Kerala Model of Development

With only two weeks left in term four classes, my academic workload has nearly doubled. Just last week I completed two research papers. And yet, I still have three papers, a group project, and a portfolio to complete before the onset of summer break.

Of my recent projects, my favorite to work on was a paper for my comparative third world government class. In this essay I examined the Kerala Model of Development in India. To elaborate, Kerala is one of the twenty-eight states in India. In Kerala, leftist parties have been in power for a number of years and as a result, the earmarks of human development are comparable to that of the United States. In addition, Kerala has been called a model in sustainable development for third world nations. Here is an excerpt from my paper.

“Sustainable development has been defined as, “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability if future generations to meet their own need.” Govindan Parayil provides examples of just how Keralans participate in environmentally responsible practices.

Electricity in Kerala is produced exclusively from small to medium scale hydroelectric projects. Large-scale deforestation did not take place as a result of these projects. Energy for cooking comes, mostly, in the form of bioenergy, which is derived from household plots and renewable marginal forests and hills. Although the acreage of the rain forests has declined from pre-independence figures, popular campaigns to preserve the existing forests seem to be successful. It appears that the energy use and consumption pattern is stable and sustainable.”

Cait

P.S. Here is a picture of me and my best friend. Her family is from Gujarat, India.

“Second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning!”

A cast of wonderfully talented individuals, including two staff members, from Warren Wilson College performed Peter Pan this past weekend. The run of the show was Thursday through Sunday – and the Saturday night show sold out! It was the best show Kittredge Theatre has seen in many years – at least according to some. Director Charlotte Lawrence, student at Warren Wilson College, chose to direct Peter Pan as her senior project. Some had doubts about the show, but as of this weekend, all of those doubts dissipated when they saw Never Land brought to life in Kittredge Theatre.

As a member of the cast, playing Tiger Lily and Liza, I can tell you it was not easy … but I can also tell you that it was worth every minute of late nights, long fight rehearsals, and lack of energy. It is a lot of work to be in a show, but it was so rewarding. The cast had wonderful energy and a great connection – we were all so excited about the show that it turned out to be a total success! Made up of Peter’s shadow (Asha Disu) cackling as she tried to keep away from Peter, Heely shoes to make the children and Peter fly, a mermaid who attacks Wendy on Marooner’s Rock, a very talented crocodile who crawled across the stage more than once each show, fog that covered the stage, and many other very talented people bringing Never Land to life for those who came to the theatre! One of my favorite parts was the kids that came to see the show. They were all so excited, and they got scared during the right parts and excited during the right parts. It was a blast. One little boy came running up to Peter after the show and gave him a huge hug saying, “I believe, Peter! I believe!”

Charlotte Lawrence, a student here at Warren Wilson, directed the show and a wonderful job she did indeed. We presented her with a bouquet of flowers after the curtain call of the last show and several of us were crying. It was such an overwhelming success!

Theatre here at Warren Wilson is open to anyone and everyone! Students auditioned, even if they are not part of the theatre department, as did faculty and staff. David Mycoff, who played Captain Hook, is a professor at Warren Wilson, and Ian Robertson, who was the narrator, is the Dean of Work. The rest of the cast was made up of students, and a wonderful group of people it was!

Congrats to the cast and crew! I’ll miss Never Land, but it lives on in our hearts forever.

Adrianne

Work Day

There are certain things I didn’t expect to do at college. One thing that wasn’t necessarily at the top of the list, but definitely on it, was group mulching. And that happens to be something that Wilson has helped me cross off.

Work Day is an age-old tradition here at Wilson. It celebrates one prong of our Triad through a day dedicated to serving the college as a community. The day begins with reporting to your respective crew and partaking in whatever your crew supervisor has in store for you. Here in Admissions, that means we deep cleaned the office – windows, carpets, bathrooms. The entire office was buzzing with cheerful activity, and even our admissions counselors got down to the floor to help out.

At about 11:30 came what is arguably the best part of Work Day – the food. We had a real, honest-to-goodness picnic on the admissions patio, complete with eight pints of ice cream (please consider – eight pints). After eating a remarkable amount of food (we had to get our strength up for the day, you see) we set out to Gladfelter to get a group picture with all Work Day participants (including our two beautiful draft horses, all rigged up) and split into groups.
My group mostly consisted of my advanced Spanish class, which made for a bilingual mulching adventure. We had been given a huge pile of mulch, dozens of buckets, a few pitchforks, and nearly thirty people to repair the trail by the pond and meditation hut. Somehow I ended up with a pitchfork (which produced lots of jokes about religious studies majors and our trustworthiness) knee-deep in a pile of hot, damp mulch. As soon as a bucket was filled, it was thrown into an assembly line with shouts of "Cubo! Cubo!" Each bucket was tossed on the upswing, caught in the air, and effortless passed military-style until being dumped on the trail. Two layers of mulch and some invasive species removal* later, the trails were looking gorgeous.
After hours of hot, dirty work we celebrated our way to the pavilion, where we were greeted with food from our dining hall (our barbecue tofu is probably the top most reason I will never leave Wilson) and sweet bluegrass tunes, complete with dancing. Following work awards for our exceptional student workers, Work Day officially came to a close. But you can't end such a productive day with anything other than leaping off the rope swing into the pond with your friends as the sun sets over the farm. Oh, sweet work college. You give me so much.

Michelle

* A word on invasive species removal - against what I believed to be common sense, this is not, in fact, weeding. There were groups (not, mind you, effortlessly) yanking full-grown trees out of the ground to make way for native plants. Also on their list to remove were vines which I believed to be part of the actual tree before its removal. These plants are creepy.

April Showers Bring...

April showers bring May flowers! And what do May flowers bring?
College decisions!!!

It is spring and the flowers are blooming, the baby cows are romping around in the pastures of the Warren Wilson College Farm, the weather is getting warmer, and high school students around the country are trying to decide which college they want to go to in the fall! I remember the spring of my senior year of high school trying to decide between two colleges. I had been accepted at what had become my top two schools and my father was trying desperately to get me to come to Warren Wilson College. I had every intention of going to another college, but when my it came right down to it, Warren Wilson had all the things I wanted. My admission counselor at Warren Wilson answered all of my questions in more detail than I ever could have hoped for and she painted a realistic picture of Wilson, pointing out both the pros and cons. She made the decision easy for me – Warren Wilson it is! It was hard though … the application process, waiting to hear back from the colleges, being denied from some and accepted to others, then visiting colleges and picking one to attend for the next four years of my life. It was a big decision, but it was the right one and I am very happy here at Warren Wilson.

My advice for picking colleges? Listen to your parents because they usually know you better than you think and they might just have a good point or two. But – follow your instincts and go with your gut feeling. If you visit a college, no matter how much you like it on paper, and it doesn’t feel good – forget it. The college itself makes all the difference in the world. Warren Wilson felt great when I came to visit and here I am!

Good luck with all your decision!

Adrianne