Change Is Good?!
The theme for this edition was inspired by words Andrea James ’87 spoke to students last fall.
The punctuation was provided by speakers and events this past winter.
For Andrea, the murder of a friend—a hate crime dramatized in the 2003 film Soldier’s Girl—was the catalyst for her becoming a more outspoken advocate to change hearts and minds toward transgender people.
Change is good.
Dennis Dean ’73 spoke about a near-death experience that sparked a “work smarter, not harder” change in his life that led to the most important discoveries of his scientific career.
Change is revelation!
Stephen Jay ’63 cited the science of climate change as “compelling,” and then called it “the grandest challenge in human history.”
“We are the first generation to fully understand the implications of what’s happening,” Jay said. “And we are, according to the best and brightest of 70,000 climate scientists worldwide, the last generation that can do something about it.”
Is it too late to change?
IF CHANGE IS LIFE’S constant, our response to it defines us.
On campus we were drawn into such a time February 17 when students, faculty, and staff were told to “shelter in place” as law enforcement officials searched campus in the wake of a tragedy that was unfolding elsewhere.
It’s not the way any place wants to be in the news, and after hearing the “all clear” and offering our condolences to the families involved, others might have been tempted to move on as if nothing had happened.
But not a place that understands that we learn, as Professor of Religion Derek Nelson ’99 says, “not from our experience, but from reflecting on our experiences.”
The College provided counseling to students, faculty, and staff and asked Professor Nelson to speak at an all-campus Chapel Talk. His words (see page 21) helped us each begin to work through our unanswerable questions and grief in our own time, our own way.
THE CHANGES we are working through at Wabash Magazine pale in comparison. As we looked to redesign WM, we wanted to know what you, our readers, considered most important.
I’m deeply grateful to the nearly 1,500 readers who participated in a comprehensive survey to help us make WM an even stronger connection between you and the Wabash community. These responses were affirming, intriguing, challenging, and, at times, surprising. Changes you will notice in this issue based on their suggestions include more focus on alumni, shorter (but more) feature stories, and increased opportunities for reader contributions, all presented with the quality, excellence, and personal perspective readers say they value in WM.
You will also find more content than ever— updated stories, photos, audio, and video— at WM Online, our mult imedia site: wabash.edu/magazine
Please consider this the beginning of a conversation. Tell me what you think, what we’re missing, what you’d like to see more or less of. Your generosity—your willingness to share your own stories, invest your time in reading those of others—has built this magazine for two decades. Thank you for working with us.
And thanks for reading,
STEVE CHARLES
Editor | charless@wabash.edu