"'The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it...' Psalm 24:1"
--Found on the back of Shorter's Convocation T-shirt
Yesterday, the convocation speaker talked about the importance of being environmentally conscious and how it was important that Christians embrace a more sustainable way of life because of their duty as stewards of the earth. Gotcha. An appeal to religion at a religious school. But he makes a good point, and it was a good way to kick-off Shorter's "Year in Green" (I forget what the actual title is, but that's the gist).
Yet, immediately following convocation in my air-conditioned gym, I walked across my campus where we have recently put down sod to make the campus more attractive. I walked near the now cobblestone paths which very recently were brand-new concrete paths, replaced, I imagine, to appear more aesthetically pleasing. Walking through buildings burning lights that nobody was using, I arrived at the lunch for the day.
Due to the mass of people, the plates and silverware were disposable, mostly being made from plastic (requires petroleum in production) and styrofoam (takes about 300 years to biodegrade).
Later that day, we had a selective blackout around campus, but that didn't stop us from having our Midnight Breakfast.
At lunch today, they were still using styrofoam and plasticware...even though fewer than 200 people were in the caf.
On top of all of this, we don't have a recycling program, a compost program, a mandate towards a paperless campus, or any environmental initiative aside from the claim that we are "going Green."
I get the joke...somehow, though, I'm not laughing.
Heading Back to Shorter
Okay, I'm heading back up to Rome today. Getting my bags packed and getting the hell out. I had a lot of stuff that I wanted to write about...but I'll stick with something simple. There may be a lot of posts in the next few days as I unwind from the end of the summer and get prepared for school. I'm doing a massive voter push soon and I'm trying to get that all straight in my head.
Basically, today, I want to talk about the Olympics. I know, I tired, trite subject that everyone's been talking about...that is if they care about them. I don't understand how there are people who don't like the Olympics. They happen once every four year, complete jazz up NBC's primetime line-up, and provide an unparalleled exhibition of the best athletes in the world.
"But I don't like watching that sport."
I could give a shit. Watch it to root on your country. If you don't like your country, root for the teams that are playing against them. But these are the best athletes in the world competing in things that I could never dream of accomplishing, much less doing in world record fashion. They deserve your support.
Also, if you expect it to be stupid, then the Ameri-hipster ideal will find you and you won't enjoy yourself. When China scores a point against America in court volleyball, start cussing. When somebody lands a winning shot that looked like it was going on, cheer. Invite friends over and eat fried food. Pull out the uncomfortable couch bed. It'll be worth it.
"But America isn't winning this year."
Could give a shit. We've won tons. And it's not the American Games...it's the Olympics. Everybody gets a chance to win. If you want America to win more, train in an event and go get the gold.
"But now that Michael Phelps is done..."
Okay, great, he's the most accomplished Olympian ever, but we have a week of Track & Field, Basketball, Beach and Court Volleyball, Individual Gymnastics, and dozens of team event finals coming up this week. Michael Phelps had his time and he did fantastically. But there are other athletes doing incredible things. Don't tune out just because you've never heard of them.
We have four days left. Make them count. You don't get anything like it again for another two years.
"But I don't like the closing ceremonies."
That's fine. Nobody likes the closing ceremonies. See if MTV is doing an ANTM marathon.
Basically, today, I want to talk about the Olympics. I know, I tired, trite subject that everyone's been talking about...that is if they care about them. I don't understand how there are people who don't like the Olympics. They happen once every four year, complete jazz up NBC's primetime line-up, and provide an unparalleled exhibition of the best athletes in the world.
"But I don't like watching that sport."
I could give a shit. Watch it to root on your country. If you don't like your country, root for the teams that are playing against them. But these are the best athletes in the world competing in things that I could never dream of accomplishing, much less doing in world record fashion. They deserve your support.
Also, if you expect it to be stupid, then the Ameri-hipster ideal will find you and you won't enjoy yourself. When China scores a point against America in court volleyball, start cussing. When somebody lands a winning shot that looked like it was going on, cheer. Invite friends over and eat fried food. Pull out the uncomfortable couch bed. It'll be worth it.
"But America isn't winning this year."
Could give a shit. We've won tons. And it's not the American Games...it's the Olympics. Everybody gets a chance to win. If you want America to win more, train in an event and go get the gold.
"But now that Michael Phelps is done..."
Okay, great, he's the most accomplished Olympian ever, but we have a week of Track & Field, Basketball, Beach and Court Volleyball, Individual Gymnastics, and dozens of team event finals coming up this week. Michael Phelps had his time and he did fantastically. But there are other athletes doing incredible things. Don't tune out just because you've never heard of them.
We have four days left. Make them count. You don't get anything like it again for another two years.
"But I don't like the closing ceremonies."
That's fine. Nobody likes the closing ceremonies. See if MTV is doing an ANTM marathon.
A Brief Note on the Olympics
I have no idea why I like the Olympics as much as I do. I get easily distracted from important tasks to research the minutiae to the medal count and event schedules. And as much as I like watching the events, I'm just as content to read Chicago's 2016 bid for the Olympics or to research the founding and dissolution of the Artistic Medals (thank you so very much, Wikipedia).
So, tonight (tomorrow morning Beijing time), we've been watching the male all-around competition. And the American gymnasts. There are two of them in this competition. Alexander Artemev led the two of them, hanging out in the low teens for most of his rotations. However, the cameras rarely focused on him.
Instead, all eyes were on Jonathan Horton.
I don't have a lot to say. Instead, since I'm tired, my thoughts are very bullet-listed:
-Was I the only one (besides the entire room full of people I watched it with) that thought he came off of every aparatus with a boner?
-His right arm looks way bigger than his left arm.
-It looked like no one was talking to him. This may be aforementioned boner or that he looked like he was on the verge of roid rage the entire time.
In addition to Horton's near-craziness, I swear someone has greased this year's Olympic Gymnastics equipment--it seems like everyone is falling. Personally, I think Poland greased the balance beam and Palestine did the pommel horse. Apparently, I was on a P-kick in my groundless accusations tonight.
By the way, Georgia beat Russia in their preliminary beach volleyball match, 2-1, but not before the French burst in to play the game on their behalf.
So, tonight (tomorrow morning Beijing time), we've been watching the male all-around competition. And the American gymnasts. There are two of them in this competition. Alexander Artemev led the two of them, hanging out in the low teens for most of his rotations. However, the cameras rarely focused on him.
Instead, all eyes were on Jonathan Horton.
I don't have a lot to say. Instead, since I'm tired, my thoughts are very bullet-listed:
-Was I the only one (besides the entire room full of people I watched it with) that thought he came off of every aparatus with a boner?
-His right arm looks way bigger than his left arm.
-It looked like no one was talking to him. This may be aforementioned boner or that he looked like he was on the verge of roid rage the entire time.
In addition to Horton's near-craziness, I swear someone has greased this year's Olympic Gymnastics equipment--it seems like everyone is falling. Personally, I think Poland greased the balance beam and Palestine did the pommel horse. Apparently, I was on a P-kick in my groundless accusations tonight.
By the way, Georgia beat Russia in their preliminary beach volleyball match, 2-1, but not before the French burst in to play the game on their behalf.
You're Hard Earned Dollars At Work
And by you, I mean mine. And by mine, I mean the students at Shorter who don't have a sweet scholarship.
Now, Shorter has had something of a cash-flow issue in recent years. It's endowment is not especially large so this tuition driven college has been doing everything it can to save money and attract students of all kinds. And even though the entry level SAT score has been plummeting and the atmosphere of the college has changed, many argue for the worse, that's not why I'm writing today.
Because Shorter is trying to save money. They have raised tuition, room, and board again to something like 23.5 a year. And what did they do with this money?
A little birdie (who didn't want me to go into a fit of homicidal mania when I get back up there in a week) told me that this is how they spent it:
Yes, humble inquirer, those are Segways. For our security staff to ride around on.
Nevermind that between their office in the Student Union and the furthest building on the hill is about a five-minute pimp walk.
Nevermind that Shorter is on a hill, thus making these devices impractical down the steep roads that lead to the gym. Nevermind that in defiance of all decrees of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and common decency that Shorter is one of the most handicap (and those Segway) inaccessible places that I have ever been to.
Nevermind that Shorter is made of cobblestones and greenery in the front circle, each of which could be damged by the use of this item.
Also, nevermind that even at Segway's top speed of 12.5 mph it would take approximately seven minutes of puttering to reach the gatehouse or the Bass Villages (longer to reach High Acres). Further, nevermind that during class changes, it will be impossible to drive these around campus due to the large number of people walking.
And, lastly, nevermind that they already have a car to make any excursion that can't be made simply by walking.
What I would like to know is why they need them. Because, in a budget crunch (where several budgets have been frozen for several years), it seems that one would only buy something one actually needed. Yet, Shorter security employs no paraplegics, no one missing a limb of any kind.
Now, I haven't been back up to Rome yet so I have no idea how many of these monstrosities of uselessness Shorter has acquired. But here is a line from the good ol' Wikipedia Segway page:
"In the US the price (MSRP, July 2008) of the various Segway models ranges from $5,350 to $6,400"
One of these machines is someone's room and board. Four of them are a year's collegiate education. Now, I don't want to seem like I'm going on forever about something that really equates to a purchase of less than $50k. But, for a ball park figure, let's say they spent $20k this year on purchase, training, and maintenance on these machines. Here's how I would have spent the money:
-Year subscription to the JSTOR online database to provide a decent research tool for primary sources in literature and history. ($11k)
-Getting rid of mold in older buildings ($4k)
-Bug-bombing all of the buildings and increased presence of bug control ($3.5k)
-Replacement of all smoke detectors to be non-defective and tamper-proof ($1.5k)
Now, I honestly don't know if any of those numbers are correct. They could easily be much more expensive or much cheaper. But I suspect that they have all already been taken care of. Otherwise, I'm sure such an egregiously inane expenditure never would have been undertaken.
But, come to think of it, I'll rest safer knowing that I have Segway cops to protect me.
Now if someone could explain to me why I only know of three entering theatre/musical theatre students...
Now, Shorter has had something of a cash-flow issue in recent years. It's endowment is not especially large so this tuition driven college has been doing everything it can to save money and attract students of all kinds. And even though the entry level SAT score has been plummeting and the atmosphere of the college has changed, many argue for the worse, that's not why I'm writing today.
Because Shorter is trying to save money. They have raised tuition, room, and board again to something like 23.5 a year. And what did they do with this money?
A little birdie (who didn't want me to go into a fit of homicidal mania when I get back up there in a week) told me that this is how they spent it:
Yes, humble inquirer, those are Segways. For our security staff to ride around on.
Nevermind that between their office in the Student Union and the furthest building on the hill is about a five-minute pimp walk.
Nevermind that Shorter is on a hill, thus making these devices impractical down the steep roads that lead to the gym. Nevermind that in defiance of all decrees of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and common decency that Shorter is one of the most handicap (and those Segway) inaccessible places that I have ever been to.
Nevermind that Shorter is made of cobblestones and greenery in the front circle, each of which could be damged by the use of this item.
Also, nevermind that even at Segway's top speed of 12.5 mph it would take approximately seven minutes of puttering to reach the gatehouse or the Bass Villages (longer to reach High Acres). Further, nevermind that during class changes, it will be impossible to drive these around campus due to the large number of people walking.
And, lastly, nevermind that they already have a car to make any excursion that can't be made simply by walking.
What I would like to know is why they need them. Because, in a budget crunch (where several budgets have been frozen for several years), it seems that one would only buy something one actually needed. Yet, Shorter security employs no paraplegics, no one missing a limb of any kind.
Now, I haven't been back up to Rome yet so I have no idea how many of these monstrosities of uselessness Shorter has acquired. But here is a line from the good ol' Wikipedia Segway page:
"In the US the price (MSRP, July 2008) of the various Segway models ranges from $5,350 to $6,400"
One of these machines is someone's room and board. Four of them are a year's collegiate education. Now, I don't want to seem like I'm going on forever about something that really equates to a purchase of less than $50k. But, for a ball park figure, let's say they spent $20k this year on purchase, training, and maintenance on these machines. Here's how I would have spent the money:
-Year subscription to the JSTOR online database to provide a decent research tool for primary sources in literature and history. ($11k)
-Getting rid of mold in older buildings ($4k)
-Bug-bombing all of the buildings and increased presence of bug control ($3.5k)
-Replacement of all smoke detectors to be non-defective and tamper-proof ($1.5k)
Now, I honestly don't know if any of those numbers are correct. They could easily be much more expensive or much cheaper. But I suspect that they have all already been taken care of. Otherwise, I'm sure such an egregiously inane expenditure never would have been undertaken.
But, come to think of it, I'll rest safer knowing that I have Segway cops to protect me.
Now if someone could explain to me why I only know of three entering theatre/musical theatre students...
Get Some Rest
Apparently, all my body needed from today was a gigantic nap. I went to sleep this morning somewhere around 1:30 (all I know is that I didn't get to see the re-airing of last night's Colbert Report). I got up today about 1 PM. I never sleep that late. Pretty much ever. Not even during the school year when I don't have a rehearsal on a Saturday (safely falling in the rare-to-never category). Anywho...
I'm ready to move back to Shorter. Ready to have my senior year and graduate. My biggest worry for the next year? My capstone reception. See, I'm not really a receiving kind of guy (moving on from the obvious jokes). Instead, I kind of want to go out with the ten people I really enjoy and have a kick-ass post-show dinner filled with compound adjectives. But, bowing to social norms and the fact that I'll in all probability have a private show, that is almost certainly out. So, my family, living 250 miles away, won't be able to plan said reception. So, I get to do it. And that's what pisses me off about the whole affair.
I think I might just kick a shit ton of pasta and call it a day. I've never been to a reception at Shorter where they served pasta.
I am slowly filling up my latest pen and paper journal. It's almost done. I finally broke down and bout some real pens the other night because I couldn't write in red anymore...it looked like I was the Marquis de Sade from Quills...and I was only writing about the screwed up lives of myself and my friends.
This blog, starting when I get back, will begin to be my Shorter experience log. Doing it right in pseudonyms.
Now, I'm off to work on the massive monologue book (Lisa, when I get it to a reasonable level of being done, I will most definitely send it to you).
I'm ready to move back to Shorter. Ready to have my senior year and graduate. My biggest worry for the next year? My capstone reception. See, I'm not really a receiving kind of guy (moving on from the obvious jokes). Instead, I kind of want to go out with the ten people I really enjoy and have a kick-ass post-show dinner filled with compound adjectives. But, bowing to social norms and the fact that I'll in all probability have a private show, that is almost certainly out. So, my family, living 250 miles away, won't be able to plan said reception. So, I get to do it. And that's what pisses me off about the whole affair.
I think I might just kick a shit ton of pasta and call it a day. I've never been to a reception at Shorter where they served pasta.
I am slowly filling up my latest pen and paper journal. It's almost done. I finally broke down and bout some real pens the other night because I couldn't write in red anymore...it looked like I was the Marquis de Sade from Quills...and I was only writing about the screwed up lives of myself and my friends.
This blog, starting when I get back, will begin to be my Shorter experience log. Doing it right in pseudonyms.
Now, I'm off to work on the massive monologue book (Lisa, when I get it to a reasonable level of being done, I will most definitely send it to you).
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