As many of you know, Wes and I both attended Davidson College and graduated in '01. We met there, fell in love there, and like good Davidson graduates, married each other (because that's what Davidson graduates do -- marry other Davidson graduates and then send "legacy" students back to go to college there). While we were there, Davidson was 1600 students, though it's now "surged" to 1700. We both attended on lots of scholarship and financial aid, given the $35,000+ price tag of the school, and we both appreciate the education we received there. Moreover, we are somewhat nostalgic about our Davidson experience. It's not a perfect school, it's certainly not perfect for everyone, but it was a special time in our lives.
So it's very strange, if also exciting, for us to hear and see Davidson in the news so much recently because of the school's success in the NCAA Tournament. For those who haven't been following, Davidson beat Gonzaga, then Georgetown, and now Wisconsin. Davidson goes into the Elite 8 as a #10 seed in their division. All of the remaining teams, including Kansas, whom Davidson plays on Sunday, are from big, sports-program schools.
A writer from the Sun Times did a nice job in a piece this morning addressing the excitement and unique nature of this accomplishment by the team, led by sophomore Stephen Curry, the son of a former Charlotte Hornets player:
DETROIT -- Am I hallucinating? Is this some sort of basketball Pleasantville coming to life in an 80,000-seat football dome? Can a private liberal-arts school from down Mayberry R.F.D. way, where all 1,700 students have their clothes cleaned for free at the Lula Bell Houston Laundry, actually advance to the almighty Elite Eight behind a puberty-faced shooter rooted on by a bling-covered LeBron James?
Close the eyes, open them. Slap the face, conk the forehead.
It's no fantasy.
Much of the world is a lie, with the b.s. quotient rising in my world and yours, but rest assured that Curry is no myth and Davidson no fleeting folly. How spectacular to see March Madness, diluted by sluggish television ratings and a certain big-program predictability, officially produce the story America can embrace. North Carolina and Memphis and UCLA probably will reach the Final Four as top-seeded behemoths, so wouldn't it be wonderful if Curry and the Wildcats, cheered on Friday evening by hundreds of students whose tickets, bus fare and rooms were funded by the school's Board of Trustees -- why couldn't I go to a college like that? -- joined them with one more crackling victory Sunday over Kansas?
While part of me revels in the excitement -- I left a debate tournament early yesterday to watch the game, something I would never in a million years have predicted I would do --the other part hopes that all this excitement doesn't change who and what Davidson is. The publicity the school's getting with all of this is great. Davidson is somewhat unknown outside of the southeast, and it's a very, very good school. People know it because it dominated college quiz bowl in the 70's. And while basketball is arguably the most competitive sport at the school (and the only sport that awards full scholarships), it's only known by real die-hard fans who watch the tournament every year, starting at the early brackets where, when Davidson even makes it in, they usually lose and drop out. Sports success has shown to increase a school's name recognition and increase applications, which both seem like fine things. So why does it somehow bother me?
I think the reason all this basketball hoopla worries me is that I don't want it to change Davidson. I picked the school in some part because it's not a big sports school. Sure, a lot of students there play sports, but it doesn't dominate the school culture. Players don't miss class to play in games (until this tournament), students don't sleep outside the box office to get tickets for games (until this tournament), and no one really walks around campus in that "larger than life" way that many sports stars do. The campus is and always has been about students' education -- teaching and learning and research, and producing future doctors, lawyers, professors, teachers, and government officials -- not future NBA draft picks. When the football team (the only Division III sport at the school) went undefeated my senior year, it was really fun and exciting -- but only a blip on the radar in the grand scheme of the school year.
Part of me is bothered by the fact that people now know Davidson because it's "that school" in the tournament rather than its top-ten national ranking as a private liberal-arts school or it's kick-butt admissions (only 10% of those who apply are accepted) or its honor code or the great faculty who still email you five years after you graduate just to see how you're doing. Perhaps it is my great big-sports aversion that makes me rebuff this. I have personal issues with the way sports stars are lauded in this country -- over-revered, overpaid, overappreciated. And while this kid Curry doesn't seem to fit that mold, I can't help but wonder if he and the team could be held up to that image by other students anyway.
Supposedly, Chelsea Clinton visited Davidson in 2000 and would have been in my class had she decided to attend. For the same reason I'm glad she didn't, I worry about the success the basketball team is having. With any luck, it will be an exciting, one-in-fifty-years blip on the school's radar that enhances the school without changing all the wonderful things about it.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wintry Mix
It's truly the only thing to call it when it rains, snows snowflakes that stick to coats and dogs, blows so hard it stings your eyes and makes your dog turn back towards home even before she's pooped, sleets, and generally makes going out entrirely unpleasant (in late March, mind you) -- all in one day.
"Lost" and "Found"
The keys have been returned. Yesterday the property manager called to say that the man in question had brought them to the office. He was just distraught that we thought he'd taken them on purpose (which the property manager agrees he did) and wanted to apologize in person. The property manager (wisely) thought better of that, so instead he wrote a note. Gag. At least we have our keys back.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thief
A strange thing happened on the way to the forum. No wait, that's not right.
A strange thing happened on Sunday while Wes was in the workout room. He put our keys down, got on the treadmill, and came back up to the apartment without them. Realizing his mistake, he found his own set of keys and went back down, only to realize that the keys he'd taken down with him initially were no longer there. He asked the lady who was working out then if she saw anyone pick them up, and she said no. He came back up, told me what happened, and we were both puzzled. There was one man with a little boy down there while he was working out, and then this lady came in. You can only get into the room with a building key, so it's not like a random passerby from the street could have come in and taken them. Plus, they were only unattended for about five minutes. Granted, he didn't have his eye on them the whole time he was working out, but who would pick up someone's keys while they're right next to his treadmill.
A darn thief, what's who.
I looked around the room behind Wes (he's been known to overlook items from time to time), and then we put up a notice that the keys disappeared, asking anyone who found them to call us (no, we didn't post our apartment number). A day goes by. No one turns in the keys to the management office or calls. Odd. I start to wonder if the little kid absent-mindedly picked them up while his dad was exercising, and the parents just didn't notice. No harm, no foul, but problematic for us. And of course this whole time, I'm terrified that we're going to get robbed or someone's going to come in while I'm home alone (we do have a bolt lock for then, though). Also, our mailbox key is on this ring, so we can't collect our mail.
So I come home today and notice signs about our keys everywhere -- in the front entryway, on the elevator. And I ask Wes about this. Here's where the story gets good: Today Wes went to the chief building engineer and the property manager and explained why we're so confused as to these keys disappearing. It's not like they were "lost" or left somewere for an extended period of time, after all. There was an oversight on his part -- he should have kept them in eyesight at all times -- but it wasn't a serious offense he committed here. Turns out that after several robberies happened in the building, security surveillance was significantly increased. There are video cameras everywhere -- including the workout room. So the three of them go back to the video and watch. There's Wes running, there's Wes doing situps, there's Wes lifting weights. And there is the man who was in the room the same time as Wes -- the father of the four-year-old -- looking at Wes (the keys were behind the treadmill), grabbing the keys, and running out of the room. Now mind you, this man lives in the building. He has a wife and two kids. He's sitting in his apartment right now with our keys. He doesn't know us and hopefully doesn't know what apartment we live in. And he has OUR KEYS. When they found this on the tape. the property manager and Wes decided to put up signs everywhere, give him a chance to turn them in, or else confront him with the tapes tomorrow night. The property manager is trying to track to see that he's been using the fob (logically the only reason to steal the keys unless he really is planning rob us or kidnap Lucy for a hefty ransom) as further evidence of his crimes and misdemeanors. Wes, of course, wants to pound down his door and give him the what-for (he blamed it on his Y chromosome). I say, let the authorities be involved to minimize potential problems -- and maybe put up new signs that says something like, "We know you did it! Surrender the keys -- or off with your head."
Interestingly, the property manager told Wes this isn't even the worst they've seen on the tapes. They actually saw people steal vases from the front lobby -- people who live in this building. And when they confronted them, these people denied it! Amazing, isn't it.
A strange thing happened on Sunday while Wes was in the workout room. He put our keys down, got on the treadmill, and came back up to the apartment without them. Realizing his mistake, he found his own set of keys and went back down, only to realize that the keys he'd taken down with him initially were no longer there. He asked the lady who was working out then if she saw anyone pick them up, and she said no. He came back up, told me what happened, and we were both puzzled. There was one man with a little boy down there while he was working out, and then this lady came in. You can only get into the room with a building key, so it's not like a random passerby from the street could have come in and taken them. Plus, they were only unattended for about five minutes. Granted, he didn't have his eye on them the whole time he was working out, but who would pick up someone's keys while they're right next to his treadmill.
A darn thief, what's who.
I looked around the room behind Wes (he's been known to overlook items from time to time), and then we put up a notice that the keys disappeared, asking anyone who found them to call us (no, we didn't post our apartment number). A day goes by. No one turns in the keys to the management office or calls. Odd. I start to wonder if the little kid absent-mindedly picked them up while his dad was exercising, and the parents just didn't notice. No harm, no foul, but problematic for us. And of course this whole time, I'm terrified that we're going to get robbed or someone's going to come in while I'm home alone (we do have a bolt lock for then, though). Also, our mailbox key is on this ring, so we can't collect our mail.
So I come home today and notice signs about our keys everywhere -- in the front entryway, on the elevator. And I ask Wes about this. Here's where the story gets good: Today Wes went to the chief building engineer and the property manager and explained why we're so confused as to these keys disappearing. It's not like they were "lost" or left somewere for an extended period of time, after all. There was an oversight on his part -- he should have kept them in eyesight at all times -- but it wasn't a serious offense he committed here. Turns out that after several robberies happened in the building, security surveillance was significantly increased. There are video cameras everywhere -- including the workout room. So the three of them go back to the video and watch. There's Wes running, there's Wes doing situps, there's Wes lifting weights. And there is the man who was in the room the same time as Wes -- the father of the four-year-old -- looking at Wes (the keys were behind the treadmill), grabbing the keys, and running out of the room. Now mind you, this man lives in the building. He has a wife and two kids. He's sitting in his apartment right now with our keys. He doesn't know us and hopefully doesn't know what apartment we live in. And he has OUR KEYS. When they found this on the tape. the property manager and Wes decided to put up signs everywhere, give him a chance to turn them in, or else confront him with the tapes tomorrow night. The property manager is trying to track to see that he's been using the fob (logically the only reason to steal the keys unless he really is planning rob us or kidnap Lucy for a hefty ransom) as further evidence of his crimes and misdemeanors. Wes, of course, wants to pound down his door and give him the what-for (he blamed it on his Y chromosome). I say, let the authorities be involved to minimize potential problems -- and maybe put up new signs that says something like, "We know you did it! Surrender the keys -- or off with your head."
Interestingly, the property manager told Wes this isn't even the worst they've seen on the tapes. They actually saw people steal vases from the front lobby -- people who live in this building. And when they confronted them, these people denied it! Amazing, isn't it.
Hail to the chief...
Resident, that is. Wes will officially be announced tomorrow with two of his colleagues as a chief resident of the emergency medicine residency program . He's excited, honored, and yes, humbled. He is in a great class with many qualified candidates. While he respects the choices that were made, he also feels for those who wanted and also deserved the position but didn't get chosen. His duties start immediately, as the outgoing chiefs prepare to graduate and move on to attending positions. At first it made me think he'd be doing even more work than ever. Then I realized: that's not possible.
Oh, Danny Boy
I have admitted several times on this blog to watching ridiculous television. Not usually a ridiculous amount of television, but by all means ridiculous television. Case in point: The Biggest Loser. Why this show is entertaining, I've truly no idea. Maybe it's the inspiring stories (we know how I love those), or maybe it subconsciously keeps me on track to eat well and exercise more often. Who knows. But I watch.
This season I have found myself repeatedly annoyed with the men on the show. They're big, beefy, probably good boys, but on the show they come off as real jerks. Week after week I have to listen to these guys talk about how the girls deserve to get kicked off (as they have for weeks and weeks) because they just don't work out as hard, just don't eat as healthy, just don't want it as much. Never has it occurred to any of them evidently that part of the reason a woman's never won the show is because they start the show with relatively less weight to lose and a metabolism slower than a man's. Furthermore, women have certain parts of their body that are fat and aren't going anywhere (BOOBS!). Now, I don't live in the Biggest Loser house and don't really know how much everyone works out or how healthy they eat. But it seems to me that the women on the show have done both plentifully. Their bodies just haven't always cooperated in the numbers they dropped. One contestant, Dan, a 21-year-old with a head of hair I'd just like to chop off, always has comments about this. It's so annoying! I want to make him sit through a feminist lit class or something.
So tonight, with two female contestants left and four men, it seemed like another week that a woman would go home. The men made a mockery of the challenge just 'cause they thought it was funny and then made fun of the women for being bothered by it. When it came down to the weigh-in, though, the women went 1-2, and it was time for one of the men to go packing. Here, too, is the irony. Although these boys want to come off as the big, tough, strong men, they are absolutely blubbering fools when any one from their group goes home. They just cry and cry and cry. I would be lying if I said I wasn't THRILLED when Dan got sent home. And there he was crying. First he makes a statement that seems to show him realizing the error of his snap judgment about anyone falling below the yellow line (or, in lay speak, becoming eligible to be voted off the show). But then later he says he wouldn't "in a million years" have put money on the women to lose such significant weight in one week. I had hoped he would grow up. Instead, he goes home with an absurd tattoo and a bad haircut. Oh, and he moved to LA to break into the music industry, despite the fact that he can't sing at all.
Now, here's my disclaimer. I don't know a-one of these people. I'm sure they're all lovely, and I most certainly applaud their wonderful work. I just can't bear cockiness. Humility really is an underappreciated virtue in our world. So forgive me for enjoying while I sit back and watch an arrogant young'un (I can say that, because he's seven years younger than me) eat a serving of humble pie.
This season I have found myself repeatedly annoyed with the men on the show. They're big, beefy, probably good boys, but on the show they come off as real jerks. Week after week I have to listen to these guys talk about how the girls deserve to get kicked off (as they have for weeks and weeks) because they just don't work out as hard, just don't eat as healthy, just don't want it as much. Never has it occurred to any of them evidently that part of the reason a woman's never won the show is because they start the show with relatively less weight to lose and a metabolism slower than a man's. Furthermore, women have certain parts of their body that are fat and aren't going anywhere (BOOBS!). Now, I don't live in the Biggest Loser house and don't really know how much everyone works out or how healthy they eat. But it seems to me that the women on the show have done both plentifully. Their bodies just haven't always cooperated in the numbers they dropped. One contestant, Dan, a 21-year-old with a head of hair I'd just like to chop off, always has comments about this. It's so annoying! I want to make him sit through a feminist lit class or something.
So tonight, with two female contestants left and four men, it seemed like another week that a woman would go home. The men made a mockery of the challenge just 'cause they thought it was funny and then made fun of the women for being bothered by it. When it came down to the weigh-in, though, the women went 1-2, and it was time for one of the men to go packing. Here, too, is the irony. Although these boys want to come off as the big, tough, strong men, they are absolutely blubbering fools when any one from their group goes home. They just cry and cry and cry. I would be lying if I said I wasn't THRILLED when Dan got sent home. And there he was crying. First he makes a statement that seems to show him realizing the error of his snap judgment about anyone falling below the yellow line (or, in lay speak, becoming eligible to be voted off the show). But then later he says he wouldn't "in a million years" have put money on the women to lose such significant weight in one week. I had hoped he would grow up. Instead, he goes home with an absurd tattoo and a bad haircut. Oh, and he moved to LA to break into the music industry, despite the fact that he can't sing at all.
Now, here's my disclaimer. I don't know a-one of these people. I'm sure they're all lovely, and I most certainly applaud their wonderful work. I just can't bear cockiness. Humility really is an underappreciated virtue in our world. So forgive me for enjoying while I sit back and watch an arrogant young'un (I can say that, because he's seven years younger than me) eat a serving of humble pie.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Want to read an NBC entry?
My National Board Certification portfolio is due next Monday. Like any good student, I have put much of it off until the last week. Fortuntely, more than 75% of it is done. However, editing and revising never is. If you would like to read one of my entries for editing and revising, let me know. All perspectives -- lay, educator, parent-educator, retired educator -- are welcome. I will provide you with the text of the entry along with the questions asked by NBC to help guide your feedback. Just email me -- or leave a comment if you don't have my email -- and I'll send one along. Thanks for your support!
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