April 19, 2015
It’s earth week this week so I truly hope you will get out and enjoy the leafing and flowering that is unfolding around us as the campus comes alive. I hope you’ll also be able to enjoy some of the events dedicated to Earth Week (see below).
On another topic:
Many years ago the British comedy troupe “Monty Python” aired a sketch about “an argument clinic.” The premise was that a man paid some small fee in order to have an argument with someone (for what purpose, the audience doesn’t know).
(You can see the full sketch on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y.)
The odd thing about this sketch is that one could argue (pardon the pun) that your decision to go to college is, in a way, a decision to attend a 4-year argument clinic, albeit one far more sophisticated than the one depicted by the players of Monty Python.
Whether you are studying Criminology or Philosophy, Literature or Psychology, Politics or Women’s and Gender Studies, Sociology or History, World Languages or International Studies, you are studying, both in your major and in every HSS course you take, how to critique the arguments of others and how to construct and deliver your own arguments in both speech and writing.
Throughout the HSS curriculum we are teaching you to raise interesting and meaningful questions, collect and analyze data, draw conclusions, and communicate them to different kinds of audiences. On some level, it doesn’t matter whether the question is about the nature of metaphor in a poem or the consequences of one or another policy on recidivism: in each context, you are learning how to develop and make your own arguments. This is the impact of the liberal arts and the power of your degree is that it will take you far in any direction, wherever you choose to go after you graduate.
Since argument is at the heart of the liberal arts experience, I thought you might find it interesting to observe some of the nation’s best argumentation which has been unfolding very conveniently on our campus this weekend.
Yes, people from all over the country have come to TCNJ this weekend …. to have an argument! (Actually, to have many arguments.)
The American Parliamentary Debate Association is the nation’s leading collegiate debate organization. It holds an annual championship tournament in which that year’s best collegiate debaters vie for top prizes. This year, APDA’s national debate is unfolding right now, with the final rounds behind held today – Sunday, April 19!
I encourage you to visit at least one of the rounds and watch these highly qualified young men and women argue their positions. Today, Octofinals are at 10:30, Quarterfinals at 1 pm, and Semifinals at 2:30,. For all of these, go to Education 115 to find out which room you should proceed to in order to watch a debate. The biggest debate will be the Final Round: you can go and see who is named the best debate team in America this year! That will be at 5:00 in the Lions Den.
Perhaps you will be inspired to be a better arguer yourself! Or perhaps you’ll be inspired to join TCNJ’s Parliamentary Debate Society (contact debate@tcnj.edu) to argue among the best starting next year!
Sincerely,
BR
Congratulations
Congratulations to Sociology major Jason Hammer who coauthored a paper with Dr. George Leader entitled “The William Green Colonial Farmhouse in Ewing, NJ: A Billet for Continental Army Troops during Campaigns in NJ?” Hammer and Leader recently presented the paper at annual conference of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology.
Congratulations to Erin Grosskurth on being accepted to the Master’s Program at University of Maryland for a degree in Chinese Teaching.
Congratulations to alumna Jennifer Braverman who was just named Teacher of the Year for Burlington County, NJ 2015-2016.
Congratulations to TCNJ’s Society for Parliamentary Debate for organizing and hosting this year’s National Championship Tournament for the American Parliamentary Debate Association this weekend.
Congratulations to Dr. Jiayan Mi (English / World Languages & Cultures) who gave a talk on the Poetry of Protest and the 1989 Tiananmen Movement” last week at Yale University.
Congratulations to Dr. Jarret Crawford (Psychology) who has been named TCNJ’s director of Faculty-Student Scholarly and Creative Collaborative Activity starting May 1, succeeding Dr. Chan in that role.
Opportunities
Workshop on going beyond the basics in Excel, hosted by Johnson and Johnson about using Excel in the Workplace: This workshop is open to all students on April 22 from 5-7 pm in Business 205.
TCNJ’s chapter of Golden Key is holding a book drive, collecting used books of any kind to send them to struggling areas in need of literacy tools or for resale to support literacy projects around the world. There are drop-off boxes for donations in the lobby of Roscoe West, Library Entrance (Eickhoff side) and Education Building. If you have a larger donation, you can e-mail Golden Key at tcnjgoldkey@gmail.com to arrange a pick-up.
Events
Sun., Apr. 19 Debate Championship Rounds being held all day: go to Education 115 to find out which room at which time; final round at 5 pm in Lions Den
Mon., Apr. 20 Photo Campaign for Change Kick-Off #TCNJEarth, from 11 am to 2 pm outside the Stud
Mon., Apr. 20 Film Screening: “Food Chains: The Revolution in America’s Fields” at 3:30 to 5:30 pm in Kendall Screening Room
Mon., Apr. 20 Business for Good: People and Planet, 6:30 pm in the Business Lounge
Tues., Apr. 21 Earth Cake Pop Sale (table in Stud) from 11 am to 2 pm
Tues., Apr. 21 Outdoor Yoga behind ABE from 11:30 to 12:30
Tues., Apr. 21 Politics Forum: Dr. Glenn Steinberg (English): “Literary Politics in Trecento Italy: Sexuality, Gender, and Canto XV of the Inferno” at 12:30 in 223 Social Science
Tues., Apr. 21 Film Screening: Greedy, Lying Bastards at 12:30 in Ed 115
Wed., Apr. 22 Paws for the Earth: Watch for friendly dogs and their animal advocate humans in various locations throughout the day.
Wed., Apr. 22 Professor Panel on Climate Change in Science P101 at 1:30
Wed., Apr. 22 Guerilla Gardening in the campus garden, across from the Green Farmhouse at 2:45
Wed., Apr. 22 Greenstock (open mic music and spoken word) in the campus garden, across from the Green Farmhouse, at 4 pm
Wed., Apr. 22 Sustainability Education Initiative Kick-off at 5 pm in Ed 115
Wed., Apr. 22 Travel the World: Celebration of Culture from 3:30 to 5 in the Social Science Atirum. Share your experiences, practice a language.
Thurs., Apr. 23 Circle K Recycling Info and Dirt Cup Giveaway at noon in Alumni Grove
Thurs., Apr. 23 “Degrees of Inequality: How the Politics of Higher Education Sabotaged the American Dream,” presentation by Dr. Suzanne Mettler, at 6:30 to 8:30 in Library Auditorium
Fri., Apr. 24 Campus-Wide Clean-Up, meet in front of the Stud at noon
Fri., Apr. 24 Opera: La Boheme! 8 to 10:30 pm at the Kendall Main Stage Theater. This is a ticketed performance. If you get a ticket, you are invited also to a pre-curtain chat that starts at 7:00 pm. Get your ticket at the Box Office: http://tcnjcenterforthearts.tcnj.edu/tcnj-box-office/. It will also be presented on Sun., Apr. 26 as a 4 pm matinee.