So what are we here for? Lose the apathy, Hillsdale
Liz Essley
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: Opinion
When Associate Provost David Whalen addressed the class of 2011 during our freshman orientation last year, he told us we must prepare our hearts and minds to zealously pursue the liberal arts.
"You must lose the apathy of cool," he said.
His words came to mind again as I read Professor of History Brad Birzer's letter to our Civil War class:
"And, remember, absolutely nothing (from sweeping floors to making a fine meal to writing poetry) in this world is worth doing unless one does it with excellence, integrity and beauty. Otherwise, you might as well just slap God and each one of your ancestors in the face now and call it quits."
The exhortations of both professors have stuck with me. But a year and a half into college, I also know that their advice is not needed for every class here at Hillsdale. Not every class requires the dedication they promote. Not every professor desires the kind of excellence they demand. And that's a shame.
It's a shame because we came here to learn. In the words of the mission statement, we came to gain "intellectual curiosity" and a "critical, well-disciplined mind." And the college exists not only to develop minds, but "improve the hearts" of its pupils. And the way the college will do this, the mission statement tells us, is through the liberal arts.
Yet not every professor cares about the liberal arts. Not every professor has attempted to answer, let alone ask, the questions that will define our time here on earth - "Who is God? Who is man? What is God's relation to man?" I know these professors exist because I've sat in their classes. And I've had friends sit in their classes. And we've seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears the apathy that lurks in the hearts of some of those to whom we have entrusted our education.
In their classes, our souls do not have to actually grapple with those things that - God forbid! - take time and energy to contemplate: ideas.
I know the problem is not completely one-sided; apathy can run both ways. We can all be slacker students. We can all be intellectually and morally lazy. But I am focusing on the faculty, because professors only exacerbate the problem when they expect little of us. They receive little.
"You must lose the apathy of cool," he said.
His words came to mind again as I read Professor of History Brad Birzer's letter to our Civil War class:
"And, remember, absolutely nothing (from sweeping floors to making a fine meal to writing poetry) in this world is worth doing unless one does it with excellence, integrity and beauty. Otherwise, you might as well just slap God and each one of your ancestors in the face now and call it quits."
The exhortations of both professors have stuck with me. But a year and a half into college, I also know that their advice is not needed for every class here at Hillsdale. Not every class requires the dedication they promote. Not every professor desires the kind of excellence they demand. And that's a shame.
It's a shame because we came here to learn. In the words of the mission statement, we came to gain "intellectual curiosity" and a "critical, well-disciplined mind." And the college exists not only to develop minds, but "improve the hearts" of its pupils. And the way the college will do this, the mission statement tells us, is through the liberal arts.
Yet not every professor cares about the liberal arts. Not every professor has attempted to answer, let alone ask, the questions that will define our time here on earth - "Who is God? Who is man? What is God's relation to man?" I know these professors exist because I've sat in their classes. And I've had friends sit in their classes. And we've seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears the apathy that lurks in the hearts of some of those to whom we have entrusted our education.
In their classes, our souls do not have to actually grapple with those things that - God forbid! - take time and energy to contemplate: ideas.
I know the problem is not completely one-sided; apathy can run both ways. We can all be slacker students. We can all be intellectually and morally lazy. But I am focusing on the faculty, because professors only exacerbate the problem when they expect little of us. They receive little.
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