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PETER BRINCKERHOFF '70
My father was an alumnus and I thought it would be cool to follow in his footsteps.
While at Trinity, I was lucky enough to have many great experiences. Doing a radio show on Saturday nights at WRTC (thank you Mike Williams), working for the "Sammy Man," helping to book concerts and barely being able to walk up the hill after swimming practice.
My favorite Trinity professor was Norton Downs. I was an Art History major and the only History Department course I ever took was History 101. He carried himself with great elegance and confidence and was so disdainful of stupidity in history and everyday life. He was a big man whose personality and intellect made him even bigger. And I was very impressed that he was rumored to be a "dollar-a-year man."
I learned to never stop learning; knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge is paramount.
What keeps me connected to Trinity is my love for its physical beauty and the fact that it had a profound effect on my life.
There are two books: "Critique of Practical Reason" by Immanuel Kant was memorable because I just didn't get it. I have revisited the "categorical imperative" many times since then and I still feel as stupid as I did in 1967. Norman Mailer's "The Armies of the Night," written at the height of the Vietnam war, was a book that put the anti-war movement into focus for me.
In a world where mediocrity is too often the norm, Trinity's ongoing commitment to excellence in the liberal arts needs to be encouraged and perpetuated.
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