my 26 students, and I don't know them very well. I don't know the gossip, the traumas, the daily events. I teach my class and go home. Once, RC was home.

And of course, in some ways it will always be home. I have loved my semester teaching in RC. It has been wonderful to teach with Fran and the other Core faculty. It was flattering to see how excited Dr. Calhoon was to hear me give a Core lecture. It was a joy to re-establish friendships with Fran, Murray, and Betty. And it was nice to be back in a place where "liberal" is not a dirty word!

The students are smart (smarter than I remember being as a freshman), curious, and fun to teach. And yet, as familiar as RC feels to me, I'm glad to know that it wasn't too familiar. I'm glad to know that the program is evolving and growing and thriving under a new group of students. And I'm glad to know that I have grown and evolved and thrived since a group of RC students started unpacking my family's car when I arrived as a nervous freshman at Mary Foust Hall.

Down to the Wire

Over the summer each student room in Mary Foust was wired with two computer ports and a smoke detector. Now students can access internet either from their rooms or from our computer lab without having to use modems. Because all the wiring for these projects was run down the hallways, the hallway ceilings were lowered to cover up the wires, and acoustical tiles were installed.

Manifest Destiny

Things are going well with having the twenty RC students located in Guilford, and nobody at Guilford seems to have a problem with RC taking over part of the space. One or two of the RC students there might move to Mary Foust next semester if vacancies occur, but some of the students there have even asked if they can continue to live in Guilford next year. Next year there will also be space there for students who finish the RC program and want to live close by. Supposedly Residence Life will convert two of the student rooms in Guilford into another seminar room that could be used for RC classes.