The Wabash Commentary

By a rough count: 15 faculty and staff, 32 students, 13 sphinx club members, 13 rhynies (who probably would not have been there otherwise), and 2 ESH workers.  The disappointment that overflowed from Mr. Jim Amidon’s words spilled into an empty chapel.  “It takes effort to build and sustain this community,” he said, staring at empty pews and exhausted faces.   Apathetic faces.

Look it up on the Wabash website.  It was a good speech, but I’m not interested in summarizing it.  I’m more interested in trying to understand why so few of us made it to the chapel Thursday morning.  Perhaps because we have been knocked down, and we do not have the guts to get back up.  Perhaps because we are afraid.  Perhaps, most of all, because the wrong man was at the podium giving the lecture.

God Bless the Laconic Man.

Words have become shields. Subterfuge. We talk face to face for forty minutes, yet we fail to communicate. A friend left his sophomore interview with a dean, and he said, “The deans are fake.”

Dr. Warner offered a taste of how things could be; how things should be. In simple language, scorning ostentation, Dr. Warner assessed the college of today and for tomorrow. He did not pull punches: the endowment has lost tens of millions of dollars, self interest consumes us. But he suggested how we could pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off.

When will Patrick White take ownership of the College?

On Thursday, January 22 President White gave the first Chapel Talk of the spring semester. It was his first public speech to the College since last semester's sober mandatory Chapel Talk addressed the death of Delta Tau Delta freshman Johnny Smith. Since that Chapel Talk, the Delt fraternity closed, TGIF was robbed of its reason to 'TG,' those Delts who were leaders of campus organizations resigned, and the attorney for the family of Johnny Smith gave a press conference during which possibly incriminating emails from the Delta Tau Delta listserv were released. If there were ever a time for President White to assert answers rather than pose questions, to take control of the College as its head authority, it was at Thursday's Chapel Talk. His plate was full.

“Not every guy is ready for the challenge of living by one rule, attending a college for men, or learning on an intense, small-town Indiana campus. And not every guy is ready to handle the rewards either. That’s why few guys will ever be Wabash men.” This quote was taken from the last flap of the “Boys will be Boys, Men go to Wabash” recruiting folder, put together perfectly to find boys who want to take that step and challenge themselves in every way. Wabash men are all brothers united by common challenges we face Maybe it is the unifying challenge of deciding to come to Wabash, the challenge of working hard. It could also be the challenge of giving up women during the week, and sometimes even longer. Wabash men  are foremost brothers of a certain rule that is not just supposed to be followed during four years on campus but until the end of days for Wabash men. During the weeks following the unfortunate incident resulting in the loss of Johnny Smith, the Gentleman’s Rule has been discussed, questioned, and defended by Wabash administration, students, and the media. If there is a problem, a good start toward finding its solution might be to reflect on these.