Spring 2012 - Clarion University

EaRLy
on as director, I felt the flutters of
fragility, recognizing an educational equity initiative
bore controversy and challenges. While traveling
in WV, I spotted a lonely rocking chair at a flea
market. I circled it, studying the crude, yet sturdy
construction, and wondering about the choice of
paint--the color of mud. I bought it for $10, hauled
it home and moved it to the WS Center. “If anyone
tries to close these doors,” I told the students,
“they’ll have to carry me out in that rocking chair.”
No one ever came, of course; we had little
resistance to our “nucleus of empowerment,” with
the exception of a heated exchange of letters
to the editor. “Restrictive studies programs ‘a
farce,’” read the headline in our local paper. Joe
Bodziock answered, “WS courses“ contribute…
to an individual’s sense of the larger world–its
complexity, its beauty, its suffering, its joy, and
an understanding of his or her place in it.” He
also used the term “dead white men” in relation to
breaking “the silence imposed on the marginalized.”
“Watered-down standards are the problem,”
shouted the next headline. “Does being a dead white
male cancel out one’s contributions” asked the
writer and then, “Where is the rigor in feel-good
courses”
The debate raged on in The Call: “Don’t
exclude ‘dead white men,’” the headline pleaded.
“Don’t limit electives to WS when there are so
many other non-restrictive courses to choose
from.”
Volunteers from the WS Center took up
their pens. Mary Gravelle explained CU course
requirements and the wide array of choices
for students. Eight others signed on to express
appreciation for the exposure to knowledge
relevant to their lives and applicable to their
majors, making friends with diverse people, and
gaining compassion for others. Moreover, WS
courses had created an interest in bettering
themselves and their surroundings. This was not
the last time student voices would change the
conversation on campus. Hillary Gates and Katie
Weinheimer headed newsletters, Carla Kostek
wrote a zine and Lisa Covington went national as a
blogger for Feministing.com.
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