D-Log
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D-log: It's Not You, It's Me
March 25, 2013
It's Not You, It's Me D-log: March 24, 2013 My bad. Totally. In the last D-log, I promised to be a more faithful correspondent, and then you didn't hear from me for weeks. Months, technically. It's not that I don't think of you. I'm just a slacker, an easily distracted one. I actually think [...]
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d-log: January 26, 2013
January 28, 2013
Deans Can Be Slackers, Too So let me just 'fess up here. The dog ate my d-logs. Oh, alright, fine. I don't have a dog. But I did not write many d-logs last semester (one, I think), and for that, I owe you an apology. You know how it goes. Life gets busy. Other priorities [...]
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A Follow-up to Yesterday's Community Conversation
November 14, 2012
d-Log November 14, 2012 Dear Wheaton Students, How can any one 75-minute meeting produce such a diversity of reactions from those in attendance? I guess it's when those in attendance come from such different perspectives themselves. That is both the best and hardest thing about Wheaton: we are a community of different ideas, experiences and [...]
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Warm Weather Wisdom
April 13, 2012
Not your typical d-log. This is an email I sent to all students on April 13: Dear Wheaton Students: As we get hints of the warm spring weather on its way, I’d like to ask a few moments of your time to remind you of a couple of important things: First, no matter how warm and sunny [...]
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A Tattoo is a Lifetime Commitment
March 6, 2012
March 6, 2012 Spring Break is fast approaching, and along with it, for some of you at least, a week’s worth of downtime and memorable activities, maybe even a vacation in an exotic location. Perhaps you’ll be tempted to tattoo something onto your skin to commemorate the trip, or a romantic interest, or something along [...]
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Now THAT Was an Interesting Week
February 16, 2012
February 13, 2012 I’ve always been bothered by the lyrics of John Mayer’s song, “Waiting on the World to Change,” thinking that it’s an ode to passivity, rather than a rallying cry to work hard to create change. I've worried that it somehow characterizes a generation that won't do the hard work of change. So [...]
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So Many Other Things I'd Rather Write About
November 7, 2011
Hi folks. Sorry I haven't written much. I've been busy paying close attention to...you. Yes, that's been me looking over your shoulder to make sure you're actually reading the book propped in front of you and not scanning Like-a-Little on your laptop to see if someone has noticed you. That's me watching you run up [...]
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Missing: First Half of Fall Semester
September 29, 2011
Well, at least that's how it feels. Seems like just a few days ago, first-year students were arriving with their anxious parents, siblings and dogs in tow, and now, we can see October Break on the horizon. At least that's how it feels to me. Those of you who have been slogging through Organic Chemistry [...]
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So Long, Seniors!
May 15, 2011
D-log, May 15, 2011 So it's time to say see ya, seniors, and send you on your way into the world beyond Wheaton, where great things await you (provided you have studied reasonably hard and behaved yourselves reasonably well; if that's not the case, I'm not offering any guarantees). It's truly a great time of [...]
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Heartbreak Hill
April 21, 2011
I'm still recovering from my crazy celebration of that uniquely Massachusetts holiday, Patriots Day, and heck, I'm just worn out from the excitement. Each year, I like to dress up in a cotton bedgown, fire a musket and recite "Paul Revere's Ride" in a British accent (I'm a big fan of irony, as some of [...]
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Wellies at Wheaton: Why, It Must Be March
March 2, 2011
One of my favorite poets, e.e. cummings, called spring "mud-luscious" and "puddle-wonderful." Apparently, e.e. never had a basement in Norton, where puddles are not so wonderful. [Insert deep sigh here]. It does seem, though, that spring is on the horizon, with longer days and a sun shining from a higher angle. Though having lived in [...]
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Stopping By Wheaton on a Snowy Evening
February 1, 2011
Today we woke up to a revolution of snow, its white flag waving over everything, the landscape vanished… That's the view from the mind of the poet Billy Collins. Actually, I'm the one about to wave the white flag. The first few snowfalls? Kind of fun. But after that? It's a little like watching episodes [...]
D-log: It's Not You, It's Me
March 25, 2013It's Not You, It's Me D-log: March 24, 2013 My bad. Totally. In the last D-log, I promised to be a more faithful correspondent, and then you didn't hear from me for weeks. Months, technically. It's not that I don't think of you. I'm just a slacker, an easily distracted one. I actually think [...]
d-log: January 26, 2013
January 28, 2013 Deans Can Be Slackers, Too So let me just 'fess up here. The dog ate my d-logs. Oh, alright, fine. I don't have a dog. But I did not write many d-logs last semester (one, I think), and for that, I owe you an apology. You know how it goes. Life gets busy. Other priorities [...]
A Follow-up to Yesterday's Community Conversation
November 14, 2012d-Log November 14, 2012 Dear Wheaton Students, How can any one 75-minute meeting produce such a diversity of reactions from those in attendance? I guess it's when those in attendance come from such different perspectives themselves. That is both the best and hardest thing about Wheaton: we are a community of different ideas, experiences and [...]
Warm Weather Wisdom
April 13, 2012Not your typical d-log. This is an email I sent to all students on April 13: Dear Wheaton Students: As we get hints of the warm spring weather on its way, I’d like to ask a few moments of your time to remind you of a couple of important things: First, no matter how warm and sunny [...]
A Tattoo is a Lifetime Commitment
March 6, 2012March 6, 2012 Spring Break is fast approaching, and along with it, for some of you at least, a week’s worth of downtime and memorable activities, maybe even a vacation in an exotic location. Perhaps you’ll be tempted to tattoo something onto your skin to commemorate the trip, or a romantic interest, or something along [...]
Now THAT Was an Interesting Week
February 16, 2012February 13, 2012 I’ve always been bothered by the lyrics of John Mayer’s song, “Waiting on the World to Change,” thinking that it’s an ode to passivity, rather than a rallying cry to work hard to create change. I've worried that it somehow characterizes a generation that won't do the hard work of change. So [...]
So Many Other Things I'd Rather Write About
November 7, 2011Hi folks. Sorry I haven't written much. I've been busy paying close attention to...you. Yes, that's been me looking over your shoulder to make sure you're actually reading the book propped in front of you and not scanning Like-a-Little on your laptop to see if someone has noticed you. That's me watching you run up [...]
Missing: First Half of Fall Semester
September 29, 2011Well, at least that's how it feels. Seems like just a few days ago, first-year students were arriving with their anxious parents, siblings and dogs in tow, and now, we can see October Break on the horizon. At least that's how it feels to me. Those of you who have been slogging through Organic Chemistry [...]
So Long, Seniors!
May 15, 2011D-log, May 15, 2011 So it's time to say see ya, seniors, and send you on your way into the world beyond Wheaton, where great things await you (provided you have studied reasonably hard and behaved yourselves reasonably well; if that's not the case, I'm not offering any guarantees). It's truly a great time of [...]
Heartbreak Hill
April 21, 2011I'm still recovering from my crazy celebration of that uniquely Massachusetts holiday, Patriots Day, and heck, I'm just worn out from the excitement. Each year, I like to dress up in a cotton bedgown, fire a musket and recite "Paul Revere's Ride" in a British accent (I'm a big fan of irony, as some of [...]
Wellies at Wheaton: Why, It Must Be March
March 2, 2011One of my favorite poets, e.e. cummings, called spring "mud-luscious" and "puddle-wonderful." Apparently, e.e. never had a basement in Norton, where puddles are not so wonderful. [Insert deep sigh here]. It does seem, though, that spring is on the horizon, with longer days and a sun shining from a higher angle. Though having lived in [...]
Stopping By Wheaton on a Snowy Evening
February 1, 2011Today we woke up to a revolution of snow, its white flag waving over everything, the landscape vanished… That's the view from the mind of the poet Billy Collins. Actually, I'm the one about to wave the white flag. The first few snowfalls? Kind of fun. But after that? It's a little like watching episodes [...]
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