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Is it true that
the program
colors all
aspects of life
at St. John’s?
If so, how?
The program has
subtly manifested itself
in every aspect of
student life, and I think
it’s great. The male
intramural team whose
color is gold is called
the Guardians (a
Republic reference).
The newspaper is called
The Gadfly (a Socrates
reference). Club leaders
are called archons, a
Greek word that means
leader or beginning.
Also, because everyone’s
read the same books,
they come up all the time.
Everyone lives and works
and plays together; there
is no difference between
academic and personal
life. We don’t just think
about the books and the
ideas in class, but we
really are learning and
thinking outside of class,
every day. For me, I love
talking about these ideas
with my friends. I find
that I discover what the
books are really saying
to me, something that I
can only know once I’ve
talked about what the
book is saying.
Ms. Hannah Pasternak ’12
Livingston, New Jersey
Extracurriculars: Jewish Students Union archon,
Hebrew language study group, Jewish thought study
group, admission tour guide, Kunai women’s sports
Future plans: Undetermined
What character-
istics make for an
effective tutor?
Every tutor has his or
her own style and
expectations from the
class, but one thing all
great tutors have in
common is a sincere
investment in the opinions
of their students. They
are curious about what
their students think
and are committed to
understanding their
students’ points of view.
They want and expect
to learn from their
students. For example,
my freshman mathemat-
ics tutor had taught
Euclid to freshmen five
or six times, but every so
often he would excitedly
exclaim that we had made
him think of something
he’d never considered
before. This is real
evidence of why our
faculty are called tutors
as opposed to professors:
they truly are, and see
themselves as, part of
the learning process.
They share our passion
for the works we read,
and they allow them-
selves to grow intellectu-
ally as much as we do.
Ms. Hannah VanHoose ’10
Highwood, Montana
Extracurriculars: Intramural sports, chorus,
Delegate Council representative, waltz and swing dancing
Future plans: Graduate school for Russian and East
European studies, work with government agencies