Picking the fruit of knowledge from a rock garden

“Yes, I’ve heard about the form. I think it’s been implemented to tighten security.”

“I don’t like it either, but we’re going to have to live with this one.”

“POINT OF ORDER!” From the back of the room came a hand, followed by a presence, this one a speech professor whose greatest contribution to Academia was to have memorized several books of parliamentary procedure.

“What is your point of order?”

“Kenneth’s statement about the number of copies, while important, is out of order. It’s not on the agenda.”

“It seems like an important point, considering the geometric progression of paperwork we’ve experience this past year.”

“But it’s still out of order. Perhaps he could discuss it during our open discussion session at the end of the meeting.”

“Your point is well taken. Let’s move on.”

“But this is an important policy.”

“Maybe we can discuss it later. Next on our agenda is a proposal from the campus beautification committee. They’d like our opinion on their plans for the West Quad.”

For the next fifteen minutes, we discussed the wisdom and follies of a rock garden versus a plant garden in the West Quad. Plant Garden defeated Rock Garden, 21-16, after a heated debate.

At 4:53 p.m., on the first Friday in May, the last Faculty Senate meeting of the year after slightly more than two hours of important policy-making decisions, adjourned. Not only was It the last Faculty Senate Meeting of the year, it was also the last committee meeting of any kind of the year. Not a departmental meeting, nor a curriculum committee meeting, not tenure, sabbatical, space and facilities, not anything. Three months without one motion, amendment, discussion, or group therapy session. The chairman, deans, and vice-presidents would spend part of their Summer to load their ammo, but wait until the Fall before they would fire their barrage of recycled trees. For now, it’s just a remembrance that higher education doesn’t necessarily refer to universities.