I like my students. OSU is a great melting pot whose diversity is astonishing and offers daily challenges and opportunities to interact with many kinds of people. Diversity is also a goal of my teaching, to use as many techniques as possible to reach as many kinds of written work, group cooperation, discussion, reading, simulations, for instance. I encourage creativity and like to provoke thought by working against common stereotypes regarding race, different methods of research when appropriate-from reading primary sources such as letters, these ways it is possible to personalize and bring alive a wide variety of experiences. Ultimately, the aim shouid be to arouse students' imagination while improving their knowledge, analytical capabilities and writing skills.

Teaching is also politicai-not telling students how to vote-but developing with them the skills to think critically and not accept statements at face value but to use systematic doubt and question generalizations that are all too often misleading, especially when employed for cluestionable political ends. At the same time, teaching is an exercise in activist present models to students of ethical persons who have made a positive difference in the world and bettered the situation of humankind. These should not only be 'great' thinkers, inventors, explorers, politicians, etc., since most of us will never fit into that category, but especially ordinary people with extraordinary stories of self-sacrifice, survival, intelligence, good will, humor, strength and patience with life's crises.

Lastly, the future of our democracy really does rest with our students learning the transparency in grading, on getting useful skills regarding analysis, reading and writing, and on professors fulfilling their responsibility to you of promoting these by appropriate assignments. This means, for instance, good feedback on written assignments intended to improve your writing. If you can sail through a course without stretching your mind and your skills, then something is wrong. Above all, both teaching and learning in this university are privileged challenges that can be fun! We are all lucky to be here to have this opportunity.