Students and faculty had a positive reaction to President Patrick E. White’s Aug. 31 Chapel Talk. Many members of the Wabash community viewed his speech as timely and topical, as well as engaging and humorous.
"His talk hit the nail on the head on what is perhaps our biggest issue as a community right now: communication," senior Ross Dillard said.
White said, "What we talk about when we talk about talk." The importance of conversation to the liberal arts was his primary theme throughout his address, which lasted almost an hour. Calling conversation, "the reason why we’re here," he detailed both his personal experiences and his view on the place of discourse at Wabash.
Discussing his time as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, White explained his early love of discourse. "To be in this conversation was to be more deeply engaged in the world," White said. Personal experience was a major theme throughout his address.
Religion professor Steve Webb appreciated the personal nature. "He is confident and bold enough to share his whole self with us," Webb said. "The stories about his college friendships were my favorite part."
Along with anecdotes from his own life, White also used humor to help make his points. His easygoing nature impressed many in attendance. Junior Rodney Frederick found that White’s frequent levity made the atmosphere more comfortable. "And the humor that he brought forth sort of broke the barrier," Frederick said.
Referring to his jokes about his boisterous brothers-in-law, Math professor J.D. Phillips expressed amusement. "I am concerned though, and I say this with all of the earnestness that it deserves, about his comments about his brothers-in-law," Phillips quipped. "In fact, I've formed a subcommittee to investigate. Mrs. White will be chairing it."
White, though, made many less-jovial points throughout his speech. "Action is easy, conversation is hard," White said. He also articulated his view on the liberal arts. "At the heart of the liberal arts is the definition of human." Admitting the complexity of the human condition, he said, "The liberal arts…will not shield us from the tears in things." He added, though, that they provide context and solace for the tragedies of life.
Continuing his theme of the value of the liberal arts, White said that, with Dean Gary Phillips, he was examining ways to expand the influence of the Center for Inquiry to students and faculty. That seemingly addressed the concerns of many over the integration of the Center with the College.
He also praised the Sphinx Club for their role in facilitating campus discourse. Calling the Chapel, "very much a holy place…sanctified by conversation," White noted, "The Sphinx Club are the servants of the highest ambitions of this college."
Frederick thought it extremely appropriate, given recent controversy over the use of the e-mail system. "It made me think that he had considered the issue of e-mail wars," Frederick said.
Many in the audience felt that White’s talk addressed many of the issues that are currently of campus concern. Phillips called it, "just what the community needed to hear."
Steve Webb was equally enthusiastic, noting, "It was a perfect blend of the personal and the philosophical, one of the best Chapel talks I've ever heard."