McIntosh Gallery in the Winter

   A couple of days ago, I did a post about "Stratford in the Winter" and I am lazingly using the title again for this one. It is still winter after all and I am again recommending something local which you should have a look at and, in this case, also listen to. McIntosh is closer than Stratford since it is on the campus up at Western and it too welcomes the general public and is open all year.

The Sound of Music in the Mountains
  The exhibition, "Glacial Resonance" opened on Friday, Jan. 19, with an "artist-led exhibition tour," which we missed, but the exhibition will be around until March 16.
I learned of it, too late, from Western News and it is to that publication you should turn since Ms. Ferguson's description in it is a good one and I would start with it, rather than the formal exhibition notice that follows. Be sure to listen to the audio.

“Melting Glaciers Main Muse for McIntosh Installation by Paul Walde: Works by Former London Artist and Western Grad Explore Impact of Global Warming," Keri Ferguson, Western News, Jan. 16, 2024.

   The description of the exhibition offered by McIntosh is here: "Paul Walde: Glacial Resonance." Mr. Walde is a northern Ontario boy who went to Western and is now at the University of Victoria. Here is part of the description:

Raising environmental awareness through art

"Glacial Resonance" brings together Paul Walde’s iconic 2013 project Requiem for a Glacier with his newest video and sound installation Glacial. Both address concerns about land use and the impacts of the climate crisis, 10 years apart, with glaciers as the primary focus and an urgent sign of the Earth’s tipping point to an irrevocably changed climate....

Glacial is a meditative durational experience, sharing distant vistas and extreme details of the Coleman Glacier at Mount Baker (Kulshan), in Washington State, along with the sounds of the glacier melting, modified through musical instruments used as speakers. Over the course of five hours violin, viola, cello, double bass, bass drum, and a cymbal fitted with sonic transducers transform field recordings into tones which form the basis of the composition and act as conduits for the glacier to communicate resonant frequencies."

A New Director at the McIntosh Gallery

  I also learned from Ms. Ferguson, who seems to write a lot for Western News, that Lisa Daniels becomes the new director on March 4th. 

   I was talking with another Western retiree the other day and he mentioned missing the old printed Western News, where such items are found. The link to the current issues is provided and if you click on "All News" you will find over 860 of them dating back to 2008. Additional backfiles of the publication and the University of Western Ontario News and the Western Times are found on The Western News Archive.  (While I am at it, here is The Gazette.)

Post Script:

   On the website of the McIntosh Gallery you will also find a list of the publications produced and of the past exhibitions. A couple of years ago, I commented about one of them - "Lepidoptera in London." As a ""Bonus" I offered for us oldsters a guide related to gender terminology and lavatories. 

   Back in 2018 I wrote about a controversy involving The McIntosh in the early 1980s. See this post: Jasper Cropsey. Skip the long part about "The Chagall Conundrum" and go directly to "The Cropsey Controversy" where you will learn that the sale of this painting caused quite a ruckus. Let us hope that Western doesn't have to sell Brescia.

If you want to see the "Backwoods of America,"  you now have to go all the way to the backwoods of America in Arkansas and visit Crystal Bridges. I did, a few years back, see: "Amazing Accomplishments."

Pawpaw Redux

 

The Groves of Academe

   I just wrote about the Pawpaw tree ( in, Edible and Available in Ontario), knowing that the subject of pawpaws is very popular and will attract readers. Overlooked in the sources and references provided were some which were found close by,  along with some actual pawpaw trees! I am pleased that the campus at Western now has some, along with additional sources you should now consult. 

   I happened to visit the campus by bike recently and noted all the construction activity. That led me to search the Western website to see what was going on. That is when I discovered the pawpaw sources and trees of which I was unaware. It appears that the Western landscaping crews are as active as the construction ones. 

   Start with this good article from Western News: "Indigenous Tree Bears Rich History, Culture for Western: Rare Pawpaw Brings Hope For Healthy Ecosystem on Campus," Mari-Len De Guzman, Sept. 30, 2021. Since the article came out at the beginning of the academic year it may have been overlooked. Here are some bits; read the entire piece.

"A new set of pawpaw (Asimina triloba) trees have been planted on UC Hill near the Physics and Astronomy Building recently, in the hopes of increasing the campus’s biodiversity and promoting a healthier natural ecosystem....

The five pawpaws planted this past summer, each measuring about a metre in height, add to the unnumbered pawpaw trees already growing on campus, mostly in the Middlesex College area....

As stewards of the campus landscape, Western’s landscape services plants about 200 Carolinian or native trees on campus each year. The pawpaws were among 203 trees planted this year, including bitternut, black gum and other....

Enriching plant biodiversity across campus is part of Western’s commitment to sustainability outlined in its new strategic plan. Western is also home to thousands of tree species and has been officially designated as an arboretum.

The image above is from the article. Thanks should be offered to Mr. Vanden Huevel and the landscaping crews the next time you visit Western. 

For additional background see: "Planting the Seeds of Sustainability: New and Enhanced Gardens Build on Western's Natural Beauty and Biodiversity," Keri Ferguson, Western News, June 24, 2021. 

The Sherwood Fox Arboretum was established in 1981 and more can be learned about it by clicking on the link provided.  And, even more is offered by the Department of Biology. 

Post Script: 

    Dr. Sherwood Fox was a president of UWO and a classicist as well as a naturalist. I have mentioned him before. You will find him in the post about John Muir since President Fox wrote about Muir's time in Canada. He also wrote about "The Old Grand Bend Cut" and is mentioned in the post about "Parks Along the Great Lakes." He also wrote about the BATS in his Muskoka cottage and the large flocks of PASSENGER PIGEONS which used to exist and President Fox is found in those posts. 

The Bonus:

   The Groves of Academe seems like a suitable subtitle for this post. Doubly so, since it is also the title of one of the most famous 'campus novels.' The son of the author of it taught for years at Western and is now retired.

 

Lepidoptera in London

 

    It is a rainy day so I will attempt to catch up on my blogging. If the weather continues to be dreary you might consider a trip up to the campus at Western where you will find at the McIntosh Gallery the exhibit "Insect as Idea." It is on until June 18th and the Gallery is open from 10 til 5 from Monday to Friday and from 12 to 4 on Saturday. 

   It was on a Saturday that I visited and I was the only visitor at the time. The campus is especially pleasant at this time of year and you will also find it so, as long as you avoid the convocation ceremonies.

   That is a picture taken by me at the top and the text below is part of a description found on the wall.

To get an impression of the exhibit, you are better off looking at the sources provided next:

"McIntosh Exhibit Buzzes With Colourful Fusion of Art, Science: Insect Specimens From Western’s Zoological Collections Converge With Contemporary Art in Nod to Beauty in Biodiversity," Keri Ferguson, May 5, 2022.

The CBC provides this: "The Beauty of Bugs and Biodiversity on Display at Western's McIntosh Gallery: Insect as Idea Exhibit is Blending Art and Science to Showcase Insects Under Threat," CBC, Michelle Booth, May 22, 2022.

Insect as Idea: Carl Beam, Christi Belcourt, Catherine Chalmers, Andrea Cooper, Aganetha and Richard Dyck, Jude Griebel, The Institute of Queer Ecology, Jennifer Murphy and Amy Youngs:Featuring insect specimens from the Zoological Collections, Department of Biology, Western University

  You may have noticed in the CBC piece that "insects are under threat." That is true and a serious problem. For more see these three posts: "Insect Elegy;" "Insect Apocalypse" and the bottom portion of "Birds and Bugs."

The Bonus:

   The McIntosh Gallery used to have in its collection, "Backwoods of America" by Jasper Cropsey, the sale of which was rather controversial. See: Jasper Cropsey. 

    If you are an older alumni you will see some changes on campus and not just those related to the buildings. You may have noticed above, for example, The Institute of Queer Ecology.  I happened also to find this mysterious (to me) lengthy initialism mentioned on the Western website and will explain it for those who are as ancient as I. Apparently Mental Health Support is available to all, including those who are: LGBTTIQQ2SA+. I assume the + means there are more to come. 
    To translate: LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, TRANSSEXUAL, INTERSEX, QUEER, QUESTIONING, 2-SPRITED, ASEXUAL. And to translate further - "2 Spirit"  "a term used within some Indigenous communities, encompassing cultural, spiritual, sexual and gender identity. The term reflects complex Indigenous understandings of gender roles, spirituality, and the long history of sexual and gender diversity in Indigenous cultures."

  I am not sure what this means in terms of bathroom facilities. There used to be rooms for "Males" and "Females" and I do know there was some controversy about bathrooms specifically for "Faculty." I think they have all now disappeared.  I didn't have to go, so I can't help you. In the old days, this could have been an example:

Now here are some suggestions you might find on the bathroom doors:

Or: 

Campus Corner

     
     Here are a couple of university-related items I will attempt to post quickly before the sun shines.

1. Retirement Communities on College Campuses

     You are correct, I have mentioned this subject before, but will do so again because there is a good article about one of the latest examples which will soon be found on the campus of Purchase College (SUNY). Why colleges would be interested in old codgers and why retirees would be interested in roosting on a campus are questions answered in the article and in my earlier posts. Among them:

"Purchase is one of a growing number of colleges sponsoring retirement communities on campus or thinking about it. It is a marketer’s dream, monetizing spare land, while milking the baby boom generation’s affluence by appealing to their obsession with staying forever young."

"The schools say their motive is more educational and social — encouraging intergenerational mixing — than financial. But the communities promise a new revenue stream for institutions that are coping with reduced state operating support and declining college enrollment in many parts of the country. They are bringing a new generation (or old generation) to campus to fill classes, eat in dining halls, attend student performances and become mentors."

     Among the other schools mentioned are Arizona State and Lasell University near Boston.  If you look at my old post you will see examples ranging from Cornell and Dartmouth to the University of Florida and the University of Michigan. Additional articles and Canadian sources are also provided. In short, if this subject is of interest see:

Sources:

"At Colleges, What's Old Is New: Retirees Living on Campus," Anemona Hartocollis, New York Times, Sept. 10, 2019.

This blog: "Retiring Back to University: Bucolic College Towns".

To learn more about the Purchase College example see "Broadview - Senior Living at Purchase College.

2. Not A Touching Moment at Western

     You may recall that I posted about HEADLINES and how they can be misconstrued if not clearly written. The one that follows is fairly clear, but some readers could understand it to mean that London police were summoned because finally something less than crass happened on campus: "London Police Investigate Touching Incident."London Free Press, Sept. 8, 2019.

3. University Rankings

     The latest Times Higher Education rankings were released and there were many headlines such as this one in the Canadian papers: "Top Canadian Universities Rise in Global Rankings," The Globe and Mail, Sept. 11, 2019. There were many additional headlines issuing from those campuses that did well. Unfortunately Western did not. 

     Credit should be given to Western, however, since it was noted in a campus publication that the university had dropped out of the Top 200. Usually in such cases, universities only note the good news.

See: "THE [Times Higher Education] Reveals World University Rankings," Jason Winders. Western News, Sept. 13, 2019.

Post Script:

     There has been a lot of news from Hong Kong lately, but I have not seen any mention of the Ivey Business School Asia, which is located there. The times appear to be a bit rough for universities offering graduate business programs and surely the disruption there cannot be good for the School. I have seen no mention of it on the Ivey or Western websites. Years ago the local paper would have picked up on such a story, but, like most communities, we no longer have one. 

Expurgations (2) Illegal Aliens

Undocumented Immigrants

Under discussion here is the phrase “illegal alien”, not any policy issues relating to that subject. Actually the subject of “illegal alien” is likely to disappear even if the phrase does not. Let me explain.

In my attempt to keep you au courant about language issues I indicated to you a few weeks ago that the phrase “automobile accident” is now generally frowned upon and should be avoided. That is now the case with “illegal alien” which is to be replaced  in polite circles with “undocumented immigrant”. The story begins on campus as many language stories do, this time at Dartmouth. A student being assisted by a librarian was apparently looking for material related to immigration matters and noticed that they were typically led to the subject heading “illegal aliens” which, as a formerly “undocumented immigrant”,  she found offensive.

She took the issue to the Dartmouth student group, CoFIRED (Coalition For Immigration Reform, Equality and DREAMers) which is also concerned with such tenets as “intersectionality” and “inter-community.” They then asked the Dartmouth library people to change the heading, only to realize that they were not in a position to do so since such terms are determined by the Library of Congress. The phrase ultimately found its way to the American Library Association where it was decided that it had to go. The resolution to replace the term with “undocumented immigrants” which  was sent to the Library of Congress contains about a dozen Wheras’s and here are a few samples:

“Whereas the terms "illegal" and "alien," when used in reference to people, have undergone pejoration and acquired derogatory connotations, becoming increasingly associated with nativist and racist sentiments;”

“Whereas referring to undocumented immigrants as "illegal" is increasingly viewed as dehumanizing, offensive, inflammatory, and even a racial slur;”

“Whereas college students have petitioned the Library of Congress to retire the subject heading Illegal aliens;

Etc.

The Library of Congress ultimately agreed to move to more neutral subject headings such as “non-citizens” and “unauthorized immigration”.

Although Library of Congress subject headings do change over time, there has been some opposition to this one since it was viewed as being motivated more by political than linguistic correctness.  Representative Diane Black (Republican TN) released the following statement:

“This needless policy change by the Library of Congress embodies so much of what taxpayers find enraging about Washington. By trading common-sense language for sanitized political-speak, they are caving to the whims of left-wing special interests and attempting to mask the grave threat that illegal immigration poses to our economy, our national security, and our sovereignty. My constituents know that illegal immigration by any other name is still illegal, and we should identify it as such. That is why my bill directs the Library of Congress to continue using the term ‘illegal alien’ just as they were previously. Hopefully this bill will give Washington the push needed to stop thinking up the most politically correct ways to describe illegal immigration and start thinking about solutions to address it,”

Soon after in May, four Senators (Ted Cruz being one) wrote a letter accusing the Library of being on an “Orwellian trajectory” and concluded with this statement:
“There is no other way to put this: the Library has bowed to the political pressure of the moment.”

Representative Brown has introduced a bill called the Stopping Partisan Policy at the Library of Congress Act which demands that “illegal aliens” be kept as a subject heading.

I confess that I was not sufficiently sensitive. I assumed that perhaps those included under such a description were mainly objecting to “alien” which can be related to rather scary characters in Japanese sci-fi movies. The term “alien” legally has a long history and refers basically to any foreigner or outsider. “Illegal” as a word also has a long history, but it is now argued that it should not be applied to a person.

In any case, we seem to have come a fair distance. When looking for instances of the phrase historically one often comes up with headlines such as this: “Plans Set to Round Up Wetbacks…” Los Angeles TImes, June 13, 1954.

For sources see:

“The Library of Congress Will Ditch the Subject Heading “Illegal Aliens”, Erin Blakemore, Smithsonian.com, March 29, 2016.
“Another Word for ‘Illegal Alien’ at the Library of Congress: Contentious,” Jasmine Aguilera, The New York Times, July 22, 2016.

“Library of Congress to Stop Using Term “Illegal Alien,” Steve Padilla & Selene Rivera, Los Angeles Times, April 3, 2016.

Real Trigger Warnings

Texas and the Campus-Carry Law

It is highly likely that discussions at colleges and universities about such things as the use of semicolons by Shakespeare will be somewhat muted in Texas after Aug.1, when concealed handguns can be carried on campus. It was recently pointed out in the Chronicle of Highly Sensitive Education that some suggestions were made at the University of Houston about how faculty might deal with this new situation. Supposedly the PowerPoint contained these ‘bullets’:

You May Want To:
1) Be Careful Discussing Sensitive Topics

2) Drop Certain Topics from Your Curriculum

3) Not ‘Go There’ If You Sense Some Anger

4) Limit Student Access Off Hours

While deep in the heart of Texas they are likely very happy that the students will now be safe when they do their shooters, there have been, as there usually are, some unintended consequences. Mr. Richard Ford, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, decided not to give a guest lecture at Texas A&M University for which he would have been well-rewarded. Lest you quickly draw the conclusion that Mr. Ford is against gun ownership, you should know that that is not the case. Both he and Mrs. Ford used to carry pistols (as liberals who had been frequently mugged) and they both still enjoy sporting pastimes that involve heavy weaponry. But, he is anti-NRA and for saner gun laws and, like most Americans, holds views about the subject that are “complicatedly divergent.”

Although I was joking when I presented the title of a journal above, the rest of this is no joke. Ford expressed his views much better than I could present them here and you can find them in “Richard Ford on America’s Gun Problem,” Financial Times (UK), March 18, 2016 and the issue is frequently discussed in the Chronicle of Higher Education.