FROM THE RECTOR
Finding Gratitude and Hope in Troubled Times KATHLEEN C. GILES
October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, when she wept in my office in heartbreak and fury at what she deemed to be the massive amount of graphic, shameless misinformation she saw posted online, noting with dismay that, “My generation gets our news and information from social media.” It was difficult for her to draw any comfort from the Chapels that week where these events were addressed when so much dissonance flooded the social channels in her online life about what was happening, about the sides to be drawn, and about the social pressure to pick one, and to do so quickly. While I appreciate the urgency, I am uncertain whether the recent legal actions that state governments and As this edition of Alumni Horae goes to print in Novem- federal regulators are taking against social media giants ber, the grounds reflect the muted peace of late fall in will amount to much when we have, as a society, invested New England. Rain has fallen generously for the past so heavily in a marketplace of ideas that focuses on the several months, and autumn’s colors have combined marketability and profitability of provocation rather than the way our moral imaginations with bright green grass and starshould engage to protect truth, tlingly blue sky. In addition to all "IT IS A TIME OF TURMOIL decency, and justice. That hackthe energy our students create, neyed phrase, “it’s the Wild West nature has offered us many lovely IN OUR WORLD. ... OUR out there,” offers little to no comfort moments of beauty and clarity EMOTIONS IN RESPONSE to the student in my office, a digital over the past weeks. TO THESE UPHEAVALS native who with a good heart and a Life on the grounds always stands fine mind has come of age as an in sharp contrast to life in many RUN THE FULL RANGE innocent, unwitting, and yet willother places on the planet, particuOF HUMAN EXPERIENCE ing participant in a Wild West rolarly those torn apart by war and deo that acknowledges no moral suffering. That contrast has been … [BUT] MUST ALWAYS or ethical boundaries. We will conmade especially sharp for our stuINCLUDE EMPATHY, tinue to work with students to help dents by the images flooding their COMPASSION, HUMILITY, them understand the complexities screens since school opened in of their digital citizenship — a September. These images have inAND YES, HOPE global citizenship that has no precluded terrorist attacks, war, sufAND GRATITUDE." qualifiers other than the means to fering from natural disasters, and a procure a screen and a data plan. mass shooting in our neighboring state of Maine — all part of our national consciousness You will see invited Chapel speakers, Living in Commuand very much part of our students’ consciousness. The nity curriculum, and community conversations on this juxtaposition between the orderly, relatively peaceful rou- topic reflected in our print and digital publications. My tine of our School and the chaos around us is not an hope is that you also will see increasing recognition withexperience unique to St. Paul’s. The maxim “think globally, in our society and governments of the magnitude of the act locally” has strange resonance in this time of uber- challenge our children face in acclimating to the world media and instant commentary; social media conflates through their screen and a greater commitment to find the global and local in ways that can leave us wondering better, healthier ways for young people to engage this who and what to believe, and on that basis, who and what complex world. The Friday the student came into my office began with we can trust, globally or locally, in these turbulent times. Probably one of the most difficult conversations I have a scheduled Chapel talk by our consulting rabbi, had with a student happened on the Friday after the Rabbi Robin Nafshi, whose explanation of how we derive 2
Alumni Horae | Issue I 23/24