DC Alums Connect Over Cicero
On Sunday, June 11, 30 alumni trekked across Washington D.C. with significant others and children in tow led by Professors David Tubbs and Joseph Loconte.
Prof. Joseph Loconte offers tea to alumni in his home.
On Sunday, June 11, despite the swamp-like weather of Washington D.C., almost 30 of us alumni trekked across the city with our significant others and children in tow. Professors David Tubbs and Joe Loconte were hosting another DC alumni gathering—a clambake, actually—and that’s not something you miss.
If you’ve ever been to Joe Loconte’s house, you know it is a happy mix of library and museum. A large tapestry covers an entire wall next to paintings and family pictures. Meanwhile, a bookshelf spanning another wall holds every book you were ever supposed to read at King’s—all with paper bookmarks and notes sticking out as if to say, “I am known and loved by the reader.” There ironically were no clams (that was just a ploy to get everyone to come), but there was plenty of coffee and cheese inside the Florida Avenue home.
For this meeting, the professors sent out two articles for us to read in advance (Loconte’s/Tubbs’s). Both addressed the threats facing the Republic.
We live an America divided. Will it prevail? How can we, like Cicero, resist dictatorship in a crumbling republic? How can we protect public morality against the lure of corporate profit? These were just a few of the topics we tackled that Sunday afternoon.
Abigail Narbe (PPE ’18) wrote, “Our discussion on the question of America being in decline was challenging and fruitful, and more important than ever to discuss while sitting in the NW quadrant of DC. I am so thankful that Professor Loconte was willing to open his home and that Professor Tubbs was willing to come down to DC from New Jersey.”
“It is rare that I am able to engage intellectually on the level that I was used to at King’s,” wrote Matt Sifert (PPE ’16). “The more time I spend in my career, the more I realize how special King’s was and how unique of an environment it is. . . Professors Loconte and Tubbs do an excellent job of replicating the King’s environment in a small, homey setting with other students who are willing and ready to engage just as much as I am.”
For many of the alumni entering the doors that day, this wasn’t just a chance to reconnect, but an opportunity to do something that the frenetic pace of DC work life doesn’t provide: to think deeply about a serious problem, discuss it with friends, and consider what history has taught us for how to move forward. We are all delighted to see these events continue as we watch our DC King’s community grow.