MAG_spring07

CollegeThe S p r i n g 2 0 0 7

S t . J o h n ’ s C o l l e g e • A n n a p o l i s • S a n t a F e

J.S. BachM u s i c a n d C u l t u r e

The College (usps 018-750) is published quarterly by

St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD,and Santa Fe, NM

Known office of publication:Communications Office

St. John’s CollegeBox 2800

Annapolis, MD 21404-2800

Periodicals postage paid at Annapolis, MD

postmaster: Send addresschanges to The College

Magazine, CommunicationsOffice, St. John’s College, Box 2800, Annapolis, MD

21404-2800.

Rosemary Harty, editorPatricia Dempsey,managing editor

Gail Griffith, Santa Fe editorEmily DeBusk, assistant editor

Jennifer Behrens, art director

Annapolis410-626-2539

Santa Fe505-984-6104

ContributorsElizabeth Burlington (A08)

Caroline Caldwell (SF08)Nelson Hernandez (A99)

Andrea LambOliver Lemke (SF08)

Peter PesicJennifer Sprague

Jennifer Wright (A08)Elliott Zuckerman (HA95)

Magazine design by Claude Skelton Design

O n B a c h

Studying Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is one of the great moments in fouryears of St. John’s. Indeed, if the college ever required a theme song, thePassion would do quite well. What makes it a great work worthy of theProgram? To Eric Stoltzfus, music librarian in Annapolis,“it’s the combination of a very powerful story, and a sense that there’s a brilliantmind interpreting that story and adding things to it.” Peter Kalkavage,who led the Annapolis Community Chorus in its performance of the

opening and closing choruses of the work, says the Passion is an immensely satisfyingculmination of two years of the study of music, a work that holds special meaning for manyalumni years after they leave the college.

Johann Sebastian Bach was born in 1685, a year that saw the birth of two other greatmusicians: Georg Friedrich Handel and Domenic Scarlatti. By the time he was 10, both ofBach’s parents were dead, and Bach came under the wing of his eldest brother, JohannChristoph, who helped guide his musical education. Bach sang in a boys’ choir, and laterturned to the organ, pursuing his musical education independently. At age 18, he wasappointed organist of the New Church in Arnstadt, where he kept getting into trouble. (In 1705, he brawled with a student and called him a “nanny-goat bassoonist”; thefollowing year was reprimanded for staying away too long from his post after he traveled toanother city to hear a great organist.)

In 1707, Bach became organist in Mühlhausen, where he married his cousin, MariaBarbara Bach, with whom he had seven children. Other posts followed: court organist andchamber musician, later concert master at Weimar; musical director at Köthen for PrinceLeopold of Anhalt; music director and cantor of the church of St. Thomas, Leipzig. He wasthe third choice for the post at St. Thomas, which he took up in 1723, and he so dislikedone of his duties—teaching Latin to the schoolboys—that he paid someone else to do it.

In a span of about five years in Leipzig, Bach gave the first performance of the St. John Passion and produced the Magnificat and the St. Matthew Passion. After MariaBarbara’s death, Bach married Anna MagdalenaWülken, a gifted musician, who bore him 13 children.

Bach died in 1750, but four of his sons continued his legacy: Carl Philipp Emanuel,Johann Christian, Wilhelm Friedemann, and Johann Christoph Friedrich. C.P.E. Bach co-wrote his father’s obituary, which praised his moral character, piety, and devotion to hisart: “If ever a composer showed polyphony in its greatest strength, it was certainly our latelamented Bach. If ever a musician employed the most hidden secrets of harmony with themost skilled artistry, it was certainly our Bach.”

This issue of the magazine considers music’s place in the Program. Not only is it important in the classroom, but music in all its forms also enlivens the communities onboth campuses, with groups such as Primum Mobile singing sacred music in the PendulumPit in Annapolis, and tutors such as Cary Stickney in Santa Fe sharing their talents andlove for music with all of us. —RH

{ C o n t e n t s }

CollegeThe S p r i n g 2 0 0 7V o l u m e 3 3 , I s s u e 2

T h e M a g a z i n e f o r A l u m n i o f S t . J o h n ’ s C o l l e g e A n n a p o l i s • S a n t a F e

p a g e 10“With a Clear andSingle Purpose”What the $125 million campaign for St. John’s College means to the Santa Fe campus.

p a g e 16“Sing, Goddess”As part of the quadrivium, music belongsin the Program, but where and how?

p a g e 22Pop JohnniesCan YouTube and American Idol coexistwith the form of the good?

p a g e 26Visual ThinkersThree artists working in different mediashare their distinctive works and philosophies.

p a g e 36Happy Birthday,CroquetOver 25 years, the St. John’s croquettradition has evolved into a mini-Homecoming.

d e p a r t m e n t s

2 from the bell towers• Annapolis treasurer Bronté Jones• A year in Iraq• Green energy for Annapolis• Annapolis student establishes leadership

retreat• Johnnies from foreign lands• Restoring Key’s will • An Annapolis-born novelist had ties

to St. John’s

34 bibliofile“How-to” books for people who think they know how to read.

39 alumniP R O F I L E S

38 Christian Acemah (SF05) travels, researches, and writes for African development.

41 Coming of age in tumultuous times, the class of 1966 has a distinct character.

42 Manhattan dealmaker Munir Hussein (A90)discovers cultural understanding in Maine.

48 obituaries50 alumni association news52 st. john’s forever

p a g e 1 0

p a g e 1 6

p a g e 2 6

o n t h e c o v e r

Johann Sebastian BachIllustration by David Johnson

2

{ T h e C o l l e g e • St. John’s College • Spring 2007 }

{ F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }

A brass-framed photo onBronté Jones’ desk tells thestory of how she has become,at 37, one of the youngestcollege treasurers in thecountry, and one of the fewAfrican-American women in this male-dominated profession. Jones, who joinedSt. John’s last summer as treasurer, says she credits her parents for what she hasaccomplished, but especially

the man in the photo–hergrandfather, Asbury Jones.“Last fall I drove over to mygrandparents’ home on theEastern Shore for my grandfa-ther’s 85th birthday. Mygrandfather is my absolutefavorite person in the wholeworld. He’s a blue-collarworker and when he retired,he made $16,000 dollars, buthe put seven of his kidsthrough college,” says Jones.

“He walked to work until hewas 45 to save money. He had aplan–it was about fiscalmanagement and about thedifferences that could make. I went to college and majoredin finance simply because Iunderstood the difference thathaving strong financialacumen could make in one’slife.” Growing up on theEastern Shore in a tight-knitfamily filled with educators(her mother is a retiredteacher and three of hermother’s siblings are alsoeducators), Jones saw hergrandfather daily and later

took his inspiration, alongwith his photo, on heracademic and professionaljourney.

As treasurer of theAnnapolis campus, Jones’position includes fiscalresponsibility for the college’soperations and she is amember of the managementcommittee that oversees all aspects of the college’sadministration and strategicplanning. Jones brings more toher new position at St. John’sthan her solid credentials,which include a summer at the Harvard Institute forEducational Leadership, and a master’s in businessadministration from AmericanUniversity, in addition to herdoctorate from the Universityof Texas at Austin. She bringsa passionate sense of purposeand the exuberance and desireto help people that mark aleader.

Besides her grandfather, herrole models for leadership aretrailblazers such as ThurgoodMarshall, Nelson Mandela,and the Rev. Martin LutherKing, Jr. “I’m drawn to thepeople who feel like their livesare a mission and there issomething they’re supposed toaccomplish with it.” Jonescites Johnetta Cole, presidentof Bennett College, as the kindof female leader she admires.“Her book Conversations:Straight Talk with America’sSister President inspired me—she’s a role model for me. I like people who made adifference and understoodtheir lives’ work to be aboutenhancing the lives of others,”says Jones, who aspires to be acollege president one day.

Jones discovered herpassion for higher education10 years ago while she was

Beyond the Bottom LineAnnapolis Treasurer Bronté Jones

Bronté Jones discovered hercalling in higher education.ga

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3



working at the state auditor’soffice in Austin, Texas. “Originally I thought I’d be afinancial planner, then Iwanted to be a financeprofessor and teach, but whenI found myself auditing federalfinancial aid programs oncollege campuses I discoveredthe world of higher educationadministration. When I wentonto college campuses I camealive; I loved getting to knowthe students. It was and still isabout more than making surethe institution’s bills are paidand books are balanced, it’sabout relationships and beinga bridge for students who need advice.” Jones changedher doctoral focus fromfinance to higher educationadministration and wasaccepted at the University ofTexas, Austin. “Aftercompleting my doctoralstudies in Austin in 2005, it was my dream to return to Maryland. This dream has been fulfilled by having the opportunity to serve as

an officer for a premier institution such as St. John’s,”says Jones.

Jones brings her sense ofpurpose to everything fromtroubleshooting with custodialstaff about new equipment, to offering astute advice onfinancial strategy at invest-ment meetings with otherofficers of the college. Yet,dedicated to a leadership style that centers on sharing

knowledge, she remains accessible, even humble. “The true sign of intelligence,per my grandfather, is that youcan explain anything toanybody. Finance isn’t rocketscience. I want to explainterms like amortize, lifeannuity, and alternate invest-ment, and what’s in ourendowment. I want everyoneto really understand the goalsof the institution, how weoperate and know that thecollege and its business officeisn’t a mysterious place.”

Like many of Jones’colleagues, President Christo-pher Nelson is eager to learnfrom the college’s new treas-urer. “We seek Bronté’s adviceon everything from policyinitiatives to administrativematters. Bronté brings acertain sophistication to thebusiness operations andfinancial controls that is newto the college,” says Nelson.“The role of a treasurer in asmall college is not just afinancial manager. Bronté hasa higher education back-ground so she can serve usacross the whole institution—admissions, financial aid,enrollment management, business, operations, financialmanagement. She brings alevel of managerial skill tohelp all of us to do our workbetter.”

Given the $125 millioncapital campaign, Jones’expertise is needed now morethan ever. Not only does shehelp the college manage thefunds that are raised throughthe campaign, she also workswith staff to develop astrategic plan that secures the college’s future. Jones says the challenges she faces at St. John’s are unique ascompared, for instance, toHuston-Tillotson University inAustin, Texas, where she wasvice president for administra-tion and finance from 2004 to2006. “The interesting thing

about St. John’s, unlikeanywhere else in America, isthat we’re actually havingdiscussions about reducing thesize of the student enrollmentto preserve the rich educa-tional experience of the seminars; this runs contrary tomost institutions,” she says.One of Jones’ challenges, shesays, is to figure out “how tothrive with 450 instead of 500students and still provide thesmall classroom experiencethat we do.” For Jones thistranslates into questions suchas: Where and how does thecollege streamline? To whatdegree does the endowmentneed to grow in order tosustain the college at 450students? “There are severalquestions that we will need toanswer. It’s not going to be atomorrow fix; it’s going to be amulti-year plan.”

As Jones moves forward inher new position as treasurerthere is one other personbesides her grandfather towhom she is especiallygrateful: her predecessor, Bud Billups (HA03), who wastreasurer at the college formore than a decade. “I havesuch respect and admirationfor Bud,” she says. “This is themost ideal situation. It is likerunning a race and somebodypasses you the baton and theywant you to run as quickly asyou can because you’re all inthe race together. That’s how Ifeel with Bud–he passed methe baton and he wants me tofinish the race well.” Jonessays her extended family hasgrown since she met Billupsand his wife Bea, an Episcopalminister. “I’ve adopted themas family.” x

—Patricia Dempsey

“The true sign ofintelligence, permy grandfather, is that you can

explain anythingto anybody.”

Bronté Jones, Annapolis treasurer

Christopher Nelson (SF70) and Santa Fe President MichaelPeters are among 12 college presidents leading a revoltagainst U.S. News and World Report’s college rankingssystem. Along with their colleagues, they signed a letter sentto college presidents throughout the nation, asking them torefuse to fill out the magazine’s reputational survey and torefuse to use the rankings in any promotional efforts. Theletter asks colleges to give the magazine data collectedaccording to shared professional standards.

For almost a decade, St. John’s has declined to take part inthe U.S. News and World Report survey, maintaining thatrankings don’t help students choose a college that is rightfor them. Both presidents have been quoted in the nationalpress on the college’s opposition to rankings of any kind.

Throughout the spring, college presidents continued tosign on to the effort, coordinated through the EducationConservancy, a nonprofit organization that seeks to de-commercialize the college selection process. However, U.S. News Editor Brian Kelly dismissed the presidentsleading the effort as a small group of “the usual suspects.”“These are the folks making these complaints for years,” he told the Washington Post. x

Rankings Revolt



4

Santa Fe tutor Greg Bayerarrived in Baghdad lastChristmas to take up a year-long assignment as director ofthe Fulbright program in Iraq.After a grueling flight hechecked out his new home: asmall metal trailer with one bedand some lockers. Jet-lagged,he sat outside by a poolformerly owned by SaddamHussein, listening to the thudof explosions and watching athick plume of blacksmoke rise fromoutside the wallssurrounding theGreen Zone. “There’sa surreal quality oflife here in Baghdad,”Bayer says.

Former Santa FePresident JohnAgresto, who for ninemonths served as thesenior adviser to theIraqi Higher Educa-tion Ministry, alertedBayer to the Fulbrightopportunity. Bayerapplied for the posi-tion and for a year’sleave from thecollege. “John talkeda few times at thecollege about hiswork in Iraq, and hegot me interested inthe whole situation,”says Bayer. “I hadserved on ourFulbright committeein Santa Fe, and I thought Imight be able to do some goodduring my sabbatical.”

Bayer has an office in theChancery. He works six toseven days a week and puts in10-hour days, processing appli-cations, interviewing appli-cants, helping students nego-tiate the visa process, andpromoting the programthroughout the country. “OurFulbright program in Iraq is

the third-largest in the world interms of the number ofmasters’ programs,” Bayersays. “It’s not a true exchangeprogram: obviously, therearen’t too many students fromother countries wanting tostudy in Iraq right now. We willprobably have 35 to 40 studentsgoing over to American univer-sities this summer and fall. Allfields are represented: publichealth, public affairs, English,

various forms of linguistics,journalism.”

This spring, Bayer has beenworking to promote theprogram and solicit applicantsfor fall 2008. He’s organizednews conferences, given radioand television interviews, andplaced advertising in mediathroughout the country. “Thenormal way to publicize some-thing like the Fulbright,” Bayerexplains, “is to go to universi-

ties and meet students, givelectures, and offer varioussocial events at universities.”Unfortunately, classwork hasbeen severely limited at most ofthe country’s universities, andthe state department deemsmost universities unsafe totravel to, though Bayer says thesituation in the north is better.He plans to travel to universi-ties in Erbil and Fulyamaniyahlater this year.

The war has disrupted every-thing in the country, somanaging the program pres-ents daily challenges. Bayersent out e-mails to about 70

university contacts andreceived just a handful ofreplies. After they’re awardedthe Fulbright, Iraqi studentsmust then get the “right” Iraqipassport, go through the visaprocess, and undergo a back-ground check by HomelandSecurity. Bayer helps usherthem through the process.

Bayer spends most of histime in the Green Zone, and hisdaily life restricts him to his

trailer, his office, and the“DFACS” where he gets hismeals. Little else besides workoccupies his time except forreading (Thomas Pynchon’snewest novel, Against the Day;Nietzsche’s Zarathustra), andwriting (a book project on Aris-totle). Traveling to and fromthe city—as he did earlier thisspring to make a trip to D.C.—is a tense ordeal that starts withdonning a helmet and a heavyKevlar vest. “You go out underthe cover of night in a Rhino, ahuge vehicle that’s somethinglike a super-armoredWinnebago, and travel in a

convoy,” he explains. Bayer tries not to

dwell on the riskinvolved in his job.“There are rocketsthat come in andmortars every once ina while, and some-times you have toduck into these littlepillboxes,” he says.“You’re on your wayto work in a suit andtie, you’re thinkingabout a visa interviewor an ad you have toget in the newspaper,and you hear thethuds of car bombsgoing off not too faraway.”

The Fulbrightprogram, he says,provides an oasis ofnormalcy among thechaos; in desperatetimes, it offers hopefor a bright future forsome talented young

Iraqis. “So much is made, andrightfully so, of all the terriblethings that are happening inBaghdad,” he says. “It’s dirty,it’s rundown, it’s falling apart,but it is still a pretty lively city.People are going about theirdaily lives, despite everything.The Iraqis are amazinglyresilient people.” x

Bayer would enjoy hearingfrom members of the St. John’scommunity: [email protected].

Finding FulbrightScholars in a War Zone

Santa Fe tutor Greg Bayer was fitted for his Kevlar vest and helmet—requisiteequipment in Baghdad—on his first day in the Green Zone last December.

Green PowerWhile it can’t install windturbines on back campus topower the college, St. John’s inAnnapolis is nevertheless doingits part for green energy. Thecollege has purchased renewableenergy credits (RECs) to cover100 percent of its energyconsumption. Renewable energycredits are created for every1,000 kilo-watt hours producedby a renewable energy generator.Power plants that use alternativesources, such as the sun, wind,methane from a landfill or waste-water treatment, geothermalenergy, and the ocean, garneradditional revenue from the saleof RECs so that they becomeincreasingly economical to buildand maintain.

“We can’t buy wind directly,because there are no turbines inour region or in our grid,”explains Don Jackson, director ofoperations in Annapolis. “So theenergy industry sells credits forelectricity produced by wind orphotovoltaic sources that saywe’ve paid a premium for itsproduct at another location.” By purchasing the credits, thecollege supports the productionof energy through renewableresources.

The state requires that about3.5 percent of all energypurchases be covered by renew-able energy credits. Currently,100 percent of St. John’s energy

is covered by renewable energycredits. St. John’s purchasedenough to cover 10 mega-watthours; the college uses 6 mega-watt hours per year. “St. John’swill be the first college in Mary-land to engage in a green energycommitment beyond currentstate requirements,” says SkipTrimble, an energy consultantwho helped the college evaluateenergy options. Green energy,Trimble says, is more thanhelping the environment. “It establishes alternative energysources that also make a moresecure nation by limiting ourreliance on oil and provides amore reliable energy grid byintroducing prudent energydiversity,” he says.

Although green energy ismore expensive than traditionalenergy sources, Jackson says thecollege made the purchase ofenergy credits a spendingpriority. “It was the right thingto do,” he says. x

InspiringFutureLeadersFor one week in August, the pristine Limberlost Forest innorthern Ontario will be arendezvous for 12 studentactivists from around the world.The students will meet under theauspices of International Part-nerships through Education and

Collaboration(IPEC), a youthconference foundedby St. John’s sopho-more MalcolmCecil-Cockwell.

Cecil-Cockwell was recentlyawarded a $10,000 grant by theKathryn Wasserman Davis Foundation to put his proposalfor a youth-oriented leadershipand education retreat into practice. His idea is to support“personal development throughconversation and study, for thesake of leading social change.”Before they meet in Canada, thestudents, traveling from Canada,India, Mexico, Tanzania, and theU.S., will research their ownlocality and develop a project toimprove their environment andsociety. While in the Limberlost,“The students will spend timereading and discussing issuesrelated to their projects, as wellas participating in workshops ledby qualified guest-mentors,” he explains. Cecil-Cockwell hasrecruited professional volun-teers, government lobbyists, andexperts on social thought to leadworkshops on topics rangingfrom current news stories to howto collaborate with the media.

The big picture, Cecil-Cock-well writes in his proposal, is tomake efficient use of youthfulmotivation by giving it support,direction, and practical skillsthrough dialogue. “In that way, it is very like St. John’s,” he says.Long after the participants leaveCanada, Cecil-Cockwell hopesIPEC will be a source of mutualsupport as these potentialleaders return to their countrieswith new ideas and plans for thefuture. x

FromSanskrit toSkypeThe Eastern Classics program inSanta Fe immerses graduatestudents in ancient languages—Sanskrit or Classical Chinese—and texts such as the Tao TeChing, written by Lao Tzu inabout 600 BCE. Jason Litton,who will finish the program thisAugust, took a detour from his

study of ancient works toconsider how 21st-century technology is playing a role inshaping societies and creatingconversations across cultural andgeographical barriers.

Last March, Litton presented a paper, “On the Potential forCommunications Technology toCause a Fundamental Shift in theWay People Form Societies,” at the New Directions in CriticalTheory Conference, an interdis-ciplinary graduate studentforum. Graduate students fromall disciplines were invited topresent papers on “negotiatingand constructing identities” atthe University of Arizona confer-ence, and Litton chose to explorehow technology facilitates cross-cultural communication and theformation of entirely new socialgroups drawn together bycommon interests and ideas.

Litton taught English forseveral years in Seoul, SouthKorea, and used Voice OverInternet Protocol, which allowsfor phone-like conversations via the Internet, to stay in touch with friends and family. He observed how “in Korea, the most wired country in theworld,” virtual communicationcreated a shift from “parlor”conversations to virtualdialogues open to many partici-pants. Advances in translationtechnology offer the promise of creating communities by overcoming linguistic barriers,he adds.

There is a potential downsideto virtual interaction, Littonacknowledges: those who replaceperson-to-person encounterswith strictly online interactioncan experience isolation, ratherthan the sense of community. YetLitton still see great potential forthe use of communications tech-nology in education. “You don’tneed to be physically present fora conversation,” he says. “Onlineseminar discussions, conductedacross cultural boundaries, couldbe richly diverse.” x

—Oliver Lemke (SF08)


{ F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s } 5

Malcolm Cecil-Cockwell (A10),cleaning theshoreline ofCollege Creek,wants IPEC toencourage othersto be activists intheir community.


{ F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }6

Yuhai Zhou (A09)Lanzhou, China Distance from Annapolis: 6,258 miles

Legendary City“Lanzhou is my birthplace, andI lived there for 15 years untilmy family moved to Guangzhouin 2002, one of the threebiggest cities in China (Beijingand Shanghai are the othertwo). The other name forGuangzhou is “The City of FiveGoats.” It is said when therewas famine, five gods on fivegoats came, each with wheat inits mouth. People accepted thewheat and they finally got a bigharvest. Then Guangzhoubecame the wealthy city in thesouth. The interesting thing is,before I came to St. John’s, Imet four alumni of St. John’swho were teaching in the samecollege in Guangzhou.”

On Dante“So far my favorite book isDante’s Divine Comedy. Originally, I wanted to write on the Divine Comedy for mysophomore essay, but, becauseI feel that it is so beautiful, I amafraid of destroying the beautyin that book by writing about it.So I decided to destroy thebeauty in another book. I ended up writing on Job.”

Alarming Moment“I really like cooking and Ihave become very famousaround campus for my cooking.One day [in Gilliam Hall], thefire engines came and all thealarms went off. Chinesepeople are famous for theircooking-oil smoke. My father,was living in England in 1995,and he was cooking in theapartment and he caused a lot

of oil smoke. So finally he waskicked out by the landlord.”

Plans after St. John’s “My plan after St. John’s is tocontinue to study. When I firstleft China, I thought that Iwould like to be a teacher in thecountryside. The countrysideof China is 70 percent of thepopulation. My father says thatif you do not understand thecountryside then you don’tunderstand the whole condi-tion of China. So I decided togo teach in the countryside, butI am not sure if that plan willchange after a couple yearshere. Both of my parents areteaching at the University ofChina. My mother teacheseconomy, my father teachesgeography.”

Felicitas Steinhoff (SF07)Stanhope, GermanyDistance from Santa Fe: 4,613 miles

Cultural Highlight“Well, in the town I grew up inmostly, in the north, there wasthis old monastery and therewas a rose bush that apparentlywas over 1,000 years old. Thatwas it. That was the culturalhighlight. So basically therewas nothing special; lots oftowns in Germany have theseodd little cultural artifacts thatare famous. Usually they willbuild a church around it. I’venoticed in America that peoplewill proudly put up signs for astreet that’s like 250 years oldor a settlement that’s beenthere since the FoundingFathers. The little town close to where I lived, where mymother lives now in Stuttgart,is originally from 1250 or

something like the MiddleAges, but there’s no sign oranything proclaiming thatloudly.”

Biggest Headache“I had been speaking English in school and lived with international students for three years in boarding school.We would basically mix andmatch English and Germanphrases all the time. It was stillodd to come [to Santa Fe] andall of a sudden there was noGerman, and not the slightestpossibility to speak German, sofor the first three days I had thebiggest headache ever. I thinkin English now. I dream inEnglish. The only thing that isstill a bit problematic are littleidioms and figures of speechthat I usually butcher in hilarious ways. I had big issueswith the word ‘pneumonia.’ ”

On Kant“Kant made up a lot of his ownwords to describe the things hewas talking about. It was easierto read [an English] translationof that because in order totranslate you have to interpret

it in a certain way that makessense to you. So the translationitself is almost already an inter-pretation in itself, which helps,whereas the original is strangerin German. I started reading itin German then I picked up theEnglish one along the way and Ithought the English one mademuch more sense.”

Plans after St. John’s“I am right now waiting to getmy work permit approved. I don’t really want to go back toGermany yet. I was planning togo to grad school but my senioressay got a little bit in the wayof my application process. So I’m going to stay in Santa Fesimply because I have no relatives in the states, but acouple of my friends will bestaying too. We’ll all beworking full time, saving upmoney, and then I will apply to grad school in October. Iwant to get my master’s incounseling psychology.” x

left: A cooking oil incident made Miss Zhou briefly famous inAnnapolis. Right: Even with years of English practice, Miss Steinhoff struggles with idioms.

Worlds AwayEach year, at least half a dozen foreign students enroll in St. John’s.The College visited with two “F-1” students, an Annapolis Johnniehalfway through the Program and another in Santa Fe, just graduating from St. John’s. Interviews are by Elizabeth Burlington(A08) and Caroline Caldwell (SF08).

The last will and testament ofFrancis Scott Key, class of1796, came to the college in1993 when a descendant ofKey thought the college was the rightful place for adocument of such historicimportance. The author of the“Star-Spangled Banner” wasalso founder of the college’sAlumni Association and isconsidered its most famousalumnus.

Earlier this spring, the willwas transported to theConservation Center for Artsand Historic Artifacts in

Philadelphia for an overhaul.The Conservation Center will clean and flatten thedocument (it was folded inthirds for many years), andwill repair a slight tear to oneof the pages. The documentwill be returned to the collegenext spring in a special boxthat will preserve it foranother two centuries or so.The center will also provide afacsimile of the will that St. John’s will enclose in aglass case and make availablefor public display.

Grants from the AnneArundel County Trust forPreservation; Four Rivers: theHeritage Area of Annapolis,London Town and SouthCounty; the Maryland BarAssociation Foundation; andthe Nielsen BainbridgeCompany provided fundingfor the project.

Distinguished by bold,elegant script that may or maynot be Key’s, the will was firstpenned in 1837 and amendedseveral times. It arranges forthe distribution of Key’sassets to various relatives.Alas, no bequest was made tothe college. x


7{ F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }

Good Will Preservation

The words film noir evokeimages of a fedora-wearing,wise-cracking private eye, acurvaceous and ultimatelytreacherous femme fatale, andstark, smoky cinematography.Who would have thought thatsuch scenes, deeply engrainedin the American pop conscious-ness, were straight from thenovels of an author who spenthis childhood on the sunnycampus of St. John’s College?

Born in 1892, the son of a St. John’s professor, JamesMallahan Cain grew up in thePaca-Carroll dormitory, whichwas then faculty housing. His father eventually becamethe vice president of St. John’sbefore moving the family toChestertown, Maryland, tobecome the president of Washington College, fromwhich Cain graduated in 1910.After some time in the army,

Cain became a reporter for theBaltimore Sun, where he metand was influenced by thefamous journalist and satiristH.L. Mencken. In 1923, hereturned to St. John’s as aprofessor of journalism. He stayed in Annapolis for just a year before moving toNew York to become an editorand writer for various publica-tions, including The NewYorker. With the onset of theDepression, Cain moved toHollywood where the pay forscreenwriters was generous,

although his best-knownworks are novels thatbecame screenplays.

As Cain’s novels hit thesilver screen during the1940s, some of thebrightest movie stars inHollywood brought hisstories to life: DoubleIndemnity starred FredMacMurray and BarbaraStanwyck; Joan Crawfordwas Mildred Pierce; andThe Postman AlwaysRings Twice featuredLana Turner. “Hard-boiled” is a term that is

often applied to Cain’s writingstyle and, consequently, to theentire genre of classic cinema.(As an example of hard-boiled-ness, the protagonist in ThePostman Always Rings Twicesays, “Then I saw her…shereally wasn’t a raving beauty,but she had a sulky look to her,and her lips stuck out in a waythat made me want to mashthem in for her.”) Cain’s workswere important contributions towhat later became known as thehard-boiled school of Americandetective and crime fiction, agenre that included anotherMaryland-born author, DashiellHammett (The Maltese Falcon),and Raymond Chandler, whowrote the screenplay for Double Indemnity.

Though some may dismissCain’s work as pulp fiction, heclaimed a loyalty to what hecalled in the preface of DoubleIndemnity, “the logos of theAmerican countryside,” sayingthat “the average man, from thefields, the streets, the bars, theoffices, and even the gutters ofthis country, has acquired avividness of speech that goesbeyond anything I couldinvent.” x

—Emily DeBusk (A06)James M. Cain penned 19 novels in addition tohis short stories andscreenplays.

James M. Cain Was Here

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8 { F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }

Guggenheim WinnerSanta Fe tutor and musician-in-residence Peter Pesic has beenawarded the prestigiousGuggenheim Fellowship Awardfor his investigations into theconnections between music andnatural philosophy. Guggen-heim Fellowships recognize“distinguished achievement inthe past and exceptional promisefor future accomplishment.”Pesic plans to examine music inrelation to parallel develop-ments in science, philosophy,politics, and art.

In Pesic’s view, music andnatural philosophy have longand deep connections. “Withthis award, I hope to explore thedialogue between ‘ancient’music, or music modeled on thedispassionate beauty of the‘music of spheres,’ and ‘modern’music–music devoted to movinghuman passions,” he says.

In February, he was elected aFellow of the American Associa-tion for the Advancement ofScience.

Glitch Silences Bell onEssay NightIt’s a wonderful tradition at St. John’s for seniors to ring thebell, signifying the completionof their senior essay. But thisFebruary in Annapolis, about 50 seniors were robbed of theircelebratory peal when thebutton that students press in the

McDowell Hall bell towerstopped working. “The switchgot stuck because it’s not madeto ring a 100 times in a row,”suggested Sid Phipps, director ofbuildings and grounds inAnnapolis.

The college applied to the city of Annapolis for a secondexemption to the noise ordinance, and arranged for the seniors who missed thechance in February to have theirmoment of glory on March 31.

Board of Visitors andGovernors Anna E. Greenberg (HA96)and M. Brownell “Brownie”Anderson (HSF98) have beennamed honorary members of the college’s Board of Visitorsand Governors. The designationrecognizes individuals who are stepping down from thecollege’s governing board for their commitment andcontributions to St. John’s.

An Annapolis native, Mrs. Greenberg has served formore than four decades as avolunteer leader with civic,educational, social service and religious groups in thecommunity. Ms. Anderson isSenior Associate Vice Presidentof the Association of AmericanMedical Colleges’ Division ofMedical Education, where shealso serves as the division’sdeputy director and executive

secretary for the association’sGroup on Educational Affairs.

The college’s board alsowelcomes several new members:Sheila Bobbs Armstrong(SF70, EC92, SFGI95) has beeninvolved with the college formore than 40 years. BradDavidson (A77) is president ofSPARDATA. He is a captain inthe United States Army Reserveand served on the AnnapolisCity Council. Until he retiredlast year, Austin Ligon was the first president and chiefexecutive officer of CarMax,Inc., the nation’s largest retailerof used cars. Mark Lindley(A67) is a retired AmericaOnline executive and volunteersfor Touchstones, Inc. FordRowan (AGI06), a former NBCcorrespondent, is now a national

security consultant. Dolores E.Wolf of Washington, D.C.,served for 18 years as vice presi-dent of Personnel Resources forAmerican Airlines. RoxannaZirakzadeh (SFGI04, EC05)owns a bookstore, Symposium,in San Francisco.

Staff Earlier this spring, the Santa Fecommunity said farewell to along-time and much-valued staffmember. Lawrence Martinez,head custodian, retired inMarch after 31 years of service.Emily Mawhinney (AGI07)joins the Advancement office inAnnapolis, where she willmanage the Fielding Challenge,part of the college’s $125million capital campaign. x

Anna Greenberg (HA96) with Chris Nelson (SF70), left, andMichael Peters, right, has served the Annapolis community wellfor more than 40 years.

News & Announcements

{ L e t t e r s }

Natural ConsequencesI am writing to thank you for, and to comment upon, the articleentitled “Good Design Startswith Good Questions” (Winter2007), which features architectDavid Schwarz (A72). Thearticle’s title is an apt summaryof a fascinating conversation.

On the other hand, Mr.Schwarz says that “[St. John’s]

gives you three things, and onlythree things: it teaches you howto think, how to read, and how tospeak. If you’re lucky, it will alsoteach you how to write…” I beg todiffer on two counts, although Istand in The Great Outside, as amere Johnnie-parent.

My first difference with Mr. Schwarz’s statement is that the word “all” implicitlydenigrates skills—thinking,

reading and speaking—that areboth crucial to our ability to function socially, and so rare as to be remarkable, based on myexperience of nearly a quarter-century of teaching graduatestudents. Even if these comprisedthe “all” that St. John’s Collegeoffered its students, they wouldbe an “all” difficult to improveupon; schools, employers, andorganizations—including, I am

sure, Mr. Schwarz’s firm—wouldbe ecstatic if they could find asure source of students, teachers,employees, and workers whocould in fact think, read, andspeak well. . .

My second objection to Mr. Schwarz’s statement,however, is more substantive—it concerns his omission of thenatural consequence of thepedagogy of St. John’s College.

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{ L e t t e r s } 9

The pedagogy fosters in studentsthe skill of listening—of hearingwhat is being said by someoneelse, whether that someone is anancient Greek philosopher,medieval Christian theologian,or the person sitting across thetable. The ability to hear anotherdoes not mean merely to keepone’s mouth shut, but to activelylisten to what they are trying tosay—to seek clarity, or (in a word),understanding. The ability tohear is rare. . .in part becausehearing (understanding) requirespatience: waiting to hear every-thing that the other person has tosay, waiting a bit more to be surethat they have finished and toconsider what they have said, and then responding in such away that our reply implicitlyreverberates with their question,suggestion, insight, or concern. . .

I write this letter because I amvery happy to say that I have seenthis ability to listen develop in mydaughter (A08) during her timeat St. John’s, and in other John-nies whom I know. . . I have beenstruck repeatedly by their atti-tude—a kind of quiet intensity—that focuses their attention onthe speaker’s words and ideas, sothat their comments and ques-tions in turn further our conver-sation.

I also write because this abilityto hear, to understand (a text,another person, or ourselves)underlies our ability to be andincreasingly to become fullyhuman, to allow our lives to beexamined by others, living anddead, and ourselves. It is a greatgift offered by the pedagogy of St. John’s, and one that ought notto be overlooked or assumed.

Frederic Clarke Putnam

Admiring Jane I am writing belatedly to thankyou for the excellent Fall 2006issue of The College. Life is busyand sometimes we don’t get allour assigned readings done, but Iheld onto this magazine throughthe winter. Being a descendant ofJane Austen’s mother’s family(the Leighs of Stoneleigh

Abbey), I knew I wanted to givethis issue more than a cursoryreading. I was delighted to findappreciations of Grand-AuntJane’s work in so many differentvoices. I really do think thatwomen of today appreciate JaneAusten much more than earliergenerations. These articlesdemonstrate that her socialanalysis was deep, insightful, andabiding in value, yet alwaystender and sympathetic. Some-times I myself feel that I am justnow catching up to her in myunderstanding of the warbetween the sexes (as anotherfavorite author, James Thurber,used to call it). Congratulationson a wonderful issue that I willsave on my bookshelf alongsidemy own favorite Austen work,Sense and Sensibility.

Christel Stevens (A72)

Constructive CriticismReading Mrs. Maschler’s “A Life” in the Winter 2007issue, I was reminded of a still-vivid comment that she wrote onan assignment submission ofmine during our freshmanscience [laboratory], 1986-1987.The assignment, allowing nowfor my failures of memory,consisted of observing for a timean animal, any animal, andreporting in writing on itsactions. I picked a turtle,because there was already at leastone in captivity at the college. I observed this turtle, which tomy knowledge was unnamed, for approximately one hour.Using the notes I compiled, I prepared a more formal essayfor submission. My only concreterecall of my submission was thatI likely anthropomorphosizedthe turtle’s actions to a degree(e.g., its banging its body intothe glass walls of its tank indi-cated a desire to exit the tank,etc.). While I didn’t quite “get”the assignment, I thought thatmy submission was well-writtenand satisfied the assignment’sobjectives. When the assign-ments were returned to the class,the following, solitary comment

was written on my submission,verbatim: “Nothing much cameof this.” I’m relatively sure thatwhatever measure of success I’veachieved since that day has beendue, in some small part, to over-coming that pithy dismissal.

Sandro Battaglia (A90)

Du Bois and McCarthyI can’t help (1) congratulatingyou on that wonderful storyabout Martin Dyer and “Web”Du Bois and (2) telling you myown story . . . It happened thesame year, 1952. I was a senior atYale Law School and chairman ofthe Yale Student Guild Chapter.We had invited Dr. Du Bois togive a lecture at the law school.The day before the event therewas a knock at my dormitorydoor which, when opened,revealed—I am not making thisup—two gentlemen in trenchcoats and Fedoras, flashing FBIbadges at me. “Oh boy,” I said tomyself, “there goes my legalcareer.” (The McCarthy witch-hunt was in full swing in thosedays, which entitles PresidentWeigle to a posthumouscommendation for inviting Dr. Du Bois to the college).

As it turned out, my two visitors wanted to interview meabout Peter Davies (class of1948), who had applied forconscientious objector status inthe draft. I waxed as eloquent asI could about Peter’s patriotism,high moral standards and sterling character and the factthat, since he was doing God’swork on earth, he must,according to St. Thomas,believe in God even though herefused to admit to such belief.(To merit CO status at the timeyou had to have a credible beliefin some kind of divinity.)

I also mentioned in passingthat Peter and I had spent theprevious summer in Israel on aproject sponsored by the Founda-tion for World Government,headed by Stringfellow Barr andScott Buchanan, to wit, severalweeks of research on whetherthe kibbutz was a workable

model for use in underdevel-oped countries. The twogentlemen … listened attentivelyand took copious notes. At theend, one of them asked if hecould read his notes back to mefor verification. When he got tothe part of the previous summer,said, “In 1951, subject and interviewee went to Israel tostudy underdeveloped Jews.”

The fact that I was able tomake the appropriate correctionwithout cracking up was one ofthe proudest achievements of mysenior year . The St. Thomasgambit did not get Peter out ofthe draft, but it may have helpedhim get into the MerchantMarines as alternate service. We have remained good friendsever since. The Du Bois lecturethe next day was a great success.

Peter Weiss, class of 1946

Corrections: An article on W.E.B. Du Bois in the winter2007 edition misidentified thelate husband of Priscilla Bender-Shore; his name was MerleShore.

A profile of Richard Field(SFGI98) in the fall 2006 issue ofThe College incorrectly reportedhis doctoral degree; he holds aPhD in exercise physiology.

Santa Fe tutor James Careywas misquoted in the sameissue; instead of being “faith-fully impressed with the cadets,”during his time as a visitingprofessor at the Air ForceAcademy, Mr. Carey was actually “favorably impressed.”

The College welcomes letters onissues of interest to readers.Letters may be edited for clarityand/or length. Those under 500 words have a better chanceof being printed in theirentirety. Please address lettersto: The College magazine, St. John’s College, Box 2800,Annapolis, MD 21404, or e-mail to: [email protected].

{ C a p i t a l C a m p a i g n }10


St. John’s College Santa FePresident Michael Petershad been on the job barely amonth when one of the firstmajor events of the CapitalCampaign was held in

Boston. “The Board of Visitors andGovernors made a decision to launch thecampaign at the same time they made thedecision to launch me,” he says.

The magnitude of a campaign to raise$125 million—more than triple theamount raised by the previous campaign—might have been daunting to a new collegepresident. But because so much of the

groundwork had been well-established,Mr. Peters says he “just stepped into thejob.” Although his presidency began atone of the most critical times in thecollege’s history and required him to get up to speed quickly, it also gave him an opportunity to get to know the commu-nity. Working with Annapolis presidentChris Nelson, he has met board members,alumni, parents, and other collegesupporters at campaign events across thecountry. He discovered how stronglyJohnnies feel about their alma mater, andsaw that non-alumni share the same fierceloyalty to St. John’s.

How the Campaign for St. John’s College isMaking a Difference in Santa Fe

“WITH A CLEAR ANDSINGLE PURPOSE”

by Gail Griffith

Much has transpired on theSanta Fe campus since Mr.Peters’ inauguration inOctober 2005, and thesuccess of the campaign thusfar gives him reason to feelconfident that some of thegoals he articulated early onare coming to fruition andothers are within reach. “Ibelieve it is important toestablish and maintain acampus community that isworthy of the program ofinstruction,” Mr. Peters says.“That means having theresources to make class-rooms as productive aspossible and to provide thekinds of services andresources both inside andoutside the classroom thatenhance the learning experi-ence for our students. It iscritical that we have not just adequate, but modern, facilities that provide the infrastructure to make this possible.”

Of the $125 million campaign goal, $49.5 million hasbeen earmarked for capital projects on the two campuses.The building projects included the renovation of Mellon

Hall and the construction oftwo new dormitories inAnnapolis; these have beenfunded and completed,thanks to gifts of $23.5million from alumni, parents,friends, and foundations.

In Santa Fe, campaignpriorities include a newGraduate Institute building,a new residential center, a setof campus improvementprojects, and renovationsand an addition to EvansScience Laboratory.

Fundraising for the SantaFe projects is progressingnicely, says Mr. Peters. Lastsummer, Dr. Norman Levan(SFGI74), gave the college a$5 million gift for construc-tion of a Graduate Institutecenter. An architect has beenhired, and the college has

engaged a local firm to help negotiate the complicatedprocess of securing required permits from the city ofSanta Fe. The building, to be situated between WeigleHall and the Fine Arts Building, will offer graduatestudents “a welcoming place to congregate in the centerof campus,” says Mr. Peters.

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{ C a p i t a l C a m p a i g n }

The college’s capital campaignseeks to address priorities thatwill sustain the Program andstrengthen the college.Funding these priorities willrequire $125 million. To date,$107 million has been raised.

FINANCIAL AID: $33 million for need-based aid.

FACULTY AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT:$34 million to increase facultysalaries to the median of peerinstitutions; provide facultydevelopment opportunities;develop Program-related

student instructional material(manuals and workbooks); and ensure small class sizes and1:8 tutor-to-student ratio.

STUDENT SERVICES: $3.5 millionto improve services to students,fund internship opportunities,and provide grants so thatelementary and secondaryteachers can attend the Graduate Institute.

ST. JOHN’S IMPROVEMENT FUND:$5 million for library collec-tions and laboratory equip-ment; improving Information

Technology infrastructure; staff professional developmentand compensation.

BUILDING PROJECTS ON THE

TWO CAMPUSES: $49.5 million forbuilding projects, including aSanta Fe dormitory, a GraduateInstitute Center in Santa Fe(funded), and the addition toand renovation of EvansScience Laboratory. The reno-vation of Mellon Hall and theaddition of two new dormito-ries in Annapolis are completed and fully funded.

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The Santa Fe Initiative, agroup of smaller-scale campusimprovement projects, hasbeen completed. The purposeof the initiative was to makethe kind of improvements thatwould affect the first impres-sion appearance of thecampus. The Campus CoreRenovation project, forexample, transformed theupper campus by replacingchipped and patched concretewith 105,000 bricks and reno-vating the koi pond.

In addition, the college nowhas pledges in hand to build anew residence hall, allowingthe campus to house 80percent of its students oncampus. Campaign ChairmanRonald Fielding (A70) haspledged $2.5 million towardthe construction of the dormi-tories, and the college receivedpledges and gifts of $7 millionfrom several other donors.

An Evolving Campus The bold move to establish a second campus of St. John’sCollege in 1964 presented challenges that the founders ofthe Santa Fe campus could not have imagined. Theprogram of instruction remained constant, but thedemands of adapting to both the distinctive physicalsurroundings and the needs of the growing student popu-lation have meant ongoing challenges. When, in 1967, theGraduate Institute was established in Santa Fe, the sizeand scope of the college’s educational mission expanded,

and with the launch of theEastern Classics program in1994, it was clear that the original footprint mapped outfor the Santa Fe campus was inadequate. “Having astructure dedicated to theGraduate Institute programson campus physically demon-strates the importance andcentrality of these programs,”says Mr. Peters.

The new center, Levan Hall,will hold classrooms, offices,and common rooms for grad-uate students. The building isbeing designed so that in thefuture, it will be possible to addan auditorium that can accom-modate the entire campuscommunity.

The Evans Science Labora-tory renovation and addition isthe most pressing unfundedcapital need for the campus,says Mr. Peters. The currentlabs are 30 years old, and thereare not enough of them toaccommodate the number of

laboratory classes that need to be scheduled. Expansion ofthe laboratory building calls for the addition of four newstate-of-the-art labs with adjoining prep areas and fourseminar rooms. Renovations will include installation ofnew multi-purpose workstations, safety equipment,chemical storage facilities, and improvements and repairsto the laboratory ventilation systems.

“It is critical that we have not just adequate, but modern, facilities.”Michael Peters, Santa Fe President

Ronald Fielding (A70) has pledged $2.5 million in a challenge grant for Santa Fe’s new residence hall.

A Community of LearnersAt 30,000 square feet, and with 60 beds, the new residen-tial complex in Santa Fe will allow the college to houseabout 80 percent of its undergraduate students oncampus. The new project will provide a more affordableand convenient housing option for students and supportthe college’s student recruitment efforts while providingmore opportunities for learning outside the classroom.

As is the case in Annapolis, some students will stillchoose to live off campus, even with additional housing.For Will Hollingsworth (SF08), moving off campus for hissophomore and junior years had some advantages, such asthe convenience of a kitchen. But it also removed himfrom the community in more than a physical way.“Moving off campus really severed my ties with a lot of friends—the dynamic shifts so much from year to year,”he says.

Because she found herself in a double room in a“gregarious dorm” for her first year, Betsy Hardin (SF08)sometimes found it hard to go about her work without

being distracted. On the other hand, being in a friendlyenvironment eased the social pressure of making friendsand adjusting to the campus and the Program. “I madegreat friends from that dorm,” she says. Living off campusduring her sophomore year was more challenging thanHardin expected. But a Johnnie life doesn’t leave a lot oftime for chores like grocery shopping.

Ensconced in a suite on campus this past year, Hardinfound a happy medium. She enjoyed the conveniences ofthe dorm without the distractions of a double, along withthe conveniences of a kitchen. “I often make breakfast formyself and it’s a nice way to start the day,” she says.

When the new dorm is open and ready for students,more Johnnies will find that balance of community andindependence. x


{ C a p i t a l C a m p a i g n } 13

The Santa Fe Initiative, paid for in part by gifts to the capitalcampaign, included the transformation of the central campusarea. Still to come: The Norman and Betty Levan Hall, a centerfor the Graduate Institute; major renovations in Evans ScienceLaboratory; and a new residence hall for Santa Fe.



14

“Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to knowmen.” Confucian Analects, 20:3.iii

When a pilot program of the Institute forthe Study of Eastern Classics began in thefall of 1992, Meem Library accordinglystarted to develop a collection to supportthese studies. At that time the library hadjust a few copies of the primary texts.

The librarians thus had the joy of building essentially a brandnew collection. Thankfully, the Lounsbery Foundation and theBradley Foundation provided generous grants to fund the institute that also provided for enhancing the library’s collection.

The tutors involved with the pilot program gave Inga Waite,then library director, lists of book recommendations, and thelibrary staff went to work ordering and processing the texts.The initial inventory of texts included just one copy each of 130 recommended readings. In 1994, the college enrolled itsfirst students in the Eastern Classics master’s program. Thelibrary now needed to support a new curriculum—without anadequate budget increase. Book donations and gifts made thegrowth of the collection possible. In 1998 the William H. &Mattie Wattis Harris Foundation gave the college a $10,000grant for Eastern Classics acquisitions, allowing the college topurchase multiple copies of program readings and alleviatingsome financial burden for students. The library also acquiredtranslation tools such as grammars and dictionaries as well assignificant secondary materials.

The library continues to depend on gifts to fund Eastern Clas-sics collection development. The Harris Foundation gave thelibrary two moregrants in 2004 and2006. Eastern Classicsalumni have beengenerous donors, too.Recently, one alumnuswho wishes to remainanonymous gave thelibrary a gift of$20,000. A tutorcommittee identifiedauthors and texts tofocus developmentefforts on, includingChuang Tzu, Confucius, Dogen,Nagarjuna, Shankara,Sima Qian, TheMahabharata, ThePali Sutras, The Tale of Genji, and the

Upanishads. The goal is to create a broad, more comprehensivecollection to support the study of these primary readings.

Increasing the depth of the collection will provide tutors with resources for their own inquiry, says Graduate InstituteDirector Krishnan Venkatesh. “The library collection is essential for faculty development,” he says. Having effectivelanguage learning tools is important as well because bothstudents and tutors depend on library resources to enhancetheir study of either Sanskrit or classical Chinese. The languagerequirement for the Eastern Classics degree sets St. John’s apartfrom other Eastern studies programs, and Meem Library hasspecialized tools such as the Sanskrit Atlas, Ralph Swentzell’sclassical Chinese program, and other language software.

In addition to focusing on program-related materials, Meem Library plans to supplement its book collection withmovies and music that can offer a historical setting to the readings. Mr. Venkatesh suggests that such materials “canprovide a cultural context for places that can be quite foreign forsome of our students.” These resources will likewise serve asanother avenue for introducing the Eastern Classics program toundergraduates and Santa Fe residents who use the library.

As Meem Library expands its collection, it continues to facethe challenge of maintaining the physical condition of its printmaterials. Most of the books that come from India have poorbindings and acidic paper. The library often sends these booksto a professional bindery to be rebound. Many classic Indiantexts are now available in beautiful editions as part of the ClaySanskrit Library, a bilingual series co-published by New YorkUniversity Press and the JJC Foundation. Another challenge in maintaining the collection is the regular wear on books in

circulation, requiringthe frequent purchaseof replacement copies.

Collection develop-ment is truly a dynamicprocess, and the libraryis deeply grateful forthose donors who havesupported this ongoingendeavor. x

New Program, New Collectionby Jennifer SpragueMeem Library Director

The Meem Library’scollection expandedwith the launch of the Eastern Classicsmaster’s program in 1994.



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Areputableacademic library,regardless of itssize or age, mustconvey uponscrutiny an

informed and knowledgeableoversight of its collection. Thelegacy of the college librarians onthe Annapolis campus reveal aninformed, thoughtful pattern ofdecisions over time that haveshaped the collection of today’sGreenfield Library.

The selection, care, andpreservation of a unique collection depends on adequatefunding and a sustainable, long-range acquisitions budget.Every year 75 to 150 titles are lostor damaged irreparably. Bookreplacement costs are absorbedinto a general books budget, andmost years we exhaust thelibrary’s funds in acquiringmultiple copies for replacements.Our paper-based periodicalsincrease in price 7 to 20 percentevery year. Yet our needs extendbeyond the quid pro quo replace-ment of books that circulate, orthe acquisition of the periodicalsthat our community loves to readin the library’s hidden nooks.The age of the Annapoliscampus’ collection mandates that we acquire conservation fundsfor the rarer books that represent a real treasure for our campusand our college. We need to turn our attention to the urgent careand feeding of the older collection.

The library’s primary collection remains, of course, theProgram title works. We also acquire other works written byProgram authors. We carefully select the original texts ofcontemporary authors of the canon authors. This historicalcontinuity in our collection development contributes to theintrinsic value of our collection overall and defines the uniquecharacter of the library. Another of our legacies is a small butimpressive collection of rare books, many of which have directties to Program readings.

For example, we are fortunate to have in our rare bookscollection a first edition of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, printedin 1651 in London by the Printer for Andrew Crooke at the Green

Dragon in St.Paul’s Church-yard.Its publication history revealsthat there are three Leviathaneditions bearing this sameimprint. These editions aregenerally known as the “head,”“bear,” and “ornament,” namedfor the ornaments that appear onthe title pages. The “head” is thefirst edition, and this is our copy.

Our copy of the Leviathan isextremely valuable from aprinting history perspective; it isalso in disrepair. Its ailmentsinclude a previously leatherreback of only modest quality,pervasive red rot, and damagefrom rodents. The frontispiece isdetached, along with severalleaves. The paper is soiled. It isan excellent candidate forrestoration by a professionalconservator.

Acquiring such funds for thisbook, and for the 100 or sonotable other titles in our rarebook collection is a worthy goalfor additional library funds. The restoration of these titles,estimated at up to $10,000 perbook, should be a priority for thelibrary over the next decade.

These rare books are directlyrelated to the circulating collec-tion in that they represent the

first appearance of a Program work, the first in the line of continuity. The Leviathan’s imprint history includes themodern editions by Oakeshott, Lindsay, Waller, and Curley. We have these editions in our circulating collection.

Another book that is a prime candidate for conservationtreatment is an incubula title of St. Augustine, a 1486 Veniceimprint of De Civitate Dei. Only three other identical works areknown to exist in the world.

At St. John’s College, “the books are the teachers,” and theheart of the Greenfield Library’s collection will always be thecirculating collection. Books are the constant companions ofour students and tutors, the friends of all friends. We who advocate for the library appreciate the continuing and valuableinvestment that alumni and friends of the college continue tomake to the Greenfield Library. x

Great Books, Rare Booksby Andrea LambGreenfield Library Director

A 17th-century copy of LEVIATHAN is among the Greenfieldlibrary’s treasures.

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As they have for many years on theAnnapolis campus, the freshman classgathered in the Great Hall for its springchoral performance. The last notes ofSicut locutus est from Bach’s Magnificathung in the air as the upperclassmenand tutors in the balcony sounded theirapproval. This year’s performance—byan unusually large freshman class

crowded into the hall—was outstanding, many told tutor PeterKalkavage as he gathered up his scores. “They were very good,weren’t they?” he agreed.

J.P. Snyder (A10), who doesn’t enjoy singing, was just relievedit was over. “I’m very flat, I’m just good at hiding it,” heconfessed. Freshman chorus and sophomore music are parts ofthe Program he’ll have to endure; laboratory and math have hispassion. “Honestly? If I could avoid music, I would,” heconfesses.

Music wasn’t part of Barr and Buchanan’s original plan whenthey came to St. John’s in 1937; it first appeared in the 1949-50academic year. Dynamic personalities such as Victor Zuck-erkandl and tutor Douglas Allanbrook shaped the developmentof music in the early years in Annapolis, and the college’sapproach to music has been fine-tuned many times on bothcampuses. Music is an integral part of the Program, an essentialliberal art, says Santa Fe Dean Victoria Mora. “Music is part ofour humanity,” she says. “Our reason and our passions cometogether in the study of music. Fundamental questions about

this relationship between reason and the passions arise and areaddressed.”

Both campuses are focusing their efforts on the musicprogram this coming year. In the fall, Santa Fe will makechanges in its approach to teaching music in freshman year. Thissummer, Santa Fe faculty will meet in a study group to refine anddevelop materials for sophomore music, with a goal of makingthem more broadly accessible and less reliant on individuals’expertise. “I don’t think there is a big debate here in Santa Feabout trying to get more tutors to teach the music program,”says tutor John Cornell. “Our purpose is going to be to improvethe access even further.”

In Annapolis, where there are no changes planned tofreshman chorus, faculty will meet in a study group designed tobetter prepare tutors for teaching sophomore music for the firsttime. Proposed by Dean Michael Dink (A75) to address hisconcern that more faculty need to be involved in sophomoremusic, the study groups will be paired with released time toallow faculty to audit the second half of sophomore music. Planscall for an inter-campus exchange of faculty to learn from theinnovations in place on each campus, and the college’s jointInstruction Committee will review the results.

A New Approach in Santa FeCornell and tutor Ned Walpin in Santa Fe will lead the campus’revamped freshman music program, carrying out an idea devel-oped by Peter Pesic, tutor and musician-in-residence. “We wereat an impasse over what to do,” says Santa Fe tutor John Cornell

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{ T h e P r o g r a m }

by Rosemary Harty

“ S I N G , G O D D E S S ”Music and the Program

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says. “We could see our management of 110 freshman in choruswas not worthy of St. John’s students. Peter had the brainstorm.It’s somewhat daring, but at the same time, it’s totally inkeeping with the St. John’s program of instruction: to sit at thatcommon table.”

Freshman music (its provisional name) will depart from theexclusively choral approach and will be organized as tutorialsfocusing on Gregorian chant and ancient music theory. Thematerial in the first five weeks of sophomore music will moveinto the freshman year, but students will still sing, and often incombined groups. “Those five weeks are focused on the Grego-rian chant, and a significant portion of the time is spentsinging,” says Walpin. “We’ll have about six sections offreshman music and each tutorial will meet as the same time asanother, so that there will be two tutorials meeting at the sametime. Those tutorials will get together regularly to sing so that atleast 30 people will be singing together at all times. Then, therewill be all-college events where all freshmen will get together tosing as a whole chorus, and they will be singing the pieces thatthey have been studying and singing in their tutorials.”

Walpin expects that the tutorial approach will give studentsthe fundamentals they need to get more out of singing, pavingthe way for an even more productive sophomore music tutorial.“With this new structure, we are giving them reasons to singbecause they’ve been learning how to interpret a melody, whatmakes a piece have a beginning, middle, and end. When theyunderstand what they’re hearing, the singing will becomecrucially fulfilling for them.”

A required freshman chorus, Pesic believes, is antithetical tothe ideals of the Program. “Students come to St. John’s to talk toeach other,” he says.

Music is included on the St. John’s Program because theancients accorded music a place among the liberal arts; theyunderstood it as one of the essential functions of the mind,associated with the power to grasp number and measure.

pete

r h

ow

ard

“Other tutors have said that chorus is often the place where the freshman class becomes a class.”

Tom May, tutor

continued on p. 19

18



The three musical works that have been perennialin our seminar list are a passion, an opera, and amusic-drama. They are all settings of narrativesthat can sustain a discussion apart from themusic. But in the late 1950s the seminar listincluded quite a few works of music that were

wordless, such as the Goldberg Variations, the Rite of Spring,and (along with the Ninth, that does blossom into verse) theFifth and Eighth Symphonies of Beethoven. These works of so-called “pure” music were among the losses when (in the early’60s) the list was decimated in order to make room for thepreceptorials. As with some of the scientific readings, and theplays of Molière and Racine, we had the excuse that the workswere already being discussed at length in the tutorials. But thelost music seminars were scarcely regretted, for it was widelythought that it required a particular talent to lead a seminar ona musical work that had no plot or poem to fall back on.

Yet Victor Zuckerkandl, who designed the music tutorial,said to me more than once that if we eliminated the music semi-nars from the program, the music tutorial should go, too. Itwas well known that Zuckerkandl himself could get any groupof people to talk about music, as well as about almost anythingelse. But I gathered that for him the chief aim of the tutorialwas to provide the students with the wherewithal for talkingabout music in the seminar, even when they didn’t have aninspiring conductor.

Zuckerkandl’s successor as leader of the music tutorial wasDouglas Allanbrook, who disliked music seminars, and didnothing to defend them. At the same time, despite his fondnessfor Zuckerkandl and their friendship, he had an aversion toZuckerkandl’s view of music, which Allanbrook characterizedas Ton-Wille—the tones somehow had a will of their own–andattributed it to windy philosophical music-lovers such asSchopenhauer. Zuckerkandl’s notion of music as a messagefrom another world was as remote as possible from Allan-brook’s down-to-earth New England view that composers puttones together to delight us, and possibly move us, with imita-tions of our own motions.

The music tutorial had to be justified as worth doing apartfrom music seminars. From the beginning, the most venerablejustification lay easily at hand. Music, after all, had been part ofthe traditional liberal arts, and the music tutorial rounded outour study of the quadrivium. As in the laboratory and the math-ematics tutorial (and, less systematically, in the language tuto-rial) we are invited to learn and think about the elements of asubject. The compounding of intervals gives us an audibleexample of the compounding of ratios in Book Five of Euclid.And there is a unique correspondence between the two-to-oneratio of pitches in the physical world, and the universal humanresponse to that simplicity when we recognize the sameness asan octave.

It is worth studying the first chapter of Zuckerkandl’s text-book—let alone his remarkable theoretical works—with a view tohow little he accounts for the power of music by adducing thearithmetic correspondences that elated the Pythagoreans. Ithink I can safely assert that for him the Miracle of the Octave issomething other than our response to the simple ratio.

We are fortunate to have a music tutorial with this doubleorigin. We ought to become more aware of what it means tohold the Grand View or the Practical View, and embrace theargument between them as our domestic dialectic. x

On the Double Origin of the Music TutorialBy Elliott Zuckerman (HA95)tutor emeritus

Annapolis photographer Dimitri Fotos captures this portraitof Elliot Zuckerman (HA95) for Fotos’ “Facing the Music”series.

19

He believes the changes help make music amore integral part of freshman year. “This willhappen just when students are discoveringancient mathematics and ancient philosophy,which I think is ideal in that way,” he says. “Italso allows the students to learn the elements ofmusic as they’re discussing what the elements really mean, asthey do with Euclid and everything else.”

Mora likes Pesic’s approach and suggests that it more fullyintegrate music into the rest of the Program, particularly infreshman year. “Just as students come to understand theelements of mathematics by discussing them as well as bydemonstrating them on the board, so too will they learn theelements of music by discussing them as well as practicing themby singing,” she says.

A Study Group for Sophomore MusicWhile Annapolis plans to continue freshman chorus as it is, thissummer it will take the first step toward making more tutorscomfortable leading sophomore music. Dink understands whysome tutors on his campus are intimidated. In his 26 years at St. John’s, he has yet to lead sophomore music, although heaudited it during one of his sabbaticals. As do many tutors, Dinkworries his lack of musical training will hamper his effectivenessin class. “I may be at the extreme end of the spectrum in termsof lack of preparation, but there are people who have played an instrument who still feel sophomore music would be a chal-lenge,” he says.

Throughout the years in Annapolis, musical tutors haveapplied their expertise to reshaping sophomore music to makeit more accessible for their nonmusical colleagues. When BillPastille came to St. John’s in 1986 (with a PhD in music fromCornell), only about a dozen tutors were willing to teach music.When he revamped the curriculum in Annapolis in 1989,Pastille built the tutorial around Zuckerkandl’s The Sense ofMusic and created a supplementary series of tapes for tutors andstudents. “We made the tutorial more accessible, and we didmanage to sign up a whole bunch of new people,” he says.

That curriculum lasted a decade in Annapolis, before it waschanged again. Today, in addition to Zuckerkandl’s text, thecampus uses a manual called “Materials for Sophomore Music,” an ordered sequence of readings and musical examples.Although it was designed to make the tutorial more accessible tomore tutors, many are still reluctant to volunteer.

However, the music tutorial needs trueamateurs, Pastille says. “When I’m teachingsomething I’m not an expert in—say freshmanlab–I can enter into class discussions on a levelmuch closer to the students. It’s almost impos-sible for me to do that in music,” he says.“When you’re too inclined to see things that thestudents probably can’t see, you can let a lot of

fundamental questions go unasked.”Beginning this summer, Annapolis will have in place a system

for bringing more faculty into the tutorial. Seven tutors havesigned up for an eight-week study group to be led by tutor PeterKalkavage. In each of the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years,two tutors who have participated in the study group and who areteaching the tutorial in the first semester will gain a station ofreleased time in the second semester in order to audit anothermusic tutorial. “The college hasn’t had something like this in place before,” he says. “You were either daring enough tojump in to music, or you weren’t,” he says, acknowledging that“it can be scary. If you haven’t had music training or you feel youdon’t have a taste for it, it can look like the most difficult part ofthe Program.”

Chorus Goes On Freshman chorus will continue as before in Annapolis; indeed,Tom May can’t imagine the college without the freshmanchorus. “I find it absolutely exhilarating,” he says. May hasspent much of his life immersed in music; as a seminarian, hewas a choir director, and he later found a job singing sacredmusic in an Episcopal church. He has always been impressed bythe place music held in the Program, and he believes that it isespecially important now, at a time when public and privateschools invest fewer resources in music.

Preparing students with different backgrounds to tacklesophomore music together remains the prime focus of freshmanmusic. Some students are experienced musicians; others can’tread a note of music when they come to St. John’s. “How arepeople with that wide a range going to be able to talk to eachother? We have students who’ve had a great deal of technicaltraining but they’ve never sung. Freshman chorus performs asimilar role in the music program to that of the practica in the laboratory program, in giving a class a common experienceof the phenomena—it’s for this reason as much as any other thatI believechorus is such a vital part of the way we learn here,”May says.


“You were eitherdaring enough to

jump into music oryour weren’t.”

Peter Kalkavage, Tutor


continued

20



Among the diverseprojects under-taken at St. John’sCollege, none ismore remarkablethan our music

program. Beside music conserva-tories, I know very few othercolleges where all students studymusic. Moreover, our study ofmusic is unique in its approachand scope, not simply “musicappreciation,” music history, ortheory. I would like to describehow this approach has developedhere in Santa Fe, where I havehad the privilege of beinginvolved with this program overthe past 25 years.

Before then, our musicprogram had been led by suchdistinguished and talented tutorsas the late Michael Ossorgin andSam Brown, accomplished musicians who emphasizedcertain masterworks that remainfixtures of our music tutorials:Bach’s St. Matthew Passion,Mozart’s Don Giovanni,Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde—thatunique trilogy about passion.About 1980, Dean Robert Bartasked Ralph Swentzell to rethinkthe music tutorial so that it wouldbe more open to tutors who did not feel they had a specializedbackground in music. In his unforgettable way, Ralph took this project to heart and produced an amazing historicalcompendium of music and theoretical writings, the basis of theprogram we still do in Santa Fe, which remains indebted toRalph’s foundational vision, even as it has been shaped andrefined by many colleagues since then.

In my view, the heart of our music program is a dialoguebetween ancients and moderns. For music is not simply theexpressive art it became over the past centuries, but needs to be understood in reference to two parallel traditions, both extending back to antiquity. For clarity, let me use theterminology introduced by a crucial figure in the story,Vincenzo Galilei, Galileo’s father, who distinguished two “practices” in ancient and modern music. His “first practice”(prima prattica) is exemplified by the ancient “music of thespheres,” which is essentially passionless and eternal, a paragon

of beauty and cosmic order. Only afew fragments remain of ancientGreek music, but Gregorian chantrepresents this first practice.Chant is essentially monophonic,a single beautiful melodic linethat generally does not aim foremotional expressivity. Forexample, the same chant melodycould be used to set “sad” as wellas “happy” texts.

Our sophomores begin with amonth of singing various chantsand reading Boethius (who trans-mitted ancient musical theory to the West), each studentcomposing a chant to a given text,which the class then sings anddiscusses. Beginning with a kindof music unfamiliar to almosteveryone (whether musicallytrained or not) allows fresh consid-eration of the elements of music.We then consider the momentousand mysterious transition topolyphony, the interweaving ofseveral independent voices socharacteristic of Western musicalart, so strikingly absent fromancient practice (or from worldmusic in general). This leads to amonth devoted to the polyphonicart as developed by such masters asPalestrina and taught by Fux’s

celebrated dialogue Gradus ad Parnassum, which taught Bach,Mozart, and Beethoven the art of counterpoint and whose exercises we also do. Our touchstone is Palestrina’s motet “Sicutcervus,” a theme-song on both campuses, its haunting beauty afitting epitome of music’s first practice.

The crucial transition between ancient and modern musicmay have begun even before the parallel, momentous transitions in mathematics, philosophy, and natural science thatwe study in other parts of our Program. Their seminal worksdate from around 1600; our music tutorials treat ClaudioMonteverdi’s L’Orfeo (1607) as the pivotal work. In it, LaMusica herself steps forward and announces that she caninflame the iciest heart, “now with noble anger, now with love.”Monteverdi here puts into action the aspirations of VincenzoGalilei and others who wanted to revive the Greek drama and itsincomparable emotional power, which they thought the firstpractice had wrongly ignored.

Music is an integral part of the “great adventure” thatis St. John’s, says Tutor Peter Pesic.

A Dialogue between Ancients and Modernsby Peter Pesic

21



Their “second practice” (secunda prattica) was explicitlydesigned to seize power over human passions, as La Musica hadproclaimed, as Orfeo fatefully enacts. This new Orpheus is themaster of a reborn art—opera— that can move mute stones andeven infernal powers, but in the end Orfeo is mastered by his ownpassions, loosing Eurydice to a second death after having wonher back from her first. Thus Monteverdi, crafting the firstmasterwork of the second practice, also foresaw its tragicdilemma, incarnate in Orfeo himself; near the same time,Francis Bacon’s mythical retellings also foresaw the powers andtragic possibilities of the new science he envisioned.

Thus emerged a deep dialogue betweenbeauty (the ideal of the first practice) andpower (the goal of the second), a dialoguethat continues to this day and had in factalready begun in ancient times, for Platodescribed both the music of the spheres andearthly modes capable of ruining the soulthrough sensuous indulgence or firing it tocourage. Our music tutorials explore theharmonic art that Monteverdi pioneered, an art that went on to empower the greatmasterworks of Bach, Mozart, and Wagnermentioned above. For them, the controlleduse of ever-stronger and more unstabledissonances is crucial, reminding us of thetransition from the fixed Aristotelian earthto the mysteriously movable condition of

Newtonian planets or from unalterable chemical elements toradioactive instability.

As we explore these works of musical and scientific imagination, we draw close to the sources of their immensepowers and also confront the attendant questions those powersimply. In the story of Orpheus, the project of power reacts onitself; our music program concludes by considering modernmasterworks that turn from ever-intensified expressivity toreconsider the first practice and its austere ecstasies, works byDebussy, Stravinsky, Webern, Messiaen, Arvo Pärt. Thus theopening question posed by the two practices—by beauty and

power—resounds from past to future.Throughout, we aspire to a complete

musical experience, encompassinglistening, singing, reading, discussing,composing, analyzing, playing. Next year,we will experiment in Santa Fe with a newformat for freshman music as normal tutorials, rather than a single large chorus,so as to encourage the discussions that arethe lifeblood of St. John’s classes.

As with so much of St. John’s Program, ourstudy of music is rightly a work in progress,always trying to improve, grow, and deepen.This great adventure, artistic and philosoph-ical, has opened new vistas for me, in my owneducation, as I hope it will continue to do formany others, now and in the future. x

“Throughout, weaspire to a completemusical experience,

encompassinglistening, singing,

reading, discussing,composing,

analyzing, playing.”

There’s another benefit as well, one importantto the shaping of community. “It’s amazing thatwe ask all of our students to sing together,” hesays. “Other tutors have said that chorus is oftenthe place where the freshman class becomes aclass.” During spring performances of thechorus, upperclassmen on the balcony will oftenchime in on some of the songs. During the SeniorDinner each spring, students join their tutors in singingfavorite selections from freshman chorus, and alumni at Homecoming speak fondly of their freshman chorus memories,he says.

Students of lesser ability would be unlikely to have this expe-rience to stretch themselves, he says. “The whole is greaterthan the sum of its parts,” says May. “Students get a sense of

being in the presence of music in a way that isultimately unforgettable. At the end, they knowif it’s going to work, we have to work hard—andthey do, year after year.”

Kalkavage, who has shared chorus duties withMay for many years, believes freshman chorus isnot only a tradition in Annapolis, but an excellentway to introduce students to “making music.”

Certainly some students never take to music, yet he observedthat year after year, many Johnnies develop confidence in theirsinging and discover a great love for great music. “It’s a thrill toget students together and watch them discover their musicality,”he says. x

“Our reason andour passions

come together inthe study of

music.”Victoria Mora, Santa Fe Dean

{ T h e C o l l e g e • John’s College • Spring 2007 }

{ P o p C u l t u r e }22

Pop culture is easy, fun, prevalent, comforting,and of-the-moment. The great books aredense, rigorous, distant, provocative, andold. Can they coexist without mocking eachother? The question has implications beyondthe movies Johnnies choose to see or musicthey download to their iPods. It touches onsome deeply felt beliefs about a St. John’seducation and Johnnies in the wider world. Is

it odd to finish up a seminar reading on, say, the gospel of John, andthen settle down for a good listen to the new wave of Swedish deathmetal? Is it snobbish to think one shouldn’t spend time on fleetingfads with so much rich material in the canon?

Consider the (apparent) tension between pop culture and the St. John’s culture. In one corner, there is a peculiar St. John’sculture where, according to the college’s creeds, dialogue is king.The campus is characterized by the reading of great books, earnestconversations, tweedy traditions involving waltzing and pipe-smoking, and all-around bookishness. In the other corner, there ispop culture. A broad definition begins with media—music, TVshows, movies, and the pervasive buzz that the Internet and advertising emit—and its fundamental connection with certain keyingredients: mass appeal, commercialism, consumerism, and transience. In short, the St. John’s culture is anchored where popfloats; limited, where pop is universal; and for the inner, where pop concerns itself with the outward. Nothing about what is doneat St. John’s is “quick!,” “e-z!,” or “for a limited time only!”

Pop culture is entertainment, not education. So why make thecomparison? In 1937 Scott Buchanan, the first dean of St. John’sunder the new Program, wrote in the Bulletin of St. John’s College:“Ultimately the ends of liberal education are the intellectual

virtues, the development of the capacities from which they come,and the integration of the characters to which they contribute.”That is, the intellectual virtues should not be left at the door asstudents exit the classroom. Stringfellow Barr (who published anovel and a cookbook along with academic works) said that whileimmersion in the Program will foster a taste for higher things, theSt. John’s alumnus can still find riches in the culture of his times:“From his constant association with the first-rate, he will haveacquired a distaste for the second-rate, the intellectually cheap andtawdry; but he will have learned to discover meaning in things thatmost people write off as vulgar,” he wrote in a 1939 report.

The St. John’s education seems to have the power to elevatehigher pursuits over popular ones, but should it?

Three ViewsAs pop culture and the St. John’s culture contend for attention,some tension arises. In a college-wide survey asking currentstudents for their opinion about the relationship of pop culture andthe St. John’s culture, at least three differing viewpoints surfaced.

Many students saw no connection at all between what they do asstudents and what they do as pop culture consumers. Thesestudents turn to pop simply for relaxation and entertainment. “Popculture functions like Reality,” says Kayla Gamin (A08). “Itprovides emotional release, social lubrication, and a way to grouppeople into social sets distinguished by their tastes in music andentertainment.” There are many college-wide symptoms of popculture, such as film clubs, video games, and dance parties. Therelatively few TVs on campus (rapidly becoming obsolete thanks to laptops with streaming video and DVD players) have somefaithful watchers. One group of students gathered every Tuesdaynight to follow the sensational life of the misanthropic House of the

P O P J O H N N I E SIn the examined life, is there room for Shakespeare and Shakira?

by Emily DeBusk (A06)

{ T h e C o l l e g e • John’s College • Spring 2007 }

{ P o p C u l t u r e } 23

“Art is a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist’s metaphysical value judgments. An artist recreates those aspects of

reality which represent his fundamental view of man’s nature.”Marcel Proust

“I want to be an artist that everyone can relate to, that’s young, happy and fun.”

Britney Spears, singer

rap

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{ P o p C u l t u r e }24

eponymous Fox TV show. (Again, the intertwining of pop and theProgram was startling; one Johnnie read his lab manual duringcommercial breaks.)

Pop culture is also used as a source of information about what’sgoing “out there.” Cloistered by size, geography (Santa Fe), and arelatively closed curriculum, St. John’s can seem to be a world of itsown, and it is a constant struggle to be engaged in the present aswell as the past. “The world is so large,” says Annapolis tutor EvaBrann, an unapologetic fan of monster truck rallies, Louis L’Amournovels and Law and Order. “I don’t want to be totally out of it.Whatever it is they like, I want to know about it. Our students don’twant to cut themselves off.”

Another group of students views pop culture as a distraction. “Ithink the most disturbing part of [pop culture] is how reason justisn’t there,” says Liz Curry (A07). “There are things about it thatshould bother us. Everything is so emotionally driven, and it’s thevery excess of emotion that is praised. I don’t think it should bestudied, but engaged. We won’t always be reading and talking aboutthese books, so there’s got to be a way for the things we do here toresonate with people in general. I think Johnnies in particular havethe power to give another perspective from pop culture that’s notnecessarily elitist or bookish. There’s a way that these books live forus as much as pop culture lives for others.”

Tristan Chambers (SF08) goes beyond wariness to outrightdisdain. He sees a connection between the nature of pop cultureand the rhetorician Socrates warns about in his dialogues. “Most ofpop media is morally debasing and it obfuscates the truth on alllevels,” Chambers says. “I feel like pop culture panders to our vicesas Socrates says the rhetorician panders to our vices and moreanimalistic urges. Pop media wants your attention, and its mainmeans is to appeal to basic urges, which are harder to endure ormanage. I think it’s bad for our souls. These media generators areunconcerned with what’s true or false, but are more interested inmanipulating for effect. Pop reflects that rhetorical attitude in itssound bytes, one-sided stories, and advertising.”

Still others are simply not attracted to pop. This group choosesinstead to be entertained and inspired by media that is too eclectic,old-fashioned, or avant-garde to rightly be called pop. Zack Hay(A08), for example, listens to records of Moondog, a blind musicianwho busked on the streets of New York City and made his owninstruments—a far cry from Billboard’s Top 100. “I’ve just alwayshad an inclination to look for things in obscurity, not things that are

readily available,” Hay explains, “because there is a tendency, Ithink, in all cultures, to overlook a lot of things, which do notdeserve to be—if something is just a little bit weird, it just getsthrown by the wayside. I always take delight in knowing that there’salways a little pocket of these alternatively-minded people scatteredabout the world, now, and historically.”

Fleeting Fads vs. Great WorksIn trying to pinpoint the tension between pop culture and the St. John’s culture, it is tempting to think it is simply a matter ofaesthetic quality. Just compare the newest American Idol’s hitsingle to Mozart and voila! the one withers in the shadow of the other. The music and literature of the Program is mainly“high” culture (Mozart, Milton) with a bit of counter culture(Marx, Baudelaire), and nothing that could be classified as modernpop. Yet it is too simplistic to take the omission as an a prioricondemnation by St. John’s of pop culture. “There are obviousquality distinctions between the best and the worst forms of hip-hop, and this is true of classical music as well,” says Santa Fetutor David Carl, who is routinely described as a “cool” tutor bystudents. “The best hip hop is better than the worst classical music,so aesthetic value cannot be determined simply based on what partof culture (popular or ‘high’) something participates in.”

Hollywood produces a few good films each year, the recordingindustry manages to produce work by good artists, and some television shows “are not simply a waste of time,” says Carl. “Howto distinguish between what I would call ‘good’ and ‘bad’ culture(pop or otherwise) is the challenge,” he maintains.

Annapolis tutor Mera Flaumenhaft posits that the real danger ofpop culture in the St. John’s community is more of a how than awhat. “Everything goes so fast, everything is loud, and many thingshappen at once,” she says. “One of the best things we do at St. John’s is develop the habit of slowing down. This is a placewhere people look carefully at something: a tree, a sentence, amath demonstration, a difficult argument. We look for a long timeand with other people. We ask questions, converse, and look again.This way of life makes our encounters with everything, includingpopular culture, more thoughtful and more interesting.”

Brann submits that these habits are the means to meet the challenge Carl speaks of: “Going through the Program is theshaping of taste,” she says. “If you have thought about really goodworks, it gives you the tools to think about the difference about the

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”Albert Einstein

“For me, just being on the cover of a magazine wasn’t enough. I began to think,what value is there in doing something in which you have no creative input?”

Elle Macpherson, model


{ P o p C u l t u r e } 25

good and the bad. You ask yourself‘What about this will pass away?’What revives?’ ”

Pop and the JohnniesPervading the general attitudes ofSt. John’s students towards pop oncampus, there was a reluctance totreat pop culture as a singlewhole, to be entirely accepted orrejected. Perhaps this is becausefor those who tune into popculture with their minds as well astheir headphones (and somedeliberately choose not to engagetheir minds) the movies, TVshows, and commercials born ofpop are raw source of informationabout the human condition.

Kim Paffenroth (A88), an associate professor of ReligiousStudies at Iona College, devoteeof heavy metal and classic TVscience fiction, and author of(most recently) Gospel of theLiving Dead: George Romero’sVision of Hell on Earth, has foundplenty of material in pop cultureto engage him. “I think St. John’steaches you to take ideas and textsseriously, analyzing them withhabits of curiosity and interrogation,” he says. “I apply that tocurrent pop culture. There is writing out there that tries to fit popinto some post-modern analysis, but I try not to bring any theoret-ical baggage. I just give it a close reading. I don’t think all of popdeserves this approach, but some does.” In Paffenroth’s opinion,to reject pop culture “guarantees that you are regarded as irrele-vant and disconnected from the larger world that we live in. [At St. John’s] what one strives for is not so much to refine your taste,but to refine your analytical skills and to analyze what is valuable.”

In other words, within the morass of pop lie shreds of the verysame kinds of questions—of philosophy, art, political science,

faith—that Johnnies bring to theseminar table. Carl points out thatShakespeare and Aristophanesmight be considered the popculture of their day. Someday, St. John’s students might bereading the lyrics of 21st-centurypop songs or movie screenplays,but by then these works will haveoutgrown the pop label. Couldstudents in some future tutorialbe examining the film Fight Clubfor truths about the human condition in the same way we nowconsider Fleurs de Mal?

St. John’s treasures the oldbecause it endures, but it doesn’treject all in current times. “Pop culture is something like the Blob in that old SteveMcQueen movie,” observes Carl.“It consumes everything in itspath that it thinks it can get some-thing from, and this means that a few truly good things (maybeeven great things) will getconsumed along with all theworthless trash.”

The real struggle between popculture and the St. John’s cultureseems one of dominance; “The

St. John’s way” has ambitions to be an integral part of a Johnnie’slife. So does pop culture. The consumer is meant to buy what hesees, think what she listens to, and not worry about time fordialogue or “unplugged” reflection. “Life is too short to listen tobad music and read bad books and watch bad movies,” says Carl.“Pop culture offers to do all the choosing for us, but I think we arebetter off getting out in the world and discovering for ourselveswhich music, books, television, and movies are worthy of ourtime.” This is where free people, living examined lives, politelydecline pop’s offer. x

“At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet.”Plato

“We all feel love, and that might sound kind of corny, but I really feel that’swhat joins musicians together around the world.”

Enrique Iglesias, singer

Elizabeth Burlington (A08) takes a break from Hobbes tocatch up on Slash.

emil

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ebu

sk

{ V i s u a l T h i n k e r s }


26

Questioning is at the heart of discovery forthese artists who move beyond words to

shape clay, carve wood, and paint.

Smart HandsIn 2005, Betsy Williams (SF87) and her partner Mark Saxe, a stonesculptor, opened Rift Gallery in Rinconada, N.M. Functionalpieces designed for daily use are the foundation of her work,complemented by objects for contemplation and display.

When I graduated from St. John’s, truth be told, I had no ideawhat to do in this world for the next several years. Not that I wasn’ttrying to figure it out. Circumstances eventually had me employedat a small Japanese regional bank with a branch in New York City,working as a trader on the money market. Then a co-workerinvited me to an exhibit of 17th-century Korean ceramics at theMetropolitan Museum. Standing in front of a slightly asymmet-rical celadon vase, I had what is perhaps best described simply asa profound moment, and my life took the direction that it hastoday. I scrimped and saved so that I could make a move to Japan

and study pottery seriously. I wanted to learn about traditionalmethods, digging clay, making glazes from natural materials and firing with wood. In 1994, I did make that leap, and managedto find a teacher, Mr. Yutaka Ohashi, in Karatsu, Japan, withwhom I apprenticed over the next four years. I learned throughobservation, imitation, and lots of repetition.

In working at the wheel a surprising kind of knowledge wasrevealed to me gradually about just how smart my hands are. Imade thousands and thousands of the same cylindrical cup, overand over, until after a couple of years I knew all about that cup,everything that could go wrong, every millimeter of the anatomyof that cup. With practice, one’s hands and eyes can detect differ-ences of less than a millimeter without conscious discrimination.Awareness of this physical sensibility helps hold consciousdiscrimination and corporeal knowledge in balance, and I believethe act of creating as a whole can also be described as this kind ofbalancing on a larger scale.

In 1999, I “graduated” from my apprenticeship, with thepronouncement, “Now you have the skills to teach yourselfanything else that you may need to learn.” So I returned to NewMexico, bought land in a remote mountainous region about an

V I S U A LT H I N K E R S



27

hour north of Santa Fe, built a house and studio, and then my ownwood-fired kiln. I’ve been working away ever since, trying to bringmy well-trained self and my creative self into a kind of balance,while making a living doing it.

My work relies heavily, even now, on repetition, but in a newway: drawing on the visual impact that multiples carry. My wall-hung cup grids, which range in size from three cups to 180 cups,emphasize sameness and difference of their components at once.The cup becomes visible in its relationship with others in a waythat one cup alone cannot. Currently I am working on a groupingof 52 teapots, one for every week of the year, for a show entitled“Imagine” that will open at our gallery in May. (www.rift-gallery.com)

St. John’s continues to have a positive influence on my career.Over the past summer, St. John’s student Carolyn Lobeck (SF07)was an apprentice in my studio through the Ariel InternshipProgram. She was introduced to many of the basics that are essential to a career in clay, in accordance with what I learnedduring my own apprenticeship. This opportunity to pass on toanother young woman some of what I have worked so hard to learnis really important to me. St. John’s also presents one of my hand-made cups to each of the graduates of the Eastern Classicsprogram every year. That the college recognizes the importanceof the handmade object in today’s society, its importance as asymbol and as a way of life, is huge.

At left, MATTER AND TIME, wall-mounted cubes. Above, BetsyWilliams apprenticed in Japan for four years before openingher studio in New Mexico. At right, a 4-inch tea caddy.

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{ V i s u a l T h i n k e r s }28


Natural ProofsKarina Noel Hean (A00) is a painter and teaches drawing,painting, and design as visiting instructor of art at Fort LewisCollege in Durango, Colorado. She has exhibited in numeroussolo and group shows. In fall 2008, she will complete a two-month artist fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Center in Bally-castle, Ireland. Hean grew up near the Annapolis campus,where her mother, Miriam Callahan-Hean (AGI87), is graduateadmissions officer for the college.

I am a planner. From eighth grade on, I took art-making seri-ously. As much as public school and free time allowed, that iswhat I did, taking every art class I could at my public school,earning scholarships to classes at the local art center, and,though it clearly has not improved my social skills, I spent mostof my teen and pre-teen years alone in my room painting ordrawing. While I was very concerned about what would happento my “art career” if I did not attend an art school, I knew thatSt. John’s would provide me with the intellectual exposure, crit-ical thinking, and verbal skills I would need to be an artist whowas not only technically proficient but thoughtful as well.

When the conditions are right, I work 14-hour days in thestudio. The rhythm of these days is paradise. The places mymind and hands may take me and the work fluctuate: unpre-


{ V i s u a l T h i n k e r s } 29

dictable, exciting, reassuringly familiar, ridiculous, calm, transcendent.

For several years my work was concerned with communi-cating a sense of reverence for nature and understandingnature as a source of spirituality. My Pendular Motion Seriesmonotypes and Emotional Proof Series explore the aestheticand intellectual capacity of geometric and dynamics diagramsand theorems. Studying the history of Western mathematicsand physical sciences at St. John’s exposed me to Euclid’sElements and Huygens’ On the Motion of Bodies from Impactamongst other heavily diagrammed attempts to explain thenature of our world and how it functions. What initially strikesme about these proofs is the clear beauty of their lines andshapes. As a visual communicator, I am intrigued by the quan-tity and quality of information these images can convey. Inaddition to this is a skeptic’s pondering of the kind of knowingthey claim to present.

The Emotional Proof Series are improvisations that riff off ofthe Euclidian proofs that I studied at St. John’s. These proofsare logical and predictable. My version of the proofs is ahumorous comment on the contemporary desire to categorizeand comprehend human emotions. They ask questions such as:How far can we take the relationship between word and image?How much distance exists between these two supposedlydistinct forms of communication?

“Learn by doing and making mistakes” has become one ofmy pedagogical mottoes that stems from my own experience asan art student and artist. If you are not frustrated, you are prob-ably not learning anything or challenging yourself.

“When the conditions are right, I work 14-hour days in the studio.

The rhythm of these days is paradise.”Karina Noel Hean (A00)

Karina Noel Hean is drawn to the beauty of mathematicalproofs, as shown in these untitled works.



30

Daja MusicBilly Lieb (class of 1945) attended filmschool at UCLA after his graduationfrom St. John’s. Following graduateschool and teaching film making, Liebworked in Los Angeles as a motionpicture cameraman and film editor untilhis retirement in 1984, when he began hiscareer as a sculptor. His artworkincludes two different media: assem-blage (making things out of foundobjects) and abstract wood sculpture.

I have enjoyed collecting things sinceI was a kid. First it was postage stamps,then shells, rocks and minerals. As anadult I started to go to flea markets andswap meets where you could buy inter-esting things cheap. Gradually, Ilearned to put some of these thingstogether to make constructions ofassemblages.

After I retired from the film industryin 1984, I moved to the Ocean Parkdistrict—right on the Santa Monicabeach. That summer there were stormsthat brought piles of driftwood onto thebeach. I soon discovered that some of itwas very heavy and was carvable. Asurfer classmate of mine (from grad-uate school, UCLA) suggested I drive20 miles north to the Malibu beaches.He was right. For the next 10 years, mybest wood came from Malibu, mostly manzanita burls.

I had also started collecting art posers. I found out about thePicture Framers Guild, which would help you learn how toframe art posters. The next year, I started The Magic PictureGallery, my own framing operation in Malibu.

Soon I started taking drawing and art history classes at SantaMonica College. There I learned about a new art school beingfounded at Santa Monica College, using an empty furniturefactory for its classrooms. All of the faculty were professionalartists, including Laddie Dill and George Herms, who becamemy favorite teacher.

I started exhibiting at the factory and local galleries. Mean-while, Sony Music was building its West Coast headquarters onour block. When it was finished, the president of Sony Musicinvited our college, the Santa Monica College of Design, Art,and Architecture, to decorate their new building. They wantedus to submit art “with a musical theme.” As I started makingSilent Musical Instruments they finally accepted 14 of my assem-blages including The Daja Music Machine and The Daja Guitar.The word “Daja” became my brand name for my style of assem-blage, being a sum of “Dada” and “Jazz.” I have entered severalwood sculptures and assemblages in the alumni art show at St. John’s in Santa Fe.

A surfer told Billy Lieb (class of 1945) where to find the manzanita burl—prized by sculptors—that washes up on Malibu beach. (UNTITLED)



31

In August 2006, I bought a home in a senior mobile homepark in Poway, California. I did this to be near my daughter Joyand my two great grandsons Danny and Alex. When my dearfriend Jonnie Zheutlin learned of my move, she sent me fundsto build an art studio as part of my new home. Few artists arelucky enough to be able to open their front door and enter theirart studio! x

For color images of art by Betsy Dixon, Billy Lieb, and KarinaHean, visit the St. John’s Web site; click on Publications and onThe College magazine.

Even as a small child I loved playing in the mud.My mother is an artist so there were alwaysopportunities to try out new things at home.When Mike was in grad school in Seattle andour children were young there was a greatrecreation center program that included

pottery classes—a place where adults were encouraged to playin the mud! Perfect. I was hooked in no time.

Long before Santa Fe was in the picture for us, I discoveredthe work of legendary San Ildefonso potter Maria Martinezand was intrigued by her work. I haven’t adopted her NativeAmerican techniques but the respect and awe remain. I neverdreamt that one day we would be practically in her neighbor-hood, surrounded by her legacy.

Imagine my delight when we arrived at St. John’s to find awonderful pottery right in the Fine Arts Building. Not onlycould one throw pots, but be variously serenaded by sophomore music, jazz groups, piano, bass, drums or hornplaying. There is a very knowledgeable instructor in theperson of local artist Sadiq Kahn. Our pottery assistant isCarolyn Lobeck (SF07), who spent last summer as apprenticeto Betsy Williams. A small but dedicated group of studentsfind their way to the studio. Some become regulars; otherscome for a season as their class schedules allow. Some bringconsiderable pottery experience, and some are beginners. Allbring enthusiasm. What I really enjoy is that our intersectionin the Pottery Studio gives me an opportunity to get to knowstudents in a non-academic setting. But, being Johnnies, italso means there are conversations about what they’re

reading in seminar or the topic of their current paper, as wellas how to throw a tall cylinder or make a plate. x

Playing in the Mudby Eleanor Peters

Eleanor Peters, wife of Santa Fe President Michael Peters, is a regular at the campus pottery studio. She entered theseworks in the Santa Fe Community Art Show.

An avid collector, Billy Lieb sculpts driftwood and makeseclectic sculptures from items lost and found.


32 { S t u d e n t V o i c e s }

With global eventswhirling around us, recently I havebeen puttingthought into whatthe world would

be like if run by Johnnies. Initially euphoria overwhelmed me.

The notion of a place run by “philosopherkings” most obviously points toward TheRepublic. I can’t imagine we would strictlyfollow Plato’s notions if only because wemight prove woefully disinclined towardthe whole martial aspect of Socrates’utopia. But we could surely expect a societyin which everyone at least knew of Platoand, when one exclaims that she loves himin the course of conversation no one wouldreply, “Yeah, I loved Play-doh too, but Ikind of grew out of it.” When I mentionedthis notion of a world run by Johnnies toother students, almost everyone respondedwith wild enthusiasm. “Can you imagine?”asked one boy. “Everyone everywherewould be really well read. Also, undeniablysexy in that way that Johnnies are.”

A freshman remarked, “Think about it—it would be amazing. We’d just go up topeople in the streets, and instead of saying,‘How are you?’ we’d say, ‘And how do youfeel about the Cartesian Dichotomy?’ ”

Then I queried one of my best friendswho may have been feeling a tiny bit bitterabout writing her sophomore enablingessay that day. “Well,” she said, “I thinkwe’d still be sitting around in caves. I thinkthat if someone tried to free us from thecave, we wouldn’t notice, let alone kill him,

because we’d end up debating thedefinition of light, and whether or not itwas a form. Then we’d debate thedefinition of, say, the rocks in front of us.We’d make some tepid attempt to figureout whether or not rocks were edible, usingresearch gleaned from Harvey, which

would be totally irrelevant. The rockswouldn’t be edible, but we’d end up talkingabout what it means to be ‘edible.’ Eventu-ally, we’d all starve to death.” She sighed,and resumed writing about Dante’s depiction of God’s divine love.

I F J O H N N I E S RU L E DT H E WO R L D

by Jennifer Wright (A08)

After three years’ acquaintance with Program authors, Jennifer Wright (A08) has a fewideas on how Johnnies would run things.

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{ S t u d e n t V o i c e s }


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She may well have had a point. But thencan it really be the case that Johnnies are aswholly impractical as the cloud-dwellingLaputans of Gulliver’s Travels? Would webe doomed to perish if left to our ownerudite devices?

We might not starve to death, but in aworld governed by the ideals of theProgram we might have to deal with somesubstandard food, if the case of Glaucon or Cato is anything to go by. Relishes, we remember, are for the epicurean andindulgent. So we are going to have to beginfrequenting cafés that make their foodentirely without relishes, which, asketchup-wielding modern Americans,might prove pretty difficult.

However, if we pay attention to theProgram sophomore year, we will happilyrealize that wine will be everywhere. Wineabounds in Shakespeare, it abounds in The Canterbury Tales, and it abounds especially in the Bible. To the relief, I’mcertain, of our Reality archons, at no pointin the Program do we come upon charac-ters who don’t love wine; even Socrates,our paragon of moderation, is particularlyin his element at drinking parties. Theabundance of alcohol in our brave newworld may make us considerably lessconcerned—indeed indifferent to—the lackof relishes in our food.

A nation comprised of very hungry alcoholics might not seem like the bestsetting for, well, anything, but it wouldhave certain redeeming features. The foodof love, at least, would abound with all itsrelishes intact. Music would be every-where, provided that the philosopher kingsin charge were not paying overly closeattention to St. Augustine. If they were,music lacking polyphony would be ubiquitous (but surely Palestrina put anend to that argument). Of course, it mightnot be the music that the vast majority ofthe nation listens to. We would relish ourMozart, our Brahms, our Shostakovich butwhenever “Louie, Louie” came on theradio people would (and I find this trulytragic, as I love “Louie, Louie”) sniffdismissively and remark upon thesimplistic 1-3-5 pattern. “Surely,” peoplewould exclaim, “this piece is lacking in thedynamic qualities Zuckerkandl describes inThe Sense of Music!” Classical stationswould quickly become the most popular inthe nation, and listening to “Louie, Louie”would prove one to be a harmless butquirky eccentric.

Other forms of entertainment wouldundergo drastic alterations as well. Realityshows and dating games would becomepassé in favor of PBS and the BBC, whichwould re-create our favorite literary piecesin loving, eight-hour miniseries. Buddy

comedies would feature a wily, irasciblebloke named Socrates, and his timid palPlato. Young women everywhere wouldstand in line for hours to see new interpre-tations of Jane Austen. (Johnnies must find it nice to note that many young women already do this, given the success ofPride and Prejudice, a selection featuredproudly on the Program list, which is tosay, we knew it was cool before the rest ofAmerica did.)

And as for sports? People would sigh anddismiss the rare sorts who wanted to toss afootball around, but in the croquet playerswould reside the hopes and dreams of adapperly dressed, hat-wearing nation. For every Johnnie knows that nothing says“athletic prowess” and also “hand-eyecoordination” like croquet.

While I will save my notions on Johnniesin the boardroom and our diplomaticprowess, at least in the basics of life ourrule will pursue the form of the good. We might wish that we did not have tospend another day eating Cato-approvedportions of gruel. But then, we wouldrealize that we could wear wonderfuloutfits and go to our local stadium or parkto watch a rousing game of croquet, withHaydn blasting in our iPods. And whatever,the fact would remain that we would staysexy in that undeniable way that Johnniesare sexy. x

When Johnnies are in charge:The Johnnie Beauty Salon: No one

who has ever seen a picture of ImmanuelKant can possibly think that beauticianswould be frequently patronized by thosewho emulate the Program authors. Ulti-mately, beauticians will fade into obscu-rity, patronized only by those followers ofSocrates who believe that beautifulpeople offer us insight into the good–andthose people will mostly be regarded asdrunken degenerates by anyone followingthe ideals of later Program authors. Hair-dressers will become obsolete in favor ofbrain-dressers who will be capable ofstraightening the mess under the head ofhair. They will be known (to those in theknow) as ‘tutors.’ Of course, this may leadto a slightly less beautiful world.

The Johnnie Department Store:Despite the proponents of Karl Marxstanding outside the store and adamantly

protesting that the items within itshouldn’t exist (and those reading Kantand Hume declaring that that’s fine,because they don’t) everything wouldprobably function as usual until peoplerealize that mathematics tutorials haveleft Johnnie cashiers with an inability todo simple mathematics. Instead, they willbe left trying to explain to patrons—eagerly awaiting change from the $20dollars they gave for a $3 dollarpurchase—what the nature of infinity andthe ultimate actually are.

The Johnnie Music Store: Thesewould be located in very close proximityto religious institutions, as sophomoreyear has taught us that the two are closelyintertwined. Far from being a carefreeenvironment, Johnnies would standlistening to bars of music playing over theintercom in such stores, and would nerv-ously call out “1-3-5! 1-3-5!” Then they

would engage in fervent discussion aboutwhether or not they had gleaned greaterinsight into the nature of the divine.

The Johnnie Grocery Store: TheJohnnie grocery store would feature afairly ordinary assortment of items savethe fact that no apples would be sold, nora variety of other “unclean” items. Johnnies, after all, have not spent anentire semester reading the Bible only to make the same mistake twice. Theenormous supply of wines, however,would compensate for it.

The Johnnie Bookstore: Bookstoreswould immediately establish themselvesas the social hub of the Johnnie society.The philosophy section in each of themwould expand magnificently, and trashypaperbacks would be relegated to backcorners, near the restroom. In a tribute togreat writers past, everything would becategorized by the Greek alphabet. x

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{ B i b l i o f i l e }

Back to BasicsA Summer Crash Course for ReadersHow to Read a BookMortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren,Simon and Schuster, 1940, revised 1976

How to Read a PageI. A. Richards, W. W. Norton, 1942

How to Read Two BooksErasmus G. Addlepate, Frederick StokesCompany, 1940 (out of print)


As long as St. John’s is inthe business of askinggadfly-ish questions, here is one to ponder: do you know how to read?Paradoxically, you must

read to learn how to read.It is no coincidence that the philoso-

pher Mortimer Adler (HA86), a self-described “educational evangelist” and co-author of How to Read a Book,was instrumental to the shaping of theGreat Books movement in the late 1930s.An underlying premise of Adler’s book is

also the lifeblood of St. John’s; asEinstein put it, “Information is notknowledge.” Newspapers, encyclopedias,and textbooks, while valuable in a particular way, do not add up to the kind of knowledge valuable to a Johnnie.Nor will a single one of our great booksmagically radiate knowledge to thereader as soon as the first page is turned(with the possible exception ofLucretius). Ultimately, what is read issecondary to how it is read.

For Adler and co-author Charles VanDoren (class of 1946), reading well issomething of a superpower. “Withnothing but the power of your own mind,you operate on the symbols before you insuch a way that you gradually lift yourselffrom a state of understanding less to oneof understanding more.” Skilled reading,the authors write, is our only defenseagainst a pre-packaged opinion. How to Read a Book is an exhaustive presentation of the four levels of reading:elementary, inspectional, analytical, andsyntopical. Elementary reading is what akindergartener does, or a freshman justlearning to piece together the Greekalphabet. Inspectional reading, or “time-bound, systematic skimming,” is familiarto the student who procrastinates on aseminar reading and must try to piece ittogether in an impossible amount oftime. (When not forced to take the placeof analytical reading, inspectionalreading is a valuable skill to have.)Analytical reading is the fount of a good seminar. This is reading for understanding, applied to material that is perhaps slightly out of the reader’sgrasp so that it takes analysis, first to getthrough the book and secondly, to talkabout it. Finally, syntopical reading isanalytical reading of multiple books,synthesizing ideas from various sources,which ideally leads the reader to a uniqueidea from the many.

“The art of reading, in short, includesall of the same skills that are involved inthe art of unaided discovery: keenness ofobservation, readily available memory,range of imagination, and, of course, an intellect trained in analysis andreflection,” the authors write. What is atstake in the quality of your reading? If you are reading for more than justinformation, the authors posit that it is

the life of your mind. If you ask a challenging book a question, “it answersyou only to the extent that you do thework of thinking and analysis yourself.”

It is almost necessary to read How toRead a Book in order to read How toRead a Page: A Course in EfficientReading with an Introduction to 100Great Words, written by British literarycritic and semanticist I.A. Richards in1942. Like Adler and Van Doren,Richards offers his book as a remedy topoor reading, poor thinking, and theconsequent downfall of civilization.“What is the point of toiling throughthousands of pages, if the chief outcomeis an accumulation of misunderstand-ings?” he asks. How to Read a Pagedelves deeply into the theory of language,uncovering the “systematic ambiguity

What is at stake in thequality of your reading?

If you are reading for more than just

information, the authorsposit that it is the life

of your mind.

(or ‘resourcefulness’) of all our mostimportant words” in order to read andthink afresh. The book combines readingexercises with the gradual developmentof a doctrine of the fundamentals ofreading. Nevertheless, Richards does notaim to strictly codify the art of reading.For Richards, as for Adler and Van Doren,reading is an almost sacred act ofcommunion, not with authors, but withideas. “There is no such thing as merelyreading words; always through the wordswe are trafficking or trying to traffic withthings—things gone by, present, to come,or eternal. So a person who sets up toteach reading should recognize that hemay be more ambitious than he seems…”

Once the reading of a page and a bookhave been mastered, we may now moveon to Erasmus G. Addlepate’s tongue-in-cheek parody, How to Read Two Books,

published in 1940. The book aims toshow non-thinkers “how to become near-thinkers, part-time thinkers, and forthose who wish to follow the Rules, howto become mental giants.” Although theauthor pokes fun at the idea of a “HowTo” book that aspires to true education(and although he would call I.A. Richardsa practitioner of that “technique ofthought

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{ B i b l i o f i l e }

We asked tutors from Santa Fe andAnnapolis what non-Program books theywere making time for: a few novels, manynonfiction works, and a book about ateddy bear made the list.

Basia Miller: “Céline’s Mort à Crédit is along term project.” Also, W. SomersetMaugham’s The Painted Veil. “Afterseeing the movie version, I found theplot-lines simpler and more delicatelywoven [in the book].”

Emily Langston: Obasan, by JoyKogawa, about Japanese Canadiansinterned during WWII. Also, The Customof the Country, by Edith Wharton.

Jon Tuck: Plowing the Dark, by RichardPowers, The Road by Cormac McCarthy,Pillar of Fire by Taylor Branch, The LastSamaurai by Helen DeWitt, and Mother-less Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem.

Henry Higuera: The Wild Ass’s Skin, byHonoré de Balzac and The Sot-WeedFactor by John Barth. “As to why I readthem: both were just to keep sane.”

Sherry Martin: Winkie, by CliffordChase, “in which Meletus testifies at atrial of a teddy bear. Yes, really. On arecent road trip, I listened to the new LeCarré novel, The Mission Song. I like toread novels during the holidays to de-compress.”

Joseph Macfarland (A87): BeforeFrance and Germany: The Creation andTransformation of the Merovingian Worldand The Myth of Nations: The MedievalOrigins of Europe, both by Patrick J.Geary.

Jacques Duvoisin: The Ancient City, byFustel de Coulanges, “a classic study ofthe religious foundations of AncientGreek and Roman cities. It is a real eye-opener. I heartily recommend it.”

Susan Stickney: One Good Turn: ANatural History of the Screwdriver andthe Screw, by Witold Rybczynski; TheOmnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan;and Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering theLost Techniques of the Old Masters, byDavid Hockney.

Greg Schneider: “Since I took a smallgroup of Santa Fe campus folks on analternative spring break experience inHaiti, I have been reading about thecountry. In particular, I recently readBreath, Eyes, Memory, by EdwidgeDanticat, is a Haitian-American, andMountains Beyond Mountains, by TracyKidder, a nonfiction book aboutimproving health care in Haiti.”

David Starr: is doing some syntopicalreading: Eusebius, The EcclesiasticalHistory; Margaret Barker, The Great HighPriest; Robin Fox, Pagans and Christians;and Jean Danielou, The ChristianCenturies, vol. I: The First Six HundredYears.

“I am reading most of them because Iam interested in the question, why theearly Christians were willing to risk theirlives for their faith. This, of course,presupposes the question, what was theirfaith (or Gospel)? I do not think it is verywell understood by most modern andpost-modern scholars—Christian or not.”

What Tutors are Reading


36

Need there be more reasons formerry-making on croquetday? In addition to the much-anticipated victory of theJohnnies over the Mids (5-0),the reunion of dear friends,

delectable picnic spreads, flowing cham-pagne, and springtime on the Annapoliscampus, Johnnies had five more reasons tobe of good cheer. The first is that it has beena quarter of a century since the fateful wagerbetween St. John’s student Kevin Heyburn(A86) and a Naval Academy officer thatsparked the good-natured rivalry. BothHeyburn and the first Imperial Wicket for St. John’s, John Ertle (A84) attended the25th croquet match, along with Ertle’s wife,Kathy, who goes by “First Lady Wicket.”That first year, the Mids were clearly

outmatched, Imperial Wicket Ertle recallswith pride. “I did a chop shot and the Midturned to his buddy and said, ‘I think we’rein trouble.’” Ertle points to a snapshot of the1982 mallet-wielding teams on the steps onBarr Buchanan, which is eerily similar to thepresent day, complete with boater hats andthe trophy securely held in a Johnnie’shands. Instead of trophies and mallets, thisyear Ertle and Heyburn held champagneflutes. The commemorative glasses were agift to St. John’s alumni in honor of croquet’s25th birthday.

Old Roots, New TreeThe Liberty Tree that once stood on the frontcampus of St. John’s was a piece of Americanhistory in our midst; each of the 13 colonieshad a Liberty Tree, which patriots used as a

meeting place as well as a symbol of theirrevolutionary ideals. The 400-year-oldAnnapolis Liberty Tree, the last survivingtree, had to be taken down after it was critically damaged by Hurricane Floyd.

This year croquet spectators celebratedthe dedication of a new Liberty Tree, a giftfrom the 2007 senior class. The senior classvoted to purchase the tulip poplar, locatedbetween the Barr Buchanan Center andMcDowell Hall, as a perennial gift to both St. John’s and the Annapolis community.Before the start of the croquet match GeorgeZahringer (A07), president of the SeniorClass Gift Committee, spoke briefly on theseniors’ choice. “Of all places, no ground ismore receptive to this symbol of liberty;here, where the ideal of liberty in thought isso strong,” he said. “It makes me proud as anAmerican and as a member of this Polity tooffer this tree on behalf of my class, to rein-force the ideal of liberty.” President Nelsonaccepted the gift on behalf of the college,and the ceremony was made complete whenan ensemble of Johnnies offered their rendition of “Liberty Tree,” a poem by thefamous revolutionary Thomas Paine.

A Gift from the Croquet GodsIn 2005, the unthinkable happened: the St. John’s croquet team lost the AnnapolisCup to the Mids. The match was two for twoon that drizzly day, and victory in the fifthgame depended on partners ChristopherMules and Tristan Evans-Wilent, bothjuniors at the time. They lost. “We were sodistraught when we lost, we took a year offfrom school,” Evans-Wilent says. Two yearslater, Mules and Evans-Wilent were back onthe team, sporting Springsteen-inspired“Born in the USA” attire, determined tomake this match a victory for St. John’s. Thecroquet gods smiled upon them. “I wentrover, then Tristan played a great turn,” an ecstatic Mules says after their triumph.

{ C r o q u e t }

Christopher Mules (A07) demonstratesthe “whack-n-watch” pose adopted by manyplayers after a tense shot.ga

ry p

ier

poin

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H A P P Y B I R T H DA Y,C RO Q U E T


{ C r o q u e t }


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Clockwise: Souvenir glasses celebrate a silver anniversary; Theoriginal Imperial Wicket John Ertle (A84); George Zaringer (A07),Eric Honor (A10), Sara Luell (A09), Lindsay Wyett, Rachel Bartgis(A09); Lining up the shot; The prized cup; Young boy; A Springsteen-inspired team; the original 1982 croquet team.

photos by gary pierpoint

“We [lost] the decisive game five two yearsago, so this is retribution. I feel amazing!”

Love is in the AirWhile the croquet teams might have had thejitters about the day’s competition, no one wasas nervous as G. August Deimel (A04). Deimelhad been planning for weeks to propose to hisgirlfriend of two years, Sara Wagner (A08). Heand some friends tricked her into looking forstereo speakers in Barr Buchanan whileDeimel and Wagner’s families, both from Pitts-burgh, were brought out from hiding. Whenshe emerged from the building, Wagner waspuzzled to see her family. “Then August got onone knee and asked me and I said yes, ofcourse,” she recounts. After a champagnetoast, the couple—planning to marry nextsummer—danced in front of Barr Buchanan.

People Watching, Balzac StyleNostalgia, the Annapolis Cup, champagneglasses, Liberty Trees, divine justice andromance—what more? Croquet 2007 also had itsusual fantastic parade of characters. “I love theendless variety of people,” said Bryan Smith(A08) as he surveyed the teeming assembly ofJohnnies, Mids, alumni from both institutions,and Annapolitans. “It’s like entering a Balzacnovel; you get a whole social scene with all theirfoibles and eccentricities, ” he said. x


{ A l u m n i P r o f i l e }38

That he would pursue a careerin the field of internationaldevelopment was essentially aforegone conclusion forChristian Acemah (SF05), anative of Uganda. His father

was a deputy ambassador for his country; hismother had worked as an attaché to the U.N. Security Council.

That he was able to land his first profes-sional job based in Geneva, Switzerland,with an international nonprofit was beyondexpectation. His studies at Georgetown’sSchool of Foreign Service played a role inthat good fortune, he says. But as a foreignstudent who suffered several personaltragedies, he wouldn’t have gotten toGeorgetown or Geneva without the supportand encouragement he found at St. John’s.

Acemah won two merit-based scholar-ships to attend Georgetown University’shighly regarded Walsh School of ForeignService. Being at Georgetown was awonderful experience, if a little intimi-dating, he says. His fellow students wereserious, ambitious, and already quiteaccomplished. “I was the youngest onethere,” he says. “I entered my first class and the professor started to talk aboutThucydides—everyone else in the class hadno idea what she was talking about. I couldat least relate to what she was saying, andthat was great.”

As a graduate student, Acemahconducted research and worked as ateaching assistant in the African StudiesProgram. In the summer of 2006, he servedan internship with the Lutheran WorldFederation in the Uganda/Sudan CountryOffice. He analyzed the federation’s healthpolicy in the context of Uganda’s nationalpolicy and helped provide health work-shops. Through Georgetown, he heardabout a job with a division within UNICEFthat worked to get vaccines and immuniza-tions to children in developing countries.After he put in his application, he heardnothing for months, and he braced himselffor disappointment. Finally, a call came foran interview, and Acemah eventually landedthe job, which was based in Geneva andwould start in a matter of weeks. Because it

would mean interrupting his studies, heconsulted his graduate adviser, who urgedhim to accept the job. “It would have takenme eight years to get to this level, and evento get into the UN system is so difficult.Most people give up along the way,” he says.

Acemah’s official title is ExecutiveOfficer, Policy and Research, for the GAVIAlliance Secretariat. The GAVI alliance is apublic-private partnership focused onincreasing children’s access to vaccines inpoor countries. GAVI unites UNICEF, theWorld Bank, and major international foun-dations in setting mutual goals, sharingstrategies, and coordinating efforts. “Webring principles from the private sector andapply them to the public sector,” he says.

One of the agency’s goals is to improvethe mechanisms involved with getting newvaccines out on the market as soon as theyare ready. It also seeks to create sustainable,long-term financing for immunizationprograms in the countries in which it works.“Being in such an intense environment is

quite interesting for me. We work from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on almost any given workingday,” he says. “There are constant briefingsand writing pieces to compose. Travel is alsoa huge part of this office. I cannot believethe amount of responsibility I have beengiven.” Most recently, Acemah is workingon HPV vaccine advocacy and leads GAVI’srelationships with African initiatives.

Though he grew up with privileges,Acemah was raised to be aware of responsi-bilities and obligations to others. He undertook his education with those goals inmind. In Uganda, aptitude tests identifiedhim as gifted in science and mathematics,but Acemah wanted to study literature andwas stubborn about it. “My mother came tothe school and told them, ‘he knows what hewants to do, and it’s going to be difficult tochange his mind,’ ” Acemah recalls. Theschool wouldn’t budge, so Acemah foundhimself at Olney Friends School in Ohio,where he learned about St. John’s.

He had already accepted a full scholarship

Christian Acemah (SF01) greets former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annanduring an event Acemah organized at Georgetown. The event celebrated Annan’slasting legacy to Africa.

A Humanitarian CallingChristian Acemah (SF05)

by Rosemary Harty

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{ A l u m n i N o t e s } 39

1944CARL S. HAMMEN, a Marylandscholarship student at St. John’sCollege, married Deborah Rein-hold-Kazor on March 31, 2007, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Sinceretirement from the University ofRhode Island, he has served as atax-return preparer, censusenumerator, and adjunctprofessor at several Floridacolleges. Carl likes to run, and in 2006 was ranked second in the state, in the men’s 80 agedivision in the 10K and third inthe 15K. Deborah won the 1500-m run in December 2004 at the state senior games, wherethey met. She is an equestrienne,and her quadrille team wassecond in the nation in 2001.

Carl is the father of five children,four living, all highly successful,and the grandfather of seven, allof whom he dearly loves. Deborahand Carl, when he completes hisduties as teacher of “creativegeometry” at Ringling School ofArt & Design in Sarasota, willtravel to Portugal, Spain, France,and England.

1960 MARY CAMPBELL GALLAGHER

presented “Easier than IRAC:The Under-Here-Therefore LegalWriting System” at the RockyMountain Legal Writing Confer-ence at the University of NevadaLas Vegas on March 10. Mary first

described her writing system,which is based on Aristotelianlogic, in the first edition of herbook Scoring High on Bar ExamEssays, published by ARCO in1991. BarWrite Press brought outthe third edition in 2006.

1967 LARRY (A) and HAZEL

SCHLUETER (A69) report fromNew Orleans: “Hazel has an old-time country and bluegrass musicshow every Sunday morning, 10 a.m. to noon at www.wwoz.orgon the Web for her style of what ishappening in New Orleans post-Katrina. We are restoring thehouse and enjoying having all thefamily here.”

to Earlham College, but St. John’s intriguedhim. He called the Santa Fe Admissionsoffice, rushed to get his material in, and wasoffered admission. Acemah says he wasdrawn to St. John’s primarily because hecould pursue all his varied interests. “Theplace spoke to me from the first moment Ilearned of it,” says Acemah, though it tooksome time for him to feel confident in theProgram. “I was very scared at first, readingEuclid. David Carl was my math tutor, and by the time he called on me to do aproposition, I did it my own way, and itworked. From that moment, I just enjoyed everything.”

Acemah experienced two great lossesduring his St. John’s years. His mother,Monique Kwagala, died when he was a sophomore. As a foreign services officer inUganda, she had helped people escape theregime of Idi Amin. “She had always beenthe anchor of my life,” he explains. “Theday she died, I got up and went to class, andI got called to do a very long proposition ofApollonius. Continuing at St. John’s wasimportant to me. I think that strength camefrom her, saying I have to go on.”

A year later, Acemah lost his grandfather,Nicholas Magoola. Acemah had spentseveral years living and working with hisgrandfather on his farm, and he learned howto observe and respect the natural worldthrough him. “He was one of those people

who can just see right through you, see thethings you can do, and try to encourage youto look fear in the face,” says Acemah.“Now, my second anchor was gone.”

His tutors and friends saw through hisstoic demeanor, Acemah says. “They wouldalways check in with me, and that was agood thing,” he says. When it seemedfinances would force him to drop out, his tutors went to the administration on his behalf, and then-president JohnBalkcom (SFGI00) found money forAcemah to continue.

Career Services Director Margaret O’Dellwatched Acemah evolve from a “quiet,polite freshman into a mischievous, deter-mined, self-assured senior who would not letany obstacles stand in his path to George-town University and graduate school. Heneeded to take two economics classes asprerequisites before entering Georgetown,”she explains. “Most students would havetaken a year off and finished those classes ina leisurely fashion, but not Christian. He found the classes he needed at theUniversity of New Mexico, figured out howto manage the tuition, found a way tocommute to Albuquerque, convinced theprofessors to let him enroll for the summersession, and passed both classes with flyingcolors in the space of eight weeks.”

Odell is not surprised Acemah is alreadyserving a humanitarian cause; she has

always felt that Acemah’s drive stemmedfrom his desire to return to Uganda andwork to improve the lives of others. “Thisinner drive could have made him dour oroverly intense but in reality the intensity youfelt from Christian was his love for learningand for his friends,” she says.

At St. John’s, Acemah met his fiancée,Marie Craig (SF05), who now teaches atOlney Friends School and will begin grad-uate studies at Columbia University in thefall. They will marry this July at a lodge onMurchison Falls in northwest Uganda. Manyof his classmates and tutors are planning toattend, he says.

In the meantime, Acemah is adjusting tolife in Geneva, where finding affordablehousing is a challenge. “The city is verybeautiful, very clean, so many gardens, andit has a multicultural feel to it because theUN is here. I can eat the food that I wouldeat in Uganda! My favorite is green bananaswith chicken—I can buy it at the grocerystore, go home and prepare it for myself.”

Living closer to his father, HaroldAcemah, ambassador to the EuropeanUnion in Brussels, is another plus to his location.

In the long run, Acemah wants to find ahappy medium between conducting fieldwork and policymaking. “I don’t know yetwhat that blend will look like,” he says. “Ihope it will be exciting and challenging.” x

Surrounded by Mountains

After 15 years as head of school at Friends Schoolof Minnesota, MARK NIEDERMIER (A84) hasmoved on. He is now head of school at PacificNorthern Academy in Anchorage, Alaska. His 8-year-old daughter, Sophie, is a second-graderat the school, and his 3-year-old son, Caleb, will

soon enroll as well. Mark’s wife, Karen, is a nurse practitionerat Anchorage Midwifery and Women’s Health, and they all enjoyan active lifestyle, surrounded by mountains and wildlife. x


{ A l u m n i N o t e s }40

1968A good long classnote fromJOSHUA GILLELAN (A) covers alot of ground: “I finally made myescape from the Office of theSolicitor of Labor in June 2004,to start my own practice, thegrandiosely entitled LongshoreClaimants’ National Law Center,practicing primarily before thefederal courts of appeals and theSupreme Court. I can’t imaginewhy I waited so long (except, ofcourse, that the new practice,though busy from the start,produced almost no cash flow forthe first two years). My wife,writer Allison Blake (be sure toget the current edition of herwidely available Chesapeake BayBook: A Complete Guide beforeyour next trip to the area), and Ihave a second home in NewOrleans (bought four monthsbefore Katrina—great timing—butin the ‘sliver by the river’ thatdidn’t flood, though it was ananxious two and a half weeksbefore we could make sure it wasstill there and not pancaked bythe water oak in the back yard orthe live oak in the neighbor yard),and intend to spend half the yearthere (appellate practice iswonderfully portable) from now

on. Daughter HANNA (A96,Georgetown Law ’01) had a beautiful wedding on TilghmanIsland to Stephen Goldstein inNovember 2005, in which Iparticipated in Highland dressplus yarmulke; they live onCapitol Hill, and it’s great to be nearby. Catch us at the New Orleans Jazzfest!”

1975Publishing news from ERIC

SCIGLIANO (SF): “Beengrounded in Seattle, helping starta magazine (Seattle Metropolitan,nominal position ‘news editor’).Article “The Mind of anOctopus” picked for Best Amer-ican Science Writing anthology.Last book, Michaelangelo’sMountain, was finalist for Washington State Book Award.Lost to Tim Egan’s The WorstHard Time, which went on to winthe National Book Award.”

1976ALICE JOY BROWN (A) works asan office assistant while doingpromotions for the Kabbalah

Institute of St. Louis(www.kabbalahmadeeasy.com),along with publishing poetry: “In 2005, my poem was featuredalongside Maya Angelou’s in apoetry anthology called, CosmicBrownies—Poems about LessonsLearned in Life. In 2006, I wasthe original winner of the onlyscholarship (based solely onmerit) given by the WashingtonUniversity Summer Writer’sInstitute, which I turned downbecause it wasn’t a full scholar-ship and due to health reasons atthe time. I also help one of myfriends with her matchmakingbusiness.”

1988For the last year and a half,JULIET BURCH (A) has beenworking at the National Centerfor Jewish Film, an archivelocated at Brandeis Universityand dedicated to the preservationand restoration of Jewish-themedfilms. “I feel as though I’ve reallyfound my niche in this interestingand quirky collection,” shewrites. “It’s great to have a job I love!”

ERIN MILNES (A) writes that shewas married in June 2006 toChuck Guest, a writer and musi-cian, in Oakland, Calif.: “We hadmore fun than anyone should allweekend, with family and great

friends, including half a dozenJohnnies from the infamous classof A88.”

In March, KIM PAFFENROTH (A)was named a recipient of theBram Stoker Award for hisnonfiction work, Gospel of theLiving Dead: George Romero’sVisions of Hell on Earth (Baylor,2006). His book tied with FinalExits: The Illustrated Encyclo-pedia of How We Die, by MichaelLargo. The award is bestowed inrecognition of “superior achieve-ment” by the Horror WritersAssociation. Winning the awardputs Paffenroth in the companyof writer Stephen King, and hetakes home an award that is aneight-inch replica of a hauntedhouse with a door that opens toreveal a brass plaque engravedwith the name of the winningwork and its author. Gospel of theLiving Dead is a non-fiction bookconnecting social and religiousviews with the classic Americanzombie and horror genre; it hasattracted much critical acclaim.

1991JONARNO LAWSON (A) hasreceived the 2007 The Lion andthe Unicorn Award for excellencein North American poetry for hisbook Black Stars in a White Night Sky.

Another Croquet Fan

TheodoreGammon (A28or A30 if he isslow like hisfather; SF28 ifcontrary like his

mother) reports that hisparents, ALEX and BETH (bothA94), are doing well in Balti-more. Other places, too. He istrying to teach them that aslong as you sit under the mapleonce a day, get dirty once a day,eat some currants and dance alittle, you should smile morethan frown. x

continued on p. 43

Fire trucks and Helicopters

CRYSTAL (SANDERS) SOKOLOV (SF02) and herhusband, Christopher, welcomed their secondson, Gregory, on November 22, 2006. He joinshis brother, Nicholas, in contemplating the twogreatest inventions of the Western world: firetrucks and helicopters. x

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{ A l u m n i P r o f i l e } 41

Constance (Bell) Lindgreen (A66) and herclassmates came of age during an extraordi-nary time of metamorphosis in America.Growing up in tumultuous times, andimmersed in the great books as they were,they were bound for great things. Connieretired as a vice president in IBM’s Europeanoperation and took on the role of “classleader” for her reunion last year. Collectingnews of her classmates inspired her to reflect.She writes:

We came to St. John’sfrom having marchedwith Martin LutherKing on a hot day,holding hands,singing ‘We Shall

Overcome.’ Kennedy was President. Braswere to be burned. We had come to St. John’sas prospectives, gone to seminar, becomeconverts. We came to the college, theProgram, with something resembling religious reverence. I can’t speak for my classmates, but my guess is that it was morethe rule than the exception.

We read seminar with Jacob Klein,complete with pipe and joyous love of Plato;sang in freshman chorus for/with VictorZuckerkandl, who had but to lift his hand forus all to feel held by angels; studied the Biblein small groups with Mr. Kaplan, whosehumanity almost eclipsed his brilliance; readGreek with John Kieffer, whose cadence stillechoes. Elliott Zuckerman, Joe Cohen, andJohn Sarkissian were the ‘young ones.’ AlMain was in charge of the laboratory. BobBart, Charles Bell, Paul Scofield, were ourguides, with Winfree Smith, and Sam Kutler,Beate Ruhm van Oppen, Douglas Allan-brook, Tom MacDonald. Life with them wastotally engrossing. We were obsessed withbooks, dialogue, discovery.

Annapolis was tacky and rundown, not atall its up-market today self. McDonald’s wasnew and had just sold a million burgers. Thenight the Cuban missile crisis threatened,there was silence around the seminar tableuntil Mr. Klein broke in with the openingquestion and we were off, again, in the traditional search. Afterwards, we sat in adormitory room, listening to the radio. The Russian fleet turned back. And later,

Kennedy was shot. The only television oncampus was turned on, day and night. Ididn’t watch, but that was a choice I’m notsure I don’t regret. Anyway, in 1963, ormaybe it was 1964, we heard the first Beatlesrecording wafting out from Humphrey.

We sat and watched the sunsets overCollege Creek, and fell asleep reading Aris-totle or Kant or Cervantes or Tolstoy (all fourjust the right size for a pillow), drank coffeein the eponymous shop, and partied as soonas lecture—or sometimes the questionperiod—was over, making good use of the SinBins in Campbell, and walked down to theshabby dock dubbed ‘Piraeus.’ I guess some-time in there, we grew up–sort of–and then,of course, we left.

For Lindgreen’s classmate Mel Kline, itwas sophomore seminar on the Bible thatwas an especially formative experience.“Sophomore seminar, when you face theBible and religious questions, had a strongeffect on me and my Jewish roots,” Klinesays. Soon after graduation, he moved toIsrael, where he lives today. “St. John’s reallyhelped me find my life’s work. About 25 yearsago I began a research project dealing withJewish texts without commentaries, which isunheard of in Jewish studies. I made anumber of discoveries utilizing the tools ofinquiry I developed at St. John’s.”

Theodora Carlile echoes Lindgreen’smemories of cultural change: “When Ientered in 1962, Beatnik folk was the cuttingedge of music. By the time I left, it was TheStones, Dylan, The Beatles. As far as theProgram goes, it was a charmed experiencefor me. I was thrilled with the conversa-tions.” So much so that Carlile went on tobecome a professor in the liberal artsprogram at Saint Mary’s College in

California, a position recommended to herby Brother Robert Smith. “I get to gothrough the Program over and over again,”she says. “I never really left in a way. I alsoremember that my class was known as “theMatriarchy” because of the many wonderfuland strong-minded women in the class.”

Margaret Winter was one of them. “In late ’66 there was beginning to be a lot ofpolitical ferment,” Winter recalls. “I wantedto work for social justice. I decided the bestthing to do after St. John’s was to go to lawschool and use that as a tool for politicalactivism.” Today, as the associate director ofthe National Prison Project of the ACLU, she works to protect the constitutional rightsof prisoners. x

To exchange memories, post pictures, andhelp tell the story of your class, visit andjoin the online community of alumni.http://alumni.stjohnscollege.edu/?AlumniAssociation

Where did the class of 1966 go and whatdid they do? Like every graduating class,the diverse career paths taken by alumnireflect the versatility of their education: anews executive, several clergy members,an internationally acclaimed playwright,doctors, lawyers, artists, and even alighting technician for Grateful Deadconcerts.


Irene (Lindermayer) Dortch and Connie(Bell) Lindgreen, both class of 1966.

What was so special about the Class of ’66?

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42

by Patricia Dempsey

Planting Seeds of PeaceMunir Hussein (A90)

Dressed in khaki shorts andsneakers, he could easilyhave passed as one of thecamp counselors. ButMunir Hussein (A90) areal estate dealmaker, had

come to this peaceful spread of tall pinesand clear lakes near Lewiston, Maine, toobserve. As a guest of Seeds of Peacesummer camp, he quietly listened to a tense dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian teenagers.

“The professional facilitator opened witha question: ‘What do you think about thewall between Israel and the West Bank?’There were 14 teenagers from Israel andabout 10 from Palestine,” recalls Hussein, aPalestinian American. “They were probablyon their best behavior because there werevisitors in the room, but it was a very open,candid dialogue. They bunk together, sail,do the ropes course, and have discussionsthat remind me in some ways of a St. John’sseminar-starting off with a question.”

As a managing director in real estateacquisition and development for a privateequity firm in Manhattan, Hussein skillfullyarranges financing and structures lucrativereal estate deals. Yet for all the delicatenegotiations he hasmanaged, nothingprepared him for thisfirst visit to Seeds ofPeace in 2003. Thecamp brings togetherteenagers from bothsides of a conflictarea, such as Palestine and Israel,India and Pakistan,the United States and Iraq, and theBalkans, in order to foster mutualunderstanding.“I wasdazzled,” Husseinsays. “Here’s anorganization that isreally doing some-thing about the problems in theworld. They’reseeking to educate

and expose young people to their ‘enemies’at a time in their life when they’re formingtheir opinions and perceptions. Hopefullythis will help create a new generation ofleaders who will be wiser and perhaps lessjudgmental of someone’s looks or beliefs.”

He discovered the organization whilestudying for his MBA at Columbia Univer-sity, through a Jewish colleague who wasserving on the Seeds of Peace board. “He came to me and said, ‘I think you willreally appreciate what this organization isdoing,’ ” Hussein says. Observing the campin action inspired Hussein to offer hisconsiderable management skills to Seeds of Peace. He volunteered on the YoungLeadership Committee, managing fund-raisers in Manhattan and mentors former“Seeds” with career advice. Last year,Hussein joined the organization’s board of directors and is currently its only Palestinian American member.

As a board member, Hussein hopes toprovide a leadership model for teenagerswho come from Palestine. “I want to set agood example and use my Palestinianheritage as a positive thing,” he says.“There are many occasions—business meetings, parties—when I’ll hear comments

or someone will ask ‘where are you from?’ I say, ‘Rye, New York’ and they say, ‘No,where are you really from?’ It depends howdiplomatic people are, but in this climate offear the tiniest little difference stands out. I want people to see that I’m not just like anAmerican, I am an American.”

Last summer Seeds of Peace touchedHussein personally when his then 13-yearold cousin Dana attended the camp inMaine. “She lives in a small village in Palestine, Zeita, near Nablus, of about2,100 people,” says Hussein who hasnumerous relatives on his father’s side wholive on the West Bank. Hussein has visitedPalestine several times, and when he traveled there in 2000 with his parents hespent time with Dana, whom he describesas “exceptionally bright.” Yet the opportu-nities for a young woman like Dana in hervillage were, and still are, limited. “The tinyvillage where Dana was growing up has dirtroads, stone houses, olive trees, andchicken farmers,” Hussein says. “Thewomen are raised in a totally traditionalMiddle Eastern culture and handle the children and household chores. Althoughthey are given the opportunity to go tocollege, they typically do not have the same

choices that men do.”Hussein’s father, a

Palestinian immigrantwho spent his careerwith large consumerproduct companies,and his mother, a classics professor atMontclair StateUniversity in NewJersey and an advocatefor woman’s rights,later returned toPalestine to convinceDana’s parents to lether attend theprogram. “Her fatherwas cautious,” says

his corporate life isabout deal making,but with Seeds ofPeace, Hussein buildsbridges.ch

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{ A l u m n i N o t e s } 43

1993RACHEL BLISTEIN (A) is inMichigan: “I completed mymaster’s degree in LandscapeArchitecture at Morgan StateUniversity in Baltimore, graduating in 2003. Afterworking in Baltimore for severalyears, I met my future husband,Paul Alexander, and decided tore-locate to Ann Arbor, Mich.,where he was completing his PhDin Mechanical Engineering. Wewere married in October of 2004and, one and a half years later,bought our first house in nearbyYpsilanti. My husband works forGeneral Motors as a researchengineer and I recently began myown residential design firm, VerisLandscape Design, L.L.C. Welove Michigan, despite the coldwinters and troubled economy.The surroundings are beautiful,the people are friendly, there’s afunky local music scene and lotsof great food (it goes with thecold winters). Anyone who wants to get in touch is welcome to reach me at [email protected].”

OMAR S. MANEJWALA, M.D.,(A) writes: “Over the last six years(since finishing up as Chief Resident in psychiatry at Duke)I’ve become very interested in thetreatment of addicted healthcare

professionals. In July 2006, I moved to Virginia to becomethe Associate Medical Director of the William J. Farley center, a program for chemicallydependent professionals. I alsospend a few days a monthlecturing across the country onvarious topics in addiction medicine. This is exciting andrewarding work, as about half ofmy patients are addicted medicalprofessionals including physicians, pharmacists, veterinarians, dentists, etc. It’s really been an honor and aprivilege to participate in their

recovery. When I’m not workingI’m still traveling like crazy. Lastyear I climbed Kilimanjaro andhiked the overland track inTasmania. Last month I returnedfrom my fourth trip to India, thistime to attend my brother’smarriage at the Taj Mahal.”

1997DOMINIC CRAPUCHETTES (A) hasbeen encountering great successin the board game business: “Ourlatest party game, “Wits &

Wages,” won 11 industry awardslast year including Games magazine’s ‘Party Game of theYear,’ ” he writes. “It will becarried nationwide at Targetstarting in August! I am veryexcited.”

1998JEAN (TULLY) FLAHERTY (A) andher husband, Seamus, joyfullyannounce the births of their threechildren, Aoife Marie, bornDecember 1, 2003; GeorgeAnthony, born March 26, 2005;and Saoirse Anne, born October7, 2006. They live in Plantation,Fla., and will move to SouthBend, Ind., this autumn.

DAWN (SHUMAN) BORCHELT

(A), Matthew, and Wolfgangwelcomed their new son andbrother, Robin Wylde Borchelt tothe world in their new home onMay 2, 2006. He was 7 lbs. 9 ounces and 20 inches long.

2000ALEXIS BROWN (SF, EC03)recently joined the Board ofDirectors of Creative Santa Fe.She has added this to her list ofother volunteer efforts at theSanta Fe Rape Crisis and TraumaTreatment Center, Santa FeCares and AIDS Walk, and High

Hussein. “She’d never been out of thevillage and it’s a big leap to go from thistiny village in the Palestinian countryside—not only to go to the United States, but to acamp where she would be bunking withroommates from Israel.” By June 2006Dana joined fellow Palestinian “Seeds” atan orientation session before they took aplane from Tel Aviv to the United Stateswith the teenage Israeli “Seeds.”

Hussein, his parents, and his uncle fromBoston visited Dana on her second day ofcamp in Maine in part to reassure her

parents that she was thriving. “She waswearing her headscarf and she was a littlenervous, but she got out and was playingsoccer with the kids. She’d never beenswimming before; she played all kinds ofsports and went boating and did crafts, andof course they do a ropes course, whereyou’re learning to spot one another andbuild trust.”

Hussein says Dana’s English, along withher confidence and world outlook, reachednew heights. “Now she’s back in her villageand she’s started a Seeds of Peace type

program there,” he says. “It’s had atremendous impact on her life and broadening her horizons.”

“It’s funny,” Hussein adds, “back when Iwas at St. John’s, I was never aware of beingthat different in college. People were justpeople. This is the way I was brought up, aface is a face, a mind is a mind, an idea is anidea, you don’t look at a person’s culture orethnicity–you look at who they are as ahuman being.” x

continued from p. 40

Getting the Word Out

KEVIN BROCK (SF96) and KHIN KHIN GUYOT

BROCK (SF88) hope to add a new member totheir family soon: “We married in 2004, aftermeeting in a summer alumni seminar on JaneAusten in 2000 and in several more over thefollowing years. For our honeymoon we did the

Coast-to-Coast walk in England, a 200-mile hike from theNorth Sea to the Irish Sea through Yorkshire and the LakeCountry. We live in Mountain View, Calif.” Kevin is a softwareengineer with a networking start-up in Santa Cruz and KhinKhin teaches first grade in a local public school.

“We are currently trying to adopt an infant through domesticopen adoption,” he adds. “Open adoption is very different frominternational adoption, because the birth mother and the adop-tive parents know more about each other, and there is usuallysome degree of continuing contact after the baby is born. Thebirth mother chooses the adoptive parents who she wants toraise her child, so there’s a lot of uncertainty involved whilewaiting for a match. The biggest challenge is getting the wordout, so if you know someone who is pregnant and consideringadoption, please feel free to give them our contact information:408-806-9190; [email protected].” x

{ A l u m n i N o t e s }4444

Mayhem Emerging Arts Studio.She is excited to work onpromoting the prosperity ofSanta Fe’s creative industries and their economic potential. If you want more information onCreative Santa Fe, please feel free to contact Alexis at:[email protected].

2001“I’d like to give an update on mywhereabouts to my fellowalumni,” writes WILL BONNER

(SF). “In February 2007 my wifeand I moved to Buenos Aires,Argentina. We keep a daily blogabout the experience at www.willbonner.com.”

“This is just a shameless note tolet you all in on some personalnews,” writes NATHAN WILSON

(AGI). “I recently signed a four-book deal with Random Housefor young adult novels, the first ofwhich (Leepike Ridge) will releaseMay 22. I shamelessly rip-offsome of the greats in service ofmy plot (Twain and Homermainly). In a very differentmarket, I also have a piece ofshort fiction in the February issueof Esquire. It’s sort of mixed-

media, I guess—typed on pieces ofa cocktail napkin (their idea, notmine). Another short story wasjust nominated for the PushcartPrize. I feel a bit cheesy tellingyou all, but is the phrase almamater meaningless? Can’t I bragto my mater?”

2002STEVE ROSE (AGI) sent in a notefor himself and MAILI SHAFFER

(AGI), who look forward to traveling together in Europe this summer: “Ms. Shaffer, afterteaching first grade since graduation in May 2000 is about to finish her first year of lawschool at the University ofMichigan in Ann Arbor. Her first-year summer law position will bein Baltimore, and she is lookingforward to beautiful evenings inAnnapolis. Maili would bedelighted to hear from classmatesor Johnnies interested in UM LawSchool. For myself, I have beenteaching in Annapolis since May2000, with two lengthy interrup-tions for visits to Iraq with B Company, 4th Light ArmoredRecon Battalion. Our most recentvacation was to keep the riversand lakes safe for fishermen and

farmers, and we received manythanks from the Iraqis forproviding some small measure of security. I’m delighted to be home and look forward notonly to hearing from former classmates, but most of all tobackpacking through Europewith Maili in August.”

SHELLEY (WALKER) SAXEN

(SFGI, EC03) writes: “DougSaxen and I are now married andenjoying all the skiing and hikingwe can get while in Montana foranother year. While I finish up mydoctorate in Natural ResourcesManagement, Doug is in thethroes of writing a children’sbook series. There’s always roomfor SFGI alumni at our place ifyou happen to be in westernMontana and we would love tohear from you.”

Since last spring MICHAEL

SULLIVAN (A) has been trying toteach Plato, Aristotle, Boethius,Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant,and Nietzsche to semi-gratefulfreshmen at Marymount Univer-sity in Arlington, Va., and andThe Catholic University ofAmerica in Washington, D.C. He is also working on his doctoraldissertation, on the debate overuniversal hylomorphism in 13th-century metaphysics, forCatholic University.

RACHEL ROCCIA SULLIVAN (A)is nearing the end of her thirdyear of medical school atUniformed Services University ofthe Health Sciences (USUHS) inBethesda, Md. Options forspecialization remain open, butshe is strongly considering afuture in psychiatry.

Their younger daughter, Grace,has had two eye surgeries and aheart surgery since her birth lastJuly, but she’s doing very well;their older daughter, Clare, is,hopefully, coming out of herterrible twos as her third birthdayapproaches.

2004 GIDEON CULMAN (SFGI, EC05)is living in the District ofColumbia and organizing alumnigatherings every week; alumni inthe D.C. area should look him upto get on his e-mail list. Thegroup provides networkingopportunities, camaraderie, and fun get-togethers with otherJohnnies.

2005CHARLES CLAUNCH (SFGI), nowin the master’s program in poli-tics at the University of Dallas,has been accepted to that school’sPhD program for the fall term in2007. If anyone has any interestin this program, please directquestions to him [email protected].

JOHN PETERSON (A) andCAROLYN ANN STRIPLING (SF07)were married in July 2006. x


What’s Up?The College wants to hear fromyou. Call us, write us, e-mail us.Let your classmates know whatyou’re doing. The next issuewill be published in October;deadline for the alumni notessection is August 10.

In Annapolis:The College Magazine St. John’s College, P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404; [email protected]

In Santa Fe:The College MagazineSt. John’s College1160 Camino Cruz Blanca Santa Fe, NM 87505-4599; [email protected]

A Journey to China

BENNETT TURNER (EC03) has been accepted to CIEE’sTeach in China program. He will teach Oral Englishand American Literature classes at Jiaxing Universityin the city of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. “Beginningthis August, this appointment will last an entireacademic year (10 months), and I couldn’t be more

excited,” he writes. “I took classical Chinese courses under theeminent Mike Bybee at the Santa Fe campus, and his classes werethe initial impetus for this journey of mine. Apart from my teachingload, I intend to diligently study Mandarin with a private tutor,thereby returning to the States slightly more fluent than I am now.

“Not only did I want to share my good fortune with the Johnniecommunity, but I also wanted to invite others to offer their adviceand suggestions. If any others have embarked on similar experi-ences, I would love to glean some sage advice with regard to livingconditions, textbook choices, etc.: [email protected].” x


{ A l u m n i N o t e s } 4545

Jack Ladd Carr, class of 1950, and hiswife, Lois, had been looking forwardto a stimulating trip to the “GreekIslands and Beyond,” as the touroperator billed it. But on the day thattheir cruise ship, the Sea Diamond, was scheduled to make an afternoon

trip to Santorini, the excursion provided abit more excitement than they hadbargained for. Just a few days into their two-week trip, the couple had already visitedseveral Aegean islands and made stops inPatmos and Crete. “We were to sail into theharbor at Santorini,” Carr recalls. “Theisland is spectacularly beautiful; there arethese very unusual cliffs, and they gostraight down into this deep caldera. Wewere preparing to disembark for a brief runto the island when for some reason the shipstruck a rock ledge.”

While the crew prepared to evacuatepassengers, the ship began listing to star-board. “Everybody was calm,” he says.“The crew managed to calm every onedown. There were some youngsters,teenagers from a school in North Carolina,and they were in good spirits, clowningaround, snapping each other’s pictures.”

Carr and his wife are both in their 80s,and another passenger, a young Frenchwoman took notice of them, got them lifejackets, and made sure the couple weresafe. “She made certain that in the crush ofpeople that we were not pushed down, and

she took her ownlife jacket off andput it on Lois,”Carr says. “Shespoke no English,and we speak noFrench, but wemanaged tocommunicate ourgratitude to her.”

While manypassengersclimbed downropes to rescuevessels, the Carrswere evacuated toa waiting ferry bymeans of amakeshift chute,assembled ofmattresses, whichlinked the automobile rampsof both ships.

“Thank God Ididn’t have toclimb down aladder,” says Carr.“The last time I climbed down a ladder intothe boat was during the second World Warwhen I climbed down cargo nets intolanding boats, which I did several times. It was scary when I was 19, and it would be alot scarier at 82.”

Carr has read many reportsthat people panicked, thatthere was chaos, and that thecrew wasn’t helpful, but theirexperience was much better.They saw no panic andthought the crew acted profes-sionally. “We decided to keepcalm and observed everythingwith great interest,” he recalls.“We were separated—they didthe women-and-childrenthing. That’s when I began tofeel that I was on the Titanic.By this time, the ship waslisting at 15 degrees.”

Lois was rescued first; Jack alittle while later, and their tourgroup of 39 was broughtashore together. “Our tourguide was a wonderful Greek

woman named Rea, and Rea arranged forour group to go to a very nice, new hotel inthe village,” says Carr.

“We got there by going up the cliff in asort of funicular, and after a short walkthrough the village, caught a bus that tookus to the hotel. They gave us dinner, aroom, and breakfast the next morning. Andat breakfast, I found out the ship had sunk.That was the only time we sensed any fear.”

Carr had a shoulder bag with some euros,credit cards, and glasses. The couple’sclothing and everything else in their suitcase, including souvenirs, were lost.The group’s passports were also safe andreturned to them on the next leg of theirtrip. Each passenger was provided with 200 euros to pick up some clothing andother items in Athens. Then they continuedtheir trip for another 11 days. “We lost onlyone day of the tour,” Carr says.

The accident won’t stop the Carrs from traveling, says Carr. “I’m not superstitious,” he says. “But I could dowith less adventure.” x

—rosemary harty

A Greek Adventure Runs Aground

Jack and Lois Carr on dry ground after the disaster, and below,Lois, after sliding to safety.


{ O b i t u a r i e s }46

DR. PETER HAMILL

CLASS OF 1949Dr. Peter VanVechten Hamill,class of 1949, died on March 10,2007, at the age of 80. He hadforged a remarkable life andcareer as a scholar and scientist,an avid sportsman, accom-plished sailor, and collector offine wines.

Dr. Hamill was born in Balti-more in 1926, and grew up inDetroit. He earned a bachelor’sin philosophy from the University of Michigan in AnnArbor and medical degrees fromMichigan and Johns HopkinsUniversity. He served in theNavy during World War II andhad a career as a commissionedofficer in the United States

Public Health Service. He wasthe scientific director of theSurgeon General’s Study on

Smoking and Health and alsodesigned the Growth and Development charts for use in charting the growth of juveniles.

Eva Brann, who spoke at Dr. Hamill’s memorial service,described him as “first and last”a Johnnie, with an “acute,detailed and wickedly judg-mental memory.”

In 2002, Dr. Hamill sent Miss Brann an oral history of hisrole in the 1962-64 study onsmoking, which is now in theJFK Library in Boston. Thestudy was the first declarationfrom the government thatsmoking causes cancer, as the Senior Surgeon in theCommissioned Officer Corps of

the Public Health Service, Dr. Hamill played a key role inestablishing the criteria for thestudy and assembling the staffand professional personnel forthe committee, but the oralhistory also demonstrates qualities far beyond profes-sional ability:

“He was passionately engagedas Peter the man and desper-ately objective as Peter thescientist. He was impatientlytemperamental as a man with amission and generously under-standing as a man with anadministrative charge. He wasnaively forthright and dutifullycunning, fascinated andrepelled by personal andbureaucratic obstructionism. . .

LILLIAN VANOUS NUTT

FRIEND OF THE COLLEGE

Lillian Vanous Nutt, who died earlier this spring atage 99, was a generous and dedicated supporter ofSt. John’s College in Annapolis. Her giftssupported scholarships for St. John’s students,helped establish the Mitchell Gallery, and under-wrote the renovation of a room in the GreenfieldLibrary to serve as the Nutt Room, a second exhibition space for art on the Annapolis campuswhich also serves as an elegant reading room.

The following excerpt, from a eulogy given at her memorial service by Annapolis PresidentChristopher Nelson, celebrates Mrs. Nutt’s many contributions:

“Lillian was born four weeks shy of 100 years agoin a small wooden house on the corner of TaylorAvenue and Annapolis Street. She grew up in ahome her parents soon thereafter built on RevellStreet. Lillian remembered it for its central heatingwith gold radiators and two bathrooms, but also for its large fishpondwith a fountain in the middle. She recalls the parties at the outdoorfireplace, and the use of red-checked tablecloths and cloth napkins,not the paper products of today which she shuddered to call “throw-aways.” No one who knew Lillian could forget her abhorrence ofthrowaways: Everything to its purpose, at least twice over . . .

“Lillian remained at home until 1943 when she was married to Hi,a marriage that lasted for her remaining 64 years. She attended thePeabody Institute for her music lessons, traveling back and forth toBaltimore on the old B&A Railway. She even remembered giving arecital at age 13 in McDowell Hall at St. John’s College. She alsoremembered her youthful parties at St. John’s and the NavalAcademy. By the time she was 20, she had her own car and beganteaching piano, something she did for three generations ofAnnapolitans . . .

“Of course, Lillian also loved to paint, and exhibited in juried shows all over the area. Iimagine that I have seen thousands of her water-colors, mostly on note cards, pieces of paper not-to-be-thrown-away. And in the last 10 years,I’ve been pleased to gaze upon hundreds of painted“jolins”, flowers designed by Lillian as a gift inhonor of my wife, Joyce Olin . . . four years ago, weadded to our personal collection of framed “jolins”and other “still-lifes,” a bell pull, hand-painted byLillian with beautiful roses. I still pull on the darnthing, but nobody comes a-running. I suspectLillian knew that too. ‘Each of us was meant toattend to his own needs,’ I can hear her say.

“I have loved Lillian’s colorful and vivid imagination . . . In 1964, Lillian wrote a brief poemabout herself. I think it captured her rather well. It was titled, “Me” and opened as follows: ‘If I amanything/ I certainly am prolific/ No matter whatthe merit/ My output is terrific!’

“Indeed, it was. How many of us in this room have receivedenvelopes stuffed with hand-painted note cards (on recycled paper)to be used for friendly “thank yous” or just to lift the spirit. She wasgenerous but tough and always faced down the advance of age. . .She befriended St. John’s College many years ago and generouslyprovided student scholarships for those with need. She also underwrote the renovation of the Lillian Vanous Nutt Room in the Greenfield Library, where regular shows of local artists areexhibited through the year. Her gifts are put to use over and overand for multiple purposes . . .

“A small group of us gathered in Lillian’s and Hi’s home last Mayfor her 99th birthday. Anna Greenberg (HA96) asked her what sheconsidered was the most important thing she had accomplished inher lifetime. She answered quickly, ‘without a doubt, it was myteaching children to play the piano and appreciate art!’ ”

Lillian Vanous Nutt

Dr. Peter Hamill

{ O b i t u a r i e s }


47

“But besides personalitiesthere was Peter’s main principle, which, I imagine,made everything work. He wasa believer in dialogue. ‘When I say dialogue,’ he told hisrecorder, ‘remember I’m a St. Johnnie and the dialecticprocess of antithesis and eventually synthesis is part ofmy whole being.’ And this was atrue self description: Peter waspassion tempered by apprecia-tion, prejudgment mitigated by receptivity, spiritedness leavened by self-doubt.”

Dr. Hamill is survived by hiswife of 54 years, Margot HenryHamill; four children, and 11grandchildren.

GEORGE TRIMBLE

CLASS OF 1948George R. Trimble, a pioneer incomputer development, diedMarch 13, 2007, at the age of 77.He made many original contri-butions to both the design andapplication of data processingequipment in a career thatspanned the computer industryfrom ENIAC in 1949 to the mostadvanced large-scale computersystems. After graduating fromSt. John’s he studied numericalmethods at the University ofDelaware and in 1951 earned a master’s degree in mathematics.

Mr. Trimble developed mathematical analyses andmachine applications for avariety of the earliest electroniccomputers, including ENIAC,EDVAC, and ORDVAC, to minimize data reduction errorsin rocket trajectory calculationsfor captured German V-2rockets. As a senior staffmember in IBM’s AppliedScience Division, 1952-1956,Mr. Trimble was involved in thelogical design and applicationrequirements of virtually everycomputer made by IBM in theearly 1950s. Between 1955 and1966, he was involved in thedevelopment of numerous

successive “most powerful”computers in their time.

He was also the first corporatetechnical director at ComputerUsage Company, the world’sfirst software company. He was system engineer on the first large electronic publishingsystem.

His experience spanned thefull spectrum of systems soft-ware and support packages andincluded a tremendous varietyof disciplines, including system programming, datacommunications, publishing,command and control systems,scientific/engineering applications, statistics, andoperations research.

KENNETH KRONBERG (SF68)Kenneth Kronberg, a memberof the first graduating class ofSt. John’s College in Santa Fe,died April 11, 2007, at the ageof 58. He was the husband ofMarielle (Molly) HammettKronberg (A70) of Leesburgand the father of Max Kronberg, a 2006 Annapolisgraduate.

After graduating from St. John’s, Mr. Kronberg spent ayear as a junior fellow at theCenter for the Study of Democratic Institutions inSanta Barbara, Calif., and laterdid graduate work at the NewSchool for Social Research inNew York.

He was an editor for theAmerican Institute of Physicsand for John Wiley & Sonsbefore founding WorldComp in1978. He had been a member ofthe National Caucus of LaborCommittees since 1974.

He directed amateur theater,and taught poetry and dramaclasses to children and adultsfor many years. He edited The Campaigner, a culturalmagazine, for a number ofyears. In 1992 he co-foundedFidelio, a quarterly journal ofpoetry, science and statecraft,which he edited until 2006.

At his memorial service onApril 19, his wife, Molly,described him as “a man ofcharacter, honor, andintegrity—old-fashioned virtues.He was a man of his word.

“He weighed words carefully,always trying to say preciselywhat he meant, because heunderstood the connectionbetween morality and right useof language, and on the otherhand, the enormous damagedone to truth and thereforepeople by perversion oflanguage. His love of languagereached back to his earliestchildhood—for example, hisdiscovery at the age of eight ofthe poems of Emily Dickinsonand Christina Rossetti. By thetime that, barely 16, he went offto college, he was a practicingpoet himself, a calling hefollowed for many years thereafter.

“Ken’s poetic instinct couldbe found in everything he did:his efforts to make every publication on which he workeda harmonious composition; hisefforts to bring beauty in visualform to the printed page; inwritten form to the articles hewrote or edited; in aural form tothe audiences of the dramas he directed.

“The same beauty could be found in his gentleness, his abhorrence of brutality, his kindness to all who encountered him (kindness

mixed with the sardonicbrusqueness he deployed as aneducational device), and histruthfulness. His enthusiasmfor learning and teaching, fornew ideas and for the moreprecise expression and rigorousexamination of venerable ones,was the content of the Socraticart of midwifery he practiced indirecting plays or in editing. He was like the Clerk of Oxfordof whom Chaucer writes, ‘And gladly wolde he lerne andgladly teche.’

ALSO NOTED

REV. DUNCAN BROCKWAY (CLASS

OF 1953), JANUARY 23, 2007

JEREMY DAWES (SF01), JANUARY 15, 2007

NANCY FARIDANY (CLASS OF 1962),SEPTEMBER 23, 2005

ROBERT GOLDBERG (CLASS OF

1950), SEPTEMBER 3, 2006

JOHN GORECKI (CLASS OF 1960),DECEMBER 12, 2006

JOSEPH HOFMANN (CLASS OF 1942),APRIL 2, 2007

MARION JENKINS (SFGI89),JANUARY 13, 2007

ANDREW KLIPPER (A80),JANUARY 22, 2007

JOSEPH LEGUM (CLASS OF 1933),JULY 26, 2006

SUSAN LEUBUSCHER (A68),FEBRUARY 28, 2007

DOROTHY LUTTRELL (CLASS OF

1960), MARCH 26, 2007

VICTOR PERRETTA (CLASS OF

1932), APRIL 13, 2007

ALBERT POPPITI (CLASS OF 1942),FEBRUARY 9, 2007

RAY SMITH (A94), MARCH 1, 2003

DOLORES STRICKLAND (SF71),MARCH 16, 2007

Kenneth Kronberg

48


Nelson Hernandez (A99), a reporter on theWashington Post’s Metro desk, covered thewar in Iraq from late December 2005 toFebruary 2006, and again from mid-Aprilto mid-June 2006. The Post has assignedsome Metro reporters to two-month rota-tions in Iraq; Hernandez was the first tovolunteer. He agreed to a second rotationbecause his younger brother, Thomas, aMarine reservist, would be serving at thesame time. “I wanted to relate to him whenhe got back,” Hernandez says.

Hernandez interned for the newspaperwhile at St. John’s and joined the Post staffafter graduation; he took a year of leave in2004-05 to earn a master’s degree in historyat Yale. He now covers education in PrinceGeorge’s County, Maryland. The eventsdescribed in his essay took place on May 9-10, 2006.

Minutes after leaving theport of Umm Qasr at thesoutheastern tip of Iraq,the land turned todesert. The convoy spednorth to Baghdad.

Outside the window of a pickup truck, theearth, flat and pale and lifeless, met a dullgray-blue sky. It could be Mars.

In this wasteland the road was like ariver. Food and money flowed up anddown it, allowing life to cling to its edges.Sometimes this took the form of thin,yellow grass that grew like peach fuzz, ormud huts with thatched roofs. Weatheredmen in red-checked kaffiyehs tendedsheep and camels; they were as hungryand filthy as their animals. Barefoot boysran out to the side of the road as we flewpast, waving. The guards riding in thebeds of the trucks, helmeted men cradlingmachine guns, flung ration packs to themwithout slowing down.

That was the closest connection theyhad with the people of Iraq. For theprivate security contractor in the frontpassenger seat, a Welshman named Mark,every sign of life by the road was a potential threat. The mujaheddin stalkthese lands. Every parked car could be a

bomb, every highway overpass an ambushand every man, woman and child a killer.The insurgents have sometimes hiddenbombs in the carcasses of animals lying bythe roadside. In Iraq, even the dead do notknow the end of war.

They made a brief stop. I walked a fewyards off the road, out into a desert barrenas far as the eye could see. Mark urinatedon the tire of his pickup truck.

“Don’t get too far away,” he warned.“We don’t know what’s out there.”

The convoy was on a mission of peace.Mark and his group of British and Iraqicontractors were escorting a convoy of

about a dozen water trucks. The truckswere made in Texas and cost over$120,000 apiece. They were a gift fromyou, the American taxpayer, to the peopleof Iraq. Such convoys are not shepherdedon their way by the military, but by aninvisible army of private contractors:drivers, engineers, logistics specialists,stevedores and security men, usuallyformer soldiers. This convoy had a journalist attached. That was me.

As the sun set, we arrived at an oasiscalled Camp Scania. It is the major refueling stop in southern Iraq, a massivegas station run by the U.S. military. Here,

{ A l u m n i V o i c e s }

Even the Dead Know No End of WarA Reporter in Iraq

Nelson Hernandez volunteered to cover the war in Iraq.

49


in the middle of the desert, are parkedhundreds of trucks that carry supplies ofevery kind up and down the road. The costof creating and maintaining this piece ofAmerica on a patch of sand across theglobe is stupefying. Sophocles had a point:Many are the wonders, but none is morewondrous than man.

The Iraqi drivers and guards, who madeup the majority of the convoy’s crew, sleptoutside the base. They settled down tomeals of rice and chicken, sleeping in thecabs of their trucks. The four British security men, all ex-soldiers, went insidethe base and ate what was, by Iraqi stan-dards, a delicious repast: Cornish hen,potatoes, fruit smoothies, ice cream—the base’s cafeteria was well stocked.

Mark ran into another team returningfrom a delivery. On their way home abomb exploded in the road, destroyingone of the heavily armored pickups. The bomb was four artillery shells tiedtogether, enough to obliterate the fronthalf of the truck. Everyone in the trucksurvived unhurt—a miracle—and theyshowed off a picture of a man standing inthe waist-deep crater left by the bomb.

Hours passed in a large tent filled withcheap bunk beds. Mark watched a movie,Big Momma’s House, while another manin his team, Leon, played a video game. In the back of the tent, the other team wasstill talking about their close call.

“You used up one of your nine livestoday, lads,” one of the men said quietly.

For the first time I felt a quiver of fear. I imagined what it would be like to bedriving along the road one moment, andin an instant be torn apart by flying shardsof jagged steel. Would it hurt? Would Ihave time to give a noble soliloquy orexpire with an undignified groan?

The feeling was fleeting. I wish I couldsay for you that having read the GreatBooks gave me some preternatural calm.It would make for a better story. War isfull of such concessions to romantic imagination. But in war, the physicaltrumps the philosophical. So it was withme: I was too dirty and tired by that pointto care about something so totally beyondmy control, and so I went to sleep.

At midnight, the tent began flappingmadly. The air tasted like dust. Thenwater began flying in horizontally.Outside, a massive storm was bearingdown on the camp. The tent shooksavagely as the desert tried to scrub itself

clean of us. Half-awake men grunted atthe tent entrance, trying to seal it shut.Outside, sentries scurried for cover. Eventually they gave up and moved bedsfarther away from the entrance. And inhalf an hour, the storm blew itself out.

In the morning we rode for Baghdad.The country was no longer desert. Theconvoy had entered the verdant valleybetween the Tigris and Euphrates rivers—the cradle of civilization, and a place moredangerous for being more habitable.

The journey was tense but uneventful.When the convoy rolled into the waterdirectorate, a large, walled compound

with a heavy iron gate, Mark arranged thetrucks in a defensive perimeter. The gatewas closed, the better to protect againstcar bombers, and the Iraqis began slowlyunloading the trucks.

Mark gave the director an envelopecarrying the keys to the trucks. Theunsmiling director, a corpulent man withan arm in a sling, counted the keys twice,seemingly suspicious of being cheated. Herefused to say anything to me. A boywalking by greeted my wave with a blankstare. We soon discovered the reason forthe chilly reception. Our hosts were planning to kill us.

Some time later, a rocket-propelledgrenade exploded nearby.

“Get in the truck!” Leon screamed.The contractors fired back at unseen

enemies as the civilians scattered,running for cover. I crawled over a pile oflunches and body armor in the truck’sback seat, lunging at the doors to closethem. By the time I turned on my videocamera, the shooting had reached acrescendo of long machine gun bursts andcracking rifle shots. An Iraqi guardstanding in front of my truck fired his riflewildly, clearly terrified and having no ideawhat to do.

After this spasm of violence, the firingdied down. Only the frenzied gunner atopour truck kept shooting, ripping chunksof concrete out of a nearby building.

“Tell him to stop firing!” Leon yelled atthe Iraqi driver. Mark ran at our car,raised his hand, and cried “Stop!” The gunner stopped shooting.

Leon shouted at the frightened Iraqicontractor. “You!” He hit the truck’s horntwice to get his attention. “Get in here!”The young man did, breathing heavily andshaking as he sat next to me. As heslammed the door shut, the shootingstarted again.

The next few minutes were a babble ofurgent commands, shouting in Arabic,scratchy radio chatter, gunfire, confusion,confusion. Why were the guards shootingit out with them? Why weren’t we moving?What was going on?

“Mark, are we gonna get out of here orwhat?” a voice over the radio pleaded.

They were trapped because the gate tothe complex was closed, though I did notunderstand that until later. Under fire,one of the British guards ran out to thegate to open it. This act of heroismallowed them to escape. The gunfirecontinued on the way out and down thehighway. The whole engagement hadlasted about five minutes.

“Is everybody okay?” Mark asked overthe radio.

Yes. They raced past election postersand checkpoints to safety. Behind us theyleft two dead insurgents. Behind us theyleft the Iraqi truck drivers they wereescorting; three or four did not make itback. Behind us they left the water trucks.All we were left with was our lives, andthis memory I have related to you.

Every day, as it reels past in my mind, I give thanks that the desert was sogenerous. x

{ A l u m n i V o i c e s }

“I imagined what itwould be like to be

driving along the roadone moment, and in aninstant be torn apart byflying shards of jagged

steel. Would it hurt?Would I have time to

give a noble soliloquy orexpire with an

undignified groan?”Nelson Hernandez (A99)


{ A l u m n i A s s o c i a t i o n N e w s }

In January in Santa Fe and April inAnnapolis, the Alumni Associationhosted our annual senior dinnerswith the senior class. These eventsoffer a chance for 15-25 alumni totoast and celebrate the upcoming

graduations, when students become“permanent members” of the college asalumni. We also now provide the studentswith brief bios of the hosting alumni. InAnnapolis, a senior I spoke with wasthrilled to find that she was not alone inher interest in neuroscience; she had anopportunity to meet an alumna and speakat length about her career path.

This is a key first step the Associationtakes to help Johnnies in the transitionfrom the warm confines of the campuses tothe seemingly daunting world. We areworking to expand our outreach to recent

graduates (more than 50 percent of ouralumni have graduated in the last twodecades), through programs tailored toappeal to Johnnies beginning their livesand careers, and who often want to take abreak from seminar readings. In New Yorkfor many years we’ve had a recent graduates’ reception each fall, where newlyarrived alumni can reconnect with classmates and meet alumni established inthe region. This year in Portland, Oregon,and New York City, we’ve begun chapter“bar nights,” open to all but sponsored bythe Recent Graduates group leaders and at very casual locations that help build a community of younger alums in these cities.

On the campuses, we’ve been working toenhance the events welcoming alumniback, for both intellectual and socialpursuits. This spring we introduced the“Piraeus” program, several long-weekendsof alumni seminars. Within two monthsafter announcing the program, the firstApril weekend was a terrific success andthe June and January 2008 weekends hadfilled to capacity. A waitlist has begun withthe possibility of opening a second set ofseminars to satisfy alumni demand forthose weekends.

In addition, we are working as advocatesfor the alumni community as the collegedevelops its strategic plan. In 2008, thecollege will conclude its most successfulcapital campaign in St. John’s history. Thetremendous success is overwhelmingly due to the contributions of alumni. About

two-thirds of the funds are from alumni,and the percentage of alumni giving hasgrown remarkably. These funds willsupport the institution through capitalimprovement projects (including newdormitories, a Graduate Institute center,and much-needed enhancements to build-ings and grounds, especially in Santa Fe);increased endowment to support financialaid, and additional support for increases tofaculty salaries.

With the conclusion of the campaignapproaching, the college has embarked ona broad strategic planning process. TheAlumni Association, along with theAlumni Relations committee of the Boardof Visitors and Governors, will be activelyinvolved in this process to articulate thespecific programs that can better supportour alumni throughout their lives.

These are all part of the Alumni Association’s mission to foster opportunities for more Alumni to connect more often and more richly. x

Jason Walsh (A85)Alumni Association President

From the AlumniAssociation President

50

[email protected]

ANNAPOLISBeth Martin Gammon,

[email protected]

AUSTIN Joe Reynolds, SF69512-280-5928jpreynolds@

austin.rr.com

BALTIMOREDeborah Cohen, A77410-472-9158deborahwcohen@

comcast.net

BOSTONDianne Cowan, [email protected]

CHICAGORick Lightburn, [email protected]

DALLAS/FORTWORTH

Paula Fulks, [email protected]

DENVER/BOULDERTom Byrnes, [email protected]

MINN./ST. PAULCarol Freeman, [email protected]

NEW YORK CITYDaniel Van Doren, A81914-949-6811dvandoren@

optonline.net

NORTHERN CALIF.Reynaldo Miranda, A99415-333-4452reynaldo.miranda@

gmail.com

PHILADELPHIAHelen Zartarian, AGI86215-482-5697helenstevezartarian@

mac.com

PHOENIXDonna Kurgan, [email protected]

PITTSBURGHJoanne Murray, A70724-325-4151Joanne.Murray@

basicisp.net

PORTLANDJennifer Rychlik, [email protected]

SAN DIEGOStephanie Rico, [email protected]

SALT LAKE CITYErin Hanlon, [email protected]

SANTA FERichard Cowles,

[email protected]

SEATTLEJames Doherty, [email protected]

SOUTH FLORIDAPeter Lamar, [email protected]

SOUTHERN CALIF.Elizabeth Eastman,

[email protected]

TRIANGLE CIRCLE,NORTH CAROLINA

Elizabeth (A92) & Rick Ross (A82)

919-319-1881Elizabeth@

activated.com

WASHINGTON, DCDeborah Papier, [email protected]

WESTERN NEWENGLAND

Peter Weis, SF84413-367-2174peter_weis@

nmhschool.org

St. John’s College

Alumni Association

Providingopportunities

for more alumnito connect

more often andmore richly

CHAPTER CONTACTSCall the alumni listed below for informationabout chapter, reading group, or other alumniactivities in each area.

“We are working toexpand our outreach to recent graduates...”

Jason Walsh (A85)

{ A l u m n i A s s o c i a t i o n N e w s } 51


In his rare free time when he isn’t providingvideo and editorial content from theMidwest for ABC news, including showssuch as “Good Morning America” and“World News,” television producer KevinKraus (A82) reads reams of newspapers,periodicals, and online reports. Yet Kraus,one of five Chicago chapter officers, says,“It’s a different experience to read Plato orThomas Mann. The news-related materialisn’t truly thought-provoking.” Kraus, who moved to Chicago six years ago fromsouthern Florida, where at that time therewas no alumni chapter, says he was “starvedfor substantial reading and conversation.”The long-established (since 1982) Chicagochapter offered him both – and a chance to share his love of architecture with fellow Johnnies who live in this urbancultural Mecca.

In 2005 Kraus helped organize a well-attended chapter visit to his “favoritebuilding in America,” the FarnsworthHouse by architect Mies van der Rohe. For another event, the group visited the late19th-century Auditorium Building, whichhouses a National Historic Landmark, theAuditorium Theater. While the chaptermembers do not usually have a formal

seminar on the architectural sites they visit,they do typically “duck into a restaurantafterwards to talk about it,” says Kraus.“We’re all architecture junkies,” says RickLightburn (SF76), current Chicago chapterpresident and a self-employed marketingstrategist for consumer groups. “In August,we have an annual potluck picnic and business meeting. We have it with the Grant Park Music Festival held downtownin Millennium Park, beneath a fabuloustrellis designed by Frank Gehry.”

These architectural jaunts complementthe traditional seminars that focus on readings as diverse as the city itself. “This fall we’re hoping to start the yearwith a children’s literature piece. We alsotry to relate to events in this fabulous city,”says Lightburn. “For instance we had ascience reading on Mendel’s paper and tiedthis to a visit to an exhibit on Mendel’sresearch at the Field Museum.” Along withKraus and Lightburn, readings aresuggested by chapter officers ElizabethLong (A86), a University of Chicagolibrarian and an artist; Barbara Schmittel(A76), a librarian for the city of Chicago;and Paul Frank (SF82), an editor at theAmerican Medical Association.

The chapter hostsmost of its monthlyseminars on Sundayafternoons at TheGreat Books Foundation, whereDon Whitfield (SF68,SFGI84) is thedirector of collegeprograms. “Don wasone of the ruggedpioneers whoattended Santa Fe inthe early years and hevery kindly allows usto use rooms at thefoundation,” saysLightburn. Typically,about a dozen John-nies attend the semi-nars. “We always havemore, of course, whena tutor is here to leadit,” says Lightburn.

In April the chapter hosted a seminar onPlato’s Phaedo, led by Annapolis tutorRobert Druecker. Lightburn says Drueckerfirst led the chapter in a seminar two yearsago in a reading from Thomas Mann’sMagic Mountain, and they were delightedto have him back. The seminar on Plato’sPhaedo used the translation by Eva Brann,Peter Kalkavage, and Eric Salem. Amongthose who attended are younger membersincluding Stassia Sullivan (SF06), GraeDrake (SF05) and Tom Hammerman(A93). The Chicago chapter officers seek toattract more young members, but theyrealize young alumni don’t have the timeto commit; they’re busy establishingcareers and raising families.

Lightburn, who is self-employed and hasa more flexible schedule than his fellowofficers, serves as the chapter’s de factopresident. “We have a revolving group ofofficers,” he explains. “We shared theresponsibility of president except for Paul[Frank], who was doing such a good job astreasurer it made sense for him tocontinue. None of us really wanted to bechapter president because we didn’t havethe time. I became de facto president, buthow would we like our future president tobe chosen? That’s been established in ourbylaws. Those are online on the AlumniWeb site, for everyone to see and use forother chapters.” x

Class of 2007 members, now alumni: from left, Eric Torgerson,Christopher Bea, Andrew Romiti, John Dodge, Lee Branner.

ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONAll alumni have automatic membership in the St. John’s College Alumni Association. The Alumni Association is an independentorganization, with a Board of Directorselected by and from the alumni body. Theboard meets four times a year, twice on eachcampus, to plan programs and coordinate theaffairs of the association. This newsletterwithin The College magazine is sponsored bythe Alumni Association and communicates association news and events of interest.

President – Jason Walsh (A85)Vice President – Steve Thomas (SF74)Secretary – Joanne Murray (SFGI95)Treasurer – Richard Cowles (A70)

Mailing address – Alumni Association, St. John’s College, P.O. Box 2800, Annapolis,MD 21404, or 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe, NM 87505-4599.

Celebrating ChicagoIn a Cultural Mecca, a Chapter Thrivesby Patricia Dempsey

Senior Dinners


{ S t . J o h n ’ s F o r e v e r }

In the summer of 1937, StringfellowBarr and Scott Buchanan arrived inAnnapolis, preparing to launch a“radical” new academic program ata small college that had lost itsaccreditation and teetered on the

brink of bankruptcy.Neither of the two men, according to

various reports, wished to be president.However, Barr proved very good at it:telling the St. John’s story to outside audi-ences and to the media, wooing prospec-tive donors and foundation executives, andworking with Maryland’s legislature andthe college’s Board of Visitors and Gover-nors to set the college on firm ground.

Far from a figurehead, Barr always madetime to be part of the community oflearners, as Charles Nelson (class of 1944)writes in Stringfellow Barr: A CentennialAppreciation of His Life and Work:“…Barr, despite the heavy travel andspeaking schedule, regularly led seminars,tutored in Greek and French, and couldoften be found in the coffee shop toconverse with students and tutors aboutthe coming war, the relevance to the Euro-pean crisis of the Melian Conference inThucydides’ account of the PeloponnesianWar, or perhaps the meaning of the alle-gory of the cave in Plato’s Republic.”

After leaving St. John’s in 1946,following a successful fight to protect thecollege from annexation by the Navy, Barrjoined Buchanan in attempting to establishanother college based on the St. John’smodel; however, their efforts did not cometo fruition. Barr later served as president ofthe Foundation for World Government,taught at the University of Virginia and atRutgers, and later was a fellow at theCenter for the Study of Democratic Institu-tions in California. He died 25 years ago, inAlexandria, Virginia. x

52

Seventy Years of Genuine Conversation

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{ A l u m n i E v e n t s C a l e n d a r }


Alumni Calendar Santa Fe Homecoming 2007September 14-16

Friday, September 149 a.m. Dixon Studio and Winery tour

3 p.m. Registration

Wine and cheese reception for alumni,tutors, GIs, and undergraduate upper-classmen to celebrate the 40th anniversaryof the Graduate Institute

5:30 p.m. 40th Anniversary Celebrationfor the Graduate Institute

8 p.m. Homecoming lecture

10 p.m. Coffee Cabaret & open mic

Saturday, September 15 8 a.m. Yoga

8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration

10:30 a.m. Seminars

12 p.m. Fiesta Picnic

1 p.m. Search and Rescue Team openhouse

1:30 p.m. Family nature hike aroundMonte Sol or a hike to Atalaya MountainPeak

2 p.m. Family Fun afternoon

5 p.m. “Speaking Volumes” lecture

6 p.m. Seventh Annual All-Alumni ArtShow and Reception

7 p.m. Homecoming dinner dance

Sunday, September 168 a.m. Yoga11 a.m. President’s Brunch

Annapolis Homecoming 2007September 28-October 1

Friday, September 281 to 6 p.m. Water activities (sailing,boating)

4 to 8 p.m. Registration

5 p.m.Barbecue for the Class of 1982

5 p.m. Dinner for the classes of the ’30sand ’40s

5:45 p.m. Fiftieth Reunion Dinner forthe Class of 1957

6 p.m. Welcome reception for GraduateInstitute

8:15 p.m. Homecoming Lecture

Rock Party

Saturday, September 298:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Water activities

9:30 to 10:15 a.m. Breakfast and All-Alumni Meeting

10:30 a.m. Seminars

12 p.m.Lunch

12 p.m. Classes of the ’30s and ’40sluncheon

1 to 5 p.m. Activities for children

2 p.m. Freshman chorus, Revisited

3 p.m. Mitchell Gallery tour

4 p.m. Alumni booksigning

4 p.m. Soccer Classic

6 p.m. Cocktail party

7:30 p.m. Alumni Association BanquetEvening Waltz/Swing Party and RockParty

Sunday, October 111 a.m. President’s brunch

1 to 5 p.m. Water activities

QuestionsFor more information about Homecominglogistics, details, and events, contact thealumni office at 410-626-2531 [email protected].

Joanna Stone (A07), her husband Donald Stone (A06), and Travis Price (A71) at theWashington, D.C., campaign event in April.

Back cover photo by Chelsea Stiegman

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