TCNJ Masturbates to Walt Whitman
Come on, you know it. TCNJ fantasizes about old shriveled up men with long beards.
You have to wonder why TCNJ is so obsessed with Walt Whitman, and why the college has put on such an extravaganza in honor of him and his work. I'm only kidding about TCNJ's self-pleasure with the sesquicentennial and good old Walt, but what's really important are the implications of this program for TCNJ students.
Students should always take advantage of a program like this. The college succeeds in providing an open, thriving atmosphere for students to learn about ideas and cultures foreign to them; an environment that bears accusations of being "liberal," but still, the college is supplying educational experiences.
But I think there is a great problem with the process of education here (this includes classes as well as programs). Students are provided with a bevy of information on worldviews and the way the world works: but what do we do with it? We throw it away. In one ear and out the other. Students don't take the second step in education: establishing their "faith": why they believe certain things and how they live accordingly.
In David Brooks book On Paradise Drive, he explains students' main priority: "On the whole, professors love and admire their students, but they are a little disturbed by how non-contentious they are, how willing they are to jump through whatever hoop is placed in front of them for the sake of pleasing teachers, mentors, or the achievement system itself."
So, I ask all of TCNJ stop polishing the sword, have some balls and question what is known as true, and have a faith that is alive and evident in your life. Celebrate yourself.
-Andrew Croft, '07
