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Letters policy
We invite letters of 300 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for clarity, style and space and will be published based on their relevance to issues discussed in Macalester Today. You can send letters by e-mail to: mactoday@macalester.edu. Or: Letters to the Editor, Macalester Today, College Relations, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105-1899.
Political diversity
As an alumnus, I am sorry that Joseph Schultz '06's tenure at Mac hasn't been a more pleasant experience ["Macalester Voices," Fall issue]. There are two things you should keep in mind. Twenty years down the road, your relationships with many of your former classmates will be much more pleasant and rewarding. It's amazing how having to earn a living and paying taxes smoothes the edges of one's political persuasion. You should also understand that, unless you pursue a life in academe, it is unlikely that you will ever be in a place with less diversity, less tolerance or less real-world relevancy than where you are now.
At an alumni gathering earlier this year in Phoenix, I suggested that it might be more "educational" to have Thomas Sowell speak at Macalester than having Thomas Friedman visit again. What could be more educational than having a black conservative speak at Macalester?
The fact is that it is liberals who have a problem with free speech and a fear of real diversity, that is, people who think differently, especially people of color who don't "think as they should."
The very notion that a bunch of students, on an expensive campus, in 2006 would have some profound knowledge about racism is comical. What could be more amusing than a professor pontificating about "the equity of our system"? I hope you, Joseph Schultz, will sport your conservative views, loudly and proudly, and I hope you will develop a sense of humor about all this, too. I can assure you that 10 years from now it is unlikely that you will want to be reminded about many of the things you said when you were a student.
Some of my best friends are liberals (did I really say that?), but you can always forgive a friend for bad ideas. When you lose a friend (Mark Vaught '69, Fall issue In Memoriam), you suddenly and sadly realize that all those political disagreements and philosophical differences are, as they were before, less than trivial. If you leave Macalester without a wealth of friends and friendships, in quality and quantity, the fault is yours.
Darryl Everett '71
Phoenix, Ariz.
Mark Vaught '69
Thank you for including part of the obituary about Mark Vaught from the St. Paul Pioneer Press in the most recent Macalester Today. Mark was a giant on campus in the late '60s. When he began at Macalester, women had to be in by 10 p.m., dorms were segregated by gender, students had no say in curriculum. By the time Mark graduated, students were treated as adults with no curfew for women or men, coed dorms had opened and students were involved in shaping curriculum. The campus was also more diverse thanks to the EEO program sponsored by President Arthur Flemming and supported by Mark and other student leaders. We partnered with President Flemming, Dean Fred Kramer, Dr. Charles Green and others to transform Macalester from a place where students had little voice and the campus served as parents to a place where students were at the table and were treated as adults.
Mark was instrumental in making these changes happen. He was my friend. I miss him and the students of today should be thankful he was a part of campus life in the late '60s.
Mark Linder '69
Santa Cruz, Calif.
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Macalester Today's 20th birthday: looking back |
Twenty years ago in winter 1986, Macalester Today in its present magazine format first went out to alumni. The cover featured 22-year-old recent graduate Kari J. Nelson '86 who was beginning a demanding career as a Merrill Lynch stockbroker in New York City. In that issue economics Professor Karl Egge said, "She's like a jet engine: The more you shovel to her, the more efficient she is." For <i>Macalester Today's 20th anniversary issue, we checked in with Nelson, who is now Kari Boosalis and lives in Tiburon, Calif. She wrote: "I am now a mother of six children. I love my full, busy life. I am grateful for my education at Macalester College, and the opportunities I received from working with Karl Egge and the Entrepreneurship Club."
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Norm and Emily Rosenberg
Thank you for the wonderful article about Professors Emily and Norm Rosenberg [Spring issue]. I was very honored to see a photo of me with them included as part of this very well-deserved profile. The Rosenbergs had a positive impact on so many of us. There are many students who have benefited from Emily and Norm's knowledge, wisdom, humor and caring, and who are doing great things today. I'm happy (and much better off) to be part of that group.
Juan A. Figueroa '77
Meriden, Conn.
Harvey Sweeney '51
I would guess that all of us who served in World War II and later attended Macalester in those magic years will remember the late Harvey Sweeney '51 as an outwardly quiet man who was a fantastic basketball player and an intense competitor in everything he did. Perhaps that is why he was such an outstanding officer and why he became the decorated hero he was. As one who served in Korea at the same time he did, I know that any soldier in combat there would have wanted Harvey at his side or leading him. He had a burning intensity only great heroes have. He commanded the ultimate in respect without having to utter a word.
Though Harvey didn't have the opportunity to gain his degree at Macalester, I certainly think he deserved an honorary one. I know of no other man of his military stature from our college who surpassed him in bravery and in service to his country.
Rod Hunt '50
Osage, Minn.
Making a difference
My son paged through the Fall issue of Mac Today and said, "There's a photo of the woman we met at the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity site". It was Susan Haigh '73, executive director of TCHFH. At my son's insistence, I have participated with him on TCHFH projects. I was delighted to learn after the fact that the hand I shook on the job site was that of a Mac grad making a difference!
More importantly, it was an opportunity to discuss what making a difference means to a high school junior son participating in TCHFH as well as a college junior daughter just returning from a semester volunteering in Guatemala.
Professor Ted Mitau admonished us to "get involved and make a difference." Professor Karl Egge asked if we were "adding value." There were many people in the Mac community who said "doing no harm" was not sufficient. They demanded that "you leave this world better than you found it."
That is what "making a difference" Macalester-style means to me.
Ray Piirainen '76
Hopkins, Minn.
Class of 1951
I want to share my appreciation for your neat reporting of the Class of 1951 conversation ["Class of 1951 takes stock at their 55th Reunion," Fall issue]. It was a great weekend and you focused on a great class. I read the magazine from cover to cover, and though the events and students of today are so different from the '50s, it is still our college.
The Rev. Ronald Gustafson '51
La Crosse, Wis.
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