Time Is a “We”-source
By Keegan Leboffe & Riley Gale
September 17, 2024
Being an Arcadian means many things. It means you are determined; you will paddle through sore arms. It means you are compassionate; you will forgive your friend for leaving the Clive fan on. It means you are intelligent; you will comprehend the sign that reads, “Turn the lights off.” One attribute many may not apply to an Arcadian, however, is that an Arcadian is wealthy. We are unbelievably rich, spoiled you could say, with time, a treasure that has often been lost to the hustle and bustle of a modern society engulfed in technology. Every day, through the song of a loon and the kiss of the sun, we are reminded to be present in the now. Though we are certainly kept busy, the day creaks by with a beautiful sense of slowness. To put it simply, Arcadian time is unique. Rather than race against the day, we move with it through all of the bumps and bruises.
This past week, we all were pleased to find this idea of time reflected in our Tuesday class, Land Use Change in the Adirondacks. Last Tuesday, led by our professor Pete Pettengill, we visited the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center in Onchiota, New York, where we had the honor of listening to Dave Kanietakeron Fadden speak about his heritage. For three illuminating hours, we were entranced by brilliant storytelling about the history of Indigenous peoples. We learned much from the origins of the Earth to the countless atrocities Indigenous peoples suffered at the hands of colonizers. We were left with a surplus of information to digest. But the point which stood out most to us was the way that Indigenous peoples perceived time. This quotation from Dave encapsulates the point well: “They understood time by studying the world.” An example of this lay in the origin story that Dave relayed to us. To provide context, the Haudenosaunee origin story follows the creation of the Earth as a pregnant woman falls from the sky and is caught by the birds, which set her upon a sea turtle that will ultimately become the land we are standing on after a tree seed is planted on its back. It is worth noting that this is an incredibly watered-down version of the story, and there is much more detail which hasn’t been included. According to Dave, the twenty-eight days of the month come from the twenty-eight sections on the turtle’s back. This is just one example of how Indigenous peoples’ sense of time was very in tune with nature.
In Arcadia, although there may be a deadline or a meeting fast approaching, the rustle of the trees reminds us to take a breath. Arcadian time is not too fast or too slow; it is a breath of fresh air. We are left with ample time to reflect on ourselves and on time. Some Arcadians may have taken this self-reflection too literally as four of us will be leaving the semester with shaved heads. Clara Locke had this to say about her experience: “Shaving one’s head allows you to see the passage of time as your hair grows back and you see how time changes things.” It is exciting to have Arcadia and this semester to experiment with our self-perceptions and ask questions about time that we normally would not think to. We also recognize the importance of having fun. There’s nothing that fills time better than a game of odds. Odds, a game introduced to us by Arcadians Roy and Riley, has induced some unwanted instances of self-reflection. It takes ten seconds to lose the odds game but three months to grow out an eyebrow slit, or so some Arcadians are finding. So that you, the reader, may inflict the same hardship upon a friend, the game goes like this: You ask a friend, “Odds, you do [blank].” Then they will respond with a number as high or low as they would like to (it can also be zero). Once a range has been set, the person asked thinks of a number within the range in their head. An important addition is that if the number is guessed incorrectly, then the bet is reversed onto the asker. When the person asked is ready, you countdown 3, 2, 1…
“Go!” shouts Arcadian Sophia Nickolas, as the cowbell in her hand sounds across Massawepie Lake. The five swimmers standing waist deep in the weeded waters start their stopwatches and dive with purpose into the lake. We had just begun the second annual Massawepie Triathlon, and time was ticking.
The Massawepie Triathlon is a fledgling tradition at Arcadia, created by our predecessors in 2023. We received a letter last week informing us of the event and detailing the specifics of the route. To begin, you first divide the group into random pairs. Like the triathlons we have all heard of, it consists of three parts, the first being swimming. One person from each team begins the race by swimming across Massawepie. We estimate the distance to be around a quarter mile, which does not sound like much on paper, but when standing on shore looking across to your destination, it feels much farther.
The race began with a clang. We charged into the water ahead of us, eager to make it across to our awaiting teammates. Quickly, Arcadian Callie Garnett established her lead, surprising no one. Having swum across the barge cove many times in preparation, Callie felt “very excited.” She said, “I want to push myself.” Having set an ambitious time for herself, she front-crawled ahead with purpose. Arcadian Keegan Leboffe came out of the gate with surprising ferocity, frothing the water aggressively as he moved. The only issue was his course, which began to veer to the left. The three remaining Arcadians moved with steady pace, with little distance between them. Rachel Pelletier quickly discovered that her goggles were filling with water, not too surprising considering they had been sourced from the kitchen where they served to protect the wearer from onion fumes known to cause tears. Far from tears, Rachel moved them to her forehead and doggedly continued swimming. Arcadian Riley Gale was quickly left behind as he attempted to fix his malfunctioning stopwatch, and Arcadian Roy Duffy continued stoically, with no partner awaiting.
The race was made-up of five teams, four teams of two and a solo. The remaining Arcadians Sophia Nickolas and Megan Uribe served as timekeepers, line judges, and route markers to ensure a fair race. Beginning at the start, they then canoed to the finish line with timers in hand.
As you may have guessed, the second part of our triathlon consisted of a furious canoe paddle across the length of Lake Massawepie. Canoes are an essential part of our lives here and thus belong in our custom race. Many of our classes involve field trips, like our visit to the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center. On field trip days, we use our canoes to travel across the lake to a trail, which then leads uphill to our van. From there, we drive the bumpy dirt roads to meet our professor. In addition, when the need arises to call home, take a shower, or do laundry, the fastest way is a twenty-minute paddle. No longer is class or a laundry machine a short walk away, as it is on St. Lawrence’s campus. This aspect of Arcadian time takes some getting used to but is not viewed as an obstacle. Instead, it allows us to better appreciate the minutes in our day and how we spend them.
Back on the race course, every minute was of the utmost value. Arcadian Callie Garnett had beaten her goal of a 6-minute, 30-second, swim and led the pack as her partner Clara Lock powered their canoe ahead. With even and solid distance between each boat, partners moved with practiced ease. With such frequent use of our canoes, we all moved with unceasing speed. Over the two miles of lake, there was little change in position as we all put our full efforts into the paddle shafts. The exception was Arcadian Roy Duffy whose solo competition status landed him in a kayak. In this sleek vessel he overtook three boats moving from dead last to second place. However, he would soon be waylaid by a tricky pair of Brooks running shoes.
The final leg of our triathlon was on foot, a custom loop around the nearby Boy Scout camp. The most difficult part of the run was perhaps the route. Following a map that was included in the letter explaining the triathlon, we had attempted to vocally chart out the route over bowls of cereal and oatmeal the morning of. Without time to properly scout or mark the loop, we were banking on the map and a little luck. Standing at the red gate that marked the finish line, we watched the trail and our watches anxiously. Then out of the trees emerged Arcadian Clara Locke, triumphantly slapping the gate to the sound of cheers and cowbells. She and Callie Garnett secured a time of 31 minutes, 13 seconds, and 1st place. Although not achieving their sub-30-minute goal, they had set a new course record by 57 seconds.
Runners continued to appear. Roy Duffy, competing solo and coming from dead last in the swim, finished second with a time of 33:20. After leaping from the boat before it even touched shore, Hannah Bennett (partnered with Rachel Pelletier) finished third at 34:04. Stripping and tossing her life jacket mid run, Ella Pecor (paired with Riley Gale) finished with a time of 34:50. Kaya Williams (on a team with Keegan Leboffe) crossed the finish line at 43:30, bringing the end of the second annual Massawepie Triathlon.
While we were very excited about our times, what was more important was cheering each other on and supporting one another. Tracking the seconds can be fun, but the people we compete with are more important than what we are competing for. All of us are learning and adjusting to Arcadian time. Sometimes a simple chore can be a lengthy process, like paddling twenty minutes to take a shower. Alternatively, it feels like time is slipping away faster than we can comprehend. But most importantly, Arcadian time means time together: time to adjust to the different patterns of the day, and time to create amazing shared experiences with each other. In this way, Arcadia is also timeless.
Triathlon Times
Clara and Callie: 31:13
Roy: 33:20
Rachel and Hannah: 34:04
Riley and Ella: 34:50
Keegan and Kaya: 43:30
Sophia and Megan: judges