I got to take in some of the festivities on Friday night for the Centennial celebration. First, the Helzberg School had an open house and honored Marian Nigro, who was the administrator for our Executive Fellows program for many years. Dozens of Fellows alumni have fond memories of Marian and she certainly left her stamp on the program. Memorabilia -- mostly collected and saved by her -- were laid out for the open house. The most memorable were the caricatures drawn for each class -- each alum would find their drawing in the class picture that was displayed. God bless Marian who passed away earlier this year.
Also walked the grounds with my youngest children and then took in the volleyball match. The volleyball was great entertainment and Rockhurst won 3 straight games for the match. As we walked to our car we took in a snippet of the soccer game taking place right in the middle of all the hub-bub of the evening -- a great venue. The team managed a tie and Coach Tocco was honored at a reception right afterwards.
Here is the interesting thing: Coach Tocco was back at school at 7:45 a.m. the next morning, to teach his Accounting class. This after a long game that went overtime and reception that went right up to midnight. And even though he probably wanted more sleep, he would say he loved to do both things. Besides having student-athletes at a smaller school like Rockhurst, we have coach-academics who do well in both areas. Not bad at all.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Issues of the Day
Although I have a point of view on most things, I am sometimes surprised by how someone else sees an issue or news that paints an issue in a new light. Here is what I read today that fit into these categories.
First, news that is completely surprising -- the Wall Street Journal reports on the school in Los Angeles that cost nearly $600 million to build -- much more than it cost to build the Staples arena not far from this school. I have tended to have the view that good money follows bad in financing of public schools, yet, I had no idea of the extravagance heaped on the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex. And, for the most part, the people approved this expenditure through bond issues. The amenities at this school ready to open in a few days include vaulted ceilings and "florid murals of Robert F. Kennedy." A person overseeing this venture noted that there was no price for having good taste. The one thing that was not shocking to me was a track record for a similar glitzy, high-dollar venue in L.A. (Roybal Learning Center) -- it badly underperformed compared to the overcrowded and non-descript school it was meant to supplement.
Second, George Will's Washington Post op-ed, shares the thinking of Walter Russell Mead regarding the climate change issue. According to Mead the apparent slowdown of the climate change zeitgeist is somewhat predictable because its movement fifty years ago was one of skeptics of government and conventional thinking. The environmentalists took on such "scientific" movements like urban renewal and nation building. They were close cousins of economic Libertarians who also had a disdain for government solutions. Now the environmental movement is Big Brother, driven by a government and scientific consensus that has little toleration for skeptics. In any case, Mead's point of view is interesting and one I had not thought of before.
These things might give one pause -- especially those working and studying at college -- for not thinking there is another side. Of course, when these arguments tend to support your point of view you are more likely to read them.
First, news that is completely surprising -- the Wall Street Journal reports on the school in Los Angeles that cost nearly $600 million to build -- much more than it cost to build the Staples arena not far from this school. I have tended to have the view that good money follows bad in financing of public schools, yet, I had no idea of the extravagance heaped on the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex. And, for the most part, the people approved this expenditure through bond issues. The amenities at this school ready to open in a few days include vaulted ceilings and "florid murals of Robert F. Kennedy." A person overseeing this venture noted that there was no price for having good taste. The one thing that was not shocking to me was a track record for a similar glitzy, high-dollar venue in L.A. (Roybal Learning Center) -- it badly underperformed compared to the overcrowded and non-descript school it was meant to supplement.
Second, George Will's Washington Post op-ed, shares the thinking of Walter Russell Mead regarding the climate change issue. According to Mead the apparent slowdown of the climate change zeitgeist is somewhat predictable because its movement fifty years ago was one of skeptics of government and conventional thinking. The environmentalists took on such "scientific" movements like urban renewal and nation building. They were close cousins of economic Libertarians who also had a disdain for government solutions. Now the environmental movement is Big Brother, driven by a government and scientific consensus that has little toleration for skeptics. In any case, Mead's point of view is interesting and one I had not thought of before.
These things might give one pause -- especially those working and studying at college -- for not thinking there is another side. Of course, when these arguments tend to support your point of view you are more likely to read them.
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