The Tripod

Jimmy Jones' convocation speech was filled with allusions to Harry Potter, taking advantage of the series' epic conclusion this summer. The president's speech captured the struggles past Trinity administrations have endured; he showed students how much was sacrificed for them to stand there that day. His use of imagery and pop culture references made the speech fresh and interesting, but it was curious to see just how much weight President Jones gave to events of the past, while somehow managing to leave out any reference to current or future projects. What does Jones mean by this? By focusing so intently on the past does he hope students will be distracted from current problems?

With Jones' 3-D glasses, he took the Class of 2011 through a magical journey; a trip through Trinity's glorious past. The tour, however, ended abruptly in the 1930s. For all the turmoil Trinity has endured in the past, no mention was made of the present, or of the future. I'm sure that the freshmen have heard about problems that would make them anxious: the housing crisis, construction, tense town-gown relations, decreases in financial aid, etc. By being here for only a few days, these freshmen had seeds of doubt planted in their minds. Jones, in his speech, did not address any of these problems, but instead brought up the hard times of the past. Maybe Jimmy wants us to think that by past standards, things aren't so bad right now.

Jones briefly mentioned the Long Walk reconstruction, but even then he was talking about a lost cornerstone of the past. There are plans to put the cornerstone on display, which is nice and all, but does it mean anything? We can conserve our past, but what is the College doing to progress into the future? Instead of mentioning what Trinity is doing to improve town-gown relations or improve race relations, Jones focused on what Trinity did over a 100 years ago, not what Trinity is doing now.

President Jones mentioned in his speech that a graduating senior a few years past did not want to leave Trinity. With so many problems troubling Trinity, there must be a reason why this student wanted to stay. Did Jimmy make any mention of why? He merely assumed that the reason would be apparent to the freshmen in four years. But who would want to wait that long? Faced with these dark times, the less courageous might transfer, and at the end there might just be a few who believe in President Jones' words, and stick through the bitter to reap the sweet rewards. Even with all its problems, Trinity is still a great place to be, but for their first impression, freshmen may not recognize that.

"With your 3D glasses, you would see all those who have contributed their generosity of funds to this place, the wealthy and the powerful over the course of the past 184 years," said Jones. But what of others who contributed to the growth of Trinity? Where was the mention of students who fight intolerance on campus? Where was the mention of the strides the administration is taking to insure Trinity's future? The foundations may have been laid by the "sweat of Italian workers," as Jimmy said; but what are we doing now? Students who have been here are seeing these foundations being laid, but the freshmen are still unaware, believing the first words they hear. When these first words are words of problems, crisis, and struggles, they become skeptical. President Jones had the potential to address these issues; however, he failed in that regard, filling the freshmen's minds with Trinity's glorious past, distracting them from the dark present.

When Jones revealed that the 3D stands for "decisions determine destiny," he urged the freshmen to shape their own destinies, and make Trinity their own. Yet what will their decisions be? Will they transfer to other colleges, and fulfill their destiny elsewhere? Will they sit by idly for the next four years? Or will the few follow Jones' advice? The latter is unlikely, because the anxiety in the minds of the freshmen have not been relieved. The administration should follow Jones' advice. How has the administration's decisions determined Trinity's destiny? President Jones' past decisions in the housing crisis alienated juniors, and there has yet to be a satisfactory solution to the racial tension on campus. With this kind of a record, what are freshmen to make of it? How can they determine their own destiny, when they are crushed at all sides?

President Jones may have been able to show freshmen Trinity's past, but he in doing so he failed to take advantage of the opportunity to show them Trinity's future.

Article Tools