Month: January 2022

Wishing you all the best for the upcoming semester

By renowned editorial cartoonist Thomas Nast, circa 1874: 

Caption: “An Ass, having put on the Lion’s skin, roamed about in the Forest, and amused himself by frightening all the foolish Animals he met with in his wanderings.”

“In this cartoon, artist Thomas Nast reacts to a series of editorials in the New York Herald criticizing what Herald owner/editor James Gordon Bennett Jr. considered to be President Ulysses S. Grant’s bid for an unprecedented third term.

“The image of the featured cartoon was inspired by, and the text taken from, one of Aesop’s fables, “The Ass in the Lion’s Skin.” … To Nast, the New York Herald is not a roaring lion to be feared, but a braying ass to be ridiculed. The reference in the to “Shakespeare or Bacon” is a jibe at Bennett’s contention that Shakespeare’s works were actually written by Sir Francis Bacon.

“Here, the New York Herald appears as an ass in a lion’s skin, whose ferocious presence frightens the “foolish animals” of the press, including The New York Times (unicorn), the New York Tribune (giraffe), and the New York World (owl). A skittish fox, representing the Democratic Party, has edged onto a reform plank near a gaping pit, by which the trumpeting elephant, symbolizing the Republican vote, lumbers.”

FROM: https://www.harpweek.com/09cartoon/browsebydatecartoon.asp?month=november&date=7

January 5, 1531: Pope Clement VII forbids King Henry VIII from remarrying. Pope Clement VII sends a letter to King Henry VIII of England forbidding him to remarry under penalty of excommunication. Henry, who was looking for a way out of his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, ignored the pope’s warning. He went on to marry Anne Boleyn (and four subsequent wives), leading to his excommunication and one of the most significant schisms in the history of Christianity.

January 5, 1968: Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia. Antonin Novotny, the Stalinist ruler of Czechoslovakia, is succeeded as first secretary by Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak who supports liberal reforms. In the first few months of his rule, Dubcek introduced a series of far-reaching political and economic reforms, including increased freedom of speech and the rehabilitation of political dissidents.

January 5, 1976: Pol Pot renames Cambodia. Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot announces a new constitution changing the name of Cambodia to Kampuchea and legalizing its Communist government. During the next three years his brutal regime was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1 to 2 million Cambodians.

The 15 week (standard) as well as the first 8-week block (1/2) semesters begin next week. Perhaps take this opportunity to check your schedule against your Degree Works record – to make sure if you are taking what you need to take, etc.?

Of course, contact your adviser with any questions.