International Day of Peace comes to Gordon

Imagine for a moment, every nation in the world at peace with one another. No more wars or fighting ever. It's not a very realistic goal, but it is one that is being promoted through the International Day of Peace.
Dr. David Steele came to Gordon College last Friday to speak at convocation. He spoke not only on peace in the world, but also about social justice. It's easy to be inspired by someone so passionate about what he stands for.

Good Night, and Good Luck

Good Night, and Good Luck
By Jon Knudtson

Good Night, and Good Luck chronicles Ed Murrow and his news team's fight against Senator Joseph McCarthy and his search for communists living in the United States. George Clooney, in his directorial debut, uses black and white to masterfully recreate the feel of court room films from the fifties. Clooney also stars in the film, alongside David Strathairn and Robert Downey Jr. The entire cast does a great job of delivering subdued performances that would be typical of a fifties newsroom. The film also takes a look at how the the news is at times attempted to be censored, but the government as well as other outside sources. The film calls the viewer to action to not allow anything like these communist witch hunts to ever occur again, and offers this encouragement,"Good night, and good luck."

2007 grad returns to school, this time as housing director

2007 grad returns to school, this time as housing director
By Jon Knudtson

When Meredith Benson moved out of Tavilla in 2007 after studying student development, I doubt that she thought that she would be moving back into the dorm during the summer of 2010, this time as it’s resident director. She’s not only Tavilla’s resident director though, she’s doing double duty as the director of housing. “The director of housing job was exciting to me,” said Benson. “That is what I used to tell people was my long term career goal. So now I’m doing it which is great”

She’s not completely new to the job though. Benson had an internship in the student development office as a senior. “I knew Terry Charek and Barry Loy,” said Benson, “and was excited about the prospect of maybe working with them again.”

Everything isn’t completely the same for Benson though. Though she’s living in a dorm that’s familiar to her, doing a job similar to the one she held while a student, Benson finds it to be a different experience. “It’s strange to be in a place that I experience in a different capacity,” said Benson. “I feel like I’m outside of the bubble now.” This is easy to understand, as many Gordon students fall into the “Gordon bubble” while at school.

The residents of Tavilla don’t seem to notice a disconnect though. “She seems friendly and calm,” said Paul Wright, a senior communications major living in Tavilla, “I’ve heard good reviews of her husband as well.” The students of Gordon are happy to have the Bensons living in Tavilla, and the Bensons are happy to be at Gordon. “I love being back at Gordon, it’s a great place. It’s like coming home.”

Documentary Filmmaker Visits Gordon

By Jon Knudtson
It's a rare treat to get to watch a documentary one night, hear the director talk in person the next day, and get to pick their brain about the film shortly after. That is exactly what students at Gordon got to do last week when Jody Hassett Sanchez came to the school.

Students seemed to be in agreement that the documentary Sold was entertaining, while being informative. "I thought it was really interesting that they were able to expose the slave trade in areas all over the world," said Tyler Hernandez, 21. "This is something that we really should be focused on ending."

Hassett Sanchez's also spoke to the entire school in convocation on Friday morning. she was able to talk about the slave trade, the making of the documentary, as well as the state of documentary film making. Hernandez said, "We students should realize how lucky we are to be able to interact in this way with filmmakers."

Classic Book on Writing Remains Relevant for Modern Writers

By: Jon Knudtson
William Zinsser’s book On Writing Well has helped aspiring writers to write well for over thirty years. What is it about this book that has kept it relevant in today’s society? According to some college students it’s Zinsser’s personal and professional writing.
“I spent way to much time writing wordy run on sentences before,” said Paul Wright, 21, “and it taught me some very practical applications such as cutting out adverbs and basically writing as you talk but with less clutter.” Zinsser focuses on writing simple sentences that are easy to connect with.
“I believe that at the forefront of writing, be it for fun or for Journalism, should be the importance of writing well grammatically and creatively,” said Ricky Marte, 20. “William Zinsser through his opinions embodies just that.” It seems that “Uncle Will” has helped many college students learn to write better through his simple and personable writing.
By using simple language Zinsser is able to stay relevant today, over 30 years after the first publication. Today society tries to complicate language to make it seem more professional. This causes everything to blend together and removes all personality from writing.
“The reader will notice if you are putting on airs,” Zinsser pointed out over 30 years ago. “Readers want the person who is talking to them to sound genuine. Therefore a fundamental rule is: be yourself.” Thanks to Zinsser’s ability to be himself throughout the entire book, it is able to stay relevant even today.
Zinsser focuses not only on the big picture ideas of writing, but also on things that are much simpler. In fact, simplicity seems to be a theme in the book. “Clutter is the disease of American writing,” said Zinsser in the second chapter. “We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon.” I tend to agree immensely with the preceding sentence, and can only fervently pray that all young, promising writers learn to simplify their writing as well as the incredibly, amazing, master writer Zinsser himself. I hope that you disregard that last sentence.

Gordon Community Informed By Variety Of News Sources

Gordon Community Informed By Variety Of News Sources

By Jon Knudtson

Wenham, MA- When Gordon College was established in 1889, it’s doubtful that they were getting their news the same way people are today. While the community of old most likely got their news by reading daily newspapers and by word of mouth, today the sources of news are as varied as the people that attend Gordon.

Many students interviewed said that they get their news from online sources such as CNN.com, Yahoo.com, and BBC.com. It is much more convenient for the busy college student to check the World Wide Web for up to date news rather than to wait until the next day’s paper to come out.

Other students don’t even have to wait to get to a computer to get their news. Tyler Hernandez, a senior psychology major at Gordon College, said that he gets most of his news from The New York Times application on his phone. The application can be updated and checked the second that news is occurring. It is hard to imagine a more instant way to get your news.

Doug Barker, a junior history major, likes his news a different way. He reported that he gets most of his news from the Emmy award winning comedy news show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Stewart presents the news in a comedic fashion, while still making valid points and reporting accurately. Barker also said that he gets his news online from his grandfather’s blog, www.randomthots.org.

Associate Professor of Communication Arts Rini Cobbey gets her news in a more traditional way. She said that she listens to National Public Radio to find out what is happening. While this is not as instant as a website or phone application, it may offer some comfort to hear the same radio voice delivering your news every day. She also said she frequents news websites like CNN.com as well as BBC.com.

It is clear that today’s college students crave a more instant way of getting news than ever before. With the ability to check the internet from anywhere using phones, many young people would much rather not wait until the nightly news to find out what is happening in the world today.