It was a packed day - and that's without any images of the first year grad student presentations, or the lengthy student review that followed, or the University's President and Provost - on Zoom - giving some very, very waffly word-salad answers to faculty questions posed to them about recent events and the current situation with our (very peaceful, still) encampment. Then a quick march over to the Coliseum for Leo Braudy's retirement party: here's Leo taking a picture of the Everlasting Flame being lit in his honor, with his wife Dorothy in attendance;
and another of Dorothy.
Then back to the main campus for a Faculty demo and march in defense of free speech on campus - led/organized by Devin Griffiths. You might think that he was a high-up university official, telling us to disperse - but no, the idea was to wear academic robes or visible vests (the excellently large contingent from the Art History department managed to dodge such sartorial advice). Not that we could hear what he, or anyone, said, because there were two police helicopters and one Fox News chopper circling noisily overhead, but it was good to be part of a show of support (and very touching to be applauded by students lining our path, as we went on a small march down to the (closed) front gates, to speak to the press. I felt so proud of Devin - way back when he was my grad student at Rutgers, and was an excellent activist there, I was writing letters of recommendation for him that said something along the lines that he had a talent for organizing and "I can well see him becoming a Dean some day" - his role today was a far more interesting one (though he would clearly be terrific as a Dean - I'll stand by that ...).
And as we've been noting all day - especially since they added two portapotties to the site - this is our university's risible gesture at Free Speech - like a miniature Hyde Park Corner, I suppose.
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