Thursday, June 14, 2007

Next Up, Swarthmore!

Antioch College is one of those places that every conservative must preface a story about by saying "I am not making this up." It does not have the astronomical tuition of Bennington. It lacks the sprawling size and historic/political cache of Berkley. It lacks the intellectual rigor of Swarthmore. Still, over the years, more than most other academic Comminterns, it has defined left-wingism both in its faculty and its student body. However, located in the heartland and not on a trendy coast or Trancendentalist New England glade, it has not been able to sustain itself and now dies. It did not have fraternities. Every nervous tick of the academic Left was nurtured and supported. Yet people did not flock to it with their children or their dollars. A lesson here for, say old formerly single sex, small liberal arts colleges nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks.

I AM MOVING TO THE NEXT LEVEL PLEASE INDICATE CONSENT!

Quite different from the Original School of Antioch. http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/antioch.stm The text means what it says? How did old St. John Crystosom and the boys expect to get anywhere with that sort of thinking?

I AM MOVING TO THE NEXT LEVEL PLEASE INDICATE CONSENT!

I will admit, the title of this post is inherently unfair but made in retaliation for Mrs. Slattery's sartorial choices while visiting the JJV Compound. It is unfair because Swarthmore has rigorously battled grade inflation and dumbing down of instruction, not a priority at Antioch. In addition, at Swarthmore, Che Guevara is not the icon he is at other Lefty colleges. I presume this is because he is thought to have a fashion sense, and possess sex appeal, rather than any disagreement with his economic/social program.

I AM NOT GOING TO ANY OTHER LEVELS. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT STUDENT LIFE!

6 comments:

Dave S. said...

I see that revenge now is a dish that is best served online.

Dave S. said...

It also appears that Kenyon thinks about Antioch more than Antioch thinks about Kenyon.

Dave S. said...

OK, more on this subject.

Antioch's endowment totals... drum roll... $30 million, which is 2.5% of Swarthmore's, or 4.5% of Hamilton's. For whatever reason the college saw no need to grow it and it has now paid the price. It was probably a vicious cycle of insufficient (or misspent)endowment leading to insufficient facility maintenance and faculty/program cutbacks, leading to dwindling support (if that was ever solicited systematically in the first place). Whether or not ideology or incompetence or both is to blame is secondary.

I don't think the Amber Strategy was a wise one necessarily, but the alma mater of Rod Serling, Stephen Jay Gould and half of They Might Be Giants deserved a better fate. Those responsible for its care failed the college, its students and themselves.

Anonymous said...

In the spirit of JJV, I blame the Clintons.

More entertainingly, I offer this lovely little video short, which I found hilarious. And the brunette in this is smokin' hot :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MInsLIzLQe8

John C.

jjv said...

I havent' checked it but is it Obamagirl? I have noted elsewhere that Hillary just lost her husband's vote.

jjv said...

Ok, it wasn't obama girl (i had to go put it in the url). Excellant. Our society does not make use of lawyers enough.