History prof asks, “What kind of leaders?”
Over a century ago Grinnell President George Gates said he wished he “had the power to adequately express my abhorrence of the bread and butter idea of college education. The notion, I mean that what a college education is for is to fit its possessors ‘to get on in the world’ better than one could without it.”
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Dialogue on Sept. 11 panel continues
Since it appeared two weeks ago, many people have objected to my criticism of Ralph Savarese and Rekha Basu in “Scholarship, September 11th, and So On.” Professor John Rommereim aptly summed up the objections in his letter to the editor. He took me to task for “denigrat[ing] the speakers without addressing the issues at hand,” and wondered whether my indignation did not “run counter to the spirit of open inquiry.” I disagree with much of his assessment, but acknowledge that I owe readers a full explanation of my position. Here it is.
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Birth of our hero and the bladder of skepticism
An unwelcome blanket of volcanic ash descended from on high during the 1786 Town Fair at Nineveh, Conn. The children sang, as usual; the old men choked, as usual. During that same year, two French mountaineers ascended the sublime heights of Mont Blanc, a former soldier and seasoned lover found himself rebelling against the American government, and 15,000 Jamaicans died from a drought and a hurricane because Nature had no idea what in God’s name it was doing so it just stumbled and lurched like a shame-faced drunk. On some places the heavens rained, on others the sun shone; in all places and at all times whole hordes of riotous animals were fighting and fornicating in direct opposition to Mosaic law.
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Squirrels, express and cell phones
This is the weirdest and most unusual column you will ever read in the S&B. I kid you not Grinnell, today is the day I have officially lost my mind. Maybe it was that concussion I suffered early last week. And now, take a long, pensive gander into my train of thought over the past few days:
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Random Rants
Students speak out about what’s on their minds in 142 words, and you’re invited! If you have a random rant, email it to me at anderseb@grinnell.edu. After all, complaining in a public forum is always more fun than doing it alone.
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How to survive bad dining hall food
It’s nearly unavoidable. Classes stretch on, followed by homework… and before you know it, you have to eat. Too hungry and too afraid to check the menu, you march in, your card is swiped … and then you discover that it’s too late. There’s no escaping it now. You were laboring under the misapprehension that it might be Stove Top Stuffing or Chicken Patty Parmesan night, but all hopes of that have long since disappeared as you gaze with disillusion at the platters of Dead Horse Enchiladas and Baked Scrod. Don’t panic. As dire as the situation is, you can still survive.
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