University of Rhode Island - Renaissance / Grist Yearbook (Kingston, RI)

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ALTON JONES CAMPUS 24

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Watching Professor Quixote Given that no colleagues are left in the building, all appointments kept except the last one he screams, the sigh louder than intended; must have gotten up wrong side of the muse this morning, out of ideas cigarettes it ' s time to face the long drive home. Notes for tomorrow’s class done, he ' s said this three times, looks for a clock to punch: an exercise at day’s end easier than jogging as good for the heart. He regards the watch around his wrist as though it were the face of Sancho Panza himself, then walks away from books into a world with no consideration for aesthetics. Can ' t find his car, the parking lot a sea from which strange metallic creatures have washed ashore to die. Thinks he ' s spotted his Impala but it’s the night he slips into, opens a dark door throws his papers down onto a seat which appears out of the blue. Not surprised at all that the key turns he’s startled at the dial’s refusal to illumine the space around him; looking for reassurance he sees the moon fade behind a cloud. Where is Sancho Panza Which path to take? An engine races. There is noise, plenty of it but this darkness will not budge; the only signs are these persistent fictions . . . Those watching saw nothing unusual. Only a man rolling up the window inside a black sedan confident that he’s left this darkness behind him. 23

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At the Environmental Education Center, the task of waking up minds young old is done by utilizing a 2300 acre wilderness classroom; animals, streams, plants trees are some of our finest staff members. This outdoor school is set aside for people to explore discover the wonders of the natural world and is becoming more well-known widely used by Rhode Islanders. A recent example of this was the W. Alton Jones Intersession Minicourses, sponsored by the Student Senate during January 12-16 on the West Greenwich campus. It was an academic success as well as a peaceful winter retreat for students and faculty. A full schedule of workshops in such rustic surroundings was literally disorienting; what with the next pack of cigarettes being a half-hour’s drive away, no newspapers or television for a week, people had lost a certain amount of contact with the ‘ outside world, more apparently with its counterpart: that level of our minds we can easily satisfy by being on campus, in cities, near shopping centers. Something about being out in the open, how our response ability is heightened. The winter session was, without seeking to plagiarize, something of a rebirth. The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds Anatole France 25