Unity of Place

Ultimate Frisbee. Will is in the white on the right!

Currently music is blasting outside my room in Carothers as people play ultimate Frisbee and mingle at the Honors Quad Picnic. Having a hard time concentrating, I realize that this is why I am here! I am here for that fun sense of community: for the wonder of finding unity in one of the largest universities in the world.

“Snow, Fall leaves, small classes, an international feel, a fantastic study abroad program, an inviting study body, and liberal arts”—this is the exact phrase I used to describe some of the characteristics I wanted for school on most of my college applications. Obviously, UT does not encompass all these physical characteristics. I would be thrilled if it snowed here or if all of my classes were small sized. The University of Texas is the only large, public, or Texas school I applied to. Nevertheless Plan II does, in fact, offer the above criteria. Plan II creates the perfect mix as it makes community and an inviting atmosphere in the midst of the large university offering all the boundless opportunities that only a big institution can.

View from a college I applied to

Our roadmaps and continual pilgrimage highlights this importance of place in our lives. For me, UT is, beyond a doubt, one of greatest places to find history and tradition and to discover a harmony with people and the world. I agree with Newman’s idea for the site of a university as he asks, “ What has a better claim to the purest and fairest possession of nature, than the seat of wisdom?” (315). As I was applying to colleges last Fall, I looked for schools located in the middle of forests and mountains, on rocky ocean cliffs, and atop windblown hills. I believed that my college experience should be one accompanied by the awesomeness of nature, similar to what Wiley speaks of. Living on UT’s campus though I find that this university does have a claim to nature. Similar to Wiley, the shady trees and occasional cool breeze grace me on my way to class, and the clear stream I walk over on my way to Art History soothes my eyes. UT feels surprisingly removed from the city-life of Austin by these small touches of nature. In fact, the city of Austin itself is a claim to nature. Located in the beautiful Texas hill country, driving on roads in Austin I sometimes feel that I am in a different state. Even the unique population is an experience of human nature.

It is the landmarks on our campus, however, which make me want to find unity and community here at UT. The Tower is not only a marker and time-keeper on campus, but also a rallying point for special events and school pride. The bell music we hear between classes brings us together and the orange lights, or lack thereof, are a symbol or victory and defeat. Learning about the international and historical elements of the Tower furthers the meaning of this special structure. The various alphabets of our ancestors and other cultures and the gothic stained glass window hint at the history of the university. It seems to encompass the passions of a university.

These very passions in the end are what I am here for. “Viewing many things at once as one whole, [. . .] of understanding their perspective values, and determining their mutual dependence” (310) is what the Tower does on campus. Plan II unites these passions in a liberal arts education. But my trouble is picking and choosing from passions and areas of study. Like many Plan II-ers, I have many interests and do not know exactly which passions I want to develop. At the same time, however, I often simply cannot pinpoint on particular interest because I have been trained to follow guidelines and not think creatively. For instance thinking of a role model for me took hours, and creating projects for my Modes of Reasoning class is arduous. Yet I want to learn for the sake of learning which is what the discovery learning seems to strive for. Like R. L. Moore says, “that student is taught the best who is told the least” (343E). I am here at UT and in college for the learning and sense of unity that takes place by figuring out how the world works with those around you rather than from a textbook.