It was cool and drizzly for ASLE. I'm afraid that the serendipitous weather gave the attendees a somewhat unrealistic picture of the climate of South Carolina, but it did keep the westerners quiet. Here's how it looked to the memory chip of my camera:
This is fraternity row. Wofford keeps--or tries to keep--the greeks in line by not letting them take huge houses. With only 1400 students, the school worries about the frat influence. So. The houses have enough room for parties and for two members to live there to keep them from being vandalized. As a rule, they're pretty grubby.
Here's the traditional "Old Main" building. They've just finished a multi-million dollar update, and the inside looks sweet. But they removed the bell-pull from the tower we're looking at. You used to be able to ring the college bell whenever the hell you wanted to. Bastards. Note the magnolia over on the left. You'll see it again in the next picture.
Yes, the huge tree that towers over the three story building is a magnolia. It was scheduled to be removed by landscape architects responsible for updating the woodsiness of Wofford. John Lane, an alum, a prof, and one of the ASLE at Wofford organizers, leaked this information to the press--including certain influential alumni. Short version: the tree was spared. Though a story circulates that John chained himself and his kayak to the tree to save it. Not true. What is true, though, is that he holds class under the tree once a semester.
For good measure, I lived in this building.
Update on life in Nebraska. . . My book orders are in for the fall. My poetry students will pick up a small anthology, Sandra Alcosser's Except by Nature, Arthur Sze's Quipu, and Judith Ortiz Cofers A Love Story Beginning in Spanish. I'm retooling my comp class for ecocomp. No text, but a lot of electronic reserves. I have a stack as tall as a magnolia to go through, though. I'll keep you posted.
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