This view that the condition of man, be it race, ethnicity, or social class, cannot be changed for the better (or maybe even seen as better) basically resulted in possibly the worst days history has ever seen.

It is fascinating to me that they were so concerned with the buildings themselves. I would have thought that taking care of the buildings and the grounds would have been a given, but it was important enough to include in this document. Caroline Peterson

This description of the proposal for the lawn is very specific. Since I am in an aesthetic engagement currently, I noticed how the idea wanted it to be symmetrical. The lawn today is very symmetrical; sometimes if I'm standing in the middle by the lawn rooms and I can't see the Rotunda, I'm not sure which direction it is because both sides look the same. At most college campuses, some individual buildings are symmetrical, but in contrast, the entire plan for the layout of the university was symmetrical.

Interesting, that this sentence presents the notion that studying math and science is harnessed to establish and advance what is considered to be "the comfort zone" of human life.

Knowing that American principles shared commonalities with those of the ancient Greeks makes the choice of "Rhetoric" as one of UVA's classes no surprise to the reader. It would have been interesting to see what this rhetoric class was like; could it have been a neo-Thinkery, similar to that seen in Aristophanes' The Clouds?

Interesting that the writers of this document - who spoke English - referred to their own language as belonging to its primitive ancestor. Beowulf was written in Old English, which (if you don't know) looks absolutely nothing like the English in this document, let alone the English we speak today. Now think about how far a cry Anglo-Saxon is from modern English. To claim that "Anglo-Saxon" and modern English are one and the same would be to make an abominable oversimplification of the similarities between these two languages.

It is particularly noteworthy that the authors thought to use Anglo Saxon to teach about the development of language over time. Since this was the language spoken by most of the prospective students, tracking its changing history would provide an engaging demonstration of the dynamic nature of language. In other words, by using Anglo Saxon, students would be able to identity their own contemporary role in the timeline of an always developing language. Having this knowledge, students would (perhaps unconsciously) attain an understanding of how all art, not just language, can change meaning over time. This could help students in time grasp the developments occurring to their university which is, in many ways, a work of art in itself.

-Joe S.

I believe this sentence very accurately characterizes the intentions and the foundations of the New College Curriculum; The New College seeks to provide students with a core knowledge of the arts (especially how they are applied in our society) that can be further strengthened and complemented in studies of math and science should students so choose in the future. This sort of foundation, outlined in both the document and the mission of the New Curriculum, is important because it can allow students to examine a wide range of academic fields before studying concrete methods of applying those fields practically. Since I am taking the Art: Inside/Out Engagement, I also sought to interpret this sentence in taking "arts" literally to mean art in its various expressive forms. In this way, this sentence helps develop the important concept that art and maths/sciences in no way exist in conflict with each other; while many believe these two subjects to be on opposite sides of an academic spectrum, this section of the Rockfish Gap Report helps to remind that art and science can freely interact and engage with each other to work for the benefit of both.

I find it interesting that the University made it a goal to cultivate the morals of the students attending their school. They also stress how they want to instill the precepts of virtue and order. They want to achieve this, yet they based the location of their school to be around the centrality of the white population. I do not believe this is cultivating the morals of their students. This is narrowing their viewpoints, and not expanding on the multitude of cultures that lie within the United States.

The University set out a goal for the parents of young boys to begin their studies of the ancient languages at the year of age ten. This is an extremely young age, considering that the boys would be going to college eight years later. The minds of the young boys seem to be too young to be able to grasp this form of art. This correlates to my Engagement, Art Inside/Out, by focusing on the art aspect. Latin, Greek, and Hebrew are forms of art in the language aspect. This piece of art is powerful and intriguing; however, it may be too complex for the minds of ten year olds who are still trying to develop.