TRITON Magazine Spring 2019 | Page 55

CLASS NOTES ( Continued )

Kirby Michael Wright , ’ 83 ,

Warren , released his new book ,

The Queen of Molokai , a work

of creative nonfiction based on

the life and times of his part-

Hawaiian paternal grandmother .

35th REUNION :

“ 1985 : Graduation , marriage ,

start of law school and ‘ New

Coke .’ Can I handle this much

change ? Howard Jones said

it , ‘ Things can only get better .’

Join us on October 18 – 20 and

celebrate 35 years of ‘ We Are

the World .’”

– Richard Monroy ’ 85

Learn more at

homecoming . ucsd . edu

Dr . David E . Levy , Warren , is an

anesthesiologist and lives in the

Washington , D . C . area with his

family . He misses the weather

in La Jolla !

Lorna Simpson , MFA ,

a photographer and

multimedia artist whose work

challenges conventional views

of gender , identity and culture

is a recipient of the 2019 J .

Paul Getty Medal honoring

extraordinary contributions to

the practice , understanding and

support of the arts .

Renah Wolzinger , Muir , is the

chief policy officer at Credential

Commons , a technology

company connecting students

and educational institutions to

jobs and the workplace .

Douglas T . Ahrens , Marshall , is

senior vice president and chief

financial officer for Mellanox

Technologies in Sunnyvale ,

Calif ., where he is responsible

for worldwide financial

operations and strategy .

Chung-Ming Kuan , PhD ,

is president of National Taiwan

University ( NTU ), a researchbased

university in Taiwan .

Josephine D . Pino , MS , received

a two-year college biology

teaching award from the

National Association of Biology

Teachers .

Eric G . Weiss , Marshall , was

promoted to the executive

role of SVP of growth and

performance marketing

by Personal Capital Corp .,

where he has served as chief

marketing officer since 2016 .

30th REUNION :

“ Margaret Thatcher , Madonna ,

and the launch of the Hubble

Space Telescope ! Remember

TGs on the Hump ? Then join

me at our 30th reunion at

Homecoming , October 18 – 20 !”

— Christine De Pagter ’ 90

“ We witnessed shanty homes

on Revelle Plaza , heard

Desmond Tutu , Lloyd Bentsen

and Ronald Reagan on campus ,

launched the career of the

Cardiff Reefers , and much

more . Let ' s look back at these

most special years of our lives ,

as well as share news about

our lives today . And have some

serious fun !”

– Armin Afsahi ’ 90

Learn more at homecoming .

ucsd . edu

BY CHRIS CANOLE ’ 69

REVELLE COLLEGE had the

non-contiguous minor

requirement , so I minored

in art . I didn ’ t have money

to afford the welding class

or materials like that , so

I decided to make stuff out of

nature . And I realized if I was

going to work with nature ,

I should really live in nature .

So I packed a backpack

with basic gear and I moved

into the eucalyptus forest —

sleeping out beyond Central

Library every night for the

good part of my senior year .

Did I mention I was studying

Zen and Taoism at the time ?

I started off with public

sculptures using logs and

rocks that l literally dragged

out from the woods . Some of

them are still there — the rock

garden in Muir , for one — and

I did a memorial for George

Winne with a fallen tree too .

But it was my second or third

piece , another sculpture in

the Revelle quad — I gathered

up the branches and set

them together one afternoon ,

photographed it from the top

of Urey Hall , and then went

back home to the woods .

The next day when I came

back to Revelle Plaza , four

armed Marines are standing

guard at the corners of my

sculpture ! I walk up and ask ,

“ What ’ s going on ?” and they

said , “ We ’ re guarding this

until we can find the guy who

set up this bonfire .” I said ,

“ Uh , I think it ’ s a sculpture .”

That ’ s when the sergeant

says , “ Wait a second . You ’ re

Canole .” I guess I had earned

a reputation by then .

If I hadn ’ t been in a sleeping bag on eucalyptus leaves that night , I might have known that the U . S . had just invaded Cambodia . That led to a major protest in the undergraduate science building , and the military thought my work was part of the protest . “ We called Chancellor York last night at three in the morning ,” they said . Lucky for me , the Chancellor ’ s wife , Sybil , worked out with all of us on the fencing team .

Though amusing to look back , that moment was a real awakening for me — that all of a sudden I could be in serious trouble . I was now classified as a protester . I was truly thrust into everything about the Vietnam War . I thought I was doing all the right things in life : Dean ’ s list , physics pre-med , fencing captain , research tech for Dr . Nina Braunwald ’ s landmark heart valve . But that night was an epiphany , an Aha ! moment of , “ I can ’ t just walk around and let things happen . I ’ ve really got to start working with intent .” So when people would ask me about my later sculptures , what was this “ Earth Art ” all about , I would talk about global environmental issues , remembering my philosophy TA , Angela Davis , quoting Eldridge Cleaver : “ You are either part of the solution , or you are part of the problem !”

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