Mark Twain would be proud.

[orichalcum]

So, the Ohio Board of Education is having a contentious race between a pro-evolution candidate and an intelligent-design candidate. 70 scientists at Case Western Reserve signed a statement campaigning for the pro-evolution guy, which is causing controversy in and of itself. But my favorite thing about the race: The pro-evolution candidate is named Tom Sawyer.


Also, McLevy has Schnurgles. No, seriously. It's a name for the odd grunting noise he makes when he gets milk stuck in the back of his throat, and luckily, it's harmless. But so fun to say! Schnurgles!

Back to job applications. And trying to design the roleplaying simulation of the end of the Roman Republic for my winter course. :) Anyone have any ideas about how to design a simple structure of interlocking families for a group of 16 frosh, all of whom will be playing male Roman Senators?

Also, I note that Reacting, the simulation pedagogy group involved, has several upcoming free regional conferences to teach its methodology, including one in San Diego in January...

Comments

[pseudosilence.livejournal.com]

San Diego in January? I think that sounds like a valuable conference indeed!

-PS

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

I'm already going to be in San Diego in January for a different conference, from Jan 4th-6th or so. And I've done that conference. But if anyone's interested in teaching through roleplaying that you know...

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

It looks like it's not CWRU endorsing Sawyer as an institution, since universities usually try to keep out of this stuff (at least ones who value institutional neutrality, and CWRU is no Bob Jones), but Lawrence Krauss from their Physics department has been REALLY REALLY MAD about this with very good cause so I say go, faculty, go!

[(Anonymous)]

Most universities (almost all) are tax exempt under I.R.C. Sec. 501(c)(3), and 501(c)(3)s are required to be nonpartisan, which includes not endorsing candidates. So CWRU couldn't take a position on a candidate election directly (although it could have a PAC or adjunct that did), even if it wanted to. But there's nothing wrong with specific faculty members taking a position, and indeed, they ought to.

--Adam, seeing everything through the legal lens

[digitalemur.livejournal.com]

Well jeez, now I feel upstaged.... Mind you, that's a very helpful clarification on the law. Is Bob Jones actually tax exempt? Aha, I see it's most emphatically and even infamously not. Yeah, that's what I thought. So it's like I said, CWRU is no Bob Jones....

[(Anonymous)]

And not by choice. They argued that they should be able to discriminate and keep their tax-exempt status. The Supreme Court said not so much.

--Adam

simple structure?

[darkforge.livejournal.com]

What manner of "interlocking" do you mean? Do you mean (roughly) a one-shot LARP with 3 or 4 "clans" [as I shall call them ;-)], where each individual has their own separate interests?

Re: simple structure?

[(Anonymous)]

I think the issue is two identities plus personal interests. Faction + family + personal goals. (So you might have two Claudii, who both want their family (i.e. each other) to do well, but one of them might be a populist and the other might be a "Best Men" factionalist (I can't remember the actual Latin name-- optimum something?)) Or at least, that's how I understand O.'s current thinking.

--Adam

Re: simple structure?

[orichalcum.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's accurate. So you want "family" to mean something, but not to be the only loyalty. And clans is a perfectly good word for the nonce - in Latin it's "gentes."