In graduate school I attended a national SETAC convention with my mentor and some of my fellow students. SETAC stands for the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Sounds impressive, huh? I thought so too, so when we got back to Wichita I tried to start a student chapter of the organization. By starting it I would get to be the president and I felt that the phrase, "president of the student chapter of SETAC at WSU," would look good on my resume.
I wasn't going to be selfish about it though. My first act as president, at our first meeting (which took place on a Friday night at a bar), was to decree that all members should get an important sounding title. Then there was the problem of what we were going to do. I mean, we were already all involved in research, so it isn't like the group was going to be the driving force behind any important research. Besides, all we did all the time was talk about our research. We couldn't very well tell the national group that our whole purpose was to meet on Friday nights at bars and have important titles. We might as well be the Elks. And for some reason the important title thing only seemed like a good idea to me. Everybody else thought (probably correctly) that I was being a dweeb.
So we decided to try and increase recycling on campus. It seemed like a no-brainer and pretty noncontroversial, till my mentor told me that he was not responsible if we got arrested. Arrested? For trying to promote recycling?
It seems that there are (or were at the time) ecologists who feel it is nonprofessional to also be environmentalists. There also seem to be people who think that all scientists are anti-big business. In thinking about this thing our president is doing to the EPA I wonder if people realize how political the whole thing is already. I guess that's what angered me about environmental toxicology in general. Science and politics are very close bedfellows, whatever we want to believe and things aren't always what they seem.
21 comments:
Interesting.. I did not know that ecologists and environmentalists don't mesh.
I think it sometimes just comes down to the appearance of a conflict of interest. Also, not all ecologists feel that way.
Very interesting topic that I'm sure would be way over my simpleton head. :)
Best of luck sorting it all out. Mine is up short and sweet...here.
So...I assume no one got arrested?
Mine will be up tomorrow at 6am EDT. That sounded very official.
Working Mom: You aren't a simpleton. I just had no clear point.
Mags: You can be Vice President in charge of EDT.
Nobody got arrested. We never even had a sit-in or anything fun. Sometimes being a college kid in the 90's was so boring.
I love any group where I get an important-sounding title.
I would've wanted to be the group's "Supreme Overlord of Computer Graphics and Theme Music Composition."
Stuff like that looks good on a resume.
The important title thing is a crack up! Seems like everything ends up political in life these days. Not sure why things always have to get so complicated but I think it's great that you took some initiative and learned lots along the way ;)
I guess that's why I keep off most clubs... Can't abide the bickering.
Very interesting post. Well done!
Alice at I Was Born2Cree8
As I write often about environmental stuff, it became clear to me ages ago that government/Big biz just plays with the cosmetics of environmentalism to make people think they're doing something about it, when really it's business as usual.
Yay! Vice President?!?! That's fantastic. I shall act out VP-like things today at work.
Or not. :)
I like that new design you have going on here :o)
Oh and I do recycle :o)
Very important sounding title even if I'm not really sure what you do with it! :) (Shhh, I won't tell anyone if all you guys really do is meet at the bar for a beer!) :)
Hey, maybe we should all start a club now and you could give us all really important-sounding titles!
So many acronyms...so little time.
Can I be Chief Title Officer?
You guys were a bunch of recyling rebels. Cheers Marilyn!!
Meeting in bars on Friday nights with important titles...sounds like New York City! Thanks for checking in on me...I'm back! (Be very, very frightened!)
Janna: You will always be the supreme overlord of computer graphics to me.
BV: Thanks. I learned that you should never run the fun stuff by administration first. Just go ahead with it and tell them about it afterward, if you have to.
Stine: There was very little bickering. Of course, nothing was actually accomplished either.
Alice: Thanks. Interesting comment. Well done.
Anthony: I'm afraid that you are right. A lot of it is just learning less alarming ways to talk about the risks involved.
Mags: Work might not be the best place to exercise you VP-nes. I think you should pull rank on your obnoxious neighbor though.
Ivanhoe: Good for you. Less garbage is always good for everybody.
Gayle: Thanks. They might take away the group name and that would make the titles so much less important sounding.
Will Think: I herby name you Cognitive Overlord of Ethanol.
Jeff: The world needs more acronyms.
Matt-man: Yes. We were a wild bunch.
Steven: Yay! I was starting to get worried. I'm so glad you're back.
Whall: Of course! Take over the titles at any time.
Politics finds its way into just about everything, doesn't it?
And I don't think you were a dweeb. Maybe a little geeky, but then we're all a little geeky.
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