埃裏克·薩珀斯登/Eric Saperston
I couldn't believe it. As I walked into campus I saw posters everywhere with the words“Zap the Sap!”scrawled on them. I was the student body president and I was being recalled from my position. As my peers began arriving on campus, I watched them gather around the posters and then look my way. At that moment, I felt my heart, my character, and my whole body was being pushed back and forth over a cheese-grater. I was in pieces and trying desperately to keep my composure.
When I was elected student body president, campus officials congratulated me on my campaign saying it was one of the best the college had seen. My political career began by throwing Frisbees on the campus lawn. I would throw a Frisbee to someone I didn't know and they would throw it to someone they didn't know. Before long, we had built a community of people who met every day at lunch to throw Frisbees.
One day while throwing Frisbees, the group spontaneously decided to climb the mountain near our campus. When we reached the summit, it felt like we were at summer camp. We laughed, danced and told jokes. It was intoxicatingly fun. While playing like little children in the cool mountain air, we unanimously decided to do it again the following week. Our motto was“Bring a Friend.”
So the next week while playing Frisbee, we would throw it to someone we didn't know, run over and invite them to climb the mountain with us. We would say,“We guarantee a climax every time.”
We started out with a small group of hikers. But as the word spread, the number of participants increased. One day on campus, I met a woman in a wheelchair and we started talking. Her name was Grace. I asked her if she had ever been to the top of the mountain. She said she hadn't. I told her that my buddies and I would carry her if she were up for it. Grace accepted the offer. The next time we went up the mountain, we all took turns grabbing a comer of her chair as we carried her 1.7 miles to the top.