THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260447
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
``I have zillions of papers to return to you because'' - Old Dominion University professor Lytton J. Musselman paused to wipe away fake tears - ``this is our last gathering.''
Tuesday was the final day of classes at Old Dominion University, but hardly anybody was close to crying.
Professors tried to sum up weeks of material - or cut students some slack, letting classes out early. For their part, students were delighted, anticipating summer freedom, though some feared the tests still to come.
During the last session of his botany class Tuesday morning, Musselman was his usual punning self. ``Smokey the Bear is not infallible,'' he told the 35 students, during a discussion of the necessity of some types of fire. Pause. ``You might say he made a total ash of himself.''
A Steven Spielberg look-alike with tousled gray hair, Musselman also played the role of a Barbara Walters-turned-biologist, asking students: ``What's your favorite organism?''
Andy Pendleton voted for the long-leaf pine, whose seedlings can survive fire. Sherry Brett-Major liked the pitcher plant because it's ``deceptively dangerous to insects.''
But instead of rehashing every plant he had covered, Musselman closed by talking of the medicinal value of plants.
Foxglove, a purple flower from England, produces digitalis, the drug that helps people with heart problems. From opium, you get codeine.
Finally, a lesson merging the Bible and biology: What exactly was the plant hyssop, which, according to the Bible, was used by Jews to dab blood on their doorposts to save them from the final plague visited on the Egyptians?
Musselman explained his theory that it's really Origanum syriacum, or the ``Syrian oregano.''
Sitting outside at lunchtime, most students relished the thought of no more class - at least for a few months. But they knew they weren't free yet. ``I'm happy classes are over,'' junior Liza Babcock said, ``but I'm dreading finals coming up.''
Senior Terri Mellinger said one of her professors let out a class a half-hour early, and another was to start a half-hour late. Fine with her. ``As far as I'm concerned, we've covered the subject matter.''
Evelina Galang's ``Introduction to Creative Writing'' class ended with the students in charge. In groups of two to five, they discussed the lives and works of three American writers. They weren't all happy tales.
The father of poet Elizabeth Bishop died before she was 1. Her mother later was institutionalized. When Bishop was older, a thwarted suitor killed himself.
``Her work, like, really, really represents her life,'' Victoria Lutz said. ``Her poems are very confusing and hard to understand. There's a lot about traveling and deaths.''
Galang: ``So you'd recommend her for summer reading?''
When the presentations were done, Galang offered her last pep talk to the 20 students: ``You worked really hard. When you go back to your portfolios and look at your early poems, you'll see you've come a really long way. ``See you guys.''
In a few seconds, nearly all of them were gone. by CNB