I am sad to report that Goddard College, my alma mater, announced on April 9th this year that it will be closing for good at the end of the current semester.
When I first heard the news, I felt kind of numb. Within a few days, I realized that my feelings were similar in some ways to having lost a parent. Goddard College was the first community I lived in where I felt accepted for who I truly am, rather than be coerced to conform to a culture that did not fit me. I was 22 by the time I started my first term there. Up until that time, I endured public school, a conventional college, and being drafted to serve in the US Army.
Goddard College was like not only a breath of fresh air, but a place where my heart began to truly heal after the pain it endured up until that time. Alas, by the time I graduated, in 1975, the world around had begun to sink back into its old ways - competitive, restrictive, and fearful of diversity. It has taken the decades since to finally start to resurrect itself and resume a path where rancor, competitiveness, and avarice is replaced by, cooperation, sharing, and love.
When I first heard the news, I felt kind of numb. Within a few days, I realized that my feelings were similar in some ways to having lost a parent. Goddard College was the first community I lived in where I felt accepted for who I truly am, rather than be coerced to conform to a culture that did not fit me. I was 22 by the time I started my first term there. Up until that time, I endured public school, a conventional college, and being drafted to serve in the US Army.
Goddard College was like not only a breath of fresh air, but a place where my heart began to truly heal after the pain it endured up until that time. Alas, by the time I graduated, in 1975, the world around had begun to sink back into its old ways - competitive, restrictive, and fearful of diversity. It has taken the decades since to finally start to resurrect itself and resume a path where rancor, competitiveness, and avarice is replaced by, cooperation, sharing, and love.