Philo wrote the book on College Green

Wary students left their mark at the University yesterday in permanent black marker in the Philomathaen Society's eight-foot tall book, quoting everything from a Shakespeare soliloquy to a U2 song. Dozens of students and faculty gathered on College Green yesterday afternoon to enter their favorite quotations in the "Philo Book. And they scribbled their lines not only in English, but in Hebrew and Chinese as well. Kicking off the afternoon event, School of Arts and Sciences Dean Hugo Sonnenschein scrawled in the first quotation in the upper left-hand corner of the book. "The happy man is the man. . . whose personality is neither divided against itself nor pitted against the world," the quotation read. Other students copied lines from the movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, from singers Roger Waters and Sting, from Walt Disney, and from Ralph Waldo Emerson. With copies of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations and books of poetry, members of the Philomathean Society helped the students pick out their quotations, though some already had their lines prepared. College junior Nicole Shaw approached the canvas and wrote, "We never know how high we are until we're called to rise. Then if we're true to form, our statures touch the skies." "That inspires me," she said of the Emily Dickinson quote. Other students and faculty picked less serious quotes to write themselves into history. "Not all beliefs are fake, but some of mine are," wrote Philosophy Professor James Ross. "I love big parties, they're so intimate," wrote College junior Orly Steinberg saying afterwards that she had thought about writing a quote in the book for hours. Still others took their cues to satire presidental quotes, "Ask not what you can do for your country but what your country has done to others," while some covered movie lines, "Be excellent to each other . . . Party on dudes." College senior Jacob Cogan, Philo's moderator, said the group hopes to continue to provide novel events on campus. "I hope it increases the intellectual atmosphere of the campus by concentrating on the literary and cultural subjects," Cogan said. "It is a different form of socialization than you usually find on campus." Students and Philo leaders called the afternoon event a success adding that the book was a terrific idea to involve the entire University community. "It's neat, it's public, it's here, it's for everybody, and it's funky," remarked College senior Rachel Panush. The book was moved to Irvine Auditorium to be painted and decorated by Philo members. It is expected to go on display in the Van Pelt Library later this year.

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