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T!" #$%&"'$ '"(#)*)"+ ,- S$. J,!'’# C,.."/" !"#$%!"#$%& 60 C,.."/" A0"'%" A''*),.1#, M*+2.*'& 21401 #34*./*&-.2@/5*1..4,5 '!()*+,-*)!./,0!"/1!2$*3# << (((.1##%%.4,5/#34/*&-.2 (((.-*4"6,,7.4,5/#34*/*&-.2 he thank-you for my piano playing which someone anonymously published Tin last week’s Gadfly was very touching; you’re certainly welcome! I’m glad Founded in 1980, the Gadfly is the stu- people enjoy it when I play. dent newsmagazine distributed to over Speaking of people enjoying my playing: when the entire dining hall gives 600 students, faculty, and sta! of the An- me a standing ovation, I know that the magnitude of appreciation that you are napolis campus. expressing is exceeding how you actually feel, which makes it feel fake. I would Opinions expressed within are the sole prefer it if everyone made their applause proportional to their actual enjoy- responsibility of the author(s). The Gad- ment. If I finish a piece and some people clap, but you didn’t like that piece, fly reserves the right to accept, reject, and don’t applaud; I’d rather know that everyone who does applaud actually means edit submissions in any way necessary it. to publish a professional, informative, One more thing: I may be good at rattling o! half-baked arrangements of and thought-provoking newsmagazine. video game music, and I’m glad if that’s what everyone likes, but I’m not really a good pianist. I know approximately one “classical” piece well; if you give me The Gadfly meets where the body meets a Beethoven piano concerto to play, I will be absolutely stumped. There are a the soul. number of Johnnies who are much better pianists both technically and musi- Articles should be submitted by Friday cally, and I think everybody knows that. So if you like my music, great, I’ll keep at 11:59 PM to sjca.gadfl[email protected]. playing; but please don’t tell people that I’m a good pianist. Because then some- body might hire me, and then I would only play video game music, and then I S$*-- would get fired, and I don’t want that. Nathan Goldman • Editor-in-Chief Ian Tuttle • Editor-in-Chief Louis Pisha Hayden Pendergrass • Layout Editor Reza Djalal • Photographer Sasha Welm • Cartoonist Jonathan Barone • Sta! "/1!")-4)/&!56-#$!7897! Will Brown • Sta! << Jacob Glass • Sta! or years I have been asking to play Kunai. I am envious of the fact that Andrew Kriehn • Sta! women get to play twice as much sports as men do here, with the fact that Sarah Meggison • Sta! F Kevin Morris • Sta! they can play in both Kunai and our coed league. And netball, they get to play Charles Zug • Sta! netball. How awesome is that? (answer: twelve. Netball is twelve awesomes.) At least once every year, for the past four years, I have made my case to the C,'$+16%$,+# Kunai captains of why I should be allowed to play Kunai with them, but every Sebastián Abella Drew Menzer time I was answered with resounding nos. They would give me very reason- Hunter Cox Evgenia Olimpieva able explanations about how, if they let men play, the men would ruin Kunai Michael Fogleman Louis Pisha with their testosterone and excessive competitiveness. They would explain to Robert George Hollis Thoms Lucinda Dukes Edinberg me that Kunai had a very special atmosphere that would be jeopardized by the introduction of men, but I wouldn’t really hear anything they said after that because by then I would be curled up in a Kunai-less ball of sadness. I had almost completely given up hope of ever getting to play kunai until I !"#$%&'(%)*+&#",- heard about Kunai’s season pass. It turns out that, while I can’t talk my way on t’s been awhile, Gadfly readers, to Kunai, I might be able to buy my way on. This is a pretty big move for Kunai, Ibut we’re pleased to be back—and so they are understandably being very careful about who they give the season with an issue chock full of amusing pass to. With that in mind, allow me to explain why I should be the one to get and provocative pieces. We hope you the season pass. enjoy. First and foremost is the fact that I would fit in with Kunai: while I do enjoy Please remember that we are some good competition, fun is of paramount importance. Being on the Spartan always looking for pictures of intramural team, I’ve perfected the art of having more fun than the other team campus life to publish in our while still losing the game. This takes us to the second reason I should be al- pages. If you happen to snap some lowed to playing Kunai: I’m not actually that good at sports. It’s not like they photos of parties, athletic events, or would be letting Lebron James in to Kunai; I would not be having a huge impact Johnnies-in-the-wild, send them to on the outcome of games. I would not be altering the way that Kunai functions us! Our gmail address is listed in the masthead above. now, I would be just be adding to the fun, and that is why I should play Kunai. Happy reading! Drew Menzer T!" G#$%&' 03 !"#$%&%'()"*+"&,)"#*--).)

Hunter Cox A’13 photo by Anyi Guo t St. John’s we pride ourselves on the questions that we Prince Andrei tells his best friend in the waiting room: “Gosh, Aask and our pursuit of them. As we engage in discussions I do everything for the chicks” (p. 1,257,842). This quote with our peers, we seek not simply the answer to, What was doesn’t need any explaining, and if it does, you should really Oedipus’s mistake?, but what this question actually points to: ask yourself: Why are you at St. John’s? What is good? How do we know the truth? Does it exist? But It can be seen from this investigation that the great men of among these great questions, one gets overlooked in the class- action, of faith, of stories, and of nobility all do everything for es. I am, of course, referring to the question at the bottom of a the chicks. This knowledge leads me to my conclusion: I’m at bottle, the question that we supposedly answered in our appli- St. John’s for the chicks. But how can I fulfill my time at St. cations: Why am I here? I propose to investigate this question John’s if I never ever ever come out for the ladies on the Kunai through a close examination of four key texts. By looking at field? Thus, in order to actualize my potential, I seek to play what motivates Achilles, in Homer’s Iliad, St. Augustine, in his Kunai. A lot of Kunai. As For how much I will pay, I turn to Confessions, Don Quixote, from Cervantes’s novel of the same my friend Marx. Marx comments on the value of items, say- name, and the Absolute Knowing Conscious, from Hegel’s ing, “Coats are worth money, but sports and work should be Phenomenology of Spirit. shared by everyone, and the state will pay.” Thus it is seen that In Book I of the Iliad, Homer uses the jerk Agamemnon Kunai should accept me, and the state will pay for me to play to illustrate how great Achilles is and why he came to fight. with them in netball and all other awesome sports. But I am Agamemnon states: “Son of Peleus, you always want to get the willing to pay for my sweet jersey and the jersey of one other chicks, but I will not give up the girl” (III. 8354). This quote player. ! shows that Achilles only decided to go to Troy to win chicks, and when he will not get the girl, he refuses to fight, for com- pletion without chicks just isn’t worth it. !"#$%#%&'()*$ In his Confessions, Augustine is tormented by the act of stealing pears when he was a youth. As he recounts the acts of +,-./,012$34$56.7689 his youth, he asks what it was that caused him to steal pears that were unpleasing to the eye and to the tongue. He states: ! Evgenia Olimpieva, A’14 “Was it for the love of friendship? Or was it done for the de- Books, balance, freedom, free men. sire for a juicy fruit to quench my thirst? Nay, I did it for the Not an illusion freedom, but a true freedom of mind. chicks” (Confessions p. 98983). It becomes quite clear that the It is only found by the ways taught here only reason Augustine did anything was for the ladies, even if Light. Light. Joy. Euphoria. it was just stealing pears. St. John’s College It is now time for us to turn from the ancient dead to the Forgetfulness of the world and everything, except Descartes. modern dead, starting with junior year and the delightful tale Grandeur of the human soul. of Sancho Panza (later Sancho Druid, first Druid captain) and Liberal Education, the modern world has not known you, his fearless leader, Don Quixote. As Don Quixote embarks on but I have known you. quests of danger to prove his courage and chivalry, he fre- Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy. quently reminds the reader of the beautiful Dulcinea del To- I will never get a job boso. After facing the daunting giant windmill, Cervantes Nothing in this world is free, neither is liberality informs the reader: “Although his pride and body were hurt, What am I doing here!? Don Quixote would not allow himself to forget the beautiful Let me not doubt the Program ever Dulcinea and uttered a silent plea aloud to Sancho: ‘Sancho, if This is the noblest life, to have experience d you, the Program, I die, tell Dulcinea that I love her. She’s the best (like the Dru- and the ones that breathe life into you, the Great Books ids)!’” (Great Books edition, p. 69). This quote, while not us- Great Books ing the word chick, clearly shows that Dulcinea, being a lady, Great Books causes Don Quixote to do all that he does. I did not read them that well. But they are all on my bookshelf Finally, to finish my search of why I am at St. John’s, I turn Let me never be separated from them to Hegel, and then because it doesn’t make sense I turn away Submission to Junior Year, total and sweet and look instead to Marx, but before Marx I look to perhaps Eternal joy in math and French the longest book on the program: War and Peace. At the end Amen of the book (spoiler alert), right before he has his sixth child, 04 T#$ G%&'() !"#$%"&'()*'+," A Response to (-"./012/+1(- “Examining the Bible” Jonathan Barone A’13 photo by Anyi Guo don’t think there’s one of us here that couraging. Even so, I couldn’t will my- Robert George A’15 Idoesn’t search for validation in one self to do better. I turned to the athletic hile I appreciate Mr. Hope’s way or another. field, hoping to find some value and self- Wconcerns regarding the qual- Now, I’m not saying whether it’s worth there, but my striving in sports ity of conversation in our Old Testa- wrong or it’s right, healthy or unhealthy, was just as fruitless as my striving in ment seminars (cf. “Examining the but I do think we need to take a step class. I even contemplated leaving St. Bible,” Issue 5), it seems unlikely that back and look at our motivations once John’s, because I had lost my passion for his recommendations for approaching in a while. I seem to remember someone the school. this text will bring about the honest recommending us to examine our lives One moment stands out to me as a “dialectical examination” he desires. from time to time, and I tend to think it’s turning point from this mindset. I was Here’s the problem, as far as I can tell, good advice. having tea with a tutor, and we were according to Mr. Hope: the Bible is be- So, back to the matter at hand and a talking about seminar and how di"cult ing given unfair privilege amongst the question we all struggle with: Where do it was. She suggested that I wrestle with Great Books. It is not being submitted we find our worth? the text and make it mine, to wrestle to the same challenges and questions Since we’re all here at St. John’s, I with these ideas in more than just an as the other books on the Program. think it’s safe to assume we wanted to intellectual way. hat advice has helped The Bible does present a unique chal- escape the cutthroat academia of many focus me in many ways, because it brings lenge to our conversation, as has been colleges, where the object of learn- me back to the essential question: Where discussed in previous columns. To ing is driven largely by taking tests and do I find value? treat this challenge as above question- maintaining 4.0 GPAs. We’re here partly I have come to realize that more than ing would be a serious misstep. because we’re more interested in pur- I more than I value the Great Books In light of this, Mr. Hope suggests suing ideas and thoughts than chasing themselves, I find value in trying to com- that we treat the Hebrew God like we after grades. It’s a choice we made, con- municate with my friends about these did Homer’s gods, whom “we were sciously or not. books that we both quick to judge.” He alleges that “we And yet, I think it’s It’s important to remem- love and hate. In try- don’t criticize the parts that don’t easy to get sucked ing to understand a make sense to us at first.” While ratio- ber that the work you into a di!erent kind work, I shouldn’t be nalizing the wrathful actions of the di- of self-evaluation. At do and the books you seeking validation in vine with the pretense that they must least, I know I did. read do not determine how much I know adhere to an imported sense of justice Ever since the begin- your meaning; you give (in pursuing knowl- and the good is a regrettable approach, ning of my time here, meaning to these works edge for knowl- relying on quick judgments and criti- seminar has always “ by how much you invest edge’s sake); rather, cisms based on limited understanding been my most di"- I should be seeking seems hardly better. in them. In this way, cult class. Freshman after knowledge be- Near the end of his article, Mr. Hope and especially sopho- your performance does cause it’s something remarks that “the Bible is a great book more year, I struggled not dictate your worth; that I enjoy and care for the same reasons people looked with participation. your worth dictates your about. It’s important to it for guidance years ago.” While I I constantly tried performance. to remember that think this is true, the wrathful nature to validate my per- the work you do and of God’s presence begs the question: formance in class by comparing myself the books you read do not determine Why is this the God they chose to look with other people. I worked very hard your meaning; you give meaning to these to for guidance? Why this God and on making sure that I wasn’t the person works by how much you invest in them. why these prophets? A reliance on crit- who talked the least, and in the majority In this way, your performance does not icisms founded on knee-jerk prejudic- of my seminars, I’d pay close attention dictate your worth; your worth dictates es to guide our conversation does not to who was (and who wasn’t) speaking. your performance. I hearken back to a seem to get us closer to tackling those I was hoping that by doing that, I would passage I’m probably misquoting from questions. Rather, it will leave us artic- somehow persuade myself that I was a book I haven’t read called Big Game, ulating what is most evident (the harsh improving. Small World by Alexander Wol!: “Win- nature of God’s character) and skirting But it didn’t work. I’d come out of ning is good, playing your hardest is bet- more fundamental issues (how this na- seminar feeling unfulfilled, that I hadn’t ter, but loving the game is best of all.” I ture is incorporated into the guidance tried my hardest, and it was deeply dis- think the analogy to life is pretty apt. ! the text provides).! T#$ G%&'() 05 !"#$%&'()*+",- !""#$%#&&'($!)*+ In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed a St. John’s alumna to head a life-saving federal agency. Anne Ferro, A’80, discusses her path to the nation’s capital. Anne Ferro, A’80, testifies before a House subcommittee.

What is your current job? periences that challenge them on all levels. There is no one I lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMC- track to pursue a career in the public sector—I chose the Peace SA), a federal agency that works to improve highway safety Corps, graduate school in public policy, local government, and and save lives by preventing crashes involving trucks and bus- odd jobs in between before settling on the path I’m on today. es. FMCSA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Careers in the public sector are as diverse and exciting as the President Obama appointed me to serve as FMCSA Adminis- needs of communities. trator in November 2009. Any general advice, especially for an upperclassman who Did you attend other schools after St. John’s? is interested in this field but is not quite sure what to do? Yes, University of Maryland School of Public Policy, where I Talk with SJC alumni who are in positions or fields that inter- received my Master’s in Public Administration in 1984. est you. These conversations will help you establish a sense of the many rewarding paths people pursue in public sector Did you know what you wanted to do while attending St. careers and the range of routes they took to get there. The John’s? conversations also build a network of contacts you may use in When I was young, President Kennedy’s call for volunteers to the years to come. sign up for “the toughest job you’ll ever love” left a big impres- sion. My interest in serving in the public sector evolved during How did you market yourself with a St. John’s degree? my years at St. John’s and was strengthened by my service in I highlighted math and philosophy as my primary areas of con- the Peace Corps (Cote d’Ivoire, 80-81). centration and emphasized good communication and problem solving skills with a strong work ethic. Did St. John’s help prepare you for work in the field? Yes. Reading, asking questions, and discussing original texts How would you characterize your field as a whole? Is it of writers and thinkers whose works influenced civilizations accessible to newcomers? Stable or fluid? etc. and democracies through the centuries gave me critical think- Public sector career paths are numerous and dynamic. In fact, ing skills. Also, St. John’s cemented for me the fundamentals there is such a wide range of opportunities and points of entry of an e"ective dialogue—listening, asking, reflecting, respect- that it may seem daunting to figure out where to start—edu- ing. My St. John’s education gave me a solid foundation for cation, law, government, not-for-profit, community service, every job I’ve ever had. policy development, military service, and more.

What didn’t St. John’s prepare you for? What was your senior essay topic? Marriage and motherhood! All kidding aside, the curricu- Billy Budd, Sailor, by Herman Melville; my senior essay was lum and St. John’s community gave me every opportunity to titled “When you say Budd, You’ve said it All”…allusions to our engage fully in all aspects of academic and college life. The lives of thirty years ago, when the Little Campus served as our campus location, in the center of one of the most beautiful and watering hole and think tank… historic state capitals in the US, gave me plenty of opportunity to work in town and balance school life with the larger com- What is your favorite book on the Program? munity. My favorite SJC courses of study were math tutorials and seminar readings on our country’s founding documents. Like How did you feel you compared, in graduate school or ear- most Johnnies, I have a few favorites: Plato’s Republic, the ly jobs, to people from di!erent educational backgrounds, Federalist Papers, and Gulliver’s Travels. Another favorite was particularly those with field-related degrees? Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which we studied in Miss Brann’s I compared well to co-workers and fellow graduate students. music tutorial. In fact, the confidence to ask questions, work collaboratively, and solve problems civilly were real assets in graduate school Do you find that you lead a philosophical life? and the workplace. I’ve led a life of inquiry, thoughtfulness, humor, reflection, and always in pursuit of a good discussion. Without question, my Can you describe a general track someone from St. John’s life is richer for my St. John’s education. I highly recommend might take to get into a career in this field? the program whenever I speak to high school students and I encourage SJC graduates to seek out jobs, education, and ex- their parents, and would love to return myself some day. ! !"#$%&'()*+)

Hollis !oms AGI’06 ames A. Garfield for President in 2012! Forget Romney or uments available in the James A. Garfield Papers at the Library JObama! of Congress: his extensive personal diary, particularly during Educator, congressman, general, and 20th President of the his years as a student, teacher and school administrator, 1848- United States, James A. Garfield (1831-1881) was an extraor- 1860 (James A. Garfield Papers, Library of Congress, Series dinary Statesman-Literary Man, but his life of 50 years and 1, Diaries, 1848-1881, 21 Volumes, Reel 1, Volumes 1 -12, 1848 presidency of just a few months was cut short by an assassin’s January 1873); the equally extensive ledger listing his personal bullet, causing his speeches, writings and presidency to fade collection of books that he put together in 1872 (James A. Gar- into obscurity. It could be argued that Garfield was our first field Papers, Library of Congress, Series 17U, Reel 169. Library Johnnie President and in 2012 we need a Johnnie President— Catalogue 1872-1884); and the detailed ledger kept by the one who can read and think comprehensively and deeply. We Library of Congress of the books Garfield checked out from need a Garfield! the Library of Congress while Congressman during the years Garfield was deeply a!ected by books of literature from 1863-1867 (Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Receipt many di!erent fields of learning, purchasing books through- Book M, 1863-1867). out his life and eventually amassing a large personal library. He loved to read, think, write, discuss, and speak about ideas Garfield’s Diary he read in the books he accumulated, as evidenced in his ex- Garfield kept a meticulously detailed diary, starting in tensive diary volumes, the many notes he left in preparation 1848, and one can follow his educational development as a for talks, the speeches he gave throughout his student and teacher. Early in the diary he al- life, his personal collection of books, and the ready showed a love for the study of Latin and many books he checked out from the Library Greek. On April 15, 1850, he wrote “Amo Li- of Congress during his tenure in Congress. bros” (“I love books”), on May 23, 1850, “Per- Colleague and life-long friend, B. A. Hins- severentia vincit omnia” (“Perseverance con- dale, who was, like Garfield, President of quers all things”), and on December 7, 1851, Hiram College and spoke at Garfield’s memo- “Lege et cogite” (“Read and think”). He loved rial service at Hiram College, after the assas- reading Latin and Greek texts and became sination, noted that Garfield loved reading so proficient in reading and translating both “everywhere, on the cars, in the omnibus and that he would impress his friends by simulta- after retiring at night, and rarely, or never, neously translating Latin with one hand and went away from home, even for a few hours, Greek with another. In one of his most vision- but he took his book and kept his mind full ary speeches on education on June 14, 1867, and fresh.” Garfield’s scholarship and famili- he wrote: arity with general literature was well known The cover of President James A. and respected in the educational arena and in Garfield’s ledger of his personal Greek is, perhaps, the most perfect instru- the halls of Congress. Hinsdale remembered collection of books that he put to- ment of thought ever invented by man, and its that “he had great power of logical analysis gether in 1872 kept by the Library literature has never been equaled in purity of and stood with the first in power of rhetori- of Congress style and boldness of expression. As a means cal exposition, the instincts and habits of a of intellectual discipline its value can hardly scholar, loved to roam in every field of knowledge, delighted be overestimated. To take a long and complicated sentence in creations of the imagination, poetry, fiction, and art, loved in Greek—to study each word in its meanings, inflections the abstract things of philosophy, took a keen interest in sci- and relations, and to build up in the mind out of these pol- entific research, gathered into his capacious store-house the ished materials, a sentence, perfect as a temple, and filled facts of history and politics, and threw over the whole, the life with Greek thought which has dwelt there two thousand and power of his own originality.” years, is almost an act of creation; it calls into activity all the Garfield’s love of books can be seen by looking at three doc- faculties of the mind. In addition to being Principal of West- unknown) speeches you will see that he ern Reserve Eclectic Institute at age 26, he was able to balance what we would today was also a teacher of Ancient Languages term Republican and Democrat values. and Literature, teaching Latin and Greek, He understood a partnership role for gov- geology, religion, English, and history. ernment (common welfare and commu- nity) and citizen (individual liberty and Personal Collection of Books responsibility), especially as he thought Among his extensive papers at the about education. Library of Congress is a journal listing Garfield might have been describ- his personal collection of books, which ing himself as a Statesman-Literary Man numbered in the hundreds. He catego- when he wrote about the true Literary rized all his books according to topics Man in his “The Geology of Literature” and also manually compiled an alpha- essay back during his undergraduate betical listing. Garfield must have been a years at Williams College: Johnnie; his personal collection of books The di!erence is, that while the small closely resembles the Program: Aeschy- man is a small, the great man is a broad lus, Burke, Calvin, Cicero, Dante, Dred and full, reflection of his day. But the true Scott Decision, Euripides, the Federalist Literary Man is no mere gleaner, follow- Papers, Herodotus, Homer, Horace (his favorite writer), Pla- ing in the rear and gathering up the fragments of the world’s to, Plutarch, Lincoln, Lucretius, Milton, Rabelais, Rousseau, thought, but he goes down deep into the heart of human- Shakespeare, Thucydides, Tocqueville, Virgil, U. S. Constitu- ity, watches its throbbing, analyses the forces at work there, tion, and, of course, the Bible. In addition to Latin and Greek traces out with prophetic foresight, their tendencies, and grammars and texts, he had grammars and texts in German, thus, standing far out beyond his age, holds up the picture French, Spanish, and Hebrew. He read in almost every subject of what is, and is to be. area; there was nothing that escaped his interest. If one were to measure Garfield’s stature as a Statesman- Library of Congress Readings Literary Man, one could look at two presidents who followed By scanning the Library of Congress ledger of checked-out him. Garfield was to some extent a composite of Theodore books for the years 1863-1867, one can see that Garfield read Roosevelt, military man and man of action, and Woodrow diversely. Some examples from the 200-plus he checked out: Wilson, Christian moralist and college professor. Garfield was Je!erson’s writings, Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Rousseau’s Social no “mere gleaner, following in the rear and gathering up the Contract, Thucydides, Hobbes, Dickens’ Oliver Twist, Thack- fragments of the world’s thought.” Hinsdale remembered, as eray’s Vanity Fair, Shakespeare’s tragedies, Hamilton’s writ- we noted earlier, that Garfield “gathered into his capacious ings, Tennyson’s poems, James Fennimore Cooper’s Deerslay- store house the facts of history and politics, and threw over er, and Cicero’s letters and orations. the whole, the life and power of his own originality.” He had Garfield had an amazing life, rising from the log cabin to the an ability to make sense out of the “fragments of the world’s White House. His life can be summarized as follows: thought,” and from those fragments created an intellectual • Born November 19, 1831 whole. Garfield came at a time when America needed a vision- • Father died May, 1833 ary president who, with the strength of his will and imagina- • Student at Geauga Seminary, 1849-1850 tion, could creatively take the fragments of a country still shat- • Taught at District Schools, 1849-1851 tered by the remnants of the Civil War—educational, financial, • Student and Teacher at Western Reserve Eclectic Insti- psychological, sociological, philosophical, and political—and tute (later Hiram College), 1851-1854 put these fragments together into a beautiful whole, building • Undergraduate Student at Williams College, 1854-1856 a unified nation. One wonders if Garfield had had the chance • Principal and Teacher of the Eclectic Institute (Hiram), to fully realize his Statesman-Literary Man stature, what “pro- 1856-1860 phetic foresight” he might have had for America, and “stand- • Ohio Senator, 1859-1861 ing far out beyond his age,” what vision he might have had as • Soldier and General, 1861-1862 to what America was and was to be. • Representative in Congress, 1862-1878 We live at a time where we need a leader that can creatively • United States Senator from Ohio, January, 1880 take up the fragments of a country shattered by perpetual war • Nominated for Presidency by Republican Party, June, and economic disasters. One wonders what Garfield could do 1880 if he were elected president today in 2012 and what vision he • Elected President of the United States, November, 1880 might have had for America’s future. • Inaugurated President, March 4, 1881 At least we would know that our president loved to read • Shot by an assassin, July 2, 1881 and think, that he read books we loved, that he cherished the • Died from the wound, September 19, 1881 discipline of study, that he was not afraid of intellectual chal- lenges that even tested his own beliefs, that he could think Garfield came almost out of obscurity during the Repub- deeply and expansively, and that he delighted in learning and lican National Convention in 1880 and emerged as its nomi- discussing. He was a Johnnie. nee on the 36th ballot! If you read his most famous (but today Garfield for President in 2012! ! 08 T"# G$%&'( !"#$%&'("##)#'*#+,-.)#/+0"), We do not often associate heartfelt appreciation with subtle taboos and social strangeness. !e modern mentality, it seems, would rather we not subject ourselves to these things at all, let alone "nd them endearing. Circle Mirror Transformation, the College’s "rst theatrical production of the semester, seeks to tap into the awkwardness of human interaction, moving us to sym- pathize with the characters if for no other reason than acute un- derstanding; we know how they feel, because we’ve been in their positions before. I spoke with Nicole Havranek, the director, to learn more about the method and intent behind Circle Mirror Reza Djalal A’15 Transformation.

For those of us who absolutely nothing about it, can you With a title like Circle Mirror Transformation should the describe Circle Mirror Transformation in ten words? audience expect a lot of special e!ects? The best short description of the play that I’ve ever seen is Haha, no. Circle Mirror Transformation is actually one of the in a review from BackStage. “[Circle Mirror Transformation] acting games in the show. It appears in Week 3 (the show is is about real people exploring their lives through tiny leaps of split up into six weeks). faith and creativity.” Are there any controversial topics Circle Mirror Trans- How is this genre of play, and this play in particular, di!er- formation draws attention to that the audience should be ent from other recent SJC productions? aware of before coming? This play does diverge from St. John’s’ tendency to do old- The only topic that could be seen as controversial is the abuse er plays. Circle Mirror came out in 2009 and won the OBIE of one of the characters as a child. award (an award for excellence in o!-Broadway theater). It is also interesting in that it has an essence of improvisation, and It sounds like emotions behind the scenes are important it is full of theater games (most of which are scripted). Yet, at for Circle Mirror Transformation’s fruition as a play. Why the same time, I’ve never seen a play that’s felt more real. is that? We have been rehearsing this play since the second week of Is there a certain way you think the audience should ap- school, with about three rehearsals a week. One interesting proach Circle Mirror Transformation? aspect of our play practices is that The audience should be willing to we begin every practice with acting give the play a chance, and to trust games that appear in the play. At the it. It tests the trust of the audience beginning of every rehearsal, we play just as much as it tests the trust of its a game during which we lie on the characters and actors. floor and count to ten, and have to start over if two people say a number What inspired you to choose Circle at the same time. It really allows us Mirror Transformation as your to focus at the start of practice. After first production at St. John’s? that, we usually play a few other act- While I was participating in a play- ing games that appear in the script, writing apprenticeship at the Pitts- such as playing a game of explosion burgh Public Theater in my senior tag, using the other cast members to year of high school, all of us involved act out important scenes from our got to see their entire season of lives or conversing using only the shows. I ended up seeing Circle Mir- words ‘ak-mak’ and ‘goulash’ (the cast ror twice, as well as getting to talk to favorite). The games range from silly the cast, crew, and director. The show and active to serious and revealing. was so di!erent from everything I’d Over the last six weeks, we have em- seen and done in theater before, and barrassed ourselves and realized the I hadn’t been able to stop thinking need to just go for it. We have learned about it since then. I decided over the to trust each other. We have allowed summer that I wanted to make my our lives to imitate the art. Through directorial debut at St. John’s College giving ourselves completely over with a play that has inspired me so to the play, and trusting it, we have much theatrically. grown together. ! T"# G$%&'( 09 !"#$%&'()$*(+%&*,!"#$%&'()!*+#$)!,%&)-#(.$%/ Lucinda Dukes Edinberg Art Educator, !e Mitchell Gallery Editors’ Note: Because of the Gad!y’s October printing schedule, we were not able to publish this piece before the exhibt ended on October 14, but we hope you enjoy reading, even after the fact. And which now your own feminine fantasy wins, any reference to sex.” Tho’ it scarce seems a lady-like work, that begins Owing to, in part, societal proprieties and limited educa- In a “scratching” and ends in a “biting”! tional opportunities, the usual subjects of the 19th- and early 20th-century works of women artists were domestic scenes, Yet oh! that the dames of the Scandalous School portraits, animals, and landscapes, as seen in Mary Nimmo Would but use the same acid, and sharp-pointed tool …. Moran’s 1883 Tween the Gloamin’ and the Mirk When the Kye “Etching Moralized,” To A Noble Lady, Thomas F. Hood Come’ Hame and Mary Cassatt’s c. 1905 drypoint Denise Hold- (1799-1845), British humorist and poet ing Her Child. Moran’s etching style is distinctive and like many of her other prints, she used many techniques to create had the pleasure of working with the Freshman Lab classes the mood of this Long Island landscape, which hints of her Iwhile they were exploring the magnolias and other foliage native Scotland. around campus at the beginning of the semester, and while It was not until the last half of the 19th century, when the they were examining the attributes of the plant, I found myself more open society and economy of the United States facili- evaluating my own observation skills. tated the entry of women artists into the art world as early Among many of the topics included in working with the in 1848, that the Philadelphia Academy of Design for Women classes was the importance of the line in art. The line has so was established. The formation of various etching societies in much work to do—curved, broken, jagged, undulating—and New York, Chicago, and California helped produce the Etch- how much that mere shift in touch changes the interpretation ing Revival movement (and the birth of American printmak- of a work. ing as a fine art) but also enabled women to learn and enter the Because many students have had writing assignments, it has field of professional printmaking. In addition, the burgeoning provided me, as the Mitchell Gallery Art Educator, opportu- publishing industry o!ered job prospects for women with nities to discuss the works from the exhibi- graphic arts skills. tion in other ways—sometimes one-on-one, Breaking the bound- By the 1930s the Works Progress Adminis- other times as a group. These discussions al- tration nurtured the employment of women, ways renew my appreciation for the works, aries of art became thus expanding their subjects and experience but they also provide other points of view the central preoccupa- of the world. Artists such as Mabel Dwight and observations. tion of late 20th-cen- (1875-1955) and Peggy Bacon (1895-1987) be- “Pushing the Line: American Women tury American artists. came well known for caricatures and satirical Printmakers” comprises 54 fine prints from humor. Mabel Dwight’s urban vignette of a 1879 through 1993 by 44 American women common New York neighborhood, Backyard, artists through the generous loans of Syracuse“ University Art magically conveys both physical decay through the dilapi- Galleries and Baltimore-area print dealer Conrad R. Graeber. dated backyard fence and vitality, seen in the cat walking on Line is the primary element in most of these works executed it, the large hovering tree, and, in a window, a man reading in drypoint, aquatint, collagraph, silkscreen, lithography, and a newspaper and smoking a cigar. Several prints demonstrate mezzotint. The selection of prints shows both the evolution of the continuing interest of women printmakers in genteel sub- printmaking and the role of American women printmakers as jects, yet also their turn to new subjects. One of the wood en- practitioners, teachers, and innovators, from the 1870s-1900s gravings, Forgotten Things (1943) by Grace Albee (1890-1985) American Etching Revival to the last decade of the 20th centu- is a rural scene, which explicitly evokes a nostalgia for a van- ry. While most of the 44 artists were well-established, such as ishing rural America, while one of the lithographs, Top Deck Mary Cassatt, Helen Frankenthaler, and Isabel Bishop, others (1938), by WPA artist Margaret Lowengrund (1902-1957), is an received no recognition. The works of these artists range from industrial scene. the traditional work of skilled technicians, for example, the Breaking the boundaries of art became the central preoc- 1879 drypoint and aquatint portrait by the self-taught print- cupation of late 20th-century American artists. Anne Ryan’s maker Anna Lea Merritt (1844-1930) of Louis Agassiz and haunting 1947 woodcut of ships at sea, Now, Ever Alack, My Mary Nimmo Moran’s multiple tool and technique method, to Master Dear, I Fear a Deadly Storm, uses the simple shapes Helen Frankenthaler’s unorthodox use of silkscreen and the and wood grain to express the horror of two figures watching traditional, but exalted, use of mezzotint by Carol Wax. the foundering ships and texture of the roiling sea. In sharp In my research for the exhibition, I found little contempo- contrast is Carol Wax’s poetic treatment of a humble and out- raneous scholarly attention to early American women print- moded typewriter, Remington Return (1993), in which her full makers, in part, due to the overall number of printmakers. range of black to white mezzotint animates this ordinary, now However, New York Public Library Curator of Prints Frank out-moded, machine. In the last 50 years the achievements Weitenkampf (1866-1962) wrote a concise history of Ameri- and influence of so many American women artists, in all me- can printmaking, titled American Graphic Art, with commen- dia, have been so much more recognized that one hopes the dations on the first exhibition of prints exclusively by women gender expectations of Hans Hofmann’s comment to his stu- artists held in 1887 at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and a dent Lee Krasner, “This is so good, you would not know this second one, the following year, at the Union League in New was painted by a woman,” have become, like Wax’s typewriter, York: “The best of their work deserves praise unmodified by obsolete. ! 10 T!" G#$%&' An Interview with Athletic Director .()/"$0%.)12"##($ Sophomore Sebastián Abella speaks with Michael McQuarrie, St. John’s’ new Athletic Director, about his background, his experience at the College so far, and his plans for the future.

Sebastián Abella A’15 What were you doing before becoming the Athletic also staying out of the way when I can. Director at St. John’s? I was hired to start the o(ce of Recreation and Intramu- If you had anything to say to freshman you are un- ral Sports at The New School three and a half years ago. certain, what advice would you give to them? Before that I was the Coordinator of Intramural Sports As I said in my orientation session with the freshmen, at “the other” St. John’s in Queens, NY. I also have back- this is their time to redefine themselves, within athlet- grounds in teaching sociology, experiential education, ics, academics, and through other avenues of their lives. and o(ciating various sports. Leaving home and becoming part of a brand new com- munity as dynamic as this o)ers so many new opportu- What brought you to St. John’s? What are your im- nities. pressions of the school so far? I grew up in southern Montgomery County (near Tako- Any upcoming events we should be aware about? ma Park) and had heard of the academic program here. Intramural sports are still rolling. Reasonball has begun. It has always intrigued me. I was also ready to leave New Kunai is transitioning to netball, then handball soon. York City after living there for five years. The commit- Keep an eye out for two new programs that I’m look- ment of the students to the Program and athletic pur- ing to implement. I don’t have a name for one, but it will suits is amazing! be about general fitness, and the other is a running club (I’m a runner and will probably be running a marathon How do you think the academic and athletic pro- in the next six months or so). ! grams complement one another? I am still learning about the academic program, but I def- initely hear some of the ties through the chants, cheers, and motivational talks during halftime. !"#$$#%&$#'()$*%+'$,-* How important would you consider the athletic pro- CAREER CONVERSATION: gram to be in relation to the College community? The athletic program is obviously ingrained in the cul- The Skills You’re Gaining at SJC ture of the whole community. I love seeing tutors and Wednesday, October 17, 5:30pm, Private Dining Room faculty participate! Join an open discussion about the skills you bring to the workplace. What do you hope the athletic program will accom- plish for the St. John’s community? Whenever I start in a new situation, my main goal is not THE EX LIBRIS SYMPOSIUM: let the program diminish. Then I can use that time to Conversations on Careers ask questions, observe, and plan what future changes we Saturday, October 20, 10am – 12:30pm, Conversation Room can make. Open at 9:30 with a continental breakfast and with lunch following at 11:30. RSVP required if attending lunch. Panel- Have you spoken to former director Leo Pickens? ists will include: What are your impressions of him? Mr. Pickens has been in contact in all forms of communi- • Talley Kovacs (A01) – law (attorney in private practice) cation since my appointment. We definitely come from • Louis Kovacs (A02) – medicine (family practice physi- di)erent backgrounds, but with his knowledge and com- cian) mitment to the College and my experience of running • Jay Schwarz – architecture and organizing athletic events, I’m hoping for a smooth • Loretta Haring – journalism transition! • Claiborne Booker (A84) – finance Have you spoken to any upperclassmen about their • Bryan Dorland (A92) – science/physics (U.S. Naval Obser- experience with the St. John’s Intramural program? vatory) I have been working constantly with the Intramural and • Ethan Bauman (A78) – government (NSA) Kunai captains. They have such a passion for their pro- • Julie Janicki (A06) - education grams, and I am trying to balance getting my input in but T#$ G%&'() 11

Ian Tuttle A’14 all it the Big Bird & Barack Barnstorming Bonanza. Capi- ally had nothing to do with the attacks. Ctalizing on Mitt Romney’s vow, during the first presiden- But the first death of an American ambassador in 25 years tial debate earlier this month, to stop subsidizing the Public does not merit a mention on the campaign trail, nor do the Broadcasting Service (PBS), which has long enjoyed pecuni- myriad questions that arise, such as why requests for in- ary assistance from the United States Treasury, the president creased security at the consulate were ignored, or why the has taken to the road promising, in his second term, to “worry Obama administration trotted out a false narrative of the about Wall Street, not Sesame Street.” attack for nearly a month, when intelligence available from It’s too bad the president couldn’t think of that line dur- hours after the attack indicated a long-planned terrorist op- ing the debate. Instead, he stood behind the podium looking eration. more like Oscar the Grouch. Never mind, though. Threats to national security and There is a certain aura of surrealism surrounding these last American personnel abroad are not as important as (halluci- weeks of campaign. T-minus 30 days and nated) threats to Count Von Count here at the sitting president of the global super- home. power is traveling cross-country riling up T-minus 30 days and the Average household income is down 8.2 supporters by promising public funding for sitting president of the percent since President Obama took of- sock puppets. You couldn’t write this stu!. global superpower is fice in January 2009. Unemployment has It’s hardly worth countering the presi- traveling cross-country hovered at 8 percent for three and a half dent’s bird-brained argument, but just years, despite the president’s promise of to be thorough: The Sesame Workshop, riling up supporters by 5.6 percent unemployment by July 2012. which produces Sesame Street, reports an “promising public fund- The national debt has soared to $16 tril- annual operating budget of about $130 mil- ing for sock puppets. You lion under Obama—and, in an appearance lion. Combining government grants to the couldn’t write this stu!. on “The Late Show with David Letter- Workshop directly and federal dollars that man” last month, President Obama could end up in its co!ers after filtering through local PBS a"li- not even remember that number. He ought to look it up: That ates, the organization receives about 10 million government figure is one of the reasons the nonpartisan Congressional bucks a year. In the meantime, it brings in $50 million from Budget O"ce predicts the U.S. economy will collapse in 2027. merchandising alone: must-haves like Elmo’s Potty Time DVD Obama’s Health and Human Services department has im- ($13), Bert and Ernie finger puppets ($8.50 each), the Grover posed a mandate on religious employers that directly violates Reusable Tote ($10), etc. And in case the numbers are not the conscience rights of religious citizens, while Obamacare enough to guarantee that this childhood staple is in no need is so unpopular that it merited only a sentence in the most re- of government assistance, Sherrie Westin, executive vice cent State of the Union address and has garnered even less at- president of the Workshop, announced on CNN recently that tention on the campaign trail. Both Iraq and Afghanistan are “Sesame Street will be here”—even without a welfare check. falling to pieces in the wake of the American military with- Yet last Thursday, Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, drawal, and Iran is on the fast-track to a nuclear weapon, fully aboard Air Force One, “There’s only one candidate in this race aware that the present American leadership lacks the moral who is going to continue to fight for Big Bird and Elmo, and he courage to resist. The International Monetary Fund predicts is riding on this plane.” that the United States will no longer be the world’s leading In the week after the first presidential debate, Obama economy by 2016, and China fully intends to take its place. mentioned Sesame Street characters 13 times. He mentioned But those things don’t come up. Instead, the president em- Libya…zero. You remember: Libya, where, on September phasizes abortion “rights,” government-funded contracep- 11, a mob armed with mortars and RPGs overran the poorly tion, and tax dollars for Sesame Street. protected American consulate in Benghazi and killed four During his 2008 campaign against John McCain, Obama sta!ers, including the American ambassador, Christopher said, “If you don’t have a record to run on, then you paint your Stevens—an attack the Obama administration blamed on a opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big “spontaneous” movie protest. That was the line from General election about small things.” Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta!; Susan This election is huge. But the president is showing just how Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; and even Sec- small he really is. retary of State Hillary Clinton. Until last week, when the ad- ministration suddenly changed the narrative, acknowledging A reminder: The second presidential debate will take place to- that the film in question, Innocence of Muslims—whose cre- night (Tuesday, October 16) at 9pm ET. The townhall-format ator was marched out of his California home in the middle of debate will be broadcast from Hofstra University, in Hemp- the night shortly after the Benghazi attack, purportedly for a stead, NY. The final presidential debate will air next Monday, probation violation, and whose family is now in hiding—actu- October 22, at 9pm ET, from Boca Raton, FL. ! 12 T!" G#$%&'

!"#$%!&'#(!$)*++,!!##$*($,(%!-&)!,*(. !"#$%&'() Examining Music in the Program *+*',- Michael Fogleman A’13 !"#$%&'()*+), his past Thursday, October 4, the cal vocabulary could be distracting and !"#$%&'()*$++& TSCI convened in the Private Dining obstructive. The upperclassmen and tu- ,&-. Hall to discuss the role of music in the tors sympathized with these complaints Program. We began the discussion with and confirmed that they were recurring a quote from J. Winfree Smith’s A Search concerns. However, they stressed that /0$1(23($4(&%#&)0(&5$++ for the Liberal College, which discussed criticizing Zuckerkandl was a red her- 6(#(4$+&7$4)+(&899:;& Jacob Klein’s conception of the role of ring because his text is a manual and not <=>?&-. music in a liberal arts education. Klein the content of the music tutorial. Fur- “considered the study of music to be the thermore, students observed that these /@A&B4%)%#C&B9412093 study of rhetoric in its purest form and di)culties are not accidental, but are ac- A9#D(42$)%9#&899:;& as deserving a place within a liberal arts tually the music tutorial’s central work. <=>?&-. curriculum because of maintaining, not Just as freshman laboratory gives us a as is so often said, a balance between chance to learn to see with reason, the -#%.#$%&'()*+)/ the intellect and emotions, but a balance music tutorial allows us to develop our A$4((4&/(4D%E(2&594": within the intellectual life itself.” How is ability to hear. We can learn to supple- F=>?&-. the study of music a study of rhetoric? ment our feelings with a rational under- How does it balance the intellectual life? standing of order and proportion. & How e(ectively does the music program The discussion turned to finding the 8($29#*$++ enable us to achieve these goals? best way of gaining that technical vo- 6&D2G&/;&F=,H&-. Those at the meeting agreed that cabulary, so that classes can discuss I&D2G&7;&,&-. music did have a rhetorical aspect. Its the shared phenomena of music. Like elements, such as chords and modes, other tutorials, the music tutorial re- /)G&@90#J2&A094"2;&64($)&7$++ allow for a study of tension and resolu- quires a certain amount of preparation <&-. tion. While the music that we sing and and legwork from its students in order study often has a text, it was noted that to accomplish its goals. Students and 012%&'()*+)3 even without words tutors shared sug- K(E)"4(=&L-$4$M9N(2&9O&P+(EQ music has rhetori- gestions for how How is the study of music a )%9#2;R&*S& cal power. Several students could .4G&/)(D(#&A49E1());& upperclassmen and study of rhetoric? How does make this prepara- tutors mentioned tion more active, 5/!&T"M%)94%": it balance the intellectual Plato’s Republic and life? How e!ectively does such as copying U=VH&-. the interest Socrates scores, attempting the music program enable shows in music. to compose one’s 4&5"1%&'()*+6* Freshmen may find us to achieve these goals? own music, playing 8($29#*$++ it helpful to keep “ piano, and, most I&D2G&/;&V=>?&-. this connection in mind while singing in importantly, singing. Neither Zucker- 7&D2G&B;&F=,H&-. chorus, and while reading and discuss- kandl nor the score are the text of the ing the Republic. It was unclear whether class; the experience of hearing and per- 4".%&'()*+6) awareness and consideration of music forming the music is the text. While the /9EE(4 as rhetorical began in the freshman or tutors were adamant that students have &7&D2G&B;&V=>?&-. sophomore year, but it was agreed that not really prepared for class if they have &I&D2G&/;&>=??&-. freshman chorus provides a necessary not brought the music to life, they em- and helpful prerequisite for that study. phasized that they were doing this work Some sophomores expressed concern on their own, too. !"#$%&.(()%#C;& that, while these goals seemed noble Overall, there seemed to be a consen- K9W(4&+(D(+&9O&)0(&XXA and worthwhile, their music tutorials sus that music has a unique role in the <&-. have found it di)cult to discuss mu- Program, with its own di)culties and sic, whether as rhetorical or otherwise, opportunities. Still, comparing both YO&S9"&W9"+M&+%1(&)9&2((&S9"4& simply because many students limited freshman chorus and the music tutorial (D(#)&9#&)0(&W((1+S&2E0(M"+(;& themselves to discussing their emotion- to other classes proved helpful for find- 3+($2(&(:$%+&2ZE$GC$M[S\ al reactions to a piece of music. It was ing ways of overcoming the di)culties C:$%+GE9:G also felt that Zuckerkandl’s idiosyncrat- of music, so as to take advantage of its ic attempts to provide a common techni- opportunities. !