When a place is labeled beautiful, the reference can be to the natural surroundings, or the man-made plans and architecture. Brown's campus, and the surrounding College Hill area of Providence, is one of the prettiest spots when both criteria are considered. Surrounding the main campus area are gates representing different graduating classes. The above engraving is a verse written by a member of the class of 1887. While Dante's Inferno warns with that classic line: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here," the graduating class of 1887 chose to welcome all future undergrads (the exact population who reads Dante) with the promise that they have found the gate into a place where hope endures... not because success is sure or rigor is upheld, but because of good fellowship, cheer, and help.
We love walking around college campuses, especially in the evening when that titch of freedom falls and forms a layer on top of the day's expectations.
We drove to Cape Cod today, and on our way we stopped in Providence where we enjoyed dinner on Thayer Street, quickly appreciated the historic houses along Benefit Street, took a picture of our gnome outside of the Smoke Shop, and of course strolled around campus (though we couldn't get in to one of the greens because of a student folk festival that required tickets).
Though founded a few years earlier, Brown University has been at its current location since 1770. That was before we were even an independent country. American history is certainly easy to get excited about in New England. Our original plan for today was to stop outside of Boston to visit historic Revolutionary War sights (Lexington, Concord, etc.). However, due to the manhunt happening in connection to the Boston Marathon bombing, we decided to just keep driving. History in retrospect is almost always interesting to think about, history in the making can often be too overwhelming to make sense of. I read an article about a vigil held on Wednesday at Brown -- I value the optimism found in the conclusion:
"She [the university's chaplain, Cooper-Nelson] followed that with a call for silence, 'until our bells call us back to the happy and joyful chaos of the sounds of this green and of the love we share here.' The bells tolled for a full minute and then Cooper-Nelson declared, 'May joy return.'"
There did seem to be joy and optimism on the campus -- college students are like walking sparklers sending out little splinters of light and life... I think The Sister felt dorky walking around her peers with an entire family in tow, though we were vindicated when three cool kids smoking on a stoop said we were the most fashionable family they had seen (it might have been the dorms for the blind or something, because for the record: we aren't by a long-shot, but I'm grateful to them for their cute remark because it made The Sister feel slightly better about the gaggle she had to wander around with). We went and checked out the Van Wickle Gates. They only open twice a year -- inward in the Fall on the day the freshman come, and outward in the Spring when the graduating class leaves. Traditions are treasures. Teenagers graciously enduring their families are treasures. Having Van Wickle as a last name would be a treasure...
