Point News, 1995 September 19

              September 1 9 ,1 9 9 5 features Page 8
I'kiillv Focus
Philosophy Professor John Schroeder photo by Elizabeth Rose
Schroeder brings a new
philosophy to SMC
JENNIFER CHAPIN
HARRIS
staff writer
“You don’t even have to
have a book to do philosophy,”
explains St. Mary’s newest
philosophy professor, John
Schroeder, who teaches 101
classes. “Philosophy, like no
other discipline, allows you to
talk on any subject.”
Educated at the University
of Oregon, Schroeder became
interested in philosophy as a
means “to enter___________
into the minds of'
great people his­torically
[and]
have a discus­sion
with them.”
With a focus on
Bu d d h i sm,
Schroeder’s per-sonal
philoso­phy
critically
tions we have about the pur­pose
of our lives.” Life is more
than just a job to Schroeder
and he wants his students to
understand that they do not
have to be “miserable.”
This idea may explain why
he chose to teach at St. Mary’s,
which he describes as “a small
liberal arts college devoted to
teaching.” The small school,
as opposed to the large univer­sity
classes which he attended,
allows for discussion and de-
____________ bate of ideas.
“The intro
“ [St.Mary's] is classes are re-sort
of like
finding o a !dorne f,t.s lhvaev'e to
diamond on the do a i°t of work
because stu-m
O O n . . . " dents are
y n j ti li/jtau j T L, C1 !- J genuinely in-analyzes
theo- "J O m l O C n rO e C i e r te re sted in
He d e -" ........™them.” In ­deed,
for first year student
Camille Jackson, “the atmo­sphere
[of Schroeder’s classes]
is very relaxed and conducive
to discussion.” As someone
who normally finds Plato bor­ing,
Jackman says, “he makes
Plato exciting. He’s a good
guy.”
Beyond his classes,
Schroeder describes St. Mary’s
as “sort of like finding a dia­mond
on the moon... it’s so
beautiful and so isolated.” The
coffee addict, however, does
miss urban life with its coffee
bars and cannot wait for one
to be installed at the college.
ries. tie de- 11 ■
scribes them as neglectful of
differences and personal con­crete
relationships. Although
a self-proclaimed theorizer,
Schroeder believes relation­ships
are more important. Tb
“have strong commitments,
listen... [and] not impose as­sumptions"
are a few of his
personal goals.
For Schroeder to teach a
philosophy class necessitates
both theory and the criticism
of theory, but more impor­tantly,
he says, “I try and
teach [students] certain ways
to examine their lives...[and]
try to examine the assump-
The S taff Call Girl
Strange Things in
Strange Places
KATIE EDWARDS
staff writer
Don’t your senses ju s t
scream that you’re back at St.
Mary’s College? You can reach
out and touch your roommate
who (for those of you unfortu­nate
enough to reside in the
dorms) is never more than 5
feet outside of your personal
space. Strolling down the path
your nose is assaulted with
the pungency of pond scent,
while your ears soon become
accustomed to the cries of
mangled pedestrians and the
scornful laughs of crazed SMC
bike riders.
Welcome to, or back to, St.
Mary’s College. Where you
can complain on a weekend
night that there is nothing to
do and then find yourself a few
hours later, convinced to polka
on a coffeetable while scream­ing
“Mamma! Put that striped
dress on and shake it ‘till I
can’t take it!”
Or you may devote
endless hours to studying your
cruel Biology textbook, only to
be given a test prepared by
some devil-worshipping pro­fessor
who constantly
mumbles, “Yes master, I shall
weed the weak ones from the
herd.... perhaps if one gets
locked in the lab tonight, we
might feast on their jell-o’d
remains tomorrow...”
Unfortunately I can
not join in as many of these
shenanigans as I would like to
this semester. In order to pur­sue
my ambition in life, I am
student teaching English to
1 1 th and 12th graders at
Great Mills High School,
where my main problems are
how to avoid getting stuck in
the halls during class changes
and which smart remark to
give library student aides
when they ask for my pass.
Completing a phone survey
every week this semester is
probably going to prove to be
well nigh impossible and you
ju st might have to muddle
through the weeks when the
Staff Call Girl’s wisdom is not
imparted to you But be strong
and comfort yourselves with
the knowledge that you don’t
have to be afraid to pick up the
phone whenit rings... it prob­ably
won’t be regarding an
inane survey question!
Speaking of inane ques­tions,
I thought th a t this
week’s might deal with our re­spective
college bedrooms.
Each of us takes some pride
in the decorations, au ra ,
arpmap,. cjtff^tjness (or u n ­cleanliness)
of our abodes. But
what makes yours special?
What is the strangest thing
tha t someone might find in
your room?
So th a t’s it for the first
phone survey of Fall ’95. Good
luck in classes, and don’t be
afraid to assail your fellow stu
dents’ sense of sight one Sat­urday
evening by donning
that striped dress.
“What’s th e stran g e st
thing that someone might
find in your room?”
“Catfood”
-Tara Waters
“Brendan Cox”
-Eric Finklestein
“An alligator head”
-Ronnie Walsh
“A tampon hanging from
the Christmas lights. It’s our
warning sign.”
-Kim Creager
“My girlfriend”
-anonymous
“Last year it was my sheep
brain”
-Amanda Jones
“A teddy bear”
-Angie and Jessica
“A wrapped door”
-Keisha Reynolds
“My bitten off toenails”
-Greg Ford
“Willard Scott reading a
copy of The Adventures of
Tbm Sawver”
-Dave Brels ford
“My happy-fort made out
of blankets where I go when
the voices want to tell me
about their latest vegetable
conquest.”
-Kacie Mason
SMC THE ARTS ALLIANCE
OF ST. MARY’S COLLEGE
The Arts Alliance of St. Mary's College invites proposals from
Arts and Letters students for grants for the winter and spring. Our
grants range from $100 to $500 and may be awarded for a project
that advances the understanding and appreciation of the fine arts,
while reaching beyond the college to involve the local community.
This year we particularly desire proposals for events that will be held
at the College in order to attract the Southern Maryland community
onto the campus, although going out into the community is still a
worthy goal.
Your proposal request should be reasonably defined, specific,
and focused. It must be realistic in scope.
This year the Arts Alliance will require a written report after
your project is complete or a short personal presentation by you at
an Arts Alliance Steering Committee meeting in the spring.
Deadline for receiving the proposals in the Arts Alliance office
shall be_noon on November 5, 1995. You will have our response by
November 15,1995.
For further information or for a grant application, please
contact Jeanne Marie Dabney, 45 Montgomery Hall (Ext.4327).