Shameless self-promotion is curiously irritating, isn't it? I can sit and endure anyone's spontaneous recitation of his personal checklist of atta-boys despite the repulsion that grows from listening to the pompous.
I mention this because of a column published (Feb. 3, "Work on cultivating campus climate,") at the beginning of this month that I found curiously irritating. A now regular columnist writing about the state of art here at Virginia Tech felt it necessary to fill the second half of his column with a litany of his extra-curricular activities.
And while I wouldn't call him pompous -- he is a complete stranger and I know nothing about him -- his column framed himself as such. Moreover, it defeated his argument about the need for Virginia Tech "to cultivate the true talents and gifts of this Hokie Nation." If his curriculum vitae are accurate, then it is obvious that he was able to express himself just fine without the university holding his hand along the way.
But this argumentative fallacy is eclipsed by the subtle loathing that emerges in his word choice.
He evokes the word "true." That is, all talents and gifts not conforming to the troika of art, literature and music are lesser or, worse yet, false talents.
How dare you! How dare you diminish the value of accomplishments made by those who express their humanity outside the salons of Catulle Mends's "charming aristocracy." It is this sort of elitism that sullies the meaning of Ut Prosim. It is this sort of elitism that is antithetical to the meaning of "That I May Serve."
This university has been blessed with unparalleled athleticism, world-class innovation and an embarrassment of alumni with the moral talent to put themselves in harm's way and stare down the ultimate sacrifice so that both the grateful and the ungrateful -- such as yourself -- can develop and pursue whatever talents they may possess.
You used yourself as an example (of what, I can not fathom) in your column. In mine, I will use others.
The good that Hokie athletes inspire in spectators far outweighs whatever "good" modern art inspires with its incessant examination of the dark side of the human experience. And while such examinations are necessary, athletic achievement is consistently more beautiful and more hope-giving than any modern artistic movement.
Athletic achievement does this through its natural spontaneity. Sports happen "in the moment" and because of this they transcend the arrested behavior -- cynicism, even -- thoughtful meditation often leads to when a mind pours over modern creative pieces. (Music improvisation is the closest analog, but even that is tainted by all the emotional gravitas garnered from practicing the carefully wrought compositions by emotionally burdened geniuses.)
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Kevin, this was rediculously on point.
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"If his curriculum vitae are accurate" Correct me if I'm wrong, but this should be "is accurate." Curriculum is singular, and vitae is a genitive adjective meaning "of life." Does the CT have an editor? I am not an English (or Latin) major but I see this stuff all the time here. If it was once in a while I wouldn't care.
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Thank you for clearing up that douche bag's article. He was a moron. VT is awesome. Remember he said "I'm well known around campus..." what a f###ing loser! I'm so pumped that the CT put out an article about how gay that was. They finally redeemed themselves a little.
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I want to buy Kevin Gilispie a frosty one and then egg that other douche bag's house.
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Well put, Kevin.
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Besides the hateful tone of this article, I actually agree with a lot of what you are speaking about Kevin. I can ignore the opinionated attacks, because as you said, you don't know me. The heart of the matter in that the point of my article was to illuminate the imbalance myself, and many others from the same understanding see here at VT. As far as my satirical, seemingly demeaning "attacks" on the achievements outside the realm of the Ol' Hokie Favorites, I feel you all begrudgingly misinterpret the context of the article. When you charge me to create, I have (come out to Deet's one Friday 7-9pm, they can tell you how "selfish" my claims were). The example I gave of myself and achievements only occurred within the last year to 18 months here at VT. I've been studying engineering since 2004 and before branching out, had little to show for it. Many students on this campus, whether you believe it or not, would rather not walk that one-dimensional path toward graduation and end up with only a degree to show for their time at this great school. I was in no way bashing Virginia Tech, contrary to your beliefs. I only intended to illuminate that VT wants to be recognized as a top university, and the top universities we all know of, all have balanced empirical and arts programs. With all sincerity, I meant NOT to hurt or offend for love for this school...
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Yeah, I get tired of hearing this guy toot his own horn- "come out to Deet's Friday 7-9 pm, they can tell you how "selfish" my claims were."
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Judge people by their actions, not just your interpretation of their words. I can admit, as a first column, it wasn't the best, and highlighting the achievements of others would have been a better way to go. I know faculty whose university titles aren't the only areas in which they excel: a Program director who also plays bass guitar in a band; UUSA director with his own library of poetry, engineering dean and esteemed professors who hunt worldwide, build motorcycles, etc. These people and their multi-leveled lives are the influences and achievement I suggest people take more interest in. Look past the messenger and see the message. We all should know it's impossible to dialogue with blind disdain, so I'll say no more. Yours to skewer.
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Very well written article, Kevin; however, I do have a problem with your claim that Bakar "elevate[d] one sort of talent over another", when you did the exact same thing in your own article. You stated how athletic achievement is more inspiring than modern art, etc. You did the exact same thing Bakar did, and you two trying to measure talent, and compare different types of expression, is what limits the definitions of both. Let modern art be modern art, and don't diminish what it could mean to someone. Let athleticism be athleticism, and don't belittle how it makes someone feel. They are both forms of expression; both are forms of art. Accept and appreciate both for what they are. :)
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Is all the name calling really necessary? Im sure you and everyone else who is doing the name calling can get your points across without acting like 5th graders.
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Hokienomics, Sports are about accomplishment, which take some form of art to achieve this accomplishment. Strategy is need for you to fight or you will loss, and strategy is a form of art. Along with the style of fighting you us when you fight. So, just because you don’t see it in that way, don’t mean that you have to show us how much you don’t now bout your hobby or from of ART.
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Actually as my name implies I am an economist and I understand the importance of game theory (a science) in sports. The "art" of sports is actually having athletic ability and a quick analytical mind. Which is why people who call sports "art" are not as good at them as me. The only time art comes into play is during my celebration dance, but even that is calculated to result in the maximum amount of humiliation for my opponent.
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Pee Hawkins- you're not my teacher, why don't you go take a pee somewhere else.
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hokienomics only eats red meat.
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College is a weigh-station. That's IT. You'd better spend your time traveling the world, or working a salmon boat in Alaska. But no, you jump through that 4 year hoop, consuming massive amounts of legal and illegal drugs in hopes that your reality will somehow be altered so that you're not reminded of The Man's foot on your neck for those 4 years. Stay, suck it up, quit quibbling about tunnel-visioned and inconsequential concerns, and get your piece of paper. Or leave, now. Trust me, there are no dark (or light) "crevasses of the human experience" in Blacksburg. It's just blowing wind.
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First, I want to thank Kevin for bringing more attention to this campus controversy...and the dialogue is good on both sides. In the referenced article, I never asked VT to hold my hand, or baby-sit my interest in the arts, but as comments have shown, I'm not the only guy on this campus who feels it lacks in the balance. It's wonderful for Tech to be an engineering/architecture-based institution, which is why I came to VT. And many people love and participate in the athletics as well. But for those who appreciate the arts and balance it brings to the general and global experience, we recognize that VT is not on the level I'm sure the admins would like in order to compete with the top universities. Some of you fail to understand that my commentary wasn't as ego-driven as your own retorts, and that my goal was to communicate with and to the general population, inside and outside VT, who recognize this "deficiency", for lack of a better word. I wouldn't have mentioned anything about the engineering/architecture/athletics departments if their successes weren't noteworthy, so for those accusing of "sports-bashing", I feel you missed the context and the bigger picture...
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Progression? Positivity? Where is any of that? BaKar expressed his opinion in an article and you were so upset and assumed the worst. Yes, he might not have related to al of his readers, but he did help some. Some people agreed with him. Accept that. To say that athletics are more important than art is like saying Non-fiction books are more important than fiction books - it is all relative. It is all perceptions and preference. Agree to disagree and don't use derogatory words to describe each other. Think about progression and positivity or you are just adding to the problem. To use the word gay and "faggot" in a negative connotation is so immature and ridiculous - it angers me that some of the commentors have the audacity to hide behind their screen and spew hate. You call yourselves Hokies? Stop. Reflect. Think. Show Empathy. Act.
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If you want to have opportunities, you have to make them. It's not just a Tech thing, it's a real world thing. When you graduate and go out into the world nobody is going to hold your hand and help you along the way. You have to take initiative and do it yourself. And if you thing you don't have these opportunities at Tech, try going to a smaller school somewhere else...then maybe you'll appreciate all Tech has to offer!
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Hey Kevin, are you an 18th century pamphleteer? Because you sure do write like one, which is to say, very homosexually.
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Oh yeah, and it's "pores" not "pours." The mind pores over things. You homo.
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Hokie, I do understand that opportunites have to be made and taken advantage of at all times, but the root of the issue is sustainability. When opportunities are created, only an individualist ideal would allow those doors to close behind them. Think about technology: if the creators of computers, microprocessors, and related components only used them for themselves, the average person would still be living in the dark ages. Instead, technology is (relatively) shared and TAUGHT to a broader spectrum of people, to ensure interest and sustainability. Broadening the collective awareness of technology, culture, and art allows for better competition and leads to an overall rise in quality and efficiency. In this modern age, we can't affors to settle for less.
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