Orion Notes & Miscellany
With this issue of Orion we begin a number of changes to our barred critique of contemporary culture, as well as from his past
roster of regular columnists. Orion articles. “Upping the Stakes” will appear in every issue. Jay
Rebecca Solnit, who has written (whose feature article “Artifice v.
“From the Faraway Nearby” since 2003, Pastoral” appears in this issue) is the
is stepping down. Rebecca’s wide-ranging author of A Sideways Look at Time and
column has been an important part of Wild, which was awarded the inaugural
Orion’s landscape and we’re deeply Orion Book Award in 2007. Jay’s
grateful to her for her collaboration work—colored by her vantage from
with us. Rebecca is now a Contributing Great Britain—is characterized by a
Editor and we look forward to seeing wide-ranging intellectualism and deep
full-length articles by her in upcoming passion for the Earth. “Inside Out” will
issues of Orion. appear in every other issue.
In the next (April/May) issue, two Sandra Steingraber’s column
Derrick Jensen (left) and Jay Griffiths (right).
new columns begin: Derrick Jensen’s “Upping the Stakes” and “Each Other—Where We Are” and Bill McKibben’s “Small
Jay Griffiths’s “Inside Out.” Derrick is the author of A Change” will continue.
Language Older Than Words, Endgame, and many other books, We’re excited about these changes, and hope Orion’s readers
and is probably known to most Orion readers for his no-holds- will be as well.
ORION’S FOOTPRINT: Orion is printed on paper containing 50 percent recycled content, 25 percent postconsumer waste. Compared to
using virgin paper, our use of this paper avoids the release of nearly fourteen tons of carbon dioxide every year. Orion and the Orion Society
are carbon-neutral; we have offset all our estimated carbon production for 2009 through NativEnergy. For details, visit orionmagazine.org.
allowing me to see all the places in
between here and there. I’ve found there’s
profound adventure in traveling slowly, by
bicycle and bus, to places that are not very
far away. I stay home sometimes, when
I’m too tired to bicycle or the distance is
too far to accomplish in the time I have
available, and I very rarely regret any event
I’ve missed because I wasn’t able to jump
into a car and rush o= to attend it. In fact,
I feel more rested and happy when I allow
my transportation choices to restrict my
activities, and I get more out of the places
that I do go. My car-freeness is teaching
me to be more carefree: to stay home
more as Rebecca Solnit recommends, and
play quietly. Thank you for this reminder.
Janelle Black
Santa Rosa, California
As a sixth-generation college graduate, and a >fth-generation post-second-
ary researcher/educator, I have college
memories that go back over sixty years,
and appreciated Jason Peters’s “Destined
for Failure” (November/December 2008).
In the past thirty years, most colleges and
universities have evolved from centers of
learning, with >xed academic standards
and headed by ex-faculty, to >nancially
oriented corporations, headed by administrators who couldn’t distinguish
between Christopher Wren and
Christopher Robin. In my grandfather’s
time at Wabash, and my mother’s time at
Carleton, college presidents knew all of
their faculty, and entertained them at
dinner at least once a semester. The president’s duty was to act as a nucleus for
faculty, as well as to secure additional
endowment. Then the endowment was
dedicated as much to faculty chairs and
scholarships as to new buildings and
athletic facilities. Today’s corporate aca-
demic CEOs seem more concerned
with building campuses than endowments. Many don’t even know their own
faculty members. Because their new
buildings and athletic facilities add
operating costs, modern curricula and
grading standards are lowered to guarantee tuition by preventing failure. I
hear television’s talking heads rhapsodizing that America’s colleges and
universities are the worlds’ best; but
I’ve stopped counting grad students
who can’t write a cohesive, persuasive,
grammatically correct essay.
William Burgess Leavenworth
Durham, New Hampshire
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