Word: elliott
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Elliott drew from his academic work not just a sense of accomplishment or a fancy resume credit, but a new means of understanding himself and his most closely held beliefs. To his surprise, he discovered fewer real political divisions in American history than he had assumed existed. His interpretations rely heavily on theories first popularized in the mid-1950s by Louis Hartz and other members of the so-called "consensus school" of American history: "I really think political philosophy went out with Jackson, or sometime in that era. When industrialism imposed upon us a new set of ground rules...
...joined the undergraduate Republican Club but left after encountering what he calls "some unbelievably crooked politics for a silly little campus organization." Equally unattractive to Elliott was the small circle which produced the now apparently defunct Salient, a right-wing periodical. "I had a sense of approval that there was some discussion going on, some of it intelligent, says Elliott. "But...they wanted to be snide and defensive and 'intellectual.' "He didn't sign on. "I guess I enjoy politics much more when you feel you're having some sort of impact--not on world events but on whether...
...Elliott has maintained a small circle of close friends here, and they have joked since freshman year about the entrenched conservative attitudes he arrived with. "He was the first person I'd met who I disagreed with on everything," says Kathy Wohl. "Oh, yes," laughs her roommate Lisa Mensah. "I think Tracy was as shocked by us as we were by him sometimes. "They exchanged teasing gifts over the years, Elliott sending Wohl a red, white and blue license plate declaring, "God, Guns and Guts Made America/Let's Keep All Three." The two women, meanwhile, still laugh over his admission...
...That Elliott would come to defend his world view against Harvard liberals still seems like something of a fluke. He applied to only one other school--tiny Hillsdale College in northeast Indiana, an institution popular in conservative circles for its free market philosophy and refusal to accept federal financial support. But Harvard Basketball Coach Frank McLaughlin happens to be a long-time family friend and convinced the dubious Bremenite to submit an application here. "I knew nothing about Harvard except that it was THE great school," says Elliott, who at a stocky 5ft. 10-in. showed no promise...
...shot in the dark" hit its mark, and Elliott trekked east, "convinced I would get all C's, if not all D's, and that there would be a good chance that I would fail out altogether." He quickly overcame his fears with a plain old all-American effort: "I studied my rear end off." He amassed mammoth outlines of lectures and readings, particularly in American history, which became a new obsession. "I loved it once I got used to it. It was just exceedingly exciting. I ended up doing quite well for a guy from Bremen...