I recently re-read Steve Zimmer (class of 1992)’s October 3rd 1991 piece; Of Birds and Words, for a different upcoming Quindecim article, but I also wanted to respond to the philosophical side of his piece. Below are some of my thoughts, which do not necessarily represent SGA, ECO, Quindecim, or any other organization for which I am an officer or member.
For context, in 1991, Steve Zimmer was the President of the Student Government Association (SGA). The SGA was trying to convince the Goucher administration of a number of student priorities including “diversity and moving towards a more multicultural community,” prioritizing student quality of life, and reducing paper-waste. After years of conversations, then-President Dorsey and some of her administrators pushed rhetoric matching what SGA had been saying in what he describes as a “tape-recording” fashion. Zimmer, my favorite Q writer, argues to be skeptical of the words of the administration, and to continue to fight to make sure that promises are kept in a timeline that is reasonable to students. His argument is crafted into the simile of a bird crashing into a window.
Zimmer starts to clarify his allegory with the following: “Simply, things are not always as they appear. Even the seemingly unobscured shortcut may be laden with dangers that lurk just beneath the surface. We have one important advantage over birds: the ability to be skeptical. Skepticism is the art of taking a perceived truth and turning it over and over with a critical eye then drawing an informed conclusion about whether the ‘truth’ is actually as it originally appeared.” We have the ability to know and act before we end up crashing like the birds that are currently hitting the windows of Van Meter.
I would argue that on many fronts the current student body finds itself in a similar position and should consider reading Steve’s writing from the 90s. For the juicy details of where I believe these concepts apply, please read part two which is published online.
The last part of Zimmer’s piece talks about the power an individual has on campus: “I give the[m] kudos because without publicity or drawing any attention to themselves one person identified a problem and took simple direct action to rectify the situation. This is precisely the direct action us glory-hungry social activists make big speeches about. And it worked. The birds now recognize glass for the danger it truly is and fly over the Habit Trail, not into it. One person has affected change. The message here is that it is not us podium-pounding attention-seeking “leaders” from the SGA, Cause, ECO, etc. that are going to make a difference. It is each and every one of you, recognizing the need for change and taking action, not in the name of a club, but in the name of making a difference. What we need are more individuals who have the courage, creativity and conviction to put up a piece of paper when a piece of paper needs to be put up, to affect change when changes need to be made.”
I share this quote as I find it inspiring, and I hope that the modern Gopher can live up to the vision that Steve Zimmer lays out. We should be the “Inspiring Global Changemakers” Goucher claims it wants. This can be done in any way you wish– supporting protests, something small like holding the door open for others, or writing a Quindecim article to draw the community’s attention to a problem.
We in the Goucher community should take more direct action rather than try to be a “podium-pounding attention-seeking ‘leader’’ (in the words of Zimmer) that are usually ineffectual. Now is the time to take the direct action that you know will help make our campus better.
If any member of the Goucher community needs help to make positive change, you can reach me at Max.Ravnitzky@goucher.edu, or via my SGA email at SGAAcademics@Goucher.edu, or at the ECO email at ECO@Goucher.edu.
If you are Steven Justin Zimmer (class of 1992) or anyone who can help connect me to him, please reach out to me.
By Max Ravnitzky ‘28
Featured Image Source: The Quindecim via JSTOR
