed with them over dinThe motion for having alumni join in tation festivities in Annapolis is a possi' given its success in Santa Fe. e student-alumni reception this fall in polis was a huge success with over 60 ·in attendarice and about 40 seniors. It ed an opportunity for seniors to disture plans after this year, possibly makVantageous corlliections with alumni in ds of their interest. Also, alumni had ce to learn more about the current study and campus news. The reception first of its kind and is likely to be ed next fall. After these reports were given, mostly by Jo Ann Mattson, the Alumni Director, the committee discussed ways to further draw alumni participation and financial support. With the beginning of the capital campaign coming up, there were several ideas on the table about how to inform alumni about campus activities and involve them more within a community ofJohnnies. In the last four or five years, the alumni annual giving has doubled. Buildings and Grounds Committee of the reconstruction is substantial and only funds for the first phase, and hopefully the only phase granted source of the leaks have been found, has been secured. The renovation of Chase-Stone was finished over the summer and included a new sprinkler system and new air conditioning at a cost of about a half million dollars. It was financed entirely by savings through careful spending; no outside contributions were needed. Santa Fe: There is a serious problem with affordable faculty housing in Santa Fe and as a result, the college for some time was looking into plans for building houses for faculty members on campus across the road. The plans were fairly developed and included 18 housing units to be built on land that was given to the college in 1961 by a woman named Sally Wagner who is now in her 90s. The plans came to a sudden halt recently when Mrs. Wagner reported that she didn't want the land to be developed in the that way and threatened to sue the college for the land if she was not listened to. Although the college was not in a position to disobey, Mr. Chris Nelson, who is acting as President of both campuses now after Mr. Balkom's resignation, was able to bargain with her and allow the college to add to office buildings already on the land by up to 5,000 square feet. The housing crisis for both students and faculty in Santa Fe is significant, the student housing situation being not unlike that of Annapolis. However, there is also an additional need for about twenty-six more office spaces for tutors. In recent years of financial struggle, the Santa Fe campus has apparently become noticeably less appealing to the eye. A small team, led by Assistant Treasurer Mike Duran, recently completed a detailed walk-through survey of the campus which resulted in over 350 work orders. Annapolis: Martin Dyer, the Assistant Treasurer, reported to the committee on various advancements and changes on campus that have occurred, and will occur in the future, with respect to the aesthetics, particularly in relation to financing. The foundation has been laid on the new dormitory, which puts the project ahead of schedule despite the illusion of ill-progress. Also the geothermal heating system has been installed underground. The financing of the first of the two planned dormitories that will eventually grace our back campus has been 85% secured. Mr. Dyer reported thatwith the construction of both dormitories, about 75% of the student body will have secured housing on campus. The new dormitory will be able to house 48 students. There are plans for a walk-through garden in the space outside the Mellon Cafe, specifically excluding a fountain or pond of some kind as the maintenance is thought to be to complex. There was no mention of funding for the project but ground is expected to be broken perhaps as early as April. While there was minimal damage from the hill:ricane sustained on campus, the property around the president's house suffered the loss of four large trees which necessitated removal. Due to the excessive leaking in the Library's basement, the-courtyard above shall undergo rehabilitation, possibly in many phases. ConAfter Mr. Balkom moved out of the house tractual issues with the original design comkept for the President, it was discovered that there pany have made it necessary for the school to was at least $25,000 of structural damage as a tum to another contractor that specializes in result of mold growing from a leaky toilet. subterranean roofing and draining. The cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 13 �Where Have all the Johnnies Gone? byAnna Rubin Staff Writer The seasons are changing inJ ohnnieland. The air is getting crisper (and so is the grass), the leaves have turned colors and are beginning to fall, and the quad is getting almost as bare as the trees. In the early days of the school year, it was odd to ever see the quad even close to empty, even at ridiculous hours of the morning. It was the place to be to talk, play chess, read, do homework, bum cigarettes - in other words, it was where everything St John's is about happened. Now that even the non-smokers amongus can see our breath when we talk, the quad is generally bereft ofpeople, except those in a hurry- to get to class, to get to dinner, to get from dorm to dorm, to get their cigarette finished before their ears fi:eeze. They come and go quickly, as is the nature of people inahurry. That much I understand. I'm not expecting people to stand around outside in freezing cold or rain, just so that the community atmosphere of St John's might be carried on. But surely we ingenious Johnnies can come up with something to tide us over until the spring thaw. After all, we have several large get-togetherconducive spaces available to us. But, for some reason, Mellon Cafe seems to be reserved for homewrukand paper conferences, as is the Coffee Shop, except during FtteCiders and after semiruu:. So, if neither of these two places has become the cold-weather headquarters of the St John's community, where is it? The only answer I can see is that the Polity has disbanded and gone into hibernation until it's warm enough to come out of their nests (a.k.a. dorm rooms) again. This brief recurrence of warm weather, during which the quad has been positively mobbed, only reinforces my hypothesis. Gadfly Funny Papers Come on, people, are we a community, or are we a community? I'm sure you love your roommates (or your privacy) very much, but hiding in the dorms all winter is not conducive to the kind of spontaneous insanity that St John's prides itself on. So, get out there, and make some noise in the Coffee Shop. It is ours, after all. Swimming Wonder Monkey Days Your Weekly Ptolemy Stone Readings byJen Sil.gals Aries (March 21-April 19): The stars foretell a prettymellowweekforyouAries folk. Gowith the flow, and life will be good. Just make sure you don't go all lazy on us. [Insert something about a tortoise or a hare here.] Question of the week: What if they cloned all the major hair bands of the eighties and created an untiring Army of Rock? Whose side would you be on? Taurus (April 20-May 20): In some areas of the world, tourists are forewarned not to drink the local water. In some locales, this is a warning for health reasons. In others, a way to sell more sodas. Keep this in mind. Question of the week: Ifyou were Adam and God told you to name all the animals, what would you call the platypus? Gemini (May 21-June 20): Now is not the time for to be serious. The sun is shining and the air is warm now, but winter is fast on its way. Take advantage of the warm weather while it lasts. Trust me, you'll have plenty for time to be bored later. Question of the week: How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Cancer (June 21-July 22): Don'trely on others to make your decisions for you this week. OR maybe you should... OR maybe don't even listen to me at all. You're your own person. Figure it out on your own. 14 . THE GADFLY Question of the week: What does the square root of negative two really entail, anyway? Leo (July 23-August 22): Some people are incredibly observant. Others seem to constantly miss everything. Work on really seeing things this week. Use your eyes and ears to truly connect with the things around you. Question of the week: Why are they called "Objectivists"? Virgo (August 23-September 22): The 'rents probably slipped you twenty over the weekend, so why not buy something this week? ... Give in to your capitalist urges. .. You know you want to ... mmm... Capitalist food ... Question of the week: What exactly is the Internet? Libra (September 23-0ctober 22): ''Event Horizon" is probably the worst movie I've ever seen. Not only did it end horribly, made me want to barf, and gave me nightmares, it also cost me $3.50 at Blockbuster. Don't make that kind of mistake this week. Question of the week: What is justice? Scorpio (October 23-November 21): Sometimes, people are really dumb. When dumb people infest your life this week, I suggest you simply smile and nod until they go away or get smarter... Orwatch "Get Smart'' until things start to make sense. Question of the week: What would you like for you birthday, if everything were available to you? [Besides, of course, world peace.] Sagittarius (November 22-December 21): Don't rearrange people's stuff; as cluttered as they may be. All it does is render the person you were trying to help unable to find his math book. Don't give advice this week. Just listen intently. Question of the week: You ask the questions. What are the answers? Capricorn (December 22-January 19): Before diving into College Creek, remember the following: 1. It's getting colder outside. 2. The creek is pretty dam polluted. 3. Security doesn't like swimmers. 4. There may or may not be jellyfish, snakes, eels, sharks, and/ or Deep mines in the water. [It's a metaphor. ..] Question of the week: What is your favorl color? Why? Aquarius Oanuary 20- February 18 Remember to take your vitamins this week. foresee feast-or-famine in Cage Randall for unlucky Aquarians. Sorry to be the bearer o news, but I guess that's life. Remember, always PB'n'J. .. Question of the week: What makes beautiful? Pisces (February 19-March 20): skateboarding is allowed on the stone between the library and Paca-CarrollHo~. violators of this rule will be subject to pros and severe chastisement. Question of the week: Cake or pie? s· Be Or Not To Be ... ! . . . ar~ Hollywood go to make a movie? By Tobin Herringshaw Staff Writer . Below are four 11tles and accompanying loglines for movies. Hollywood producers actually ased nghts for three of them, but one of them is a fake. Can you tell which one? Title: The Elephant Rider The ghost of an e:U : Log ~e: A rare w~te el~phant is uses ~e Shroud of ~unn : b~m 1n a _smallln~an village. A ect a giant space eel 1n an bnde falls 1n love with the elephant to d _ · , . estroy the world. : and negle~s her ~an~e. until he . d~_es to W1n back his girls love by . killing the elephant. Title: The Juice Project Title: Sensibilidad : Log Line: A mom, who is overly : Log Line: A contemporary adap: attached to her son, must give him · tation of Jane Austen's "Sense and up to his wife and their new baby. · Sensi.bili.tu" £ · d · ·. ,,, ocusmg on a mo : The~othertheninformsherson . em Mexican family in Los Ange. that his father, whom he thought : les. · was dead, is alive and running a . : chain of juice bars in Encino. Last Week's False Answer: The Magician Of Syracuse . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 15 �THE GADFLY St John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 for bragging rights to the west end of College Creek. Go Gulls! Notes "Fundamentally, the marksman aims at himself." Twenty strong-backed members of the Rowing Club logged the mother of all recreational rows this past weekend by rowing all the way to the source of the Severn, a mere 15 miles round trip. All rowers lived to tell the tale, and one put in an exceptionally strong day, sculling across mile after mile of the glassy waters in a double with team captain Mike Malone: talking about supersoph oarsman Mr. MacKinlay, who, for his efforts, earns Athlete of the Week honors for the men. The women's soccer season came to an end with a doozy of a SmithMcDowell Cup. At the outset, it looked as those J\iliss Gregory's Reds were going to dominate the action, and got on the board first. But Team Noir, undaunted, unfazed, battled back to score the next two goals, until the Reds scored with ten minutes to play to tie the game. And that was the final result, typical of the complete parity within the women's intramural league this year. As usual, many standout You can catch ]\fr. MacKinlay and the rest of the Rowing Club in action in their season finale, the Lianne Ritter l'viemorial Regatta, this Saturday morning beginning at Sam. Come the Johnnies battle the ARC 16 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . performances were seen, although perhaps one came as wee bit of a shock to some, and a relief to others: talking about the great game played by J\iliss Brubaker, whose critical goal gave new life to Team N oir. For her superb effort, Miss Brubaker is named Athlete of the Week for the women. The women's league now moves indoors: BASKETBALL BEG INS THIS FRIDAY EVERYBODY IS WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED TO CATCH THE MADNESS. � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 10 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-11-04 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 10 of The Gadfly. Published November 04, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #10 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/f42386ce77a487190f7b54d37059fcbb.pdf 8c92329fe853197e752623bfad7e71e6 PDF Text Text THE ADFI~Y The St. John} College Student Weekfy Volume XXV, Issue 11 Anno.polis, Maryland November 11, 2003 Rembrandt: The Consummate Etcher by Christopher Utter Staff Writer Rembrandt van Rijn is, of course, most widely appreciated for his paintings. As such, his etchings, which are quite numerous, are often overlooked. Not so in the case of the newest exhibit at the l\1itchell Gallery. The Dutch master, along with several contemporaries, will be on exhibit until the end of February. Most of the pieces in the show are from the large collection of such prints at Syracuse University. I am personally quite pleased and excited about this show, the finest the Ivfitchell Gallery has produced since the Job exhibition last fall. I saw a temporary exhibition of Rembrandt prints in Venice several years ago, and have not been able to forget them; the quality of the etcher's work is not only on the plate but also in the person's mind. I find I have the same experience with both his paintings and etchings, but with the latter, one is forced to look closely at the lines, a hair's breadth wide, thus forcing the viewer to focus on every detail. In The Adoration of the Shepherds: A Night Piece, for example, the common Dutch ability for perfectly capturing light and shadow in a dimly lit room is brought to new a height. Imagine the skill required to imitate this phenomenon using a copper plate. The only light source in the room is a low lantern, yet several key objects and people are illuminated: the infant Christ, Mary, a book held by Joseph, and, on the other side of the room, a representative shepherd. Rationally, there must be another source of light near the holy family, emphasizing the light they are bringing to the outer darkness. A similar piece by Ferdinand Bol depicts The Hofy Famify in an Interior, with its members in of an obviously Dutch house. Here again we see the quintessential skill possessed by this group of artists in their depiction of light. There is a mesmerizing declination ofluminescence from right to left, window to bed, just illuContinued on page 5 Rembrandt did this. Back in Black (and White) by Cathy Keene and Ian McCracken TJ1e people who run this paper Yes, many of the rumors you've heard are true. There has been trouble in Gadf!y paradise. Within the past few weeks, there have been many personal divisions amongst staff members, and things have not been running so smoothly. Two weeks ago, everyone did indeed quit. But fear not. After many meetings and weeks of confusion, we are back--every last one of us (and then some). So, let the rumors be abated. These pages speak for themselves. Tutor int/ewlew: Mr; Scnufman, page 5 · �the cute punk-rock, pseudo-intellectual, cynicallyfunny-bullsh*t way I thought. Could you please kill him? Also, you guys rock. Sincerely; Murder And Bashing Ending Love Gadfly Mailbox Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene Executive Editor Ian McCracken Production Managers Martin Anderson Melissa Thomas Business Manager Katy Courtright Sports Editor Mike Malone A&E Editor Anderson Tallent Inside News Mary Townsend Outside News Hayden Brockett Layout Shoshana Goldstein Contributing to this Issue Nick Colten J. A. IvL Nora Kelleher Max Kronberg Gina Lee Jackson O'Brien Erin Page OJarliePashayan Sean.Penny Dave Prosper Ervin Romero Jillian Sico Beth Siekiera Jen Silgals K. C. Sykora Laura Traina Chris Utter Founded in 1980, the Gadfly is the student weekly distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadfly staff. The Gadffy reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to publish the most thoughtful, informative, and thought-provoking newspaper which circumstances at St. John's permit. Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better chance of being published than those longer ti1an this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. The Godfly is not obligated to publish all submissions and will not print anonymous submissions except under special circumstances. Yearly subscriptions are available for $30.00. Taxdeductible contributions are greatly appreciated. Please make checks payable tc the Gadffy. For display advertisement prices and information, call 410-263-2371, x2212. Deadline: Sunday at 12 noon, unless permission for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions will be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail submissions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. 2 A Flaw in Her Logic Dear Gadfly Editor, Like many other readers of the Gadf(y, I at first found Laura Traina's proof for the perfect coolness of her Halloween costume entirely convincing. Indeed, I was as delighted as the next reader to have finally found a piece of true, incontestable reasoning after all of the sophistry we are forced to read here at St. John's. But upon the ninth and a half reading of the article, I was suddenly knocked backward by a creeping absurdity I had begun to see arising in Laura's proposition. Perhaps I wouldn't have noticed it if I had only read the article, say, eight or nine times" It was subtle, indeed; yet soon enough, because of the love of truth that guides my soul, I was forced to view the article as a delicately crafted piece of extremely dangerous sophistry. Yes, that's right, Gadf(y readers: Laura Traina has deceived us all - and I do not doubt that she meant it maliciously. Therefore, I shall henceforth appeal, through a clear and precise method, to the natural light of reason that illuminates the souls of all Johnnies. After reading the counter-arguments that I am about to present, no reader will possibly be able to doubt the utter invalidity of Laura's "coolest costume" proposition. However, the reader should be aware that, although my reasoning is entirely clear and precise, it may be too strenuous except for the most willing and well-trained of minds. Now, on this very night, as I sit in front of my Gateway laptop wearing blue jeans and an orange sweater, I will attempt to nd my mind of all sophistry and come to a complete understanding of what is truly cool. Directly under the heading "Laura's First Proposition," the following words appear: "There are entities known as Halloween costumes in existence. Since God is perfect, thcrf: must be son:e form of perfection known to man that we shall call 'coolness."' Here Laura first defines "coolness" as a "form of perfection" that is "known to man," the latter of which plays an integral part in determining why Costume B (an entity supposed to be coolest if Costume A, Laura's costume, is not the coolest) cannot be the coolest. Later in her argument, . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . Laura further specifies that coolness is the highest logical extreme on a "gradation" of coolness" But if "coolness" is a form of perfection, this form can only be determined by God, who is perfection. But the apparent perfection of Laura Traina's costume was artificially determined by Laura Traina. Therefore it is not the coolest, unless incidentally. If this argument does not convince the reader, despite its perfect clarity, let her attend to ar10ther If "coolness" is a form of perfection, that is, the most perfect in a gradation of coolness, it must follow that coolness is not known by man in its completeness. For man cannot completely comprehend the perfection of any thing that partakes of perfection, for all perfection is God, who cannot be completely comprehended by man. Therefore the highest extreme of coolness, as is the case for other forms of perfection such as goodness, eternity, infinity, etc., can only be known to man through a muddled and unclear conception. Therefore, there cannot possibly exist any fully recognizable articulation of the highest perfection of coolness for man, for then man could fully comprehend the perfection of some thing, which would mean that he could comprehend God, which is impossible. Thus it is clear that a costume bearing the words "The Coolest Halloween Costume Ever" cannot be the coolest by virtue of its recognizable words, but only perhaps incidentally, which cannot be shown except by divine revelation. Sincerely, Jillian M. Sico 0 Corrections In the October 28 issue of the Gadf(y, the article "Plato Tree Falls to Fear of Lawsuits, Necessity" incorrectly reported that the CllmpbeU Lot tree was the last American Planetree on campus" In fact, the remaining planetrees are predominantly of the Ame:d-c can species. The row beside the Art GalletY is one of the most prominent examples of the London Planetree. At present, however, there are still no platanus orientalis at St. John's. The Gadf(y regrets the error. Dear JC: I don't get the Mabel comic. Can you please explain it to me? Sincerely, Gadfly Article Yearner DearGA.Y: They author a comic of Mabel, More comprehensive than Hegel, There's no need for offense, But it makes no sense, Now I'll eat a cheap Jewish bagel. They constantly reference Jelly, It makes me think, "Whoa, Nelly!" GDod jokes it lacks, And now presenting The Max, \X/1no is not from the town of New Delhi. Thank you, Jewish Anonymous Man QA.M.). I assume the comic you are referring to, GA.Y, is the one entitled Sw:imming Wonder Monkey Days. The reason you don't get the comic is quite simple-there is nothing to get. SWl'vID fails on every possible level to be funny. It ain't. It is not a joke-strip, as tl1ere are no punch-lines. It is not ironic, unless the irony is that this can and is being published instead of some worthwhile piece (like a Jew's Clues comic strip--coming soon} It is not funny because of its sheer wackiness because nothi.ng's wacky about jelly. It's sad. The art, so cutely done on what appears to be an Apple IIE, is not funny because it's bad" It's just bad. Sad bad sad bad sad bad. Willy the W12ard, with one character in the panel and no laugh-inducing lines, is light-years ahead of S\YJI'VID. So finally, it sucks, we don't, and please \~Trite in asking that a Jew's Clues strip be published in its place. --:J.C. a good friend from childhood whom suspected was gay. Last year he came to campus, and proceeded to disappear for a long time with my friend Aaron Brager. Is my friend from home gay? Sincerely; Confused Man • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • -J.C. DearC.M.: And good. -J.C. ].C's Shaloms: Shalom to Mike Dobbyn, who might be the JewishAnonymousMan, on his 1!Jh birthday - only six years after his Bar Mitzvah! Yeah! Dear J.C.: I am dating someone because he is an assh*le, and I like that in a person. However, I recently realized that he actually was an assh*le, and not in What's more, a jovial Shalom to Joy Kaplan. You r*ck harder than Ranson ever did Final Shalom of the week goes to Outkast. You r"ckharder than Hanson ever did. Reality is Cursed! must be sacrificed, but the idea of martyring a member of the marching band just doesn't sit well with the DC. So the search continues. But others don't view the matter so griIDJy They maintain that a curse could actually be a blessing in disguise of so1ts. "This [curse] could actually be a blessing in disguise of sorts. Curses are very scary things, they appear without warning and you never know who's cursing you, but they could also provide a time for reflection and introspection. I rem=ber the time I was cursed '1-vith gononhea. I learned a lot about myself Hey, maybe penicillin could work for Reality, too;' said Ervin Romero, who still needs a date for the prom. by Ervin Romero Staff Writer Annapolis- Sources say the smoke machine was what set off the fire alarm at the pendulum pit on Saturday night, cutting short the fun of the meat market. Some are wondering how it could possibly be that a machine that was meant to cause fun could actually destroy it, which has led many to believe that there were other forces at work. Whatever the case may be, Saturday's fiasco marks the second occurrence of a Reality 2003 event ending abruptly. Many are still upset about tl1e cancellation of the teen angst party last month, and a rumor has surfaced that Reality 2003 is under a curse. "I really think that Reality 2003 is cursed. I mean c'mon, it all adds up. I just hope· somebody puts a stop to this cursed ... curse ... before Reality ends up sucking," said Ervin Romero, concerned member of the polity. While many at St. John's do not believe in curses, nevertheless, the search for a that-whichreverses-curses has begun. The current thought is that a virgin • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Dear M.A.B.E.L.: First of all, we don't kill people on request Our rates are $3.50 for the first minute, and 95 cents for each additional minute. Second of all, people don't kill people, guns kill people. We'll need a gun. They are expensive, especially when you factor in inflation, the similarity between our column and Dave Barry's, and our cheapness. So, with that out of theway... dumpthemoth*rf'l'ckeralready.AJso, wer*ck. 0 • 0 • • • • • • • Anon-sucky Reality party of yesteryear. • • • • • • • • • THE GADFLY 3 �This article was printed in Issue 9. Due to technical difficulties, however, on!J 200 copies were printed and most people didn't see it. So here it is. Rembrandt Tutor Interview Continued from 1'ront page Balkcom Resigns Nelson Does Double Duty by Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor TI1e shocking news came lastJune-Mr.John Balkcom, the well-liked President of St. John's College Santa Fe for the past three years, would resign on September first of this year. The Ga4f!y article reporting this news comes nearly two months late-I first said I would write this article a little before l'vft. Balkcom's official resignation date. The story is s1ill fresh, as it were, since although most people know that I'v:f:r. Nelson is currently serving as President of both campuses, they may not know the circumstances behind his doing so. l'vir. Balkcom was selected the year before the current seDiors arrived. He took the office of the departing President, l'vfr. John Agresto, a successful businessman and "an A-1 conservative nut," according to a knowledgeable source. A product of the National Review's and other such conservative institution's misplaced but ardent love for St John's, Mr. Agresto earned the ire of Santa Fe's students by trying to browbeat them into morality. (It is often heard in An_11apolis that they need help in that department, but the question is how to give it.) The controversy over banned parties and a new security force highlighted l'vfr. Agresto's importation of a political dogma, whim, while claiming to have the same goals and grounding as does St. John's, proved ultimately too unexamined and too rigid to fit in here, at least as a public administrative policy. The searrn for a replacement consequently took place in an. atn1osphe.re of peat teI.>.sio:r1 at the college, "\vith the Board ofVisitors and Governors at some times split over whom to hire. Therefore, it came as a great relief when l\1r. Balkcom took office. A Santa Fe GI alumnus and founder of a corporate consulting business, he brought an easy, humble manner and honest eagerness to the job. Students and faculty members alike admired his openness and genuine concern for the good of the school. Many fondly :remember him inviting students to shower at his home last year when a water main broke on campus. He was generally well regarded for respecting the limits to the President's powers as outlined in the Polity, the founding document of the College [see sidebar]. So why did J\!Ir. Balkcom decide to leave? 4 According to Mr. Nelson, "there was quite a bit of self-knowledge in the decision." In his own words, Mr. Balkcom resolved "to blow the whistle on lbim]self," after he reportedly found that he wasn't capable of performing all the duties of the Presidency in a manner with which he was comfortable. "There are clues your body gives you," Mr. Balkcom was quoted as saying by the Santa Fe New Mexican. "I've lost a lot of sleep." Mr. Nelson told the Gadfly in September that Mr. Balkcom did not expect to find the responsibilities of a President to be as broad as they are. "I just decided that something more was needed for this job that I can't provide," l'vfr. Balkcom has said. [The Ga4f!y has not spoken directly with Mr. Balkcom for this article.] While no one doubts the truth of the account given above, some have speculated on whether anything exacerbated Mr. Balk.corn's troubles. Mr. Nelson acknowledges that l\fr. Balkcom was a very adept fundraiser for the College and that he felt comfortable representing the school to the outside world. Conflicts internal to the school were cited, however, in the New J\1.exican story by Warren Honaberger and.iume Constibule, which quoted some Board members and self-described friends of Mr. Balkcom. The confrontational and alarmist to11e of the ~tide "~"as aggt2.vated by the:.-;~~ words of some of its sources, many of whom criticized the way the school is run. All quoted praised Mr. Balkcom, Mr. Owen Lopez going so far as to say that he was "the best president this campus has ever had, and I've known them all." But there were some newer members of the Board who thought that too much power is vested in the Dean and Instruction Committee, to the detriment of the President's position. Both l\!f_r. Nels on and l'vir. Balkcom have explicitly denied this claim. Along the same lines, however, the rumor among students in Santa Fe is that other internal tensions are at least partly to blame for Mr. Balkcom's departure. One senior told the Ga4f!y that in Santa Fe there are a lot of staff members . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Balkcom in happier times. "who have been there for a long time," and have grown out of touch with the college's needs. Mr. Balkcom was said to have been frustrated in his efforts to make some offices run more smoothly, which supposedly contributed to his departure. Students frequently use the word "administration" to describe those who came into conflict with Mr. Balkcom. The usage is of course strange, since the college's President would seem to rank £:'.:st among that murky group, ~.Ed it testifies to the rumor's possible untruth. But if it were to have a partial grasp on the truth, this rumor would raise a troubling specter of a President, well-liked by the students and faculty, having his decision to leave hastened by the attitudes of staff members. TI1e search for a replacement for Mr. Balkcom is on. The College has hired a professional company to come up with a long list of names of possible candidates. A cornmittee consisting of President Nelson, both Deans, faculty representatives, and Board representatives will then winnow that list, eventually coming up with a small number of people to interview. Whomever they chose will have a difficult time filling the shoes ofl'vfr. Joh..'1 Balkcom. m.mating the outlines of the curtains and an upturned basket. When comparing these two, however, the second is not as captivating. This does not have to do simplywith the subject matter. I am quite well disposed to interiors of this period; in fact, they may be my favorite genre in general. The setup is, in fact, reminiscent of Vermeer, but it lacks his subtlety, something only able to be captured by painting. The difficulty hes in a lack of humanity so obvious in the Rembrandt piece. In the Bol, Mary has her face, slightly smiling, turned down toward the nursing infant. Both are sitting under the light of the open window, which again illunlinates a book (the Bible?) on the windowsill; but this is too domestic. Another etching that impresses me is Vz/hge on a Hilby a French contemporary ofRembrandt, Anthonie Waterlo. It depicts a fortified village on a high hill commanding a spectacular view of tl1e river and hedge-rowed fenland beyond. A tree, albeit not a particularly large one, has the most prominent place in the center foreground. Several themes suggest themselves: although the tree is quite prominent, it is flanked by human constructions, the village on the right, and a windmill, far in the background, on the left. Additionally, there is a small figure in the exact center of the piece, just to the left of the tree. }JI this prevents the piece from bei11g sometlung akin to a]. M. W Turner painting with his constant emphasis on Nature over Man. Here we have a balance: man is small and needs to protect himself, while also holding a ubiquitous and powerful place in nature-he is part of it rather than one struggling against it. TheNapkinof St. Veronica(Vero-true,Iconimage), an ingenious etching by Claude Melian, can be seen in the small room nearest the door. It is x~r£!arkable for its method: the engra7tllg was done in one continuous spiral beginning in the center of Christ's nose and spiraling out. Shaded sections were not created with crosshatch.ing, but by depressing or raising the etching tool to create a thicker or thinner line. This show is a superb representative sample Dutch (with some French) sevencentury etchers, and proves once again standard of excellence that our gallery proits semi-annual exhibitions. Art educa--.-~.,~~ Edinberg will lead a "brown bag" .;;.:<·:=erv talk on die exhibition this Wednesday at and I encourage anyone who is able to to partake of her wealth of knowledge re:.•.;:·::·ll'l!MI•~~ artists and their work, along with or fruit juice provided by the gallery: Adam Schulman Adam Schulman s intervieJJJ is a continuation of last weeks Tutor Interviews... Please list the highlights of your Curriculum Vitae a.nd the classes you are currently teaching. If you would like us to use the CV published on the website, please say so. My CV: BA Chemistry, U of Chicago 1980, BA Physics and Philosophy, Balliol College, Oxford 1982 (Rhodes Scholarship), MA History of Science, Harvard, 1985, PhD History of Science, Harvard, 1989. Dissertation: "Quantum and Aristotelian Physics." Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army Reserve, Military Intelligence, 1985, Airborne Qualified 1985. Discharged from the US Army Reserve as a 1st Lieutenant, 1991. Tutor, St. John's College, 1989-present. My classes this year: freshman seminar, sophomore language, senior math. Where are you from? Born in Taipei, Taiwan; raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Why did you become a tutor? I was reluctant to become a specialist. Which program book is your favorite and which program author do you think has the most understanding of the world? Faverite program book: Thucydides. Most understanding of the world: Thucydides Which program book is your least favorite and which program author do you think has the least understanding of the world? Least favorite program book: Das Kapital. Least understanding of the world: Karl Marx What do you do when you can't sleep at night? Read Vaniry Fair (the book). What do you think a tutor is? The most advanced student in the class. What's your favorite Homeric simile? "that gall of anger that swarms like smoke inside a man's heart and becomes a thing sweeter to him by far than the dripping of honey" . . . . . . . . . If you could be anything other than a tutor, what would you be? A soldier. What do you think of smoking? Not my taste, but I wouldn't try to stop anyone. Do you believe in God? "We know too much to be skeptics and too little to be dogmatists." Do you believe in atoms? I believe in wave-particle dualism and multiple worlds. Whose work do you like more, Eliot or Austen? Klein or Strauss? Austen, certainly. I<Jein and Strauss: fo:r me these: inen are beyond praise; perhaps Klein was the better guide to modern natural science, Strauss to the problem of nature as such. What's playing in your car stereo right now? Bach violin partitas, transcribed for guitar. What's your favorite food, color, rock group, hangout place in Maryland? Food.caviar and champagne. Color: blue. Rock group: Can't decide. Hangout: Joss Sushi With which Shakespearean character do you identify most? Shylock. With which character from The Godfather do you identify most? Hyman Roth. How many cups of coffee do you drink per day? Zero to ten. . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 5 �In Support of Marriage Lecture Review: Reconciling the Body, Mind Dichotomy by Cathy Keene Editor-in-Chief (Editor's Note: Please forgive me for this late lecture review, but efter all that has been going on with the Gadfly in the past few weeks, I just haven't had much time to write about the Dr. Locke Oljectivist lecture, ~ven on October 21. Now that our sttiff has straightened everything out, however, I realize I am overdue for this review. So without further introduction, here is nry take on the 0 ljectivist lecture.) The lecture posters claimed Dr. Edwin Locke was going to take a look at the relationship between mind and body, and ''.Ayn Rand's Solution to a 2,000 year old problem." Given this impressive preamble, I was curious to see exactly what Rand thought needed solving. Ten minutes into the lecture, however, I realized this was not going to be the radical throw-amonkey-wrench-in toyour-brain-and-wait-forlogical-thought-to-reappear answer that I had been expecting. Her solution isn't even that foreign to St. John's. Dr. Locke began the lecture by revisiting previous philosophic views on the body and mind and explaining how the two were juxtaposed. Briefly mentioning major philosophers from Plato to Rousseau to Nietzsche, he described how the mind and body are often placed in opposition, with the mind vainly attempting to overcome the body. ''.At the core of the concepts oftheory versus practice, art versus business, and virtue versus pleasure, is the mind/body dichotomy. If these two are forced to remain in constant conflict, our idea of freedom is destroyed." Not wanting to disregard the significance of the body and freedom, Rand set out to "show that having emotions is not a mindless curse, but a result of having ideas." In explaining Rand's theory of the origin and nature of emotion, Dr. Locke organized a chart of appraisals, explaining the logic behind emotion. The diagram he described has three steps, beginning with the ob- 6 ject of the emotion. Using the idea of seeing a bear, he said that man's first step is to encounter the object, in this case a bear. The next step is cognitive appraisal, when he thinks about what the bear is and the consequences of his interaction with it. Following this rational evaluation, the man makes a value appraisal, also known as expressing an emotion, based on his analysis in step two (in this example, fear for one's life is a normal emotion). The theory of reconciling emotion with intellect is founded on the idea that "if you change the inputs of cognitive appraisal, you can change the outputs of emotion." In other words, you allow your mind to think through your emotions. ''Ifyou train yourself, the notion of using reason to evaluate your emotions will eventually become automatic," said Dr. Locke. According to him, Rand believed man was not meant to be fully rational. She thought emotions should be neither controlled nor repressed, but instead allowed the full reality of their form. Once an emotion is assessed, it should be felt even stronger, as it works in conjunction with the mind. "This process is not used to repress but to correct and find a harmony, so that your subconscious gives you the same emotions as your conscious," said Dr. Locke. ''In this matter, Freud was wrong. Man is the master of his own house if he so chooses." While this lecture was not nearly as inflammatory as I had been expecting, it was also not the typical St. John's review of a philosophic idea. Dr. Locke clearly stated thatAynR.andhad reconciled this dichotomy absolutely correctly, a rather odd phrase to hear voiced anywhere on campus. Although he obviously was working under this assumption, his line of reasoning was not blatantly skewed; much of what he said seemed to be well received by the members of the audience. If anything was odd about the lecture, it was the lack of avant-garde ideas, as thinking through one's feelings does not seem to be very earthshattering. In fact, it makes perfect sense to me, even though I am not an Objectivist. A Conversation on Lawrence v. Texas by Nick Colten Staff Writer On Friday, November 14, St. John's alumnus (SF74), BV&G member and lawyer, Steve Thomas will lead a discussion on a recent, controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision. The case, Lawrence 11. Texas, went before the Court last year and was decided in the summer. The petitioners in the case were John Lawrence and Tyron Garner, a gay-and an interracial-couple living in Texas. They were arrested for breaking a Texas state law that proscribes "deviate sexual intercourse" (oral or anal sex) between people of the same gender. Their arrest came after police burst into their home. The police were responding to a false report by a . neighbor that someone in the apartment was brandishing a gun. In a 6-3 decisi the Supreme Court overturned the Te courts ruling and deemed the law uncons tutional. Mr. Thomas will give a presentation the legal arguments used in the case-eq protection and the so-called "right to p · vacy." He will also discuss the ramifica · of the decision on the legal status of mosexuals in the U.S. and the issue P sonal privacy. The meeting will be held pm in the Conversation Room. Pollo Mr. Thomas' presentation, there will question period and discussion. For information concerning the event, pl contact me, Nick Colten, via campus . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Sean G. Penny Staff Writer The past few months have brought big news to gay men and women. I hesitate, however, to call them advances of the 'gay,iights movement' or the 'gay agenda,' as I've always considered 'gay-rights' to be rather fringe, paling in comparison to the importance of political issues such as education, es, or the economy in general. The motum began with the historic U.S. Sue Court ruling on the Lawrence 11. Texas e this past June. The Supreme Court down a Texas statute that prohibited · kinds of private, consensual sex betwo adults. The suit, challenging the lled sodomy law, was brought against by a gay couple that was found having sual sex in their home, and was placed overnight. This has effectively kicked vernment out of people's bedrooms straight), a venue in which it didn't in the first place. Outside of the of politics, but to great fanfare and val, this past week the U.S. Episcopal h finally consecrated the ation's first openly gay bishop. In , congregations around the world 'eady threatened to leave the church. e wake of these events, Canada offi' zed gay marriages. Gay activist enow using that country as a para- a digm towards achieving the same recognition in the United States. Our society definitely appears willing to allow things that it might not have in the past, but the concept of gay marriage still strikes fear in the hearts of many Americans. This may end up being a massive wall for gay activists to climb. The reasons for this are many and varied. I can think of a few examples. First, marriage between a man and a woman has become ubiquitous. Second, many deem it to be the natural way of doing things because they believe that marriage is merely a means of reproduction. To suggest anything outside of this kind of relationship seems absolutely foreign to the majority of the population. Citing these two reasons, most people defend legally banning gay marriage on the basis that it would disrupt the nation's moral framework and the concept of family. I am purposely leaving religion out of the equation, recognizing that religion has absolutely no place in deciding law. This uproar has led some states and even the federal government to respond. These responses, however, I consider rather childish. Lawmakers in Michigan are aiming at the state constitution, planning to pass an amendment that will make laws against gay marriage even harder to change. Meanwhile, the state of Massachusetts is conducting public polls on bills that would legalize same-sex unions. The biggest reaction to this trend has been from President Bush himself, who recently proclaimed Oct. 1218 as "Marriage Protection Week." His justifications for doing so, aside from reasons I've already mentioned, include what could be construed to be his own religious beliefs. The reason I call these reactions childish is that I question whether they're really necessary. Do these politicians really think that marriage as we know it is going to suddenly disappear? Is it under attack? If so, from whom? Surely they're not worried about a segment of the population as tiny as homosexuals? The gay population in the United States is estimated to be as high as 10% and as low as 2 or 3%. Now, consider that many of these individuals are still painting or papering the walls of their closets; furthermore, not every gay person is in a relationship. There are plenty of churches in this country that would be happy to marry two men or two women. Gays can get married. We can go through all of the same steps that straights do, outside of receiving legal recognition. Is a group of people as small as I've suggested realty going to affect your individual life all that much, let alone the dynamics of the entire country? If two homosexuals fall in love and want to get hitched, how much impact is it honest!J going to have on anyone else's life? The sheer numbers indicate that it wouldn't be much. Fireciders! It's that time of year again! Every Wednesday at 3:30 pm, the Dean invites the students, tutors, and staff to gather around the hearth in the Coffee Shop for refreshments, fire-gazing, and conversation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY. 7 �On the Unfortunate State of Popular Music by Jackson O'Brien 1n8apxriov A spectre is haunting the music industry. The spectre of downloadable music--of the late, yet still omnipresent N apster, of Kazaa, of Limewire, and of numerous other such services which anyone in a suit will tell you is the downfall of music. I am here to tell you that this spectre needn't harm you or the musicians who produce the glorious melodies we listen to. I have been asked several times to state my opinion on such matters, and I believe that I am well versed enough to make this opinion and the reasons backing it public, and so I present this article. I am a musician. My father is a musician. A great number of my friends are musicians. I, with several of my friends, intend to pursue music after college. Already, being an unsigned band, we have been forced to tread through the quagmires that are music industry contracts, at-rangements, and (to the more informed) swindles. I believe it is well past time that the arrangements that so typically frame any agreement between artist and industry is somethh"'1g that people need to know about. Let us imagine a musician, a solo artist. Let his name be Leonard Dylan, and, for whatever reason (feel free to pick a story from your favorite episode of VHI's Behind The Music-mine is Metallica's), he has attracted interest from a major recording label who wishes to sign him. Leonard is thrilled at this prospect, finally the masses '.Vill be able to hear bis music, ;ind he ,viJJ also (probably) be able to live exclusively offhis passion as a vocation as well. He works out an arrangement with his record company wherein he will get $2 for every record of his sold, plus songwriting royalties for whatever songs he writes (by law about $0.08 per song) on the album. "Where does the other $15 that I spend on my records go?" I can hear you ask already. A record company will typically sell a batch of records to a distributor for about $8-$10 a CD, claiming that half of the money goes to the artist, about $2 goes towards the actual physical components of a jewel case, printing liner notes, a blank CD, and the labor that goes into putting the music onto it. The rest goes to the record company. The distributor v;rill t_hen,in turn, sell the CDs to record stores for $12-$15 a CD, thus allowing you the 8 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . consumer to spend $16-$20 on your new Leonard Dylan album. The record company gives Leonard a notinsubstantial chunk of change to go and record his album, let's say $80,000. He must first find a studio and pay them to let him use it (typically between $500-$3000 a day depending on how nice a studio it is). He must also hire backup musicians and an engineer (each costing into the hundreds per day). Finally, his company will hire a producer for him, mostly as a watchdog to make sure that he will produce music that is consistent with what they believe is salable about his music: this will cost about $5,000 to $20,000, depending on how hot the producer is. Needless to say, considering the expenses, that $80,000 gets eaten up fairly quickly, especially when one considers that it takes about a month to finish a studio album. So Leonard goes out and records his 12-song album, consisting of 8 of his own and 4 covers. The record company then proceeds to spend boatloads of cash ~et's say $300,000) on promotion. This includes taking out advertisements, printing boatloads of promotional CDs to send to magazines and radio stations, at"ld (of course the most expensive bit that no one wants to talk about) the cash that goes under the table to make sure that the media review/ play the CDs in question (typically called "payola"). Then the sales begin. Thanks to the media blitz alone1, we will say that he sells 100,000 copies of his alb= within the first week or two. "Hooray for Leonard!" we all exclaim. That boy's just made himself $264,000! He'll finally be able to pay his rent on time! Trade in that crappy old car of his! Maybe even trade in the Natty Bo' for some Newcastle! Not so fast. We still haven't talked about "recouping" Much like sharecroppers in the 19th century, artists today must pay for the tools their record companies give them. So, without being consulted on how much the company should spend on him, he owes the. record company money (as he hasn't made enough off the albums to recoup the $380,000 they've spent) while they have made $600,000 off him. In fact, the way that record company policy typically works, they will specifically contrive it so that they never have to pay him. As soon as the amount the artist has made even begins to approach the amount they have spent on him, the record companies will then "take the media campaign to the next level;' paying TRL to interview him, putting him (and his crew and band) up at the Ritz and putting it on his tab, take out more advertisements, pay out more payola to radio stations, etc. Their mission is to spend money at the rate he makes it, and thus to saturate the market with his presence. Ever wonder why the radio plays a song until just past where you can't humanly stand listening to it anymore? That's why. Songwriting royalties, however, do not go entirely through the record company, so as long as Leonard has written something on his record, he will make some money off it. There are two problems with this in the guise of two record contract standard provisions: first, there exists something called a songwriting cap, namely that the company will only pay you for a set number of songs that you write on your album (normally between 5 and 10); second, though by law the record companies must pay royalties at least at the mininn.un level of $0.08 per song typically one must waive that right in order to get a contract, and are typically paid at a rate of closer to $0.05 per song. Therefore, while he must be paid for his songwriting work, Leonard probably will only reap about $25,000 for his album (probably the only one he will put out that year). Musicians do, however, make money, but they don't typically do so off of a recording contract. Thanks to the tremendous amount of people who have now heard his music (and probably like at least some of it), people will go to see his live shows. He will still not make every cent of the door price, but it will be significantly more than a quarter per ticket My long, drawn-outpoint is this: Do not feel you are cheating an artist if you download a song or two of theirs. If you download a record and you like it, please go ahead and buy it, not only to give the poor songwriter(s) Popular Music, continued on page A. Bad vVeek For Campaign Finance Nick Colten Staff Writer Last Saturday, Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean announced that he would be opting out of the public financing system for the Democratic primary race. He was the first Democratic candidate to do so since the program was put in place in the mid70s. George W Bush earlier this year also declined public financing for the Republican primary race, which he also did during the 2000 election. The system that is currently in place (with some modifications) was that result of campaign financing scandals that came to light during the Watergate investigation. It requires disclosure of campaign contributors and caps on how much an individual can give to a candidate; it also created a system of matching funds. The matching funds program was designed to aid candidates who receive large numbers of small value campaign contributions. It matches donations of up to $250 and can provide a candidate with up to $18. 7 million dollars total. In exchange for accepting these matching funds, a candidate must abide by a limit to his spending. A candidate can spend no more than $44.6 million dollars (this figure includes the $18. 7 M of the matching funds) until after he is normnated by his party at their national convention. After that point, a separate and more generous, general election financing scheme comes into effect. The rules of the public financing system were drawn up at a time when presidential bega..~ in L11e year of tlJ.e election for ,,.,_,u:,-cn not rancorous--discussions. Now; candidate tlrnt will eventually receive tlle is decided upon months prior to convention, and the conventions themare little more than free media coverage pc..cu,-1.mu candidate. The success of Mt. Dean's campaign thus been a surprise to many, particularly in to raise campaign funds. As it stands, campaign has raised as much money as it tild be able to spend if Mr. Dean were to "'· · -- ·- accept the federal matching funds. The campaign assllilles, probably rightly, that it can raise more than $20 million between now and the Democratic national convention, which takes place in late July. For this reason alone, it is likely that Mr. Dean is tempted to forego the matching funds. Tb.is, however, is not sufficient reason for him to do so, inasmuch as abandoning public financing is a political liability for a Democratic candidate. The principal reason for Mr. Dean to opt out of the system, and one that is more acceptable to many Democrats, has nothing to Howard Dean has been compared to Achilles by the Washington Post. do with the D=ocratic primary race, and everything to do with the Republican one. As I said, Mr. Bush has chosen again to forego public financing in the primary. During the last election, he was able to raise about $100 million dollars during his c::unp;;igr. fo:;: the Republican nomination. He is expected to raise even more than that amount in this year alone. Next year he will have nine months more in which to raise money-the Republican convention being held in New York close to the third anniversary of the Sept 11th attack. Aside from the large difference in campaign funds, another difference between l\llr. Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns is that in 2004 primary race, lVIr. Bush will be the lone Republican candidate runni.ng. The Bush campaign already has nearly twice the amount of money that any Democrat campaigning under the public financing sch=e will have, and instead of spending that money competing against Republican candidates, he will be using it against Democratic ones. Because of this situation Mr. Dean, who is likely to be joined by fellow candidates General Wesley Clark and Senator John Kerry, decided to run a primary campaign on entirely private funds. In response to this unprecedented move, several public interest groups dedicated to publicly funded campaigns, such as Common Cause (itself, like the campaign finance laws, a child of Watergate), have decided not to criticize Democratic candidates who forego matching funds in the primaiy race. These groups have for years decried the state of campaign finance and have labored to change the rules governing it. Their grudging support of these Democratic candidates is an acknowledgment that the current system is both bad and getting worse, and that strict adherence to it is now counterproductive to the cause of reform, which they hope a Democratic president may champion. The public interest groups have however placed one condition on candidates who opt out of the Federal funds, that they honor the $44.6 million spending limit until the Democratic Party unofficially selects a candidate for president-which is expected to happen by April. As of Sunday evening, Howard Dean has not agreed to abide by such a constraint. On a separate-though arguably related-note, tl1e E.P.A. announced that 1t will no longer be dropping dozens oflawsuits against electrical utilities for violations of the Clean Air Act Lawyers for the agency told reporters that "the change grew out of a recommendation by Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force" (according to the Nov. 6th NY Times article, ''Lawyers at E.P"-\. Say It Will Drop Pollution Cases"). The White House has vigorously fought both Congressional and private law suits seeking details of those secret meetings. Furthermore, according to a Nov: 6th Washzizgton Past article ("\'\lhite House to End Power Plant Probes"), "some of the investigations being dropped involve large power companies, such as Detroit Edison, which President Bush visited in September, and Reliant whose former executives are 'Pioneers' who have raised hundreds 0f thousands of dollars for the president's reelection campaign." According to contribution figures compiled by Common Cause, electrical utilities have donated over $19 million in soft money to political campaigns from the period ofJan. 1999 to Dec 2002. More than two-thirds that amount was given to Republican campaigns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �Ra e and the Modern Woman: Pygmy Rhinoceros g I I by K.C. Sykora There is a certain philosopher on campus with whom I became acquainted while working for Buildings and Grounds last summer. Upon first meeting him, I was immediately impressed by his vast knowledge of astrology. All he had to do was ask me my birthday in order to tell me everything about myself, none of which was true. At first I thought he was some sort of holy fool, taking refuge at the College as a sanctuary for unsavory characters. But as the weeks passed I began to appreciate him more. In b~tween leaf blowings and weed whackrngs, I watched this philosopher (who was really a magician) single-handedly transform the entire St. John's community into a menagene. Ms. Cassells became a horse, Mr. Perron became a bat, Mr. Wallace became an eagle, Painter-Bob became a bobcat. But 10 as the rarest breed of all-the fearSeveral days ago, I presented my prob' w h" lem to Mr. Ingham. He suggested that I some pygmy r moceros. . h M Now, the reason that I'm telling this try musi: or th~ater. Altho_u~ r. story is that this "fool" gave me the great- In~ham is certarnly no musician, he · ult f my life by turning me into a claimed that the latter strategy has worked es t ms o t " bli pygmy rhinoceros. Whether or not the for him in the past as a way o su pygmy rhinoceros is a mythological crea- mate" e~cess ~nerg!. In t~e first plac~ I · · ture is irre1evan there . What's important don't quite believe him, seemg as how Ive is that it is a miniature version of a regu- never known Mr. Ingham to have any e~lar rhinoceros, which, according to the cess energy. In the s~cond ~lace, I couldn t Philosopher, is a very mean animal, and personally fo~low his advice because the so has all the bad temper of a regular rhi- idea of prancmg a~ound on stag~ sounds noceros with none of the strength to go te~ribly_e~asculating to ~e. Besides, ~he with it. This is also, I think, a rather apt King William Players won t have me-I ve description of me, which is why I have a tried several times. . . lot of rage and nowhere to put it. I blame I do, however, occasionally engage in this in part on my gender and in part on theatrical performances, most recently at modernity. Who wants to see an angry a _Halloween p~rty last weekend. Some woman, anyway ? It's not impressive-it's pirate had left his sword on the Lazy-Boy. . . . . _ shameful. It's more likely to inspire em- So I picked 1t up and began movmg ~o barrassment or pity than fear. Then there's wards a certain young man of my acq:iamthe problem of the modern era. Here's an tance (who _may or ma! not be as_sociated example: in this day and age, I can't very with the Philosopher) m a menac~g fashwell challenge ion. He began to look ap~reh~nsive. But someone to a duel then I stopped, smiled ironically, and, if they've insulted looking at the sword in m~ hands, colme, let alone just lapsed into the sofa to begin my monobecause I've had a logue. bad day in lab class "What, did you think I was go_ing to and feel like doing stab you with this? It's just plastic · · · some violence to a harmless like my stunted horn. I'm only sensate being. a pygmy rhinoceros, after all. (Dramatic th a t ,s pause.) You know, I have violent fantaOh ' no... considered "so- sies. I keep them all inside because I don't cially unaccept- know what else to do with them. It just able." Now we looks silly if a woman gets angry ... people have "human look at you like they want to put you in a rights." padded cell so you don't hurt yourself. I So, what's a girl hate myself both for showing anger and. to do? Wring her for being angry in the first place." hands and contort And the disciple said: her face into a vari"I'll be straight-up with you, ety of painful gri- (Snort.) You can't help how you feel." maces directed toYou're damned right about that. wards the spirit of Maybe I can enlist Mr. Muscarella to Bohr or whoever turn me into a Spartan Superwoman happens to be sit- maybe Ms. Alapin to turn me into "1' ting at the other St. John's Woman." Either way, I' end of the table? I gotta find some way to assert myself, find this solution else I might just cave and turn into a Ch to be very unsatis- tian. For Nietzsche says that religio factory. But unfor- useful for certain people, namely for" tunately, I'm no men who have no expertise with Achilles, and I weapon (mouth and pen counting weapons)." have no Hector. SPORTSWIRE: Athenian Reasonball by Michael Malone Class Historian, Qass President '04 Before the Spartans vs Greenwaves football game of two weeks past, I would have given the Spartans' odds of winning comparable to Baudelaire making sense to anyone who isn't higher than the celestial sphere; i.e. not very good. But after the Spartans came oh so close to upsetting the Waves, I may have to rethink my plan to bring a big conical spliff to Mr. Salem's next French tutorial. The game began with a kickoff to the Greenwaves, who were all ready to run one of their patent pending plays: The Wall of Sodom. Five or so Waves formed a wall on the twentyyard line, with co-captain J erod Ruleaux standing to the side. Fellow co-captain Nick Whittier received the ball on the thirty-yard line and tossed it back to Ruleaux, who-get this-proceeded to stuff the ball into his pants, behind his back. The goal was to hide the ball from the Spartans playing on the field; however, Spartan Justin Lanier, watching the play from the sideline, effectively communicated to his team that Jared had .the ball, and the Spartans were able to stop the Waves on the fifty yard line: an average kick return. For his excellent whistle blowing, Mr. Lanier will be awarded the 5th annual Linda Tripp Patriot of the Year Award this December. This play illustrated the greatest strength of the Waves, who went undefeated in the football .$¢allon: their ability to create novel plays that com. y confuse their opponents. You're asking, they as confusing as the New Yorker} insisto place the dieresis in words like cooperate? yes, they are that confusing. Confusion, however, is not the Waves' only . No, ma'am. They know how to play short game, too. And on the second play of first offensive possession, a short lob from quarterback Nate Whitman to the bumbling ds of Ruleaux, put the Waves into the end A bizarre fumble recovety by the Spartans the Wave's two-point conversion attempt, , showed the crowd that the Spartans 't just roll over and die-like they had so many times before-and that it was to be a good game. e Spartans started their first offensive sea sack from Mr. Kulp. But Spartan QB rgin's third down pass to Jared Wtlk, passed, with both hands in a peculiar, ":ve, overhead fashion, to Blake Kiltoff; ened to get them six points, since Blake the end zone. A failed pass from Ossorgin to a fallingJared Will;: meant the score was tied as faster players while the rest just run out confusthe Spartans kicked off to the Waves. ingly in all directions-which didn'twork-beNick Whittier's kickoff return was absolutely cause of Ujj-but a good run by the Waves, and ridiculous. As he ran past the Spartan defense a successful two point conversion put them up he tossed the ball in the air, to himself, each 22 to 21, which didn't last long because after time he passed one of their players. This meant halftime the Waves had to kick to the Spartans, that if anyone got his flag the play would con- who were able to score on the series after another · tinue, since he didn't have control of the ball. Jared Wilk two-handed-over-the-head-pass to He ran past two Spartans who couldn't even Logan Smith, which, along with the two point get his flag; the third, who did, didn't get the conversion, put the Spartans up 29 to 22, which tackle since the ball was out of Nick's control. gave them so much momentum that the Waves' And into the end zone he ran. If I were to Ruleaux fumbled the ball, which was recovered make a ratio, and I will--despite having my by the Kiltoff; and before you knew it the Waves terms in, gasp, unlike magnitudes-Nick had scored yet again off a Jared Ruleaux QB Whittier is to SJC football, what Michael Jack- sneak, and the score was Spartans 35, Waves 34. son is to dancing. Sure Gene Kelly may have The Spartans kicked to former Druid team been the best at what was out there, but Jack- member, and current unashamed cardholder for son refuvented walking. And that is what the United States Communist Party-I already Whittier, and company, are doing on the foot- informed our evil Republican overlords, so don't ball field. worry-Matthew Mangold. Mangold easily ran But, forthe sake ofthis article, freshman Spar- the ball to the Spartans 20 yard line, where he tan Laslow Ujj doesn't like Michael Jackson. No, passed the ball into the end zone and into the he likes Gene Kelly. He likes it old school. And well moisturized hands of chess club archon, that's how he played his kick return. He ran until and major Jergens stock holder, Dan Malkiel. he was swanned with defenders, and then made An easy two point conversion pass to John a short pass to Spartan Captain Blake Kiltoff, ''Lars" Peterson put the Waves up 42 to 35. who ran it into the end zone. The Spartans deAt this point there were vety few plays left in cided to avoid trying to tie the game at 14 to 14 the game, and the Spartans needed to score in by going for a two-point conversion. Instead order to win. They got to the 35 on the kick return, opting to kick a point after touchdown, which and then to the 20 on a pass to Ben Kloch. Then would force the Greenwaves to kick off. Ujj's theheartbreaker: A pass from Ossorgin to a widesure foot put the ball between the uprights and open Nick Garklavs in the endzone. I don't think the Waves found themselves ahead by a measly it's an insult to ask if the kid is made of rubber, point 14 to 13. do you? I mean if he is rubber, and I think that's Now, for the sake of brevity, the next 40 or so true, then my insult should bounce off of him, plays will be summarized in one exceptionally else he would sue. Hopefully Nick will be able to long run on sentence. Hold on... tum this heartbreaker into something good, just The Spartans scored on their next offensive like Led Zeppelin did, and the Rolling Stones. Do possession because of a big run from Charlie I think Nick can do that? Well I'll let my ellipsis Stuart-which got them to the 10---and a series speak for itself .. of passes from Ossorgin to Logan Smith and So the Waves ended up winning, and good back to Ossorgin-who was in the end zone- for them. Unfortunately their winning just hapwhich, along with a two point conversion pass pened to mean that the Spartans lost, and that's to Charlie Stuart, put them up 21 to 14, a lead too bad. They deserved to win that game. They which the Greenwaves undid in three plays, cul- had the only real defensive plays in the game, and minating in a Hail Mary pass to senior John their offense-i.e. Ossorgin-is certainly good O'Krent-who caught the ball and did a back- enough to do the job. And they all just played wards somersault to get into the endzone (de- their hearts out. Not literally, mind you, but spite already being in the endzone, which is ex- metafiguratively. But the Waves just have it all: actly where Ruleaux did not throw his conver- speed, teamwork, and brains. Surely the sion pass-instead lobbing it out of bounds), Greenwave's coi:irdinationis forcing a reevaluation which forced the Spartans to kick off to the Waves, ofthe cooperation in each team, and a reeducation who attempted their huddle play-where they in the way this game can be played. Will the Waves call a huddle and have the center pick up the ball be beaten next year? Gene Kelly may be dead, but on the line of scrimmage and take it into the Michael's doing his best to catch up. huddle, where they give the ball to one of the . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 �Usually I Have More of a Life by Ian McCracken Executive Editor I had nothing to do this weekend. I was supposed to go to Penn.rylvania to see my grandmother marry her husband again since his real wife died, but that didn't happen. Unfortunately, I'd alrea4J told all my friends that I would be gone, and they'd made plans. These plam did not include me. I don't take rejection well, but I pulled myse!f together and decided to go to the movies a lot. I was alrea4J supposed to write a reviev.J of Matrix Revolutions for this issue, so I figured I'd throw in a little bit about the other movies I saw this weekend. I had a different reason for seeing each movie. The reasons were {in the order in which I saw the movies): cool effects, Keira Knightley, Laura Linney, the Coen brothers, and Rachel Weisz. Matrix Revolutions This is Ian McCracken. First: Matrix Revolutions, which I saw for the cool effects and because I said I would. This movie relies on a few key universally accepted facts: 1. Things that look like bugs are creepy 2. Swarms of things that look like bugs are super creepy 3. Chicks with guns are awesome 4. Jada Pinkett Smith is both cool and hot. This movie was very bad. It wasn't absolutely horrendous, not obscenely wretched, not what-a-waste-of-two-hours-not-toiT.Lefi tion-the--nine- bucks, ra ther-s tickneedles-in-your-eyes awful. It was watchable. In fact, it was better than Matrix Reloaded, by virtue of its having less plot. They didn't have nearly as much philosophobabble in this one, though people did talk a lot. Still, it was really bad. I went into this movie with absolutely no expectations, and that saved me. It was much worse the second time. 12 Basically, with N eo in a coma, the Logos and Niobe lost somewhere, and a quarter million sentinels reaching Zion in twenty hours, Morpheus and the captain of the Hammer, who says, "God damn" a lot, don't have many options. They're sitting around, looking like chumps, when the Oracle's right-hand man (whose name, cleverly enough, is Seraph, like we didn't get that before) calls them and says Neo needs their help. Cut to: Neo in a train station. Somehow he's jacked into the Matrix vJithout 'Ni.res. He meets some people who say things about love and karma. Some other things happen, including a visit with the Merovingian (all he needed was a mustache to twirl, for God's sake) and his wife Persephone (unlike the last film, all she had this time was one line and a lot of cleavage). Finally Trinity and Morpheus come and rescue N eo. That takes maybe a half hour. The rest of the movie is a battle for Zion, which is totally cool, a journey to the Machine city, which is predictable, and Jada Pinkett Smith trying to outrun a lot of sentinels in the Hammer, which is cool because she is cool. The beginning bit is sort of just to catch us up with the previous movie, so that the complete lack of plot isn't as jarring. Keanu Reeves is, if possible, an even worse actor this time around. Maybe he's just supposed to be calmly brave, or maybe inscrutable, or maybe he's incapable of showing emotion because he's such a rotten actor. I dunno. It doesn't matter, because the battle for Zion is pretty exciring. See the movie for tlrnt. Since this is the second part of what is essentially a five-hour movie, it can be almost all climax, and it mostly is. They put in a lot of really cheesy stuff, though-a lot of saying dramatic little things before righteously firing one's bazooka. Stuff like that. Ms. Hinton, with "vhom I went to see the movie the first time, pointed out that in one scene, where Neo is standing in front of the Oracle's refrigerator, he blocks out all the letter magnets except a G, an 0, and a n Come on, guys. You can do better than that. There's considerably less kung fu in this installment, because most of the fighting happens in the real world. Another cab, this time to Eastport Cinema. Don't see this movie for plot twists, unless you didn't read the Gospels that well and so might be surprised. Also, if you have some desire to be indoctrinated into Gnosticism, you can go see this for something other than effects and action. I got a ride back from the Matrix Friday night in Johanna Thrall's car, into which they managed to fit ten people. I was in the trunk with a couple other guys. The next morning, after I'd realized that nobody was around, I called a cab, which came with six middies. I squeezed and we went to the Harbour Center. Mystic River Another movie with a monster cast. This one, though, was excellent. Great acting from good he has a prenup named after him. . Popular Music, continued from page 8 Catherine Zeta-Jones is divorcing this guy . thett share, but also so that the record companies that he's representing. He falls for her. He . know "hey, we should put out more albums of chases her. That's the movie. · this quality." If you love it, go and see them live The characters aren't very likeable, and . when they come around. \Xi'ho knows, maybe they're supposed to be. It's a shallow : someday the crookedness of all these policies movie, without any real payoff There are . will change, and artists will make a fair share off a few good plot twists, and this . e~ch record sold and the radios won't be dogged movie contains one of the funniest . with filth we're sick of hearing. I look forward to things I've ever seen in a film, but I : th_at day, not only because I will be buying records wish the Coen brothers had rewrit. with an entirely clean conscience, but because I ten it more. will also be able to go ice-skating in hell. 1 We must r=ember that Leonard is a new Since reporting illegal activity in the artist, no one has heard ofhim and regardless of Gadfly has turned out to be a bad idea I how amazing · · h ' b ' . a mus1oan e may e no one save d ,. ecttne to state whether or not I purchased · maybe a handful 0 f l · hi 'h ·k peop e 1n s ome town a tzc et for the fourth movie, which whor=emberhimasLennyfromtheblockwill saw on a whzm when I realized it was only · buy his album on an ·t fhi ten o'clock. Y mens 0 sown yet. I: Love Actually Sean Penn wishes he were Ian McCracken. Feline Gifts Runaway Jury Don'tlaugh atme for going to see this movie. It got good reviews, and it had a monster cast t.11.at mcb:!.ed Keira K<llghtley Unfortumtelyit was bad. I didn't enjoy most of it, because it was hypersappy, in a really trite way. Also, because it had ten--count '=-subplots, all of which volved different people, there was no time plot or character development. It was The basic premise: people love each other That's literally the entire plot. Some of it genuinely sweet, but just in passing, since · was no overarching coherent plot. Hugh played the Prime J\fullster, andhe was pretty fi.ulny,·• although he does have one scene in which he dances, alone, to the Pointer Sisters. This travesty. Mostly, this movie was a boring, predicta sapfest. If you liked Notting Hill, you'll proba like this. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sean Penn, Laura Linney, Tim Robbins, by Gina Lee ·Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence Fishburne, This movie was very entertaining, in a (E,ditor':r Note: Ms. Lee har outdoor cats. She would and even Kevin Bacon. It takes place in John Grisham kind of way. You know like readers to know that she does not kill animals Boston-Charlestown, actually-as you like The Pelican Brief. It vilifies the gu~ herself.) could probably tell from the title. Three industry, and that's cool. It has Rachel childhood friends (who grow up into #1 Weisz in it, which is always a good idea. Penn, Bacon and Robbins) are playing Other than that, there's not much to say : Rabbit hindquarters. outside one day when one of them (Tim about lt. All the acting is great, and it's : Entrails steaming nearby. R?bbins~well, actually the kid playing very exciting. There were a couple of odd Artfully arranged. T11n Robb111's character only younger) gets cameos. Orlando Jones is on the screen #2 kidnapped by some guys pretending to for a couple seconds. Dylan McDermott · Bird without a head. be cops. They take him out in the woods. Wings spread as if to take flight He escapes four days later. We pick Grounded forever. up the story many years later, they're all grown up. Sean #3 Penn's daughter gets killed, and · Tiny, smoke-gray mole. looks like Tim Robbins did it. : Its form totally intact. Bacon, by some lucky coBloating in the sun. ·. ·~·~"'c•.tu::. is the detective assigned the case. The movie proceeds #4 there. It's really g~od. . Chipmunk, still alive. I walle out of Eastport Cinema, . Tail twitching, eyes open. into a cab, and say 'Take me to Nothing to be done. movie theater at the mall!" The #5 looks at me funny and asks if I e a mistake. "No," I say, "I'm Rachel Weisz, the future Mrs. Ian McCracken. : Half a butterfly. rea!!J bored. "We talk about Matrix· Revo- 1s onscreen for a couple minutes. Anyway · P owd ery co1 ful wmg , · · or ons on the way to the mall. .. Intolerable Cruelty Stnce_ the Coen brothers didn't actually e this movie, I don't feel so cheated. very sloppy. It caused me to fall in ,with Catherine Zeta-Jones, though. 8 • 1 n.credibly beautiful. George ney 18 this divorce lawyer who's so this movie was cool. I liked it a lot. : Will not fly again. Another cab. This guys name was Ali. I JJ.Jent home. Four movies in one day: not bad. I ·h JJ.Jts more of them were good. I did have to sit tl - h h ·, J1oug t e trat1er for The Last Samuraifi've . times, and that was annoying. I got to JJ.Jatch a trailer for some movie JJ.Jith Jennifer Connelly tn zt three times, and that was great. She and I have a love that transcends the boundaries of space, time, and truth. That's all. I'm done. . · . . · #6 Mysteryorgans. , _,_ . .lllillual parts bits of fur. · . ' Urudentified. #7 . Parade of insects : Marching over the remains. All will be erased. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 13 �Back by Popular Demand: The Umphrey Dance · ' zs T77ti'ansseriesof sonuswnttenryan d about St. .} ohns, ·th· Sweek wepresent the famous · · Contznuzng M s. J."\Ur 1' 0· '.I · p k · 'V 1tihre11 Umrph "The folloiving song was pe1formed b the senzors durzng enzor ran zn " mr :,r • . h ''d b t th tune of 'The Hump!J Dance, April of 1998. Ervin Romero informs us that zt s -ou1, .e sung o e '.I an ear!J-90s rap hit b the Digital Underground, featunng ayoung Tupac. by Gangsta vov~ Stop what you're <loin' 'cause I'm about to ruin the image of the tutor you're used to. I look old-but yo my pees are gold, see, so yo I hope the gym is ready for me. now gather 'round, listen to my verbs and nouns. Here're my mental powers-who'll be the first I confound? I'll drink the hemlock on your shelf, but I'll live 'cause Socrates a sucka-letme introduce myself: My name is Umphrey, pronounced like "he's so much smarter t h an me," oh sophists how I'd like to stump thee. And all you tutors up for tenure-please allow me to bump thee I'm like Tyson and you're Holyfield; you'll lend me your ear when my knowledge I yield. I like to think. I like my thoughts speedy, I'm meaty. I won my wife from Bruce Lee. I never miss-straight Umphrey mac, I'm not silly, I'm not ridiculous, I'm dope-I'll bring your mind fire like Prometheus. Hey chunky tutor, come here, yo' body's fat like Plato. I'll make you work your brain, I'll make you work your gut. I'm like a aod-listen to my mind go boom. M thoug~ts are still thinking themselves Ln a Burger King bathroom. y . s I'm smart-for breakfast I eat men like artre. Maybe you've heard me-I'm number one on the philosophy chart. . , · .L rll ''• - .,.1.,.,1~ I'rn still getting' lfitO 1liel1 S i11JJJ.U;, a U.iC Wli.Ll\;' makin' them dance like this, Umphrey style: The Umphrey dance is your chance to do the Umph ("voui;me baby, do the Umphrey-Umph ... ") People say, "yo Umphrey, you look about ninety." That's okay, 'cause in the ring they'll find me Ya stare, ya grin-just don't shove, or you'll get a taste of my golden glove. I got the fever, I aot the fever for the flavor of knowledge; b that's why I'm illin' at this college. I look like Zeus-I hand-pickmyvou<;; heroic/ stoic-ask me anything, I'm guaranteed to know it. My nous is big-na-uh, I'm not ashamed, . It's unabridged, 24/7 there's a party ill my bram. 14 Students shop my mind like it's a mall, I'm the only tutor you'd want to help you in a brawl. I wrote a book without pictures so it's not for the masses, but it's brighter than the sun so grab your sunglasses. u-.~+- T'_,.., c-tu.-,...-r,..,.e~-~I lili:e to make 'em tf,.i."lk, .AJ..;:<.i... --o . I keep 'em guessing when I wear shirts that are green and hot pink. .J.. lJ. .., l.4 My voice is deep-my biceps are steep, and when I talk you'd best not make a peep. Now here's a little something-it's better than romance, they're the moves that move themselves-it's the Umphrey dance. . (chorus] (add: "flexy baby") Now I told you about myself, let me tell you about this dance: First I find something to contemplate y'know, something worthy of the Umph, Then I stroke my beard and twitch my rump. I put my leg over here and sweep it around like I's a star in the fixed sphere. People say, "You look like you've been hittin' the beer." But I don't drink-I don't even eat, I got all the answers, but no I don't cheat. Diane Ensor: the Friendliest Facilities Director in Town by Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor This week, the Gadfly would like to begin a new feature in the spirit of Mr. Utter's interview with Bob the Painter. Each issue, we will print a short article about a stcif.fmember and what he or she does at the College. The hope is that these pieces will serve as introductions of sorts between steff members and students. We students are often too shy or too busy to get to know the members of the polity whose important efforts quietfy make our studiespossible. We sometimesforget that they are realpeople whose time at the College will often exceed any one student's (possibfy excepting Mr. Nick Colten), and who, like everyone else, appreciate simple good-will and politeness. By profiling some of the people whom students willprobabfy meet in the course of their life here, and some whose realfy cool stories should be known by everyborjy, the Gadfly hopes to contribute in some small way to our community's friendliness. Anyone who has tried to have a (sanctioned) party in the Great Hall during the last three years has met Ms. Diane Ensor. Ms. Ensor was, until very recently, the Facilities Manager for the College, meaning that she was responsible for, in her own words, "the reservation of spaces on campus that are not [controlled by] the Registrar." Her office, squeezed into the southeast comer of Pinkney, always welcomed students, treating their requests for the PenduPit or FSK with perfect fairness. was fuse come, first served, and that, if a wedding was scheduled for before when you wanted to hold an SCI Ms. Ensor would do her best to make the room was cleared in time. Nowadays, it's a little more difficult to find Ensor in her new office, the former appreciate the space recently ceded the expense of Pinkney's residentsshe's done her best to make the office .,,~11c0111d1,rnrP to conversation as possible, since versation is what we're all about" Instead, ecause her new job as Facilities Director · es her to be out of the office, surveying <:ampus' buildings, consulting with the ekeeping staff, and talking to students ,:~·"'"~'al even more than she did before. It should be noted, first, that Ms. Ensor did not request to be given the Pinkney Common Room as her office, and second, that if you should want to reserve public space on campus, you should talk to her sucessor Ms. Kim Kimball in the Facilities Office. Facilities Director is essentially a temporary position for Ms. Ensor. The school created the position for her so that she could oversee the merger of the custodial and housekeeping staffs. The custodians had previously been under the management of Buildings and Grounds, and the two staffs will be voting shortly on a new name for their combined forces. After about two years, it is planned that Ms. Ensor will pick up her facilities reservation duties again. Right now, "I'm designing a new cleaning program from the bottom up," she says. Her aim is to provide "the healthiest environment possible" at the school. "The campus is everyone's second home," she points out, and part of the new cleaning program means reexamining all the cleaning products to make sure they are the safest possible. Another part of Ms. Ensor's new job is soliciting students' thoughts about the dorms and how to improve their cleanliness. She plans to "go out and ask for [student opinion]" shortly, so start thinking. I suggested that placing hand soap in the dorm bathrooms might cut down on the spread of the traditional beginning-of-the-year, school-wide head cold. Ms. Ensor promised to consider the idea, which Mr. Anderson Tallent had presented to former Director of Student Services Director Andrew Ranson two years ago, but to little avail. Ms. Ensor was also planning to add a portion to the freshman orientation wherein she introduced the new students to their housekeepers. I persuaded her that a meeting with the RAs, who could then personally introduce their freshmen to each floor's housekeeper, would be a better idea, since orientation is crowded enough as it is. Before coming to the College, Ms. Ensor did "lots of things. Most recently I ran housekeeping ... for the University of Maryland College Park. Before that I owned a bridal shop and before that I performed in dinner theater." Ms. Ensor is originally from Silver Spring, Maryland and now lives in Arnold. A graduate of the University of Maryland, she is kept busy by her two children, ages seven and eight, although she says she would love to enroll in the Graduate Institute, if she had time. She says of the school in general: "I appreciate about St. John's the juxtaposition of the history of the College with the evolving nature of students. I like that the students care about history, the Great Books, and 11iaintainiug the Program. It keeps me young working here." When asked whether she's gotten to know many students in particular, she says, "not as mai1y as I would have liked to by this point." The Facilities office has a student aide, and over t_he surruner, when the school rents out the dorms, this student works in close conjunction with Ms. Ensor. Mr. David Pinedo '06 most recently held t.he summer job, working long hours to keep the school's guests happy. Why does Ms. Ensor like working here in particular? She pauses for a moment before saying "St. John's provides a venue for people to try new things and grow .... It is gratifying to push yourself." She especially likes working at an educational institution, since "we're all students." THE GADFLY. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . 15 �Singing Stringbeans Skilled Singers by Mary Townsend Inside News Editor I F agiolini, a group of singers from Britain, performed at St. John's this past Friday. I say this for the sake of the reader's information, since judging from the crowd I saw, there are many students who remain in ignorance of this fact. They were accomplished musicians, slightly older than the Cypress "not your parent's string quartet" String Quartet both in age and manner, though not above the techniques thought to delight the modem concertgoer. All of their voices were rounded and full; no stranger to vibrato (the wavering of the voice on purpose) but using it only for character--illways in control. For a group that mainly records early music, their voices had a great deal of character indeed-no wispy sopranos or anemic countertenors here. They sang throwing their breath against their frames, not holding in the main force of their voice. They certainly made more of the acoustics of the FSK auditorium than most find themselves capable of doing. They sang their madrigals with vague, urbane leers, and a firm grip on the structure of even the more complicated ones. They seemed to take a mainly innocent delight in the obligatory 'merry, merry months of May' and other such phrases that abound in this sort of music. Such music is rarely heard at St. John's, the madrigal choir being in fact more fond of sacred polyphony than their name might lead one to believe. The audience present ate it up, The Gadfly SCI Minutes for 11/6/03 Three of these people actually sang at this school last Friday. Can you spot them? however, just as their counterparts regularly do for this and other forms of simpering at the extremely popular King Singers concerts. Unfortunately, I Fagiolini sang their sacred pieces just the same as the secular ones, though they did do full and competent justice to all of the complicated meters that Byrd gives his music of this kind. Their director, one of the countertenors, was interested in giving rather more details of history, money, and local color before each set Check out Shakespeare's A/,l's fill That Ends fill Folger Theater November 15 8pm Ten tickets left. Ten dollars each. Hurry! Contact Andrew Baisch for more details. (ext 2554) 16 ~ubmit.to Lion Farming: Its History and Practices than is quite usual--Qr than the other singers found themselves able to countenance. The figure of the English madrigal being "the Indian Summer of the Italian" in particular caused them to wince. Indeed, his declaration that their interpretation of, ''Too much I once lamented," was the only one that took the "fa-la's" properly into account made Ms. Lane, the blonde soprano, feel that a disbelieving noise and a few incredulous looks at the audience were necessary to give us the right idea. I Fagiolini sang their modem music with the customary drama and extreme levels of volume. This was music written for the benefit . of highly trained singers bored by the ordinary,; : and they were certainly up to the task. Quick changing chords, dynamics, and difficult in · vidual lines were all dealt with in their Just before singing the Britten, the piece whi boasted the author most aware of the · of the tonality, the director finally took up question of applause between pieces of a set a matter that had been causing no small am of dissatisfaction on stage-asking that th would in fact be none. Happily, he did it in much more civil manner than the Scholar London, who were particularly cantankero the concert they gave two years ago. We count ourselves fortunate that this recent cert compared favorably both in etiquette quality of singing. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August, he'd laid off 70% of his family and rendered obsolete 200 years ofindustrial revolution, only to reap the biggest profit of his career. When the astounded farmer called The Gadfly •FACT- Lion milk is 37% more nutritious with his incredible tale of success, we had to take to humans than that of a cow. a look for ourselves, so late last month I took a •FACT- Alionis 2.5 times smarter than the ride up to Pennsylvania, to see what all the fuss average dolphin and 4 times smarter than any was about. ''Them's Lonny and Larry, turning monkey. by Nora Kelleher the grist mill. The tawny beast you see up top of SCI Secretary •FACT- If raised in captivity and trained from the combine is named Leonard Lee Anne and birth, a lion is just as docile and malleable as the Lasloware slopping the hogs, andLumpyis just In attendance: Ms. Delston, Chair; Ms. dog sitting at your feet right now. left for town to pick up the mail That one over Townsend, Mr. Stalnaker, Senior there's Scooter, working on the old blue tractor." Representatives; Mr. Ingham, Mr. Lanier, Yes, it's called lion farming. It's the wave of Sureenough,itwasamarvelof efficiency. Every Junior Representatives; Mr. Stone, the future, and if you're anything like Japan, Auswhich way, grain was ground, machinery was Sophomore Representative; Ms. Kelleher, tralia, or Switzerland, it could be the answer to fixed, and a general air of earnest labor mingled Secretary your economic prayers. Even perennially ass- pleasingly with the senses. Absent: Ms. Gilman, Sophomore Represen- backward Canada is getting in on the action, with After a long day in the fields, Strickland and I tative 4 lion farms operating in Alberta, 3 in Toronto went inside to enjoy a modest meal and discuss Also Present: Mr. Shreiber, Mr. Utter, Ms. proper, and another 10 projected for completion some of the finer points of his revolutionary Sicco, Ms. Hughey-Commers by the year 2008. ''I've been saying it for years. A new method When we were on our fourth after Ms. Delston introduced the Potluck as a single pride oflions, properly administered, could dinner drink, I was amazed to see that the lions Discussion topic, with questions concerning sustain a small city for decades," insists Harvey were only then beginning to file into the house who could come, responsibilities were distrib- Markham, themaverickfilinologistwho shocked through their custom built door flap, and aruted the 1985 World Conference for Renewable En- range themselves on their personalized sleeping Mr. Lanier described the results of his in- ergy with his declaration that "feral cats are the mats. I asked Mr. Strickland if they had been quiry into scheduling. He went to the Dean and single most powerful untapped natural resource working this whole time, and, if so, how this ...got the "Method of Scheduling," which was in the world today." kind of efficiency was posbrought to the meeting. It was put together by Buck Strickland, veteran sible. He explained that, the Dean and the Assistant Dean. Mr. Lanier farmer, was highly skeptical because they are at least parwent over the general structure of the paper, at first "I never thought tially nocturnal, lions have hich is mostly technical in nature, not philo- I'd see the day a lion could excellent night vision, and phical. He suggested student discussion of take the place of my old are therefore able to begin e rationale behind these rules since it is not horse Betty," but he their daywell before the sun ongly present in the manual. Mr. Lanier then changed his tune after visitrises, and to continue worksome of the rules to demonstrate this ing the Katzenfeld Lion ing long after it has set. He · t. He then went into more detail about the Conservatory in Switzerthen stood up and 'made · ation of the core group, since this was land. Established in 1997, the rounds,' moving along special concern, explaining that core groups it was the first fann of its the recumbent row, doling formed randomly. kind on mainland Europe. out generous portions of Mr. Lanier then told us that Reenie Craven, ''In 45 years on a farm, I've food and drink into each of · trar, volunteered to come to the next SCI never known a person to their monogrammed in order to talk about scheduling and work so hard. When I saw bowls, alongwith an affecer questions. As usual, all are welcome to one of them lions come in tionate pat on the head We d. from herding sheep all day, only to set the table stood and watched them for a while, gratefully t the end of the meeting, Ms. Delston and feed the baby, just as gentle as you please, I lapping up their cold saucers of beer and graduthat the issue concerning the SCI charter realized the dog had had his day, and the horse ally nodding off, one by one, to a night of restful oting rights be put to vote by the repre- ain't far behind Those two weeks in Switzerslumber, dreaming no doubt ofhow they might tives. All agreed, and by a majority vote of land changed me. When I got back home, I accomplish even greater feats of productivity in to three, it was decided not to change the knew it was a time for a revolution." Starting in the coming day. . Only members will have the right to March of'99, Strickland began phasing out his chickens, cattle, and other farmyard favorites. By Lions, continued on page 20 by Charlie Pashayan, Bureau Chief of Factual. Reporting . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . THE GADFLY . 17 �GadflJ1 Funny Papers Ptolemy Stone Horoscopes by Jenn Silgals Staff Mystic C.P "'f ct) too-heavy. There are always people out there willing to help you lift your burdens. Aries (March21-April19):Be '11.£.i\ra (September 23-0ctober patient with the people around you this week. Just because you immediately get your math homework doesn't mean everyone else is a super-genius, too. Be willing to explain things, and try to understand the struggles of others. 22): Facio Liberos Ex Liberis Libris Libraque. In short, you're a balance, so go find your book and make some children into men. lta~ (April 20-May 20): Don't forget to get things done this week. Distractions abound, but there is simply no excuse for you not to do what you're supposed to. If all else fails, lock your computer, your nonprogram books, and all of your friends in the Humphrey's common room and go from there. ber 21): Stop confusing people just for the fun of it. Practical jokes are nice, but when you've got everyone constantly looking over your shoulder and double-checking all you do, it's time to stop. Keep your sense of humor, but direct it elsewhere this week. Wlf -~mir!i (May 21-June 20): Everybody loves you ... while operating under the influence of certain substances ... But, don't worry, many people like you when they're not. .. um ... that way... Just keep your eyes open and you'll find that you have good friends everywhere. Then hug them . ~,5~nfDil ~(,at!fi.tmm (December 22-January 19): EVERYBODY LOVES CAPRICORN!!! Use this to your advantage as you wish ... ~MilariUS CTanuary 20- February (October 23-Novem- 18): Have confidence in yourself and everything will fall into place. Don't be afraid to believe the good things you hear about yourself ... and to ignore the bad, because, honestly, they're all just jealous. Love yourself and find the love of others attacking you everywhere you go. Swimming Wonder Monkey Days Thanks guys! But you didn't need to take the stripes off. ~Sagittuius (November 22-December 21 ): Some day, someone will make you cry, too, so be good to those around you and pray for absolution from the things you've done before. The stars don't hate you, they just wish you'd get severe indigestion. by Laura Traina and Beth Siekiera (February 19-J\1arch 20): Mabel, have you seen my hat? I took this shirt from your closet I can't believe what you were gonna make me wear this week Don't even bother getting out of bed this week. Just don't. The stars are your enemy. . .(am:u Qune 21-July 22): Emotions may run high this week, but that's no reason to freak out in the middle of the dining hall when the guy in front of you gets the last fork. Play it calm and cool and you'll get through a hectic week. And remember this: The stars fluctuate, a bad week one week can mean a good one the next. W Leo CROSSWORD Ouly 23-August 22): Cold weather means dry skin, so drink lots of water this week. On a more soul-related note, remember to take care of yourself this winter in all ways. Don't neglect the simple things while getting caught up in the whirl of the last days of fall. Be good to yourself and all will be Council (abbr.) Finishes this puzzle Opposi.fl.g current Maiden mune preceder good. & ."Wi;JI (August 23-September -.Samuel's teacher .Rescues t Ship's spine Spooky Jet; bounce; book $trokes 22): At the Charleston airport, when your luggage is too heavy, the baggage hands affix to your bags a tag that reads "HEAVY! BEND YOUR KNEES!" Look for such warnings in your life and be careful not to shoulder the 18 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . ............. . by Ian McCracken Executive Editor Down 1. Exposed to the public eye 2. 1932 Best Picture 3. Described by 8-Across 4. U/musmembers 5. Eyrie resident 6.1995BestPicture 7. It follows no ta 8. Semicircular recess 10. Jack's one kind 12. Nat or edit ender 16. Duodemonthly 19. Ramakrishna honorific 21. Emigrant's isle 22.Levy 23. Animal cai-rier 24. Gripe 25.Rich 28. Ravel has one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 19 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 Lions, continued from page 17 Disregarding all consideration of efficiency and profitability, important questions still remain. Whence did the concept arise, and what led to its implementation in today's fast paced world? Who was the first to take the bold but intuitive step of bringing the lion out of the forest and onto the farm? Lion farming's current surge in popularity marks not the initiation, but the inevitable conclusion of a heated academic debate, one with a complex and controversial history, and although the efficacy of the technique has by now been proven time and again, the history of the idea itself is still a sticking point with many modem scholars. In the early 1920's, Benito Caglione, an Italian archeologist who at the time was working with the Bologna Institute of Prehistoric Anthropology, found startling evidence of lion farming in one of the caves at Mount Moto Batu. It was what appeared to be a diagram proposing the domestication and agricultural application of the Felis leo, or lion. He dated the image at around 270,000 years B.C.E. Caglione wrote up a brief summary of his findings for the scientific quartetl-y De Rerum Natura, and he further expounded upon the concept in a lecture to London's Royal Society for Agricultural Obscurities. iill of this passed largely unnoticed in the intellectually conservative climate of the day; and would have gone entirely forgotten had it not been for the attention of the assiduous young Swiss Fritz Jviari...nlich, eccentric heir to untold millions earned by his great-grandfather's savvy invest.<nent during +he e",.JY days of Lhe dirigible In his autobiography Mane Force: A Lfe in L.Wns,Mannlich later recalled that until that point he had been "aimless and adrift ... like a lion without a plough," and he describes how hearing Caglione describe his revolutionary discoveries inspired him, and convinced him that a lifetime spent in the burgeoning field of agricultural lionology would be one well spent indeed. He soon shimmied himself under the tutelage of the brilliant iconoclast, where he spent three idyllic years studying alongside the master and dreaming of the day that he could stand tall on the shoulders of "that effulgent giant." Immediately after earning his diploma, and having secured of his ailing father a dubious blessing and copious funding, Mannlich set forth for south 20 Africa, where he would devote thousands of hours to careful excavation. Six years later he returned to his mentor with two and a half tons of artifacts and biological remains, as well as some 8,000 pages of exhaustive documentation, all supporting and elaborating upon Caglione's initial assessments. The two scholars then =barked upon the monumental two year task of chronicling and interpreting this evidence, at once c=enting their personal bond and initiating what would become a lifelong professional relationship. The result of their combined effort was lJons:AnAtJiculturo-Anthropologica/ History, a landmark treatise whose publication in 1938 was a watershed event in the history ofboth archaeology and lions. The bulk of their argument rested upon Mannlich's discovery, in situ, of the skeletal remains of a 200,000 year old lion, whom they dubbedLatch-Plasis, along with a ceremonial array of custom built farming implements, all diligently arranged in a shrine-like underground cavem, not five miles away from the cave paintings described by Caglione 11 years prior. The cavern wall also bore a cryptic inscription identifyi.<ig t.1-i.e remains as an "employee of t.1-i.e month." In contrast to the lukewarm response to Caghone's original presentation, this time the reaction from the academic community was inimediate and intense. The opening months of 1939 were a flurry of attack and counter-attack, printed in the periodicals of the day. Battle lines were drawn, and the leading scientific minds of two continents took sides either for or against the "Mmmhch-Caglione priomise," as it soon came to be known. The premise found its most ferve_nt opposition in the fledgling democracy of America, primarily stemming from the work of Minus Jeffries, MD PhD, a rural elementary school teacher. Jefferies galvanized the American anti-MC contingent with his pamphlet Seizing the Lons Share: A Popular Myth Debunked, which was published in February of 1939, right on the heels of Lions. In a word, most Americans found the idea "preposterous," which was the immediate response of famed naturalist Answell Hardy, upon being asked by one of his students if he thought that lions ever had been, or ever could be, used for farming. When asked to elaborate, he insisted that lions were "by disposition much better suited to sedentary tasks such as .. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . bookkeeping and shoe repair." Mannlich and Caglione also encountered major difficulties in Great Britain, traditionally a stronghold for probovine thought. It was there that Walter Billingsgate, an animal behavioralist and Oxonian don, made his now famous pronouncement that "though it may have, surrounding, a mane of the most brilliant fiery hue, the neck of the lion be in no wise red." The widely respected and deeply disturbed Randy Lord Idlemark even went so faras to claim that it was in fact lions who first domesticated people. Lion Farming, Part II, will run next week. Fencing at Johns Hopkins by Erin Page The ten-member St. John's College Intercollegiate fenci..ng team fenced four colleges this Sunday at Johns Hopkins University. With all three of the weapons (foil, epee, and saber) fully represented, the team took on the fencing teams from Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State College, and the College of William and Mary. TI1e seven and a half hours worth of fencing were tiring but fruitful. The epee squad beat their counterparts from Virginia Tech, 63, and foil and saber followed suit against University of Virginia. And while the of the freshmen winning their first competitive bout was certainly different from the faction of the upperclassmen when they umphed, overall eve_ryone was individual wins and looking forward to tl1e holes they discovered in their guard. more about the team, we welcome so•~'--""v··~· ···~ and newbies at all practices. Practices are T day night from 6:30-8:30 pm and Satur mowing from 9:30-11:30 am. � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 20 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 11 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-11-11 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 11 of The Gadfly. Published November 11, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #11 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/1a6d0c2870ea51b262ce3d079af44cb0.pdf b6fa16abd3de3356a257344025e11bbc PDF Text Text ADFL THE The St. John} College Student Weekfy Volume )Q(V, Issue 12 Annapolis, Maryland November 18, 2003 May St@ John's Be Enabled! by Webster Ye Staff Writer I recently had the opportunity to speak briefly with Mr. Peter Kalkavage, tutor and chairman of the Steering Committee, regarding the visit of the accreditation team in next few days. He agreed to answer some questions in a brief online interview about both the accreditation process and his experiences on the Steering Committee. He mentioned in passing that members of the accreditation board will be encouraged to sit in on the upcoming week's seminars and tutorials in order to have a more comprehensive picture of St. John's College. What is the accreditation process? St. John's College is currently accredited by the J\1iddle States Commission on Higher Education. Every ten years, the College must go through a self-evaluation and submit this to l\1iddle States. The Self-Study document, which reports on every aspect of the College, serves as the basis for a review of the College by a team chosen by l\1iddle States. This year, in addition to re-accreditation by ]\fiddle States, we are seeking accreditation by the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) in Washington DC. We have a team composed of eight members: four chosen by l\1iddle States, four by AALE. They will write a composite report. The point of accreditation is, in general, to ensure that institutions in fact strive to achieve the goals of their mission statement and are conscientious in trying to do this better. In other words, the point of the accreditation process is improved teaching and leammg. When will the accreditation review board members be here? The team is now in Annapolis. They arrived on Sunday, November 16th, and will be on campus from 17-19 November, from Monday of this week to Wednesday morning. What do you think they will be checking/ looking for? They will be looking at all sorts of things: our ways of teaching and learning, the curriculum, how we assess student learning, the library, the various offices of the College, the dorm situation: you name it, they continued on page 4 Dear J.C.: Where did the Greenwaves and the Hustlers get their names? Sincerely; Pupil Ingesting I<:ilograms of Coke (EG In Soda-Form) Dear P.I.K.C.E.N.S.: The following reply will be in two parts. Part One: The Hustlers got their illustrious name from the chosen profession of Stringfellow ''Wmkie" Barr's fake son, Weatherby "Prostitute" Barr. In 1948, Weat11erby arrived at The College and immediately began offe11ng favors a:nd flavors to the college community. Soon thereafter the administration decided that the name of the much-loved but politically incorrect, DarkieRedman-Darkie-Jeiry team had to be changed. Students were asked to write in with suggestions, and although most of them just told the administration in the quad that they would "definitely write in" and never did, causing the acL"llinisttation to hate th~m a!'ld mtl.-e it t..lieir mission to f*ck them up - no, we're not bitter - those who did write in suggested that the name be the Hustlers in honor of Weatherby's sexual exploits. Despite Weatherby's MegaDoubleDisenablement, the administration agreed. Later, Wearthby died of a rare strain of Gonnorhea-Hepatitus-Syphillis-DarkieScurvy-AIDS at age 36, but to the end he always said that the accomplishment he was proudest of was his inspiration for the team continued on page 3 �THE ~GADFLY Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene Executive Editor Ian McCracken Production Managers A&E Editor Martin Anderson Anderson Tallent Melissa Thomas Inside News Layout Mary Townsend Shoshana Goldstein Outside News Sports Editor Hayden Brockett Mike Malone Business Manager Katy Courtright Contributing to this Issue Lord Thomas Burbridge Leo Pickens Dave Prosper Erin Callahan Daniel Schwartz Jonathan Coppadge Judy Seeger Joy Kaplan Jillian Sico Max Kronberg Beth Siekiera Justin Lanier Jen Silgals J.A.M. Amy Taylor Joseph Method Laura Traina ATP Charlie Pashayan Christopher Utter Webster Ye Founded in 1980, the Gadfly is the student weekly distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadfly staff. The Gadfly reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to publish the most thoughtful, informative, and thought-provoking newspaper which circumstances at St. John's permit. Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better chance of being published than those longer than this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. The Gadfly is not obligated to publish all submissions and will not print anonymous submissions except under special circumstances. Deadline: Sunday at noon, unless permission for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions will be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail submissions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. 2 Gadfly Mailbox Dear smoking party-goers, Please do not smoke indoors. Particularly in close quarters, it's nasty, smelly, illegal, and capable of setting off asthma attacks and fire alarms. Smoking indoors puts you, your fellow students, and parties at risk. Thank you, Judy Seeger Assistant Dean The Good Dear Gac!f!y, Like most everyone else, I just received an e-mail from Ms. Paula Taitt, Executive Asst. to the President about the midshipman cover that has gone missing. As much as I would like to have faith that the situation is the result of a misunderstanding, my realist side tells me that Midshipman Landie will be purchasing a new cover out of his own pocket. History would tell us that this was not the result of a Johnnie accidentally mistaking the cover for a hat of his/her own, but rather that the cover was taken as a trophy, taken as evidence that Middies are naive and Johnnies are ... What? Cool? Too smart for Mids? Able to recognize the opportunity to exhibit sheer criminal brilliance? What exactly are we doing here at St John's? We read philosophers, we talk about the good and hypothesize what it might look like to pursue it. But when it comes to true life, what good is all our philosophizing doing? We're very quick to point out how others (including our own leaders) are lacking. Yet the very thing that people despise about this country- the philosophy that we can take what we want, when we want it - is the same philosophy that motivates juvenile stunts like this. I write as someone who recognizes that his own actions do not always coincide with his beliefs; so, acknowledging the log in my own eye, let me point out my fellow Johnnie's splinter: to know the good action and not to do it is the biggest bullshit of all. It not only ignores the good, it mocks it, saying that the good, having been recognized, is not worth following at all. I ask again: "What are we doing here?" Our practical philosophy speaks louder than our tabletop philosophy. Respectfully submitted, Jonathan D. Coppadge THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stop All The Hate I am disappointed. One week ago, the Gadfly featured two articles that infused me with the sadness of a lost puppy. Of course, these blatant misinterpretations of my work must be appropriately thwarted. I shall first direct my commentary toward that of the honorable Ms. Sico. Please, good lady, do not mistake my intentions in this refutation. I hold no objection to your article, A Flaw in Her Logic, in that it attempts to quarrel with mine, An Extremely Important Halloween News Article. My dispute is with your specific arguments, which I must insist (forgive me) are ignorant, infidel, and spiteful. I shall disregard the fact that only half of your article actually involves any kind of refutation, since the first three paragraphs are irrelevant to your argument (with the possible exception of the thematic use of your orange sweater). First, I must correct an obvious error in your statement, " ... Laura further specifies that coolness is the highest logical extreme on a 'gradation' of coolness." Whether this was a typographical error on your part or not, the logical extreme should be "coolest" and not "coolness." Proceeding to your primary argument, I find it difficult to understand how you irresponsibly ignored a key component in my proposition, which you yourself even referenced. You refute me by saying that perfection can only be determined by God, and so my determination that a particular costume is coolest can only be incidental. My most respected Ms. Sico, coolness is defined as a "form of perfection known to man". By failing to account for this, you are not quarreling with the logic of my proof, .. but rather with one of my givens. Nowhere does my proposition contradict your claim& that, "all perfection is God, who cannot be. completely comprehended by man." The··· flaw in your reasoning lies in the statement. "therefore the highest extreme of coolness ... can only be known to man through a muddl and unclear conception."_ I wholeheartedl apologize if I did not make myself clear p · ously, but this coolness of which I speak is · itself a muddled and unclear conception perfection. That is how and why it is describ as a "form of perfection known to man" an not man's enlightened understanding of Go or some similar misinterpretation. The that the term "coolest'' shows the highest of this does not detract from its muddled nature. In this way, Ms. Sico, I defend myself against your depraved claims that I am a malicious sophist. Allow me to now address the special gentlemen who are apparently unfamiliar with Microsoft Paint. This is probably due to the program being only recently introduced, and still not available to most consumers. The heart of the matter, of course, lies in certain allegations concerning my comic strip. There is a very obvious reason why you gentlemen dislike the comic. The reason involves sparkles. There is no dispute. It also involves chocolate. Again, resistance to this concept is counterproductive. It involves GIGANTIC PIECES of PINK, SPARKLY CHOCOLATE. Mabel told me yesterday that she likes you very much, and she's been weaving a wreath of peppy, little flowers for you. I think they are posies. Most Sincerely, Laura Traina Jew's Clues continued from front page name, as clearly indicated by his last words: "That feels soo good." Part Two: The name Greenwavesis derived from Lucretius' On the Nature of Things, where, in the section entitled "Confutation of Other Philosophers," Lucretius refers to "splashing the btine from off their green waves." Sincerely, J.C. Dear J.C.: . We are extremely offended that you used 'ouinames in your previous issue without our permission. We demand an apology. Sincerely, Both Aaron Brager & Andrew Ranson Are you kidding me? One of you is in Thai·d, and the other one of you is an elephant. '11 use your fli'cking names how we damn please. Sincerely, J.C. at's in the soup in the Dining Hall? Sincerely, eautifully Arousing Damsel Speaking Only Under Pressure A Shocking Truth To the Editors of the Esteemed Gadfly: Though I am not Laura Traina, my initials are similar, so I feel qualified, even obligated, to respond to the wave of criticism that was directed towards her in last week's issue. To wit: In a letter to the editor last week, a Ms. "Jillian M. Sico" (obviously a nom de plume, if you'll pardon my French) viciously attacked Ms. Traina's logic in the latter's proof of the coolness of her Halloween costume. Then on the next page, the "Jew's Clues" guys vicariously attacked Ms. Traina's personality as expressed by her comic strip about Sea Monkeys. Through their bombastic vituperative libelous claims I have discovered a shocking truth, even though such things are not supposed to happen here. I direct your attention to this paragraph from the letter from "Jillian": "But if 'coolness' is a form of perfection, this form can only be determined by Dear B.A.D.S.O.U.P.: Wah wah wah, the soup is so bad, wah wah wah, I'll write in about it, and they'll say something funny!!! Muh, muh, muh I'm sooo clever!!! Listen, we're trying to run a business here, and we don't have time to fli'ck around. We know you think you're fli'cking hilarious, but saying the soup is bad is like not getting any mail and saying, " Ooohh, nobody loves me." We know you do this too, B.A.D.S.0.U.P., because 50% of us work in the mailroom. Quit whining. Sincerely, J.C. Dear J.C.: Is it true that St. John's used to be a mental institution? Sincerely, Febbie Steve Dear ES.: STTTTEEEEVEEEE!!!! YO!! What's up? Remember that night last year? Yeah, it was, as is recounted in fake Weatherby's fake autobiography The Fake Time I Spent at the St. John's Fake Mental Institution. Apparently it was used to rehabilitate shellshocked Naval Academy students, after their hats were consistently and maliciously stolen God, who is perfection. But the apparent perfection of Laura Traina's costume was artificially determined by Laura Traina. Therefore it is not the coolest, unless incidentally." And this quote from the "Jews": "They author a comic of Mabel. .. but it makes no sense" By Hanlon's Razor ("Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity") I must attribute the conclusion "Jillian" comes to directly to malice. We have a principle: 'coolness' can only be determined by God. We have two observations: Laura Traina determined the coolness of her costume, and the "Jews" don't understand her writings. It is blindingly easy to see that the correct conclusion here is that Laura Traina is God. Thank you, and Happy Holidays! Lord Thomas Burbridge from the bench outside the Mitchell Art Gallery. Which really sucks when you consider that you'll be punished, how expensive that hat must be ($24. 99, according to the friendly lady in the Naval Academy store), and how all the kids back at the Academy would make fun of you, like, "What, you couldn't get your hat back from the Johnnies? Are you that much of a wuss ... have you ever seen Full MetalJacket?" Anyway, the mental institution was turned into 2nc1 Randall, after the infamous court battle Roe vs. Wade, which established Dave Barry's right to write sh*tty columns about American history. Man, that joke was lamer than FDR's legs. Sincerely, J.C. J.C.'s Shaloms: Shalom to Laura Traina and Beth Siekiera for writing their first hilarious comic strip (tn this issue). Play on, playas! Shalom to Dan Rera for bumming all my cigarettes. Shalom to fake Weatherby "Prostitute" Barr, for allowing his fake name to be used. We can't even tell you how much heat we got for creating him. Final Shalom to Seth MacFarlane. We stole his FDR joke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 3 �Director Of Student Services Admits She 14-as Wrong Somebody barfed in Campbell Hall in the wee hours of Monday, November 10th. I don't have anything against barfing when it is done in a toilet that is then flushed, but this person missed. Accidents happen, I know that, but I just wish the Mystery Barfer had tried to clean it up. Of course, that wouldn't be so hard to do if the bathroom were stocked with paper towels, but due to budgetary concerns, and the wasteful practices of clogging toilets, decorating trees with paper towels, etc., that have occurred in the past on this campus, there is no way that is going to happen. I know from experience that when you are feeling awful, even if you want to, you may not be able to clean up after yourself, even if paper towels are available. I also know that the person, even if he was feeling well enough to clean up after himself, may have been too embarrassed to call Security and ask for access to a cleaning supplies closet, which anybody can do on the weekends. When I encountered a Housekeeping Staff member wearing a hazmat suit on the Quad, I felt incredibly embarrassed as a Johnny, but then it got worse: a Security Officer passed by and mentioned that.somebody had kicked a hole in the wall of Mellon 134 over the weekend. When Reality heard about it, they thought it was somehow their fault, that it meant their party had gotten out of hand When the Assistant Dean heard about it, she was visibly bummed out. My imagination, as it is wont to do, went wild and filled me with a sense of dread: There is some angry violent person out there! What are they going to do next? Today mystery barf, tomorrow serial killings! Imagine my relief when a senior came to my office later to tell me, ''I just want to let you know that I made a hole in the wall in room 134 and I am going to talk to Mr. Phipps [Head of Buildings and Grounds] tomorrow about repairing it." I took out my secret stash of parent provided See's chocolates, offered the fellow one, and let him go without insisting on the bureaucratic formality of a community service contract, and it occurred to me that in the future, anyone who comes forward to rectify their mistakes should be treated in the same manner, without keeping record of the incident. Thus, a policy was bom! It also occurred to me that not only do I not need to keep a record of polity members who offer to right their wrongs, but I need not even know who they are. Remember that article I wrote glorifying The Self-N arcification of StudentX? Well, forget it! Why come to the Assistant Dean's Office when you can go directly to the people who have to either make extra repairs or do extra cleaning as the result of some accident that befell you? B&G, Housekeeping, the Dining Hall, or whoever can always call me and let me know that the problem has been solved, without having to tell me who the guilty parties are. It's none of my business, really. So Mr. or Miss Mystery Barfer, whoever you are, please go to the Housekeeping Office in the basement of Campbell Hall, and ask how you can make up for the extra work you created because of the accident. You will feel better about yourself, it will be a huge boost to the morale of the Housekeeping Ladies, and Balance will be restored to The Cosmos. And from now on, deserving Polity Members are invited to stop by my office and simply ask for a chocolate-NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Joy Kaplan Director of Student Services Accreditation continued from front page will look at it. We'll have a much better sense of what they want us to focus on when they give us their report just before they leave on Wednesday. Will 'they attempt to see for themselves if the problems in the se!f-study by the Steering Committee are reasonable? The Achievements? Yes, they will certainly check out for themselves whether the Self-Study gives an accurate portrayal of the problems we currently face, and the achievements we indicate. As Chairman of the Steering Committee for the fast couple ofyears, how did examining the College and preparing it for its review affect/ change your life/ viewpoints? This is an interesting question. Working on the Self-Study has definitely made me more aware of how amazing the College is, how high its aspirations are, and how difficult it is to fulfill them. It made me much more aware of the standards I have for students in my classes and for myself as a tu- 4 tor. Perhaps the biggest thing is that it made Computer technology plays a big role in me more aware than ever of how everything the report mainly because it is relatively new we do at the College depends on cultivating to the College. The challenge here is to find and preserving what we mean by a commu- a way to take advantage of its obvious bennity of learning. Working on something like efits while assimilating it into our non-techthis makes you keenly aware of how inter- nical approach to learning and communicaconnected everything is at the College, and tion. how important to our community are things An you glad that this process will be over in a like a spirit of cooperation, good will, and couple of dt!Js? the candid discussion of differences. I also I am very glad this long labor (three years come out of this with a renewed admira- total) will soon come to an end. It was atl. tion for what we are trying to do, and an incredible amount of work. I do believe amazement at how successful we are on the that the whole process has been good for us whole. Work on the Self-Study has helped as a College. Mrs. Higuera, Mr. Macfarland · me gain a better overview of the College and I took it up with energy and enth and its goals. Plus, I profited enormously asm. We tried, above all, to be vigilantfrom the many conversations about the be constantly on the lookout for what · College I had with my co-workers and col- fall through the cracks. We got lots of s leagues, Mrs. Higuera and Mr. Macfarland. port and cooperation from the comm and we enjoyed working together. But w~ is computer technology so prominent(y highlighted in the Se!f-Study? How did the usage of yes, yes, I am glad the thing is soon g computer technology assist in the gathering of to be over! data relating to the assessment? THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lecture Review: Plato's Divided Line and Cave With that, Mr. Kutler dived into the divided line, beginning with "images" and the "imagination". The line itself is an image, he noted; it exists physically, but reminds one of the intelligible, mathematical line. Then he went on to describe the "originals" of these images, usually called natural or contrived--often called "the real world," an expression that one should try to hate, according to Mr. Kutler. (he did not explain why one should hate the expression-so I will continue to like it and use it.) The faculty ent than asking what the Cave is for Plato, for Mr. Kutlerwould go on to claim that today; "we have an extra Cave." We can get out of the Cave with mathematMr. Kutler's lecture this past Friday; on ''The ics, "good images", and questioning. But there Stories ofthe Divided Line and Cave at the Heart are never any guarantees. The path out of the of Plato's Republic;' can be characterized as a Cave is long and hard. Following Socrates' claim pleasant, though elementary review of that part about the guardians, Mr. Kutler said that one of The Republic, which failed to pursue any single does not escape for one's own good or happitopic in depth. It was a short lecture, lasting just ness, but rather for the good of the whole. forty-three minutes. Of that time, perhaps about The answer to the second question was slightly half was spent discussing the divided line, and more enigmatic. What is our Cave? ''It's a halfdiscussing the Cave. Ofthe time spent number: 1637." discussing the Cave, several minutes at the What in the world? very end--only a fraction of the whole This number, it turns out, was the publecture-were spent discussing what Mr. lication year for Descartes' Discourse on Kutler described as his real interests. This Method and Geometry; which paved the inevitably meant a summary of Plato folway for "modernity." Modernity started in lowed by an inadequate answer to what 163 7. ''I know how unintelligible this is," Mr. Kutler, at least, regards as the really Mr. Kutler said, but the "greatest Cave is interesting questions, each thrown out modernity." ''This is just a hobby horse with the suddenness of lightning. Lest for me." Things need not be as they are, my claim here be taken to be such a bolt and there is no better way to realize this oflightning, however, I will step back and than to read old books. With this asserprovide a summary of the lecture. tion, the lecture ended. ''Don't expect too much" from this It was an enjoyable lecture, largely due lecture, he began. He then proceeded to to Mr. Kutler's more extemporaneous apintroduce his topic, using a legend from proach. Yet, as a lecture, it failed It failed to Pausanias and a quote from Alfred North provoke thought. It failed to penetrate any Whitehead The legend descnbed a dream topic deeply. It failed to provide much new Socrates had, supposedly from a god, that knowledge. It failed to justify many of its ··Plato-who was just now becoming assertions. It failed to explain the relevance Socrates' student-would become the of some of its points. gi:eatestphilosopher. The quote by Whiteh\...... h.... ~ ''"""' ....... ·""' &1 , ..... ....,..... The lecture covered nothing in depth. J1ead was this: 'The safest general charac~· .,~~ , • ..1 h~'. It consisted of summaries of Plato, mixed ~tion of the European philosophical with isolated tidbits of knowledge-such .t!tadition is that it consists of a series of One artist's rendition of Mr. Kutler. as the fact that the central images of The footnotes to Plato." Socrates, Mr. Kutler Republic, the divided line and Cave, occur out, is associated with the spoken word, associated with the real world is called trust. Then not at the center of the book, but at the golden Plato is associated with the written word. comes mathematicals and "thinking through." cut--and with an immensely interesting asser, philosophy is mentioned by both And the highest faculty; Mr. Kutler called seeing. tion at the very end about modernity; which came anias and Whitehead. One might think that Then he described the Cave, which he called with neither explanation nor justification. The sophy means "love of wisdom." But this the more important image of the two. While he great thing about lectures is that they provide an ~what it means for the Socratic philosopher came to the divided line through mathematics, opportunity for lengthy, in-depth argument or the Cave, said Mr. Kutler. For him, it he came to the Cave through language. After a explanation, rather than the largely on-the-spot to the attainment of wisdom. brief description, he claim~d that the prisoners thinking that takes place in seminar. Mr. Kutler's e went on: the word ''lecture" has, etymoof the Cave can be thought of, as the inhabitants lecture did not take advantage of this opportu' two meanings. From the French and of Flatland, as having no understanding of the nity. (In fairness, I note that Mr. Kutler eagerly itmeans "reading''.Butfrom the Greek, it third dimension. He went on to say that the made use of the Question Period to explain some "collecting" or talking'', which brings one Good n:Ught as well drop one of its letters, be- points in more depth. But I am restricting myit> the distinction between Socrates as the coming God For in experiencing the Good, the self to reviewing the lecture itself.) · philosopher and Plato as the writing philosopher partially transcends his humanity. her. (How all of this introductory maMr. Kutlers's real interests were yet to come: ted to itself or to the lecture as a whole 1) How can we get out of the Cave? 2) What is continued on page 8 me.) the Cave for us? This second question is differby Daniel Schwartz Staff Writer t.......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �:Calling all :Vegans, . Lion Far1ning, Part Two: Continued From Last Week by Charlie Pashayan ? ~Vegetarians A Bad Week for Campatgn Finance. : by Amy Taylor by Erin Callahan Yes, as Mr. Colten wrote last week, public funding in the Presidential election has undergone some blows. It is now more apparent than ever that a change of the current system is necessary. However, hope is far from lost. Steps have been taken over the years and are being taken still to improve this process, and there are a fewpion~r states that currently exemplify how public financing can work successfully. . . A public financing option for Pres~dential candidates was first voted in by Congress 10 1976. This was intended to curb the expense of running for office in general, as well as to restore public faith in candidates, who would no longer be perceived as beholden to a small number of~ig contributors. In return for agreeing to a spending limit, $45 million, candidates are given partial public funding for the primaries (every dollar of private money raised is match~d by ~e dollar of public money) and full public ~ding for.the general election. Until the 2000 primary election, when George Bush refused the public funding option because he did not want to be limited in the amount of money he could spend, every single Presidential candidate had chosen to participate in the system. . . President Bush decided to opt out again this year, as he ha& already raised around $85 ~?n, far more than the spending limit of$45 million enforced by the public financing system. This decision makes it impossible for any other candidate to run competitively against Bush while under the constraints of that spending limit. Therefore, Dean had little choice but to refuse public funding as well Howeve~, J?ean has effectively stuck with many of the principles of Campaign Finance Reform anyway. He has raised about $25 million so far, but that sum was collected from a pool of 200,000 small donors, who gave an average of $77 each. This cuts out the corrupting influence of large contributions from special interests groups. Dean's goal is to raise $200 million~~ ~on contributors. In this sense, Dean 1S still being publicly funded by a wide variety of supporters, 6 not simply a minority of large co~orati~ns or wealthy individuals. He is compettng without the aid of special interest money, while more than 75% of Bush's individual contnbutions are from people who have given the $2000 limit. Several states have also either adopted a working public financing system, or are considering adopting such a system in the near future. Arizona, Maine, North Carolina, and Vermont all have established public financing options. For example, Arizona p~ssed .the Citizens Clean Election Act in 1998. This provides full public financing for candidates for state legislature, governor, secretary o~ stat~, ~ttomey general, treasurer, etc. Contributlon limits were also lowered by 20% to $300 for local offices and $760 for statewide offices. As for Maryland, a Stenberg Commission of the GeneralAssemb~y has been deliberating whether or not public financing would be a good reform meas~e .for Maryland over the past year. The comm1ss1on has decided to recommend in favor of Clean Elections reform, and the General Assembly will be considering its recommendation on January 6 2004 when the session opens. ' What can be done for Presidential elections in the meantime? The amount of public funding offered has to be large enough so that candidates can run credible races against private competitors. Public funding on this scale might cost around $1 Oper citizen per year, which is a small price to pay for the restoration of o~ democra~. If something like the systems Maine and Arizona have in place were considered at the federal level, improvements could be made. Democracy Matters will be collecting signatures at lunch starting this Wednesday in support of just that. College campuses alloverthecounttyareco~ signatures for the same petition, which Democracy Matters will compile and send to the Presidential candidates in December. This is your chance to contribute and make a difference. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . For more in!011111tion, contact Erin Callahan, Paa~ Democracy Matten is aD21ional eon-profit, non-partisan group wodcingto presmc aa:ess to lhc democratic symm. WWW.DEMOCRACYMATIERS.ORG Hello,· vegans, vegetarians, and anyone who : · is trying to date an individual who may fit : into one of the preceding categories: I would like to tell you about the Veg*n : (the * standing for the letters one would fill in · to spell either vegan or vegetarian) club here at : SJC. We're a fairly new club, started just last year · with the intention ofbringing people together : to promote veg*n interests on campus. The : purpose of having an organization is to ~ake . it easier for each ofus to find support for projects · and to have greater access to information. : In the past, we have worked together to · improve dining hall selection, hosted potlucks : to teach the polity about how to cook veg*n · food (andwhatwe eatin the first place), taken : trips to vegan restaurants in DC, sold hard-to. find vegan products (like vegan gummy bearsD, : promoted discussion about the purposes ~d · implications of a meatless diet, and spread 10: formation that may be of interest to vegans, · such as where to eatin Nappto~ and exciting : events and volunteer opportunities. There are a : few projects still at the drawing board this year, . including a presentation on vegan and vege~­ . ian nutrition and possible involvement with : Food Not Bombs orothervegetarian-friendly · volunteer organizations. I'm also looking for: ward to some potlucks and restaurant trips. · Lately; I've been talking with Ryan Varnum of : Parkh:rrst about how we can make the food : better for veg*ns on campus. I'd like to add · that he's easy to talk to, very open to sugges~ : tions (especially recipes), and that he's a~ · Dean Ornish (you know, "Eat More, Weigh : Less) chef-so he knows about what veg*ns · eat. Talk to him. : The more people we have involved in this · group, the better it runs. I encourag~ you to ~ : me your ideas or if you'd like to be involved in, · · · · any way. We'll have a meetlng some~e, but : you may also contact me by campus mail ot at . Amys_Alcibiades@yahoo.com. I sen~o : emails from time to time to let any 111 . · estedparty knowwhat's gomgon---Hyoa'" : like to receive mailings, please let me kn Lion farming had a large and devoted body of early adherents, chief among them the legendary comparative anatomist Oswald Brenner. Soon after the MC debate broke, he published a series of extensive reports for both the scientific and layman communities in which he set forth a revolutionary theory ofleonine hominid co-evolution. Using references to Mannlich's findings alongside his own independently acquired specimens, he provided evidence that the skeletal structure of the modem lion is in many significant ways the result of prehistoricman's influence on the lion's behavioral and evolutionary patterns. With these papers as its basis, he went on to publish a comprehensive account of his studies in 1946. Entitled Taking Pride in Their Work: How the Lion Helped Define Agriculture, and Agriculture Helped Define the Lion, the book struck a chord with the general public and helped shift the majority of American thinkers onto the side ofMannlich and Caglione. Although it made him famous, and left an indelible mark on the literature of popular science, Brenner's book would, ironically, also be his downfall. While it may have found favor with the American public, the work was quickly denounced by American booksellers, who resented having to find shelf space forsomethingwithsuchalongtitle. In 1949, as a result of their powerful and incessant con; <. gressional lob hying, the government declared .·.. ; the book pornographic, which at the time was tantamount to imposing an outright ban. In .the ensuing courtroom circus, Brenner lost his windfall fortune, his good name, and his sanity. He was eventually found dead in a Saint ,Louis jail cell, having committed suicide while · held for questioning in relation to the licitation of a "good clean shave on a Sunaftemoon." · e Munters, the renowned Straussian gist and diplomat, garnered further popuproval for the MC premise with his pub" in 1954, of the enigmatically named on, s in the Breadbasket, its title apparently from an idiomatic Latvian folk saying. While displaying an obviously pro-lion farming slant, the book set out to be, and to acertain extent succeeded at being, the first truly balanced account of the debate that had been raging for years. In two mammoth volumes, Munters compiled and elucidated the entire body of thought surrounding lion farming, both for and against it. Despite its reliance on bizarre and often untranslatable metaphors, Munters' treatise was an instant success not only financially, but intellectually too, as countless people scrambled to agree with each and every one of his ideas, undoubtedly due in part to their inability to comprehend them. As the century began its inexorable decline, lion farming was, in short, the biggest intellectual craze in the western world. Hair salons and coffee machines were abuzz with the speculation of the laity, and many a postgraduate thesis was written that chronicled its author's attempts to prove some hypothesis about the finer points of lion farming, either by experimentation or induction. Strangely enough, however, no one seems to have thought to try doing it, and it is unclear why. It was most likely a combina- tion of factors, possibly involving governmental suppression, a temporary shortage of lions, and the stern disapproval of Willie Nelson. Finally, in 1991, encouraged by the atmosphere of permissive excess left over from the "me" decade, along with the consideration that nobody has any idea what's going on in Australia anyway, the Armedrobbery family farm in Crapswallow, the Western Territory, which was in the process of expanding to include a recently purchased 2,500 acre plot, decided to dedicate a small portion of that land to the use of lions. The eventual result of that decision was the worldwide craze described earlier in this article. As people in the surrounding countryside heard tell of the Armedrobberys' astounding success, they gradually began to switch over to lion based farming, and likewise the whole country. The ensuing economic upheaval left the Australian dollar,whatever that may be, worth nearly six times its American counterpart. The fact that every lion farming venture to date has been a rampant success certainly speaks for itself, but the process still suffers its modest share of detractors, the loudest among them being Terry Lands, whose latest book, Farming with Lions / Playing with Fire portrays the current explosion in lion farming as a kind of modern day version of the tower of Babel, or even the movie Titanic. His argument unfolds over 800 pages of fancifully loose prose, eventually deteriorating into a chapter-long paragraph full of cryptic remarks such as "Man thinks he's all high and mighty, but he's really just high- it's the lion that's farming him. You set down the yoke and there's no turning back. The noble gaze ... he condescends to wear a harness made of gold, but truth be told it's nothing till he dies from lack of sun. The crops will fail. The crops will come to a dry and bitter end, and man will build a desperate machine to coax a taste out from the dust. In toil made continued on back page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 �Ptolemy Stone Horoscopes Pensees on the "Bad" ca~ Bug By Jen Silgals Staff Mystic Q':I f'i(1 ot:f':;J Aries (March 21-April 19): What Aries needs is a little bit of temperance. In all areas of your life, there is the risk for excess. Be careful in your passions, no matter what they are. Kite flying is fun, but not in gale force winds. Reading of the week: Dante's "Divine Comedy", Part 2: "Purgatory" V!fr11tamlls: (April 20-May 20): Avoid the color pink this week and all will be well. This warning extends to certain shades of fuchsia and mauve. Reds and oranges are okay. Reading of the week: Alice Walker, "The Color Purple" what was so fun about a tiny little piece of chocolate. I think we all know the answer to that.* Reading of the week: Watty Piper, "The Little Engine that Could" by Jillian Sica and Justin Lanier (February 19-Iviarch 20): (September 23-0ctober 22): What is so bad about the box that we're all in such a hurry to t.1-ll..-lli: outside of it? Or maybe I'm just confused. Go get a big refrigerator box from the dump and make a playhouse out of it. This is the stars' commandment. Reading of the week: Some Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes") The stars haven't changed their mind about you. Maybe you should just stop reading this page. Reading of the week: Don't bother reading, not even your seminar. The future is bleak. *Paid for by the Hershey Foods Corporation (October 23-Novem- lii\!l'.5e11ini (May 21-June 20): Never underestimate the power of chocolate. A mightily soothing food, chocolate is a great healer of wounds and builder of community. Buy some today and share itwi1J1 your friends! * Reading of the week Robert Cormier, "The Chocolate War" Qune 21-July 22): There is actually a scholarship based on the "When life gives you lemons" axiom.. Isn't that just plain hokey? Just the same, if lemonade can pay for your college education, maybe making the most of misfortune isn't such a bad idea. Reading of the week: Virginia Euwer Wolff, "True Believer" · W' Leo Quly 23-August 22): There is power in information. Knowmgwhat's going on can keep you out of trouble and get you free stuff I recommend reading as much as possible this week, learning, learning, learning! How's that for a Johnnie horoscope? Reading of the week: The St. John's Handbook ~t'11..TIJS (August 23-Septem.ber 22): One Halloween, as my brother and I were divvying up our candy, he pulled a "Fun Size" candy bar out of his bag, wondering aloud 8 Many times we students fall into complaining about our classes. Most students can point to a "bad" class that they've had How might one describe the experience of a "bad" class? Is a "bad" class unenjoyable? Unexciting? Uncomfortable? Frustrating? Antagonistic? Unmemorable? Is there a difference between an unpleasant class and a dysfunctional one? ber 21): "Stars around the beautiful moon/ hide back their luminous form / whenever all full she shines / on the earth / silvery,'' Be like Sappho's moon and see how great your shining is. And how sappy this horoscope is. Reading oft.he week: Sappho ~agittstiUfl (l\f ovember 22-December 21): Wishing and hoping, while they make a good sing along hit, are rarely productive. This is a week of action for Sags everywhere. Active pursuit ,;vill teach you many new lessons. Reading of the week: "Beowulf" ....,..,~~ . ,,.... ~. (December 22-J anuary 19): Everyone has his own biases. \X'ho are your friends? How do they see you? Is this correct? Work on showing yourself as you truly are, breaking down the preconceptions others have of you. Reading of the week: TI1e Gospel of Thomas ~J\~m (]anuary 20- February 18): }Jlowyourselfhappiness and happiness will come. You merely need to be open to the twists and turns of life to command how they affect you. Laugh, smile, and keep on keepin' on. Reading of the week: Coloring books!! . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . Lecture Review continued from page 5 The lecture was not thought-provoking. A summary is not thought-provoking. Tidbits of knowledge are interesting, but not thought-provoking, if left unexplored. Unexplained assertions are not thought-provoking. l'vlt. Kutler's assertion about modernity leads naturally to this question, which was asked duting Question Period: If we are living in a Cave within a Cave, why is it so luxurious down here? "Modernity" has brought us some great things: medicine, airplanes, computers, and more. Algebra, which Mr. Kutler criticized in his lecturethough he recognized its practical value in the Question Period-and ot11er newer developn:e::.1.ts in mathemtrtics illc\'F man to reacl1 new heights in science. (Is this dash between Platonis_m and practice not proof that the image of the Cave is a false representation of reality?) Mr. Kuder had a chance during the lecture to raise and respond at length to objections such as these (rather than taking a few minutes to answer them during Question Period). He had a chance to explore their implications and the implications of his answer. That might have been thoughtprovoking. But instead of gaining a greater unc derstanding of Plato from the lecture, I g.uned a greater understanding of Mr. Kuder: he dislikes some things about "modernity." So what? Overall, it was an enjoyable and engaging lecc ture which nevertheless suffered from many prob• lems. Boiler Room Safe, Boring, Recently Repainted by Christopher Utter Staff Writer A slightly far-a-field destination on campus is the Boiler Room over in the steam plant on back campus. I first encountered it when going to talk to Sebastian (an unusual, if not resoundingly fascinating character on our B&G crew). This time, though, my venture was for the sake of this article. I interviewed Chuck Wallace, who does not actually work in the boiler room, but seemed to know a lot about it. Apparently, the boiler room is responsible for heating and watering every building on campus but the library, Barr-Buchanan, and boathouse. It is continuously operational during the winter (i.e., when it is below 55 degrees) and is manned by "four guys and a student aide, to break the shift" The system was installed in 19 51, and is the same as it was then, except for an added third boiler. One side of the boiler room is ghss, ·while the others are thick concrete with blast doors. This perplexed me at first, but Chuck explained that the room is designed to act as a gigantic cannon if the boilers were to explode; one side of the building would be destroyed to prevent all the wans from collapsing. They now burn natural gas and highgrade oil, but up until several years ago they used inexpensive, extremely low grade oil, "of a tar-like consistency; it produced a lot of smoke. But prices have gone crazy recently." The treasurer has bargained to get the best price he can, and thankfully has not been cajoled into falling back on the cheaper product; environment over profit seems to be the general consensus. I also found out what causes the jets of steam one occasions to see around the school. There is so much pressure in the steam pipes that even a small hole the size of a pencil will cause a huge jet of steam; in other words, they are not supposed to be there. But rust is unavoidable when one has steam heat, especially since we are so close to the sea. I ended by asking if there was anything remotely interesting about the history of the room, because what I had heard so far (as you can see) had been dreadfully dull. "There are so many safety controls that nothing ever happens. There are even daily double and triple checks required by the Fire Department." Chuck commented further on the seemingly obsessive cleanliness of room; indeed, it is quite spotless. It must be repainted almost daily, I suppose we should all be glad that the necessary precautions work, but it doesn't make for a particularly captivating Gadf!Ji article, I'm afraid. What causes ''bad" classes? What can be done to improve or prevent them? Would classes be better iftheywere fashioned differently?TI1ese are all questions the SCI has taken up this semester. Two suggested causes of"bad" classes are that students are not well enough acquainted with each other to foster the most fruitful classroom interaction, or that the nearly random assigning students to sections and core groups does not bring about the most mutually beneficial arrangements. To provide a little background information (there's plentymore): Classes are puttogether based on a dorument titled "A Method of Scheduling" that was written in 1992 by Devin Rushing, a student assistant to tl1e Registrar. In it, much effort is spent on appropriatingmeetingtimes, a major hurdle in the scheduling process, given certain limitations spelled out in a section called "Rules" (e.g. "A class should have all of its meetings at tl1e same time of day. ..No classes should be scheduled Tuesday 9:00 or Friday 9:00"). Some rules, like the ones just given, are followed as much as possible, while others are absolutely binding. The procedure set out for scheduling is forthemostpartgroundedin practical matters, and carrying out this process is quite a task-it takes the Registrar some three weeks to complete it. However, the "Method" is very clear that it does not cover "assigning students to core groups (other than laboratory and music assistants)," and it puts core groups together into classes without reference to who is in them. In short, your core group and class members were assigned to you by chance. Finally, it should be noted that a computer program for producing a scI1eduleisin thew01.:ks. Although there are probably less e,'illeme ways ofimproving or preventing "bad" classes, here are some hypothetical situations descnbing alternate methods of organizing classes. We offer them so that we might all think about them together, what repercussions would they have not only on :indicontinued on page 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 9 �Watching the Zeitgeist: The Matrix Trilogy by Joseph Method Staff Writer The strangest thing has happened. The Wachowski brothers have spent many millions of dollars making three big Hollywood films that tell-in increasingly unsubtle terms-the Christ story according to the Gnostic interpretation. Whatever you think of the films, you should be able to appreciate this stunning accomplishment. America went to the movies, in a big way, to see a Christ epic. By the time all of the money is counted, the Matrix trilogy will have undoubtedly drawn more viewers than the upcoming Catholic interpretation of the Gospels, the Mel Gibson-directed The Passion, ever will. Equally as astonishing is the fact that the brothers successfully conned Americaand a remarkable cross-section of America at that- into viewing the depiction of an alternate version of its culturally dominant religion. What follows is not so much a review as an account of this curious social phenomenon. The fun in observing it-as in all Zeitgeistwatching--comes from trying to gauge the relative importance of the phenomenon and in predicting the next development. Will the Wachowski brothers be successful in introducing America to the mysteries of Gnosticism? Will Gnosticism flourish as a religion in the 21" century? Or is the trilogy, and the brothers' attempted culture coup, just another blip in thematrix? freshman year, I heard reports of tutors using the Matrix to explore points in the &public, e.g., 'So, wouldyou choose the red pill?') Pundits discussed The Matrix as a pleasing social phenomenon, as an action film that introduced young people to philosophical speculation in the form of heady ideas. It was also recognized that the film 'drew on' religious imagery or themes, presumably in a manner similar to the way George Lucas successfully mined hero-archetypes in the Star Warstrilogy, and unsuccessfully pilfers Biblical significance in the new films. Scholarly articles on the Matrix were written semi-ironically, in the same vein as the critical treatments of the Simpsons, and sold in anthologies (The Philosophy of the Matrix). The scholars discussed the Matrix in light of Plato, Christianity ('N eo as a Christ figure'), and something called 'Gnosticism.' The Wachowski brothers, playing the eccentric directors, refused to give interviews or appear for publicity photos. There was speculation about how far the directors would take their kooky ideas now that the intellectual end of their little film had been validated by academia. The second film, Matrix: &haded, left many people confused and dissatisfied, because it contained so much that seemed unessential to an action-film experience. Matrix: F.efoadedwas much more of a talkie than the first Matrix seemed to be. (ln fact, the original Matrix had so many memorable lines that it's hard to believe that it wasn't dialogue-driven). The main difference with the second film.is in thenature of The Movies the dialogue. The monologues seem more freThe first Matrix film was less connected to quent, less pithy, more obscure, less germane to whatever-is-going-on. Savvier viewers realthe full-fledged theology of the latter films. Many took the film to be merely a social commentary. The machines were the establishment, say. Or it was a riff on a generic awakening to philosophical inquiry, in the same way that many take Plato's cave myth to be. Most agreed that the Matrix was invigorating fluff, with pseudo-philosophical notions thrown in for savor. Intellectuals were bemused that a mere sci-fikung-fu-action flick could be taken as the height of profundity by a shallow age. Critics generally liked the first Matrix, because of its visual innovations, Ascene from The Matrix Reloaded. its tight action sequences, and for its striking 'philosophical' content. (My there--well, you should, I hope, see where this is going. Suffice it to say that there is a titanic battle between N eo and Agent Smith in the matrix, and that at one point crosses of light start becoming extremely conspicuous. There is much else that goes on-the death of the actress Gloria Foster required some creative reworking of The Oracle character-and in fact the sheer busyness of the film proves that every detail in the film is, in fact, The Wachowski brothers, ascending. intentional. What irked viewers in the second film-the sideized tliat this was the source of their annoy- trip s to strange locales to listen to bizarre ance, that what seemed random and sense- 'psychobabble'-is even more prevalent in the less-:-merely shoddy pacing-was actually in- third film. What this means is that the directent1onal, and pointing to some concealed mes- tors 'break' the narrative flow of their action sage. film to sm:f in s~bolism and meaning. They Now, this concealed message obviously had are not dotng this to be annoying, or to make to be Christianity. That is, the brothers had their ~s unwatchable, but because they are decided to take the Christ thing as their motif. followtng a symbolic script that they are not This made the choice of Keanu Reeves a bit allowed to deviate from. In effect, between the laughable, since, as everyone knows, Keanu gun~lasts and the fistblows, you are watching can't act (but neither could Mark Hammill). It a wuque enactment of the stations of the cross. could only be a motif, however, because certain Yes, Neo does fall three times. events in the movie didn't line up with events As for the film itself-you know. whether in the standard Christian story. At one point, it is any good-I can no longer say. I have been N eo meets The Architect (besides The Oracle too caught up in the social phenomenon of from the first movie, there are many definite- the thing-this extraordinary selling of a article characters in the sequels), who is like God, Gnostic theology to the masses-that I can't but is not. No such figure exists, or can exist judge for myself anymore. I can say that the in Christian theology. Also, there is a characte; sequels are by no means unenjoyable, if only called The Merovingian who speaks at great because of the astounding visuals. The sequels length about Cause and Effect and systems of feature the best action-sequences and CG-efcontrol, which aren't religious themes at all. fects ever. Viewed in their own right, without There is also Agent Smith, who could easily grappling with the underlying symbolism stand for the devil (as it turns out, he is the there is still much that is simply compelling~ Antichrist), if he weren't somehow opposed the two films. to the machines. Plus, there is a hypersexual rave scene (interspliced with a love scene beThe Reviewers tween Neo and Trinity) at the beginning of &haded . The reviews of the Matrix trilogy are intriguThe conclusion of many critics was that mg, because each reviewer seems to operate with Matrix: &haded was a pretentious and prob- the same set of assumptions. They assume, each lematic pastiche of overlong action sequences one of them, that the Wachowski brothers don't and leaden dialogue. And it made no sense. actually care about the 'material' that they 'draw With the arrival of the third installment of from.' This appears to be as a result of the George the trilogy, Matrix: "Revolutions, the deed is done. Lucas Effect. When the Star Wars films came There literally can be no mistaking of the Christ out, it was a huge event The entire culture reimagery in this film, save an utter ignorance of sponded in such a big way that the scholars deChristianity and its symbolism. N eo--remem- cided that it was worth their effort-that it was ber, The One--is openly referred to as 'the sav- profitable--to focus on them and ask, what it ior' and 'messiah.' The beleaguered inhabitants was in these silly science fiction films that moved of Zion are counseled to believe and have faith people so. They identified the inclusion of in N eo as he voyages to the machine city to avert the destruction of Zion. When he gets continued on page 12 . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY 10 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 i I ! i :I i 'I ; i ! I I I �ers have this difficulty generally when dealing with High Art, but ~oreso when dealing with popular entertamment. . For the most part, reviewers may be JUStified in dismissing some of the more absurd claims by purveyors of popular entertainment as to the artistic merit of their work. If Jerry Bruckheimer points to the Canterbury Tales as an inspiratio_n for Independence Dqy, it is still a waste of time_ to treat that movie as anything but entertainment. But when a piece of popular entertainment both claims to channel higher meantng, and seems to have the cred to do so, it makes sense for a reviewer to make at least a cursory effort to understand what is going on. When the directors appear to be so wedded to a subtext or a concealed meaning that they are willing to break their films for many_ viewers, it might be worth examining theu rea- I In many ways, it would be refreshin~ if critics were to approach both art and entertainment from the perspective of their active beliefs. Reviewers-at least, the sophisticate_d ones- seem to subscribe to a single aesthe~c theory with respect to belief. This aesthetic theory holds that 'belief,' 'meaning,' 'symbolism' in popular entertainment are for the sake of entertainment, and not for the sake of themselves. It is certainly true that the presence of meaning in a popular entertainm~nt makes it more entertaining. \Vhethet entertamment should be evaluated solely from the perspective of entertainment, and as entertaln- ment, is less clear. Author's Note: To the extent that this article has managed to sqy anything at all, I hope that it has partia!!J suggested the need to reevaluate our assumptions about the accepted divisions between entertainment and art, meaning and form, belief and the sons. appraisal of entertainment. A clarifying of our id~as In fact, when reviewers fail to compreon this matter mqy go a Jong way toward answering hend the underlying content of a movie, they Ceci n'est pas un main gnostique. Ms. Locke's questions in her recent letter. make some telling judgments, which they might be too timid to make otherwise: Recontinued from page 11 viewers of the third Matrix movie dismissed the movie as "overwrought nonsense," the 'hero-archetypes' and the 'hero-cycle' as respon- monologues as "psychobabble" and sible for the films' pull. Lucas, for his part, "pseudo-philosophical claptrap," and N eo's confirmed their speculations by proudly pro- fmal death (whoops) scene as senseless. One claiming that he had been influenced by Jo- reviewer wittily quips that Neo's blinding seph Campbell, and had glee~y plundered (whoops again) resembled "lasic su~gery from such sources as Kurosawa s S eve~ Samu- gone horribly wrong" and seems _to o~1ect . the Od11ssl"l1 and the Bible. Lucas' rec1pes.for most to the Oracle's chain-smoking ( Get rat, Y :; l storytelling-which seem to work on y 1n a that woman a patch."). Another reviewer defar-out sci-fi setting-were convenient for film- rides the last film's mantra of "Believe". as school graduates and students of lit-crtt who anti-rational. The last point is the most inwere used to reducing storylines to archetypes triguing, because it unwittingly ~d~esses the anyway. Here was a director for whom there film on its own terms, something i:he other was nothing but archetypes. . reviewers fail to do. The wrongmindedness of this type_ of But the movie is a telling of the Gospels, interp1:etation becomes dear if you thmk the pseud.o-philosophi.c.al claptrap is back to High School English and the read- more bizarre than Leibniz or Spinoza, and the ing of a story like Hemmingway's Old Man wounding is supposed to be symbolic of and the Sea. Every teacher, m the laudable Christ's wounding. Precisely because the films attempt to get students to see past the sur- fail to conform to a recognizable Christian traface level of meaning, po1nts out that dition, the reviewers end up attacking the very Santiago falls three times while struggling matter of Christianity and religion. The great up the beach with his mast. The budding irony about this is that we live in a country that reviewer of books or film hastily jots down is not friendly to >1theists. Everyone 1s expected . . . in his notebook 'Sant1ago=Chnst"' in case to show cursory respect for Chnstiaruty an d it will be on the test. It is doubtful whether the Bible. Certainly, it would be bizarre for _a any serious writer of fiction actually thinks reviewer in the pages of USA Today to be crtt1this way. You don't draw an analogy_ to cal of The Passion of Christ for its plot. Or fo~ a Christ because Christ adds symbolic ten_s10n reviewer in the Wall Street Journal to dismlss to the story, but because Christ as Chnst ls the doctrines of salvation, the trinity, and grace meaningful. That Santiago, a _poor Cubm1 as mystical nonsense. Or in general for a refi1s h erm an 1 s somehow Christlike 1s. m- viewer to proclaim that religion is so over. -, . tended as a meaningful connection. Review- All Tomorrow's Parties son, somebody in the kitchen thinks this means its okay to tum Wednesday's meatballs into Thursday's chile con came. Fantasizing about acts of homicide against core group members becomes only means of preserving sanity. In any case, by the time Friday night rolled around, students were ready to banish ennui in the surest possible way: a birthday party. On Tuesday, November 11th, St. John's College turned 214 years old (I'm serious) and somehow it made sense for Mr. Cutlery to deliver the Friday lecture to a packed auditorium. Afterward, everyone who was anyone made a B- Greetings Festive Johnnies! After a hiatus of several weeks, ATP is back to bring you all the juiciest (and lamest) details from last weekend's pattieso This week: St. John's College turns 214. Well folks, the first week of Mid-November came and went without anyone noticing anything except their own boredom and the factors behind it. Seniors endured day 20 of the particle-wave standoff; juniors learned that after two weeks the preceptorial gets old; sophomores were treated to a final dose of St. Paul's nauseating self-hatred, and freshmen. discovered that the dining hall too has its seasons. That's right, even under the benevolent regime of the wonderful Parkhurst people, the same old schedule subsists to some degree in Cafe Randall. Here is an abstract of the calendar. Convocation: Apprehensive parents everywhere, all looking for any excuse to believe that junior is too young to be leaving homethis means that the food service people pull out all the stops to ensure that 11obody's parents withdraw them 'cause of the For the first few days, the food is great. Convocation to Homecoming: The qualsome entrees decli_nes slightly, the avail- standing on Maryland Ave with five other drunks, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in my dorm room, to the sound of my own cries of agony! Partiers beware! All vodkas are not created equal! You might start the evening with Grey Goose, but if you switch over to Gilbey's and then to whatever is in the flask that's being passed around as you walk home, prepare for a jackhammer to go to work on your temples the next morning. Good God! I woke up with the kind of hangover that makes me resent anyone healthy. My body was more devastated by three pints of dear booze than Russia was by Napoleon's army! \Vhich brings us to chapter two of ATP: Vodka to Champagne, or The Counterattack that Tolstoy spoke of from east to west. That's right, sports fans, ATP did not allow a four ala:rm headache to keep him away from the medicine. Instead, I went to the College's best Saturday-night cheap champagne source: the Noname (no kidding) Waltz, hosted by Schlitz committee archons Hayrry Pockett and Lucy Anna Landsend. The evening started line to gate one to give a B-Day surprise to St. out uneventfully enough, but soon became John himself. Chef Boiyadid served up pizza a gathering of really large people. Tall Steve pies, and Uncle Billy (we love you) served up and brother Big Ben were there, in a kind platefuls of carefully prepared awkward mo- of dancers past and present swingin' tagments. The lovely hostesses were Unreal in team. Mr. Kill-me-off, as usual, failed to their generosity; spirits soared as spirits were impress the crowd with his puerile antics; poured. Guests enjoyed a fine beer selection, Mr. Portal charmed the ladies with a comias well as hot cider. Spanish Romeo and Bob cal gig, and Justin Boots danced with a goofy Madagascar were mackin' on the back and grin. McFlynt the Pirate sported a pointy front porches respectively, and everyone seemed beard, while Mr. Pure dispensed booze and to have a blast. Can somebody please tell me philosophical speeches. February and Mr. what the hell the giant blue ball was doing in Abel downed glass after glass while chatt_he room? \Vas it some kind of metaphor? Or tingwith Nikolushka, while Some Townie merely a warning? In any case, ATP spent the and This Asian Chick showed up all the next hour beside the bar until he realized other dancers, except the ones wearing rethat the Skyy had limit. vealing clothing. But it ,~,-as the fall of Deep But I digress. Around midnight, every- Sandy that really stole the show. Burdened one saw what no one had expected: Febru- as he was with all those bottles, no one was ary arriving in Mid-November, accompa- surprised when he came tumblin' down like nied by the dapper (and very drunk) Mr. Humpty D.; we were concerned for the safety Abel. The next few hours passed quickly, as of Ms. Harthrekker, though. A freshman did the eight screwdrivers I must have sitting next to ATP summed it up best: Is downed during this period. At some point this some kind of sick joke? Peace and love, in the evening, the party turned into me folks. excellent during this weekend. to Parent's Weekend: quality holds steady, or even improves .o>;.,r.;,-.i-+i~ as does the availability of spoonso In spoons soon become the only available of silverware; then spoons replace the the cups, and finally the grains bar. Weekend: The 'rents are back nd even though most of the kids get by their folks to dinner on the town, g hall staff manages to whip up some ff. Week of Mid-November: Passage slows to an excruciating halt, tutorial lengthen beyond all bounds, and semi~kno,>:rn to last for days. For some rea- • 12 0 THE GADFLY 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 THE GADFLY . 13 �end oftwo weeks, each student commits to a schedule for the remainder of the year. e) The same as d), exceptthatno commitment is Pensees continued from page 9 vidual class dynamics, but also on the character of the College as a whole? a) In addition to having a core group, all students also have a "soft" cote group. A "soft'' core group consists of two core groups that share two classes. b) The students in each seminar (which consists of four core groups) have classes only with each other, as is the casein the Febbie program. Each core group would have one class with each of the other core groups (three other core groups, three other classes). Tus would also make tutorials and labs smaller (about ten students). . c) In addition to b), the students of ead~ sem1nar would live together in on-campus housmg. d) Tutors are assigned classes (e.g. sophomore math), class times, and classrooms as they are no~ They are not assigned a group of students. Tiris information is posted, say, in the coffee shop at the beginning of the fall semester. For the first two weeks of the semester, students may "sample" different combinations of tutors and students. At the h) A kind of combination of the above: the informed judgment oftutors coupled with the preferences of students based upon their understand- ever necessary. ing of themselves and their relations to other stu- f) Freshmen continue to be assigned to classes as they are currently. To create sections and core groups dents. Students would submit a list of (3? 7? 18?) students that they would like to have in their classes, for the other grades, data are collected and used to orchestrate well-balanced groups of students. That as well as a list of students that they'd prefer not to be in class with. Tutors would make recommendations as in f) and/or g;. ~ Tutors, like students, would have a say in the composition of their classes. They too would work up lists of students (and tutors) that they feel they'd work well with or whom they feel they could best mentor, as well as lists of those tt'iey'd prefer not to work with. D of the above, but only brought into play Any for junior and senior years. k) Eliminate mandatory class attendance. Please share your thoughts with us and the Polity: By thinking this through together, we will either be able to reaffirm the way things are done currently or we \Vill be able to point to a better solution, both worthy goals. And, as always, all are most welcome to attend the SCI's weekly meeting during lunch on Thursday in the Private Dining Room. is students are labeled as "quiet," "outspoken," "~ks helpful questions;' ''uncomfortablewith demonstrating at the board," and each class is given a balance of each kind. More pedestrian categones might also be included: sex, race, or prior experience with the subject matter (e.g with calculus, French, or music). g; like f), but emphasizing individual relationships instead of diversity. Sections and core groups are constructed according to tutors' previous observations of which students work well or poorly together. Students who tend to bicker with or visibly frustrate each other would not be placed together in the future. On the other hand, students who feed off of each other's ideas to their own and their class' benefit would be placed together, perhaps even in a core group. Gadfly Funny Papers ;;S;.:w;:i~m~m~in~giil....:\l..:,V·.;o~n.:d.;e.:..r.;.;M;.;..o;;.;11,.;,;1k~e;;.,;Y:...·,,o_a""y_s__.... b y_L_a..,.ur:a:T:"1ra.ina. and Beth· Siekiera Beth, are we incoherent? well, Laura, what is incoherence really? I mean, woah nelly. Office of Extra.ordinary Researcl1 National Aeronautics and Space AcL7Ilinistration 7119 Standard Drive Hanover1 MD 21076-1320 President, Executive Branch United States of' America 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20400 President, This is a followup to communique A4 72-R: Probability Distortion (ramifl.cations). As you a.re well aware, our studies revealed a. strange level of distortion centered &long the western shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay region. We had stated that we thought this to be worth a closer look, and we are nowcerta.m that it was wor'"...h the extra, funding granted through Executive Resolution #578_ loss of two researchers and a grove of transplanted EucaJytpus trees near our central facility was a major clue. T'.nis is of course the location of our Vary Efficient Velocity Adjusting L)()1m1:.ia!JJJ Cyclotron (VEVACC), Our sensors picked up a. dram.a.tic spike in the level of base irnprobabiUty - approxL7nately 10,000 Vonneguts (1 Vonnegut is equal to a typical level of improbability; is the level di.rr·mg a typical Class 3 hurricane), This Extrao.rd:in.a.ry Level of Improbabllity lasted for ten minutes, the end of which coincided with the aforementioned tragedy. obtained photographs of the incident, which are kept under tight storage at an undisclosed ~""~""'""'~....._. They contain imagery which can only be described as bizarre. A trio of apparently liVi...ng are observed, two which resembled large (approx. 36 ft.) bat-like orea.tures, which appeared to be large slender eyeballs to which two la...rge black vvings wer-e attached at either side. The third "''"'"'.cuu.1."''u. a man-sized troll, who seemed to be the apparent leader of the th:r-ee cre~tures. They ripped trees from the ground and disappea...""Bd \Ali.th the aforementioned trees 1ntt.• a spiral-shaped time ·the improbability levels dropped be.ck to a ste.ndard level of 1 Vonnegut within seconds. have detected levels of improbability exceeding 100,000 Vgt. along the western coast of tJle v.uo,,,,,,!J('~'"' Bay reg1on1 wbich have been slowly building for three days. We give our full :reoouunen.dation. that au pertinent agencies in that region to be given appropriate war-Jlings, for we a.t. &""'El comrinced that something very strange oat,a.cJysID.J.o wm oootu" in the at anytime" your attention to tbis matter; 14 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 15 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P. 0. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 Notes "A good merchant hides his goods and appears to have nothing; a skilled craftsman leaves no traces." Lao-Tzu You gotta love those Johnnie athletes who hide their athletic lamps under a bushel, so to speak, for the first three years of their undergraduate lives, and then finally, their senior year, just let their inner jock light shine. I'm thinking right now of Ms. Rebecca Coleman, who not only took the Greek soccer world by storm this past fall with her great play at mid-field, but is now showing one and all that she has got game on the hardcourt as well. The wellrounded Ms. Coleman helped her Nymphs to a victory in their first game of the women's basketball season this past Friday. For her great play this year, and for showing all of us that it's never to late to come out and have a go, .Ms. Coleman is named Athlete of the Week for the women. And this note is from the never-say-die category. At the season ending regatta of the rowing club a little over a week ago, one Johnnie sculler crabbed with his first stroke, and then steered a very poor course off the line. But instead of cashing in the race right then and giving it up for lost, this competitor hung in there, finally got in rhythm, and pulled off a victory in the men's recreational single event. I'm talking 'bout Mr. Gates, who not only made it to every practice this past fall season, thus winning one of the most prestigious awards in all of sports, namely, the Golden Woodie; no, not content to display his energy on the water, Mr. Gates has also been a stalwart soccer player on the surprisingly strong Spartan squad this fall. For his great fall season by water and by land, Nk Gates is namedAthlete of the Week for the men. Never Fear! Back issues ofthis year's Gadfly are a<r..iailable! vve 'll send you an unbound Send your requests to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com 16 copy in Campus Mail as soon as we can! . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Visit our kickin' HTML counterpart at: http://www.sjca.edu/users/ gadfly Lion Farming continued from page 7 false through clever deeds the curse is brought upon in full." I quote the text at such length only to demonstrate the level of thought that would lead one to hold such sentiments. At this point, the only remaining proponents of such thinking constitute nothing but a lunatic fringe, and it is likely that they can be discounted entirely. On a more realistic front, a number of notable scientists are currently hard at work trying to broaden the application of lions in the modern world. Just last month, Gary Trauben of .MIT caused quite a stir with a press release claiming to have found a way to use a mere three lions to generate enough electricity to power a modern household for a year and a half. Lion farming is also having a tremendous effect on the popular lexicon. For the eighth year in a row, Leon is the most popular name on the continent of J-~ust:rzlia. _,;_\round the office, peep-le tzlk of "working like a lion," a phrase whose ubiquity has been both confirmed and enhanced by its use, on 17 distinct occasions, in Scott Adams' beloved Dilbert comic strip. Even the word 'lionize,' which has been in use for years, is now in the final stages of a momentous shift in meaning. Rather than synonym for 'applaud,' it now indicates the process of making some drastic change in methodology that leads to unprecedented success, which is acknowledged as the primarydefinition in the 2002 ouuuu;..cu~·"· to the Oxford English Dictionary. Will revolution ever stop? From where this porter stands, there's no end in sight. c � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 12 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-11-18 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 12 of The Gadfly. Published November 18, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #12 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/8a257ca5c9826b2e4782a3eb1d51481a.pdf 25b50444b2c9849356aee81952d5d0e2 PDF Text Text THE GADFLY Annapolis, Mmy!and November 24, 2003 The St. John} College Student Weekfy Volume .XXV, Issue 13 How to Mask Your Ignorance of All Things Contingent by Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor Well, here it is, Thanksgiving again, when you have to go home and talk with your extended family for at least as long as it takes to eat some turkey No weapons ofmass destruction have been found and there's been very little progress towards getting other nations to send troops. A bombing at an Italian police barracks in Iraq killed 19 Italians lwo weeks ago. and mashed potatoes. No doubt, an uncle will want to know about your grades and whetheryou'vedecidedon a major. Some other relative will askhowyoulike the readings, wait for a set interval, and then proceed to tell you what thry thought when they read the &pub!U: "back in the Stone Age." While you'll have to food for yourself on these topics, like many nobleJohnnies before you, the Gac@1canhelp with at least one of the things that makes Johnnies look awkward in the outside world---0ur near-total ignorance ofthe news. Herein you'll find a summary of what's been happening recently in the world Foryour ronvenience, we'veincluded some "liberal" and ''conservative'' opinions forusewith your relatives of each persuasion. Iraq The w<rr ended last April, but that doesn't .mean that America's casualties have stopped grow'mg: As of ptess time, over 400 soldiers have died from hostile combat action, and the number grows daily. The most shocking 1ealhs came on Sunday, when two American solW~s Wet<: shot while driving in the Inqi city of i\1fosul After their vehicle crashed, a dozen Iraqi ~s reportedly dragged the soldiers from their yelllcleand beat th= to death with con=te blocks. )'he bodies lay in the street for an hour before other ~ericans were alerted to the ambush. The daywas ~ ma:tked by a bombing tl-iat killed two other 3 ,.s~Idiers and a missile attack on a commercial jet ····•··~~inBaghdad 'ThesouthoITt;lqhasretminedrdativelypeace{illd is hugely under the command of British ~~' ··i~s. No one is quite sure·who is attackingAmeri;~:~·~in the center of the country, but the Pentagon • "'. tforeigninstigato:rsandSaddamdie-hards d the mayhem. In recentinte_rviews, howe of the insurgents claimed to be fighting 'cans because they considered them for' ,not becauseAmerica deposed Saddam. Yes, indeed, we are still in Iraq. Conservative take Like most everyone, consetvatives don't know what to say about Iraq. They probably think America's doing something right in being there, but damed ifit isn't starting lo look pretty bad ovet there. The admillistration asked for $81 billion to keep the occupation going through the end of the year, but there's no telling how much next year will cost, a fact that fiscal conservatives must detest Liberal view Liberals are prettyupsetti1>at iheBush ac11lli1istration has screwed things up for us at the UN. After scorning tl1e body when it wouldn't support the Iraq war, President Bush went a-begging for international support from the GenetalAssembly. Putting American troops under UN jurisdiction would do lwo things-it would assuage the Iraqi fear that America is just there to steal Iraq's oil andit would get more nations to foot the bill of troops and money. They're also prettyupsetthattheBushies seem to be getting away with having deceived the nation about the specific threats Iraq was alleged to posetheUS. Gay Marriage Now, it might seem that one could be concernedwithsomemoredrasticissue(like tl1e evet present threat ofnuclear a..nniliilation), but gay marriage does present the sortofhalf-intriguingandnotmerelypractical questions which attract aJohnnie's attention. Plus you're all but guaranteed to hear about it at home. The J'vfassachusetts Supr=e Court ruled last week that since the marriage law in that state didn't specify that the two parties in a marriage contract had to be a man and a woman, there was no leg<tl reason to deny gay couples marriage licenses. 'What's more, the court said that to altet the law lo specify the sex of the participants would violate the 14th Amendment (or thereabouts) protections of American citizens enjoy. The J'vfassachusetts state legislature has six montl1s to provide for gay marriage by ~the courts specifically rejected the Vermont-siyle civil union as an option-thus pretty much guaranteeing that gay marriage will be a =jor issue in the ptesidenrial electionneirtyear. G.iy marriage is the one issue where America se=s clearly to support the conservative position, which is naturally that allowing homosexual couples to marry is a serious threat to the institution of marriage and to our more ambiguous and even more endangered "social fabric." Of those who don't say that homosexuality is a crime and a sin, most conservatives, such as Maryland's governor, take the line that marriage is a status historically reserved for a = ae.1d a woman and that to oiiter this would be to change marriage into something it patently cannot be. 1bis position is perfectly tenable as "conservative," tl-iat is, relying on the inherited wisdom of the ages as solidified in custom; students who've studied Aristotle and Aquinas can steer the conversation to their agreement that custom and inherited wisdom are important Contingence continued on page 6 �Gadfly Mailbox Fl~ Editor-in-Chief Ca1hy Keene Executive Editor Ian McCracken Production Managers A&E Editor Martin Anderson Melissa Thomas Anderson Tallent Layout Shoshana Goldstein Sports Editor l'vlike Malone Inside News Mary Townsend Outside News Hayden Brockett Business Manager Katy Courtright Contributing to this Issue Nick.Colten Reenie Craven Erikk M. Geannikis Julie Janicki Dave Prosper Jerry Salyer Webster Ye Founded in 1980, the Gadfly is the student weekly distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadfly staff. The Gadf/y reserves the right to accept, reject, and edit submissions in any way necessary to publish the most thoughtful, informative, and thought-piovoking ne\vspaper ,,;;7hi.(:h circum- stances at St. John's permit. Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better chance of being published than those longer than this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. The Gadfly is not obligated to publish all submissions and will not print anonymous submissions except under special circumstances. Deadline: Sunday at noon, unless permission for a delay is granted in advance. Submissions will be accepted as long as they are legibly written, but typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions are greatly preferred. Please e-mail submissions to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. 2 . THE GADFLY . . . WOULD LIKE TO ADD THl1.T MR. SCHWARTZ WAS NOT ACTU'\LLY AT THE QUESTION PERIOD. I am in agreement with Mr. Harrell, Mr. David, and others when I say that lecture reviews are probably something that shouldn't be done at all. But if they're going to be done, they should be done respectfully, honestly, and should NOT impose any belief upon the readers as to whether or not a lecture was "good enough" or "failed."* And for God's sake, Dan, don't ever f***ing tell me what does and does not provoke thought. Most Sincerely, Erikk M. Geannikis '"No good can truly come out of a lecture review that is forever negative and discouragmg. Back in My Day To the Editor, I wish to heartily applaud Charles Pashayan for his in-depth report on lion farming. It is an interesting and important issue that is ignored by the major media outlets, and he has done the College community a great service by better informing us of the institution. Truth be told, I spent a few years working on a lion farm back in the early 90s, during the summer after my freshman year. The farm in question was a model farm operated by the University of l\/Iinnesota's Ag School in the no11:hern part of my home state. The first growing season's results were very impressive, consistentwitl1 the account given in your articles. The first winter, however, brought disaster to the farm; nearly the entire lion herd succumbed to hypothermia or pnewnorua. The initial response was to declare lion farming impracticable for the Upper Midwest and shutter the program. One of the reseatchers, however, came across an article describing a rare species of great cat called the Bhutanese Snow Lion. The Snow Lion's nwnbers have been in sharp decline in recent years due to habitat destruction caused by urban sprawl in the tiny Buddhist kingdom to which they are native. In a joint effort to prevent their extinction and continue the lion farming program, the university purchased a dozen Snow Lion cubs (I've enclosed a photo of one of these cubs). The results were very impressive. In addition to the wide variety oflabors that they were able to perform, as well as milk production, the Snow Lions' long winter coat (which by necessity was shorn in the spnng to prevent over-heating in the hot Minnesota summers) was used to create a rather attractive and comfortable haircloth. In fact, there was a short-lived fashion craze in the Twin Cities after the Artist-Who-Was-at-ThatTime-Not-Known-as-Prince was seen at local hot spots sporting outfits made entirely from Snow Lion haircloth. The t:re1r.ic.ndous prod-..1ctivity.,. ofliv11 fam'1ing that Mr. Pashayan accurately described led to my being laid off from my job as a farmhand. I returned to Minneapolis and took up baking. Thank you, l'vfr. Pashayan, for taking me back to those happy days when I toiled alongside those majestic creatures. Sincerely, Nick.Colten Bhutanese Snow Lion Cub Provoking More Thought Dear Gadf!y, Who is Dan Schwartz that he believes he is fit to make the claims that he does-often? In his lecture reviews and lecture-related editorials, he speaks with a holier-than-thou, patronizing tone as he asserts to us, the polity, what a lecture should be. Obviously, we Johnnies know that defining what anything truly is requires conversation and thought, and true definitions are quite scarce. But this Dan Schwartz character is different; he feels it necessary to impose his own conception of a lecture on us, the listeners, and more blasphemously, the lecturer. To quote his review, as he called it, of Mr. Kutler's lecture, "Yes, as a lecture it failed. It failed to provoke thought." And later, "the lecture was not thought-provoking. A summary is not thought-provoking. Tidbits of knowledge are interesting, but not thought-provoking, if left unexplored." How am I supposed to feel about these statements, considering I was provoked to quite a bit of thought, contmued conversation long after the forty· three minutes of formal lecture had '-V·"'-'·uu~~· And I am not the anomaly, IYfr. Schwartz. question period was filled to the brim with thinkers eager to heed Mr. Kutler's that many of the important issues presented in the lecture could only be worked out discussion. '\)?ouldn't Socr~tes ha le '\vanted 0 this way? While you claimed tlJ.at you were restric · the review to "the lecture itself;' (a) that's no really true because on page eight you did dis cuss the question period, and (b) a lecture at~ John's College is not just some speech in , the question period is necessary to synthes . . views and thoughts gained and discovered. r Speaking Out on Class Dynamics Dear Gadf!y, I found Ms. Sico's and Mr. Lanier's article, "Pensees on the 'Bad' Class Bug," to be very interesting and worthy of further discussion. It seems to me that some of the alternate methods offered are somewhat stifli_ng and contrar1 to what I believe to be the St. John's way oflearning how to learn from each other. The idea oflabeling students as "quiet," "outspoken," etc. (f), and then orchestrating class makeup accordingly, seems contrary to what we are about at St. John's. The same goes for allowing students and tutors to choose tl1eir class compositions (h and i). I must also say that looking at some of the suggestions from strictly a logistical standpoint gives me great pause ... Rather than taking up space to address each of your alternate scheduling methods, I offer to meet u;:it_h the Student Committee on Instruction to fuii:her discuss the scheduling process and alternatives. I think it would be very helpful to include the Dean and Assistant Dean in the discussion as well. I would like to clarify a couple of things mentLonied 1n the beginning of the article. Over years there have been several master acascheduling methods utilized. The cur"A.M. /P.M. split" method was born in summer of 1991 through the cooperative of Ms. Dorotl1y Guyot, a former tutor, Rushing, a student aide in the Office of ~,~""l'.1~1m1r at the time, and Ms.Nancy Lewis, l.\.eJ2;1.st:rar. Ms. Lewis asked Mr. Rushing if be interested in documenting the newly born method and he did so over his winter break in 1991. Documenting this new system was a remarkable feat, much appreciated by the College, and particularly by the Office of the Registrar. Ms. Lewis hosted a party to honor Mr. Rushing's publication of A Method of Scheduling. You are correct that the process of assigning students to core groups is not part of A Method of Scheduling. Placing students in core groups is done randomly for the most part and takes into consideration two things: we do not assign a student to the same core group as the previous year (although a student may share one or two classes with someone from their previous year core group), and we try not to assign students to tutors they have had before (also not possible to do for every student). We are currently working on computerizing the placement of students in core groups, and, if successful, moving on to computerizing the class scheduling process as well. Let me know if you would like to have further discussion on the scheduling process. Respectfully, Reenie Craven Registrar Some Thoughts on the Jews' Clues Column Dear Gadf!y, While speaking to some Johnnies recently, it has been brought to my attention that the Jews' Clues column has been the subject of some controversy. The column has engendered a "love-it or hate-it" attitude. .And as I a...-n a Johnnie, I began to contemplate tl1e nature of Jews' Clues (now abbreviated J.C.). To that end, I came up witl1 four questions for the polity and the Gadf/y: \V'hat are the authors trying to accomplish with their column? Is this column the humorous, non-offensive advice column that its purpose states it as? What is the polity's role in this matter? What is the Gadfly's role? The authors seem to desire J.C. as a nono.ffensive, and humorous advice column for tl1e polity. However, it seems to me that with many of tl1e responses, the humor of the column rests upon insulting certain subject areas that may be offensive to certain people. On the other hand, much of J.C. is remarkably amusing (on the first reading). It is only when • • • • • • • • • • 0 one reads the column again that a worrying undercurrent ofhwnor directed at making ugly fun of people comes through. As everybody's opinion of what is non-offensive and humorous is different, it may be important for the authors of J.C. to consider the ramifications of their jokes. This leads me to my second question to tlle polity. I would like to think that J.C. is amusing in a very non-serious fashion and that the jokes are usually so obviously blown out-ofproportion such t.hat any possible insult is weakened. However, that leads me to ask the authors of the column what can be done so that comedic relief rests not on cheap jokes at other people's expense. Is the nature of comedy such that we cannot laugh at anything funnier than the gutter humor of Aristophanes? The polity's role in this matter seems clear to me. It is up to Johnnies to provide the subject questions for the J.C. column. If the question is nonsensical or ill conceived, then the answer will be in a similar manner. If the column is insulting to a Johnnie, then it is up to the polity to write in a reply. Otherwise, with no feedback, the authors of the column will have a hard time determining whether their column is appropriate or funny. Lastly, the Gadf!js role is that of the polity weekly publication. Traditionally, it publishes whatever is submitted to it as long as it is not blatantly offensive. The editor of the Gadf/y is extremely capable of figuring out what is acceptable to print, but she is not a censor - the material submitted is the product of the author, and it is up to the author to regulate him or herself. What I hope tlle Gadf/y will do is move the J.C. column to the Gadf(y Fun'!)' Papers section so that there will be no mistaking the column for anythLng else than as a "nono.ffensive, humorous advice column." Sincerely, Webster Ye Dear Jews Clues, I hear that you guys are genies! If so, for my first wish, can you shut Dan Schwartz up? And for my second, can the Mets and Knicks go all the way within the next few years? Sincerely, Adon Olam Can't Hold In Lots of Loving Accolades (C.H.I.L.L.A.) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 •• 0 • 0 • THE GADFLY . 3 �A Shakespearean Take on Post-Seminar Stargazing 'Twas Thanksgiving Evening by Julie Janicki Staff Writer by Cathy Keene Editor-in-Chief Students, classmates, fellow Johnnies, pay attention. I wish to praise the Observatory, not to ignore it. The things we read for class are forgotten too quickly; . The subjects we continue to study on our own are far more appreciated. So let it be with astronomy. The tutor Mr. Beall Hath organized a time and place for students to study the stars.. . Seven years ago he saw how little we learned overall of the celestial bodies, And meticulously hath he tried to help us. In third Mellon, under leave of Mr. Beall and his assistantsHe has allowed us to stargaze after seminars, From 10:15 until everyone wants to go home, observing planets like Mars and SaturnCome I to speak on behalf of the study. I have only gone once, but I plan to go again. So that I may learn the names of the stars and find the polar caps of Mars, In this honorable Observatory. Mr. Beall hath set up two telescopes- a 12" Schmidt-Cassegrain and a 16" NewtonianThrough which we view the rings and moons of Saturn. Does this after seminar seem like fun? Now that the sophomores have finished Copernicus, No one hence will look towards the stars. Our interest should be made of sterner stuff. Yet a handful ambitiously attend the observations each week, And they learn stars and constellations honorably. You all did hear about the meteor showers and Hale-Bopp They took many pictures of a month or two back, Which you may find on the College website. Is this not cool? Yet even the Aurora Borealis was observed on October 30, And surely this is an honorable sight. I speak not to chide or inflame those who tire of the stars, But here I am to tell you what might benefit you. You all did, or will, learn about the equant and the heavenly spheres once, not without profit. What cause forces you then to leave it all behind for Apollonius? Oh Observatory, your equipment will be lost and forsaken, If men lose all of their interest! But be patient with me. I just hope people will take advantage of this opportunity, And not wait until it is too late to visit the Observatory. Thursday, December 4 After seminar stargazing to run late! In case of inclement weather: 'Twas Thanksgiving evening, and we were all fed, But were too bloated for dessert; it was too early for bed. The family closeness we were trylng to maintain Was becoming too difficult, from silence was strain. My mother was tired; my father was, too. My sister, her husband, could think of nothing to do. And I as a Johnnie, was sad to admit Augustine was long, and I had no care for it. Then just as a man comes up out of the cave, I had the right answer - the day I could save! To the T.V. I ran, tripping over the cats, We had dozens of videos -why not do that?? Although such a silly thought first it did seem, The prospect of laziness before me just gleamed. I grabbed not a handful, or even just two, But four hands-worth of tapes to be readily viewed. I called, ''Mother!" called, ''Father! l\:fichelle, Roy; and Connor!" "Just look at these movies - look at what we can honor!" I giggled delightedly, running back to the couch. With the first video in, I was proud of myself White Christmas-so lovely, such a cinema classic. The songs are all famous, the singing- fantastic! With a lovely message ofyuletide spirit and cheer, rve been known on occasion to shed happiness tears. On to the next, though it's somewhat annoying. Home Alone is its name, but take heart, I'm enjoying The songs in the background, the mischievous child, .The violence however, is extremely un-mild But after the first, we must follow with sequel, No longer in Chicago, New York has the evil. ·•With the power of friendship throughout the whole flick, I confess, I adore it; it's a favorite pick. . The fourth for my sister, despite my protests, .... The movie's amusing, in this I don't jest. My problem however, is the sap at the end; Of thirteen stars, The Santa Clause gets ten. fifth is my father's, he loves to inform the town from The Christmas Story used to be norm. I myself can remember, once wanting a toy; Though not one so dangerous as a gun for a boy. And now for my mother, &tdolph is most definitely hers. As a child she loved him, as an adult she concurs: Cornelius is a man of intellect and wit, And Santa - heroic, there's no doubt about it. Then a poignant movie, a holiday perfection; It} a Wonderful Life invites love and reflection. To watch an angel as he earns his first wings, Not overly cheesy, my soul just near sings. And then the last video, but certainly the best. It's a short little film, thirty minutes or less. About the redemption of Grinch, who first tries to steal Christmas from the citizens of cheery Who-ville. Now I look at the clock, at the hours gone by. My family's asleep, there's not one open eye. I settle abed, content with the knowledge, Of holidays coming, of a break off from college! 'Notice from the Assistant Dean Rain Date-Monday, December 8 Everyone Welcome! Have a Car? Want to Help Your Fellow Johnnies? · s Kaplan is looking for students who have cars and are willing to give er students occasional rides to the store, doctor, etc. A list of willing ers and their contact information will be composed and kept in the i ·Stant Dean's office for any inquiring riders; the details will be left to the ents to arrange amongst themselves. 11 : i ' 4 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �Thoughts Tangential to 'Marriage' by Jerry Salyer 'When a term has become so universa!fy sanctified as 'democragl' now is, I begin to wonder whether it means af!Y!hing, in meaning too mal!J things ... " -TS. Eliot The Culture War's lowprofile--and the denial by some that there is a Culture War-is at least partly due to the insight of an Italian Marxist named Antonio Gram.sci, who replaced the vision of the bourgeoisie's blood-flowing-inthe-streets with the approach followed today: the non-violent, creeping envelopment and transformation of Western civilization. Gramsci observed that the institutions of any society are informed and defined by various cultural values which link the institutions with one another, which provide a point-of-view for measuring reality, and which form a greater, coherent social whole, a raison d'etre for the society at large. Language is an institution. So is education. So are the bodies of gove=ent. So is cropgrowing, the military body, music, and cinema. So is marriage. Gram.sci realized that continual, persistent erosion of the original values which inform traditional institutions could lead to a seamless displacement of those values by those of a materialist, humanist ideology. 1bis is somewhat analogous to the way in which a strand of viral DNA inserts itselfinto a host cell, co-opting the cell for the virus' own purposes. Gramsci's vision was that through institutional doppelgangers a new method of assigning value would develop, and a new order would be spawned It is a common myth that the separation of church and state serves to promote the viewpoint of the progressive party and that the logical response of the conservative party is to try to undo this separation. 1bis is far from truth. (The fact that America has no conservative party, i.e. one devoted to conserving anything--only a party of capitalist progressives, and one of socialist progressivesis a different matter, but partly results from Gramsci's method.) For example, very few on the vanguard of revolutionary doctrine propose abolishing the regime's legal recognition of marriage. This is even though-n-ganiless ofhow one does or does not limit marriage-the societal sanctioning of that relationship implies that we, as a culture, have adopted this thing "marriage" as an ideal. 6 American government imposes this ideal on individuals who may not subscribe to it, contradictingits own dogma of unlimited freedom. Someone of a passionately individualistic philosophy--one who rejects the concepts of marriage, family bonds etc.-may question why he is expected to subsidize someone else's aspirations for family-a!!Y sort of family. His question is perfecdy legitimate, andin themulti-cultunilist,humanistAmerica there are only two possible answersanswers, not justifications. First, there is a simple, innocent hypocrisy by those steeped in modernism, (enlightenment, hberty /equality /brotheth.ood,etc.,etc.,etc.)hypocrisy in thatthey lack the stomach to face the implications of their professed value systems. Many hack and saw away at tradition and religion without considering what will happen when the tree finally dies. The second, more distru.bing possibility is that some of the media-entertainment-governmental complex are not hypocrites; theymayconsciouslyor subconsciouslyunderstand Gramsci's plan, and recognize thatgovemmentintenninglementinAmerican cultural institutions gives a pretext to march throughthoseinstitutionsanderadicatetheremaining vestiges of the old beliefs. Expanding terms to new, more open-minded usages carries an unaddressed flipside, as the modemfetishforinclusivenessinevitablydoes. Theproposed transition leaves those who think of a word in its previous, traditional sense bereft of a wordfor describing the mncrpt. Gramsci himselfprobably fell into the ranks of the innocent hypocrites. In my more optimistic moments, I should like to think all his heirs are innocent hypocrites as well, ignorant of the real motivation that is buried in all our breasts---a tiny germ of darkness lodged in each of us. This motivation is not a desire for truer, more perfect, and just cultural boundaries and structures; rather the motivator is a resentment of the ~ of boundaries and structures as such. The mantra of talerance, the cult ofopen-mindedness is one facet ofan appetite for self-destruction, an appetite manifested---in various ways-in all of us. I equate that cultwith self-destruction because it acknowledges a fact that the innocent cannot bring themselves to recognize: the very conferring of form, identity, and selfhood inevitably sets up boundaries which are--dare I say itintolerant. Existence itself is an imposition, on emptiness. Contingence continued from Front Page . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . To liberals, this issue is about fairness pure and simple: certain people who make the same commitments as others are denied the legal rights and benefits of marriage thatthelatter enjoy. They also argue that heterosexuals have been doing a pretty damngoodofjobofscrewingupmarriagethemselves,andthatallowinggaycouplestosavemoney on their taxes (a god-given right to conservatives) would hardly do more damage to the social fabric than the current 60% divorce rate. Adding to the mess, polls showthatwhile about 7f11/o ofAmericans don't want gays to be allowed to marry, a majority do want to give them "equalrights," which it seems they're being denied right now. So while Republicans want to get the issue to the forefront since their guy is against gay marriage and all the Democrats supportit, there seems to be room to sway the voters on both sides. MichaelJackson As you probably have heard,Jacko was arrested : lastweekonsuspicionofmolestingaminorathis . Neverland Ranch. Last time he was accused, ten : years ago, no charges were filed. 1bis time the re· ports come from the therapist of an unidentified : 12or13 year-old boy; under California law, thera· pists are obligated to report suspicions ofabuse to : police. There's probably only one thing to be said · about the situation: except for the little kid (whom : nooneknowsyet),justabouteverybodyinvolved · is sleazy, from the district attorney to the king of : pop. God knows what you'll be saying about this · with your family. In any case, it's probably best not : to mention that some books you've read think · pederasty is just fine. As for the legal situation, : Jackson's out on $3 million bail and is vigorously · denying the charges against him. A trial date has : not been set. For those with relatives who enjoy bringing it : allbackhomewithanovernrchingpronouncement · about the state of the nation, here's what you can : say in response. If there's one lesson we've learned· · from the 2000 election and the 2004 campaign so. : far, it's that America is a deeply divided nation. The · western and southern states thatvotedRepubliam : last time have only become more staunchly GO : and the Democratic states have only gotten . Democratic. The rank divisiveness ofthe Clin : era has bled into the Bush reign. Half of Ameti . cans hate the current President, but half wo : vote for him again. The struggle for the coun . future will be over the three to five pen:ent : Americans who could possibly change their · . aboutthePresidentin thenex:tyear. Therestof : will have to suffer through the battles, both . home and abroad, until at least October 15, : when the troops come home, just in time for . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lecture Review: A Path to Plato's Laws by Webster Ye Staff Writer Mr. Dugan's lecture this past Friday, "Lullabies and Drinking Songs: A Path to Plato's Liws," in the opinion of this writer, was simply fantastic. The lecture introduced Plato's last and quite possibly longest work, Laws, to the polity. The main topic concerned itselfwith the relationship between the effect and nature of music and the citizen of the State. The lecture divided itself into three sections: Socrates as a musical old man, why citizens should be musical, and music's role in the philosophical city. Whereas in the R.epublic, Socrates constructs the ideal city out of speech, the three figures in the Laws (an unnamed Athenian, a Cretan, and a Spartan) debate first the attributes of their respective cities, and then discuss creating a "second-best regime" for the founding of an actual Cretan colony. In his lecture, Mr. Dugan talked about how, while music is discussed and then put aside in the R.epublic, music is used as a tool by the government to "educate" and habituate the citizens of the colony in the Laws. A key im.age that Mr. Dugan brought up was that Socrates, at the end of his life, began refocusing on composing music (such as setting Aesop's fables to trong) and how the action of composing was an example of Socrates' acknowledgement of his citizenship to the city. The acknowledgement by Socrates of the role music was key to Mr. Dugan's lecture. He :I1kened the acknowledgement as a "rebirth," and that just as children are exposed to nursery rhymes, the elderly need to rediscover their musical side once again. Mr. Dugan also suggested an interesting role for symposia in his lecture. Instead of simply being drinking parties, the symposium could be used as a device to alter the souls of "fixed" old men by means of alcohol and music. The wine would be used to first break down any inhibitions towards discussion, and then the music perhaps in new or radical styles, would play a p~ in shaping the soul and breaking free previously fixed assumptions. Music, for the old men of the Laws, was to be a permanent fixture in the lives of the citizens. From childbirth, when children are first exposed to nursery rhymes and taught the basic form of music, music would be used by the state to "tune" and "harmonize" the souls of its citizens. The laws of the second-best regime ':ould al~o have to be well tuned, so that potential conflict between the desires of the citizens and what was right could be minimized and po~ted in a direction that would be eventually unified. Instead of "discordant ignorance" amongst the citizenry, all would be educated in music, so that most could be persuaded to be receptive to the music of the state. Moreover the laws of the city would be so structured as t~ be like the tones of a melody- the natural dynamic quality inherent in good laws. Through such methods music would be an ever-present role in society, from affecting an ~divi~ual's basic relationship to society to shapmg his consciousness in youth as well as the framework of law and tradition that comprises the city. Mr. Dugan thus presented a new variation of the influence of music, and brought together many previously unconnected details from the R.epublic, the Laws, and the Apolo.!!)'/ Crito/ Phaedo series. ~ thought the lecture was useful in exposing the ttnportance and possibly the change in Plato's thoughts about the city towards the closing years ofhis life. The lecture was presented in an interesting manner, and more importantly, made me reconsider the lasting effeds that music has brought to me. It also gave me a newfound appre~tion for the subtlety of the sophomore mUSlc program. Gadfly Funny Papers election. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 Why I Hate George We Bush, Part I by Nick Colten Staff Writer In the last month or so, I've read innumerable times that those who disagree with theAdministration orwith Congressional Republicans are "Bushhaters;" that the motivation for their thoughts and actions is a profound and irrational animosity; that these critics should be ignored, or more properly, condemned for their partisanship and bigotry. It was reported in anumber ofnewspapers last month that Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie sent out a m=o to members ofhis party urging them to employ the term "political hate speech." It is not only Republicans, though, who are using this sort oflanguage; even Democrats are now beginning to speak in similar terms (such as NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof and members ofthe Democratic Leadership Council). Undoubtedly, there are those whose attitude toward the Administration is fairly thoughtless and intemperate, and they deserve to be criticized and challenged. The indiscriminate classification of all dissent as ''Bush-hatred," however, is no better. Inasmuch as it is at least on some level a rhetorical device to preempt political debate,itis arguablyworse than true anti-Bush zealotry. I am at times prone to hostility towardivfr. Bush and the Republican Party that I find really bothersome. I used to regularly hate him for making me so hateful At the same time, I did and do maintain th.at my hat.red fo1 hiiT1 and his paiiy, if not free from certain inclinations and biases of mine, is at least not irrational. It seems to me that hating something or someone that is odious is a perfectly reasonable thing The longer he is in office, though, and the more that I read about his life before the election 2000, the less I feel justifiably troubled by my antipathy for the man and his associates. Were I to '-Vcite at length all the reasons for which one could fairly dislike George W Bush, I would need to devote several whole issues of The Gacff!yro the task. Instead I11·write briefsketches of just some of the reasons that I can think of. He's an offense to the meritocratic ideals of our nation. Aside from the areas of physical fitness and geniality, Bush is an entirely mediocre person at best 8 Few people in this country and perhaps human history have risen so high with so little personal merit He's either a fool or a huckster, or a little of both. It is impossible to ascertain ifhe honestly believes what he says or if he realizes thatit's a sham. Nearly everytbfilgthat he says is at variance with the truth in someway. He portrays himself as some sort of Average Joe and a Texan, whenheisinfactpartof a wealthy and politically connected East Coast family, having been educated at elite New England schools (to which he was admitted seemingly because of his fatl1er's and grandfather's earlier attendance). Bush was a Vietnam draft-dodger, which in and of itself I think is forgivable. Vietnam was awful and stupid, and I can understand being unwilling, or too afraid, to die in that war. The fuct that he got into the Texas Air National Guard due to the influence of familial connections--and then didn't feel he had to bother even completing the termofhisservice(unlikeclraft-dodgersBillClinton andDan Quayle)-is galling, though. I tis made all the worse since he was never punished for going AWOL and to this day still refuses to explain what he was doingwhileAWOL Also, to the best of my knowledge, Bush has never said that Vietnam was a mistake and ought not to have been fought, so his refusal to serve seems either motivated by fear or the belief that as governor of Texas (and later as president) he has taken part in a syst= that incarcerates people for doing the same things that he did. Much like the issue of the military duty, jail time seems to Bush to be something that other people have to serve. Bush likes to make much of being a CEO and tl1e first president with an l\1BA. His history as a businessman was nothing to be proud of; though. Although he speaks favorably of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and personal responsibility, his career largely consisted of failure after failure: ventures begun with the aid of family and family friends and bailouts ofvarious sorts by the wealthy and powerful looking for financial or political favors from his family or their fuends. \l\!hen his father was President, Bush borrowed $600,000 to buy a 1.8% share in the Texas Rangers. In order to pay off his loan, Bush sold shares of stock of a company whose board he sat on. Shortly after his sale, tl1evalue ofthe companies stock plummeted due to the revelation of business improprieties by the company. The t:imlr.g of the sale Vlll.S suspicious and the S.E.C. looked into the mattei.: The commission, composed of people selected by Bush's father and its general counsel (a Texas lawyer named James Doty who facilitated the sale of the Te..'raS Rangers to Bush and his partners), chose not to investigate the sale for insider trading. Bush successfully lobbied to have a large amount of private property seized by the government, -~ :'-"> .; I .• '~ ·'i' !~ •:.i .(i tlrrough the use of ernjne:nt domato, in order to~•.•~ enough to avoid it Though Bush is honest about his problems with alcohoL he vras not candid about his DWI arrest Furthermore his comments about his drug (specifically cocaine) use are bizarre and hypocritical. During the 2000 election, Bush and others speaking on his behalf gave very strange answers to allegations of his drug use. Instead of simply saying, "Yes, no, or I'm not going to discuss it.," tl1ey told reporters that ]\;fr Bush could truthfully answer different sorts of public servant background checks, which ask the applicantifhe or she has used illegal dmgsin the last 15, 20, or25years. Since tl1eanswers he or his people gave imply that he had done illegal drugs mme than 25 years ago, the hypocrisy is that build a new baseball stadium for his tean"L He also ~• got the city of Arlington tD pay for the stadium.{;!\' through municipal bonds, as well as very favora~.;~ terms for the Rangers to buy the stadium, and prop~~;;~ erty and sales tax breaks fort.he stadium. · .•., Grandson of a Senator, son of a former Cc;rt gressman and president, wealthy from the bail of family friends, and the spokesman for a ba team with a brand new, publicly financed stadi • George W Bush, in the words of NY Times C umnist, Paul Krugman, "ran successfully for nor of Texas on the th=e of self-reliance than reliance on govemment'' More on the political career of George W. :B next week. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 8 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 13 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-11-24 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 13 of The Gadfly. Published November 24, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #13 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/sjcdigitalarchives/original/19f3e351a835779146cdd8ed0ba193bd.pdf 10d2f8e6c9b97395cd517cadbb7d60b5 PDF Text Text HE GA FI~ The St. John's College Student Weekfy Volume XXV, Issue 15 Annapolis, Maryland December 16, 2003 No Man Hates The MisanthrOjJe by Julie Janicki Staff Writer This act of vandalisms's score: +1 for vocabulary, -1 for irrelevance, -1 for destruction. Verdict: lame. Are You a Vandal ... or a Vandull? It would be oversttnplifyi_ng things to say that polity, as a whole, frowns on vandalism. A glance at the signboards outside of the an univocal expression, an e, impersonal declaration of Authority. says '.>.mat it means to say; it states the and the time and the place, but it does further questions. A poster is like a 'Non't stick around for question pe- riod For the same reasons that we won't abide sound bites in Seminar, we deface signs. We force the poster to stick around and tell us what the good is. This does not mean that all sign vandalism is created equal The best sign defacements start a conversation about the subject matter ofthe poster, or some loosely related topic. The conversation is usually begun with a well-placed, satiric comment t.hat chmvs out the omnipresent peanut gallery (e.g., the smokers hip-bopping in the cold outside the coffee shop) who then take their pens in hand and add t.heir own two cents. Comments range from the irreverent, to the earnest, to themsightful Ironically, one occasionally finds comments, written on a poster, to the effect of"clo not write on posters." The signboards outside of the coffee shop tend to promote freewheeling discussions of politics As is customary at St. John's, the last Friday night before \\linter Break is reserved for the current production of the King William Players. Therefore, instead of weighing the advantages and disadvantages of perhops engaging in other activities besides a lecture (read: sushi at Joss), I found myself settled in the all-too foreign auditorium for Jackson O'Brien's latest project. Although I had scanned a summary of the play before settling down to watch it as a reviewer, I must admit that I was relying heavily on .Mr. O'Brien to demonstrate to me the true plight and triumph of The Misanthrope. I was not disappointed. For those who were unfortunate enough to miss the stunning rendition of Moliere's 1666 play satirizing the relationships amongst 17th century French aristocracy, let me provide you with a brief summary. The Misanthrope centers on Alceste (Arthur Allen), a journalist and a man who is too frank by far to be a success in the current social climate. Often accompanied by his friend, Phihnte Cassells), Alceste spends much of the play lamenting about the corruption of mankind and the unfair prejudices that he suffers because he refuses to deviate from his brutal honesty. This distaste for superficial human interaction extends to Alceste's love interest, Celimene Gesse Longman), who is infamous for her flirtatious, gossipy nature. Although Alceste is bound to her through a "traitorous" heart, he cannot help but condemn her behavior. While Alceste battles with his feelings for Celimene (and her overly-open behavior towards others), he also has legal �F Gadfly Mailbox particular restaurant had been chosen because the restrooms had cloth roll towels, the oldfashioned kind one pulls from a wall-mounted To the Polity, I am writing this Sunday evening with no dispenser. That was the year they had switched Executive Edito:r idea whether I will have won or lost the DC to paper. Grandpa returned to our table from Ian McCracken Presidency by the time we're all reading this on the restroom, shaken. He paid the bill and left. Tuesday. I am confident and in good hopes, All of us sat around the half-eaten food in Production Managers A&E Editor though, and that being said, I wish to thank in silence. Being the youngest in the family, I wonMartin Anderson Anderson Tallent advance everyone who votes tomorrow. The dered aloud, "Why is this birthday party difMelissa Thomas contribution of your time and your judgment ferent from all other birthday parties?" Inside News It was then that my aunt explained that Layout is the only thing that makes democracy work, Mary Townsend Grandpa had been conscripted as a young man Shoshana Goldstein and I trust that in your hands, ours will work to work in a factory. "This happened either Outside News well. Sports Editor Hayden Brockett I am very proud of the campaign I have during the war or after the revolution, I can't :Mike Malone run, and that will be true regardless of the remember, but the point is, he lived and Business Manager outcome. I would like to thank everyone I have worked under slave-labor conditions making Katy Courtright spoken with over the course of the last week. paper towels out of officially banned publicaWe have had a great conversation about the tions, such as the Gadffy, for the Soviet ElitesContributing to this Issue challenges that our city faces, and about what or was it the Bolsheviks? The Nazis? I'm pretty John Peterson Nick Colten can be done to meet those challenges. I would sure it wasn't the Objectivists ... anyhow, the Leo Pickens Tobin Hertingshaw like to thank everyone who showed up for the paper towels were only carried in special shops K.atPisha Geneva riinkle debate last Friday, with a special thanks to :Mr. that had luxury items unavailable to the Beth Siekiera Julie Janicki Ian Morochnick, who conducted our conver- masses. Your grandfather vowed that if he Jen Silgals ever escaped, he would never use a paper towel Brian Jones sation with dignity and fairness to all sides. Donald Stone Joy K.aplan To those who have supported me, I thank because to him, they are and always will be, Laura Traina Nora Kelleher you so very much. Words fail in expressing instruments of oppression. Pass me the pork Jonathan Tuck Joseph Method how much your support means to me. Thank fried rice, will you, Darling?" Once I got to college, I decided to live difGreg Yatarola you, and God bless. Sincerely, ferently and move beyond the narrow confines .Brian Jones of my fam_ily's prejudices: to eat Spanish olives, to read Nietzsche, to listen to Wagner, to Founded in 1980, the Gatij[y is the student weekly ride in Volkswagens, and to use paper towels. distributed free to over 500 students, faculty, and And I did, but just about this time of year, staff of the Annapolis campus as well as tutors Dear Gadf!y, emeriti, members of the Board of Visitors and In his December 9th contribution to the when I was getting comfortable with all of · Governors, and the offices at the St. John's Santa Gadffy Mailbox, Mr. Mcintyre wrote, "your these new and daring changes, a terrible thing ' Fe campus. Opinions expressed within are the grudge against paper towels is, if not outright happened, which pains me still: my boyfriend, the sole responsibility of the author(s)and do not a senior, left me for a Febbie. I found out about < necessarilly represent the opinions of the Gadf!y dangerous, utterly illogical." How perspicacious it from a note he sent in campus mail. staff. The Gadfly reserves the right to accept, re- of you, J\fr. Mcintyre! You have yet to reach This note had been written on a paper towel, iect and edit submissions in any way necessary to Freud on the Program, yet somehow you figParenthetically, herein lies the reason I trampublish the most thoughtful,. informative, ~nd ured out that the reason there are no paper thought-provoking newspaper which circum- towels distributed in the dormitories is not ferred from Santa Fe to Annapolis my sophof stances at St. John's permit. due to :financial constraints, but to my own more year, but just like my Grandpa, who man: defense mechanism. I have never told anyone aged to get out of the old country, I ne Letters of 200 words or fewer have a better on campus this before, but I have experienced really escaped: senior year, just when I had chance of being published than those longer than a series of traumas, all related to paper towels. ten over Whatshisname enough to start us this limit. Letters submitted will be edited for paper towels again, a terrible thing happen grammar, punctuation, and spelling in most cases. I will share this personal history with you now, as my therapist said it could be cathartic for us During the Millikan oil-d.rop experiment, The Gadfly is not obligated to publish all submislab partner sat still for so long that she de sions and will not print anonymous subm1ss1ons both. I grew up in a household that was utterly oped a blood clot in her leg, had a stroke, except under special circumstances. free of paper towels. Why is that? It was out died. When she collapsed, I ran to get Deadline: Sunday at noon, unless permission for of respect for my grandfather. He hated paper \Vhen I returned, Security had already a a delay is granted in advance. Submissions will be towels. Every year on his birthday, the family on the scene. Officer Khalsa had tried to accepted as long as they are legibly written, but used to assemble at a certain restaurant in citate her, but to no avail, and because no typed copies, diskettes, and e-mail submissions Chinatown. I thought it was because Grandpa were available to drape over the corpse, o are greatly preferred. Please e-mail submissions liked Chinese, but I learned one year that this respect for the dead, he had covered her. to sjcgadfly@yahoo.com. with what was available: a paper towel. I Editor-in-Chief Cathy Keene Democracy, Yeah! Why I Hate Paper Towels 2 ' THE GADFLY . ' ' . . . . ' . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . if I could be alone with her for a minute, to say goodbye. If only I had had the courage to lift up that towel a.nd gaze at her one final tirne ... she had been my best friend for almost four years, but when I think of her now, I only see a brown blank instead ofher face, and every time I see a paper towel, I am reminded not just of my familial taboos and the pain I caused my elders when I broke them, not just of betrayal and the loss of love, but my own failure of courage. You're right, J\1r. Mcintyre, it is illogical, this thing I have against paper towels. I feel better now, for having had written this, and perhaps I will feel even better once this letter gets published for all the polity to see. If that happens, you will know, when you see the paper towels in your dorm. Sincerely, Joy Kaplan Director of Student Services How Do We Define Marriage? Dear Gadj/y, In their December 9th response to Mr. Penny's November 11th article "In Support of Marriage," Robin Hugens and Missy Skoog "propose that marriage is an exclusive, life-long monogamous union of a man and a woman for the mutual good of the and the procreation of children." I appreciate their efforts to provide clarity by a definition of marriage, but I what leads them to select this one. Ivlethod points out in his December letter, the concept of marriage has shifted and definitions other than that Ms Hugens and Ms. Skoog have been and are still held by some. am not proposing an alternate, more urate definition of marriage. Such a "most 'Curate definition" may not even exist. ather, I V.Tould prefer to examine the pracimphcations of legal recognition of e~sex unions, whether or not they fall · the preferred definition of marriage by any i.xi.dividual. Ms. Hugens and Ms. Skoog state "the some people are against homosexual e ts that they think it is impossible o people of the same sex to have the !:¥anion tl;vo people of the opposite sex " What do they mean by "the same ?" There are various differences beunions and the people in them that i:hem not "the same," such as varia.,....~u,u..u:cnv. age, socioeconomic status, and so forth, all of which do not prevent the consensual union of adults from being recognized in this society. If the difference between same-sex and opposite-sex couples is so great that their relationships ought not to receive the protections and benefits that heterosexual couples do, it must be a very great difference indeed. If Ms. Skoog and Ms. Hugens believe that same-sex marriage should remain illegal on the basis of dissimilarity, then they ought to explain the nature of this difference and why the difference is so great that giving homosexual couples the right to file taxes jointly, as well as receive insurance and inheritance benefits, and so forth, endangers our country. If Americans believe that a government ought to recognize family units and provide for their well-being, legal protection should not be denied to some families solely on the basis of a word's definition-especially if this definition is not agreed upon by all. Sincerely, Kat Pisha I Still Hate Him Dear Gadf!y, Before responding to Thomas Greene's letter about "Why I Hate George W. Bush, Part I," I would like it noted t..h.at I would have preferred to respond to his letter in the last issue of the Gadf!J. I did not do so because immediate responses are against Gadj/y editorial policy. My reason for an immediate response was to give Mr. Greene a chance to respond to my response if he desired to before the end of the semester. I was in a similar situation last year, and did not want to repeat it. If Mr. Greene would like to respond to this response of mine, I hope that he will do so in the first issue of the next semester. Anyway, on to my response: I would generally agree with :Mr. Greene that Bush "has seemed to hold up well during tremendously difficult crises." However, I think it is do in part to his simplistic black and white worldview and his seeming isolation. Regarding the latter, in an interview with FOX News anchor Brit Hume, Bush stated that he didn't read newspapers, but rather gets his information from "the most objective sources ... [the] people on my staff who tell me what's happening in the world." Furthermore, Bush rarely holds press conferences, and the ones he has held have been brief and tightly controlled. The only people outside of his family and his administration that Bush has much contact with are those who are willing to pay $2,000 to attend his campaign fundraisers. All in all, these factors seem cause Bush to be out of touch with the world, and may help to explain some of his strange statements, such as the "bring 'em on" directed toward the Iraqi insurgents, who have since that challenge increased the rate of casualties amongst coalition forces. As for the "habitual inaction by the U.S. in the face of open hostility," I think 1\.fr. Greene is mistaken about the degree of our inaction, the cause of al-Qaida attacks, and the results of the Iraq war. It could be argued that the U.S. was not properly active concerning antiAmericanism, but we certainly were not inactive. It's true that we did not bomb angry mobs chanting "Death to America," butterrorist attacks such as the fust one on the World Trade Center, the attack on the USS Cole, and the embassy bombings all had military and/ or legal responses. If anything, the inaction that we showed was diplomatic and consisted of supporting regimes, such as Saudi Arabia, that both fund terrorists and oppress their citizens, leading to angry people who want to attack their country and its chief patron: the U.S. So far, our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq have been counterproductive with regard to terrorism. Even more people are angry with the U.S., and we've thus far shown that we cannot effectively promote peace and democracy, but rather have created more chaos and warlordism in Afghanistan and shown that we are ineffective and inconstant in our commitments to stabilizing Iraq. It may be true that Syria, Iran and North Korea are now less likely to support terrorism, but they also have an even greater incentive to acquire nuclear weapons, since they seems to be the only thing that deters the U.S. from engaging ii1 "regime changes." Lastly, concerning economics, I tllink that it is not the result of tremendous ignora.."'l.ce that makes people wary of trickle-down theories, but rather common sense. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are staunch supporters of the free market. The difference between the two parties is on whose behalf they decide to "curtail the economic freedoms" of a free market. From its inception, the Republican Party has always been on the side of corporations and the wealthy, while the Democrats, at least since the late 19th century, have tended to favor those with less money and power. Allowing the rich to get even richer can make, and has made, the poor richer too, but . . . ' . . . ' . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . ' THE GADFLY . 3 �it hasn't been a very effective means of promoting the general welfare of our nation. Around the beginning of the 20th century, America "gave ordinary persons comforts and medicines that would have been the envy of any other historical period" prior to it, and I certainly would have rather lived there rather than any other place or in any previous time. However, compared to today, it still offered most of its inhabitants a life that was "poor, nasty, brutish and short." It was only after the curtailments of economic freedom on the part of the Progressives, the New Deal Democrats, and those that carried on their legacy, that America truly became a middle class society in which the majority of people had access to education, medicine, a comfortable income and some leisure. In the last few decades, however, Americans, due to our tremendous historical ignorance, have been more and more susceptible to politicians looking to turn back the clock to the good-old days of Harding and Hoover; a time in which the government was indifferent to all but the wealthy and powerful and in which so-called free enterprise was given an almost religious deference. At the present, the influence of wealth is again very high and so is our worship of the market. The social services and regulations that created and maintained our widespread prosperity are denigrated and being dismantled On top of this, the self-proclaimed fiscally conservative Republicans have allowed and even encouraged massive, ongoing deficit spending. The resulting debt is almost certain to damage severely our nation's financial well-being in the not too distant future. It may already be too late to avert this catastrophe, but supporting George WBush and his Party, as Mr. Greene says he does, will only make it all the worse. Sincerely, Nick Colten As someone who's been a member of the St. John's community for over ten years-longer To the Editor: than 1/3 of the current faculty-I am perfectly In reading the opening paragraphs of Mary qualified to be that "one person with a sense of Townsend's cover story ('Tutors Totally Too the community more than four years old to say Taciturn" (12/9)), I too realized that a certain what place controversy in the paper could reapresence had mostly been lacking in the Gadfly sonably have." I do not have any idea if Leo this year. I then glanced at the troubled faces of Strauss ''would have enjoyed being called tough the Gadfly staff in the accompanying photo, and or not,'' but even if I did know, I certainly wouldn't suddenly it occurred to me who that missing reveal it to both philosophers and non-philososomeone was: me, Nick Colten! phers alike. Fear not, Ms. Townsend: your appeal was I promise that I will not intentionally seduce not in vain; your prayers Ms. Townsend or any other have been answered. member of the polity with From now on, conversamy displays ofwisdom; nor tions shall be benefited by do I wishforheroranyother to enter into a "slavish dismy "voice of long-considered opinion." I will cipleship" of me. On the no longer allow an "exother hand, I will educate my fellowwide-hearted stutreme view [to have] the last word"; instead, I will dents "in the day-to:dayvaensure that !J!Y word shall garies of justice." be the last word NeverI trust that my position more shall I allow our and contemplative life will poor freshmen to be ''left allow me to say things "that to puzzle things out on will be both true and listened their own''; rather, I'll do to by the city." I will "raise the puzzling out for the level of a debate ... to them. something that we should Ms. Townsend wrote considerwith all the seriousthat all that she and oth- Mr. Colten is a grownup person of stature and ness we have at our comers wanted was, "just one respectability. mand as a public body." I grownup person of statwill do this by means of a ure and respectability to getup there and say pub- mode of speaking that lies on the mean between licly their thoughtful opinion ofhow much con- "pure dialectic" and ''low-grade rhetoric." sideration we should give to the works of Ayn I will actualize the Gadfly} "possibilities of Rand." I will be that grownup, and my thought- t..ayoc;' Yours most truly, ful opinion on the matter is: only those looking Nick Colten for external validation for having an egocentric P.S. In the interest of full disclosure: I too viewpoint ought to consider reading her [or "not was present at the off-campus party that Ms. very much consideration'1 · Townsend attended two weekends ago. Vte Voice ofReason Winter Collegium Tuesday, Dec. 16th 7p.m. Great Hall Come see students and faculty performing groups, including the St John's Chorus and the Madrigal Choir, as well as individual performances. Stay for the Assistant Dean's Annual Holiday Party 4 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Gadfly would like to note with sincere regret the fact that no tutor has responded to its article oflast week about tutor participa tion in the Gadfly. Finding Help for Mr. Colten Dear Gadffy, In a famous episode of The Simpsons, a tragic character named Frank Grimes is devoured by his hatred and envy of Homer Simpson. Shocked and appalled that the jovial, slovenly, ignorant, and lazy Homer has had such good fortune (nice home, happy family, friendship with former presidents, relative success at work, trips to space, and so on), while he himself, though bright and hard-working, has had to slog through life, Grimes ultimately loses his reason and dies in a terrible accident. I thought of Frank Grimes when I read the November 24 article by Nick Colten. Let me first state, though, that I agree with him about the charges of "Bush hatred," that they are often meant to stifle discussion, the same way "Clinton bashing" accusations are. I bet if I found evidence that the Clintons eat live puppies, and went public with it, I would just be met with people rolling their eyes, saying, "There they go again, beating up on poor Bill and Hill." Colten begins his case against Bush by ttotting out the sins of his youth and early ~dulthood-the drugs, booze, and irresponsibility. These charges are all true, but even the fiercest Bush-hater with some ~owledge of his life would have to admit 1!1!.at a profound change took place in Bush Qn or around his fortieth birthday. An alcoolic and all-around carouser, he resolved r to drink again, and he has kept his Indeed, he now leads the wholesomest lives, exercising, eating right, and going bed early. This is nothing short of mious, and Bush does credit his religious th with the amazing turnaround in his We should not hold his former failings st him when he himself has so clearly ed them. As for the charge that he now ers for the same crimes he once comColten should know that recreational sers almost never go to jail; and as e who knows of the ravages of drug 'Bush has not only the right but the to help keep others from falling into it and to punish those (I mean who lure others into it. claims that Bush, "a mediocre perbes t," is an offense against tic ideals. I wish Nick had pointed makes him so mediocre-not what made him mediocre two or three decades ago-and what he feels the proper requirements for the presidency are. Bush may truly be mediocre intellectually, but I myself feel that the most important traits in a president are character and that odd quality we call "leadership," and in both categories I think Bush is superb. I would rather have someone with a good heart and the ability to make the right decisions as my leader than a genius weasel like Nick Colten with a resume yards long. Colten also finds it somehow blameworthy that Bush took to politics only after failing in other endeavors; yet I find this same fact reassuring. I deeply mistrust anyone who has been scheming for power since youth, and I much prefer someone in office whose life does not revolve around politics, who would rather watch baseball than political talking-head shows, who was fooling around in college like a normal human being instead of calculating a rise to government authority. Maybe Nick can explain why we should want someone like Hillary ruling us instead. The charge that Bush is a phony is especially odd, since ifhe is such a moron, how has he managed to fool so many people? True, he comes from New England stock; but he grew up, and has spent most of his life, in Texas, where he was wildly popular as a two-term governor. So how is it deceitful of him to have a Texan image? Strange that Nick can see that he is not a rea/Texan, when most Texans themselves cannot. The same is true of the military. Bush definitely presents himself as a soldiers' president, and the military definitely buys it. Having spent two years in the Army, let me insist that the first skill a serviceman hones is how to spot a phony, how to tell a politician from a warrior. Again, it is so odd that Nick can see how fake Bush is in his military bearing, when the military itself does not. I could go on, but this should be enough for now. It is clear to me that Nick Colten has a visceral hatred for Bush, one not based on logic or fact. I suspect that he and Bush adhere to radically different values, and so Mr. Colten is bound to despise him, whether he is smart or stupid, rich or poor, Texan or Yankee. Let me confess that I myself am more or less a conservative/libertarian, but I am no blind Bush apologist. As a matter of fact, I would have preferred Keyes or McCain or Forbes in the last election, and on the whole I consider this administration so far a disaster. On education, on trade, on subsidies, on race, on moral issues, on spending, and in other areas, Bush has been far from conservative. I am defending Bush simply because I think he is a good man, whether or not he has had an excess oflucky breaks and second chances, and even though he chokes on pretzels and cannot speak well. When Bill Clinton was president, I was able to be honest and face exactly why I hated him and his hag-wife; I wish Nick Colten could do likewise. Instead of wasting a Gadffy column to rationalize his problem, he should get treatment for it. Help is available, Nick. You can always change your life. Just askW Greg Yatarola Graduate Student Results ofthe Oxfam Fast To the Gadffy: I want to thank everyone who participated in the Oxfam Fast for a World Harvest last month. This is the thirteenth consecutive year the Fast has been held at the Annapolis campus. This year we have exceeded many of our previous years' records: 160 students and 16 faculty and staff members participated, skipping 390 meals and donating $610 in cash, in addition to the meal plan money. This is a very large proportion of the total student population on the meal plan, compared to the many other colleges and universities at which Oxfam fasts are held. Exact figures are not yet available, but the total sum raised for Oxfam America will be in excess of $1000. Special thanks should go to Carole Clark, Bud Billups, and the staff at the Treasurer's Office; to Ryan Varnum, Gail Day and the staff at Parkhurst; to Chris Colby, who donated the printing cost for the forms; and to Bryson Finklea, Brian Huwe, and Peter Leopold, who volunteered their time. Sincerely, Jonathan Tuck Visit our kickin' filtlD.~ HTML ~ counterpart at: http://www.sjca.edu/users/ gadfly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 5 �---Grades and Don Rags by John Peterson Dear Liberal Young Artists, Some of you have had Don Rags already, and some haven't. A Don Rag is a formal meeting where your tutors each in turn tell you how you have done that semester and how you could improve. When they are done, you may respond, but not at great length, because, well, your tutors are busy people and they have other Don Rags to attend to. While the Don Rag is not simply an informal chat about your great endeavor of learning, it is not a formal report in words of your grades, either. What? Well, if Mr. X says that your classroom performance has been "satisfactory," it doesn't mean that he has given/will give you a 'C.' The College takes pains to remind tutors of this every year, or at least this year, as I learned by looking at a forgotten piece of paper in the coffee shop. What, then, is the relationship between the Don Rag and your grades? What is a Don Rag, and what is a grade? The 2003-04 Student Handbook states, "Students should expect the Don Rag reports to be generally compatible with, but not precisely indicative of, their grades. The latter are largely evaluations of performance, whereas in the Don Rag, which is an interim evaluation, such factors as effort, relative achievement, degree of improvement, and the desire to learn are also give their due.'' I wonder what this means, and how long they took to cook this explanation up. I could see that, if I took the class "Introduction to Algebra," and I was an algebra whiz, the Don Rag may tell me that I had no desire to learn, and did not improve, etc., but that I would still receive an A+. But what does it mean here? Clearly, this is a question for the faculty as well, if you remember the memo I found that was sent to all tutors reminding them of the separation of Don Rags and grades. What is a tutor to do? In the student handbook, John Peterson looks like Lars Peterson. Coincidence? under "Grades and Grading Policies," we read, ''The College does require may be thought to care too much about all tutors to award letter grades to their stu- things that don't matter. After all, the stud en ts at the end of each dents "are usually discouraged from having semester ... (A=Excellent ... ) and authorizes much concern about [grades]." And grades them to decide what elements thry will take into don't really matter, do they? consideration and in what proportion." So it But they do matter! When I went to the seems that the grading policy is largely an Career Services office this semester, Roberta arbitrary "evaluation of performance." Not Gable told me I should be concerned, that I only that, it is a dark, secretive, and mysteri- should try to get my grades up, if I want to ous evaluation. In order to find out his get into the caliber of graduate school that I grades, a student must go in search of them. am interested in. So should I go get my But this turns out to be completely unsatis- grades changed? It has been done before, to factory. All I know is that I am a "Good" be sure. And I doubt that tutors really care but not an "Excellent" student. However, that much about what grades they give. ifl hadn't had Misters Page, Borjesson, and What does it have to do with the real work Harrell last year, I may have been "Excel- they are doing as tutors? Not much. But lent.'' Who knows? I suppose I could ask what difference does it make in my future them why I got the grades I did, but then I life as a student? A hell of a lot. The Student Handbook gives no indication as to when a grade can still be changed. IfI don't look at my grades until senior year, can I get . understand why those issues cause us discom- a freshman grade changed? What if my tu- · fort, and whether we feel it is possible to share tor is unavailable? What if they don't re-. our reactions in class. member me? These questions need to be· Students voiced concern that by discussing answered. their reactions to gender-related comments The College cannot just avoid gi · made by the authors we read, they would be grades. After all, other institutions "insi revealing themselves too much in the public on seeing ... grade records." Why then do atmosphere of the Classroom and would worry the College play ball with the rest of about what others would think of them. It world in this respect, and pull one over was pointed out that the authors may have its students, hiding grades in the file ca been aware of the reaction they would get, and nets of the Registrar? The solution, it see that it is important to spend time reflecting to me, is to give letter grades in the deeply on why the author makes the comment Rag. That would be the most honest that he/ she does. The forum made clear that to do. This year, I want to hear, " the recognition of our personal reactions to Peterson, I am giving you a 'B,' and he uncomfortable or delicate issues in our read- why ... " (Well, ideally, it would be hi ings is vital to a productive conversation on but let's be realistic). what the author is expressing. SCI Forum on Gender by Nora Kelleher SCI Secretary The forum on gender took the place of the SCI meeting this week. There was a good turnout, with students from every class as well as some tutors. Almost everyone in the room was involved as we discussed different aspects of how femininity and masculinity should be treated in class. Several students shared their reactions to passages from differenUexts on the Program, including some that caused discomfort because of the way a gender is portrayed. Women's roles in Chaucer's Canterbury Taleswas brought up as an example. The quote from Aristotle's Politics concerning the naturally leading role of men and the subservient role of women was also discussed. We tried to 6 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . ..................... . A Gift For Newton by Tobin Herringshaw Staff Writer I bought you a boat, with your schoolmate named Huygens, But instead of sailing you decided to grab hands. I know you hate sports, and have much passivity, But after Huygens sunk in the boat, you only shouted Relativity! Once upon a Christmas Eve, Santa was looking over his list, When all of the sudden he got really ... upset. On the list, his finger rest on Newton, Santa started at this, a hollerin' and hootin'. I gave you a train, which you promptly destroyed, Yelling about energy, heat, and a void. I gave you some paper to paint women bared, Instead you wrote force equals mv2. A tiny little elf approached and said to his master, ''Every year you big flaber-gaster, You reach his name, and get really mad, And all of us elves think you're really quite sad. Then I said write down the gift you want and for what cause, But instead you wrote down for motion three laws. Once you received a wooden toy never to be beat, But you threw in to the fire and tried to understand heat. Why not go to his house, and sit down for a talk. Persuade him to put down his pencil and chalk. Get some ideas what he would like for a gift. So you won't get upset and cause a temporal rift.'' A hammer and nails I thought I might try, But you knew the hammer's extra energy didn't just get up and fly. I thought I had found the most perfect give by then, You finally hit puberty, at twelve, or was it ten? So fat old Santa climbed up on his sleigh, And flew off to Newton, a million miles away. And Santa thought about how every year with his gift, Newton would figure the toy out and then send it adrift. I gave you an inflatable tube, stuffed full of air, But you just looked at the water with a stupid-like stare. You tossed in the tube and wati::hed the waves that it produced, Then thought about light and the theories to be deduced. Santa reached the boys home and landed on the roof, blowing snow of the incline with a big white poof. Little Issac Newton jumped up from his bed, grabbed his bow and arrow set and scratched his little head. You became obsessed with waves so I brought you a beach ball, But you were only interested in the noise it made against the wall. You bounced it off everything until you hit grandmother's clock, But at the sight of its pendulum you went into shock. "I wonder who is on my roof at this time of night.'' So Issac went to the window and opened it with out fright. He saw the large red man and in no way admired, So he drew back his bow and he fired and fired. Now Issac thought as he shot Santa full of suction-cup arrows ~" "} 'I wonder how they move, the arrows, balls, and sparrows.'' ' ~ut before he could finish this Zeno-like thought, .~anta shouted out at his unseen assault. slipped on an ice patch of the inclined plane, flat on his back in a whole lot of pain. c watched as Santa slid toward the roof's edge, free-fell straight down off the snowy ledge. wondered at the difference between free-fall and inclined, thoughts of Galileo came up from his mind. ra~ed down the stairs with hundreds of thoughts sublime, ratios between distance, velocity, and time. . .threw open the door, to greet the moaning Santa, ed him coffee, but St. Nick wanted Orange Fanta. sat by the fire, and then Santa began a list, e gifts he had given to the young physicist. gave you a toy where a cannon hit a monkey, u figured out the two motions and thought it real funky. flew to France for a gift you never mention, you did was think about Descartes extension. .l found a bag of multi-colored marbles for you, You went up to grab the clock in the attic, And found that each swing was very harmonic. And thus, my young Newton, I find you here today, Upset, for I do not know what to say. Every year I get you a gift others find great, But you always toss it away in a crate. So what do you want for this next Christmas day? Please tell me now so I can get back on my sleigh." So Issac thought about all that he had wished for, when suddenly opened up Daddy Newton's door. Out came the man with a shotgun in hand, And threatened scared Santa really quite grand. Then little Issac thought, "Surely science is great, But ifl don't get some exercise, I'll look like him, overweight.'' When all was settled and Santa was up on his sleigh, Issac threw on his boots and went out in the snow to play. It was morning then, and all the children were out, Issac looked all around and here and thereabout. Instead of throwing the snowball which he had made, Instead of making angels with the girl with the braid, Issac began to wonder about the parabolic motion of his snowy grenade. The End found the best ever kite on a string too. .JOU did was hang the marbles from the string, :th the back and forth motion, do some number figuring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 7 �Ifyou have ever found yourself teanizg down someone else}poster, you were probably violating vandalism continued from Front Page etiquette. What else? 2) Unintelligent vandalism is and trivla, while the posters that find their way onto the inner doors ofPinkney have led to more drawn- pointlessly vulgar or inane commentary. In the first out, formal arguments. Last year, for :instance, the :instance, DC= Dork Club-BJs for Everyone! Cassie Sherman Storyteller's GuildMlk 'n' Cookies was a particularly unhelpful contribution to a Brian Debate of2002-3 was carried out in intricate detail Jones Campaign Poster. In the second instance, an across the surfaces of several posters staring the example ofinane poster conversation: The Poster: Come to Collegjum! position of the embattled Guild. This year the Comment This postet is stoopi-d. Garff!js own 11r. Hayden Brockett has engaged in Retort Ohyeah? rhetorical battle with 1) a :Mabel the Swimming Rebuttal of Retort: Yeah. Wonder Monkey comic strip and 2) An SCI invitaThere has been some debate about 3) Cigation to discuss Sex and the Program. [See Sidebar: rette Burning. In general, I tlii we can agree that Confessions of a Vandal] In the outside coffee shop arena, there have been burning holes :in posters is a completely thoughtsome impressive displays of wit My favorite in- less activity which destroys a portion of the sign volves ]\fr. IanBlaustein's protest poster in response andmaymakeitillegible. Rendering a sign illegible to the Objectivist Club Lending Library. Nfr. Nick really is an attempt to stifle the speech of another. Colten took the time to write on The Ian Blaustei.n This is wrong. The only reservations on this quesLendingL!rrary Posterthis gem: ButMr. Blaustein, the tion concem skillful placement ofthe cigarette bums Oijectivist Lending library is the onfy Lending library (e.g., within o's). Even this seems unnecessary. The fit far man! See, this is very, very funny. Sadly, the burning of the eyes from omnipresent campaign IBU.Pposterwas swillly removed by an unknown posters was probably immensely satisfylng to the vandals, but it remains, nonetheless, wrong. party. 1bis brings us to Vandalism Etiquette. If we Next is the relatively new phenomenon of 4) are prepared to agree that a certain level ofvandal- Mustachios. This \vas clever for a second Now it, ism is in our blood as a school, we must bring this too, is wrong. [See Sidebar: Considerations on need to deface into line with our respect for free Mustachios] speech. What crosses the bou_1"lds of 'productive' In the words of Hayden Brockett [See end of Sidebar: Confessions of a Vandal], who speaks defacement into mere destruction? Well, to begin with, 1) actual destruction of for both of us: 'That's it, kids. Have Fun." Indeed. posters is pmbably net a valid mode ofexpression. Vandalism Even you can't destroy the good looks of these folks, you marauding mustachio moron. 8 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . ' ' . . . . . ' . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . §L,Q.~orge and the Dragon '!And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. And I heard a great voice in heaven, sqying, Now is come the Sa!vation, and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. " Revelations 12:9-10 The painting shows St. George on his white horse impaling the dark dragon (Satan, Devil, evil, etc.) while saving the princess (the Christian Church, Good, etc.) who is in the background praying. Looking closely at St. George's horse, one can see the painter's name on a strap on the horse's shoulder, and on his blue garter around his leg appears the word "HONI" which is from the motto of the chivalric order of Garter of which George is the patron saint. St. George is also the patron saint of England, Georgia, Portugal, Moscow in Russia, and Catalonia in Spain. (Interestingly, today in Catalonia on April 23 it is traditional for a man to celebrate St. George's Day by giving his girlfriend/ fiancee/ wife a red rose, and in turn the lady gives the man a book; which I suppose is to aid in his emotional education.) In Raphael's pain ting St. George and the Dragon, Raphael depicts the legend of St. George. The origin of the legend came from the way in which the Greeks honored George, and then it was adapted by the Christian Armies marching to Arabia on the Crusades. According to legend, a pagan town in Libya was being terrorized by a dragon. The locals kept throwing sheep to it to placate it, and when it still remained unsatisfied, they started sacrificing some of the citizenry. Finally, the local princess was to be thrown also to the beast, but Good Saint George came along, slaughtered the dragon and rescued the fair princess. At this the townsfolk converted to Christianity. St. George was a Tribune in the Roman Army around 300 A.D. under Emperor Diocletian. St. George was a Christian and well-respected by Diocletian, but when Diocletian began persecuting the Christians, St. George stuck to his faith and went to him personally and denounced his harsh edicts and purges. For his trouble, St. George was thrown into prison and tortured. When he still did not recant his faith, he was dragged through the streets of Lydda (in Palestine) and then beheaded. The Emperor's wife was so impressed with St. George's courage that she converted to Christianity, and like St. George, she was killed by Diocletian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 9 �Misanthrope continued from Front Page battles: an unspecific lawsuit plagues him for almost the entirety of the play, and he refuses to make a case before the court on the grounds that he will either be right in the eyes of justice, or he will be condemned and his loathing of society will be complete. Through the interfering of Arsinoe (Prose Cassells), a "friend" of Celimene's and a woman who arguably has a romantic interest in Alceste despite her notorious prudishness, the depth of Celimene's nature is revealed to all and Alceste finds a means by which he can b: happy, despite his utter abhorrence for mankind. What I liked about Jackson O'Brien's interpretation was his ability to take the raw plot, meaning, and significance of the play and transport them on to the stage outside of their intended time period. Although removing it from 17th century France (a necessary action in light of the cost for the alternate set and costumes, I imagine) does remove the historical context of Moliere's work, I think it does more to bring out the universality of social interaction (genuine and ~th­ erwise) as well as the independent, mulu-dimensional traits of the characters. Instead of being general or stereotypical examples of characters found at court, Alceste, Celimene, and Arsinoe are all extreme, flawed human beings that stand on their own. It seems to me that Mr. O'Brien recognized this, and as such, gained more than he lost from moving the setting to the 20'h century. Another divergence from the written play that I observed was lvlr. O'Brien's iriterpreta tion of Phihnte, Alceste's friend played by Aurora Cassells. Ifl understood the play correctly, Nir. O'Brien changed Philinte's gender from that of a man to a woman. Although Ms. Cassell's dress was r<=1.ther gender-neutral and may symbolize a lack of need for specificity regarding the gender of the role, it's possible that she was intended to be a man for the play (if this is the case, then you have my deepest apologies for the confusion). However, if indeed Philinte was cast as a woman in this performance, then I find that I have no strong feelings one way or another about this change. On one hand, I can see where changing Philinte from a man to a woman would be slightly detrimental to the play; I believe that one of the strengths of Philinte's character is that he is the epitome of moderation against Alceste's extreme character. He follows the requirements that society plac_es on young men, yet he recognizes the ?unty and truth of Eliante, Celimene's cousm and another one of Alceste's admirers. By changing Philinte to a woman, some of the parallel is lost between him and Alceste and how one accepts his responsibility to society while the other does not. On the other hand, however, I can also see that Philinte's example of responsibility and moderation is not entirely lost in the transformation, and that his significance remains as it always was, albeit expressed in a more generalized manner. With respect to the acting in the play, I found it to be extremely well done. I'm afraid that my lack of theater experience leaves me with no real recommendations to Arthur Allen, despite his request for ardent criticism. Indeed, I found Alceste's performer to be energetic an_d wonderfully adept at conveying facial expressions; his brief musical number was also particularly impressive. Jesse Longman was also excellent, playing the role of Celimene with an admirable depth and clarity-I knew for certain that she understood the nature of her character. Prose Cassells was also exceptional in the role of Arsinoe; her rendition of the reluctant prude was quite amusing and appropriate. If I could, I would reflect on all of the performers, but allow me to say that the rest of the cast also did a magnificent job in their roles, and that their parts were thoroughly convincing. Some things for the entire cast to reflect on would be pace of speaking, diction, volume, and clarity-if there were any weaknesses in the performance, they were with respect to communication rather than interpretation or emotion. As I reach the end of this review, I find that what I truly enjoyed about The Misanthrope was its unique personality. The play obviously had Jackson O'Brien's signature all over it (if one recognizes the excessive drinking and inventive costume choices), and it's a style to which I have grown accustomed since coming to St. John's. The overall delivery of such a recognized play was refreshing and enjoyable, and I express my deepest sympathies to all those who missed it. In this particular case, however, I do believe it is appropriate to award the event two thumbs up. Which is brighter-the sparkles from that cool 80s sweater or the sheen off Alex Claxton's head? Go See the Shrew, Misanthrope Excellent Also by Hayden Brockett Outside News Editor This weekend, I was lucky enough to witness two of the finest theatrical performances I have ever seen. FridaynightI attended Jackson S. O'Brien's much-anticipated staging of The Misanthrope, and Saturday night I traveled to the Kennedy Center to watch the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Taming of the Shrew. Both shows managed to get at the real depth of their play while providing plenty of laughs from both wit.hin and beyond each classic text. I'll talk first about the show that's gone forever, but cannot emphasize enough that anyone lucky enough to be in or near DC, until January the fourth should go and see The Taming of the Shrew. Unlike Ian McCracken, who reviewed last month's Who} Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, I did see Equus, the best production in St. John's theater's recent history. In fairness, however, I should say that also unlike 11r. McCracken, I did not see Woolf. So it's with the proper measure of restraint that I say that the Misanthrope was the best King Willia..m's Players show since O'Keefe's nude-but-for-his-barely-therepeirforman,ce as the horse-loving madboy Shaffer's Equus my freshman year. For a synopsis of The Misanthrope, I refer i"aLttr> to Ms. Janicki's accompanying review. U1:herw1.se. what to say? I for one think that Wilber translation was the right one to since the rhyming couplets prime the ear for humor, making up in part for lost of l\foliere's wordplay. The Pen' for once, captures more of what the ausaying, but it's hard for a stage do "'~7ith.out ti\e tone set by "VVilber's ·l:l. the acting, there's much to be said. Jesse an as vamp was not hard to cast, but decision more than worked out. Her ene was played with a good amount of · e and dignity necessary for the part, of course with a healthy dose of nuarm. It was a pleasure to watch her set Ptose Cassells's Arsinoe, who was here good. Kudos to the makeup artist son on that one. n the bit parts were great. Ian 'ck, in the :role he was born to play, ste off stage as only a burly Irish cop Freshman Zachary Throop on doorvered his nevily-minted couplets with style and little else when calling for intermission. Christopher Bea, in a role he practices for daily, played the stuffy selfish suitor to perfection (those teeth!), while his counterpart Alex Claxton made the ultimate sacrifice for the theater and his role as the rocked-out lover of Celimene, shaving his hair clean off. (Despite what you'd expect, the toupee gag only gets a little old.) Arthur Allen, though it be a father's praise to say so, was magnificent as the misanthrope himself, Alceste. The performance's success rested on his subtle handling of the character, both for laughs and deeper effect, since, as Mr. Allen's acquaintances knovJ, he can do boisterous just fine. \V'hile he captured the rhythm and proper delivery of the text, his unspoken additions, born of a good knack for the character and the direction ofMr. O'Brien I'm sure, carried the show: I'm thinking especially of his wordless exhalation in :response to the Miss Hipsky's and 1\iliss Cassells's lesbian kiss. Such delicate touches set an audience's reaction, and his caught just the right balance to make the moment a success. I still not sure that acting is good for the soul, but I'll be damned if Mr. Allen isn't good at it. Speaking of the lesbian kiss, this was a gift of the muses to Mr. O'Brien. Philinte, Alceste's male and ostensibly prudent best friend, was cast as Aurora Cassells-very mucl1 a woman for all her barefoot, tough-looking attitude. The joke was delayed by some androgynous costuming and for those who hadn't read the play or remembered it clearly, the surprise was a good one. But it was the preceding moment, when Alceste and Celimene break and the play reaches its climax, that made the redition excellent. I take the play's climax to be, from a certain aspect, tragic in its import. After having lost his lawsuit, Alceste tries to force his beloved Celimene to state publicly whether she loves him or the annoying boob Oronte (Kabe ErkenBrack). This is a terribly cruel thing to do-especially since Celimene has all but told Alceste of her preference for him in private-and the players were to some degree sensitive to the fact. She thinks she is rescued by the entrance of her other suitors, but they are there to punish her as well. Alceste witnesses Celimene be deserted by the liars and hypocrites whom he openly detests and she sports with more congenially, and perhaps, wisely. It could be a moment Kate and Petruchio. of real charity for him, seeing as he's just heard how she doesn't respect any of these men, whom he's been jealous of throughout the play. Instead, Alceste puts the most irrational and foolishly selfish condition upon her yet, saying that if she doesn't run away to the wilds with him, he'll have none of her. She offers marriage instead, and he refuses. Regardless of whether it's a lasting decision or not (and O'Brien came down firmly on the latter side), it's a shocking instance of man's cruelty to and ignorance of women. O'Brien didn't do much to "explain" why Alceste leaves, and that decision was exactly right. The lesbian kiss let us end on a real laugh, and we're left with the harshness to mull over later. Well done. Not much need (or can, at this late hour) be said about the RSC's Taming of the Shreiv that the viewing of one performance won't mock. This is one of the toughest of Shakespeare's plays for theaters to understand, most viewing it as intolerably cruel and chauvinistic, and thus playing the shrew's repentance as at least to some degree ironic. Nothing could be further from the truth about the play, and Gregory Doran's production proves it. Displaying an astonishing knowledge of the real relationships between men and women, the actors got their characters right on. One wonders at Katharine's early appearGo See the Sh:rew continued on page 16 . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 10 ' THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 �The Killer Read: The Plight of America's Book-Addicted Young by Joseph Method Staff Writer The bibliophile, to make a distinction, differs from the reader, often dubbed 'voracious'. The reader has developed a healthy-to-degenerate obsession requiring him to read text wherever he chances upon it. So a reader will be reluctant to leave an engrossing magazine article when his name is called in a doctor's waiting room. He will complete bad books because he has had the misfortune to begin them. A pusher would recognize him as a 'steady customer', the addict needing a new fix every couple days, depending on the quality of junk. But the bibliophile is a fetishist. Owning is the prenuptial experience to actually reading the book. The sensuality of display is prized over the consummation. That is, he likes to watch. He likes his books arranged on shelves; the shelves stacked high, spines tumed out and vertical. The phrase 'wall-to-wall' gives him thrills. He has, and will, read many of these titles (notice the abstraction), but he also recognizes that longing and mystery are correlated. "So many books, so little time": for the bibliophile, words of delicious despair. Oearly, the bibliophile is a reader. He is just as prone to multiple book syndrome, the restlessness that drives the reader to hop between several books until all are completed, the themes and subjects of each hopelessly intertwined ''.A book about a boy concerned about unemployment in America who joins the partisans to fight the growing disenchantment in the cattle industry'', etc. The bibliophile, in addition, will have no fewer than five books lined up and waiting, like concubines in the corridor. Here is the nature of the disease: no matter how many books he is reading, he will be thinking about the others. He fears the end The reader, when traveling, gets anxious as he approaches the end of the book, thinks Did I bring another? Will it be asgood? Thus, from reader to bibliophile is an evolutionary step. The bibliophile suffers from an irrational phobia, an eschatological mania regarding the exhaustion ef the bookshelves. One day, his darkest thoughts tell us, he will slide his eyes down the length and breadth ofhis bookshelves, surveying the 'titles', and find not a single book he hasn't read At this point, one might imagine, the hysterical bibliophile would be reduced to repeated searches under the bed and beneath 12 . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . seat cushions before succumbing to a total nervous breakdown. Fortunately, this can never happen. The bibliophile overestimates his own prowess, and ignores ~his industry in acquiring new books. For that is his secret, also the frequent cause of his poverty. He is constantly bringing new books into his fold, or 'collection'. The word, borrowed from the world of readers, is misleading, because it suggests discrimination. Readers coiled books, carefully choosing their next couple reads. Bibliophiles also collect books, up to a point. What follows is a sad parody of the reader's discernment. A bibliophile tells it best: I work at a corporate the same, but the bottom line is thry're cheap. More bangfor the buck. At a'!Y rate, let's call them what thry are: Used Used can be good Some ef these books are out efprint, or limited runs. Look, here thry have I, Waugh, the newspaper man's memoirs. Try to find that at Borders! And here, The Broad Range of Clinical Use of Phenytoin. I don~ know aboutyou, but I'm intri!fied This book's about a bqy who joins the partisans to fight the cattle industry... The bibliophile does, indeed, get more 'bang for his buck', but at the cost of feeding his addiction. Already he has nearly dropped the illusion of ever reading his selections. These books might be described as 'shelf-liners', whose only future value lies in their titles or cover art, their surface appeal. Phenytoin, our informant learns from the dustjacket, is being touted as a panacea, but whether the arguments are reasoned or correct he will never know. How the pretense of utility is maintained in the final stage of title acquisition, the 'grubbing' stage, is a mystery: bookstore. Thry have good selection, and I get a 30% discount, so it's like I'm saving monry, right? I would have bought them af!YWt!J, right? So I come in on nry off~' pick up nry pt!Jcheck, and I figure I should do some browsing while I'm here. I find a writing manual I might need, and a math textbook. Thry have a history Free isfree. If someone offeredyou a dollar bill,you ef the decimal point, and that's cool, that's quirlg. In reference there's a backwards dictionary and an anto1!Jm wouldn~ askfor a crisper one, right? Fact is, a lot ef thesaurus. I remember about the Hot New Writers dis- free books aren~ ha!f bad Not bad at all The trick i.t to be on the lookout. A lot efpeople pass ry a box p~, so I decide to check them out. Someone put out a new Dante translation. It's good to compare. The Por- discarded books and are sf?y about it. Thry wonder table Waugh is a no-brainer, as is Year's Best Food the owner might come back, which is ridiculous. Point J ouroalism. I want to get back into sciencefiction, and one, the law is onyour side. Point two, who carts their I'm val/le on Feminism andAustralianAborigine cul- books out to the curb and then nips back inside for ture, so I settle on the cunningly titled Year's Best glass of water? Now, take a look at these books. St Abo-Fem-Spec-Fie. No»1 I want to Sf!Y, Stephen King boat Gothic, copyright 1930. Could be a classic, is a solid author, but the best thing about him is that And this, Torch of Life, copyright 1931 ry the most ef his titles are in Mass Market Paperback. Which g'!)l So it's like a set. I'm taking these. You shou means cheap, cheap, cheap. I take six or seven Kings, be hesitant about taking thrown-out books. Esp which would be two or three Tolstqys, tops. That's about if thry're actuaf!y in the trash. I find great st;eff ill it, though I do manage to snag the new Philip "Roth dumpster behind nry apartment. One time a middil moving out, and he threw out Space :Mission book as I head to the register. There should be no wonder at the sis and Design, still in the plastic wrap! Can believe that? bibliophile's poor level of judgment at this point. The modem warehouse bookstore approaches the bibliophile's amorous ideal, rows upon rows of shelves of books. All alphabetized, systematized, with the ''hot" new titles facing out to catch the eyewith their clever and suggestive covers. A visit to a retail bookstore, though pleasurable, is a draining and J;inancially hazardous ordeal. And so the experienced bibliophile, without shame, tums to that other sort of bookshop, the one whose wares go by the name 'secondhand'. Shame? What's there to be ashamed about? Thry're cheaper, the bindings are stillgood, hell there's even something to be said for their retro looks. Granted, it's not Only at the end, when the bibliophile turns home with his books, does he glimpse true nature of his fixation. He watches as title disapears into the forest of titles yet He can still spot them in their new and positions on the shelf. With the obscure he has failed to note the authors' names, will never know them. This is okay; their nymity will accentuate the knowingness other titles. Being and Nothingness, ahh yes, Manufacturing Consent, oh-ho, Chomsky. not read these books. It does not ma could. Maybe, someday, he will. Terra Firma: Making It Happen by Joy Kaplan Director of Student Services I would like to take this opportunity to discuss problem solving (i.e., getting an institution to respond to your needs) in general and to share my insights on how to make things happen around here. I will use Mr. Mcintyre's quest for paper towels in the dorms, as expressed in his December 9t1t letter ''Please Give Us Paper Towels" as a specific example, but my hope is that I can list some general principles and strategies applicable to many situations for many polity members. Before you begin, make a commitment not to create an adversarial relationship with people who you will encounter during this quest. You are not a guerilla, and this is not a war. While multisyllabic words and references to obscure mcient texts might make you the Big Man On Campus, when speaking to people who are neither students nor tutors, it will only make you unintelligible and seem arrogant. Follow the chain of command, and if you .~not sure what that is, then ask. For example, · 't go to Mr. Nelson first, but to the person job seems to relate to your request. Asthat the person wants to help you and you no ill will, and treat them accordingly. of framing your request as a demand or plaint, tell them that you want to facilitate and would like their guidance. If they t help, ask them to refer you to someone ch institution has its own culture; it is imt to respect those cultural norms. At small tions such as St. John's, personal connecare important. I have observed that to an y high degree, St. John's runs on conIn order to reach a consensus, all points are entertained and given their due. This intensive process as it requires meetings of the players and opportunities before for reflection. Due to scheduling chalit can be impossible for all of the players at once. This means that the person help you is burdened with the task of hone calls and emails that may or may ed in a timely fashion, or physivarious offices, repeating the story unicating concerns expressed by the along the way. The person who is you must have sufficient time and to follow through, as very often "the :;the urgent" causes one or more of . tO drop the ball. By the way, the other places where I have experienced the tendency to spend time discussing things in excruciating detail were Japan, Quaker Institutions, and Buddhist monasteries. Llke St. John's, these are all high context cultures that reject the modem imperatives of instant gratification, consumerist-think (i.e., "The customer is always right.''), but most importantly, these are all places where a high value is placed on *listening*. It seems to me that after graduation, it is unlikely that mostJohnnies will encounter such an emphasis on listening in their work lives. This loss is often traumatic. It is important to recognize that once you've figured out how St. John's works, you are soon going to have to start all over elsewhere. At St. John's, you have direct access to most employees, which is unusual. If somebody is so busy you must make an appointment, or so inaccessible you can only communicate by writing, then communicate succinctly and avoid breezy style. Edit letters so that they are no longer than one page. Avoid empty and ingenuous phrases such as, ''I am not here to lecture you." Be flexible and patient. Don't expect instant results. Be aware of the concept of''hierarchy of needs," that what one person perceives as a necessity may be perceived to be a luxury by others. Be aware that although your helper may take the request as seriously as you do, the people they must consult with may have other priorities, and they in tum have to wait patiently for a response before reporting back to you. Your request will be received more favorably if made at the right time. For example, avoid asking for anything on a Friday afternoon. Be sensitive to big projects, and hectic moments that your helper may be experiencing Also be aware thattheymay beholding-off on following through on your request because they are waiting for the right time to approach their superiors or colleagues in other offices. Your request may involve more people and procedures than you know. People who are very busy and constantly "multi-tasking'' often appreciate reminders, especially if they are waiting for answers from other offices and need to also ask others for "updates." Ask others who share your concern to do the same. Simply claiming your request is "on behalf of the community" is usually unconvincing. Collecting signatures often fails to impress because it is too easy to sign one's name to a petition. If people are willing to take action, it sends a much stronger message. If you claim to represent a group, then you must recognize that there could be another group . . . .... . . . . .. in opposition that desires a different outcome. Understand that the person helping you has to juggle competing and often contradictory demands. For example, while some students might like to have paper towels supplied to bathrooms on campus, others might think it is bad for the environment. Assess whether you are the best person to come forward as you may not have much social or political clout. Be mindful that your behavior could have the consequence of ruining other peoples' chances of achieving the same goal. It could be that somebody else is already actively engaged in your quest or something similar. Network and join forces. If your request involves financial resources: understand that budgets are set annually. You have to wait for the next cycle. If the person you are asking for help has been given a directive to spend less money, than that person cannot honor your request, even ifthey agree with you. If there is no hope of accessing existing or future budgets, offer to raise the money yourself Be creative. If you are able to do your own funding at first, others may offer funding in the future. Take the long-range view and try to make your project self-supporting Ifyoudon'tgetwhatyou want: Don't take it personally. On the one hand, people respect commitment, so persistence sometimes pays off; but on the other hand, "not letting go" could be perceived as belligerence. Reflect on your strategies. If you can't figure out what went wrong, ask for feedback. Stay calm and courteous. Expressions ofimpotent rage don't solve the problem and only make you look bad. The people who could not help you this time may be able to help you in the future ifyou don't alienate them now. Mr. Mcintyre demonstrated a good strategy by connecting his request to the larger issue of public health. His argument would have been more powerful and would have seemed more sincere ifhe had visited the Health Center Staff to 11y to enlist their support instead of facetiously asking me to do so. He did a good job of incorporating research and citing such authorities as Auckland University and the FDA. While such citations demonstrate that Mr. Mcintyre has "donehishomework" on the one hand, on the other hand, ifhis goal is truly to find a way to dry his hands, his letter does not demonstrate that he has considered other options. The problem may not lie in lack of paper towels, but in lack Terra Firma continued on page 14 . . . THE GADFLY . 13 �---Terra Firma continued from page 13 of imagination and resourcefulness. Without consulting scientists and government agencies, I can tlUnk of a few ways for Mr. Mcintyre to get his hands dried, and I offer them here: while paper towels are not distributed in the dorms, they are readily available in the lavatories in buildings you visit everyday, such as the coffee shop. Take a paper towel from there, fold it, and put it in your pocket for later. Don't be greedy or wasteful by taking more than you really need. Handkerchiefs have fallen out of fashion in our country, however, in much of the world, they are still a basic part of a person's wardrobe. Take up Mr. Kutler's call to reject modernity, and carry a hanky in your pocket. Students are not allowed to leave large towels hanging in the dormitory bathrooms, however they are given shelf space where they can store toiletries. Fold up a small hand towel or washcloth and keep it there to dry your hands. If you do not own any handkerchiefs or small towels, ask for some for Christmas. Meanwhile, drape your large towel over your shoulder and bring it with you to the bathroom. If you fold it just so and add a brooch, you may even look dashing! After you finish, bring your towel back to your dorm room. Mr. Mcintyre closed his letter with, "I'll simply allow the imminent return of paper towels testify to the fact that you've come to the right decision." If he had bothered to come and talk to me, he would have discovered that I never made a decision to not stock the dormitory bathrooms with paper towels. He would have discovered that I think it is a good idea, arid that I followed through by making visits and phone calls to the Housekeeping and Business Offices. He would have discovered that part of the way decisions are made at the College is by checking to see what other colleges are doing, and that Buildings and Grounds asked the vendor who supplies our paper goods if other area colleges, including the one across the street, supply their dormitories with paper towels. The answer was "no." In the same issue of the Gar!f!y that Mr. Mcintyre's letter appeared were two articles complaining about lack of tutor participation, ''Tutors Totally Too Taciturn" and "A Fantasy Fairly Tale from a Fabulous Fairy Land." I cannot speak for tutors, but I have had two staff members tell me that they do not make submissions to the Gar!f/y because they fear the kind of treatment I received from Mr. Mcintyre, namely, mockery and taking one's words out of context. When I read such screeds, I wonder what the author really wants: to effect change, or simply to annoy someone? If the goal is to effect positive change, there are more skillful ways of going about it than to publicly provoke or humiliate the person believed to have the power to make the change you seek, as some students seem to do. Slinging arrows at people who have departed from the College, such as Mr. Ranson, is not only unskillful, but also cheap. Mr. Mcintyre quoted my article selectively, twisting my meaning and distorting my intention. His rant did nothing to serve his cause, but plenty to raise my ire. Mr. Mcintyre wrote: Ms. Joy Kaplan asserted that there "is no way" that our bathrooms will be "stocked with paper towels," citing budgetary constraints, clogged toilets, and inappropriately decorated trees as roadblocks standing between the polity and dry hands. My original sentence was, in reference to my wish that somebody would clean up his/hermess: Of course, that wouldn't be so hard to do if the bathrooms were stocked with paper towels, but due to budgetary concerns, and the wasteful practices of clogging toilets, decoraring trees with paper towels, etc., that have occurred in the past on this campus, there is no way that is going to happen. The above sentence clearly shows that I acknowledge that campus life would be improved by the availability of paper towels in the dormitories. Mr. Mcintyre also wrote: Considering that E. coli is linked with diarrhea, a condition that demands a taxing amount of toilet paper, in outfitting bathrooms with paper towels, you could prevent certain clogs, which are undoubtedly unpleasant to clean up. You might even help prevent future mystery barfings! Mr. Mcintyre, the majority of messes of a vomitory nature are the result of immoderate alcohol consumption, not ofE. coli, and tend to occur when older students provide alcohol to younger students. All students can do their part to prevent these sorts of messes by not engaging in such illegal practices, and by reporting them if witnessed. I hope the tips I have given above are useful to you in the fu.3' ture, and I thank you, Mr. Mcintyre, for giving me reason to list them. Gadfly Funny Papers Swimming Wonder Monkey Days ow, last week's Mabel gathering was so super-cool! Plus, we all got marshmallows! r;:.========;.'.I And I finally got my shirt back! Could it get any better? 14 Just a few more coordinates on the spaceship's super-computer, and I shall open the portal to Demensi on X! !!!! t's more serious than we thought guys. The secret ultra weapon must be ready soon, or I might pee my pants. Butthat won't hel us much. . THE GADFLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ptolemy Stone Horoscopes by Jen Silgals Staff Mystic ?ALeo Advice, straight from the stars. GP 'Y" o:J Aries (March 21-April 19): Mistletoe is a power_ful weapon against tlJ.ose who would typically linger in the hallway for long periods of time. But be careful, as its use may backfire, causing new and unusual people to come linger it the hallway... And you probably don't want to come upon that... unless it's all a part of your nefarious plans .... Reading of the season: Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! .... ~ (April 20-May 20): Use this holiday season as a springboard for your foray into the world of selflessly helping others. Buy a gift for one of those kids who have their names written on cards on a tree at the bank. Read holiday stories to toddlers. Feed the hungry. Take the sugar away from your little brother. Reading of the season: Mark Kimball :Moulton, A Snowman Named Just Bob .. ~ (May 21-June 20): If you're going to go swimming in the middle of the winter this year, be sure to bring a dry towel and some blankets. Don't spend more than a minutes in the water at a time, and make e to drink lots of hot fluids. Or maybe u should just watch polar bears on the l!covery Channel. Reading of the season: Deborah Shapiro, Bjelke, Time on Ice: A Winter Vqyage to retiea -WCamr {June 21-July 22): There are two types ·stmas light gazing. One involves drivthrough a classy neighborhood, lookat the landscaped lawns with their classy lights. The other involves a mobile e park in Ladson, SC. What I'm trying Y is, have fun wherever you go and ~you do this holiday, from the classy garish. eading of the season: Chris Van urg, The Polar Express Quly 23-August 22): Eggnog is gross. Don't drink it. Ever. The people who tell you that it is good are lying. They just want you to feel the eggy pain of holiday beverages. You have been warned. P.S. Eggnog is terrific. So sweet, so spicy. You want some. . Right now. Reading of the season: John Owen, Low Carb Holidqy: The Healthy & Delicious Low Carb Holidqy Cookbook • :am. (August 23-September 22): Tinsel: it's more than just a decoration. This shiny stuff is more versatile than fruitcake and doesn't hurt nearly as much when dropped upon you from a great height. Respect the tinsel, and you will be respected. As long as you don't go around wearing a toga made from the stuff. Reading of the season: Dean Koontz, Every Dqy'.r a Holidqy: Amusing PJJymes for Happy Times i!J,.tam (September 23-0ctober 22): If this week starts off shakily, never fear. A rainy morning can yield to a sunny afternoon. Allow yourself to a have a good break, and you will. Just be careful not to sit in any waning puddles directly after a rain shower. Reading of the season: Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold, Olive, the Other R.eindeer i..imJ11 (October 23-November 21): Getting time off from school is a twofold operation. Be happy that you get a few weeks without morning classes, but remember to have fun with those extra hours not spent preparing for your math tutorial. You can make this break great. Just keep focused on holiday chee~. And don't sleep more than 15 hours a day. Reading of the season: Kate Huntington, His Lordship '.r Holidqy Surprise (Zebra R.egenry "Romance) ~· (November 22-December 21): Most people simply do not like fruitcake. Keep this in mind while getting together those last-minute presents. On a greater scale: treat people well this break, or learn to duck when the fruitcake comes flying back at your head. Reading of the season: Diane Muldrow, Barbie: A Happy Holidqy li'c.tmn (December 22-January 19): Yes, it is true: guests begin to smell after a few days. Just the same, the stars have faith in your ability to live through your relatives' B.O. Get out the Pine-and-Cinnamon Holiday Air Freshener and keep focused on this simple truth: relatives bring presents ... and holiday cheer ... yeah ... that stuff, too. Good stuff, or so I've heard. Reading of the season: Gib Twyman, Meg Michele Cundiff, Gilbert Oscar Twyman, S anta'.r Wild Goose Chase: (The Christmas Adventures of Wil/y and Nil!J) *~ Qanuary 20- February 18): Fish are lucky this season, so feel lucky to be of the fishy sign. A word of wisdom: avoid leftovers that have sat in the fridge for more than a week and a half. Other than that, things are looking good. Have a nice one. Reading of the season: Greg and Evan Spiridellis, Are You Grumpy, Santa? (February 19-March 20):It's about time the Pisces had a bit of a break, both from work, and otherwise. The stars are tired of picking on you, so look forward to a good next few weeks. Relish in the Holiday Spirit and don't say the stars never gave you nothin', you ungrateful slobs. Reading of the season: Stephen Shott, Scratch and Sniff: Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE GADFLY . 15 �THE GADFLY St. John's College P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404 By Leo Pickens Athletic Director ''His over-the-shoulder shot had no actual name. He tossed it, without looking, over his head and into the basket. There was no need to look, he explained, because )ou develop a sense of where you are. "' from John McPhee's book on Bill Bradley, A Sense of 'Where You Are On the men's side of the ledger, the Holiday Tourney went to nine games this year. The Guardians ran over a depleted Hustler squad to take the title. My vote for tourney MVP would be split between Guardian A-teamers Messrs. Johnson and Donahoe. But look, the guy who helped to create all the buzz was Hustler center, Mr; Krempa, with his general all around sound play in the post, not to mention his miraculous last second shot to defeat the Waves and send the Hustlers into the finals. For his efforts, Mr. Krempa is named Athlete of the Week for the men. Let's face facts, okay? You have to admit that we've been seeing some very exciting basketball of late in both the women's and men's leagues. To start with the women: look, I bet it's gotta be some kind of record to have so many overtime games in a row in a league. We've had three out of four in the past week of play, and I can't remember a single game this season in the women's finely balanced league that wasn't close all the way to the final buzzer. A new presence on the court of late that has been helping to heat things up a little bit is Miss Brockett of the Furies. For her tough defensive play and enthusiasm, not to mention her being able to drain one now and again, this_rookie is nam~d-~thlete of the Week: . Go See the Shrew continued from page 11 ances, where she screeches and bangs on doors to an excess so great that it's painful, funny, and then painful again, but even this is bom out by the later moments. She first loves Petruchio for his interest in her, then for his wit-her laugh at his ultimate joke in "the wooing scene" is falldown-on-the-floor genuine, as she soon proceeds to prove in this production. But her agreement to marry him, marred as it is by her imperfect self-knowledge and ancillary desire to get the hell out of her father's house, does not make the play complete, not by a long shot. 16 . THE GADFLY . . . Mathematical Relationships by Geneva Hinkle Once upon a time there was a parabola, and she was very lovely-so lovely, in fact, that she had two suitors. One of her suitors was a very brave hyperbola, and the other was a very respectable ellipse. For weeks, she thought it would be impossible to settle on either one of them, but she leaned towards marriage with the hyperbola, since he was so daring and because she had heard that he was familiar with the opposite side of the cone, the side that was said to have no base; besides all this, he greatly resembled her. At the same time, though, the ellipse drew her attention because he seemed to keep it together so well. He was, she confided in her closest friends, centered. Of course, she ad~ mitted, there was something a bit ... irregular about his advances; he wasn't perfect, yet he did have a certain charm. One day, she was deep conversation with the hyperbola, an. she asked him how he had become so fa iar with the other side of the cone. She surprised when he evaded the question, began to trail off into a discussion of h lovely the vertex was looking that eve · To her shock, she found out from the ' old circle at the base, that not only did hyperbola have a split personality, but his OTHER HALF lived beyond the ve He had wooed her under false pretense he was already married. She broke off engagement at once, of course, and she n married. For even though the ellipse was · respectable, they had only met twice. The End. m The play is not over until Petruchio cures Katharina of her shrewishness. The methods he employs and the care he shows, so misunderstood down the years, indicate his real love for her and the hope he offers the helpless, "cursed," shrew. Petruchio gives Katharina freedom, freedom from the tyranny she has imposed upon herself. In submitting herself to the wisdom of another, she gains the public recognition she craves and the private freedom she'd lost years ago. This production, in playing the reconciliation straight and the scenes between them to their comic best, does justice to Shakespeare and his characters alike. � 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 Gadfly</em> Description An account of the resource Founded in 1980, <em>The </em><em>Gadfly</em> is a weekly student publication distributed to over 600 students, faculty, and staff of the Annapolis campus.<br /><br />Click on <strong><a title="The Gadfly" href="https://digitalarchives.sjc.edu/items/browse?collection=16&amp;sort_field=Dublin+Core%2CDate&amp;sort_dir=d">Items in the <em>The Gadfly</em> Collection</a></strong> to view and sort all items in the collection. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource St. John's College Greenfield Library Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context thegadfly 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. Page numeration Number of pages in the original item. 16 pages Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data paper 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/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Keene, Cathy (Editor in Chief) McCracken, Ian (Executive Editor) Title A name given to the resource The Gadfly, Vol XXV Issue 15 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2003-12-16 Description An account of the resource Volume XXV, Issue 15 of The Gadfly. Published December 16, 2003. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 25 #15 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 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available St. John's College Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource text Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource St. John's College owns the rights to this publication. Subject The topic of the resource pdf Gadfly Student publication