Stop-Loss

Last Monday night in my Men & Masculinities class I started class with a PowerPoint I had constructed with some of the latest statistics from the War in Iraq.  With over 4,000 service men/women killed there so far I wanted my students to better understand the impact of the war.  The average age of the 4,000 dead is 21...  Over 50% of those killed are under the age of 25.  1 out of 6 is under the age of 21.  I then reminded them of just how old they and their friends are.  It was a sobering moment for all of them.  If one were to ask me of my "teaching philosophy" I suppose I would respond that I attempt to take the content of each class and then personalize it for my students.  I have always found that students learn better when they are connected to their subject matter.  In Abnormal Psychology I always ask them how THEY would react if they or someone they know/love has a particular disorder which we are studying.  That personalization helps them to remember the material AND to learn its components much better than merely "memorizing" facts, concepts and vocabulary.  As my students in M&M were "personalizing" this War, I then had Tim Warren, a junior political science major speak to the "cost" of this war on the Iraqi's.  He spoke of their deaths and of the lack of basic services [70% have no running water - only 22% of the water treatment facilities are functioning - there is little electricity and no education and few jobs].  I don't know Tim well but have been very impressed with him as he came into a class full of seniors and presented both controversial and disquieting information.  I then had Matt Howard, who is an Iraqi War veteran and a member of IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against the War - speak.  He shared a video from Winter Soldier: Itaq and Afghanistan which was a three day event during which veterans described in detail some of the things that they had done as members of the United States military.  There was little coverage of this event by mainstream media but I had seen much of it on Public Television which DID cover it.  Matt is a fascinating young man who has started taking classes at SMC.  While he is NOT our typical first year student as he is a bit older and much more experienced in the world than most of our students, his message is so powerful because he IS one of our students and he has served honorably in our military and served in Iraq and Kuwait.  I think that one of the things that hit home for my students was just how young (and how much like them) Matt is.  He will be speaking this Monday night to the Psychology Club on the psychological impact of this War.  Three of my students went to see the movie Stop-Loss following class that night and I have talked with each of them and found how much they were impacted by this movie. I hope, as I mentioned in my last blog, that everyone goes to see it - as disturbing as it is, it IS important for us not to forget that this war is continuing.  If we are to understand Post Trumatic Stress disorder (PTSD) then this movie is the vehicle for that understanding. 

I had not heard from my friend Alan (SMC '01) for some time and was worried about him. He was stop/lossed and is back in Afghanistan.  We write back and forth regularly and I have referred to him in previous blogs.  I shared this concern with Alex and Colin, who had seen the movie Monday night after class.  On Thursday I received TWO letters from Alan.  One he had written and mailed February 20th - the other March 16th.  I then remembered that this past summer it had taken three MONTHS for a letter to get from Afghanistan to Williston, Vermont.  It angers me that our politicians seemingly go in and out of Iraq/Afghanistan at will but we can't get a letter from one of our soldiers back home for three months?  At the time this past summer I wrote to Senator Leahy asking his office to check into this.  Perhaps the next time John McCain or Joe Lieberman or Lindsey Graham or Condoleeza Rice or William Gates or Dick Chaney travel to Iraq or Afghanistan they can make sure that they take a mailbag in and another one out.............................................  Maybe it is just me but it seems the least we can do is to provide our service men/women with mail.......

On a more positive note, I attended the Wyclef Jean concert on campus last night.  It was a huge success with over 3,000 tickets sold.  Sponsored by the Student Association and "programmed" by our two Secretary of Programming gurus Colin McSherry and Steve O'Neil (newly elected SA President for next year - congratulations Steve) it was an exciting night and a huge "rush" for both Colin and Steve as they were invited up on stage to introduce Wyclef Jean to the crowd - the event was co-sponsored by a local radio station and the DJ clearly appreciated the hard work done by Colin and Steve so wanted them recognized as the true organizers of the concert.   Security was tight as it always is for any large gathering of college students and while there were a few (small minority) who made some seriously bad decisions prior to coming to the event, everyone seemed to have a great time.  It WAS humorous to see both Dean Mike Samara and Buff Lindau - Director of Public Relations "wanded" by security to make sure that they weren't bringing in any cans or cameras to the concert......  "People watching" is one of my favorite pasttimes and just watching the expressions on the faces of my students when they see their "professor" standing at the entrance to the concert is worth the time spent at the event.  I also got to see my wonderful niece Maggie who drove up from CT for the concert - her friends kept coming up to me asking if she was here yet or telling me that they had seen her and then, there she was, standing in line with everyone else along with her best friend from here Anne Maher.  It was great to see her. It was also wonderful to see Fr. Tom Hoar (SSE) here - he is a member of the Trustees who are here for the weekend.  I have not seen Fr. Tom in some time and he looked great.  He is in Mystic, CT and doing well.  He told me that Jeff Anderson, another former student is now working for him in Mystic.  Jeff and his wife's "second child" ended up being triplets - what a wonderful Dad Jeff must be as he was such a good and caring person when he was here.  Speaking of babies, I got a phone call yesterday morning from Kainne Hansbury who told me that he and his wonderful wife Stacie are expecting their third child in October - hummm since Kainne is a twin, perhaps they, like Jeff, will increase their family exponentially.   

It is a cloudy Saturday morning here but the sun is supposed to shine around noon - I will be heading over to the women's lacrosse game.  Sara Biondello is in my Sports Psych class and was also in my Abnormal Psychology class last year.  She is on the team and made a point of asking me to go to the game so I will head out there this afternoon.  It is also Accepted Students Weekend here as families whose son/daughter have been accepted here are making one last visit to make up their minds.  I fully know that I have a very prejudiced view on all of this however, after 26 years here I still think that this is an amazing community, a place so many call home and a place where you can get an exceptional Liberal Arts education.  Good luck with your decisions.............................

take care, be well and see Stop-Loss at a theater near you................ please.....

Dave

 

   

Comments

[Anderson]

I saw Stop-Loss Thursday night with my wife and we liked it. There were only two other parties with us in the movie, a group of young guys and a group of young nannies (from Germany I think). So unfortunately I don’t think as many are seeing.

http://www.tomhcanderson.com/2008/04/05/21-superhero-movie-run-fat-boy-run-and-stop-loss-marketers-battle-over-gen-y-18-24-year-olds-on-facebook-and-myspace/#respond

[DaveLanders]

When I saw it in Williston, VT there were about 30 people there - it was the first showing the day it opened. Hopefully more of us will encourage everyone we know to view it. We simply have to understand the impact that "others'" decisions are having on all of us. As a society we are not prepared for these soldiers to return to us - therefore, they will be "wounded" again and again and again. Thanks for your comments.
Dave