Comments on: Cake week, Monday edition: Reefer badness!

By: Historiann

Historiann — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 04:24:20 +0000

The Denver Post identified the proffie this morning. She's an Assistant Prof.

By: Indyanna

Indyanna — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 01:58:46 +0000

Well, I got through a final session with the grad. students today in which they brought the food and I brought the pretend-wine. I gnawed my way through an entire cupcake while narrating the story about the prof. in Boulder who kept going “in-and-out of consciousness” after having the brownie, which amused them no end. Everyone left the room under hir own ambulatory power, so I guess all’s well that ends well. They did wince a little when I mentioned that Officer Huff was predicting some serious slammer-time for the orchestrators of this incendiary plot. I know the U. doesn’t want to identify the personnel involved, and rightly so, but this *was* a history class, right? You can’t help but wondering which one.

By: Rad Readr

Rad Readr — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:21:10 +0000

Re: your final point in the story. Report from the field: no, they (or at least mine) do not want to get away from parents. If they suffered the discomfort of going away, they often move back after graduation. It’s at least a 30-year at home commitment now.

By: cgeye

cgeye — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:23:55 +0000

During Junior Tutorial, our adviser served us tea and scones — then again, she believed in civilized living, and had a side-gig as an interior decorator. Earl Grey tea, raspberry scones and clotted cream… memories….

By: Historiann

Historiann — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:21:40 +0000

Heh. Yes, this Joy does include the squirrel recipies. I’m sorry I was so dense about your cold war point, Matt. Now I see what you were getting at.

Knitting Clio: it’s not a problem if that’s your style! (And, of course, you refrain from poisoning people. . .)

By: Knitting Clio

Knitting Clio — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:06:21 +0000

Well, I read this after baking cookies for my graduate seminar students. I don’t really see a problem.

By: Matt_L

Matt_L — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:56:26 +0000

Historiann,

I was thinking of the cold war in terms of the optimism of the current undergrads in comparison with the insouciance of gen-X. After two generations of duck and cover drills, fear and vigilance may have metastasized into cynicism and indifference in gen X. I think the current crop of students are justifiably optimistic in that the US faces no existential threats other than its own negligence.

I think that you are right, there are a lot higher expectations on parents these days. Plus there is this whole weird subculture where the parent is also supposed to be a friend and confidant. I find that creepy. I remember talking to my parents about a lot of things, but not everything!

And you have the righteous version of the Joy! …the one with the cocktail recipes and instructions for skinning a squirrel. I have the lame 1990s edition that has all the healthy living low fat bs in it.

By: loumac

loumac — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:40:32 +0000

I smoked plenty back in my 20s (grad school in California Then recently I ate one bite of a pot brownie, and almost died: paramedics, ER, the whole business. What had changed was that I was taking a particular medication which in rare cases has been known to interact lethally with THC. Do be careful, all!

By: squadratomagico

squadratomagico — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:29:48 +0000

Ooooh! I am fascinated by this insight about graduate students’ relationships to their advisors. I was incredibly independent as a grad. student, but I always appreciated the fact that my advisor was there when I really needed help. I considered that *part* of my professionalization: learning not to panic, but to solve problems on my own before turning to her. But my experience with some (not all) grad. students now has been that many need a lot more hand-holding than was the case with my cohort, back in the day.

By: Indyanna

Indyanna — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:07:31 +0000

Maybe we should have a three day plien-aire festschrift conference for these “wolves” who we were raised by, at the old Woodstock site in Bethel, NY. With a ten thousand page “book” of collective tributary howls to the whole pack, downloadable to your favorite device.

I once went to a Simon and Garfunkel concert in a circus tent with my mother, who was for all sorts of driver’s licensing and insurance clause reasons the emergency chauffeur of necessity, and then at the last minute–who would of thunk it?–the party-crashing, ticket-buying fellow audience member!! Talk about a “first death” experience; but I guess parentality was no picnic either, back in that day. That was all the helicoptering that we got, if I remember right.

Good point about class, college, and differential justice!