Regarding Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years.
Please be advised that the following autobiographical submission labeled Unpublished Original Text
was composed by Christopher Patrick Pursel for the publication entitled Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years.
Pursel recalls that the publisher of that work sought his contribution to this project via correspondence sent in . Note that Pursel composed his contribution in the style of an academic vita,
or life.
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Unpublished Original Text:
The following attestation was provided by Delbert W. Brown, Junior, College Registrar for the State University of New York College at Geneseo, in a letter dated June 4, 2012: "This is to certify that Christopher Patrick Pursel graduated from SUNY Geneseo on May 12, 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, a major in History, and minors in Medieval Studies, English (Literature) and Philosophy. College policy limits the number of minors that can appear on a student's record to two. Christopher did complete the requirements for a third minor in Philosophy." Pursel earned Bronze, Silver, Gold, Emerald, and Ruby Leadership Certificates from the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development Program, an optional curricular offering comprised of personal development sessions and sponsored by the State University of New York College at Geneseo. During the term of his undergraduate studies at the State University of New York College at Geneseo, Pursel was resident in the 2008 Dante House cohort, then in the 2011 Writers House cohort, named on the dean's list, and took a summer course on medieval and Renaissance history in Siena, Italy via the college's 2011 Study Abroad program. In 2010, Pursel won the merit-based Campus Auxiliary Services Student Annual Scholarship by participating in an essay contest. He was inducted into the State University of New York College at Geneseo's Iota Lambda chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, and served as executive secretary of that chapter from August 2011 to May 2012. Subsequent to earning his Bachelor of Arts degree, Pursel earned a Master of Science in Information Science graduate credential, with an Information Systems and Technology Concentration, from the University at Albany, State University of New York, which was conferred on December 19, 2015. As of 2022, he continues work on a Master of Arts in History as a matriculate of the College at Brockport, State University of New York; this master's degree was begun in the combined MSIS/MA dual-degree program arranged by the University at Albany, State University of New York.
After the Unpublished Original Text
was submitted by Pursel, the publisher of Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years sent him the version of his composition labeled Unpublished Bastardized Text,
which this publisher had altered
in the manner of its own choosing, thus introducing many errors, and effectively replacing Pursel's written style with simple, declarative sentences, almost in the manner of a written admission, profession, or confession.
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Unpublished Bastardized Text:
I graduated from Geneseo on May 12, 2012, with a BA, a major in history, and minors in medieval studies, English (literature), and philosophy. I earned Bronze, Silver, Gold, Emerald, and Ruby leadership certificates from the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development Program, an optional curricular offering comprised of personal development sessions. During the term of my undergraduate studies at Geneseo, I was a resident in the 2008 Dante House cohort and then in the 2011 Writers House cohort. I was named on the Dean's List. I took a summer course on medieval and Renaissance history in Siena, Italy, via the college's 2011 study abroad program. In 2010, I won the merit-based Campus Auxiliary Services Student Annual Scholarship by participating in an essay contest. I was inducted into Geneseo's Iota Lambda chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society. I served as executive secretary of that chapter from August 2011 to May 2012. On December 19, 2015, I earned a master of science in information science with an information systems and technology concentration from the University at Albany. I continue to work on a master of arts in history at Brockport.
Thereabout , which was when the publisher sent him the Unpublished Bastardized Text,
Pursel was invited to edit the Unpublished Bastardized Text,
with an understanding from the publisher's latest correspondence
that his changes to the same would be the final editorial revision to his autobiographical submission prior to its inclusion in the publisher's finished product, Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years.
Pursel's revision to the Unpublished Bastardized Text
is below as Unpublished Revised Text.
Note that Pursel charitably adopted the style of the Unpublished Bastardized Text
in the Unpublished Revised Text,
believing it to be the style preferred by the publisher,
but that he sought to correct the proofreading errors introduced by the publisher in the Revised Text.
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Unpublished Revised Text:
As attested in a letter dated June 4, 2012, and officially issued by Delbert W. Brown, Jr. as College Registrar for the State University of New York College at Geneseo, I graduated from that institution on May 12, 2012, when a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, with minors in Medieval Studies, English (Literature), and Philosophy, was conferred upon me. I earned Bronze, Silver, Gold, Emerald, and Ruby leadership certificates from the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development program, an optional curricular offering comprised of personal development sessions, under the direction of Dr. Thomas E. Matthews, Ed.D. During my undergraduate studies at Geneseo, I was a member of the 2008 Dante House cohort and 2011 Writers House cohort, was named on the Dean's List, and, in the summer of 2011, studied medieval and Renaissance history abroad in Siena, Italy. In 2010, I won the merit-based Campus Auxiliary Services Student Annual Scholarship by participating in an essay contest. I was inducted into Geneseo's Iota Lambda chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, and served as its executive secretary from August 2011 to May 2012. After my undergraduate graduation, a Master of Science in Information Science graduate credential, with an Information Systems and Technology Concentration, was conferred upon me by the University at Albany, State University of New York on December 19, 2015. As of 2022, I continue work on a Master of Arts in History as a matriculate of the College at Brockport, State University of New York; this second master's degree was begun in a dual-degree program arranged by the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Thereabout , the publisher contacted the purchasers of Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years, who were comprised of the alumni whose contributions produced
this work, to indicate that distribution of the printed volume would be subject to delay by a paper shortage. After contacting the publisher over the ensuing months, Pursel learned that shipments of the printed volume were
set to commence on , and he finally took possession of it in . To his great dismay, Pursel noted, upon locating his entry in
the delivered volume, that it did not faithfully represent the Unpublished Revised Text,
but instead reintroduced the proofreading errors in capitalization and style which were present in the Unpublished Bastardized Text.
Unfortunately, and despite Pursel's efforts to correct the editor's errors in the Unpublished Bastardized Text,
his contribution on the page of the printed volume contained not only these errors, but also a glaring error
in sentence structure which, in his analysis, can be attributed to an attempt at parallelism on the part of an overzealous and obstinate editor. This editor, by interfering with Pursel's written text, not only
reintroduced the capitalization errors identifiable by Microsoft Word from the Unpublished Bastardized Text,
but actually ruined the opening sentence which was composed by Pursel for the autobiographical record of his
own life; and this errored record, which may be perceived as a writing sample indicative of Pursel's skills, is now and forevermore memorialized in the published Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years.
This situation could give rise to the mistaken conclusion that Pursel himself, and not the editor of Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years, lacks command of the English language. Of course, these facts together
represent an inversion of the editor's traditional responsibilities, for Pursel, by the presentation of these facts, has shown that the editor of his contribution to
Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years detracted from the language of this contribution, and from the totality of its impact, rather than improving the former and latter points.
The editor's rendition of the Unpublished Revised Text
from the distributed volume appears below as the Published Bastardized Text.
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Published Bastardized Text:
AS ATTESTED IN A LETTER DATED June 4, 2012, and officially issued by Delbert W. Brown, Jr. as college registrar for the State University of New York College at Geneseo, I graduated from that institution on May 12, 2012, with a bachelor of arts degree in history, with minors in Medieval Studies, English Literature, and Philosophy, was conferred upon me. I earned bronze, silver, gold, emerald, and ruby leadership certificates from the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development Program, an optional curricular offering comprised of personal development sessions under the direction of Dr. Thomas E. Matthews, Ed.D. During my studies at Geneseo, I was a member of the 2008 Dante House cohort and 2011 Writers House cohort, and I was named on the Dean's List. In 2010, I won the merit-based Campus Auxiliary Services Student Annual Scholarship by participating in an essay contest. In 2011, I studied Medieval and Renaissance history abroad in Siena, Italy. I was inducted into Geneseo's Iota Lambda Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, and served as its executive secretary from August 2011 to May 2012. After my undergraduate graduation, a master of science in information science graduate credential, with an information systems and technology concentration, was conferred upon me by the University at Albany, State University of New York on December 19, 2015. As of 2022, I continue to work on a master of arts in history as a matriculate of the College at Brockport, State University of New York. This second master's degree was begun in a dual-degree program arranged by the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Due to the persistence of the editor in reintroducing errors in capitalization, and in botching the first sentence for reasons that may only be subject to speculation, Pursel contacted the publisher and tendered a complaint.
Because the volume had already been published, and no second edition is likely to ever be distributed, the publisher responded to his complaint by authorizing a full refund of the purchase price, sales tax, and shipping cost
which Pursel had previously paid the publisher for his copy of Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years. If the publisher should ever contemplate legal action against Pursel for the contents of this webpage, whether
on grounds of alleged copyright infringement or libel, Pursel contends that the publisher's refund of the money he expended to purchase the volume is good proof that this publisher itself acknowledged wrongdoing in its
handling of Pursel's contribution to Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years, and furthermore contends that the contents of this explanatory webpage, which includes the Published Bastardized Text,
were directly and
exclusively made necessary by the publisher's errors in the same Published Bastardized Text,
which constitute the aforesaid wrongdoing.
By publishing this webpage's contents, Pursel rebuts the errors of the editor responsible for the
Published Bastardized Text,
the entry associated with his name and identity in Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years, and he rebuts these errors both individually and in toto, thus protecting his reputation as a proficient author.
Accordingly, the below revision, labeled Published Revised Text
, corrects the editor's errors in the Published Bastardized Text.
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Published Revised Text:
AS ATTESTED IN A LETTER DATED June 4, 2012, and officially issued by Delbert W. Brown, Jr. as College Registrar for the State University of New York College at Geneseo, I graduated from that institution on May 12, 2012, when a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, with minors in Medieval Studies, English Literature, and Philosophy, was conferred upon me. I earned Bronze, Silver, Gold, Emerald, and Ruby leadership certificates from the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development Program, an optional curricular offering comprised of personal development sessions under the direction of Dr. Thomas E. Matthews, Ed.D. During my studies at Geneseo, I was a member of the 2008 Dante House cohort and 2011 Writers House cohort, and I was named on the Dean's List. In 2010, I won the merit-based Campus Auxiliary Services Student Annual Scholarship by participating in an essay contest. In 2011, I studied medieval and Renaissance history abroad in Siena, Italy. I was inducted into Geneseo's Iota Lambda chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, and served as its executive secretary from August 2011 to May 2012. After my undergraduate graduation, a Master of Science in Information Science graduate credential, with an Information Systems and Technology concentration, was conferred upon me by the University at Albany, State University of New York on December 19, 2015. As of 2022, I continue to work on a Master of Arts in History as a matriculate of the College at Brockport, State University of New York. This second master's degree was begun in a dual-degree program arranged by the University at Albany, State University of New York.
Pursel immediately contacted the publisher upon noting the errors of the Published Bastardized Text,
and as stated, he received a full refund of the price he paid for his copy of Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years.
Because he abhors the idea that anyone, now or in the future, could lay hands on a copy of Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years and reasonably conclude that the years of his life spent earning degrees related
to written communication were wasted, or that these degrees ought not to have been conferred upon him, he has published this record of the facts surrounding his autobiographical entry in the publication Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years.
It is his hope that this record will remedy any misapprehensions which may arise from the decision by the editor or editors of Geneseo Storytellers: A Celebration of 150 Years to disregard the conventions
of the English language in editing
Pursel's work.
Pursel last updated this page as of May 20, 2023.