By Annie Fehrenbacher
2005-06 Gargoyle Co-Editor-in-Chief
Posted Tuesday, June 27, 2006, The OG, opinions

There are a number of aspects of Uni that I could fawn over, but I've never found sap very appetizing. There are equally as many aspects of Uni that I could criticize, but nothing is worse than leaving the table with a bitter aftertaste. So rather than composing some narcissistic list of quips and grievances, I've decided to use this space to pay tribute to one department that embodies everything that I love about Uni.

When I began rummaging through my Uni memories, I found that a large part of who I am today is a result of influences from my history teachers. Every one of them has made a profound impact on me in and out of the classroom.

I found myself continually drawn to electives and extra-curriculars sponsored by the history teachers: Anthropology, World Since 1945, Big Show, Activism Club, GSA. I even traveled to Greece with Mr. Vaughn and Mr. Butler and to Mississippi with Mr. Butler and Mr. Sutton. Climbing ruins in Delphi and ladders in Clarksdale are memories that I will never forget, but even more valuable were the days I spent in the classroom with these teachers.

Needless to say, information in my Uni history classes was not always consistent with what I'd been taught at the Lutheran school I attended for eight years before coming to Uni. From day one of subbie history, I found myself caught up in an intrapersonal struggle to sort out which interpretations of history I believed to be true.

There were times when I wanted to shed off every fragment of my moral upbringing, but these teachers taught me to learn from my past rather than childishly turning my back on it. They taught me to view the world through the eyes of a skeptic but to react to it with the heart of an optimist, to acknowledge and celebrate differences but to learn to look beyond them, to question my beliefs but not to completely renounce them. Perhaps most importantly, they taught me that the world can always use more humor.

The history department has been a huge part of my stint at Uni and has strongly influenced my aspirations for life outside these doors. I cannot express how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to learn from such an incredible group of teachers. It will be a sad day in the Uni community when these teachers are all retired and the second-floor office is merely a remnant of the past.