News

Campus Read held

By Scott Wagar

10/02/2012

This first Campus Read of the 2012-13 school year was held at Dakota College at Bottineau where Social Science instructor, Steve Sathre, conducted a lecture on the “History of Non-Conformists” in reference to this year’s Campus Read book, Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild.”

The book deals with a young man by the name of Chris McCandless, who after graduating from one of the best colleges in the nation in the spring of 1991, walks away from his family, gives away all his belonging, reinvented himself with a new name and began hitchhiking through parts of the United States with one goal in mind, to walk into the wilderness of Alaska and live off the land.

McCandless made his way into Alaska during the spring of 1992, but is found dead later that summer due to what is considered today as unforeseen reasons.

Sathre focused on how non-conformist dealt with such groups as motorcycle clubs, beatniks, hippies, civil rights groups, Generation X and the Wall Street Occupied Movement and how these groups established themselves as free-spirited individualists within their own cultural systems.
Sathre spoke in length on the Generation X age bracket (the non-conformist group McCandless grew-up in and became a part of) and superficially one group, those who conformed to the outdoors and extreme activities.

Sathre stated that McCandless in a way chose to be part of the outdoors group.

“We are finding items of this outdoors group which is getting close to what Chris is getting here,” Sathre said, who pointed out the ways of this non-conformist group, which included:

•  Almost all of them were college educated and held degrees from well known expensive colleges.
•  They came from a middle class or upper class background.
•  They had no racial or ethnic meaning.  
•  They were not concerned with any current trends, events or entertainment.
•  They wore expensive outdoor gear, which had to be worn out giving the appearance they didn’t care about the clothing
•  They read a lot and used only libraries to acquire books
•  They had few possessions so they could pick up and go somewhere on a moments notice
•  They were not consumers
•  They own dogs
•  They are unkempt that came through a thought process.
•  They choose slacker employment so you can leave on moment notice
•  They drove foreign automobiles which were uncared for and jumped trains
•  They were extreme

Sathre concluded the symposium by stating that McCandless was more than part of a group who cared little about the things of the world around them.

“When “Into the Wild” came out there was a lot of questions as to does this group really exist? Is there really a sub-culture of people who want to just chuck it all? Yes – they exist. They are getting older, Generation X are now parents, Generation X is now 30 to 42 years old. Non-conformists? Most definitely,” Sathre said. “Your task when you read “Into the Wild” is to think about not just Chris as a moron and weirdo, and that he does something rash and he dies. He is part of a group that just happens to be on the far end.”

On October 23, Dr. David Fuller, president of Minot State University, will hold the next Campus Read when he presents, “Into the Wild with Henry David Thoreau.” The times for Fuller’s symposium will be at noon and 7 p.m.

The Campus Read is open to the general public. One does not have to read Krakauer’s book to participate in the Campus Read. Those who wish to read the book, can purchase it at Dakota College at Bottineau’s bookstore, which is located on the first floor of Thatcher Hall’s new addition.