Any Deep Springs applicants?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Deep Springs College
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<p>Governor Palin has the Party in the palm of her hands right now. What happens next is up to her. While she may not become the actual 2012 Republican nominee, she will assuredly have an important leadership role in the GOP: probably campaigning for candidates during the midterm elections, possibly running for Senate, and absolutely helping to outline the new direction of the Party. Everybody will be watching her next big speech, her remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February. She really knows how to deliver at these big moments. I really can't wait for that CPAC speech. It'll be intense.</p>

<p>Paleoconservatives and neoconservatives do share the belief in the value of "liberal democracy", but they don't really share much else, at least not in terms of foreign policy. It's an unbridgable gap; it's the difference between Ron Paul's foreign policy and John McCain's...they're each pretty much the archetypal representations of their respective movements.</p>

<p>Paleoconservatism was the traditional position of the Republican Party throughout most of the 20th century; only within the last twenty years has neoconservatism gained sway. Paleocons complain that neocons have hijacked the Party, and that's kind of true. Most neocons are former liberals who became disillusioned with Leftist economics after the failure of Johnson's Great Society project. They shifted over to the Republican Party, but still retain traces their former "pro government intervention" thought pattern, and it shows in the way they conduct their foreign policy. </p>

<p>Thanks for the book recommendations. I'll start Rawls over winter break.</p>

<p>Gahhh, I wonder when we will find out if we got into DSC. The agony of waiting...</p>

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<p>I'm going to have to disagree with your political history again, at least the nomenclature. :) I would divide conservatism into a couple different eras over the course of the 20th century, with different reigning ideologies during each period. </p>

<p>Teddy Roosevelt was sort of his own entity, in many respects a progressive, although its hard to fit him into a traditional conservative framework. The republicans after him, Taft through Hoover, all had a more or less uniform set of ideals though, pro-business tariffs with little other government intervention on the economic front. They were often social progressives though, with prohibition being passed despite opposition by democratic president Wilson. These are essentially protectionist/isolationist conservatives, with the interests of business superceded only by the progressive ethos.</p>

<p>The depression essentially marginalized the republicans when FDR took office, and he had huge majorities in congress. I would say the New Deal might be considered a turning point of sorts where the republicans became anti big government or at least railed against the democrats, but there were also considerable disagreements on what opposing the New Deal meant.</p>

<p>I think the confusion surrounding the New Deal could show some parts of a paleoconservative movement, but Ike emerged as a choice of the center right of the party (Rockefeller), and really that side of the party had control until the Goldwater/Nixon conservative thought gained control in the 1960's. I have a friend who always refers to that period as Intellectual Conservatism, which is a name I approve of, especially for Goldwater. These aren't exactly neoconservatives, put they certainly saw a role for diplomacy and anti-communist action, and a slightly more moderate social policy than the neocons.</p>

<p>After Carter, then the neoconservatives really began to hijack the party, so to speak with Reagan, Bush, Dole and Bush featuring prominently.Think supporting guerilla groups/dictatorships in South America, and then preemptive strikes more recently.</p>

<p>I do agree with you that Palin seems to feature prominently in the future of the party, but I personally would like to see Jindal bring about a second wave of a socially tolerant Intellectual Conservatism than Palin or Huckabee gain power. I know the American electorate is infamous for having a short memory span, but I can't help but think the mess Palin made of herself in that Couric interview might cast a shadow over her on the national stage.</p>

<p>As for the much more pressing concern of DS :P I would expect for the very first people to start getting phone calls either Friday afternoon or over the weekend, with calls continuing until Monday or Tuesday, based on what happened last year. I know last year the calls were roughly made in alphabetic order by last name, although there's no reason to believe that will be the case this time around. Best of luck to all.</p>

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<p>Haha excuse the broad historical generalizations in that last post... I was typing very quickly during a spare moment at work. </p>

<p>Jindal did go to some impressive elite schools, but don't look toward him for any sort of "socially-tolerant conservatism". Compared to Jindal, Palin's a secular liberal. This guy even openly supports teaching intelligent design in public schools. Not even Huckabee has gone that far. And what about the fact that he supports both the Patriot Act and the Real ID Act? Jindal seems to have even less concern for civil liberties than Bush does.</p>

<p>If Jindal won the nomination over Palin, I would either sit the election out or vote for a third-party candidate. Same goes for Huckabee and Guiliani. I might be able to accept Romney, although I'm very worried about his record of supporting health-insurance mandates. I'd vote for Romney, or some new up-and-comer, but I definitely wouldn't volunteer my heart out for any of them like I would for Palin.</p>

<p>Governor Palin is not just a pretty face or a populist spark. She is the intellectual leader of the party, and I'm really frustrated by the ugly combination of elitism and sexism that is combining to tarnish her public image. Sorry, but Palin is my hot spot, and it really upsets me when she doesn't get the respect that I feel she deserves. Let's change the subject before I start on a tirade that I will later regret. :) </p>

<p>We've talked enough politics for now. Anyone else care to share their essay #2 topic, or to raise any other conversation topic as we wait for this weekend's phone calls? Good luck everyone! :)</p>

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<p>Sorry for intruding here, guys, but I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying reading your posts! I have a son in college and a D applying this year, and I'm so impressed with how articulate, deep and well read you all are. If Deep Springs were reading these posts they would have to accept each of you. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Sufjan,</p>

<p>I just can't share your optimism about Palin, but I also agree we need to move on to a new topic. My stock line here would be "how 'bout that local sports team?" But that doesn't make much sense since we're not located near each other ;)</p>

<p>I think this could be a slow week with a lot of uncertainty regarding DS...</p>

<p>In reviewing last year's thread, it looks like the next token conversation we need to have is a discussion of musical tastes.</p>

<p>Recently I've been listening to a lot of Soul Coughing and Morphine, and a little bit of Big City Rock, Thirsty Merc, Beck, Warren Zevon, the Eagles, and whatever pandora comes up with...</p>

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<p>Which essay was your (plural) favorite?</p>

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<p>I love French music, especially the work of Yann Tiersen. He's a ridiculously talented accordionist and pianist, and he also incorporates some unconventional instruments like type-writers and window shutters. He orchestrated the soundtrack for the indie flick "Amelie Poulain", and I highly recommend both the musician and the film.</p>

<p>As a token Baltimorean, I also listen to the typical jam bands: Dave Matthews, OAR, Dispatch, Rooney... :-P</p>

<p>The first essay was probably my favorite to write. I enjoyed telling the story of my life, and I learned a lot from having to search for themes that would connect the various important events into a consistent narrative. I gained a sense of perspective and purpose that will stay with me for a long time.</p>

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<p>My favorite essay was the third one, the "Why Deep Springs?" essay. I started with the idea that "wisdom" should be the goal of an undergraduate education, and then proke that down into "practical wisdom" and "scholastic wisdom" with components of those terms explained. Then I applied that defintion of wisdom to the writings of Charles Eliot and Robert Maynard Hutchins and their curricula at Harvard and Chicago respectively. Showing that both of their educational philosophies didn't match my definition of wisdom, and then I discussed how Deep Springs did match that definition and would accordingly be the ideal place for me to continue my education...</p>

<p>For what it's worth, that was also the essay that received the most differing reactions from the couple of people I let read it. A handful of people thought it was overly analytical and shied away from telling DS about me too much, but another group said they really liked it. We'll see...</p>

<p>As far as French music, I'm a big fan of the lyrical exploits of Jean Jacques Goldman, although I could do without the synth pop backdrop that make an appearance in some of his songs. I'll definately look into Yann Tiersen, though I can't say I listen to much accordian music.</p>

<p>iforgot:
Are you applying as well? Care to share your favorite essay or the topic of your second essay or musical preferences or all of the above? :-P</p>

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<p>Great essay idea bdmoore. It's very original, and it definitely sounds like something that would hold the admissions officer's attention. :) </p>

<p>I like the idea of examining the personal philosophy of a school's founder, as you did with Eliot and Hutchins. It'd be interesting to also explore how much of the founder's original intent has survived in the present-day manifestation of each college. I know that Harvard and a lot of the other East Coast colleges were originally created with strong religious orientations...clearly most of that has dissipated away by this time. In one of my college guidebooks, "Choosing the Right College", I vaguely remember reading about some sort of sweeping wave of reform in the world of higher education during the 1960s, a trend of formerly-religious colleges drifting away from their Church ties. The history of higher-education institutions in the United States...it'd make interesting reading.</p>

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<p>Yeah, it was really interesting to research for that essay. Someone bought me a gift subsrciption to Harper's a while back, and that came with full access to the archives, and Hutchins and several of his contemporaries wrote a couple of articles back and forth concerning the methods that should be employed in undergraqduate education, just great foundation material from which to work. The thing I found most remarkable was that both Eliot (the Atlantic) and Hutchins (Harper's) published articles about how they conceived education shortly before assuming the presidencies of their respective universities and enacting major reforms, and those formed the basis of a lot of my essay.</p>

<p>As for moving away from the Church dominated curriculum, I think that for most schools the shift occured maybe in the 1860's, although the 1960's definately saw a lot of changes in higher education as well. Eliot's elective system really had dominence for most major universities until Hutchins took over at Chicago roughly from 1890 until 1930 (It's hard to place an exact date or even a year that the elective system became mainstream. The date Hutchins was named president doesn't really mark the end of electives dominance since his ideas faced considerable resistance, and even the core at Chicago or Columbia today isn't exactly what he might've wanted).</p>

<p>It would've been really interesting to have also incorporated Nunn's Grey Book into that essay, since it could've made it more symmetric, but I didn't have any material from Nunn I could quote. I think the only way to obtain a copy is to be a student, or at least I couldn't find any for sale online anywhere and wouldn't want to write apcom asking how I could get a copy...</p>

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<p>My favorite essay was probably the first one. But rather than write about my entire life, I limited it to one idea -- the influence that OCD has had on my religion, and vice versa.</p>

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<p>What religion do you believe in?</p>

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<p>I'm a Methodist.</p>

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<p>Nice, that is the religion I was born into. I never got too deep into it though because my parents weren't very religious...just occasional church-goers because it was the socially acceptable thing to do. I'd love to hear the thoughts of someone who has actually found a deep connection with Protestant Christianity. </p>

<p>If you care to share, how was your OCD affected your religious outlook/ vice versa?</p>

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<p>I saw a movie which made me especially worried about death. After seeing it, I wanted assurance that after I died there would be some "heaven."
My fear of death was so intense that I was at the mercy of "wanting to believe." I really wanted to be sure that some type of afterlife existed. I wanted to be a good Christian, free from sin. </p>

<p>My OCD really began in the part of your mind that asks those "what if" questions, those hypothetical questions which aperson may think "out of the blue," without any seriousness or prior belief in. </p>

<p>It started pretty simply. I might be writing something, and I'd notice that one of my "g"'s was written sloppily. "What if that 'g' represents God, and by having it written below the line I'm placing God in hell?" It wasn't that I actually thought that; I didn't actually think that the "g" stood for God, etc. I did, however, consider it so simple to fix, that I thought that if I did not fix it, God might take it as my not caring enough to do a simple action to disprove irreverence (i.e. "I know that this 'g' has no connection to God, but since I considered the possibility, maybe God will interpret my not fixing it as not caring to prove that I really do "love" him.") And so I fixed it.</p>

<p>But it just grew from there. For one, my handwriting is terrible. But it spread just about everywhere. </p>

<p>That shows how my OCD grew. Religion was a forum which I really wouldn't object to, and so OCD was able to develop there without being challenged.</p>

<p>On the flip-side, as I was constantly trying to "prove my religious sincerity," I'm sure that I did become more serious about church.</p>

<p>Eventually, I decided that I was being absolutely ridiculous, so I began dropping the charade.</p>

<p>My religious views have changed, too. In general, they are more liberal, although there is a special emphasis on a more "forgiving and understanding" God.</p>

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<p>Wow, I'm sorry that you had to go through all that.</p>

<p>I'm curious, do you still believe in Hell? If so, what kind of Hell...what will it be like, who will be there, what will happen, how long will it go on for?</p>

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<p>Is any one else getting nervous about notifications? Based on last year's thread, the first few people had found out if they'd been accepted to round two at this point. My initial estimate was that the first people would start finding out either tonight or tomorrow night, since the deadline fell on a Saturday this year, applications probably arrived at the college a day or two later than than they did last year... I'm not sure if that would change notification dates, but something to think about.</p>

<p>Probably everyone has seen this, but the website says: "During the second week in December, applicants will find out if they have been invited to complete Part II of the applications process."</p>

<p>Has anyone heard anything from DS? Please let the rest of us know :)</p>

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<p>I don't have any firm idea of what's "next." But no, I don't believe in hell.</p>

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<p>You mean it's not just like Dante's Inferno... and I was really looking forward to meeting Virgil</p>

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<p>What's your favorite book?</p>