Turning Things Up

When Rebel's Rest burned last year, the smell of smoke lingered and feelings burned. I suppose they're still burning among some who insist the building be built back as it was. As I learned today, "as it was" is entirely subjective.

Smartly, the College has invested great care in disassembling the building and now in working to understand the site and its history. The University Archaeologist, a religion professor, a forestry professor, the head of the Herbarium, and many others have undertaken a multi-disciplined approach to studying the remains of not one but two houses (the building "as it was" that folks want rebuilt was built on the very foundation of a previous house). As fascinating as the tour of the site was, the best part of my visit was hearing from students who have invested themselves in their learning and their part in uncovering the past.

One young man, David, explained the use of the surveying tool shown here so well that I actually understood -- for the first time -- what folks do when they stand on street corners and aim one thing at the other some distance away. David's confidence, knowledge, and speaking skills were impressive indeed. 

What Sarah Sherwood, the archaeologist, has done is remind us all that the real values of a college rest in people, not bricks and mortar, in knowledge as it becomes and not "as it was."