Once little-used fireplace sparks great thoughts in Mount Mary philosophers
Ibelieve it was the great thinker Plato who said, “Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. And also, when will Mount Mary University upgrade its Caroline Hall lounge fireplace so students may enjoy thyselves?” Wait, I’m being told the second half of that quote actually should be credited to Mount Mary’s philosophy club, which decided that wrestling with the profound questions of our existence would be better in the warm glow of a nice fire.
And it came to pass that this institution of higher learning listened to their plea and converted the rarely used wood fireplace in the 90-yearold campus building to run on gas instead.
You still need permission to use it because, you know, no one wants to see a four-alarm fire.
A dedication ceremony for the newly improved fireplace was held last week, in combination with a donation drive for the Milwaukee Women’s Center. A ribbon was cut and cookies were served. News coverage was light. OK, just me.
The philosophy club, actually named the Mount Mary University Philosophical Association because it sounds better on a résumé, plans to hold its meetings from this day forward in front of the leaping gas flames.
The club has only about half a dozen faithful members. It’s open to anyone but remains a tough sell in a world losing interest in the humanities. Club president Danielle Ayn Burdick said she sees the fireplace as a possible enticement to new members.
“We’re going to light the fire. Let’s all come. Let’s all talk about Socrates or something. That was my original idea,” Burdick said.
By the way, the 22-year-old senior became the president because the other members noted that she has the name of a philosopher, Ayn Rand, right there in her name. Her dad picked it, and her mom, a fan of romance writer Danielle Steel, supplied that part of her name.
Burdick commutes to school from Bay View. “I live off of Homer, which I thought was extremely fitting for me. You know, the ancient poet, not the Simpsons.”
Raised in the Rockford area, Burdick was an only child who filled the loneliness by reading a lot. She was particularly inspired by a required philosophy class at Mount Mary called Search for Meaning.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, people actually think things, and they’re cool and weird and I can understand them,’ “she said.
But ambiance counts for something, too. So last spring, Burdick took her case to Mount Mary’s president’s council meeting and shared her belief that it was a shame for the ornate fireplace in Caroline Hall to be dark most days. The school’s leaders agreed. Faculty and staff kicked in money to help cover the modest $1,300 cost of the project.
Burdick and her club have named the fireplace Prometheus, a Titan of Greek mythology who defied the gods by giving fire to humans to better our lives and advance civilization. She taped up a paper saying so, though it’s too soon to say if the name will catch on.
So anyway, no need to worry about philosophy club at Mount Mary. It still does its annual Valentine’s sale (”You knock my Socrates off !). It still visits local schools to talk to kids. With guidance from professors Jennifer Hockenbery and Katie Homan, it won’t stop trying to seek philosophical responses to modern-day problems like climate change and gun violence and whatever else keeps us up at night.
But now they’re all cozier thinkers, thanks to Prometheus and a fire that ignites at the turn of a switch.