September 9, 2001: Volume 53, Number 1

Across Campus

Up in the air

Some truths can be useless statements, Tom Werner told the audience at opening convocation on Tuesday.

And to illustrate his point, the chair of the faculty executive committee told the joke – a favorite among frustrated Microsoft users – about the pilot lost in the fog who flies by a building, inquires as to his whereabouts, and learns that he is "up in the air." Moments later, he lands safely at the Seattle airport. The building, it turns out, was where Microsoft manuals are written.

Just like "up in the air," the statement that "students get an excellent education at Union" is true but useless, he said. Much better, he said, to talk about things like undergraduate research, international programs and the new house system to distinguish Union from the rest.

And to end his talk, Werner said, "It was my intention to close my remarks with an appropriately witty and insightful statement; unfortunately, Microsoft Word ate it."

Twister

With thanks to George Schiller for noticing, and to Betty Allen for researching, we were interested to learn recently of an anniversary that somehow had always escaped us.

It was on Aug. 28, 1847, long before the advent of advanced weather detection, that a tornado swept through campus.

There were no reports of injuries, but minutes from a trustees meeting blamed the twister for "unroofing and otherwise materially injuring several of the College's edifices and fixtures connected therewith."

Losses were estimated at $5,000, the equivalent of $105,000 at today's price levels, according to Jim Kenney of economics.

Better brand?

Scott Scullion used the faculty meeting Wedneday to fire a salvo at administrators:

"If I was going to make the bad habit of asking people to teach on Labor Day, I'd offer them something better than Budweiser to drink."

Dean of Faculty Christie Sorum promised to do better for next year's opening faculty reception.

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