Around the Table
In the Assembly Hall March 30: Dr. Warren Farrell Author of The Myth of Male Power
April 10: Jenny Oakley Digital artist and teacher
Dr. Warren Farrell, author of seven books, including Why Men Are the Way They Are, borrowed a phrase from The Atlantic to describe what he perceives as the current crisis in the emotional development of boys as “the end of men.” During his assembly address, Farrell said boys have fallen behind girls in development because of fatherlessness, changing views on masculinity and addiction to video games, among other things. These factors and others, Farrell argued, will expand a vacuum in leadership within American family life, commerce and politics that could threaten the country’s future. “When young men have a sense of purpose, they can be one of society’s most constructive forces,” Farrell said. “When they don’t have a sense of purpose, they become one of society’s most destructive forces.” Farrell’s assembly remarks engendered a campuswide dialogue among Exonians and resulted in a forum on gender roles, where an insightful and robust discussion ensued.
“The iPad opened up a whole world of possibilities for me,” Scottish artist Jenny Oakley told assembly. “I still do all of the traditional forms of art but I can get nice textures and effects with the iPad using different apps.” Oakley is the art teacher at the Cedars School of Excellence in Greenock, Scotland, where each of the 120 students and teachers has an iPad. During her presentation, she showed slides of artwork by her students, who range in age from 5 to 18. “The iPad is a safe place for the [students] to experiment and a real confidence builder,” Oakley said. “It provides a blank canvas and opens up [their] creativity.” She added that the Delete button is a great tool when working on a digital canvas: “Undo, undo, undo—try something new—undo until you’re happy with it.” Oakley believes the iPad is perfect for encouraging the continued exploration of creativity and ideas.
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A S A M P L I N G O F S P E A K E R S W H O C A M E TO C A M P U S
April 13: Anis Mojgani Slam poet and musician
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Using a violin, jump rope and plastic tube as his instruments, Dr. David T. Kung explored with Exonians the connection—and disconnection—between mathematical and musical approaches to scales. “When you pluck a string, when you do anything with a stringed instrument, you’re hearing not just a single note but a symphony of different vibrations,” Kung explained as he launched into the mathematics of vibrating strings and partial differential equations. During the 50-minute assembly, which he called “talk for both sides of your brain,” Kung not only covered a lot of math, physics and music theory but also played on his violin a bit of Mendelssohn and the chaconne from Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor by Bach. He also proved that no piano can truly be in tune. “You can have your fifths in tune or you can have your octaves in tune, but not both,” he said. Not your everyday math lesson. After assembly, Kung met with four math classes, including an advanced class in Selected Topics: Game Theory and Advanced Integrated Mathematics. The Exeter Bulletin
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April 6: Dr. David T. Kung Associate professor of mathematics, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
“I lift bridges with poems,” said poet Anis Mojgani to Exonians at assembly. The author, whose poems have been compared to “fiercely hopeful word arias,” clearly struck a chord with students during his two-day visit. “When I found out he was coming to Exeter, I screamed,” said Lily George ’14 of Mojgani, who is a two-time champion of the National Poetry Slam and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam. “It is so amazing,” she continued. “This is one of those moments where I feel infinitely lucky to be at Exeter.” Mojgani performed twice at Exeter, giving an evening concert as well as an assembly. He is the author of two poetry collections, The Feather Room and Over the Anvil We Stretch, and has appeared on HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam,” on NPR, and in the documentary Slam Planet:War of the Words. His poems have been published in Rattle, Bestiary and The Legendary. April 20: Tom Burack ’78 and Ken Kimmell ’78 Department of Environmental Services commissioners for New Hampshire and Massachusetts
Former classmates Tom Burack and Ken Kimmell are now both commissioners of their neighboring states’ environmental services departments and frequently collaborate on issues of mutual