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Discovering Fig Tree Notes

The current edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education has a Short Subject that refers to a campaign by three West Virginia environmentalists to find a new nickname for the Mountain State as a way (tongue-in-cheek) to call attention to their campaign against strip mining and mountaintop-removal mining. One of those environmentalists, the Rev. Jim Lewis, is a member of Washington and Lee’s Class of 1958 and has been actively involved in campaigns for numerous social issues over the past 40 years. (The Chronicle link may require registration, so here’s another story on the topic from the Charleston Gazette.) Here’s the coincidence, though. On the same day that the Short Subject piece popped up in the Chronicle, an item from Rev. Lewis’ blog, Notes from Under the Fig Tree, also showed up in a Google news search. The blog post was about the recent W&L Alumni College on Vietnam. Lewis’ reflections on it are a great read and are labeled as Part I, which raises the hope that Part II won’t be too far behind. Once you get to the Fig Tree Notes, you’ll find numerous other fascinating pieces in the archives. A word of warning: You’re apt to get caught up in the subjects and spend more time than you intended.

If you know any W&L alumni who would be great profile subjects, tell us about them! Nominate them for a web profile.