Accomplishments

Hey folks--

this is the thread for patting ourselves on the back after a semester of hard fun.

what have our successes been, collectively & individually? you don't have to be a separatist to contribute. also, feel free to take personal credit: you worked hard, didn't you? if yre bashful, anonymity is welcome as always.

and yes, schoolwork totes counts. but be specific.

Dream big,
GS Read on...

The Battle for Free Speech

Perhaps the administration thinks we're board of free speech and content with occasional announcements, or at least that we're happy to confine our free speech to private conversations and print newsletters like this. Well, our student predecessors several short generations ago fought tooth and nail to express themselves bigly, colorfully, and in public. The governors of Westlands and Bates were not too fond of the spectre of graffiti that could haunt their preciously landscaped and architectured campus, not to be sullied with the images and voices of the actual students themselves, so they offered a consolation prize that students could freely decorate and defame a square of plywood next to the dining hall entrance to match said's plywood cuisine. ----- And what did we do? We forgot. We the Sarala students, who have won many battles only to graduate and allow victories to fade with passing batons. Meanwhile the Free Speech Board (for yes, that is its official title) has become a useful offline venue for publicizing events when almost none exists (save the back of this page). Those of us reclaiming the board for its original use certainly don't oppose publicity--we'd love more ourselves. But we'd ask that announcers please not paint events a week in advance. We're tagging daily, and it slows communication. Let's coexist, and choose our battles. Perhaps for now we should paint single sections of the board, leaving others open. And I, the writer of this blurb, would like to humbly request that we taggers try not to specifically offend announcers or subvert their announcements in bad taste (as has happened). We shouldn't build bad blood before we've built anything else, especially not twixt students. The more room we have to express ourselves the less we'll wrestle for space. One last word: are our overseers afraid of what tour groups or parents might see? Are they ashamed of us? Aren't we who this place is for? Read on...

Scenius

Brian Eno coined the term "scenius," or collective genius. The root idea is that when certain criteria are met, a "scene" develops its own momentum, creative energy, prolificness. . . In a time and place characterized by scenius, the group of people involved develop their own collective style, elaborated individually by each participant. They influence each other at a rapid pace, and in fact are one another's greatest inspirations. Often individual famous artists we remember were inextricable parts of such scenes. Think the Beats. Think the Italian Renaissance. You get the idea.

Several ingredients for scenius, illuminating why it's so spontaneous and tough to replicate:

* Mutual appreciation -- Risky moves are applauded by the group, subtlety is appreciated, and friendly competition goads the shy. Scenius can be thought of as the best of peer pressure.
* Rapid exchange of tools and techniques -- As soon as something is invented, it is flaunted and then shared. Ideas flow quickly because they are flowing inside a common language and sensibility.
* Network effects of success -- When a record is broken, a hit happens, or breakthrough erupts, the success is claimed by the entire scene. This empowers the scene to further success.
* Local tolerance for the novelties -- The local "outside" does not push back too hard against the transgressions of the scene. The renegades and mavericks are protected by this buffer zone.

Something to aim for. Check out Kevin Kelly's blog The Technium for more. Read on...