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BUCKNELLWorldMarch 2004Volume 32Number 2

Bucknell’s 16th President NamedReviving Armenia’s History

State of the ArtsTake a glimpse into the magical world of the performing arts at Bucknell.

2 BUCKNELL WORLD • March 2004

G I G I M A R I N O

cultural radarEditor’s Note

against the Armenians was front-page news, andthere was a concentrated relief effort in the UnitedStates to help the survivors. In 1915, U.S. Ambas-sador to Armenia Henry Morgenthau helped foundthe Near East Relief (now the Near East Foundation)to provide aid to the innocent victims of what theorganization calls “the first large-scale refugee crisisof the 20th century.”

Why is it that an event that figured so promi-nently in the American consciousness is now barelya blip on our cultural radar?

In short, Balakian asserts, politics. Turkey, whichto this day has never admitted to its role in theArmenian genocide, has and continues to threatenthe United States with denying access to its bordersand canceling military contracts for even a briefmention of the genocide.

I’ve known about the Armenian genocide sinceI was 16 when I spent a summer studying poetry atBucknell with an amazing poetry teacher — PeterBalakian. And now, I’ve had the chance to tell hisstory of a lost Armenian history, which has been anhonor. I hope that this story will be told again andagain and that it will find its way back into ourhistory books where it belongs. W

Whenever I start workingon a story, I talk about it. Talking is animportant part of the writing process— it helps unsnarl ideas, articulate

conundrums, make sense of a body of material,discover the heart of a story. Simply talking out loudoften brings an order to chaotic thoughts. But aneven more important aspect for me is that talking topeople about a certain subject lets me know howmuch additional information the audience needs toknow to understand a story.

My assignment for this issue was to write anarticle about Peter Balakian ’73 and his new book,The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide andAmerica’s Response. My gut sense was that the historyof Armenia is probably a mystery to most people. So,I did an informal survey among people who arerepresentative of our audience — educated, wellread, and cultured. The question was, “What do youknow about Armenia?” The answers included,“They have a good gymnastics team,” “Something todo with Mesopotamia,” “They have good food,” “It’sbordered by Azerbaijan and Georgia, but I can’t tellyou much more,” and “Don’t the men havemustaches?” One woman said that her motheralways admonished her to eat all the food on herplate because of the “starving Armenians,” butwhen pressed further, she said she had no idea whothe starving Armenians were.

At one time in 20th-century American history,the starving Armenians were very much a part ofthe zeitgeist, and children all over the United Statesknew about the plight of other children halfwayaround the world who had been driven out of theirhomes and homeland and suffered torture,maiming, and murder. In 1915, a triad of Ottomannationalists known as the Young Turks systemati-cally eliminated between 1.2 and 1.3 millionArmenians. (At the same time, the six-century oldOttoman Empire was collapsing, part of which even-tually became modern-day Turkey as mandated bythe Treaty of Sevres in 1920.) The Ottoman rage

Executive EditorSharon Poff

EditorGigi Marino

Contributing EditorsBob Gaines

Alan JaneschKathryn Kopchik MA’89

Class Notes EditorsPat Parker

Erma Gustafson (Emerita)

Editorial AssistantLinda Miller

Art DirectorMary A. Meacham

Bucknell World WebmasterStephanie Zettlemoyer

Bucknell World InternsMichelle Dombeck ’05Peter Hackeman ’04

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Who Remembersthe StarvingArmenians?

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On the cover: Liisa Britt ’04 on the left and Mia Fioravanti ’05 on the rightin the fall production of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie (see thecover story on p. 10). The play was directed by faculty member RobertGainer and designed by faculty members David Fillmore, Paula Davis-Larson, and Heath Hansum. Photo by David Fillmore.

March 2004 • BUCKNELL WORLD 3

B r i a n c . M i t c h e l lAfter an extensive search, Brian C. Mitchell

was named Bucknell’s 16th president.

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Inside this issue

M A R C H 2 0 0 4

F E A T U R E S

10 A CULTURAL JEWELBucknell offers world-class performances for and by students in

all areas of the performing arts — music, theatre, and dance.

Majors and non-majors alike share in the myriad opportunities

available. — Theresa Gawlas Medoff ’85

14 DR. LANGUAGE & MR. WORDMANYourDictionary.com is one of the hottest sites on the web for

words, puzzles, and games — and it all began when a linguist

wanted to share his research about Indo-European languages

with colleagues. — Kathie Dibell Briley

16 THE LOST HISTORY OF ARMENIAThe Armenian genocide, Peter Balakian ’73 insists, is vital

to understanding modern world history, and his new book,

The Burning Tigris, is an attempt to put this tragic event

in its rightful place. — Gigi Marino

BUCKNELL

C E L E B R AT I N G T H E A R T SBucknell has a vibrant performing arts community,

offering students world-class productions as well asindividual instruction.

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R E M E M B E R I N G A R M E N I A In 1915, Americans supported a massive

relief effort to help victims of the Armeniangenocide, which few remember today.

Peter Balakian ’73 wants to change that.

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2 Editor’s Note

4 Letters

5 Bucknell Express

18 Backward GlanceChristy Mathewson Jr. ’27 did not live in the shadow of his celebrated father.

20 Alumni AssociationChips Off the Ol’ Block 2007

21 Class NotesAlumni Profiles: Jane Haenle ’56, p. 26 • William Curnow ’61, p. 28 • Maura Bayliss White ’79, p. 32 •Edward Robinson ’86, p. 34

22 Flashback — 1940sThe Duke

40 World’s EndJoe Rubinstein ’50 found an oasis and many friendships in the Sahara Desert in 1950.

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natured schmoozing that was a byproduct ofthat love. During the 1980s, he was part of a“Bucknell Posse” (other members includedformer President Gary Sojka and the late PetePedrick ’60) who frequently dined at aManhattan “red sauce” Italian restaurant onFirst Avenue and 83rd Street. I was a frequentcustomer and enjoyed escorting a date there,seeing Dick and/or his colleagues, then sayingto her, “I hope you realize that Bucknellpeople only dine at classy places.” God restDick’s truly decent soul.

James K. Rowbotham ’65New York, N.Y.

TERRIFIC TEACHERS

Like many other past chemistrystudents, I thoroughly enjoyed readingabout the seven chemistry professors

[September 2003]. Though I didn’t grad-uate, instead transferring to Hope College inHolland, Mich., I spent two years atBucknell and have followed its chemistrydepartment for years.

Bucknell is fortunate to have had theservices of a number of superb teachers.Harold Heine scared most of my chemicalengineering classmates to death in the ’50s.But they survived his organic chemistrycourses in spite of themselves and likelynow fondly recall, for their grandchildren,the things he taught them, rather than theintimidating questions he asked them. Oneoutcome is that a chemical reaction discov-ered by Harold and two undergraduates atBucknell in the ’50s will soon be named theHeine Reaction for organic chemists theworld over to honor his contributions.

Lester Kieft was chair of chemistrywhen I was a student in the ’50s. He was acollege friend of my dad and mother whenthey were student colleagues at Hope in the’30s, which only had 400 students, andeveryone knew everyone else. Since myentire family were Hope alumni, it wasprobably only because of the Kieft connec-tion that I was actually allowed to enroll atBucknell at all.

The letters in the January Bucknell Worldalso inspired this lifelong academic. Univer-sities aren’t football teams, administrativesuccesses, or even alumni events. Universi-ties are dedicated faculty who provide excellent teaching. In fact, I’m meeting withthe editor of the Bowling Green alumnimagazine soon to encourage them to follow

Readers WriteLetters

Editor’s Note: We encourage letters to the editor related to issues discussed inBucknell World, issues that relate to university news or policies, or that are of interestto a segment of our readership. Letters should be no longer than 300 words and may be edited for length, clarity, and civility. Letters can be mailed, faxed, or sent via email to [email protected]. The complete letters policy can be read atwww.bucknell.edu/BucknellWorld.

HURRICANEPRAYERS

My wife, the former Barbara Jones’49, and I recently moved to theNottingham Village Retirement

Center in Northumberland, Pa. One of thefirst people we met was Anna Ruth MalickKuttruff ’40, the cousin of Howard Malick ’40.

During WWII, the Army Air Corps sentme to the Pan American Airlines LongRange Flight School in Miami. My orderswere to learn and later teach four-enginepilots how to master long flights. One face inour training group looked familiar. HowardMalick had been a Bucknell classmate andwas an instructor.

Howard and I were teammates for thecourse. The final part of the course was toperform an actual long-range flight in afour-engine Liberator. On the day of the testflight, a hurricane was predicted. The PanAm staff decided we should still do theflight, but only as safety permitted.

The Pan Am instructor, although anexperienced airline pilot, had limited flightexperience in the Liberator bomber. We hadalmost reached our turnaround point in theAtlantic when we flew into the edge of thehurricane. Saying he needed to rest, thepilot asked me to take over.

Penetrating the hurricane, we flew intoa heavy rain. The bomber shuddered in theturbulence. Lightning lit the tiny cabin. As Ifought the controls, I heard Howard gasp. Agreenish-blue ball of flame hovered aroundthe propeller on the number four engine. Itmoved to the number three engine, thenzipped through the cockpit to the other twoprops, and shortly disappeared. Thoughdramatic, the light was St. Elmo’s fire, whichis actually just static electricity, and posed noharm to the aircraft or the crew.

The rain was so heavy that it seemed wewere in a submarine rather than a plane.Our big radial engines surged and missed abeat but continued to run. With no helpfrom the Pan Am pilot, I made a quick deci-sion to turn the plane.

I later received a letter from Howard,who was then somewhere in the Pacific area.He confessed to me he said a prayer when weentered the worst of the hurricane. He wrote,“The good Lord answered that prayer whenyou made a very careful turn and flew us outof that extreme weather.”

Howard passed away in 1996, andthough I hadn’t thought about that flight inyears, I will never forget it.

Joe Diblin ’40Northumberland, Pa.

NIHIL SUB SOLE NOVUM

Another eclectic building! Thistime for engineers. What the articleon the new engineers’ building calls a

“modern structure” is just another replica-tion of old classicism, complete with Romancolumns and Grecian pediment [“Express,”September 2003].

The only thing modern about this struc-ture is the inside with the latest state-of-the-art technology. Although the article speaksabout the innovative teaching methods forthe engineering students inside, the archi-tectural rendering denies any technicaladvances outside.

In an effort to keep some continuity oncampus, new buildings can still employ brickand stone but in new ways that bring excite-ment and creativity to the campus and tothe students who are a part of a new gener-ation. Old buildings like Larison Hall andOld Main were of their time and add valu-able history to the campus. But somehowBucknell has become stuck in a particularera. I’m sure teaching methods and studyhabits have changed over the years. Why isthis not reflected in the architectural envi-ronment? Buildings teach too.

Jean Bailey Gaede ’50Shaker Heights, Ohio

HOLOCAUSTHISTORY

Ithink you’re doing a great jobwith Bucknell World with the many finearticles in it. In particular, I was very

impressed with the “Editor’s Note” about theHolocaust trip [January 2004] and our atti-tudes as we relate to each other. The articlewas well done, and I appreciate the under-standing it provides.

Jerry Zales ’54Allentown, Pa.

DIFFICULT MATERIAL

Not often does Bucknell Worldtake on so difficult a subject as apilgrimage to Auschwitz [January

2004]. The article drew me in especiallybecause I had recently read philosopherSusan Neiman’s Evil in Modern Thought.Neiman argues that Auschwitz is the water-shed event in the modern world’s moralbreakdown. She writes, “We are horrified,after all, not when beasts and devils behavelike beasts and devils, but when humanbeings do … Auschwitz is [so] devastatingbecause it reveals a possibility in humannature that we hoped not to see.”

You made me want to take the sametrip to witness it for myself. Thank you for aprofound and moving account.

Michael Paladini ’77Stow, Mass.

HATS OFF TO DICK AND J IM

There’s always at least one inter-esting article in Bucknell World. TheSeptember 2003 issue had two highly

notable pieces: Jim Dusenbury ’66 wrote awonderful valedictory Class Notes columnabout Linda and Steve Patterson ’66, theirstorybook romance, and her laudable orga-nization, America Supporting America. I’m anonmilitary member of the AmericanLegion at the New York Athletic Club andam working on this chapter becoming anASA sponsor. Jim was a terrific Class Notescorrespondent, and I’m not just strokinghim for his New York Mets box seats nextseason. Well, maybe a little.

Marilyn Olson Parks ’68 wrote an evoca-tive “World’s End” tribute to the late DickNelson. All I can do is confirm her observa-tions about an eminently likeable, deeplysincere guy. There are more than a few acad-emic development people who deal withalumni based on gift history or potential. NotDick Nelson. He loved people and the good-

“You’re sitting under a tree near the art building? Me too, but I can’t see you. What are your GPS coordinates?”

Bucknell World’s example and do a story ortwo on some of the breakfast club counter-parts among my colleagues in the faculty atBowling Green. Like many professors atBucknell and around the country, they aregreat teachers who made real differences inthe lives of generations of young persons.Thanks for the story.

Doug Neckers ’60Perrysburg, Ohio

BUCKNELL BEATS HARVARD

The date was September 1964, lessthan one year after the death of oneof Harvard’s most famous alumni,

John Kennedy. “Little” Bucknell was at theHarvard campus to play football. At thestadium before the game, the announcersaid, “Bucknell has not beaten an Ivy Leagueteam in 76 years.” There was some laughterin the Harvard stadium. Who was this“little” Bucknell team that had lost toGettysburg the week before?

Little did the Harvard fans and playersknow that the Bucknell line was as good as aDivision I line: end Tom Mitchell ’66 wouldbecome a pro-football star, guard Scott Ellis’65 was a walk-on who was our best offensiveblocker, center Jeff Traub ’66 was a Division Iblocker, guard Andy Dzurinko ’65 had offersfrom Big Ten schools, tackle Ted Ratkus ’65was an outstanding strong blocker, end RonKinsey ’66 was a nearly pro receiver, I was atackle who could have played for Duke orNavy, and Bobby Joe Haering ’65 turneddown an offer from Notre Dame so he couldplay for “little” Bucknell.

With outstanding pass protection, BillLerro ’66 pitched 23 completed passes, 13 toMitchell and 10 to Kinsey. These were newBucknell school records. In the second half,Harvard came to life and ran us ragged withwide end sweeps. Exhausted, we hung inthere and pushed the wide sweeps out ofbounds.

A very hard-fought game on a beautifulcrisp autumn day, a good day to be inMassachusetts for a football game thatBucknell won 24–21. Late that night, as theBucknell team arrived on campus, ourstadium was lit up, and the stands were fullof students. Never before had we receivedsuch a welcome home. And, after nearly 40years, the memory is still strong.

Robert A. Brown ’65Lakewood, Ohio


WorldBUCKNELL Express

Brian C. Mitchell, president of Washington& Jefferson College since 1998, was named the 16thpresident of Bucknell University on March 2. Mitchell,51, will join Bucknell July 1, succeeding Steffen H.

Rogers, who announced his June 30 retirement last May.Mitchell is a leading expert in higher education who

is regularly quoted in major media outlets on issues related to private education and its contributions to today’s society. From 1995–98, Mitchell was president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania(AICUP), in Harrisburg, Pa., an organization representingprivate colleges and universities in the state.

The announcement of Mitchell’s selection was made bySusan Crawford ’69, chair of Bucknell’s board of trustees. Shesays that Mitchell “is uniquely qualified to be president at thispoint in Bucknell’s history. He has a deep knowledge of theissues affecting private higher education, he has demonstratedleadership in working within and outside the university com-munity, he understands and appreciates the academic culture at institutions like Bucknell, and he is an effective fundraiser.”

A specialist in 19th-century urban, ethnic, and labor history,Mitchell is author of The Paddy Camps: The Irish of Lowell, 1821-1861(University of Illinois Press, 1988), a critically acclaimed work.

Washington & Jefferson is a nationally ranked liberal arts college in Washington, Pa., about 30 miles southwest ofPittsburgh. The Chronicle of Higher Education, a publication thatcovers national higher education issues, credited Mitchell lastyear with forging a close and collaborative relationship withthe city of Washington. Guiding the town-gown relationship,reported the Chronicle, was a document called the “Blueprintfor Collaboration,” which outlined ways the college could work with the city on several fronts.

Mitchell’s accomplishments at Washington & Jefferson alsoinclude instituting a new liberal arts curriculum that focuses oninterdisciplinary study and faculty research in the classroom;the building of several new facilities; the undertaking of themost successful fundraising campaign in the college’s history,which has raised more than $83.7 million; and a decrease inthe acceptance rate, as well as a 44-point increase in the SATscores for the students applying.

Mitchell, who holds a doctoral degree from the Universityof Rochester, has received numerous grants and academicawards. Among his awards are grants from the AmericanCouncil of Learned Societies, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Hereceived the Haskell Award for Distinguished Teaching in theHumanities from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and the Albert J. Beveridge Grant for Research in AmericanHistory, awarded by the American Historical Association.

He has extensive teaching experience at colleges anduniversities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Virginiaand was a program officer in the Division of State Programs of the National Endowment for the Humanities beforebecoming president of the Council of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (CICU) in 1991.

Mitchell serves as chairman of the Pennsylvania SelectionCommittee for the Rhodes Scholarships. He also was appointedby former Gov. Tom Ridge to the Pennsylvania Historical andMuseum Commission and recently was reappointed by Gov. Ed Rendell. Past chair of the National Association of Indepen-dent College and University State Executives, he has served on the boards of the National Association of IndependentColleges and Universities, the Pennsylvania HumanitiesCouncil, and the national board of History Day.

Mitchell is married to Maryjane (Murphy) Mitchell. They have two sons, Jeffrey and Patrick. Says Mitchell, “I amextremely pleased that the board of trustees has offered me this exceptional opportunity. Bucknell is a place of substantialtraditions and enormous potential. Maryjane and I are eager to become members of the Bucknell community. It is an out-standing institution, and I look forward to my role in setting a vision that will respect the good work already done and challenge all of us to think even more aggressively about a future that has no recognizable limits. What an adventure awaits us as we work together to define and refine the mean-ing of academic excellence at Bucknell.” — Alan Janesch

Brian C. Mitchell Named New President

See the August issue of Bucknell World for a cover story on President-elect Mitchell.


R E S E A R C H & T E A C H I N G

Biology professor Warren Abrahamsonis a naturalist who lives on 30 acres of woodedproperty, but the terrain he inhabits is oftentreacherous, filled with fierce competition,

invading forces, the very struggle to survive. And all of thistakes place in small balled worlds that most of us ignore —the life and times of the solitary gall.

Galls, the tumorlike growths you often see on plants orleaves, are actually the homes for insects like flies or wasps.Abrahamson studies both and says that although there are1,700 species of gall insects known in North America, theseparasites live mostly in three plant families: the oak/beechfamily, the rose family, and the sunflower/goldenrodfamily. His specialty is the latter. He recently celebrated his30-year mark at Bucknell and says, “My tenure at theuniversity is synonymous with goldenrod ball galls.”

Goldenrod galls are inhabited by the goldenrod gall fly,which mates in the spring. The female lands on the plantand, using her ovipositor, deposits an egg into the pliableyoung plant. Five days later, the egg hatches, and the larvaburrows into the stem, eating its house. In response tolarval secretions, the gall grows. In the fall, the single-minded larva tunnels a passage through the gall for escapein the spring, then falls into a deep-freeze sleep over thewinter. The cold is essential, Abrahamson says. “It keepstheir respiration low.” When spring arrives, the pupaforms, and a few weeks later, an adult fly breaks throughthe gall — that is, if the larva survives the winter. He saysthat birds, especially downy woodpeckers, love little larva.And he also studies wasps that attack the goldenrod gall fly,invade its home, and deposit their own egg, which hatchesand eats the fly larva.

Most recently, Abrahamson’s work focuses on howspecies are formed. Goldenrod fields containing tall gold-enrod and late goldenrod throughout most of the easternUnited States have galls only on tall goldenrod. Butwalking through fields of tall goldenrod and late goldenrodin New England, Michigan, and Minnesota, he noticedsomething odd — galls appearing on both tall and lategoldenrod. “This insect covers a range from Canada toTexas, and throughout the Eastern states it was only living

on tall goldenrod. I was puzzled by this pattern,” he says.He wondered if the fly had multiple host plants (no) or ifthe fly had changed (yes). Studies showed genetic differ-ences in the flies. “Not enough to be a different species,” hesays, “but the late goldenrod fly is definitely another racederived from the tall goldenrod fly. We’re observing specia-tion in operation. We often see the end result but not thetransition from one species to another.”

Once Abrahamson and his students realized that theywere looking at two races, they noticed something else.The late goldenrod fly occurred only in northern climes.Kim Weihrer Long MS’01 had done a population study oflate goldenrod gall flies and found thousands in theSyracuse area. When Abrahamson had returned to thesame field two years later, he only found 13. “This was thetrigger,” he says. “Syracuse had a record warm winter.”Currently, the nearest sizeable late goldenrod fly popula-tion occurs 150 miles north of Syracuse.

Abrahamson and Jason Irwin, Burpee post-doctoralfellow, are studying respiration rates to understand the newfly with its smaller mass, which make surviving warmwinters more difficult. Their research is funded by a $312,000National Science Foundation grant. He says, “My revelationwas seeing that the range of the organism I worked on couldbe so impacted by warm weather.” — Gigi Marino

Next to Nature

’ R A Y B U C K N E L L

• The January 2004 issue ofKiplinger’s Personal Finance magazineranked Bucknell in the top 50 “bestprivate college values.” The articlenotes that the rankings place a greatervalue on quality than on cost. For acomplete table of the schools thatmade the list, go to www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges.

• Music professor Jackson Hillwas included in the list of this year’sGrammy nominations. His composi-tion “Voices of Autumn” appears onthe Teldec CD Our American Journeyreleased by the singing groupChanticleer last November. The CDwas one of the nominees in theClassical Crossover category.

• PricewaterhouseCoopers chose ateam of Bucknell accounting studentsas national finalists in its “xtremeaccounting” competition, xACT. Thestudents were challenged with a high-level accounting problem, which theyhad to solve and present via videotape.The team traveled to New York City in January to compete.

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The Gall Fly and Its Home: On the left, a goldenrod gall fly chooses a young plant tolay its egg. On the right is the kind of gall that forms from the fly larval secretions.


B R I E F S

and will not affect operational andacademic budgets. The land couldeventually be used to construct newacademic or residential buildings. Forthe near future, the land is expectedto remain a green space.

Spring Retirees Four university faculty members will retire after thissemester’s conclusion. Three of thefour are members of the biologydepartment: Professors Sally Nyquist,David Pearson, and John Tonzetich.Charles Pinter, professor of mathe-matics, will also retire. They join Tom Travis, professor of politicalscience and international relations,who retired at the end of the fall semester.

E-newsletter Name Change For thosewho have enjoyed receiving Bisonlineeach month, rest assured that anewsletter by any other name reads just as sweet. The electronicnewsletter, which is sent out to allalumni whose email addresses weknow, will now be called BucknellWorld Update. The newsletter providesan update of campus news of interestto alumni. If you are a graduate who is not receiving the newsletterand would like to, please write [email protected] and request to be put on the list.

Arts Celebration in April A Shakespeareperformance, an orchestra concert,and a spring banquet headline theSpring Arts Weekend, April 17–18.The Association for the Arts’ celebra-tion of the arts at Bucknell begins onSaturday with a roundtable lunch atnoon and continues with the Associa-tion for the Arts spring banquet from6–8 p.m. John McPherson ’83, thecartoonist of “Close to Home,” will beinducted into the Academy of ArtisticAchievement. Starting at 8 p.m., TheTempest will be performed at theHarvey Powers Theatre in ColemanHall, as well as a concert performanceby the Bucknell Orchestra at the WeisCenter. For more information, go towww.bucknell.edu/alumni.

Klett Named Trustee Edwin Klett ’57 isthe newest member of the BucknellBoard of Trustees. Klett was amember of Theta Chi fraternity, theStudent Government Association, andthe yearbook staff while a student.After graduation, he earned his legaldegree from the Dickinson School of Law. Klett is a partner at KlettRooney Lieber & Schorling inPittsburgh, Pa. He and his wife, Janis,are the parents of three children, twoof whom are students at Bucknell,Kirklin ’07 and Krista Klett ’05.

Weblinks to Watch Curious about campusnews and events? Visit www.bucknell.edu/In_the_News.

I Serve 2, and 3, and 4 ... The Dean ofStudents office has fostered volunteerprograms for years, but it has recentlystepped up its commitment to volun-teerism by establishing a programcalled “I Serve 2,” which encouragesstudents, faculty, and staff to volun-teer a minimum of two hours peracademic year. It’s also the first timethat the number of volunteers andvolunteer hours can be tracked. TinaMcDowell, volunteer coordinator, iscollecting data on the number ofvolunteers and the hours they con-tribute. Some of the projects she’soverseeing include a walk for theLeukemia and Lymphoma Foundationand a soup kitchen. This past holidayseason, the Giving Tree programcollected more than 1,200 gifts for665 local residents. For more informa-tion, go to www.bucknell.edu/deanofstudents/CS/CommService.html.

Faculty Fulbrights Coralynn Davis,assistant professor of women’s andgender studies, and James Pusey, asso-ciate professor of East Asian studies,are serving as Fulbright Scholars thisyear. Davis is conducting research inNepal, focusing on Maithi Women’snarratives. Pusey is studying in Beijing,China. His research topic is “Tang PoetsAgainst the Chairman: Deng Tuo’s‘Literary Criticism’ in and of the GreatLeap Forward.”

Land Purchase Expands Campus Theuniversity has purchased almost 50acres of land adjacent to campus. Theland is located behind Fraternity Roadand fits with both the current masterplan, adopted in 1999, and the plancrafted by Jens Larsen in 1930. The$2.9 million used to purchase the landcame from the capital reserves budget

Nader to Speak atGraduation Consumeradvocate, nationallyknown author, andpresidential candidateRalph Nader will be the commencementspeaker at graduationon May 23. The choice

of Nader was the result of a new processand committee formed this year, whichincluded three students, three facultymembers, and three administrators.“Regardless of your personal views abouthim, you would be hard-pressed to find anindividual who has committed more of hisor her life to broadening fundamental demo-cratic values in this country than Nader,”says Jim Rice, assistant vice president ofacademic affairs and chair of thecommencement speaker selectioncommittee. Nader, who gained prominencewith his 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed,was influential in the passage of the SafeDrinking Water Act and numerous othermotor vehicle and consumer safety laws.

University Honors MLK DayBobby Seale, chairman and cofounderof the Black Panther Party, was thekeynote speaker at the Martin LutherKing Jr. celebration in late January.Other activities included a commemora-tive march, a community dinner, aninterfaith worship, and a showing of themovie Panther, based on Seale’s andHuey Newton’s involvement with theBlack Panther movement in the ’60s.

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Arguing for the Environment JohnMartin Gillroy, program director andassociate professor of environmentalstudies, is a holistic thinker. He

believes the quality ofthe air over Bombay isjust as important as theair over Lewisburg andthat environmental lawshould protect both,especially on an inter-national level. He says,“It’s only at the inter-national level thatanything is going tochange.”

With a backgroundin political science and

environmental law, Gillroy would bejust as comfortable in a policy thinktank as he is in the classroom. He did,in fact, work in Congress as a legisla-tive assistant during the ’80s and as analyst for the EnvironmentalProtection Agency in Vermont. He haswritten or edited five books with titles

like The Moral Austerity of EnvironmentalDecision Making and Justice & Nature:Kantian Philosophy, Environmental Policy,& the Law. “I would like my work toestablish communications — a bridge— between philosophers and policymakers,” he says. “Change begins withdiscussions among academics andpractitioners.”

One of the questions that under-lies all of Gillroy’s work is, “Doesnature have an intrinsic value and, ifso, can it be represented in the law?”He points to the market model asbeing a bad one for the environment.“We need to see nature not just as awarehouse full of commodities butalso as a biological, physical, andchemical entity in itself, and its long-term health should be taken intoconsideration. We’re not doing thatwith our policy now. We need toexpand our thinking.”

Take, for instance, an old-growthtree and a third-growth tree. Is therea difference? “The market will say

F a c u l t y P r o f i l e : John Martin Gillroy

that you get more wood from an old-growth tree and spend less moneygetting it,” says Gillroy. “But espe-cially with the environment, themarket often does more harm thangood.” Our laws, instead, need toappreciate the intrinsic value of anold-growth tree as a vital part of agreater and more unique ecosystem.

Environmental policy is relativelynew — 90 percent of environmentallegislation has appeared since 1970.And international environmental lawis an even newer field. Gillroy says,“The most important problems areglobal problems.” He notes that someof the most innovative legislation hashappened on state and local levels, but environmentalists need to thinkoutside of their own ken. “Environ-mentalism is not a matter of personalvirtue, but of policy,” he says. “Andenvironmental studies is about ourrelationship with nature and the plan-ning, policy, and law that define thatrelationship.” — Gigi Marino

In a 2002 meeting, Kallin and Graham discussedBucknell, gender equity, and Title IX for hours, forging amutual respect and understanding. Graham decided to helpthe university achieve equity. “Bill felt that one of the bestways he could help support the wrestling program was tohelp women’s athletics,” Kallin says.

They outlined a three-faceted gift that would fund the artificial turf field, create an endowment for women’sathletics, and provide operating support for club-varsitywrestling. Before announcing his donation, Graham metwith Lewis, who had been seeking a turf field for more than a decade. Lewis and Graham shared their thoughts onbuilding successful teams, in sports and business, and discov-ered similarities in their ideas on academics and athletics.

“Both, of course, are crucial to growth and develop-ment,” Graham says. “But I think developing competitiveinstincts, learning to face challenges, and learning to winwhen times are difficult is very valuable.”

In September 2003, Graham and his wife, Frances, aformer high school field hockey player, gave Bison playersan opportunity to hone those competitive skills when theycut the ribbon at the new state-of-the-art field. Grahamsays he was “bowled over” by the unsolicited words ofappreciation from parents, alumni, and student-athletes.

Lewis, who shared her gratitude with an emotionalspeech at the dedication ceremony, was not completelysurprised to hear the same sentiments from others. “That’sone of the pleasures of working at Bucknell — the peopleyou meet,” she says. “I would never have met Bill Grahamif I didn’t work here.” — Brett Tomlinson ’99

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The Field That Forged a Friendship

Before games, field hockey teamssprinkle their artificial turf fields with water toensure that the ball rolls true. So, it seemed fittingthat on the first day of practice at Graham Field,

nature took care of the watering. But when the rain cloudsparted and practice began, coach Heather Lewis noticedchanges in her team.

“My kids started showing up for practice earlier andstaying later after the field was finished,” says Lewis, whocoached the 2003 Bison to the Patriot League semifinals.

The Astroturf field, named for lead donor WilliamGraham ’62, holds the promise of a new era for Bucknell’svarsity field hockey and women’s lacrosse teams. It will beused by intramural and recreational programs, as well.

Graham, the C.E.O. ofthe Graham Company inPhiladelphia, wrestled as an undergraduate. A loyalsupporter of the wrestlingprogram, he was under-standably disconcertedwhen Bucknell dropped itfrom the varsity lineup in2001. Vice President forDevelopment Bob Kallin ’78decided to pay him a visit.

All for Equity: Heather Lewis, Frances Graham, and Bill Graham at the dedication ceremony.A

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First-year student Steve Chronowski’07 spent his summer vacation training on M-16sand anti-tank weapons at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.Affected by the September 11 terror attacks, he

joined the National Guard while he was still in high school.“I wanted to serve my country,” he says.

So, he wasn’t surprised when he received a call lastDecember, telling him that he would be deployed to Iraq —the first and only Bucknell student to do so.

Chronowski, who’s majoring in chemical engineering,is part of the 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery, out of hishometown, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. A total of 900 troops from

the Pennsylvania NationalGuard are being deployed;124 are from the Wilkes-Barre unit.

“My dad was in theMarines for 15 years, andhe was very supportive ofme joining,” he says. “Mymother has been worriedabout me. It’s a crazy worldthese days.”

Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver,public affairs officer for theNational Guard, says that

gives its students the chance to be so involved. Although she originallyplanned to attend another college, avisit to Bucknell’s open house changedher mind. “It was something about theschool, something beyond the student-to-faculty ratio, and something not inthe guidebooks or statistics. It was thefeeling that Bucknell was home.”

Calling Bucknell her ideal collegeexperience, Elseroad shares herpassion for the university with others.Voted a Homecoming hostess in 2003,Elseroad acts as an ambassador toalumni. And for the past two semes-ters, Elseroad was an intern in theadmissions office, where she repre-sented the university at college fairsand interviewed prospective students.“I love meeting new people, I lovetalking to new people, and I lovebragging about Bucknell.”

As the coordinator for newstudent orientation last fall, Elseroadalso supervised the orientation experience of more than 900 new

Bragging About Bucknell “Whensomeone tells me I can’t do every-thing, I tell them to prove it,” saysTricia Elseroad ’04. Like many

Bucknell students, she is involved withnumerous campusactivities. But Elseroadis more than involvedwith university life —she’s immersed in it.

“How do I do it all?I have to manage mytime, and manage itvery carefully. But it’sworth it — I just likebeing busy and runningaround,” says Elseroad,

who was adopted from Seoul, SouthKorea, and raised in Baltimore. Thischemistry major often runs from class to her student-calling job, tovarsity cheerleading practice, or to a rehearsal with Bucknell’s coed acapella group, Two Past Midnight.

Elseroad is grateful that Bucknell

Bucknell students, some of whom shehad interviewed. Helping studentssettle into their college experience issomething she enjoys — she was the“pledge mom” for her sorority, AlphaChi Omega.

With such a busy schedule, shesometimes has to compromise. “It’sdifficult because I can’t give 150percent to everything. There are sometime conflicts, but I’m able to workthings out and prioritize,” she says.

Elseroad’s academic prioritiesshifted as well. Entering Bucknellwith dreams of becoming a traumasurgeon, a job that seems to comple-ment her hectic lifestyle, Elseroadrealized that with such a career shewouldn’t be able to focus entirely onraising a family or devote herself topersonal relationships. Now, shewants to teach after she graduates. “Okay, so maybe I can’t do every-

thing,” she says, “but I’m going to have what’s important to me.” — Michelle Dombeck ’05

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S t u d e n t P r o f i l e : Tricia Elseroad ’04

First-Year Student Called to IraqPennsylvania has long had a strong military tradition. “We have 20,000 members, the largest Army Guard in thenation.” Cleaver says that students make up the largestcomposition of soldiers, 15 percent. He says, “The educa-tional incentive has attracted a lot of students. The averageage has dropped dramatically. The numbers are absolutelystratospheric.”

Chronowski’s roommate, Stuart Cubbon ’07, says that he’s impressed by Chronowski. “You come to collegeexpecting to become an adult,” Cubbon says. “But Steve is already an adult. He’s actually going off to Iraq, and he’s only 18. I am proud to know him.”

Cubbon was one of 60 students and staff who attendeda going-away party held for Chronowski at the end of thefall semester. Chronowski was surprised by his hallmatesand friends, who made banners and wrote cards and letters for him to open later.

During his first semester, Chronowski was part of theEmerging Leaders program coordinated by Amy Badal,assistant dean of students, who also helped organize hisparty. She says, “Steve’s made an impact on the Bucknellcampus in the short amount of time that he’s been here.He is compassionate, honest, funny, and well respected byhis peers. His surprise party was a testament to how muchhis friends support and care for him. He will be greatlymissed by the Bucknell community.”

After spending Christmas with his family, Chronowskitraveled to Ft. Hood in Texas for further training. He willbe gone for 18 months. He says, “My brothers and sistersare going to miss me, but I’m excited. I fully expect to beback at Bucknell.” — Gigi Marino

Surprise Party: Steve Chronowski’sclassmates threw a going-away party for him, complete with cookies, cardsand letters, and a big banner.

The performing arts have always had a vital presence at Bucknell, but never have

they been more vibrant or more varied.

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A Cultural JewelT H E R E S A G A W L A S M E D O F F ’ 8 5

Carols by the Rooke Chapel Choir and Bell Ringers, arehearsal of the student gospel choir Voices of Praise, adress rehearsal for the fall performance of the BucknellDance Company, and an open rehearsal/discussion byvisiting artists Piffaro, the Renaissance Band.

The department of music presents 60 concerts andrecitals annually and hosts an impressive array of

visiting performers, composers, and scholars. Thedepartment of theatre and dance mounts three majortheatrical productions and two major dance shows eachyear in addition to various smaller-scale performances,master classes, and workshops. Each year, the Sigmundand Claire Weis Center for the Performing Arts hostsmore than a dozen music, dance, and theatre produc-tions by world-class artists. The many offerings aresupplemented by the performances of numerousstudent-led groups, from the coed a cappella group TwoPast Midnight to the Bucknell Jazz Machine to theMusical Theatre Club.

Making Music, Dance, and TheatreSince theatre arts became a department of its own in 1986,it has grown from three to six full-time faculty and oneprofessional staff member. The department offers a well-rounded theatre major that allows for a concentration inperformance, design, or theory as well as three differentminors. Bucknell students also can minor in dance.

The caliber of students drawn to the program isimpressive. “Bucknell’s dance minor attracts high-levelstudents from prestigious dance programs, such as theSchool of American Ballet, who are interested in aliberal arts education. It’s the best school in the nationfor a dance minor,” says Er-dong Hu, director of dance.

Both the music and the theatre/dance departmentsare seeing increased course enrollments and, based on thelevel of interest among first-year students, they expect thenumber of majors and minors to grow over the next fewyears. The number of students majoring in the subject,

Singers and Ringers: Each year, the Rooke Chapel Choir, pictured here,joins with the Bell Ringers to provide one of the most popular holidayconcerts for Bucknell and its extended community.

riting about the performing arts atBucknell presents a delightful dilemma: How can a

journalist simultaneously experience all of the happen-

ings on one Thursday in early December? Between the

hours of 7 and 9 p.m., there is the Candlelight Service of

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The performing arts may be a vocation for some Bucknell students, but they

are an avocation for many.


both by the high quality of the faculty at Bucknell and bytheir accessibility. He performs as a member of ConcertChorale and Chapel Choir, and he also has composedchoral music to be performed by his peers.

The interests of music students vary considerably,from conservative to avant-garde, notes music professorBill Duckworth, and the music department is flexibleenough to accommodate them all. Duckworth’s composi-tion students, for example, ended last semester with aprogram of original compositions that varied from a solopiano piece to a 16-voice chorus to computer-generatedsounds.

Bucknell offers both a bachelor of arts degree inmusic and a bachelor of music degree. The B.A. degreerequires that 9 of 32 courses be music or music-related.These graduates may go on to careers in arts manage-ment or to graduate and professional programs in fieldssuch as medicine or law. About half of the courses takenby students earning a B.Mus. degree are music or music-related. These graduates may decide to teach or tocontinue their education at a conservatory or largemusic school before embarking on a career as acomposer, performer, or college professor.

Music department alumni sing opera, play inorchestras, direct music programs and arts councils, editmusic periodicals, manage arts programs, and holdmusic-related professional positions in schools, artsorganizations, and corporations.

Crossover Creativity From introductorycourses in theatre and acting to advanced courses incostume history, directing, and theatrical realism,theatre department offerings attract many nonmajors.Bucknell’s “dance conditioning” course attracts manybeginners, including a large number of athletes. “Theycome in here thinking they are just going to take anexercise class, but they end up developing an apprecia-tion for dance,” says Kelly Knox, visiting assistantprofessor of dance.

The study of theatre can improve communicationsskills, engender a deeper understanding of literature andculture, inspire creativity, and spur a lifelong interest inthe arts. “We savor and cherish the fact that these areliberal arts students,” says department chairman RobertGainer. “This is not a narrow professional program. Ourstudents’ art is informed by a complex appreciation ofwhat theatre is all about.”

Faculty members encourage theatre students tostudy in London for a semester or a year. While inLondon last year, Liisa Britt ’04 took courses in acting,

however, only hints at the vitality of these departmentsand their important contribution to the university. Thereare 51 music majors, for example, but some 280 studentsparticipate in departmental ensembles. (Only juniors andseniors have declared majors.) Members of thesymphonic band major in the sciences and social sciences,engineering, business, and liberal arts. The same holdstrue for theatre and dance productions, which attractmany nonmajors to roles onstage and behind the scenes.The performing arts may be a vocation for some Bucknellstudents, but they are an avocation for many.

One of the strengths of the music and theatreprograms at Bucknell is their rootedness in a liberal artseducation. Students who go to professional music schoolsmiss out on the liberal arts component of education. Anda music department of Bucknell’s size and caliber isuncommon among the schools with which Bucknell isacademically competitive, says music professor JacksonHill. “Bucknell offers the best of both worlds.”

That’s exactly how David Tomasacci ’06 felt when hewas looking at colleges. Tomasacci plans a career as aneducator, possibly on the college level, but he’s not sure yetwhether he wants to teach music or math. “I have variedinterests, so I was looking for a school that was strong inall departments,” says Tomasacci, who has been impressed

Women of Will: A piece choreographed by Kelly Knox for the 2003 BucknellDance Company fall concert. Left to right: Heather Esckilsen ’07, KristinBassett ’06, Ashley Baer ’06, Melissa Agrimanakis ’06. Sets and lights were designed by David Fillmore; costumes by Pam Miller.

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stage acrobatics, voice, movement, and Shakespeare.She took master classes with working actors and direc-tors and studied with faculty from the London DramaticAcademy, the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts, andthe British Academy of Dramatic Arts. As part of hersenior honors thesis in theatre, Britt wrote andperformed a one-woman play that she describes as “achronological journey through my maternal lineage,”beginning with her grandmother in Finland and contin-uing through her mother’s emigration to the UnitedStates and Britt’s own sense of alienation from herFinnish roots.

The theatre department can boast of alumni whohave succeeded in an impressive array of theatre- anddance-related professions. They are actors on stage andscreen, theatre production managers, set and costumedesigners, screenwriters, filmmakers, directors, producers,dancers, arts administrators, and teachers.

Great Spaces Students of the performing arts havebenefited in recent years from numerous capitalprojects, most notably the building of the Weis MusicBuilding. The new music building, which is adjacent tothe Weis Center for the Performing Arts, opened in fall2000. “This facility has opened up opportunities wenever had [in the old building],” says Bill Kenny,chairman of the music department. Perhaps the greatest

boon to the department has been the addition of a recitalhall that allows students to practice and perform inprofessional surroundings. The building also has apercussion studio, a computerized keyboard lab, indi-vidual cubicles for practice, and rehearsal rooms largeenough for a chamber music rehearsal. Students finally have lockers and storage areas spacious enoughto accommodate all their instruments. Faculty offices/studios are larger and more centrally located, whichenhances interaction.

“The new building has made a big difference inrecruitment,” Duckworth says. “It’s a better atmosphere,a better place to rehearse.” It also makes a statementabout the value the university places on music and theperforming arts. “People who come here are just wowedby the facilities,” Hill adds.

When the theatre in Coleman Hall was rededicatedas the Harvey M. Powers Theatre in 1997, it was in themidst of a comprehensive renovation on stage, behindstage, in the auditorium, and in the control booths. Thetheatre has a new curtain and valance, enhanced stagesafety features, an advanced lighting control console, amulti-channel digital sound system, improved acoustics,and new seating.

Tustin Gym has been renovated for the theatre anddance department and is now home to a dance studio,acting studio, and a black box theatre used to presentplays in arena, thrust, and environmental settings.

The Weis Center for the Performing Arts continuesto be a major asset to the university. “The Weis Center isnot the kind of facility you expect to find on a collegecampus. It’s what you’d expect in the middle ofAtlanta,” Hill notes. The acoustics of the performancehall, combined with Bucknell’s location on the touringroute to Carnegie Hall, attract foreign orchestras andmajor artists like Wynton Marsalis, back again thisspring for another performance. “Orchestras and musi-cians rave about the sound in the Weis Center. It’s not atall difficult to get groups to come here,” says BillBoswell, director of cultural events for the Weis Center.

Among the Weis Center performances in 2003–04have been the Czech orchestra Pro Musica Prague, theChicago Shakespeare Theater’s Romeo and Juliet, the NewYork Chamber Soloists and Orchestra, and the SeánCurran contemporary dance company. Bucknellstudents pay only $10 each performance, half or moreoff of the already low prices for tickets. Many of the WeisCenter performers participate in Bucknell classes andother outreach activities. In December, for example,

Orchestras and musicians rave aboutthe sound in the Weis Center.

Sensational Sounds: The Weis Center for the Performing Arts attractsgroups from around the world with its superior acoustics.

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Piffaro spent two days at Bucknell, during which timethey visited classes in Renaissance literature and musichistory. They also offered a free open rehearsal withdiscussion two days before their performance.

Faculty Talent Of course, even the most advancedfacilities would be of little value without talented faculty.Bucknell students in music and theatre learn from thebest. The Village Voice has called Duckworth “the bestcomposer of the post-minimal generation.” Duckworthhas made news throughout the music world withCathedral, the first interactive, continuous work of musicand art designed specifically for the Web. The CD OurAmerican Journey, which features a choral piece composedby Hill, was recently nominated for a Grammy Award inthe “crossover” category. This popular approbation echoesthe acclaim Hill’s compositions have received in the musicworld, particularly for his recent works that draw ontraditional Japanese music and chant. Concert pianistBarry Hannigan, professor of music, regularly tours theUnited States and has performed in Europe. His record-ings are on SCI, SEAMUS, and Opus One labels.Christopher Para has conducted professional orchestrasthroughout Europe. Music professor Lois Svard isacclaimed internationally for her performances andrecordings of contemporary piano music.

Theatre chairman Gainer has directed at the YaleRepertory Theatre in New Haven, The American PlaceTheatre, and Theatre at St. Clements in New York City,among others. Paula Davis-Larson, assistant professor oftheatre and dance, designs costumes for professionaltheatre and dance companies. Elaine Williams, associateprofessor of theatre and director of design, designs for several regional professional theatre companies and has collaborated recently with the Center forPuppetry Arts in Atlanta. Hu is a former principal dancerwith the Dayton Ballet. His choreography has beenstaged both nationally and internationally. These are buta few of the accomplishments of the faculty who teachperforming arts.

Equally important, students interact closely withfaculty in the studio, in the rehearsal hall, and on stage.“Because of our small size, we can give nurturing atten-tion to our students,” Gainer says. The cast and musi-cians in the fall production of The Glass Menagerie wereall Bucknell students. Sara Bradley ’04 served as stagemanager. The show featured original music composedand directed by Ashi Day ’04 and film by Juliana Brafa’05 and Todd Bieber. Students worked alongside profes-sional lighting designer and technical director HeathHansum. Dance performances give students the oppor-tunity not only to perform but also to choreograph andto design costumes, scenery, and lighting.

“It’s the best feeling when we work together onproductions. You feel like you have everyone cheeringbehind you,” says Day, who is majoring in music compo-sition and minoring in theatre. Day wrote several songs

for last year’s production of The Good Woman of Setzuan,and her original compositions have been performed bythe Concert Chorale. William Payn, professor of musicand director of the Concert Chorale and Chapel Choir,encourages student composers and regularly includesstudent-written pieces in the groups’ performances.

Frequent artist residencies give students the oppor-tunity to talk to working professionals and take masterclasses from them, Kenny notes. During a weeklongresidency this fall, members of the Houston GrandOpera involved students and the university communityin its workshop for a new opera, The End of the Affair,which will premiere in Houston. Students of theatre anddance likewise benefit when artists-in-residence leadclasses and workshops. Among the guests this year havebeen dancer Zhongmei Li from the Chinese PekingOpera, choreographer/dancer Simone Ferro, voice coachBarry Kur, who worked with student actors on southerndialect for the production of The Glass Menagerie, anddrummer/composer Stacy Fox, who is working with thespring production of The Tempest. Support from theBucknell Association for the Arts, the Bucknell StudentGovernment, and the Kushell Music Endowment makessuch residencies possible.

The depth and breadth of the performing arts atBucknell provide a cultural milieu that enriches allstudents, whether they are participants or audiencemembers. “A lot of people don’t recognize how great thearts are at Bucknell,” says Knox. “It’s a little culturaljewel right here in the center of Pennsylvania.” W

Theresa Gawlas Medoff ’85 is a Delaware-based freelancewriter and a regular contributor to Bucknell World.

Because of our small size, we can give nurturing attention to our students.

Another Gentleman Caller: Andrew Nogasky ’07 and Mia Fioravanti ’05 in The Glass Menagerie directed by Robert Gainer; set design by David Fillmore,Paula Davis-Larson, and Heath Hansum. D

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There are links to language courses, anything you need to learn a language,

in any format. If you want to see Hindu videos, we can provide them.

Dr. Language is Robert Beard, retired professor

of Russian, who held the Ruth Everett Sierzega Chair in

Linguistics. Mr. WordMan is Paul JJ Payack, a former student

of Beard, and a poet, novelist, and president of Alacitrus

Software. Beard is chief executive officer of yourDictionary.com;

Dr. Language & Mr. WordMan

K A T H I E D I B E L L B R I L E Y

Payack is president and chairman. Their website (YDC)attracts some 1.5 million visitors a month and has beenwidely praised by national and international media. Acolumnist for Editor & Publisher most recently namedYDC one of the “Top Ten Websites for WorkingJournalists,” saying it is “probably the web’s mostcomprehensive and authoritative portal for language.”

The site’s language dictionaries range from Abenakito Zulu. Readers can get translations for a single word orphrase for free and for major documents at a negotiatedprice. There are links to language courses, “anything youneed to learn a language, in any format. If you want tosee Hindu videos, we can provide them,” Beard says.

YDC is not just for linguists, although love oflanguage will make the browser linger longer. The sitehas 25 different kinds of crossword puzzles, some in 8different languages.

Payack and Beard assemble lists such as top-10 wordlists and glossaries like the “California Recall Initiative.”These efforts garner scads of publicity from the nationaland international media. The top word and phrase for2003 were “embedded” and “shock-and-awe,” respec-tively. (See the website for all of the 2003 lists.) WNYC,CNN, and BBC interviewed Beard and Payack about the2003 lists. Reuters picked up YDC’s news release anddistributed the story worldwide.

An Auspicious Beginning YourDictionary.comgot its start when Beard was researching the morphologyof Indo-European languages. “I compiled a long list ofbookmarks of dictionaries. I just put the list up onBucknell’s website and periodically would go out and lookfor more dictionaries. At academic conferences, I wouldtell friends who made suggestions.”

However, when a Dutch bankersent Beard an email saying he clickedon the website daily to translateinvoices from his internationalbanking business, “it dawned on methe site might be useful beyond acad-emia. I enriched the site, adding gram-mars, articles for undergraduates, alinguistic fun page, and links tolinguistic departments.” In 1996,Beard posted what he called the “Webof Online Dictionaries.” The site caught the attention notonly of linguists, but also USA Today, the New York Times,the Wall Street Journal, and Forbes Magazine. In the nextfour years, “I answered over 16,000 emails,” Beard says.

Meanwhile, Payack left Bucknell in 1971, havingdedicated himself to complete 25 writing projects a yearafter a graduate assistant told him he had a flair.Eventually graduating from Harvard in 1974 with adegree in comparative literature, he began working inthe high-tech field, starting with Wang Laboratories andthe Digital Equipment Corp. He has produced 1,000creative works, including a science-fiction novel, Childrenof the Mind. “I basically always have had two lives — thehigh-tech life and the life of a writer. It’s Robert Frost’sidea of ‘the road not taken,’ but I’ve ended up havingtaken both,” Payack says.

Robert Beard

Dr. Language and Mr. WordMan are dismantling the Tower of Babel. Their website, yourDictionary.com,

is a linguist’s dream with some 4,500 links.


For eBay, YDC developed a spellchecker in sixlanguages. A children’s entertainment company hasasked for a dirty word filter. The company is trans-lating an in-house magazine and newsletter for theconstruction equipment division of Volvo.

Brand naming is another possibility. Beard soldGeneral Motors seven proposed names for an exper-imental fuel-cell car. GM ended up using an in-house entry, but “we got our money even thoughthey didn’t use our name.”

More than 135,000 people from 204 countriessubscribe free of charge to the “Word of the Day” —10,000 from India alone. “The Hindustani Times lovesus,” Beard says. The company may create a similarpremium service for a fee.

“It’s beginning to work. The site is pretty muchwhat I wanted, and I’m willing to do it as long as itworks,” Beard says.

“Everyone knows the dictionary. YDC is acommon reference tool. We built the EncyclopediaBritannica for the Internet,” Payack says. “It’s thework of a genius. Before the dictionary, Bob was justa fine professor. Now he is a legend. It’s been quitea ride.” W

Kathie Dibell Briley is based in Hilton Head, S.C., andwrites frequently for Bucknell World.

By 1998, he was senior vice president for strategicmarketing for Intelliguard Software. Payack needed aname for Intelliguard’s new architecture for serverlessbackup and data movement applications. At his office,he scrolled through Beard’s website’s Latin dictionaryand came up with his own word, “Celestra.” The newname and the software product turned out to be majorwinners.

While Payack was scrolling, his boss, Intelliguardpresident and CEO George Wilson, glanced at Beard’s

website and suggested the site couldbe turned into a commercial product.The three met and agreed to joinforces. Entrepreneur Wilson providedthe money, Beard was the idea manand would be the chief of linguisticsand technology, and Payack wouldoversee the marketing and businessaspects. The three have roughly equalshares in the company.

One of Beard’s major projects wasto put together an advisory council,

whose members are experts in the 24 language families.After 35-some years as a scholar and author, Beard hasextensive contacts. He himself has written three bookson linguistics and has recruited linguists from Australiato Thailand and from top American institutions such asHarvard and Yale. The council experts can either answerqueries themselves or refer Beard to others who can.Members are paid in company stock.

YDC was launched in 1999 and has expanded to 800pages on the website. Beard retired from Bucknell threeyears before planned to work full-time on the project. Justmaintaining and managing the site is a major challenge.

Brad Ross-MacLeod, who is completing a Ph.D. inrhetoric, is director of website operations. In addition, hedoes the voice for the site’s voice pronunciations in theirdictionaries. Headquartered in Lewisburg, YDC’s four-person staff also includes Wendy Middleton ’97, thedatabase manager.

The early years were lean. “We always hired peoplewe needed on an ad hoc basis, not as permanentemployees,” Payack says. Academics were invited tocritique or submit articles. Unlike other dotcoms, YDCavoided growing too fast. “We knew that when theInternet shook out, our competitors would bite the dust,and we would be in a good position,” Payack said.“Surviving a downturn is a victory in terms of marketshare.”

Words Around the World “We have a highlydesirable advertising demographic,” Payack says. Theiraudience is educated, sophisticated, and has an averageincome of $50,000. Some 56 percent of the readers areEnglish-speaking; 44 percent are from non–English-speaking countries.

The strategies for turning a profit are diverse.Customized word lists and translations are a main focus.Tyndale House, a religious book publisher, hired YDC tocreate a dictionary for every word in the Bible. “We lookat four or five dictionaries, just to make sure we get allthe different meanings, then write our own,” Beardsays. He’s tracing the etymology of all the proper namesin the Bible. “It’s fascinating.”

Paul JJ Payack

Top Ten Words of 20031. Embedded The military’s dream come true: not only does this

word make clear that the press is in bed with it —the press brags about it!

2. Blog Web logs have come of age and, regrettably, thislexical mutation with them.

3. Taikonaut The Chinese astronaut distracted our attention fromtextiles and copyrights to remind us that China is arising industrial giant.

4. Celibacy The word which holds the key to ending the seem-ingly eternal scandal of the U.S. Catholic Church.

5. Recall As in California Recall that resulted in the electionof Arrh-hold as the Governator.

6. SARS Farm animals strike back at the humans who eat them again with Severe Acute RespiratorySyndrome. The Flu (with a capital “F”) is pushingright behind.

7. Bushism This word now has a real possibility for remaining in the language. Dan Quail has lost his chance ofmaking solecisms his contribution to the language.

8. Spam This old word now refers to a plague contendingwith SARS is destructive potential. Could the Flu(with a capital “F”) be any worse?

9. Middangeard Middle English for Middle Earth in the movies ofTolkien’s trilogy, still fascinating millions around the world with its characters and insights into theorigins of the English language.

10. Allision The National Transportation and Safety Board haddifficulty determining the cause of the Staten Islandferry tragedy but they did discover the differencebetween a collision (between two moving objects)and an allision (a crash with an immoveable object).An impressive linguistic job.


Peter Balakian has explored his Armenian heritage in poetry and memoir. His latest book

is a history of the Armenian genocide.

eter Balakian ’73 collects antique carpets. His1828 home, once a stop on the underground railroad in

Hamilton, N.Y., is filled with them. He can instantly spot the differ-

ences between a Sevan Kazak and a dragon rug from Karabagh, which

to the untrained eye look pretty, but similar. Patterns woven into

The Lost History of Armenia

G I G I M A R I N O

PArmenian village rugs reveal ancient histories about aculture — but until you know what the patterns mean,you can’t fully appreciate the artistry of these rugs,which often take years to complete. These rugs can beconsidered a metaphor for Balakian’s Armenian past andfor the way he has approached difficult and contentiousmaterial, first as a poet, then memoirist, and now histo-rian with his new book, The Burning Tigris: The ArmenianGenocide and America’s Response, moving from thepersonal to the political. For Armenians who’ve hadtheir collective history subsumed by Turks — bothancient and contemporary — the personal and the polit-ical often overlap.

A Way to Modern Genocide “You can’tunderstand the 20th century without understanding theArmenian genocide,” says Balakian. A bold statementperhaps, especially to those who may never have evenheard of Armenia, which is, in fact, one of the oldestcivilizations in the world and was the first officialChristian nation. Its original borders encompassedMount Ararat, where the Bible says Noah landed afterthe great flood. For roughly the next 1,600 years,Armenia was conquered by the Byzantines, Persians,Arabs, Mongols, and Russians. But the Ottoman Turkshold the distinction of being the most brutal.

One of the major premises of The Burning Tigris is thatthe torture and murder that the Ottoman Turks inflictedupon the Armenians provided a blueprint for genocides tocome. “The genocide perpetrated in the Ottoman Empirewas repeated in Germany, Cambodia, and Rwanda,” saysBalakian. He also points out that Raphael Lemkin, thePolish scholar who coined the wordgenocide at the Nuremburg Trials, did soin large part on the basis of what hadhappened to the Armenians.

In a 1946 issue of the AmericanScholar, Lemkin wrote, “Genocide canbe carried out through acts againstindividuals, when the ultimate intent isto annihilate the entire groupcomposed of these individuals …” Andthat, says Balakian, is what happenedto the Armenians. He writes, “There issomething apocalyptic and ‘modern’ about the 1915genocide of the Armenians.” It was the beginning of massand systematic slaughter of innocent, unarmed civilians.

The Armenian Problem In his memoir, BlackDog of Fate, Balakian writes about picking up AmbassadorMorgenthau’s Story, a book he had glimpsed for years on hisparents’ bookshelf. He was 21 at the time, and the book,the American ambassador’s firsthand account of the atroc-ities forced on the Armenians in 1915, cracked open hisconsciousness.

During the 1890s, the “Armenian question” was apart of international parlance. For the Ottoman Empire,the question was what to do with the large minority of

Peter Balakian

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Public response was the beginning of America’s first international human rights movement.


Christians who kept asking for reform and change inMuslim Turkey. As Christians, they were legally relegatedto infidel status. The Armenians kept asking, “Can aChristian be the equal of a Muslim in the OttomanEmpire?” Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s response was to punishthe Armenians: During his reign, he massacred 200,000.

The sultan was overthrown by a group of army offi-cers who called themselves the Young Turks. And theywere far more efficient, killing or starving 1.5 millionArmenians in 1915. Ambassador Morgenthau recordedTalaat Pasha’s boast: “I have accomplished more towardsolving the Armenian problem in three months thanAbdul Hamid accomplished in 30 years!”

The Burning Tigris tells of the abominations theYoung Turks wrought — the rape and killing ofArmenian women and children, girls being crucified andtheir corpses eaten by vultures, public executions, chil-dren’s tendons being cut with cotton-chopping tools,Turkish soldiers playing a game of impaling girls onswords. Says Balakian, “In one year, the Young Turkswiped out most of the Armenian population.”

Morgenthau’s position in the embassy requiredneutrality, but he was not quiet. The book that inspiredBalakian was published in 1918, the same year Near EastRelief was incorporated by Congress, raising what wouldamount to a billion dollars in today’s standards of aid.

After Black Dog of Fate was published in 1997,Balakian says that he would give readings, and peoplekept giving him articles about how Americans hadrallied to help the Armenians. He did more research andfound that people like Woodrow Wilson, TheodoreRoosevelt, as well as numerous civic leaders — and inthe decades before them, Clara Barton, Julia WardHowe, and William Lloyd Garrison Jr., — castigated the

Ottoman rule and supported the Armenians. “I keptdigging and found a richer story,” he says. He realizedthat this public response was the beginning of America’sfirst international human rights movement, the secondmajor premise of The Burning Tigris.

Resurrecting a Lost History Hitler, saysBalakian, was inspired by the way the Ottoman Empiremasterminded its genocide. “Hitler not only saw how awhole people could be gotten rid of, but he saw that it’seven easier with the absence of memory,” he says. Whenthe Young Turks were finished, cities like Diarbekir,Bitlis, and Erzerum were empty of Armenians — alldead or deported.

Between 1917–23, war and complicated politicalshifts realigned Armenia’s borders. Today, the Republicof Armenia (Soviet Armenia from 1920–91) is a fifth ofits original size and does not include Mount Ararat.Balakian points out that in 1915, the New York Timespublished 145 articles about the Armenian genocide, butby 1920, the once-friendly United States had turned itsback on Armenia, failing to support a mandate to helpguide Armenia into its new nationhood and grantingArmenia autonomy from both Turkey and Russia. Tothis day, Turkey denies there ever was such a thing asthe Armenian genocide.

Balakian says that Presidents Carter, Reagan, andBush have all avoided talking about the Armenian geno-cide. On the 75th anniversary in 1990, Senator Bob Dolelobbied for a bill to commemorate the Armenians andlost. Turkey flexes its NATO muscles, Balakian asserts, andthe United States caves, ensuring the continuation ofTurkey’s military contracts with American companies. Hesays, “Turkey is a very repressive society. It denies its ownpeople access to their history.” Any protests he’s receivedabout his book come from Turkish people who simplydon’t believe him. He says, “Turkey remains a prisoner ofits own guilt and denial.”

However, Balakian says, “In the last decade, there’sbeen a huge interest in this seminal event, and thecatch-up will be fast.” Dozens of other books aboutArmenia have been published, and Atom Egoyan’shistoric film Ararat is gaining a wide audience. Balakiansays, “I am not the only voice out there.” He also serveson a committee to build an Armenian genocide memo-rial museum in Washington, D.C. The Burning Tigrisdebuted as number 4 on the New York Times best-sellerlist, made four other best-seller lists, and is in its eighthprinting. He says, “My greatest hope for the book is thatit will move this major piece of history to its rightfulplace.” W

Peter Balakian is the Donald M. and Constance H. RebarProfessor of Humanities at Colgate University. He is married toHelen Kebabian ’75. For more information about his work, goto www.peterbalakianbooks.com.

Public Execution: The Young Turks exectuted or deported more than onemillion Armenians, Constantinople, ca. 1915.

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HistoryBackward Glance

B O B G A I N E S

On a spring day in 1929, a smallaircraft circled Old Main and Tustin Gymbefore descending upon the Bucknellbaseball field. Practice disrupted, Coach

John Plant’s ball club watched in amazement as theWaco 10 made a perfect landing at the edge of thediamond. Exiting the plane, a tall and athletic-looking pilot waved to the players, who knew the airace immediately.

Christy Mathewson Jr., Class of 1927, was bornto be a hero. “Everybody liked Christy,” says class-mate Anna Outwater Day ’27, from Harrisonburg,Va. “All of the memories I have of him are that hewas a wonderful person. He was handsome,friendly, and mixed in with everybody. He neverseemed to think of himself as important just becauseof his father.”

His father, of course, was Christy MathewsonSr., one of the greatest baseball pitchers of all time,an American legend idolized by millions.

Forever compared to “Big Six,” the son hadmany of his father’s traits. Both were dynamic andconfident and had a competitive spirit that modestlyembraced glory and courageously defied defeat. Thestory of their lives, always front-page news, wasdoused with tragedy. Both would die far too young.

Christopher Mathewson Jr. was born Oct. 19,1906, in New York City during the height of hisfather’s pitching career. An only child and extremely

Born to Be a Hero

close to his parents, he was raised in luxury and wasalways welcome in the New York Giants’ clubhouse.His mother, Jane Stoughton Mathewson, was bornin Lewisburg, had three sisters still living in thefamily home on Market Street, and had met ChristySr. when he was an undergraduate and she was atthe Female Institute with the Class of 1902.

In 1923, their son entered Bucknell, majoring inelectrical engineering. Christy Jr. was involved withstudent government and Phi Gamma Delta frater-nity. An exceptional musician and varsity tennisplayer, he was described in the Bucknellian as “one ofthe most popular students on campus.”

“He was drop-dead handsome,” says Betty Cookof Lewisburg, a close family friend. “Women werethrilled when he’d ask them to dance.”

Just over 6 feet tall, with blue eyes and brownhair, he also was quite athletic, although he shiedaway from baseball. “They’d always point to me asmy great dad’s son,” he would say. “You don’t knowhow awful a baseball player I am.”

He did play in one baseball game for Bucknell in1926, centerfield, six months after his father died oftuberculosis. But his main concern was academics.He graduated cum laude and turned his attention tothe skies. His mother and aunts were vehementlyopposed to this career path, but he eventually wontheir understanding.

“His mother worshiped him,” says Cook. “Afterhis father died, all her love and interest went to herson. I think he was probably pretty spoiled.”

In July 1930, Christy Jr. graduated with honorsto become a U.S. Army attack pilot. In a letter toBucknell’s alumni secretary, he wrote: “Here is formany tail spins and safe landings.”

“These were still the early years of aviation,”says Cook, “so he was viewed by everyone as a realadventurer.”

One of his first tours was to help build theChinese air force. Assigned to Shanghai and laterHangchow with 15 other American pilots, the grouptaught young Chinese nationalists how to fly. TheJapanese invasion of Manchuria fueled the growingconcern of war.

Below, graduation day. From left to right, Jane Mathewson, ChristyMathewson Jr., John McGraw (manager of the NY Giants), and hiswife, Blanche. Top right, Mathewson stands in the center with theChinese pilots he trained.

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“These young men are eager, attentive, andserious students,” he wrote Bucknell PresidentArnaud Marts, “a virtue, sir, that I am sure you willappreciate.”

At the conclusion of the war, Mathewson wasdecorated by the Chinese government with theSpecial Badge Cloud Banner in the name of GeneralChiang Kai-Shek. He was promoted to Lt. Coloneland transferred to London, where he married LolaFinch.

Discharged from military service in 1946, theMathewsons bought a ranch near San Antonio,Texas. On Aug. 15, 1950, he was installing an elec-tric dishwasher, when a gas explosion swept hisranch house. Alone at the time, he dragged himselfout of the basement and summoned help. He wasfully conscious when he arrived at the hospital, but90 percent of his body was badly burned. He diedthe next afternoon, just 43 years old.

Jane Mathewson brought her only son’sremains back to Lewisburg. She then moved back toher home on Market Street, where she lived untilher death in 1967.

“She called me her surrogate granddaughter,”says Cook. “She’d sometimes talk about Christy Jr.and his father. She missed them deeply. They wereamazing people.”

The Mathewson family — father, mother, andson — are buried side by side on a beautiful hill inthe Lewisburg Cemetery, within a stone’s throw ofBucknell. W

Bob Gaines is manager of development communications.For more photos, see the online version of this issue atwww.bucknell.edu/BucknellWorld.

These were the best days of his life, particularlywhen his fiancée of four years agreed to travel toChina for their marriage.

Margaret Phillips, accompanied by Christy’smother, left Philadelphia on Thanksgiving Day for a9,000-mile journey by train and ship, arriving inHangchow the day before an elegant Christmas Evewedding. The story headlined society pagesthroughout the nation. After a two-week honey-moon in Shanghai, the couple prepared to return toHangchow, Christy piloting a large Sikorskyamphibian plane.

Friends assembled on the shore of theWhangpoo River. Margaret, who was 23 years old,was “thrilled with pride and excitement” as she satnext to Christy for her first plane ride.

But 30 seconds into the flight, the huge planesuddenly dived nose downward into the water andcrashed on a mudflat. Rescuers rushed to the river-bank, trying to pull the Mathewsons from thewreckage. He was in critical condition — his bodycrushed.

“Never mind me,” he pleaded. “Look after mywife.” It was too late. She was pronounced deadwithin a few hours, and newspapers across the

world reported that he was neardeath — broken arms, shatteredlegs, internal injuries, head badlycut and bruised.

Confined for six months in aShanghai hospital, his left leg wasamputated two inches above theknee, and doctors predicted hewould never regain full use of hisarms. Certainly, he would neveragain fly.

With his mother still at hisside, he returned with her toSaranac Lake, N.Y., where helearned to walk with an artificialleg. He hunted, fished, andclimbed hills until he regained hisstrength.

His requests to fly with theAir Corps were rejected. Organiz-ing a flying taxi service in theAdirondacks, he continued hisquest for re-enlistment, impress-

ing the top military brass with a flawless solo flight.Said one of the officers: “That’s determination. Justlike his father.”

Although his father’s fame certainly openedmany doors, young Mathewson always entered onhis own terms. He simply loved to fly.

Repeatedly, he was rejected. Again, he persisted.Finally, as America entered WWII, the Air Corps

relented. It was a desk job, but Captain Mathewsonwas ecstatic. Soon transferred to the Chinese TrainingProgram in Arizona and promoted to major, hehelped prepare more than 1,000 Chinese combatpilots and crews during the course of the war.

Left, Mathewson on his wedding day with his bride, Margaret. Above,Mathewson happily returned to duty after his accident during WWII,although he was relegated to a desk job.

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NewsAlumni Association

If déjà vu is the feeling of alreadyhaving experienced something when you are actu-ally experiencing it for the first time, what is theword for the feeling of experiencing something for

yourself that you’ve spent your whole life hearing aboutfrom your parents?

This and other pertinent questions faced the Chipsof 2007, members of the first-year class who are childrenof Bucknell alumni. Fortunately for these men andwomen, they came prepared with more answers thanmost incoming students. Important secrets, like thereward of a walk through town to the Freez on a warmSeptember afternoon, don’t have to be learned ordiscovered, but are already known.

“We visited Bucknell when I was a kid, and wealways went to the Freez,” says Annie Berger ’07,daughter of Howard Berger ’71.

The campus has not been static since the parents,most graduates from the ’70s and early ’80s, spent theirtime here. There are new academic, athletic, and resi-dential buildings, but the Georgian architecture, thepicturesque setting, and even the tasty dairy treatsremain very much the same.

“There are a lot of new buildings and improvements,but other than that [the campus] is what he described itas,” says Sam Diamond ’07, son of Steven Diamond ’77.

Once here, the Chips of 2007 — 60 in all — havebenefited from the experience of their parents. “I wasable to know what Bucknell was all about before I gothere; he really helped me find out what I wanted do,”says Diamond.

“It is nice to think this where my dad lived and wentto class,” says Berger.

In a close-knit community such as ours, these Chipstend to run into each other often. Berger has to look nofurther than across her room, where Leigh Allen ’07,daughter of Deborah Oberst ’73, lives. “Our parentslaughed about it,” Berger says. — Peter Hackeman ’04

Deborah Jacobs Oberst ’73, daughter Leigh, son Kevin

Jill Campana Bartley ’76, daughter Lauren

Russell ’77 and Robin Menzies Bentzen ’77, daughter Laura

Howard Berger ’71, daughter Ann

R. Brian ’81 and Floranne Macklin Burns ’82, daughter Lindsay

Scott ’78 and Mary Lou Gurney Burroughs ’78, son Christopher

Peter Caruso ’75, daughter Pamela

Wendy Dyson Clark ’72, son Jacob

Michael Cohen ’74, son Adam

Robert Crawford ’77, son James

Stuart Cubbon ’78, son Stuart

Kathryn Durfee D’Amanda ’80, daughter Allis

Ralph ’76 and Tamara Gabrilovitch DeMartino ’76, son Matthew

Steven Diamond ’77, son Samuel

Willard ’70 and Yvonne Ericson Dryden ’70, son Morgan

Lee ’79 and Anne Morelli Edwards ’79, son Lee

Curt Gillespie ’76, son Ryan

Raymond ’77 and Mary Carter Ginn ’77, son Raymond

George ’74 and Deborah Scott Grabowski ’74, daughter Karen

Kendra Asplundh Haines ’80, son Robert

Arthur ’81 and Kaye Swartz Harrison ’82, son Arthur

Robin Peterman Haseltine ’76, son Benjamin

Jeff Hoffman ’79, daughter Kathryn

Charles ’78 and Gay Fischette Hollowell ’78, son Jonathon

James ’74 and Ellen Mitchell Hughes ’76, son Bryan

Bronwen Barry Kelly ’74, son Peter

Susan Armes Keyser ’78, daughter Julia

Keith ’73 and Debbie Wilkinson Kimball ’73, son John

Phillip ’75 and Leigh Miller Kirchner ’76, daughter Kelly

Andrew ’76 and Cheryl Black Kisiday ’8, daughter Tricia

Edwin Klett ’57, son Kirklin

Richard Koch ’69, son David

William Kopit ’61, daughter Lauren

Elizabeth Haak Krochalis ’73, daughter Joanne

Joseph ’76 and Katherine Winters LaBarca ’77, son Russell

John ’71 and Jill Adams Linetty ’84, son John

Robert List ’77, daughter Alexandra

Steven ’77 and Linden Palmer Madara ’77, son Wesley

John McManigal ’76, son Michael

Susan Nielsen Morrison ’68, son Peter

Donald Mozes ’73, daughter Leigh

Kenneth Nadler ’77, daughter Kathryn

Wenonah Huston Nelson ’78, son Alexander

Thomas O’Hara ’75, daughter Meghan

James ’76 and Barbara Stoudt O’Rourke ’76, son Matthew

Thomas ’76 and Nancy Henshall Patton ’77, daughter Brittany

John Penek ’66, daughter Lindsey

Marion Galbraith Pierret ’75, son Derrin

Richard ’74 and Johanna Crawford Rakauskas ’74, son Ryan

Keith Reitz ’73, son Trevor

William Schaaf ’73, son William

Bruce Schuessler ’72, daughter Allison

Patricia Loney Sidelsky ’67, son Cory

Howard ’78 and Judith Heaton Smith ’77, daughter Elizabeth

Karl Staufenberg ’71, son Craig

Robert Sweeney ’79, son Jared

Patricia Dedert Ultee ’73, son Jeffrey

Peter VanBuskirk ’78, son Kyle

Charles Wagner ’76, son Charles

Laurie Angelbeck Walsh ’77, daughter Hannah

Chips of 2007

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We arose at dawn and walked for several miles beforewe were picked up by an Arab driving a two-wheeleddonkey cart. His destination was a small clump of claydwellings and a café. On the edge of the road was a groupof men in burnooses, squatting around a cloth on theground with dominoes. As we hopped out of the cart, themen interrupted their robust game to chat. From the cafécame a man bearing a tray with pastries laced with honeyand two cups of thick coffee with the strong fragrance ofcardamom.

On our way again, the driver of a wobbling bus stoppedfor us. We gladly boarded, no fare asked. Inside wereseveral chickens, two goats, and several male passengerswearing burnooses or turbans. Eventually the ribbon ofroad crossed only sand with nothing but desert appearingbeyond Bou Saada, looking exactly as oases looked in theforeign legion movies of my childhood.

In Bou Saada, we first ventured into the bustling camelmarket. Among those examining the teeth and haunchesof camels were several of the legendary blue-turbanedTouaregs, reputed to be fierce desert warriors. Without aword, one of them used a gourd dipper to fill two glasseswith fermented camel’s milk and handed them to us.

The next day, as we made our way through narrowalleys, another man beckoned for us to enter his tinyrestaurant. He then set glasses of warm sweet mint tea infront of us and disappeared through beaded curtains, soonreappearing with a large clay bowl of cumin-scented cous-cous. We all ate from the same bowl. After a drawn-outfeast, our host filled our pockets with dates, touched ourhands, his heart, his lips, and gently tendered his wishesthat peace be with us. “Salaam Aleikhoum,” he nodded.

Yussuf and I each nodded “Salaam Aleikhoum,” inturn.

After many Arabs had taken such pains to make ourjourney comfortable, I asked my friend why. He said that itis the Islamic tradition that no wanderer go hungry — wewere wanderers, so hospitality was to be expected.

The following week, back in the city of Algiers, as Iprepared for the trek to Tizi N’bouali, my friend and I tookleave of each other, wishing each other peace.

“Salaam Aleikhoum.”“Shalom Aleichem.” W

Joe Rubinstein ’50 is professor emeritus of psychological sciencesat Purdue University. He can be reached at [email protected].

World’s End is a forum for opinions and experiences of our readers. Please sendmanuscripts of no longer than 750 words to Editor, Bucknell World, Judd House,Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837 or [email protected].


World’s End J O E R U B I N S T E I N ’ 5 0

During the Depression, my parentsran a small corner grocery store. Often,wanderers would enter the store and say, “I’mhungry.” My parents never asked questions.

They would interrupt their work, make a sandwich, take apint of milk from the case, feed and talk to the man, andgive him a packet to take with him. Occasionally, awanderer would enter and utter the greeting, “ShalomAleichem.” Then, my mother would go into the house,which adjoined the store, to make the sandwich withJewish rye bread and kosher meats.

My father explained why: “You remember the story ofElijah the prophet, the eternal traveler helping people introuble? Maybe one of these wanderers is Elijah himself.So, we welcome them all. If not Elijah, that’s all right, too.”

A few years after the Great Depression, we were at war.After working as a photographer aboard an aircraft carrier,I attended Bucknell on the G.I. Bill. Shortly after gradua-tion in 1950, I was on my way to Europe on a slowfreighter.

I lived and worked in Paris, where I found a Fellowshipof Reconciliation pamphlet describing work camps inwhich volunteers from former enemy nations worked sideby side on reconstruction projects. I signed up immediately.

After working in camps in Germany, I was assigned tohelp dig a trench for a water pipe line in Tizi N’bouali, avillage in Algeria. To get there, I hitchhiked most of theway through Spain and Morocco.

I stayed at a youth hostel in Algiers, where I metYussuf, an adventurous 19-year-old Arab. He spoke Englishas well as I spoke French, and we became fast friends,trying our language out on each other.

“Avez-vous ever been to the Sahara?” I asked him. “No,but I have often pensé au sujet d’aller visiter une oasis.”

As a devotee of stories about Lawrence of Arabia andfilms about the French Foreign Legion, the thought ofvisiting an oasis exhilarated me. “Allons!” I said.

Yussuf thought for a moment. “The desert is too far towalk et dangereux. But if you go, I will go.”

We checked our maps and found that the oasis of BouSaada was about 200 kilometers from Algiers. We decidedto leave at sunrise.

“How shall we prepare?” I asked. “We need our bedrolls, but no food is necessary. You

will see.”

If You Go, I Will Go

Joe Rubinstein

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