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Before poor Becky
could get a good rest, she was awoken by the sound of sniffing in
her ear and whiskers on her cheek. "Get up! Get up! What a
worthless maid you are! Where did you put my handkerchief!" Becky
opened her eyes to see the same white rabbit that had walked through
the door before she dozed off. He was bouncing around the room,
clearly agitated but ooh, so stylish about it. He would bounce over
to a table, lean against it, strike a pose, and then scream another
epithet regarding his lost handkerchief. Apparently, he believed
that Becky was his new maid.
"Hurry up, my
girl! I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date with Dr.
Douglas!" the rabbit demanded, shaking his watch chain at Becky.
"But whatever do
you mean? I'm not your maid; I just dropped into your house moments
ago!" Becky tried to explain.
"No matter," the
rabbit shouted, "just get on your feet and start looking!" But
rather than looking for the handkerchief himself, the rabbit just
settled into a chair and began reading a book.
Exasperated, Becky
began to rummage around on the shelves and dressers scattered about
the room. She didn't find the handkerchief, but she happened upon
several intriguing items: an invitation card from Tap Bennett, a
shelf-full of books stamped as belonging to the Society, and pages
and pages of documents that she knew belonged in the archives.
Fuming, she turned to face the rabbit, holding a small framed
portrait of Robert Toombs.
"I'm not so sure
this belongs here..." Becky declared, staring the rabbit in the
eyes. The rabbit turned around in his chair and stylishly removed
his glasses, exposing the fear in his suddenly whiter face. "I- I-
I just borrowed them for a little while. I was going to return
them...ah, did you find my handkerchief?" the suddenly meeker rabbit
inquired.
Becky advanced
across the room toward the rodent. "You're not a rabbit, you're a
disgusting little pack rat! Now how much more of this stuff do you
have?"
"Ah, yes, well,
like I said, I'm late! I've got to be going now...good-bye!" With
one leap, the rabbit sprang out of his chair and through the nearest
window. Becky watched him bound off down the forest path.
The meeting was
called to order at 7:35. The order of business was changed and the
Society entered Programs. Mr. Stuart rose as Programs Chair
to welcome those in attendance and announce the evening's program, a
forum involving the two candidates for the 89th State House seat.
He explained the format of the evening and introduced the first
speaker, Representative Keith Heard.
Mr. Heard
commended the Society for its interest in public affairs and
politics and thanked them for holding this forum. He introduced
himself as a lifelong Athens resident, businessman, and community
activist who seeks to build up Athens and serve its citizens. He
cited teacher pay raises, the HOPE scholarship program, insurance
reform, the tax cut on food, and economic growth as some of the
issues he has helped to accomplish during his term. He asked those
present to let him be their employee for the next 2 years.
Ms. Ramirez
introduced the second speaker of the evening, Mr. Chad Renegar. Mr.
Renegar thanked Rep. Heard for his service in government and in the
community. He explained his own candidacy as an attempt to bring a
conservative voice to the House from the Athens area. He commended
Rep. Heard for his work on the 2-strikes crime legislation, but
pointed out several practical courtroom problems with it. He said
he supports a law requiring a mandatory 85% of time served, noting
that Athens has a particular stake in this legislation given its
problems with violence against women. He also objected to the pay
raises the representatives had given themselves in the previous
term. Pledging to cut specific pork projects, he asked the Society
to buck the Democratic power structure and elect him this November.
Both candidates
answered questions regarding education, school vouchers, taxes, Gov.
Miller's privatization program, local ballot initiative,
extracurricular volunteerism, and automatic pay raises for
legislators. Both candidates were given time for closing
statements, and following a 5 minute recess, the Society returned to
regular business.
The minutes for
the previous meeting were read and approved. There were two
first-time guests and eight second- or third-time guests. Mr.
Stuart was appointed critic, and the Society received two
petitions for membership.
Mr. Weir
wished he had come to Demosthenian sooner. He said he had learned a
lot in the past four weeks and looked forward to learning even more
as a member.
Mr. Magda
was first impressed by the Hall, but he is even more impressed now
with what goes on here. He noted that he has many friends here, and
hoped to make many more as a member. Both he and Mr. Weir were
accepted into membership.
The Society
entered Committee Reports and Mr. Van Meter rose for the
absent Mr. Hortman to give the Finance Committee report. He stated
that the Finance Committee had approved $20 for the purchase of a
Pandora yearbook, and that the ruling regarding the security deposit
check as given last week is in limbo, pending a meeting with someone
in Student Affairs. The report was accepted by the Society.
The Society then
entered New Business and Mr. Shumaker took the floor to say
that rationalization and lack of responsibility are major problems
in society today. He presented the following:
Be It Resolved:
Psychology is poison.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael J.
Shumaker
Mr. Pyrdum
agreed with the presenter regarding the problem of responsibility,
but said that psychology allows us to deal with things that we have
no control over. He countered that you cannot live in a system
where you don't ascribe blame and acknowledge some lack of free
will.
Mr. Gable,
guest, would rephrase the resolution to say that psychology is
"nonsense," but agreed with the resolution anyway. Relating an
obviously damaging experience with a school psychologist, he noted
that psychology declared itself a science in the 1970's with little
justification.
Mr. Van Meter
said that if you disagree with a court ruling or a law on the
books, this does not cause one to lose all respect for law; so it
should be with psychology. Arguing that psychology is simply the
attempt to understand one another beyond the surface of words and
actions, he declared that psychology is always being practiced and
is essential to human relations.
Ms. Ramirez
rose to relate how psychology has allowed her to overcome her
personal difficulties arising from a trauma in her childhood. She
has acknowledged her problems of trust and has finally realized that
it was not her fault.
Mr. Knoshkood,
guest, maintained that psychology is the study of personal behavior,
in the same way that biology is the study of life, and to discredit
one decision or scientist is not to discard the entire discipline.
The presenter's goal of making people take responsibility for their
actions is indeed a psychological matter, but not for those who
abuse it.
Mr. Choi
disagreed with the resolution, saying that it is a legitimate field
and should be respected. While psychologists who exploit others are
truly poison, many people are calmed from the benefits of an outside
view.
Ms. Polentz
disagreed with the presenter, stating that psychologists have a
stake in their patient's welfare and will help them find an answer.
Discarding the notion that psychologists are shamen or gurus or have
a 100% success rate, she challenged the Society to show that some
people are not helped by the practice.
Mr. Stuart
rose first to tell the Society that he had delivered the letter of
invitation to the Heap regarding the Intersociety Meeting, and that
he was duly revered. Turning to the resolution, he said that given
the problems psychology deals with, if it has helped one person,
then psychology is a success.
Ms. Moultrie,
guest, stated that while she acknowledges that there are many poor
practitioners of psychology, she is personally in favor of the
cognitive approach, which utilizes the scientific method to derive
conclusions. She further noted that this resolution is an attempt
at shifting responsibility from the patients to the psychologists.
Mr. Hodgins
compared psychologists to auto mechanics, attempting to place people
in comfortable categories. This is impossible, he argued, for
humans are far too complex to understand in this manner. Further,
Mr. Hodgins has taken to denying almost everyone the opportunity to
ask questions, so feel free to include any questions you wished to
ask here in this portion of the minutes.
The question was
called and failed 2-4.
Mr. Pyrdum
asked us to imagine a camera set on a tripod, and used this as a
metaphor for education (the camera) set upon concepts (one being the
Judeo-Christian religion). He introduced:
Be It Resolved:
The systematic removal of all things associated with the
Judeo-Christian religion has robbed the American educational system
of focus.
Respectfully
submitted,
Carl S. Pyrdum
Mr. Stuart
saw a much larger issue in the resolution, saying we lost not just
the Judeo-Christian religion, but also patriotism. The past two
generations have questioned much more than we have edified, and thus
have wiped away all ethics, even to the point of diminishing support
for the law.
Mr. Fonsecka,
guest, opposed the resolution, for he values the freedoms he is
guaranteed in this country, including freedom from other people's
religion. Indoctrination stops people from asking worthwhile
questions, and these questions should be encouraged.
Mr. Khoshnood,
guest, first explained the background behind the Judeo-Christian
ethic, which we somehow got this far in the debate without
addressing. He said a concept of salvation and spirituality was
essential.
Mr. Gable,
guest, argued that we should include a morality in the classroom,
but that we must introduce it on a rational basis. His experience
in a Christian school drove him away from organized religion, mostly
because it conflicted in too many ways with the other secular
teachings of the school.
Mr. Weir
agreed with the presenter's analysis and deplored the lack of faith
in today's society and government. He noted that the
Judeo-Christian ethic solves many other practical problems, with
respect for the law being the most important, and asked us to put
this in perspective: 1 prayer a day versus 6 hours of secular
teaching.
Mr. Hodgins
maintained that the baby boomer generation has eliminated values and
ethics from modern life. He brought up Bill Clinton as an example
of those who value nothing over themselves and have transmitted
these morals to us.
Mr. Choi
asked, why did we have this departure from the Judeo-Christian
ethic? Answering his own question, he found it to be a gut reaction
that eliminated all spirituality in schools, a concept that should
be replaced, but not in the Judeo-Christian form specifically.
The question was
called and passed 5-1.
After Mr.
Stuart's critic's report, the Society adjourned at 11:36.
"I need to find
that rabbit," said Becky. "He may have Demosthenian artifacts in
holes all over this property. Something tells me he's going to be a
bit slippery to catch, though."
Becky walked out
the door of the house and out into the forest. She began to walk
down the path that the rabbit had taken moments before. But before
long, she had the distinct feeling she was lost. The path kept
forking in all directions, and signs of the rabbit's passage could
no longer be found. Exasperated, she sat down on a rotten log and
looked around into the dark undergrowth. She gasped when she saw a
pair of eyes peering from under a bush across from where she was
sitting. But looking closer, she noticed that it looked like,
strangely, the eyes weren't attached to anything! "Things are so
odd here..." Becky observed, and she walked over to the bush and
lifted it up. Sure enough, there were a pair of eyes hovering above
the ground, and they looked up at Becky when she lifted the branch.
A mouth appeared
out of the air under the eyes, and spoke. "Yip! Yip! Hello
senorita, I'm the Cheshire Chihuahua." Becky stumbled back at this
sudden change. To make things stranger, the ethereal face moved out
of the brush toward her. As it grew nearer, more body parts emerged
out of midair and slowly, the form of a small, yappy dog took
shape.
"You looking for
rabbit? I help you find rabbit! I saw him bounce down path not so
long ago."
Becky was already
annoyed with this strange animal's presence, but it seemed willing
to help and so she couldn't afford to be hostile. "Okay, which way
did he go?" Becky asked the creature.
"Ah, that would be
too easy, no? I will show you," the Chihuahua screamed. "In fact,
I've got a whole plan for finding this rabbit. I will go incognito,
eh? You will walk behind, and I will tell you which way he goes.
Sounds good?"
"Well, you'd
probably scare him off," Becky observed. "You're not exactly soft
spoken, you know?"
"Ah, yes, then I
must whisper. THEN we will find this pesky rabbit! Ha HA! Come,
now senorita." The Cheshire Chihuahua bounded off down the path,
and his body parts disappeared as easily as they had materialized.
"Oh dear," Becky
sighed as she followed the dog, "I always seem to end up with these
types. Well, I guess that's what you get for being a Demosthenian!
Submitted this
17th day of October 1996,
Ryan J. Van Meter
Secretary |
University of Georgia 