Diplomates 2004

9 June 2004 -- Four diplomates were added to the rolls of The New School last night.  Jon Hannah, Eric Closs, Molly Roach, and Jared Cannon each faced the vote of the Assembly, and successfully concluded the long and challenging Diploma Process.

Jon Hannah has been a student at the School for four years.  He spent much of his time working on computers and programming.  He has not been in the habit of talking much, but when he talks people have always been well rewarded to listen.  Jon served as Judicial Committee Clerk and instigated several interesting curricles on esoteric topics touching on computer science and law.  Jon has also had interesting things to say in an ongoing discussion of the relationships between Truth and Beauty.  Jon plans on continuing to study computer networking and to develop contacts and relationships with people sharing that interest.

Eric Closs is a tall and earnest young man.  He is self-aware in his efforts to explore life and ways of living.  His activities stretch from the intense, to the brutal, to the courageously whimsical: discussions of love, both of people and of wisdom; savagely effective chess and sword-play; and, wearing a 17^th Century Cavalier’s costume to the grocery store.  Eric has been a student at the School for five years.  He has served several terms each as Chair and Recording Secretary for School Meeting.  Eric plans on attending St. John’s College at Annapolis, Maryland, starting in August.

Molly Roach cast one of the votes that created The New School.  She is the first founder to seek a Diploma.  She has been at School for nine years.  Molly too has been quiet during most of her time at School, though there were one or two memorable exceptions.  Molly was the lead vocalist on “The River Free,” the first audio recording made for the School.  The other exceptions to her quietude were less melodic.  Molly is a insightful and sympathetic person, to whom others look for understanding.  During her long career at the School, Molly has served several times as Chair, Recording Secretary, and Treasurer of School Meeting – in fact, Molly may have been the first Chair of School Meeting.  Molly has also been JC Clerk, and held several other offices over the years.  In the next year or so, Molly plans to pursue her taste for gardening by volunteering at Longwood Gardens, while she decides whether St. John’s College is something she wants to do.

Jared Cannon is charismatic and self-motivated.  He has been a student at The New School for six years.  His time at the School has had different flavors at different times.  He has been involved in the social life of the School, camping, SCUBA, sports.  Jared has been the instigator and yearly organizer of the School Ski Trip.  At times, Jared became distant, as he pursued outside social and automotive interests.  Jared served as Judicial Committee Clerk and as an influential member of the LawBook revision committee.  Later, as he became interested in cooking and the restaurant industry, he spent much of his time working and learning off campus.  During the course of the Diploma process, Jared has made an effort to re-introduce himself to the members of School Meeting.  He has grown from an enthusiastic boy, through introspective youth, into a charming and considerate young man.  We are eager to see where he goes from there.  Physically, he will be going to New York State; he will attend the Culinary Institute of America, beginning in August.

The Diploma process allows an interested student to seek the critique of the members of the School and of the School Assembly.  The focus of the process is the candidate’s claim that, “I am ready to assume full responsibility for myself in the community at large.”  The consideration of this issue goes through several stages and can take from several months to several years to complete. 

The process requires the preparation of a written thesis, which must be approved by a Thesis Advisor.  Once the paper is approved, and filed with School Meeting, a committee of three students and three non-student members of Assembly are appointed as a Thesis Review Committee.  This committee meets with the candidate and vets both the paper and the candidate’s general readiness, as claimed, to take responsibility outside of the systems of the School.  If the committee agrees that the candidate is ready to proceed, then a public oral Thesis Defense is scheduled. 

The Thesis Defense is a formal affair to which all of the members of the School Assembly, students, staff, diplomates, and parents, are invited.  The candidate stands before the assembled members of the School and makes an oral presentation.  This year the presentations included a variety of demonstrative elements.  Molly converted a room of the School into a walled garden.  Jon made a PowerPoint presentation about the structure of local area networks and the Internet.  Eric had his paper presented as a play by two members of the staff; and Jared demonstrated several methods of cooking, and prepared and served a full meal for the members of the Assembly in attendance.

After the presentation, the Committee and then the entire Assembly are invited to discuss the thesis with the candidate, with an eye to determining both what standards are proper to apply to the particular candidate, and whether a diploma or “further growth” within the School is appropriate.  After the Defense, the Committee votes and makes a formal recommendation that a diploma be awarded. 

All of this is a winnowing process.  If a candidate is not ready to stand for diploma, the process will usually make that clear and the candidate will withdraw, and wait until the next school year to resume the process.  In order to reach the end of the process, the candidate must be convinced himself, he must gain the formal agreement of his Thesis Advisor, and two separate majority votes from the six members of his Thesis Review Committee.  Further, at the end of the Thesis Defense, a poll of the gathered members of the Assembly is made, to give the candidate a feel for the persuasiveness of his arguments.  This is a demanding course of introspection.  This year, only four of five candidates stayed the course to the end.

Once all of these preliminary hurdles are cleared, the final trial is the meeting which Jon, Eric, Molly, and Jared faced last night.  The Assembly meets and deliberates the thesis with regard to each of the candidates, when all relevant issues are discussed, a vote is taken and the decision to award a diploma or to recommend further growth is made for each candidate.

The atmosphere of the Diploma meeting is unique.  It is a combination of a deliberative, democratic meeting and a “graduation” ceremony.  It is as though each candidate is “valedictorian” since they each speak and each are questioned by the assembled members.  It is not a mere ceremony, because there is a sense of nervousness in the candidates, and the question has not been decided.  (Though it did not happen this year, at some meetings the question is very much in doubt with regard to one or more candidate and the tensions can be high.)  Last night, once the votes were tallied, Diplomas were awarded all around, and the tension resolved into relief and celebration.

This is called the Diploma Process and not “graduation.”  This is because it is a welcome to the adult world, rather than a separation from the School.  All diplomates are permanent members of the School Assembly.  The visitor limits do not apply to them; they are welcome on campus at all times.  It is not a matter of an ending.  The Diploma is an emblem of a permanent tie between the Diplomate and The New School.  The choice is between further growth within the School, as a student, or further growth in the community at large, as a permanent member of The New School.

We congratulate Jon, Eric, Molly, and Jared and welcome them to “the community at large.”  Best of luck.  Visit often.

John R. Hiner Jr.