Monday, March 31, 2008

Old School.

My daughter, Caroline, spent last week with her brother, Davis, at his college, Sewanee. My only little girl is plenty smart, but needs some motivation to apply herself in her Senior year, so she might also get into the small, Southern, Episcopal, liberal arts school that is Sewanee. Sewanee is set on a beautiful 10,000 acre campus in the middle of Tennessee, on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau. In addition to a full regimine of sports, Greek, and community service outlets, Sewanee has a lot of outdoor adventure stuff, including caving. Davis took Caroline caving. The picture at left does not include my chilluns, but is a picture of Sewanee yout' after a round of caving. I attended Sewanee, and although my diplomas read "The Florida State University" and "Stetson University College of Law", most of my memories of higher education are from Sewanee. Some things have changed at my old school: the dress code no longer requires, as it did in 1978-1980, that men wear coats and ties to class and that women wear dresses or skirts; no longer are there classes on alternating Saturdays (with no classes on alternating Wednesdays); Freshmen may now have cars on campus; and drinking to retched excess is apparently now a bad thing (though, college kids being college kids...). Even the name has changed from the politically incorrect "The University of the South, Sewanee" to the milder "Sewanee, The University of the South". Many things are the same: Sewanee is still beautiful; the professors are still interesting; the standards are still high (yeah, I know, I got in. I played football, so they cut me some slack); the place still reeks of tradition. I'm rooting for Caroline. She's funny, has wonderful energy, a will of steel, and, as I mentioned, she's abundantly smart. Hmmm. Still, wouldn't hurt if she played basketball...

23 comments:

Chase Squires said...

There's a perfectly nice college just up the road from y'all in Charleston ... and now they even admit the wimin!

Just consider it, is all I'm sayin' ... www.citadel.edu

Send away for some info and suggest that if she doesn't do well, perhaps she would benefit from a more "structured" learning environment. That'll motivate her :-)

superdave524 said...

El Cid? Hmmm. Maybe. Does this mean she'll be running hunnerd milers?

Star said...

Looks like good clean fun. Reminds me of a WAR my college social club had with our brother club. I recall ketchup, mustard, (anything that could be squirted from a bottle, really), any condiment product that would stick, shaving cream, mud...anything we could get our hands on. It was a free-for-all in the field at midnight.

Thats was one of the most fun things I did in college...remember, we're talking Indiana-style fun (like cow-tipping and cornfield hide-and-seek). But good gosh we stunk for days!

Chase Squires said...

100s? No, not in the first week.

Anonymous said...

I stumbled upon your blog, and just had to comment. I attended Sewanee and loved every minute of it. Yes, in hindsight, is probably one of the most homogeneous schools out there, but the education was top notch. The friends I made there are still my very best, and they are all doing great and exciting things with their lives. Just so you know, she has a better chance of getting into Sewanee since she is a legacy (from you and now her brother). I used to volunteer in the admission office there, and they really do take that into consideration. Tell her Good Luck! The hard work is worth it to go there.

Mr. Matt said...

No way Caroline is old enough for college. If that's the case shoot, Ali would be about ready for high school..... Shoot! I better clean up my act and start really teaching, Ali will be at my school ........ in... August!

superdave524 said...

Star, if you're going to get down and dirty, condiments are a must.

Anon, nice of you to drop in. Yea, Sewanee's Right!

Ange, time does show up to slap us around a bit, don' it?

Anonymous said...

I am an alumna of Sewanee and also work there now; thanks so much for your posting fond memories and commenting on Sewanee today. Just to clarify - the University did NOT change it's name (the diploma will in fact still say Universitas Meridiana!) but for marketing purposes they combined the two names by which the university is known in the public eye - Sewanee, and The University of The South. But nothing legally.

And yes, we do love our legacies!

Anonymous said...

It was nice to read your comments on Sewanee. It really is a special place. We are new to the area and noticed the lack of week end rentals. If you are looking for one, please visit our blog and see the country rentals we have to offer. A cottage that sleeps 4 and a Luxury Studio that sleeps 2 on 30 acres, 8 miles from central Sewanne.
http://redoakhollow.blogspot.com

superdave524 said...

Thanks, Anon 10:36. Maybe in six or eight months I'll be up there with Caroline and Davis. Hope my boy is doing all right by the School.

Daisy Mae, I note that your woodshop is in Northern VA. That's a decent drive to middle TN, but I guess the Mountain is worth the drive (plus, your Sewanee angel probably needs a rest, from time to time).

kate said...

So you were a Seminole huh? I knew I liked you...

superdave524 said...

You a 'Nole, too, Kate? Well, there you go! It does explain a lot, don't it (uh, you know that is intentional, right?)?

kate said...

I didn't actually attend FSU, but I learned how to roll joints with tampon paper there. And you can't buy an education that good.

(I went to USF. Does it show?)

superdave524 said...

My mom and my baby bro both got their Masters degrees from USF, Kate. No Bull. Rolling joints got your schools all backwards (well, maybe not the rolling).

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