Plato, Aristotle, Dante, Augustine, Aquinas, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Milton, and Hobbes. Why are these texts — today considered the Great Books of Western Civilization — still relevant to the needs of the 21st century? Why do we need to read about the Forms or the soul, in Plato? Why do we need to know what a thing’s end is, in Aristotle? Why do we need to read about one man’s spiritual journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, in Dante? Why do we need to read about a man being manipulated into killing his wife, in Shakespeare? When students discover that they will be primarily studying classical literature and Western Civilization, these are the questions that often come to mind.

      The great books teach us how to live well. They cultivate virtue in us by teaching us to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty. Without truth, goodness, and beauty, one cannot be happy. Without truth, one is left with uncertainty. Without goodness, one is left with sin. Without beauty, one is left with a bleak world. Without the culmination of truth, beauty, and goodness, one is left with chaos—and can never pursue good life, which everyone either subconsciously or consciously aims at. The great books give us examples of how to live well. The great books teach us how to seek virtue and how to live as virtuous persons.

      By reading the great books like the “Divine Comedy,” we are essentially engaging in a conversation with Dante himself, who is so much more advanced in wisdom and virtue than we are. Through this conversation, we are able to learn what mistakes Dante himself made that we can avoid, like acting on disordered loves. We can see how important it is for the good life to order our loves towards God. Dante’s mistake as a youth was his lust for Beatrice. When we travel through the Inferno, we see that those who let lust rule and guide their lives, continue that in the afterlife in Hell. Their lusts are their eternal Hell. After seeing this, as readers, we learn to properly order our loves to God. By reading Dante, we can get the same experience that he had, without having to voyage through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. We do not have to start at square one in our search for virtue and the good life. We use Dante’s wisdom and experiences as starting points to approach the good life and God.

      What we have in common with the ancients is our human nature, and this human nature has certain problems and experiences that are not limited to one specific time period. In Homer’s “Odyssey,” we see Odysseus encounter countless sufferings, but he always has the courage to endure for the sake of happiness. Suffering is universal to humans; no one goes through life without experiencing some sort of suffering. But what we get from Odysseus is the courage to pursue the good life in spite of suffering.

      The great books teach us about humanity. When reading the great books, you enter into a discussion about what it means to be a full, flourishing human being. It may not give us all the answers, but it is a conversation worth being a part of because what it means to be human effects everyone. In college, we are trained in a specific field; but the great books train us in virtue, and in turn, how to be a flourishing, full human. We learn how to love God more fully with Dante and Augustine, how to be a citizen with Plato, what it means to be just in Shakespeare and Aristotle, and humility with Jane Austen. The great books are more relevant to humanity as a whole than any one specific field of study. They span across the ages because they deal with what it means to be human. The great books are worth reading because they give us the tools to be a full human. What other field of study deals with what it means to be human?

      Catholics are definitely in the minority here at Eastern. Being Catholic at Eastern can be intimidating. Because Eastern is a protestant school, there is not a strong Catholic community. This has several repercussions, the first being that it is easy to feel alone and isolated because there is not a Catholic community. And second, it makes it very difficult to find a ride to Mass, which for a Catholic is the absolute most important part of the week. Further, the majority of classes that begin with a prayer are typically prayers from the Book of Common Prayer, which is itself a protestant prayer book. As a Catholic, it can be intimidating when everything on campus is geared towards the protestant tradition, especially since there is not a Catholic community on campus. So, what can we do as a school to help build bridges between the Catholics and Protestants? What can we do to try and build a stronger Catholic community?

      After interviewing a couple of Catholic students, a few suggestions were raised. The first of which is creating a Catholic bible study. When asked if such a club would be helpful in creating a Catholic community, both Douglas Kramer, a freshman, and Anthony Barr, a junior, answered with a resounding “yes”. A Catholic bible study would be a great way to meet other students who are Catholic. Currently, trying to find another Catholic at Eastern is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Creating a Catholic bible study would bring together the few Catholics that are on campus. Anthony Barr said that “just being able to see that there are other Catholics on campus and to do things like go to Mass together or remind each other of Holy Days of Obligation, would be helpful.” A club or a bible study would be a great way to bring together the Catholic community so that there is not such an isolation.

      Another suggestion that was brought up was having a class on the Catholic tradition. Barr said, “I wish protestants understood basic Catholic theology or what it means to be a Catholic, and I wish Catholics understood more about protestants. It would be beneficial to learn where the disagreements actually lie because there are obvious misconceptions both ways and then there are also substantive disagreements.” Kramer also said he was “surprised that so many people do not understand our side of Christianity.” Having knowledge of the disagreements between both traditions would help open the dialogue so that we are able to have a fruitful discussion about our traditions and the truth of God. Eastern has classes on other traditions such as Orthodoxy, but does not have a class on Catholicism. Having a class on Catholicism would be a great way to make the Catholic minority on campus feel a little less displaced and a little less misunderstood.

       Perhaps, as Barr says, “having more opportunities for liturgical functions and services on campus would be beneficial in building bridges.” Chapel and Wednesday Night Worship tend to be non-denominational and contemporary, which is understandable because the service  is catering to the majority of the students. But, it would make Eastern more welcoming and inviting if students were able to experience the ways in which different traditions worship God, rather than just catering to the majority. When asked how this could be accomplished, Barr suggested that “the ways in which some of our professors use a prayer at the beginning of class, which is a good opportunity to use an Orthodox liturgical prayer or praying to St. Julian of Norwich, just to try to diversify the language that we are using and the styles of approaching God that we use.” When we begin to diversify the language that we are using, we are better able to include the people who are in the minority, like Catholics. It can be challenging to be in a religious minority on campus when there are not a lot of ways to really express that tradition. Introducing liturgical functions on campus is a way to include more people from different traditions. It is a way of trying to understand each other and see from the other’s perspective, which is incredibly important when trying to build bridges.

       One of the biggest ways that Eastern as a whole can begin to build bridges between Catholics and protestants is by trying to be inclusive to both traditions. This could mean starting class with a prayer to a Saint or an Orthodox liturgical prayer. We need to find a way to open the dialogue between Catholics and protestants, and to do this, we need to be aware of the differences dividing the two traditions. We also need to find a way to build a Catholic community, through something like a Catholic bible study. Eastern has an environment that would definitely allow for these bridges to be built, we just need to take the first step.

      Independent studies allow the student to explore an academic opportunity or interest that is not available through regular coursework. What is unique about an independent study as opposed to a regular class is that it is uniquely tailored to your interests and academic pursuits. For example, if you are interested in one specific branch of philosophy, like moral philosophy (ethics), but there is not a class that focuses on just that, you can approach your academic supervisor and they will help place you in an independent study.

      One of the nice things about having an independent study is that it is self-paced. It is not like a regular class where you meet two or three times for x-amount of time. Rather, you meet once a week, at a time that works well for both you and the professor, and the meeting can go for however long or short it needs to. This also means that there is not a rush to cover a certain amount of material each class. Instead, you go at the pace you are comfortable with. You are able to focus and go into depth on certain concepts that intrigue or confuse you. For example, in my independent study on biblical Greek, sometimes I need to spend 30 or 40 minutes on one passage. And what is really nice is that there is not that feeling of needing to be in a hurry or needing to nod your head as though you understand when in reality, you do not. Everything is set up at your pace; if you need to spend longer on one thing, it is okay and is encouraged.

      Independent studies are great for developing a strong sense of responsibility.

      In an independent study, you are responsible for coming to the class. You are responsible for doing the work, more so than in regular classes. In a regular class, if you do not do the reading for one class, you can stay under the radar and not participate for that class period. But in an independent study, you cannot rely on anyone else to cover for you not reading or doing the work because the nature of an independent study is that it is just you and the professor having a conversation, but you, the student, are leading it. If you show up to the independent study and you are not prepared, the professor will know it. You are responsible for all of your work.

      An independent study also causes you to wrestle with the material more than a regular class does. It requires you to foster a questioning attitude rather than a passive accepting attitude. It forces you to be original in your ideas and arguments. If you do not agree with someone, you have to give your own reasons why. It helps develop your ability to think critically about the text.

      Another wonderful aspect of having an independent study is that it gives you the ability to build a strong relationship with the professor when you otherwise would not have, as one student in a regular class of twenty or more. This allows the professor to gauge what your needs are as the student, and better conform to those needs. Instead of having a lecture, you have a conversation about something you both are interested in.

      This student-professor relationship becomes more of a friendship because you both are studying and discussing something that you care about and are interested in. What better way to explore a subject than with a person who is more knowledgeable than you and who is also your friend?

 

 

      As a new semester starts, students begin settling into their routines. While at Eastern, the beginning of the semester is fairly tame, at other schools around the country, strange things are happening. Students peeing on statues of prominent figures, nailing their shoes to trees, and hunting for Pterodactyls. School spirit is found in different ways. As an outsider looking in, there is no way to explain this madness, but at a lot of universities,  traditions are a large part of forming a community of friendship that lasts a lifetime.

1) Shoe Tree at Murray State University (Murray, Ky.)

      Just outside the library at Murray State University, there sits a strange looking tree with over 50 pairs of mismatched shoes nailed to it. No one knows when the tradition began, but couples have been nailing their shoes to the tree for decades. Legend goes that if two students at Murray State fall in love and marry, they will have a  happy marriage if they nail their partner’s shoe to the tree. This tradition has continued even after the original tree burned down after being struck by lightning, and is now an integral part of the college’s history.

2)  John Harvard Statue at Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)

      The students at Harvard seem to have quite a taste for nudity in their campus traditions. One tradition in particular is to urinate on the John Harvard Statue (?)at night. At first glance, this seems like a repulsive, drunken tradition (and it is,) but there is more to it than meets the eye. Students take part in the tradition of peeing on the statue as an attempt to prove to themselves that, though they may go to Harvard, they reject the anxiety that the “Harvard” status represents.

3)  Serenades at Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)

       Each year, the freshman class at Vassar College serenades the senior class with class songs and original compositions. Of course, not all of the original pieces are filled with kind and loving words. As payback for the insulting songs, the senior class splatters the freshman class with an assortment of messy food items. Recently, the Vassar instituted a “water only” rule, so now it has turned into a massive water fight. Sounds like fun, right?

4) Pterodactyl Hunt at Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, Pa.)

      In the beginning of October, students at Swarthmore College begin buying foam swords, garbage bags, and anything else that might be needed to dress as either a Pterodactyl or a Pterodactyl hunter. The Pterodactyl hunt began as an inside joke on campus, but quickly spread to be an event that everyone attends. Students act as either hunters or monsters, and dress in different colored garbage bags to differentiate themselves. While the event is always a success, most students are more interested in running around and hitting other people with foam weapons

5) The Primal Scream at Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.)

     Finals week is stressful for everyone, so to help relieve some of the stress, Carleton College students started the Primal Scream tradition. At exactly 10 p.m. the night before finals week, students ditch their studies to shriek and wail. This is the students’ way to help blow off steam before going back to their studying as if nothing had happened.

6) The Painting of the Rock at Eastern University (St. Davids, Pa.)

      A couple of times a year, a massive rock by the pond is painted with  special messages at Eastern University. In the beginning of the year, the rock welcomes new students; other times, it will have a bible verse on it. The rock is used as a way to connect students to the community.

     College campus traditions are all over the board. At some schools, students howl to the moon to help relieve stress. At other schools, they hunt for monsters. Or, like here at Eastern, we paint a rock to send messages to the community. Although some of these campus traditions are strange, they all have one thing in common: they create a community of friends. Without traditions, we would be lost. Traditions bring us all together and make us a family.

      Sources: Murray State, thecrimson.com, Miscelannynews, Swarthmore, Careton CollegeWaltonian | The Waltonian