From an Admissions' Interview to my classroom - an amazing journey.

Four years ago I interviewed a young woman and her Mom - she had been awarded a Book Award from SMC and that plus subsequent mailings from St. Mike's had piqued her interest.  Her Mom had once lived in Stowe and thought her daughter might like Vermont.  I was asked to interview her because she had expressed an interest in Psychology and because all of the Admission Counselors were out on the road.  We had a very nice conversation and she explained that she had cancer when she was younger - that comment resulted in my sharing that Saint Michael's College has had a long standing and wonderful relationship with Camp Ta-Kum-Ta (TKT) which is a local camp for kids with cancer.  We finished the interview and I wrote up my notes indicating that I thought that she was wonderful and someone who would fit in well with SMC.

Unbeknownst to me, they returned to Florida and the next day the young woman called the Camp and spoke with Hattie Johnson (an SMC alum) about possibly getting involved with Camp.

Fast forward four years and Bri, now an active member of our community, a member of our Fire and Rescue Squad and a senior psychology major is enrolled in MY Practicum course.  We drove to So. Hero yesterday afternoon to talk with Ted Kessler, Executive Director and Hattie Johnson, Director of Development to talk about how Bri can spend her required 8 - 10 hours per week at TKT.  Brianna Atkins is going to be spending her time with special projects, programming AND quality time with kids with cancer and their families.

As we drove back to campus, Bri reminded me of that initial meeting and interview in our Admission Office four years ago - I guess some things just are meant to be!!!!!

The picture is of the newly completed chapel on site in So. Hero - the flagstones with names on them leading up to the chapel are the names of some of the "kids with cancer" who have attended camp there over the years.

Take good care, be well and, as always, please keep all of the members of our military and their families AND all of our veterans and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Dave

Lunch AND dinner - great way to end the semester

Today is my last day of classes - my Sports Psychology class meets this afternoon and then the grading begins.  Yesterday was the last day for my Practicum class - they have met with me for 2.5 hours each week for the entire academic year.  They spend 8 - 10 hours per week at their internship sites and have done an amazing job of not only representing Saint Michael's College in our community, but in gaining valuable experience in the world of social services.  It has been an honor to have you all in my class this year.

Yesterday was also the last day of my Men & Masculinities class - this group of 15 men and 15 women have pushed their boundaries, stepped way outside of their comfort zones and produced an exceptional class - their willingness to share their own stories, to NOT be afraid to show who they really are and their ability to "grow" even when it was uncomfortable speaks volumes for this group.  The picture is of the last of the five "dinner at Dave's" which I hold in my home each semester.  I am truly blessed to be able to work at Saint Michael's College and am so proud of all of my students. 

As always, please keep all of the members of our military and their families AND all of our veterans in your thoughts and prayers.  We were lucky this semester to have a veteran of the Afghanistan war in our class - his insights and the experienes he shared, while NEVER easy for him, benefitted the rest of us more than we may have thought possible. 

Also please keep those in the path of the tornadoes in many parts of our country in your thoughts and prayers - such incredible destruction......







Dinner at Dave's - last of five :)

Student Veterans of America barbecue on campus

Yesterday afternoon the SMC chapter of Student Veterans of America held an on-campus barbecue which brought some of our 23 current student-veterans together with non-veterans as a way to "get to know each other better" event hosted by the SVA.  President Jack Neuhauser is pictured with Alex Black and Josh Milner who are the current leaders of our SVA chapter.  They also honored Zaf Bludevich whois retiring in June after 40 years at Saint Michael's College.  Zaf has been a fixture around this campus and has been very supportive of our veterans.  They presented Zaf with a medallion which recognizes his support.  The other pictures are of students - some veterans and others non-veterans who came together to just simply get to know each other better.  As any of you who have read my blogs know, I always end my blogs with a simple request that you keep all of the members of our military and our veterans in your thoughts and prayers - these are good people who contribute so much to this College and to our Country.......

Dinner At Dave's and guests SKYPING into class.

In the Spring semester, I offer my Men & Masculinities class for 15 men and 15 women, all second semester seniors.  This is the only course at the College that specifically deals with men's issues and the only one with a balance of the sexes.  Part of class requires my students to read Linda/Max Ciampoli's book CHURCHILL'S SECRET AGENT - this is a novel based on the true life experiences of Max during World War II when he was a spy for Winston Churchill at the ages of 17,18 and 19.  Students read the book, write an essay entitled "could I do what Max did" and then I send these off to Max, now 91 years old, and Linda.  After they have a chance to read my students' essays, we SKYPE them into class and my students get to "meet" Max and Linda.  We did this on Monday night this week and it was an amazing educational opportunity and a very emotional one for Max.  When Max and Linda got married, she knew nothing of his experiences during WWII.  Over time and with her love and understanding, he revealed what he had done.  HIS goal in writing this book is so today's youth NEVER FORGET that what happened way back then can happen again IF we don't remember our history.  Given that the day before we SKYPED, three Jews were killed in Kansas simply because they WERE Jewish and that this happened the day before Passover, a Jewish Holiday, Max, a Catholic, but someone who believed so passionately in the worth of every human being, became very emotional as WE talked with him in class.  What a gift to my students to be able to read a book, write an essay about that book and then experience an opportunity to "meet and talk with" the authors. 
After class and SKYPING, I had the fourth of five "dinner at Dave's" at my home - students love coming to a professor's home and having a chance for a home cooked meal off campus - I usually have to throw them out around 11:15 as I have to get up for work the next day :)

Take care, be well and as we head towards Commencement, please keep all of our seniors in your thoughts and prayers as they leave this place they have called home for the past 4 years.  Also, please keep all of the members of our military, their families and all of our veterans in your thoughts and prayers too.....

Dave

"Smoking Doesn't Get You High, It Gets You Down"

This past Friday, my friend and colleague Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum, Associate Professor of Psychology presented the work that he and his students have been studying - the following is the description that was posted about this:  "The mortality and economic burden associated with tobacco use is immense, and nicotine withdrawal is the primary obstacle to successful tobacco-use cessation.  There are many aspects of tobacco withdrawal, and the dysphoria provoked by initial abstinence tends to be the strongest precipitator of relapse.  The scientific literature is replete with experimental evidence showing that nicotine reliably produces depression in non-human animals.  Although withdrawal is most often conceptualized a a purely physiological condition produced by chronic nicotine exposure, Dr. Kirshenbaum will present data from his laboratory that shows that nicotine withdrawal is a product of learning and memory processes.  This new conceptualization of withdrawal helps to clarify the reasons why tobacco is a potent dependence-producing agent, and may ultimately provide new opportunities for tobacco-use cessation treatment."    In addition to most of our Psychology Department attending this event, there were several students in attendance.  This past August I traveled to Carbondale, Colorado and co-presented a workshop with Dr. Steve Rissman from Metropolitan State University outside Denver - our workshop raised the question of how issues of masculinity impacts relapse - we did the workshop at Jaywalker Lodge, an alcohol/drug treatment facility for men in Carbondale.  I had previously done a workshop in March based on my book I Wish He'd Taught Me How To Shave and was excited to return here - they have an amazingly successful treatment program at Jaywalker and issues of dependence AND relapse are intriguing to me.  I appreciated Ari's work in his lab and know that his students are challenged as they learn how to do scientific research on various topics - WELL DONE my friend........

As always, please keep all of the members of our military and their families AND all of our veterans in your thoughts and prayers.  I have gotten to know a couple of OUR current full-time students who are veterans and we have so much to learn from them and their experiences -

 

take good care

Dave

Technology in the classroom at SMC

Last August five members of the faculty participated in the Advanced Teaching With Technology Workshop offered by our Information Technology staff.  The first picture below  shows Amdework Aseffa, Support Technician who directs the College's NEW Mac lab - this VERY state of the art Mac Lab which is designed to support our Fine Arts Department, gives our students the support they need for digital learning and creative work. It is equipped with 15 iMac workstations that include the full Adobe Suite and other popular software.  While I have no clue as to most of what happens in this new Lab, I do know that Amde is a a great teacher who strives to make sure that anyone with questions, will get them answered.  He, along with Jerome Allen, Erik Lightbody, Sue Breeyear, Kellie Campbell and Jim Millard, helped the five of us from the faculty to, in some cases like me, redesign our classes.  The second picture is of a presentation I did this past Friday to explain how I utilize our Tegrity - video-capture program  - in both my Sports Psychology course (students making presentations get video-captured and then they have to view their own presentation and write up their own assessment) and in my Theories of Counseling class where students check out a "kit" containing a webcam and a microphone and then they have to - on their own - set up a mock counseling session which they submit to me.  THIS has been a huge success and the good folks in IT have been amazingly helpful resources as I try to make my classes even more "technology friendly" than they were.  One statistic I was surprised at when we first began the workshop was that the entering first year class at SMC this past August was the FIRST class to have had technology through their ENTIRE school experience.  Pretty amazing.

An amazing weekend - Gloria Steinem, Annie Liebowitz and Senator Patrick and his wife Marcel - for the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal Ceremony

Astor Court in Rhinebeck, NY was the alternative site for the Eleanor Roosevelt Medal Award Ceremony since the gov't shutdown closed the site where this celebration normally takes place - Val-Kill is on government property so the shutdown meant their finding an alternative site.  Astor Court is where Chelsea Clinton was married and is a private residence.  Marc and Dana vanderHeyden hosted a reception here Saturday evening for the Vermont contingent who were there to share in the celebration of Senator and Mrs. Patrick Leahy being honored.

Marilyn Cormier is the College's Director of Governmental and Corporate Relations and she and Marcel and Patrick Leahy are good friends of hers.  Senator Leahy is our Vermont Senator and currently the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate which makes him the third in line for the Presidency.  Here they are in front of Astor Court with the Hudson River in the background.

Both Professor Reza Ramazani and I were honored to be at this event and to be asked to "pose" with the Senator.  Prof. Ramazani is one of our economics professor and he truly IS an extraordinary teacher.  His students love his classes and his energy seeps out into the hallways wherever he teaches.

Gloria Steinam is someone I have always admired.  I have used her scholarly writings in my classes seemingly forever.  She, along with the Senator and Marcel Leahy (and three other people) were honored at the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal Ceremony.  I had a chance to meet and chat with her about my Men & Masculinities class and my newly published book I Wish He'd Taught Me How To Shave.  It was such a privilege to talk with her and later to hear her acceptance speech as she recounted her journey as a strong feminist scholar and author.  I am not one to be "star struck" but WOW - for me to meet such an icon WAS a privilege.

As we were gathering yesterday morning outside of Astor Court, I walked up to this group - former SMC President Marc vanderHeyden, Marcel Leahy and Senator Patrick Leahy were standing talking with Annie Liebowitz who just happens to live next to Astor Court and who took a break from pressing apples for cider at her home to stop over to greet her long time friend Gloria Steinam - Senator Leahy introduced me to her - she, for those who aren't aware, is an incredible photographer whose works are well known all over the world - she truly has an "eye" for taking pictures of world famous and not so famous people.

So, as indicated in the title of this post - an amazing weekend.  Thanks to Marilyn Cormier for the invitation.  Spending time with VP for Institutional Advancement Patrick Gallivan, his friend Dani Fisette, new VT friends Joy and Ed Limoge, Marilyn, Marc and Dana, Patrick and Marcel Leahy and, of course REZA made for not a "normal" weekend for me.  One of the many reasons I respect and admire Marcel Leahy is her openness about her successful battle with melanoma - she mentioned this in HER acceptance speech - she also is a staunch advocate for our military and their families - so it is fitting as always, for me to ask that you keep ALL of the members of our military and ALL of our veterans and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

Take care

Dave

Practicum - Experiential Education

My Practicum (PS 450/460) class meets for the entire academic year.  This makes SMC unique as most other colleges/universities only have a one semester Practicum.  Students are out in the community for 8 - 10 hours each week and then back in class for 2.5 hours for the academic year.  Both Molly Millwood and I each teach a section of this senior experiential educational class.  This year my students are at the local elementary school, the middle school, an alternative high school, a senior citizen housing complex, the Department of Children and Families, the Howard Center (working with adult schizophrenics) and at Women Helping Battered Women - one of the many skills they learn in Practicum is how to make OBJECTIVE observations as opposed to subjective observations.  They HAVE to be able to observe people's appearance and behavior for any signs of "differences" - potential abuse, warning signs, etc.  We spent some time in class yesterday learning these skills and the pictures show them in discussion about why objective observations are SO important in the field of counseling.  this is only my second meeting with this group but they already are impressing me.....that is not always an easy thing to do. 

Class of 2017 - What a welcome!!!

New and returning student-athletes gathered in McCarthy yesterday afternoon for the mandatory NCAA Eligibility meetings - after a great student panel for first year SA's, everyone gathered to listen to me speak about how incredible the ACADEMIC ACHiEVEMENT is of our Student-Athletes and then listened to AD Geri Knortz and to ZAF...... before heading over to Ross for the opening barbecue.

New students arriving at Ross Sports Center for the final event of Orientation Weekend - the Orientation Leaders this year were wonderful, creating a great transition for all of our entering first years.  

After the "official" Orientation activities are completes, the O-Leaders head outside so I can take pictures - they always love this and then I post all of the pictures on Facebook - many of them then use these photos as THEIR profile pictures.  What a great group - well done!!

The success of Orientation, year after year, is the result of a LOT of people working closely together. Grace Kelly, shown here with Resident Director and assistant to Grace Eric Jaukkuri, does an amazing job every year of empowering students to organize, direct, lead and deliver our Orientation Program - Grace allows the O-Board to design the program and is always there to help but knows that leadership is often best learned by doing....  Thanks Grace and Eric for making this year's Orientation such a huge success.

As classes begin today, it is my 31st year here at Saint Michael's College - I look forward EVERY DAY to going to work here.  The students are wonderful and the colleagueship between and among the faculty, staff, administration AND students is a model for other places......

Off to MY first class this afternoon - take good care, be well, and please, as always, keep all of the members of our military and all of our veterans in your thoughts and prayers .

One last item - my book I Wish He's Taught Me How to Shave was released last week and the first printing has already sold out - you can get a copy at windridgebooksofvt.com if you are interested in reading student views on How My Father Influenced My View Of What A Man Is - from the early responses, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters are telling me that this is making them think - critically about so many things - GOOD, then it already is a success.....

Fulbright Scholars' Orientation - Gender and Sexual Harassment

I was asked to speak to a group of visitors to our campus who are Fulbright Scholars from around the globe.  They are at SMC for an orientation before heading out across the country to study for the next two years.  My topic was on Gender and Sexual Harassment.  Too often, we just assume that visitors to our country completely understand OUR customs and laws when, in reality, much of their education comes (shudder) from television and the movies.  These people are from Brazil, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Pakistan, Botswana, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia and Libya.  They were so attentive and asked great questions.  While I DID have to explain the term "fondling", I gratefully, did not have to explain the word "penetration."  Three of them explained that in their country, LGBTQ (they asked me to explain what I meant by those letters) must exist BUT they are not open because they could be killed......  It was an amazing two hours and I appreciate their attention, their willingness to go way out of their comfort zone and to better understand the influence that culture has on all of us.

As always, please keep all of the members of our military and our veterans in your thoughts and prayers.  We recently held a campus-wide meeting with 25 folks from all areas of the College to discuss how we can better serve the needs of our student-veterans - a good meeting.

Dave

Commencement 2013 - LATER, not goodbye

After having been asked by our seniors to speak to them at their luncheon AND after attending my 31st SMC Commencement, I continue to refuse to say goodbye but merely say "LATER" as that is the way it is here at SMC, we continue to see our graduates for so many years and stay in touch with so many that LATER is so much better than goodbye.  Here are some pictures of many of my wonderful students from the Class of 2013....

Eric Jaukkuri

Liz Hamel

Courtney Dunne

Jonna Peryer

Lauren Herlihy

Michael Fay

Liv McCall

Nicole Adach

Senior Luncheon

Yesterday morning the seniors held their annual Senior Luncheon.  As Baccalaureate has been changed this year, this was the first time that a member of the staff and a member of the faculty were invited to speak at this luncheon.  David Barrowclough - Associate Registrar and I were selected by the seniors to speak with them at the luncheon.  Here is what I said to them:

Senior Class Luncheon

May 9, 2013

Remarks

Good morning and thank you for asking me to speak with you today.  It is an HONOR.  I have just a couple of messages for you:

1.        Look around you - When you arrived on this campus just a few short years ago, unless you had been on POW or had participated in a MOVE or WILDERNESS project, you knew only about a handful of people here – NOW, as you prepare to leave us, you know literally hundreds of people – you have met perhaps a life-partner, a best friend, a soul mate – you have made friendships here which will last you your lifetime.  In just a couple of days you will walk across the dais in Ross and the President who is a VERY GOOD MAN, will hand you your diploma – because you are polite and thoughtful you will shake his hand and say thank you.  You do not give him back all that WE have taught you, both in and outside of our classrooms – you do not give him back all of your good times, your bad times, your challenging and joyful times – all of the things that WE have taught you - you walk off that stage on Sunday armed with all that we have taught you AND the knowledge that you have been successful – you have been successful HERE and you will be successful when you leave here.  We need you to be successful when you leave here – WE need you to help create a better world than the one we are handing off to you.

The Dalai Lama has said that our prime purpose in this life is to help others.  And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.  These are very wise words.

2.       You sometimes don’t realize that while it is the natural order of things that YOU leave us and move outside of the SMC bubble into what others call the “real world”, WE stay behind and many of us will miss many of you – YOU have impacted US more than you probably realize – for that I thank you. 

3.       The third and final message I have for you is this – this is something that I stress in all of my classes – once you are aware, you are responsible – the challenge for you is to ask yourselves what YOU will do to apply what WE have all taught you – again, both in and outside of our classrooms?  Once you are aware you ARE responsible – we have done OUR best to make you more aware – now it is up to you to be responsible.

 

You are responsible for:

 

1.       Not making assumptions

 

2.       Only applying labels to soup cans

 

3.       Confronting racism, sexism, homophobia and ethnocentrism wherever and whenever you encounter it.

 

 

4.       Remembering that there IS a war going on and people are dying every day.

 

5.       Educating yourself on the politics of this country and making your vote count – gun control in this country must change and YOU are the ones who may have to make those changes.

 

You are responsible for:

 

6.       Confronting your own and society’s heterosexual assumption – when heteronormality IS the standard for society we marginalize everyone who doesn’t FIT your or society’s image of what is normal and this inflicts more PAIN than you can ever know.

 

7.       Asking for help when you need it

 

8.       Crying when you need to

 

9.       Trusting yourself

 

10.   Trusting others

 

11.   Believing in yourself

 

12.   SAVING our planet

 

13.   Celebrating our differences and not merely “accepting” our differences.

 

 

You are responsible for:

 

14.   Continuing to challenge yourselves to be the absolute BEST:        best friends, best brothers/sisters, best sons/daughters, best   mothers and fathers, best citizens of this country.

 

15.   Enjoying life – safely – please PROTECT YOURSELF by making wise decisions.

 

16.   Discarding the “mask” whenever you can

 

17.   Stopping violence against women - and everyone else – including yourself.

 

18.   Taking care of both your physical and mental health

 

19.   And finally, you are responsible for continuing to teach the “older” adults” in your life at least half as much as you have taught me…..

Thank you again for asking me to speak with you all today – please take good care and as the Dalai Lama ALSO says, - whenever you have a choice – CHOOSE KINDNESS. 

 

Sam and Macklemore - an amazing story

On Thursday, the Student Association presented the College's Spring Concert - so many people worked hard to bring this concert here - the E-Board and especially Eric Jaukkuri and Caitlin-Shea Vantine who were co-secretaries of programming looked at several options and they chose Macklemore to perform.  I saw him on Saturday Night Live and the Conin O'Brien show and while I can't understand most of ANY rappers' lyrics, I did read up on him and found him to be a great choice for SMC - he had performed at Higher Ground in So. Burlington and it was an immediate sellout so I knew he would be popular here.  He has such a strong tolerance, acceptance of others and anti-drug message that his sometimes "rich" language doesn't really bother me.  We sold 2,000 tickets on campus and an additional 1,000 off campus so our goal of a sellout was reached. 
What I didn't know, is what an amazing human being he is.  One of my students, Justin Salls, who is in my Sports Psychology course asked if he could speak with me outside of the classroom on Thursday afternoon right before class.  This is unusual because most students just speak with me IN class - Justin is a great student and has added a lot to my class so I, of course agreed.  When we stepped outside he told me that his roommate and best friend had just been diagnosed with leukemia THIS WEEK and since he is now in the hospital BUT had really, really wanted to go to the concert Thursday night some of his friends had tried to arrange for Macklemore to go to the hospital to see Sam.  Justin told me that IF that was possible he was supposed to be there when this happened - he asked if it was alright with me IF he got the text message during class and had to leave - NOW, YOU have to realize that this IS the type of student we have here at SMC.  I so appreciated the respect he showed to me and the class by asking permission - AND, of course I "gave him permission."  He didn't get the text message during class BUT later on he sent me the picture from above of his friend Sam and Macklemore at the hospital.  The concert was amazing and while again, I couldn't understand many of his lyrics, he did ask for a moment of silence for folks to send good vibes to SAM.  http://www.hiphopdx.com/m/index.php?s=news&id=23719 the backstory of why Macklemore visited Sam is in the attached article.

These types of stories continue to give me hope for our world AND for our young people.  Thank you Eric and Caitlin, Grace Kelly(Director of Student Activities)  and Mark Litchfield Director of Special Events) , and all of our community for the great work you do. 

Today is our annual Spring Fling named P-Day - Sam's friends have asked folks to write SAM STRONG on their T-shirts to send a great message to Sam as he battles with this difficult diagnosis.  I have asked Justin to make sure that Sam knows how much support he has and that I send him MY thoughts and prayers too.  SAM STRONG.................

We finish the academic year on Wednesday so please hope for snow and cold winds through finals - just joking, although I often comment at this time of year that as the temperatures rise, the grade point averages fall :(  

Take care, be well and in addition to keeping Sam in YOUR thoughts and prayers, as I always do, I ask for your thoughts and prayers for all of the members of our military and our veterans.

Dave

Honors Research Presentations

Yesterday afternoon the Psychology Department hosted our annual Honors Research Presentations.  Three of our senior psychology majors presented the research they have been working on for the past year.  Professor Ari Kirshenbaum is shown next to Michael Fay whose study is entitled "Acetylcholine, Nicotine and Depression:  What Rats Can Teach Us About Resolving Tobacco Withdrawal" - Megan Olsen and Natalie Zimmer both worked with Professor Melissa VanderKaay Tomasulo on their research - Megan's is entitled "Cigarette Use and Stress- Induced Cardiovascular Reactivity:" The Influence of Environmental Enrichment in Early Childhood" and Natalie's title is "Coping Styles and Stress- Induced Cardiovascular Reactivity Among Habitual, Intermittent, and Non-Smokers" - it is always so rewarding to watch these honors presentations and everyone there was impressed with the research our students had done.  We also inducted 17 new members into Psi Chi which is the International Honor Society of Psychology - congratulations to all of the new  - Inductees.  Today is the College-wide Symposium and many of our senior psychology majors presented their posters which depict either their senior research, or their Practicum Site Presentations.  With over 250 accepted students AND their parents on campus today PLUS so many people who wanted to see the results of student work this place is packed with energy and enthusiasm.  I am heading over to the lacrosse game in a few minutes to watch our men's lax team as they hopefully continue their amazing streak of wins - GO PURPLE KNIGHTS.

 

Classes are almost over with for this academic year and hopefully everyone will successfully complete their final projects/reports/assignments - Please take good care everyone and, as always, please keep all of the members of our military, our veterans and their families in your thoughts and prayers AND today, please also keep those hurt or wounded in the Boston Marathon tragedy AND those killed in your thoughts and prayers AND our gratitude to all of the police, firefighters, first responders and those who worked so hard to keep everyone safe during the past several days in Boston cannot be expressed enough - it has been a frightening several days BUT as anyone who knows anything about Boston well knows - BOSTON STRONG is NOT just a catch-phrase......

Dave

Two weeks are already over with

It always amazes me how quickly second semester goes.  We have just finished our second week of classes and mine are excellent.  Here are a couple of shots from my Men & Masculinities class which meets Mondays from 5 - 8 - all seniors, I have 13 men and 13 women.  This class and essays that my students have written over the years in response to my challenge to them to write "How My Father Influenced My View Of What A Man Is" are the subject of a new book which is at my publishers right now.  It will hopefully be out by Father's Day and is titled:  "I Wish He's Taught Me How To Shave."

I was in Grapevine, Texas most of our first week of classes, attending the NCAA National Convention.  As the College's Faculty Athletics Representative, I serve as the liaison between the academic side of SMC and the athletic side.  This is a very rewarding job and it is fun to see how well OUR students do both academically and athletically.  I always, along with Geri Knortz, our Athletic Director, get to represent SMC at this Convention and I always learn so much.

On Friday I was part of a panel of SMC faculty who spoke with a17 high school guidance counselors.  Each year this group travels to Vermont and visits Champlain College, The University of Vermont and Saint Michael's College.  After the panel I was on where four of us spoke of our interactions with our students and how our research/teaching works so well BECAUSE of our students, I joined others at a dinner with this group and it was very rewarding to hear folks from New York, Michigan, So. Carolina and even as far away as Colorado express how impressed they are with SMC.

Take care, be well, and as always, PLEASE keep all of the members of our military and their families and all of our veterans in your thoughts and prayers.  My M&M class is looking at how WAR influences our views of masculinity and we are reading both WAR by Sebastian Junger and The Lonely Soldier by Helen Benedict - we cannot forget that there is still a war going on in Afghanistan.

Thoughts on CT

I am in the office this morning because I wanted to send a message to some of my students.  My Practicum class has 15 seniors who are out in the community working 8 - 10 hours a week at a variety of sites.  They are an amazing group of young people and as you will see from my email to them this morning, I just wanted to share some thoughts with them about the tragic events in Newtown, CT yesterday:

Good morning everyone - no, I am not in the office this Saturday morning checking on your Journal entries -

I have however been thinking a lot about all of you since the tragic news from Newtown, CT has filled our lives. I seldom wish that the semester goes beyond our ending time but found myself wishing that we were still in session yesterday so that we could all gather and talk about the events that unfolded yesterday and to LISTEN to each other as we all struggle to make sense of the senseless. I posted something on Facebook last night that I have, unfortunately posted too many times over the past couple of years and that was that it IS ALRIGHT to NOT follow every minute detail of such a horrendous human tragedy - it is so easy to become so caught up in the emotions of the event that we are literally unable to function. Those of us who have chosen this profession dedicate our lives to helping others so find it incomprehensible that anyone would choose to hurt and/or destroy others - WE try to make sense out of something that makes NO SENSE now and will, most likely, never make any sense. We all want an answer to the question WHY yet know at some level that that too has an inadequate response.

Watching the President of the United States tearing up during his statement to the nation yesterday is unprecedented - I have never seen something like that in all of my years yet he spoke for all of us when he said that we have broken hearts. He spoke, not only as our President, but as a father - WE don't have to be fathers (nor Presidents) to have similar emotions. Those of you who work in schools or who work with young people, especially will be impacted beyond what your peers are - WE all ask "what would we do?" if we were ever confronted by similar situations in a classroom or our school. Ever since Virginia Tech, I have had a "plan" for protecting YOU should anything like that happen here on our campus in our classroom. Reports are that the principal, a teacher and the school psychologist were among those killed. At a time when "some" have chosen to denigrate teaching and "some" have chosen to speak negatively of the impact that teachers today have and at a time when "some" want to cut down the number of teachers in our schools, to cut back on mental health services for young people and who want to cut funding for education across the country, these people in Newtown, CT only wanted to protect their students.

Please take good care of yourselves, talk with your family and friends about what YOU are feeling about all of this and, while I KNOW that you tire of my telling you what a difference each of YOU make in your setting, be it with senior citizens, on a telephone hotline, working with those addicted to drugs, helping others deal with pain, listening to someone who is mentally ill OR working with incarcerated/protected youth OR working with kids in schools - YOU DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE........ please don't forget that.

Peace
Dave

AN amazing speaker and Classes are over for the semester BUT......

Yes, classes are over for the semester BUT it IS Saturday morning and I AM in the office grading papers and reviewing journal entries for all of my classes.  I took this picture (see below) the other late afternoon as I was leaving here and heading over to the Ross Sports Center to watch our women's basketball game - Cara Deroy and Kayla Carnell are on the team and in my classes so it is always fun to see them in action on the basketball court.  This afternoon, after more grading and journal readings, I will head to McCarthy Art Center to listen to Mallory Hyland who is also in one of my classes and who is a member of a vocal group that is presenting their concert.  Tonight I MAY head back to Ross to listen to the very funny comedian from the Daily Show - John Hodgman (remember him from the PC v Apple commercials - he was the PC man). Busy times with finals beginning on Monday morning.  I continue to be amazed at just how fast semesters are flying by these days. 

 

There is always so much for US to do and for our students to do.  This past Wednesday we had an amazing speaker.  "Dr. Chloe Schwenke is the Senior Advisor for LGBT Policy (global) and the Senior Advisor on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance(Africa) at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is a senior political appointment by the Obama Administration." She is also an amazing speaker and a warm and genuine human being who gave a riveting talk to a good sized crowd before joining some of us for a nice dinner with a small group from campus.  She spoke in classes, spent time with our students in the Center for Women and Gender and as my students said, "blew them away." As one of three transgendered people in the Obama Administration, her presentation, sponsored by our Common Ground helped all of us who met her open our minds - even, if for some, it was just a little bit, our minds WERE opened as she is just such an honest and genuine and spiritual person who cares so deeply about others and puts her "talk" into a "walk" through her efforts for the Obama Administration.  Thank you Chloe for sharing your insights with us.

 

Back to the grading - please take good care, be well and, as always, PLEASE keep all of the members of our military and all of our veterans in your thoughts and prayers as WE all enter the Christmas season and THEY are still dealing with the sometimes daily reality of war.

 

Dave

 

 

BUSY BUSY but good times -

 

Things have been amazingly busy this past week with registration for the spring semester completed, students working HARD on projects and papers and an amazing speaker on campus.  Hudson Taylor was an NCAA champion wrestler who founded Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization set up to help make playing fields and locker rooms SAFE SPACES for LGBT student-athletes.  As a non-gay champion wrestler, he has a very strong and powerful voice for our student-athletes and thanks to the collaboration (again) of Common Ground, our gay-straight alliance on campus and our Athletic Department, Hudson spoke to all of our student-athletes in two workshops on this past Wednesday.  I had dinner with him and with Mark Litchfield, advisor for Common Ground and a couple of our Common Ground students AND then had the privilege of introducing him to our campus.  Brian Healey '12 was very instrumental in OUR It Gets Better (SaintMichael's CollegeItGetsBetter on YouTube) video last year and he is now an intern with Athlete Ally and he was able to return to campus to join us.  My students' reaction papers reveal that Hudson WAS clearly able to speak with authroity and authenciticy - well done Hudson and thanks for all you do.

Campus is alive with lots and lots of prospective students and their families visiting for this Admission Office Preview Day - I met up with Liz and Jim Howland and their son Ben who has applied to SMC and with their daughter Marguerite who is in the 9th grade.  Liz and Jim met at SMC, were married 21 years ago today and returned to bring their son back for the Preview Day - I was in their wedding 21 years ago and we have remained great friends - life's cycles certainly are interesting.

I was able to head out this morning for some kayaking - this is my 69th birthday and 9 years ago I promised myself that I would kayak on my Birthday IN Vermont as long as I could and so got up this morning and headed out to Indian Brook Reservoir for a chilly but wonderful time kayaking - just one of the many reasons why I love Vermont so much.

In the office grading papers and now heading out to watch the SMC men's ice hockey game - they won last night and I hope they do as well this afternoon...

take care, be well, and please continue to keep all of the victims of Hurricane Sandy as well as all of the members of our military in your thoughts and prayers.

Dave