Lewinsky Makes Fellow Grads Proud
We, the proud graduates of Lewis & Clark College in Portland, have long awaited this moment.
We always knew that one day an L&C graduate would make it to the White House.
Little did we know that she would make it not to, but in, the White House.
That’s right, the most famous graduate of our venerable institution is: Monica Lewinsky. I refuse to insult your intelligence by tediously recounting her role in recent national events. Suffice to say that she has become world famous by allegedly de-briefing a president.
For those of you who are wondering whether I actually know my distinguished fellow graduate - and my wife, Carol, questioned me quite thoroughly on this subject - I must point out that I graduated in 1975, and Monica graduated in 1995.
Not only was Monica not at L&C when I was there, but as far as I can recollect there were absolutely no “Monicas” at L&C when I was there or else my memories of college would have been even more fond.
I remember Lewis & Clark as a small, quiet, haven of learning and academia, except during those moments of bullhorns and anti-war riots. It was the ‘70s, after all. But in general, L&C was a tree-shaded bastion of civilization, a place where intelligent young people could pursue their studies of history, physics, Latin and Blitz-Weinhard beer. It was also an excellent place to learn about exotic foreign cultures, such as California. There were a lot of Californians at L&C, and let me tell you something, a kid from Colorado could learn a lot from Californians in those days.
Lewis & Clark also had, and still has, a fine political science department, which is undoubtedly where Monica acquired her remarkable grasp of politics, if grasp is the word I want. L&C also had, and still has, an excellent international affairs department, although maybe the emphasis has shifted more toward the affairs part of it since I left.
Still, Lewis & Clark is the last place one would expect to be tied to a sordid political scandal. Maybe a sordid poetry-reading scandal, or a sordid philosophical-debate scandal, but not a sordid political scandal. This is a place where the students’ idea of big fun was to gather in the student lounge to sing Schumann’s “Lieder” with the German professor.
Of course, only the truly hard-up students did that. Everybody else gathered in a dorm room and became completely obliterated with any and all substances that happened to be on hand. This was an American college campus in the ‘70s, after all. Still, compared to many colleges, Lewis & Clark was a serious and respectable place.
This is a campus where the administration building was called the “Manor House”; where students strolled through an English formal garden; and where one of the buildings was named “Throckmorton.” I half expected Jeeves the butler to come floating by at any minute.
So this school has never exactly been known for flamboyant graduates, or frankly, for any graduates at all.
Who were the most famous L&C figures, pre-Monica? Well, there was William Stafford, a longtime faculty member and one of America’s finest poets. I’m sure you’ve heard all about him, poets being constantly featured on “Entertainment Tonight.” Then there was Dan Schollander, who once won several Olympic gold medals in swimming. Then there was the actress Markie Post, who brightened all of our lives with her brilliant work in “Night Court” (I mean that).
Then there were, let’s see, dozens of other famous Lewis & Clark graduates, but not the kind you’ve actually heard of.
Which makes it all the more gratifying to see my alma mater mentioned in Time magazine this week.
There, on page 11, is a picture of the Manor House, accompanied by these words, “Lewis & Clark: Lewinsky went from this small college to the White House.”
And the best thing about it is: This item was under the “Winners” section of the magazine’s “Winner & Losers” feature.
Who says the Lewinsky affair has produced no winners? Thank you, Monica, for making Lewis & Clark famous. Heaven knows, no mere poet could have done it.
, DataTimes