This is the last Omnium Gatherum. I have written this column for three years and twenty-nine editions. I started Omnium Gatherum because it is sometimes difficult to find 700 words (the Crier standard) to say about something. Sometimes, too, there are more things worth writing about than would fit in standard-size pieces. This “variety column” was my solution to these problems.
It has been among the most rewarding things I’ve done at Saint Anselm. There is a value in committing to doing something regularly without external motivation. Some people swear by making their bed in the morning, but I’ve found purpose in writing fortnightly.
Amanda Grappone Osmer spoke at the penultimate “Labor and Leisure” lecture. She is the sister of Gregory J. Grappone, after whom the Humanities Institute is named. Her presentation, “How to be human in the workplace (even when your job is selling cars),” was part of family history. Grappone Automotive has operated in New Hampshire for 100 years and through most of automotive history. It was also a look into an industry that affects all of us but about which few outsiders are knowledgeable. My favorite part was during the Q&A session, where Amanda spoke about the transition from a negotiation to a single-price model of sales. The transition, which led many salespeople to leave, was liberating for those who stayed. The lecture was my favorite of the series, which has run since the Fall.
AVI never rebuilt the Common Ground Cafe. That failure was embarrassing during the heat of the New Hampshire Primary when caffeine-dependent reporters, pundits, and candidates would come to the Institute for an event and look for their hit. Coffee is a basic amenity. It is expected.
AVI has slashed hours, services, and options all over campus. Dining services have not “recovered” from COVID-19, and I fear it never will.
Paint the back of Dana! The back of the Dana Center faces Sullivan Park and Grappone Stadium. It should be adorned with a school-spirit-themed mural, an improvement upon the current blank wall.
Wa Toi or North Garden? For the Saint A’s student craving Chinese food, that is the question. North Garden has better food, but Wa Toi has cheaper drinks. Both serve the infamous Scorpion Bowl, but I’ve come to appreciate Wa Toi’s gin-based Fog Cutter. Wa Toi also has good weekday pitcher deals and is situated on a less terrifying intersection to cross. I would be remiss not to mention the scallion pancakes at North Garden, but the egg drop soup at Wa Toi is a good cold-weather snack, too. For my money, Wa Toi is the better bet.
As a note. Yee Dynasty in Manchester is a solid thumbs down and the Editor in Chief highly recommends Chen Yang Li in Bedford.
Every college student should watch Animal House. It is one of those rare films that, when watching it, you understand references, the origin of which you did not know. So much of the modern perception of college and Greek life comes from Animal House that to navigate cultural references without the original is to fly blind. Besides, it’s a fun movie. Dean Wormer is the consummate villain, the Deltas are lovable screwups, and Faber College speaks to parts of our experience, even decades after Animal House was released.
I estimate that I will have written a quarter-million words during my time here. Between The Crier, classes, and emails (so many emails), I have written a lot. Of course, comparatively, my output is miniscule. Proust’s La Recherche alone beats my entire collegiate corpus by a million words, but regardless, I felt inclined to reflect on those quarter-million words and to see what could be learned from them.
The biggest effect of all my typing has not been to make my writing good but to make it easy. Sentences, as grammatical units, are finite for the purposes of everyday use. Through practice, I can summon them with a fluidity that would have been alien to me a few short years ago.
Working on rhythm, figurative language, and the organization of ideas takes time, but constructing sentences with which to contain ideas has become very easy. Again, I am not claiming that the ideas or sentences themselves are any good, just that I can write them quickly and painlessly. So, if you’re struggling with your “Good Life” essay, have faith; it gets easier.
The eclipse was lame. Perhaps it was because the Hilltop is outside of the path of totality, but the astronomical event lacked the theo-emotional energy that our ancestors associated with solar eclipses. Perhaps it was the online maps, tracking the event, or perhaps it was the infantilizing warnings—“Don’t look into the sun!”—, but there was no magic. The eclipse was a box to be checked, notable for its rarity (like an albino squirrel). Have we lost a poetic lens through which to view the heavens? Is a receptor broken?
The college is losing an enormous amount of institutional knowledge with the retirement of Maura Marshall and Drs. Alicia Finn and Ande Diaz, who have a combined forty-three years with the college. Even more knowledge and experience will be lost as faculty take retirement packages pushed by the college. 2024 will be a sad year for the Hilltop.
As commencement approaches, I get to play elder statesman, dolling out advice (asked for or not). One recommendation I would give to classes 2025-on is to go to things. There are events on campus every weekday of the academic year. Between NHIOP, the Center for Ethics, the Chapel Arts Center, and the dozen other groups offering regular educational and cultural events to Saint Anselm students, a lack of options is never an excuse for not having something to do. It is perfectly reasonable for a student to attend half a dozen events every week.
The good news is that, for many, this advice may be unnecessary. Since the scouring of public life conducted by administrators in the name of COVID-19, there has been a slow but truly impressive recovery of event attendance. At the Humanities Institute, Come Friday Forums that once saw one or two dozen participants can regularly expect three or four. A music major’s senior recital was, last week, packed to capacity. I hope this trend continues.