Comments on David Dunn’s letter to Jimmy Byrd

From:
Graduate Theological Society
Vanderbilt University
Josh Davis
David Dault
David J. Dunn
To:
blah blah
blah blah blah
The following proposal, offered at the invitation of Professor Byrd, is an attempt to offer
a solution to a problem often noted and variously expressed among Vanderbilt’s PhD
students, a problem that will be exacerbated by the loss of carol space at the library.
Even the careless observer will note the lack of a space designated for use by PhD
students in the GDR. We congregate in the refectory until the lunch rush hits. Teaching
fellows meet hold office hours with their students in empty classrooms. While the lounge
is intended to be a place where students can study and hold meetings, it cannot
accommodate both. Students end up competing over whether to use it for meetings or
quiet study. It is certainly not a place where students go to relax (the room is too
“stuffy”).
While none of us is glad to see Dan and the bookstore go, we recognize that his departure
presents the GDR with an opportunity to expand the current GDR lounge. While the
details of such an expansion will need to be worked out in further meetings, we envision
a space that first of all can give GDR students a place to congregate and relax. This
would certainly require some of the décor to be cleaned up and updated, perhaps
including some hardy plants, small fridge for lunches, and a microwave. Second, many
GDR’s studying for exams or working on dissertations find the carol space at the library
to be indispensable. Since the renovation will include the removal of those carols, the
GDR could install private carol space in what is currently the bookstore. These need not
all be carols with doors that close, but may also include office cubicles. Finally, we
would be interested in seeing if any remaining space could be used for a shared TF office,
a place where teaching fellows could meet privately with their students on a rotating
schedule. Such a place would be more recognizable to our students, give us more
credibility, and help maintain the confidentiality of our students more than the open tables
at the crowded refectory.
CONCLUDE

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Response to Dunn on “Fasting as Economic Resistance”

Write your responses to David Dunn’s paper, or Chad Maxson’s response, in this thread.