The Scroll

I say it every year in the middle of our ThreeSixty Journalism Workshop at St. Thomas (concluding last Friday) for high school students who come here to try their hand at reporting, writing, photographing, editing and designing:

I’m getting too old for this stuff. It’s like trying to herd cats.

“Nim, No one’s calling me back.”

“I don’t how to get started with this story.”

“Nim, I didn’t know the sound wasn’t on.”

“No, I didn’t get his last name. Do I need it?

“Nim, I think I left the tripod at Lake Harriet.”

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Posted by Dave Nimmer at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The sound of opportunity knocking at St. Thomas this week is the sound of the wrecking ball. Construction on the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex has begun with the demolition of large campus landmarks. The benefits later next year will be huge and apparent to all of us. Lee and Penny Anderson are providing the community with an opportunity that supports enhanced campus life, sports teams and recruiting.

Economists always insist on looking at the costs as well. That’s what makes us so popular at parties. And when we say costs, we mean all the costs. For our chief financial officer and Development, the nine-digit, out-of-pocket costs are the main thing, but for those of us who tie our memories to the campus, there are implicit costs as well.

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Posted by Susan Alexander at 05:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Editor's note: Doug Hennes, vice president for university and government relations, contributed this guest column to The Scroll.

After four years and 185 games, a college baseball career had come down to what might be one final at-bat for Dan Leslie – and, for that matter, for his dad, Tim.

The Tommies’ third baseman stood at the plate with one out, the score tied 2-2 and teammate Matt Olson standing on second base in the bottom of the 12th inning of the NCAA Division III championship game. Wooster All-American Mark Miller had pitched the entire game, holding Leslie hitless in five trips and inducing him to ground into double plays in the 8th and 10th.

“I went for a walk after those innings,” the elder Leslie said. “It was very frustrating.”

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Posted by Doug Hennes at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the class of 2009 graduating on May 23, I’m curious about what the graduates took with them – lessons, experiences, insights – as they encounter these challenging times in the “real” world.

What I recall when I left the University of Wisconsin was that I wouldn’t have to struggle through a poem whose meaning eluded me, nor would I be expected to stick my hand in the air to answer a question about the required reading, at least not at 8:30 on a Monday morning.

»Read more of "Our graduates are thinkers, seekers, listeners, givers"

Posted by Dave Nimmer at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Editor's note: Doug Hennes, vice president for university and government relations, submitted this guest column to The Scroll.

Two weeks ago Wednesday, Erik Olson pitched five innings for the St. Thomas baseball team in a 5-0 win over St. Mary’s University, keeping the Tommies in first place in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Eight days later, Olson was in United Hospitals in St. Paul, undergoing a series of tests for what were determined to be blood clots in his right index finger and his brain, and suffering a mild stroke in the process.

Thursday morning, Olson sat in the stands of a baseball field in Oshkosh, Wis., watching two teams play for the right to advance in the NCAA Division III Midwest tournament and square off against his Tommies that evening.

How does one go from being a pitcher on a nationally ranked baseball team to a stroke victim to a spectator – all in just 16 short days? It has been mystifying to Olson, who has maintained a rather calm and reflective demeanor through it all.

»Read more of "Stroke doesn't knock out this champion"

Posted by Doug Hennes at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)