Pickles, Northfield House, Social Change ...?

Our refrigerator has a paper with a running tally of quotes on it. Some of them came from our time cooking, some from excursions outside the house, but one thing remains constant: all our quotes came from extensive conversations with our housemates.


Lincoln Manor, or "THE Manor," as Jeanne Willcoxon calls it - "Do you have a butler?" she asked us - thrives on conversation. The third point on our community goals lists asks us to share our stories and listen to the stories of others. Our first Community Conversation built a foundation to discuss the internships and research projects that define our days. 

The frustrations and impressions of our projects kept the same general tenor: the desire to make an impact was incredibly tangible, though coupled with the frustrations with bureaucratic obstacles that impeded us from doing so. We questioned our places in the organizations and our abilities to mold ourselves into a preexisting structure so that we could actually make a difference. That sounds very St. Olaf-esque, doesn't it? "Ask not what the world can do for you; ask what you can do for the world," right?

But serving the world is often far from instantly gratifying or certain. Our conversation revealed fears about the long-term sustainability of our programs. For those working in direct service, how could their two month internship truly make an impact? Those in research positions questioned the future of their findings and whether the project would carry on past the summer. 

These questions of impermanence threaten to overwhelm us, but not to worry: Oles are equipped to recognize their passions. Despite the struggles we have already encountered in the first week, all of us were able to articulate a firm desire to learn more about the obstacles we faced, whether it was an ideological disagreement with a coworker or a bureaucratic obstacle that threatened permanence.
We ended with a question of positivity and of balance. How do we, as researchers or interns, accept something as a norm that "always happens" and balance that with the question, "What can I do about this obstacle?" 

For one, we can begin by continuing to engage in meaningful conversations as a household, whether or not those conversations result in memorable quotes. We can create new social norms (like eating ice cream during our community conversations) and break our own norms (#2 on our community goals list). 

The first - and possibly most memorable - quote to go on the wall was this:
As expressed by Jake Hauschild on our first night at home: "I've only swallowed one pickle in the last twelve years."

If you want to understand the story, ask Jake yourself! Until then, we hope the conversations flow as easily as the memorable quotes do.