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From Adam Scioli's "The Old Boys' club," Fall '93 From Adam Scioli's "The Old Boys' club," Fall '93 The scene was Homecoming weekend. While alumni were busy strolling down memory lane with their old college buddies, many members of this year's senior class were noticeably overcome with anxiety. Although I do not have my life perfectly mapped out, I do not share the panic. I'll admit that it was a thrill to finally see a strong showing of "school spirit" and even better to see McGeehan, Stokes and company ruin our dear, intellectually superior friend Keith Elias' season. However, Homecoming had a most unusual effect on me. In fact it was a rather eye opening experience that sparked some serious reflection upon these past four years and what I learned about the general nature of human beings. I had a friend who graduated last year staying with me for the weekend. It was rather strange seeing him walk through the door with a suit and briefcase, but I knew that he was the same guy that I drank Red Stripe with every morning in Jamaica last spring. He was back to have a great time and watch his old gridiron teammates work their way to an undefeated season and Ivy League title. So we did the usual – Smoke's, Backstreet, Cav's, and back to Smoke's – two nights in a row. But this was unlike any other party weekend I had experienced to date. Although I had a great time drinking and carousing, I began to wonder whether I would return for next year's Homecoming. What was most disconcerting for me was witnessing the abundance of half-hearted conversations that transpired over the weekend. "Old pals" walked away from one another before actually hearing the answers to the questions that they ever so caringly asked. Unfortunately, I do not believe that these pathetic displays of indifference can be written off and blamed on overindulgence in the merry revelries of a Homecoming victory. No, sadly I'm afraid that the attitudes I saw my friend encounter were nothing more than an extension of what most all of us experience each time we return to school after the summer or scurry down Locust Walk on the way to class. People stop to ask, "Hi, how was your summer/weekend/life?" but most are too consumed with themselves to truly care what is going on with their fellow man and woman. It is with this indifference where education has failed society miserably and where, in turn, society has failed itself. When I was in high school, the truly formative years of a complete person, I was taught of the virtues of man. The Jesuits instilled in me a sense of community in its mission to raise us all as "men for others." I learned that competition was healthy and a necessary ingredient for motivation and excellence. But above all, I learned that advancing one's goals at the expense of another person's happiness and dignity was outright selfish and indecent. It seems that we as a society have lost sight of anything resembling a common good. We speak too loosely about a "community" without really giving thought to what it means to live in one. Take this example as case in point. In a recent Political Science class a professor of mine discussed the history of the discipline. He explained that the Political Science Department was originally based in Wharton. The discipline was at one time very hands-on. Students would actually go into their surrounding community to affect change for its betterment. In fact, I was taught that the founding fathers intended the Wharton school to be "an army of social workers." What could be further from the truth today? Can you imagine how few students would actually consider transferring into the Wharton School from the College knowing that they were being groomed as altruistic social workers? This certainly would have cut down on the black eyes many of us seniors have received from the elbow swinging of those trying to drop a resume in the Arthur Anderson box. Sure, it's very easy in today's world to get swept up in this cut-throat tidal wave. But when you take a step back and realize that being true to yourself and your personal values is more important than just getting ahead, it is even easier to recognize how pathetic and misguided the masses can be. We need to return to the basic values inscribed on the crest of our University: Leges Sine Moribus Vanae. We must all realize that anything performed or undertaken without a committment to decency toward all is senseless. I for one am looking forward to moving on and leaving Penn. I have enjoyed many aspects of my college experience, not the least of which are the true friends I have made. I desperately need a respite from what has apparently become the misguided modern day education. I have grown tired of being told what to read and indoctrinated with how to think. I am sick of always being conscious of keeping the "wise" professor's viewpoints in mind while I transform my own thoughts into words to be judged and graded. I have come to recognize the frustration associated with being a student. Of producing nothing and having no real input. Of being held responsible as an adult at times and being treated as an infant when convenient to suit the needs of my "governors." I only hope that my next encounter with academia will prove more fulfilling, and instill in me a greater confidence in human beings. Then and only then, will I happily return to Penn for a real Homecoming victory. Adam Scioli is a senior Political Science major from Rockville, Maryland. The Old Boys' Club appears alternate Thursdays.

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