February 06, 2012
It’s rare to find a student who can eloquently write about
complex political subjects. That’s what makes St. John’s University
Senior Timothy Barr ’12C so unique.
This English and Rhetoric double major recently won the
first-ever Alumni Insider’s View…Student Writing Competition,
receiving a $3,000 cash prize. Sponsored by the Washington,
DC Alumni Chapter, this contest challenged students to write a
well-researched academic paper based on the following topic:
“Excluding national defense and homeland security, discuss three
areas of our Federal Republic where the federal government should
become more involved and, conversely, three areas where it should
become less involved.”
Barr appreciated the opportunity to write a paper on such an
important issue.
“I think that there is a prevailing sense in my generation that is
apolitical and kind of cynical,” he said. “But here in the
academy, we are allowed the space and time to pause, and to have
that kind of privilege also entails a responsibility: a
responsibility to reflect. So even if it doesn’t lead to radical
change, even if it’s hard to believe that we’ll one day create a
utopia, it’s important that we preserve the practices of reflection
and deliberation at a time when perhaps that isn’t as valued in the
political sphere.”
Barr’s essay features a remarkable level of depth, exploring a wide
range of issues and conveying them in accessible terms. In the
paper, he argues that the U.S. government should become more
involved in the pharmaceutical industry, set higher standards for
political media and provide additional funding for the arts; he
also asserts that the government should disentangle itself from
agricultural subsidies and play a lesser role in public
education.
The AIV…Student Writing Competition was judged by a Special
University Academic Committee, consisting of professors and
administrators from various fields. Dr. Robert F. Pecorella,
Associate Professor of Government and Politics, served on this
committee and was very impressed with Barr’s essay. In particular,
he commended the paper for its attempts at solving such significant
issues.
“Addressing directly the problem of excessive partisanship at the
national level, the paper did a nice job of analyzing various
policy concerns within the structure of American federalism,” he
observed. “And [the paper] offered a useful ‘pragmatic framework’
for deciding which level of government was best suited to deal with
which policy matters. The arguments were well made, the paper was
well written and the award was much deserved.”
A native of Upper Darby, PA, Barr has certainly made the most of
his time at St. John’s. He is a standout member of the St. John’s
Debate Society, studied abroad in Europe for one semester and has
worked at the Writing Center on the Queens campus.
“I applied to St. John’s sort of on a whim,” Barr recalled. “But
after I applied, I looked more closely at it and I noticed the
Vincentian values. I was attracted to both that and the diversity
of the University. Four years later, I’ve become friends with
foreign students from all over the world, allowing me to hear
points of view from countries that I didn’t even know existed. That
may be the greatest part of my St. John’s education.”
Barr is unsure of his plans after graduation, but he is considering
graduate school in Rhetoric. No matter what he decides to pursue,
this promising St. John’s student knows he’ll be well prepared
thanks to his undergraduate years.
“I’m very thankful to St. John’s, particularly right now for this
essay contest since it helped to pay my rent,” he joked. “But
seriously, I thank St. John’s for giving me an education that
encourages me to question everything, to not let anything remain
obvious. And I think that’s precisely what we need for the
future.”