Semester in Review: from starting a mission to the "Last Midnight"

DISCLAIMER: Since this is the last post, for now, I am returning to my long post roots.  Enjoy!

Over the semester, I have tried to discover how involved are people on campus.

My intended plans did not exactly come true, but I have had fun through it all.

At the start of the semester, I did not expect to be in a crowded room learning about IRS Criminal investigators, observe people acting out scenes from an anime, and understand both groups as people investing time in what they love, even if photos do not tell the whole story.

I was not expecting to find out a smoker can be inside and not get warned about lung cancer.

I learned goals can be met if one is willing to wait long enough for your voice to develop.

I was able to get introspective and explain who I am and what I believe and display where work.

I was one of the few who took notes at an improv show (and got my suggestions used) after hearing heartfelt music about a developing relationship.

I was able to report on "the varsity sport of the mind" and promote the Taqueria (great value and community, even if your digestive system might not agree.)

I got to drive a golf cart and raise the scoreboard!   I might still feel the strain from that weekend, but the ability to see this campus from a different perspective was definitely worth the risk.

I discussed ASUP Senate Resolution 11-03, (funding the fundraising efforts for the new rec/wellness center from Fall Capital Improvement Fund money for the next three years), running a debate and expressed my views about the Beacon. 

Though those two entries proved to be among the most popular, I am mixed about my work on each. 

Call me naive but I do not want attention, views or whatever passes for social capital these days through arguments and controversy.  Though I might go into the field of journalism for a career, I want to stand on my own and attempt to build a reputation through what I wrote about 11-03, uncovering facts and pointing out solutions to problems rather than blithely complain about issues.  If I cannot survive in the field without resorting to unsubstantiated viewpoints with limited bias, then I am skeptical of a culture that supports people putting their own goals ahead of their subjects.  Journalism should be about displaying new ideas and perspectives so people can realize the world is full of new and different ideas that can shape their lives, hopefully for the better.

I cannot retract my views from either entry, but I must acknowledge those views were valid at the time of writing.  I will deal with whatever comes from the reaction and if that costs me opportunities, so be it. I will always try to keep the perspective of subjects in mind and remember to aim toward story not opinion (unless the situation somehow requires a sledgehammer instead of a camera.)

Even in that 11-03 post that recieved positive reactions, I feel I got a little too personal and opinionated about the meeting and discussion.  The post might have been able to shed light on the 2010-2011 ASUP Senate experience, but the meeting made me weary, frustrated and bitter toward the senate, democracy and even myself.

Several of my views about this semester can be supported/emulated in the Steven Sondheim production "Into the Woods" which wrapped up its UP run on Sunday the 17th and was profiled over at UP in Theater.

Possibly the only spoiler-free photo I took, unless you did not realize trees exist in the woods.

Warning: some spoilers abound!

Like the main characters, I wished to see how involved people, specifically students, are on campus.  Like Little Red Riding Hood, I strayed from the path, but was able to learn things I never knew before making the journey.

Like the finale "Children Will Listen" points out, children and people will look up to everyone of us and develop plans of action from what they see us do. I feel this blog tried and succeeded every once in a while by showing clubs and activities people would otherwise ignore.  Maybe people will try to start their own club or decide to attend an event or join a club just because the name is odd or for a new experience. 

When I strayed from my original goal, I acted in ways that might have harmed others and have to keep those transgressions in mind to avoid repeating those mistakes. I must always remember people are reading and not always commenting.

What does the future hold for this blog and myself after I leave this wood of supervised writing?

We will have to find out together. I might focus on some things more (ASUP Senate, clubs gone by) and not be as personal.  Depending on what the reader wants, this entity could shift toward crowd-sourced reports about clubs or events or wither away into the digital ether.

I must go for the summer but like the song also points out, no one leaves for good.  This experience through the woods allowed me to discover people can enjoy my work, regardless of length and amount of links.  I guess to them, I was doing something right. The important part is we all survived and hopefully are richer for the experience.

Thanks again to everyone who allowed me to profile them or allow me access to materials surrounding clubs and especially the commenters.  The perspectives have allowed me to gauge content reactions and improve my writing/storytelling skills.  Without you, this blog could or might have turned into random ramblings that only I and future family will see to mock or enjoy.

What did you think of this first journey through the woods?  What would you like to see more or less of in the future? How has this blog helped your journey through the woods of line on UP's bluff?

Following Bill Reed with a Minor Detour

When I pitched the idea of following Bill Reed from University Events, I did not realize how active it would be for only 7 hours.  Not only did I realize how much can occur before 9am on a Saturday, but I never expected to be raising the scoreboard or driving a golf cart.

Thanks to Bill Reed, Perry, Billy, and Michael Minor for letting me follow them around for the morning!

Here's the video of me raising the Scoreboard!




View Doin' Work: University Events in a larger map
(The map starts at the Chiles Center and Finally ends at university events.) The Descriptions make it easier to read.
The path(because it is hard to tell): Chiles Center, University Events, Chiles Center floor, Chiles Center Mezzanine (2nd floor), BC 12, Detour: BC 163, Mago Hunt, 3rd Floor Franz, Commons, BC 12, Mago, Chiles for Meeting, Hall of Fame Room, Mehling Ballroom, BC Auditorium, BC 12, Commons, Commons Boardroom, St. Mary's Murphy Conference Room, BC Auditorium, Mago, Chiles Center Marketing for soccer, Events, outside Chiles to get golf cart, events.

Who is More Miserable: a biological father or a religious father?

Refreshments and Candy

While some people were attending Christie Pub, Christie Hall's semester show featuring local acts, I and about 50 others were in the UP bookstore watching Fr. Charlie Gordon,  Theology professor and Brian Doyle, editor of the Portland magazine and parent of three including twin boys that once threw up on him (AT THE SAME TIME!)

Over the following hour, the audience was treated to a mix of lighthearted banter, sparring and deep discussion shifting toward larger ideas. One of these topics was the question of loneliness and how either can handle the moments of loneliness when they occur. 

Fr. Charlie believed he can be lonely due to his priestly lifestyle, the relatively small number of people who  require "Fr. Charlie's services" and his nature as an academic to not be as engaged emotionally as others.  However priests should be able to come to grips with loneliness. Fr. Gordon, paraphrasing a Joeseph Brodsky quote about bordem made during a commencement address, encouraged the audience to embrace the loneliness and go into it for loneliness/bordem (the actual subject of the quote) to embrace the knowledge and wisdom inherent in the situation to help create a solution to your problem. By embracing the situation and going deeper, one is better able to grow spiritually and bridge the gap of actual loneliness and perceived loneliness.

Brian Doyle had felt misunderstood but he himself had not felt lonely as a father, though he understood other fathers could feel lonely at times. Doyle believed he encountered the "jostling of expectations versus ambitions" rather than feeling lonely.

After they finished, I encountered a different pair of  Father and a father discussing this same issue, this time asked by a woman named Mary.

 Josh Noem, the father, and LXG coordinator has encountered lonely moments without his young children and wife in the house.  He says he has had trouble determining what to do because his young ones, around the ages of 8, are still at that stage where they want to play with daddy.  

Fr. Frank Murphy followed a similar course to Fr. Charlie by learning to embrace the loneliness inherent in being a priest but he can overcome that feeling by acting within his environment, regardless of the acts being small or substantial.

One downside of seeing Bryan Doyle is how he will tell certain stories again and again even if the story fits the context.  The stories can still be useful, funny or poignant  but sometimes they feel like the punchline to a joke you have already heard several times before.

Fr. Charlie discussed how to be addressed by those outside Catholicism and Christianity and the fun of being among the "motley crew" of the Order of the Holy Cross; while Doyle mentioned the disrespect and insults typically slung by children about their parents speaking and their attire.

In the end, the debate was considered a draw by Jamie Powell, director of the Garaventa Center and MC for the event. However, next year could see topics including Fr. Charlie getting tattoos, whether hermeneutics really means anything or even a discussion on surfing, so those people who cannot wait to get their fix of non-serious debate turning serious can start speculating who will come out the "winner" for the next debate.

Who do you think has it harder, priests or male parents?