Wednesday April 30 \u2014 \u00a0the day before May\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b><\/p>\n
A long time UDM friend reminded me that on Ash Wednesday I more or less promised leaves on trees by Easter. \u00a0\u201cWhere are they?\u201d she demanded. \u00a0A little defensive, I look back at March 10, the Ash Wednesday post. \u00a0 I didn\u2019t exactly<\/span>\u00a0say leaves on trees by Easter.<\/p>\n “In our climate, you might say that \u201cSpring\u201d means the season when trees and shrubs and flowers and grass look dead and very gradually tell the careful observer that they are coming back to life. Stopping and looking is a form of Lenten prayer and helps more than giving up candy or beer,\u00a0a metaphor for close watching other parts of life and waiting there in hope: a \u00a0child growing up; \u00a0a city laboring through bankruptcy; a Congress waiting to learn civility again. \u00a0A university teeming with people trying to learn, trying to teach, trying to renew it\u2019s day to day operations. \u00a0Beauty all around us. The growing length of daylight during this year\u2019s Lent comes to about 3 minutes more light each day.<\/p>\n Ash Wednesday = \u00a011 hours & 28 minutes of daylight \u00a0\u2014\u2014\u2014> \u00a0Today = \u00a014 hours & 00 minutes of daylight<\/b><\/p>\n A couple days ago,\u00a0I encountered a Melinda Henneberger column in the Washington Post<\/span>, \u201c5 ways not to sell your school\u201d \u00a0 (http:\/\/m.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/college-tour-de-farce-5-ways-not-to-sell-your-school\/2014\/04\/25\/58bf09c2-cbe3-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html<\/a>). \u00a0It\u2019s hilarious and trenchant at the same time. \u00a0And it reminded me why I love living and working at UDM in the heart of Detroit. \u00a0I love it that we try to teach our students to engage the world the way it is; \u00a0to not whitewash the city\u2019s wounds; \u00a0to learn to be street-smart and to love the city\u2019s strengths at the same time; to risk exulting in signs of the city\u2019s re-birth. \u00a0I felt that in my bones in December 1980 when I drove a U-Haul with my stuff from grad school in Philly to Six Mile and Livernois, a time when campus looked a lot more ratty than we do now. \u00a0 Sometimes Detroit makes me tired (as in \u201csick and tired\u201d). \u00a0 Then someone reminds me of what a gritty,\u00a0close-to-the-ground place\u00a0we work in. \u00a0Here<\/span><\/b>\u00a0is where we teach chemistry and poetry, legal practice, nursing and engineering. \u00a0It is here<\/span><\/b>\u00a0that we will celebrate another Commencement, our 133rd \u00a0I think. \u00a0 For me, Detroit rather than Bennington.<\/p>\n Enjoy the day and get ready to smile at May.<\/p>\n john sj<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Post: \u00a0Melinda Henneberger,\u00a0\u201c5 Ways not to sell your school”<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n “Seeing so few humans, my daughter asked her to describe them for us. \u201cWhat about diversity?\u201d To her credit, the young woman leading the tour of a school known for its progressive leanings was honest: \u201cIdeologically, there isn\u2019t any.\u2019\u2019\u201cWhere is everyone?\u201d my daughter asked as we walked through Bennington College, one of the finest liberal arts schools in the country. It was 11\u00a0a.m. on a weekday, but the campus in rural Vermont seemed almost entirely unpopulated. The students were still sleeping, our tour guide suggested.<\/p>\n Later, while visiting one of the dorms, we were shown the community condom cabinet and told that residents often huddle together for warmth, because, as good enviros, they keep the thermostat low in the winter. For $57,000, I kind of wanted heat to be included.<\/p>\n So when my daughter asked whether it would be rude to leave before lunch, I said, ‘Race ya to the car!\u2019”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wednesday April 30 \u2014 \u00a0the day before May\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A long time UDM friend reminded me that on Ash Wednesday I more or less promised leaves on trees by Easter. \u00a0\u201cWhere are they?\u201d she demanded. \u00a0A little defensive, I look back … Continue reading