I'm sitting in my office looking out the window as a campus flag flaps furiously in the wind and a chickadee hops along a tree limb; I ought to be reading some student writing or prepping Monday's American Lit class, but I can't concentrate on any of that because the smell of popcorn is calling me.
We're having a popcorn bar in my building today with big bowls of popcorn and all kinds of toppings, plus we're invited to paint rocks or bricks with inspirational slogans. For a month we've had a big coloring sheet and markers hanging in the hallway, and rumor has it that we'll soon have access to a Lego table.
I don't have a problem with any of these attempts to boost campus morale. Some curmudgeon might be inclined to ask Why are we eating popcorn or coloring pictures when we should be addressing serious campus issues, but I'll tell you what: I already spend three to five hours a week sitting in meetings among people trying desperately to solve serious campus issues, and I'd rather be coloring. I mean, I can't wrangle with administrators or disentangle institutional prose every minute of the day, so taking a little time out to eat popcorn with my colleagues will make those tasks a little less onerous.
I could suggest a few other methods to improve campus morale--Raises all around! Personalized parking spaces! Free massages in the faculty lounge!--but the current budget crisis puts the kibosh on anything that costs more than a potluck lunch. And so we accept the popcorn bar as a small but yummy moment in the midst of a massive distasteful mess, a brief chance to enjoy some crunchy deliciousness before we get back to serious work.
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