This post is a response to the Spec op-ed, Moving on. Read it first, if you haven't already.
I assert that Columbia has not one, but two whales. Our first whale---blue in color---was uncovered last year by Caroline. The blue whale, in her words:
There is an idea here at Columbia that happiness and kindness are not only un-intellectual, but they are anti-intellectual. And uncool. It is as if unkindness (and, I would argue, unhappiness) has become a validation and a wellspring for both intellectual superiority and general self worth.
The blue whale is still around, but after (read this link especially!) an outpouring of initiative the past year, we now openly acknowledge the blue whale's existence. And in the spotlight, if only a little, the whale has, indeed, retreated.
There is, however, another whale. Its shadows brush the surface of visibility, but its existence and size are undefined. I am talking about the big ass green whale.
