Mary Washington College Today, 2003 (Summer)

64 Pages·2003·7.8 MB·English

by  University of Mary Washington

WASHINGTON COLLEGE
V tY
'*w*
SKflfa'
AquanautJanet Nestlerode'91 gathers'.data on an
Aquarius:mission. (See page 2.)
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]y[ARY WASHINGTON (]OLLEG£
OfficeofthePresident
June 2003
Dear Friends:
In March aconsultantteamfrom the SouthernAssociation ofColleges and Schools (SACS) visited Mary
Washington Collegeforthe decennial reaffirmation ofMWC's accreditation. In addition to a detailed compli-
ance audit, the SACSteam reviewedthe College's Self-Studyforthe moveto university status, assessingthe
opportunities and demands, orderingpriorities, and safeguardingexisting strengths. Whilewe havenotyet
receivedthewritten report, I ampleasedto saythatthe exitinterviewwiththe SACSteamwas mostpositive,
astheylikened themselvestocheerleaders, wholeheartedlyendorsingthe movetouniversitystatusand com-
mendingthecourage, tenacityandinnovativenessofourapproach designedtopreservethe name andliberal
artstradition atMaryWashington Collegewhile expandingaggressivelyattheJamesMonroe Centerto meet
thegraduate and professionalneeds ofthe citizensofthisrapidlyexpandingarea.
The Self-Studyreportrecommends achange inthe status oftheJames Monroe CentertoJames Monroe
College.With over90graduatesfromJMC this spring, and greaternumbers anticipated eachyear, Ibelieve
thisrecommendation is appropriate.Atthe request ofthegraduates, theyhave processed in a separate com-
mencementceremonyatJMC thisyear. With twoverydistinctcampuses, the needforuniversitystatusbe-
comes increasinglyevident. Elsewhere inthis issueyouwill read aboutthe committee established to recom-
mend aname forthe university.The committee ischairedbythe president ofthe MWCAlumniAssociation,
MWC
Kathleen Shepherd Mehfoud 70, and consists ofrepresentativesfromthe Alumni Board, Board of
Visitors, Foundation Board, facultyand students, and the Fredericksburgcommunity.
Construction oftheAlumni Executive Centerisunderwayandthe Leadership Campaignforthatproject
is nearingitsgoal. However, both large and smallfinancialcontributions are still needed to add thefinishing
touchesto this handsomefacility. Gifts-in-kind and dollarsforfurnishings arewelcome, andwillbeformally
recognized in aleather-boundjournal inthefoyerofTrench Hillwhen itopens inJune 2004. Please contact
myofficeat [phone] ifyouwouldlikeaninformationpacketshowingspecificfurnishingsthatareneeded.
Itwillbe mostspecialto have antiquefurniture andcarpetsfrom ouralumni in theirnewhome.
With all bestwishes, I am
Sincerely,
William M. Anderson,Jr.
President
1301CollegeAvenue•Fredericksburg,Virginia22401-5358
[phone] •TTY(540)654-1104•Fax: [phone]
TOMY
MaryWashington College
SUMMER 2003 VOL. 27, NO. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AlumnaeAquanauts 2 Sports 18
Ken Burns 5 HabitatforHumanity 22
FrankMcCourt 9 JMC Information Security 24
ACultural Milestone 11 On Campus 26
UniversityName 12 Alumni News 33
GroundZero 14 ClassNotes 38
JamesFarmerProgram in Human Rights 16
Editor: Paulette S.Watson
Editorial Staff: RuthT. Feltner, Patti MacGregor,Antoinette R. Parker
Class Notes Editor: Betsey-Ellen Hansen '62
Online Editor:Antoinette R. Parker
Student Staff: R. Megan Headley'04, HeatherMcDonald '04
Editorial Board/Advisers:JackBales,William B. CrawleyJr., Ronald E. Singleton, CynthiaL. Snyder75,
ElizabethMuirheidSudduth '69, PauletteS.Watson
Cover Photo: JanetNestlerode '91 uses ahand-held instrumentto measure oxygen contentofthewaterabove Conch
Reefinthe FloridaKeysNational Marine Sanctuaryduringthe November2002Aquariushabitatmission.
Photo Credits: Coverphotos, frontandback, and pp. 2-4, courtesyDr. Mark R. Patterson exceptp. 3, topphoto cour-
tesy NOAAand UNCWilmington; p.5, courtesy Office ofCollege Relations; pp. 6-8, Lou Cordero; p.9, courtesy Office
of College Relations; p.10, Lou Cordero; p. 11, courtesy the Mary Washington College Galleries; p. 15, Antoinette R.
Parker;p. 16,WilliamB. CrawleyJr.;p. 17, LouCordero;pp. 18-19, ChuckSteenburgh; pp. 20-21, ClintOften;pp. 22-23,
R Megan Headley '04; p. 24, courtesyJack D. Green; p. 25, top photo by Lou Cordero; p. 26, Lou Cordero; p. 27,John
Bennett;pp.29-30,courtesyOfficeofCollegeRelations;p.31,courtesyOfficeofCollegeRelations;p. 32,topphotos,left
and middle, courtesy Office ofCollege Relations, top photo, right, www.icbl.org; p. 33, bottom photo by Lou Cordero;
p. 34, courtesyOffice ofCollege Relations; pp. 35-36, Lou Cordero; p. 37, courtesyArmeciaSpivey Medlock75.
Design: Dan Michael, MichaelDesigns, Richmond,Va.
Printer: CarterPrinting Company, Richmond,Va.; PaulaC. Barnes, accountmanager.
Mary Washington College Todayispublishedforthealumni, friends,facultyand staffofMaryWashington Collegethree
timesayear,withissuesinfall,winterandsummer. MaillettersandaddresschangestoMary Washington College Today,
Mary Washington College, 1301 College Avenue, Fredericksburg, VA 22401-5358. Mary Washington College Today
welcomesyourcomments.
Mary Washington College Alumni Association Board of Directors 2002-03: Kathleen Shepherd Mehfoud 70,
President; Monecia Helton Taylor '81, President-elect; Patricia Branstetter Revere '63, Past President; Rita Morgan
Stone '52, Vice President, AlumniAwards; Nanalou West Sauder '56, Vice President, Annual Fund; Maureen Murphy
McCart'68,VicePresident,Finance; BarbaraBurtonMicou '69,VicePresident, ReunionWeekend; DerekBottcher'96;
LynnMunroeBragg76;K. SueBridi'81;GwendolynAmoryCumming'52; CherrySarffEverett'61;AnneP Fortney'66;
Jean Polk Hanky '69; Benjamin Hernandez '95; Lois SaunierHornsby '48;Julie Reed '03; Lynda Richardson '81; Cedric
B. Rucker'81; Myronee Simpson '97; Patricia Goodall Strawderman 74; LeslieTilghman 74; William M. AndersonJr.,
President, MWC; Ronald E. Singleton, SeniorVice PresidentforAdvancementandCollege Relations, MWC; CynthiaL.
Snyder75, DirectorofAlumni Relations, MWC; Kathleen M. Shea'98,Assistant DirectorofAlumni Relations, MWC.
Mary Washington College Todayisprintedwithnon-statefunds.
VisitMary Washington College Todayonline: http://www.mwc.edu/publ/read/today/index.htm
Office ofCollege Relations [phone]; Office ofPublications [phone]; Office ofAdmissions [phone];
Office ofAlumni Relations [phone].
.
itwasanotherone ofthose sen to be 'aquanauts' in one ofthe most the National Undersea Research Center
warm, sunny Florida days excitingand chall—engingopportunities (NURC) atthe UniversityofNorth
thatmakesyou think it in marine science Aquariusl Carolina atWilmington (UNCW).The
wouldn'tbe so bad to be Aquarius is theworld's onlyunder- habitatsitsatadepth of63feetand islo-
s
stranded on adesertis- waterlaboratorydedicated to research catedaboutthreeand ahalfmilesoffthe
land. Ourclassheadedout and exploration. Inthehistoryofunder- coastofKeyLargo, Fla., in a sand patch
from the SeaCampcompound and fol- waterhabitats onlya small subsetof adjacentto deep coral reefs in the Flori-
lowedapath downtothewater'sedgeto scientistswho divehave everachieved daKeys NationalMarineSanctuary.The
takea"walking"tourofthe shallowchan- the illustrious aquanaut designation by laboratoryhas supportlegs, which are
nelthatflanked BigPine Key. Wewaded livingandworkingunderwaterformore attached to abaseplate on the seafloor.
through the crystalbluewaters ofthe than 24hours.The principalinvestigator ThisholdsAquariusabout 13feetoffthe
channellookingforanysignsoflifethat on ourmissions, Dr. Mark Patterson of bottom sothattheactualdepthforthose
we could waylayforafewmomentsto VIMS/College ofWilliamand Mary, has inside the laboratory is about50feet.
identify, all thewhile dodging undulat- worked fromAquarius many times dur- Located insidethisyellow81-ton massof
ingjellyfish,which perched upsidedown inghis career, and forhis mostrecent metaltubesareallthecomfortsofhome,
on the channel'sbottom like little pink missionin November2002, heasked us, onlycramped into an interioraboutthe
land mines spread acrossthe seascape. alongwith five other scientists, to par- sizeofaschoolbus.Aquariusaccommo-
Thatwas 1990, andwewere students ticipate in astudy investigatingcoral dates six-personteams (fourscientists
at MaryWashington in Dr. DanAbel's bleaching and oxygen dynamics in the and two habitat-supporttechnicians)
Marine Ecologyclass. Itwasthen that reefsystemdirectlyadjacenttoAquarius. Therearesixbunks, ashowerandtoilet,
wegotourfirsttasteofthemarineworld. Duringtheproject'sfirstyear,Janetwas instanthotwater, amicrowave, atrash
Nowit's2003, and we areeach finishing one offourVIMSscientiststo livein and compactor, arefrigerator, aircondition-
upgraduatedegreesattheVirginiaInsti- work fromAquariusfor 10 days, and ing (thishelpstokeepdownthehumidity
tute ofMarine Science (VIMS) ofthe Kristen was a surface-support diver. In inside), and even computers and live
College ofWilliam and Mary. We're still July 2003, Kristen willjoinJanet aspart Web-cams linked to network servers
investigatingthe marine realm, onlyin- ofPatterson'saquanautteam inside onshore usingwirelesstelemetry!
stead ofwadingthrough shallowchan- Aquariusforanother 10-day mission. AsscientistsinAquarius,weareable
nels and snorkelingon shallow reefs as Aquarius is owned bythe National to live and workfromthe underwater
hopefulyoungundergraduates, wenow Oceanographic andAtmosphericAd- habitatfordaysorweeksatatime,using
find ourselves seasoned scientistscho- ministration (NOAA) and isoperatedby a special techniquecalled "saturation
viewport
drawingcourtesyNOAAandUNCWilmington
TheAquarius laboratorysits50feetbelowthesurfaceandcanaccommodate up tosixpeople.
Aquarius islocatedon Conch ReefnearKey Withinits400-squarefeetoflivingspace, missions typicallylast 10days. Aquarius hasserved
Largo, Florida. asabase forover70missions, witha 120-tonbaseplatekeepingAquarius anchoredto the
bottom ofthesea.Abuoyon thesurfaceisconnectedtoAquarius withan enormous umbilical
diving." Saturation divingpermits usto cable thatconnects theaquanautsinside to theoutside worldwithaphoneandthe Internet.
escapethe limitations ofconventional
surface-based scuba divingby allowing "blowdown" again to the pressure at tothe surface, wheretheyare picked up
gases to accumulate in ourblood and depthintheentrylock,aremetbyascent byboatsandreturnedto shore.
tissues untilno moregascan dissolve diversinthewetporch, and areescorted Becauseourbodiesare saturatedwith
into oursystems. Ourtissues arethen nitrogen duringourtimeinAquarius,we
saturatedwith nitrogen. Once the satu- use special dive tablesthatgreatly in-
ration pointis reached, we cannotgo crease ourallowable bottomtimeto
shallowerthan our storage depth of50 nearly 10timesgreaterthanwhatisper-
feet. Ifwe do, we riskthatthe nitrogen missibleusingconventionalsurface-based
dissolved in ourblood and tissueswill divetables.Anaveragedayofdivingfrom
"bubble out" ofsolution and become Aquariususuallyincludes athree-to-six
trapped in ourjoints and bloodvessels, hourdivetoamaximum depth of95feet
causingalifethreateningcase of"the in the morning, followed by an interval
bends."In ordertoreturntothesurface, insideAquariuswhenwe eatlunch (four
we mustgo through decompression: hoursare requiredto obtain maximum
The diveris slowlybroughtbackto sur- bottom time on the second dive).We
facepressure so thatexcess nitrogen diveagainintheafternoonforuptothree
graduallyleavestissues, enterstheblood hours, which givesusatotal ofas many
stream, and then travelsto the lungs, asnine hoursofbottom time aday!A
where itisexhaled.The time ittakesto typical 10-dayAquarius missionwould
decompressisthe same, no matterhow take more than 60 days ifconducted
longwe stayat depth, whetheritis a usingsurface-based scubatechniques.
minute, hour, dayorweek. InAquarius, Aquariussavesscientiststimeandmoney
weundergo decompression on thefinal and is,therefore, ahighlydesirable plat-
dayofourmission, aprocessthattakes formfrom which to conductresearch.
17hours!The pressure insideAquarius Giventheinherentdangersassociated
is slowlyreduced from depth (the pres- with this type ofdivingand the amount
sure at 50feetis 2.5times surface pres- Duringtheinitialstagesofdecompression, oftimetheaquanautsspenddivingevery
sure) backto surface pressure. Atthe aquanautsbreathepureoxygen tohelpreduce day,Aquariusisdefinitelynotaleisurely
end ofdecompression, the aquanauts thenitrogenloadin theirtissues. vacation forresearchers! As aquanaut-
candidates, we undergo aweekofrigor-
oustrainingpriortoourmission,inwhich
welearn newdivingtechniquesand how
to usegearwe've neverused before.
Aquanauts use acomplicated andvery
heavycave divingrigwith twin steel
tanks, each largerthanthosecommonly
used singlyby recreational divers. We
learn howto isolate and shut down the
different components ofourbreathing
systemsto overcomepotentialgearmal-
functions and howto share airwith our
divebuddiesintheeventofatotalbreath-
inggearfailure.Welearn to navigatethe
reefusingcompasses and cave diving
reels, andwe aretaughtthe properpro-
ceduresforfin—dinga lost excursion line
ordive buddy with ourmasksoff!We
learnto relyon ourbuddiesandtowork
as ateam to accomplish even the sim-
plestoftasks, which are astoundingly
Kristen Delano (left)andJanetNestlerode (right) warmup withhotchocolateandteaatthemain more complicated underwaterthan on
lockdining tableinsideAquarius. dryland.
Kristen collectscoraltissuesamples usinga
syringe.
gruntsand snapperscruise bythe port-
hole, providing aconstantlychanging
tapestryofscales, eyes, andfins.Asvis-
itorsintheirworld,beinginsideAquarius
isabitlikebeingontheothersideofthe
aquariumglass, onlythistimethe fish
are lookingin atus.
Livingunderthe seafor 10daysisone
ofthe mostincredibleexperiencesama-
rine scientistcanhave, andwearevery
fortunatetohave anotheropportunityto
inhabitourunderwaterhome! Morein-
formation aboutthepastNovember2002
missionand ourupcomingJuly2003mis-
Corals wereplacedin experimentalchambers (foi dground) to testthe effectsofwatertemper- sion isposted on theAquariusWeb site:
atureoncoralbleachingpatternsandprocesses. http://www.uncwil.edu/nurc/aquarius/.
You can even tune in to the liveWeb-
During Dr. Patterson's November when the processofrespiration dramat- camsJuly 14-23, 2003.
2002mission,theaquanautsusedahand- icallydecreasesthe oxygen availability. Ourcareerpathsweregreatlyinflu-
held device to makemeasurements of Thegoalisto developamethodto meas- enced and shaped byourtime at Mary
oxygenverycloseto th—e reef, and the urereefmetabolism (the rate atwhich Washington, due inparttotheoutstand-
resultswere surprising oxygen isdis- the reefphotosynthesizes and respires) ingliberal artsand sciencescurriculum
tributed inpatchesoverreefs.Thiswasa byusingafree-swimmingrobotto make thatprovidesa solid, broad knowledge
surprise,asoceanographershadassumed measurements overlarge areas ofreef baseuponwhichwe'vebuiltourpostgrad-
that reefswould be well-mixed environ- tracts. Because dissolved oxygen is a uatework, and in partto thementoring
ments. While itistrue thatreefshave veryimportantmeasure ofwaterquality, base provided byone ofMWC'sbiology
lots ofmixingfrom waves and currents, developingabetterunderstandingof facultyatthattime, Dr. DanAbel. Dr.
oxygen can change dramatically over oxygen dynamics and howto measure Abel'sbackgroundwasinmarinescience,
veryshortdistances.Theaquanautteam themwillhelp efforts aimed atimprov- which provided an invaluable source of
discovered thatoverbothcoralreefsand ingwaterqualityovercoral reefs. information on the field and the oppor-
adjacent sand plainsthere is a rapid The goal ofanAquarius mission isto tunitytoassistwithhisresearchprojects.
build-up ofoxygen shortly after sunrise spend aslittletime inside the habitatas The Marine Ecologysummercoursewe
MWC
in alayerofwateronly an inch ortwo possible.The more time spentoutside tookasundergraduatesat gaveus
thick.The process ofphotosynthesis, diving, the more research is accom- the opportunityto "testthe waters" of
which occursin symbiotic algae living plished. When inside, aquanauts spend marine scienceand—probablypredestined
withinthecorals, ismostlikelyresponsi- alotoftime sleepingand eating (diving usforourcareers andboy, lookhow
bleforthisbuildup.Theresearchersare and livingatdepth burnslotsofcalories, farwe've come!
tryingto understand how much depth, sowe eatfrequently. Ourmealsconsist
currents, and time ofday affectthe re- offreeze-dried campfood cooked in the JanetNestlerode '91 is completingher
lease ofoxygen byphotosynthesis and microwave,butwealsoeatalotofcandy). Ph.D. in marinescience thisspringatthe
where itendsup overthe reef. During The food isgreat, buttheviewoutside VirginiaInstitute ofMarine Scienceofthe
the second yearofthe study (July 2003 thegalleyportholeisbetterthananyfive- College ofWilliam andMary, andKristen
mission), the scientistshope to gather starrestaurant in theworld. Barracuda, Delano '92 is completingherM.S. in ma-
more dataduringthehoursofdarkness, grouper, parrotfish and schoolsofjacks, rinescience there thissummer.
"
BYW. GARDNERCAMPBELL
Atthepodium in the middledistance,
KenBurnslookslikeagraduatestudent
with aBeatleshaircut:darkpants, black
sportcoat, black sweaterwith agray
Americanflagon thefrontatop a white
open-collareddressshirt. "Listen,"he
exhorts us, andbegins to tellhisstories
ofJackieRobinson, LouisArmstrong,
Abraham Lincoln, RobertE. Lee, Yogi
Berra; ofordinaryAmericans who've
written tohim abouthiswork, especially
whathe callshis "trilogy"of The Civil
War, Baseball, andJazz. "Listen,"he
urgesagain. "Wehaveas a culture ig-
noredthejoyfulnoiseofthosepastvoices.
Listen to the echoes ofa wisepast."
Caughtup inBurns'incantation, a
raptaudience listenedto these echoes
in DoddAuditorium duringasnowy
eveninglastFebruary26. Despite the
weather, despitean earlierpostponement
due to a boutwith theflu, Ken Burns
hadarrivedatlastforhis appearance
attheFredericksburgForum. EdJones,
editorofTheFree-LanceStarandmod-
eratoroftheevening'sevents, introduced
Burns bypraisinghimfortaking "little
factsandturningthem into bigtruths.
Andforthenexthour,KenBurnsshared
those bigtruths with us. Although he
wasspeakingfrom notes, he wouldoften
closehis eyesforan instant, as ifhe
were watchingafilm in his mind, or
tryingto catch anotherofthosepast
voices. Throughout, Burnsspoke with
the voice ofa studentwho'sjustcome
back—from a classthat'ssethismindon
fire anddriven him toshare those
discoveries with all those aroundhim.
Thatfire burnedbrightlyfrom the
momentBurnssteppedonto thecampus
earlierthatafternoon, movingwithout
pausefrom theAmtrakstation to the
WoodardCampus Center, wherehehad
afullscheduleofinterviewsandalarge
masterclass ofeagerstudents. As it
turnedout, Iwas thefirstto interview
him. Iexpectedtravelfatigue, small
talk, distractions. Instead, Igotfocused
attention, thoughtfulcandor, andpas-
sionate, committedanswers. Hereare
some excerptsfrom thatinterview.
. .
both good and bad, suggestsaworld not stampingoutaproduct. I'm curious
without pattern. But I think itis in fact about the mosttraumatic event in the
the province ofreligion, ofknowledge, lifeofourcountry: the CivilWar. I'm in-
which would include history, ofart, of terested intheonlyartformAmericans
science, to tryto find the pattern, and have created:jazz. I'm interestedinour
trytofind the order. And I thinkin my so-called"national pastime,"howitgot
own smalllittle way, that'swhatwe're tobewhereitis. Sothesearequestions
tryingto do: find ... some orderin the that existon an emotional and an intel-
affairs ofhuman beings, inthetides of lectuallevel, and the byproducto—fmy
historicalfortune, inhowpeople con- exerciseofthosepartsof—myself and
ductthemselvesindividually. agreatphysical demand isthecrea-
tion ofthesefilmsthatexistpartlyin
CAMPBELL: Doyou evercatchyourself the marketplace andpartlyoutside of
imposing, ratherthan discovering, a the marketplace.
pattern?
CAMPBELL: Many academichistorians
BURNS: Ofcourse.... ButIthinkthe believethattraditionalhistoriesfocus
stylethatwe've setupforourselves, too much onindividualgreatness.Alot
which is quite differentfrommanyof ofyourworkcenters onthe storiesof
ourcontemporarieswho commission a extraordinaryindividuals. Doyouthink
scriptafteraresearch period and the—n the ideaofindividualgreatnesshas a
basicallyfilmthe scriptandeditthat placeinAmericandemocracy, andifso,
we arenotinthebusinessoftellingyou whatisthatplace?
r--F. Howdoyou reconcilethe whatwe alreadyknow,butsharingwith
storyteller'sdesiretotouchthe"mystic you ourprocess ofdiscovery.And that BURNS: Ithinkindividualgreatnesshas
chordsofmemory," as Lincoln putit, allowsofcoursethesecondthingtohap- acentralplace....Thomas Carlyle said,
withthe needforobjectivityandfactual pen,which isforthe materialto speak. "historyisbiography," and certainlyas
accuracyinyourdocumentaries? Infactourresearchperiod goes on you pointoutthe constituentbuilding
fromthe momentwebeginaprojectto blocksofmyworkarebiographies, and
BURNS: I'mnotsurethemysticchords the dayit's over. Ourwritingperiod in some casesthe entireworkisabio-
ofmemoryarenecessarilyatoddswith takesplacefromthe beginningofthe graphyofsomeone,lookingtogreatness
an objective history.... Itreallyjust project.We shootfromthebeginningto to give example.
becomes, atthe end ofthe day, not the end. Itmakesitamuch more cum- Theacademyisquite righttobe
whetheryou're objective, butwhether bersome process, butonethatIthink frightened ofbiography, becauseinthe
you have, inmycase, arranged the yieldsup acombination of"free elec- wronghandsitdoestendtowardswhat
truthsartfullysothatonecould,through trons,"ifyouwill,thatpermitotherpeo- we callhagiographyorhero-worship,
theirartful arrangement, create some- pleto participateinthejoyofourpro- anditbecomesadangerousthingin
thingthatsuggested ahigherpurpose. cess, and Ithinkto some extentcreate whichwe see allofhistoricalphenom-
Ithinkthat'swhere Lincoln's mystic a"halflife"fortheseprojectsthatisthe enaasbeingaproductofthe exercise
chordsofmemorycome in. It'swhat reasontheysurvive. ofanindividualorindividuals'will.That
we're alllookingfor: thatwhichharmo- doesn'thappen. Individualsareinturn
nizes. Remember, hischords are not CAMPBELL: So it'snotas clearto see shapedbyforces andtheydo, in cases,
c-o-r-d-sthatbind,butthey'rec-h-o-r-d-s, the pre-production, production, post- shapeforces. Butwe are ourselveshu-
asiftheremightbe somemusical, some production phasesinyourwork .. manbeings....Andthethingthathuman
celestialharmonythathuman beings beings are mostinterested in is other
couldbe attunedto. BURNS: No. humanbeings. So necessarilyonereal-
izesthatoneoftheagenciesofhistorical
ELL: So atthebasisofwhat CAMPBELL: ... asitmightbe inmore communication, particularlyin abroad
you're sayingis afundamentalbelief conventional types offilmmaking? popularsense, isthrough biography ..
thatlife can make sense ifit's looked thelife ofpeople.
atsteadilyenough? BURNS: Conventionaltypesoffilmmak- Ihaven'tcomeacrossanybiography
ing, asHollywoodwilltellyou,theycall ofagreatperson inwhich I [haven't]
B—URNS:Yes.Wecertainlylive inan age it"the industry"or"thebusiness."Well feltthattheywereprobablynotasgreat
—and I'm sure everyage hasfeltthis I'm notinthe industry. I'mnotinthe asthe person made them outto be, no
where the randomness ofevents, business. I'm notmakingawidget. I'm matterhowreasonabletheywere able
turning little facts into big truths
.
—
tomaketheirfaults.AndIthinkthedif- complexfamilydrama butthey've wayyou can develop attention.And at-
ferencebetweenthetruth oftheirlife, also failedthepopulacewhich needs tention is infactwhatdeliversyou to
whateverthatis, andthisbiography, is to be informed, thathasto betoldits information,whatdeliversyoutoknowl-
whatwewishforourselves....Whenwe histories. edge, thatpermitsyouto synthesize
say, "we hopethewholewillbegreater differentpoints ofviewandto remem-
thanthe sumoftheparts,"wenever SELL: Doyou thinkAmerican berthings.
actuallyexaminewhatwe're saying.We educationis doingagoodjob ofprepar-
wantto addupthe sumofthepartsand ingits citizensfordemocracy? This is a failure then, not
then add upthewhole, andwenever onlyofpublic educationbutoftheway
ask ourselves "whatisthe difference?" BURNS: Itis notin anyway. Infact, Americansthinkabouteducation?
"Whatisthat'more'?"Well, I'm inter- American educationhasalmostabdi-
estedinthat"more," andI'minterested cateditsresponsibilityinthecreationof BURNS:Absolutely.... Wehave abdi-
inpointingtowards it. So Lincolnisn't citizens.And iftheydon'tdo it, I don't cated oursocietyto thosewho are the
asgreataswemakehimouttobe. He's knowwhowill,besidesparents, andpar- mostpowerfulconsumers ... andthey're
almostasgreat, and the difference is ents are oftenthemselvesill-equipped. noti—nterested in [education]. So every-
whatwewishforourselves. Wewish one corporations, poli—ticians, aswell
ourselvesto begreat. CAMPBELL:Why doyou thinkthat's asteachers andparents abdicatein
Itistruethatforthelast50years or happened, andwhatdoyou thinkthe theface ofthistremendousbuying
so, narrative and biographyhavebeen remedies mightbe? power, which will one dayprovetobe
the enemy [inthe academy]. Butin notasimportantashavinganinformed,
pointoffact,theacademyhasonlybeen BURNS: It'shappenedforacouple of and literate, and thinkingcitizenry.
definingwhathistoryisforthelasthun- reasons. One, theteachers aren'tvery
dredyears. Beforethat,historywas a good;they'renotcommittedtoteaching CAMPBELL: Isthere anywayto recon-
veryvast,broadhumanenterprise.And people,andschoolshavebecomelargely cile late-stageglobal capitalismwith a
ourmost ... importanthistorianswere warehousesforchild care. Second, tel- genuine concern forsocial and public
popularwriterswhowere concerned evision, thethingthatI do, isthemost policy?
withreachingpeople.The academyhas corrosive and dangerousmediumthat
abdicatedthe reachingofpeople in the wehaveyetinvented, andithastheter- BURNS:Justindividualpeopletryingto
pursuitofhistory.Andthathasbeento rible aspectofcorroding ournational make adifference, and thatgoesback
—the detrimentnotonlyofthe academy attention. Peoplewatch televisionfor towhetherpeople can do somethingor
thatisto say, developing akind of many, manyhours a day, and it'snot not. Iyellaboutitallthetime. Ifyouget
myopiaandaconservativism, believeit so muchthatthey're devotingtheir onekidtogetinterestedinthe CivilWar
ornot, intheirtoleration ofviews and attentionto something; the problem is andfind outwherewe'refrom, then
the abilityto encompass manypoints thatthey'renotdevotingtheirattention. that's onekid better.
ofview,whichisparadoxicallywhatmy They'lllookatsomethingforsixtoeight
superficialmedium offilmis able to do minutes and then they're interrupted Much ofyourwork, then,
in acivilwar, inwhichyoutreatitasa and sold sixto eightthings.There's no isimplicitly abouteducation ..
BURNS: Right. Warseriesandcomplainthatitisnot ingsomecareerpath. Imean, my"ca-
chock-a-blockwith importantthemes. reerpath"istohaveleftafter"The Civil
CAMPBELL: ... haveyouthoughtabout It'sjustthatthosepeoplewho eschew War"to [goto] Hollywoodtomakefilms.
doing adocumentaryonthe storyof narrative and eschewbiographysome- Butwe'renow 13yearspastthebroad-
educationinAmerica? howseeitjustapriori [as] flawedbe- castof"TheCivilWar,"andI'mnocloser
cause it'sthatapproach, forgettingthat to Hollywood.Thankthe Lord.
BURNS: No, no. It'sjustlikepeople allofthethingstheyrailaboutarein
[who] come and approach mewiththe factinthere. CAMPBELL:Andstill"inlyrejoicing"?
ideaofdoingafilmonthewritingofthe
Constitution. Isay,"Idon'twanttomake CAMPBELL: Onelastquestion. Inyour BURNS:And still"inlyrejoicing."
afilmwhose images are allgreenfelt commencementaddresstothe 1987 Youbet.
tables andwhite quillpens comingout graduates ofHampshire College,you * * *
ofinkwells." Nobodylikesthat.That's said, "Avoidtheword 'career' and even
boring. ButI've made afilmaboutthe 'profession.'They're concernedwith
ConstitutionwitheveryfilmI'vedone.... moneyandposition. Continueto inves- W. GardnerCampbellisan associate
That'showrealeducation comes: indi- tigate."Towhatextenthasthe course professorofEnglish atMWC. His last
rectly.Whenwefocus on "thisiswhat ofyourownlife'sworkenabledyouto articleforMWCTodaywas on docu-
the problemis,we'vegotto do that," followthatadvice? mentaryfilmmakerErrolMorris.
you end upnothavingasgreatare-
sponse. It'sthe old adage:You'vegot BURNS:Well,thatadvicewasgivento
toteach apersontofish, notjusthand mebyRobertPennWarren,who said,
them afish. "careerismis death."And Ihave, since
hetold me thatintheearly 1980s, es-
SELL:Andyouhaveto make chewedthe use oftheword "career"
surethatabstractions emerge from unless Iwas speakingaboutthe
particulars? verytopicyouandIarenow
speakingabout.Andwhen Ire-
BURNS:Absolutely.Andtheyalwaysdo. ferto "career"it'sinapejorative
And that'sthe interestingthing: quite sense. "Profession,"no: I've had
often ifyou take an essayistic ordidac- aprofessionallife. ButIbelieve
tic approachto asubject,youoftenlose thosewords as stronglynow, if
theverygluethatmakesthatsubject notmore stronglythan
stickinthe mind ofthe initiate. Butif before.Youhaveto do,
youfocuson storyand individuals,you asEmersonsaid [in"Self
often are then able to bring along Reliance"],whatever"inly
theseverycomplexthemes.There's rejoices."Thatdoesn't
no personwho couldlookatmy Civil necessarilymeanfollow-