Word: rahs
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Colorful IM bulletin boards in dining hall lobbies convey a friendly and low-key mentality that appeals to the reluctant athlete. Rah rah, go House, and maybe even win a game--that's what IMs should be all about. But in recent years, a separate attitude has emerged, proving the bubble letter construction paper sign-ups to merely be a part of the conspiracy. In reality, inter-House athletics are ruled by a vicious "take no prisoners" subculture that takes itself far too seriously...
These changes can't occur in a vacuum; public debate and scrutiny of the effects of technology are sorely missing in our rah-rah culture. It's not merely possible to question the Information Age without throwing the proverbial loom in the river--it's one of the civic responsibilities we bear in a sometimes brave, sometimes frightening, new world...
...sundry deans then spoke about the glories of student organizations, the history of the quest for knowledge and the wonders of living in a place occupied by generations of ghosts. The band played, the choirs sang and, after a handful of hip-hips for Harvard, a smattering of rah-rahs for Radcliffe, a few more prescient words and a "Bon Voyage!" from Rudenstine, the crowd disbanded as the first years set off on their journeys and adventures...
...rigorous intellectual standards in admitting students, then it grinds them into servants of the governmental and business elites controlling American society, democracy and capitalism. Its prevailing emotional standard, however, is simply to ensure that everyone is capable of making it alone. It's always been considered too corny, too rah-rah for Harvard to build a sense of community. We have no mascot, no real nickname, no football bonfires, no communal weeping for good old whatever. And while there are strong ties created among certain people within certain Houses, randomization causes only additional atomization and isolation...
...this official rah-rahism hides a blur of stubborn uncertainties. Atlanta, to an uncanny degree, is embodied by its amorphous, computer-generated, somewhat indeterminate Olympic mascot, Whatizit. The city seems a Whereizit that is both Southern and Northern, global and provincial, black run and white dominated--a liberal conservative small town done up in a three-piece suit. The two phrases most closely associated with Atlanta are, after all, "I have a dream" and "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn...