Okay, I’m getting sick of the season (Ordinary or Pentecost, whatever you want to call it). I’m looking forward to Advent. While Easter is my favorite feast day and Pentecost has simply the best liturgical color, Advent has always been my favorite season. I’ve grown up celebrating the calendar my entire life, and it’s simply a part of my biorhythm.

Advent is, by far, the biggest part of me. There’s something about the opportunity to attend extra services, the coldness of the weather, the break from liturgical green (whether with blue or purple). For all of my life, I’ve also had off from work at that time of year (I’m a real school junkie), so it gives me a chance to really slow down, decompress, and regroup. And like Lent, it’s a bright sadness. Just writing about it makes my spirit go into this sort of sighful haze.

We’ll be spending about half of Advent in Spokane, so it’s bound to snow. Lights, cameras, inaction.

About a month ago, I was in the library used bookstore when I saw a Playboy magazine for sale. I picked it up and brought it to the counter, saying, “Were you meaning to sell this?”

The reply came, “Yes, you’ll notice it’s a dollar when all the other magazines are ten cents.”

I put the magazine back on the rack, and ran downstairs to teach a class. When I walked into the classroom, I told my students about the incident. A few were shocked, and a few thought nothing of it.

Well, I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass me up, so I asked if anyone was underage. One girl responded. I asked the class if they’d like to raise a dollar so that the girl could go upstairs and buy it. We had the money in about ten seconds and the magazine in our classroom within five minutes.

No one asked the girl for ID, and I used this as a catalyst for discussion.

For a class assignment, I had each student write a letter to the president either supporting or criticizing the sale of porn on campus. Two thirds of my students were for it. But I noticed that my best writer was against it. And I noticed her letter was great. I had them break into three groups and rewrite their letters as a group. One group was strongly for the “right” to sell porn on campus. One was okay with selling porn, but they didn’t think a minor should be able to buy it. The last group, the group with my strongest writers was firmly anti-porn.

Knowing the president, I knew which letter would impact him to action. I, along with a representative of group three, personally handed him all three letters, along with the magazine…right before a press conference. I admit, it would have been fun to walk ten feet to my left to a reporter, but I like the university president and think he’s done amazing things for our campus in the last three years. I knew he would handle the situation correctly.

Today I received a call from the assistant to the President. The university has banned the sale and possession of porn on campus. Amazing what a class of remedial English students can do in their first few weeks at college.