Sociology lecturer 'destined' to teach

By BRENT F. ENGLAND
Collegian Staff Writer

Gently caressing his Buddhist prayer beads, Sam Richards, senior lecturer of sociology, gets a laugh out of his students in Sociology 119 (Race and Ethnic Relations). He tells a story of eating guinea pigs in Ecuador.

"When I realized what I was eating, I couldn't believe that I was eating domestic rats, which is what guinea pigs really are if you think about it," he said.

Richards wanted to teach because "the universe wanted me to teach," he said. "It was destiny. I never made a decision to teach per se, it's just what I do."

When he walked into the classroom for the first time, Richards said he felt comfortable. He said it felt natural to stand in front of people and talk.

- senior lecturer of sociology (Collegian Photos/Christa Rimonneau - click for full size image)

Richards has a charisma and speaking style that just draws people to him, said Danny Freund (junior-holistic healing), a teaching assistant for the course. For this reason, he said, he was hesitant to be Richards' teaching assistant.

"People flock to him, and that scares me," he said. "He has the kind of personality that whenever someone brings up his name, it's like 'Oh my God! I know him, he's awesome!' "

Though cautious of Richards' "cult-like figure," Freund enjoys working with him, but said one can't believe 100 percent of what people say.

"You have to question what people say and put it in context," he said.

One of Richards' teaching goals is to help students think critically and question preconceived notions, he said.

"I have two goals," Richards said. "One is . . . to offer young people a vision of growing old that's not all that bad -- an acceptable vision of maturation. The other is to develop in students the desire to think on their own -- to think critically."

"I think Gary probably does more for thinking on this campus than just about anybody else who's walking around here," Richards said. "He causes more people to think and that's what we want -- people to think and to think critically."

Richards' "higher-level" goal in teaching is to help students see the connection between the spiritual and the intellectual.

"Spirituality is the key," he said. "That's what it's all about."

Richards said he loves to hear from students who say he's made a difference in their lives. He said he rarely reads their final evaluations without a tear in his eye.

His students have kept him from quitting, he said. When he hears how he's changed lives, he said he hears God -- or some higher power -- telling him to get back on the path.

"There's a higher power that's in control, so all I can do is sit back and accept it," he said. "The more I submit to it, the more I enjoy it."

Matt Riggio (sophomore-film and video) said he likes Richards' class because it's interesting and stimulates thought.

"A lot of it is stuff people already know, but he makes them really realize it," he said.

Richards has a quote on his office wall from a student evaluation he received about five years ago which reads: "This semester I have experienced some uneasiness, discomfort, frustration and a touch of anger. This semester I have experienced learning."

And that, Richards said, is what teaching is all about.