Jairus Victor Grove
The hardest part of being away from debate is losing people I no longer get to see every weekend. I have been out of the activity for almost ten years and yet I rely on a sense of the world where they are there still judging debates, still inspiring people, still giving someone skeptical glances. On the way to work this morning thinking about Ken I was reminded of this old impact card we all used to read in high school about biodiversity. The metaphor was of a plane losing bolts and never knowing when the bolt lost would cause the plane to come apart and crash. Losing Ken feels like loosing part of reality, a critical bolt in the world we share. One less person that remembers the insecure teenager you were. One less person to share memories with of others we have lost. One less person committed to the idea that education is the most important thing we can devote ourselves to. Ken takes a little of my reality and history with him. What is left though is the incredible community of thinkers and friends he helped create. It is hard to imagine growing up without Alex Berger, Bill Russell, Andrew Leong, Nicole Wanzer-Serrano, Adam Garen, Robbie Ashe, John Turner and many many others at Dartmouth. I owe Ken a debt for those friendships and those experiences. If Valhalla exists for those of us that hope to spend eternity arguing one can only hope that the panel of Deatherage, Smith, and Strange is sitting down at the table ready to judge. Ken Strange, I will miss you.
