j)J (IIRISTOPIIl::R Nl::\VPORT UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT Hitting the Trail Paul S. Trible Jr. 2005-2006 CNU BOARD OF VISITORS Mr. William P. Heath Jr. '75, Rector Mt. Claude A. Hornsby Ill, Vice Rector with Kip Redick Ms. Deborah L. Budlong '91, Secretary Hon. Flora Davis Crittenden Mr. Douglas G. Duncan '72 Mrs. Judy F. Ford Students push to find new strength Mrs. Jane Susan Frank Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Hoinkes Mr. Thaddeus B. Holloman Sr. By Sara Lewis Mr. James A. Joseph Mrs. Frances Luter Mr. Michael Martin "Having all the comforts and distractions taken away really changes a person, or Mr. Gerald Passaro helps show who you really are . there's no place to hide. " Mr. Veasey Wilson - GNU student reflection on CNU EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION Appalachian Trail Pilgrimage Mr. Robert A. Brown Ms. Deborah L. Budlong '91 Mr. Arthur S. Casey Mr. James T. Eyre '75 he Israelites were sent into the wilderness to reorganize their Mr. James A. Joseph priorities. Henry David Thoreau went into the woods to learn Mr. C. Michael Petters what it had to teach. And Dr. Kip Redick of Mr. James A. Pierce, President T Mr. Walter S. Segaloff CNU's Department of Philosophy and Mr. Gary P. Warren Religious Studies hopes that by taking his Ms. Sylvia S. Weinstein students outdoors- and outside of their ALUMNI SOCIETY BOARD comfort zones - they will find knowl­ Janet B. Barker '99, President edge that bridges the gap between Priscilla S. Bele '81, VP for University Assistance and Student Relations theory and fact. Mark W. Bernecker '96, President Elect As a hiker, philosopher Mary Kay Conides '83 and religious Gordon B. Cooper '74 Ronald E. Gallagher '88 studies scholar, Dr. Linda Gordon '88 Redick has developed James P. Healy '78 a particular inter­ William "Billy" Heath '03, Historian Karen Hakansson '82 est in late- Bradford W. Huffman '78 19th- and Joy Kilgore '96 20th-century Michael S. Koontz '01, VP for Planning and Special Events religious Kathleen A. LeMons '95, Secretary and philo­ Terri Marrs McKnight '86 sophical Cynthia Masterstaff '87 Kelly A. Peck '00 Lawrence "Tu" Ritter '89 Brian K. Skinner '92, Treasurer Art Thatcher '81 Dominic Velardi '84 Karen A. Wilds '76 Ray Willis '95 Mike "Yaz" Yaskowsky '95 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS Christie L. Chipps (757) 594-7712 [email protected] EDITOR Jocelyn Bell Swanson COPY EDITORS Karen L. Gill, Denise Waters DESIGNERS Stevalynn Adams, Denise Waters, John Kelly WRITERS Barrett Baker, Elizabeth Cooper, Karen L. Gill, Sara Lewis, Nicholas Thomas CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS lan Bradshaw, Len Rothman, John Warters, Heidi Morris, Denise Waters, John Kelly Produced by the Office of University Relations expressions of the wilderness as a One hiker, who gave himself the sacred place, a place that leads "I am here to discover trail name Mountain Goat, wrote "I those who go there on a spiritual am here to discover myself the way journey. myself the way God God intended me to be- not with He gives students an opportunity all the negative skew I have put on to join in his research by hiking and intended me to be - myself." talking to hikers during his class, Using "Image and Pilgrimage in "Pilgrimage on the Appalachian not with all the Christian Culture" by Victor and Trail." Edith Turner as a theoretical "In religious and philosophical negative skew I have framework, Dr. Redick's students writings, the wilderness is often ref­ observe and interview other hikers, erenced metaphorically as a place put on myself." read messages recorded in the trail with unusual qualities," said Dr. -Appalachian Trail hiker journals and consider the impact Redick. Some have viewed it as a of the wilderness on their thinking. scary place, a place full of tempta­ Themes that emerge along the tion. On the other hand, writers The idea for the course developed physical and spiritual trail include such as John Muir, a father of the as Dr. Redick noticed the increas­ hardship, community, magic, time, conservation movement, have ing number of Appalachian Trail silence, symbols, parallels and admired the wilderness for its cathe­ through-hikers - those who hike more. These themes are related to dral-like quality. the entire trail in one year. "It the Turners' stages in religious In order to discover whether occurred to me that the ritual: separation, marginality and these theories of the wilderness are Appalachian Trail was a site where re-aggregation. true, Dr. Redick takes a small group I could research the religious The CNU class begins near of CNU students on a two-week trip rhetoric associated with wilder­ Dennis Cove, Tenn., where Dr. along a 100-mile section of the ness." Messages he read in trail Redick and his students meet and Appalachian Trail. Students push journals - or "guest books" found interview through-hikers who have themselves physically, spiritu­ in shelters along the trail- seemed already started the 2,000-mile long ally and mentally. to illustrate the idea of a hike in the Appalachian Trail at Springer wilderness as a spiritual journey. Mountain, Ga. These through-hikers are completing the separation stage. "We enter the trail amongst those who are already engaged in their journey, and we walk along with them for two weeks." Dr. Kip Redick takes students on two-week hikes along the Appalachian Trail. GNU students push themselves during the "Pilgrimage on the Appalachian Trail" course. hikers adopt to reflect their place the sense of community that has "Walking through a apart from the culture they have developed among through-hikers known. Hikers begin to relate as a who leave the trail and camp in wilderness landscape community unbounded by tradi­ town for the festival. tional communication constraints. "Walking through a wilderness reveals that there is They speak of trail magic and landscape reveals that there is angels when referring to moments something other than humanity at something other than where circumstances and people the center of the world," said Dr. come together to give a boost of Redick. "Wilderness speaks from humanity at the center encouragement. "Of course, it is beyond culture, presenting some­ of the world." not magic at all," said a student, thing of value that has not been "but an expression of the goodness produced by man. Wilderness is a - Dr. Kip Redick and generosity of so many people." symbol for the things that humble Students notice the development and ground us." of a new awareness among through­ One student was moved to write, The second segment of the spiri­ hikers in journals. "The trail jour­ "I felt as though I had been invited tual journey, marginality, is charac­ nals provide more than just a run­ into this wilderness to come to terized by a feeling of being set ning log of who stopped where and the end of the world as I had between two points. "My research ate what," said a student with the known it." shows that Appalachian Trail hikers trail name Siren. "They provide a Dr. Redick's students have an find themselves in this stage shared scripture. These books are a extraordinary chance to hear the because the man-made things that most basic link into the greater com­ voice of the wilderness and while made them feel secure are now munity and its spirit." Siren also the class may come to an end, he is stripped away," explained Dr. contemplated the wilderness as a hopeful their spiritual journey and Redick. "At this point, my students place without every moment appreciation for what they learned discover that hikers who have been planned. "There's suddenly so on their hike is just beginning. He on the trail for several weeks or much time to think and so much to is pleased that most of them choose months are well on their way to think about!" At the end of the first to go back to the Appalachian Trail searching for a new identity." week, when students exit the trail on their own later because they Part of the new identity is for "Trail Days," an annual festival know the spiritually uplifting power expressed in trail names through- held in Damascus, Va., they observe of the wilderness. 11~ 6 CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT UN IV ERS tTY Alumni Magazine Paul Trible is Passionate about CNU ,...._ CNU President Paul S. ...,~·, ... Trible spoke on national .k~'~ issues in higher education 4~-.;; ~t' Iiiii$~. with two columns published ll:b· lei} :t & '~de. iloll8 this year. His first article, 'Pr;h <i.st ,, !!Jg~q,. h ... ~ ·~n "Letting Colleges Down," 0 t.,cq., ~~-:;.,;:.§~». ~ "fb• ~ ' appeared in The Washington . ..., "' PO$f Post on April 18, 2005. ~~~ ,~-,.,",_It! "Colleges Must Get Used to Collaborating ~~~~~~1- --~~~~'s-: with Congress" appeared in the]uly 15, 2005, ;:.~,._~.:so~~s~~"i:;::'$~-:: ~~~~-.~""5.~~~· ........... .., ...... ··~ ::::f!,......... , .........."'.,.., •••• ,.. ~~,:-., -..: .,;:ow, issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. ..*"'~~·SS<>t~~ .. ~~" ..~ ~"~~~~ ~..;;;:-.:-;..... ·t~...._ ... To read the complete articles, visit: ~~ .. ..... ..:.;§ ....~~ .. ~;$·'§' ...., .... :::- ..... ~........... :- -~~~~ • §S http:/ /universityrelations.cnu.edu/news ~s.~ ..~~~~ §--..~~~·~ ~~~..... '$¢ ..... ~::~ ~~~~... ~ ~~~.:$l ~~~~. .._.. ~<::\'\.~'~=--~~:;.~. .....: ... ,.~~0. 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