Posted on Nov 1, 2000
Travels with Charlie
I have enjoyed very much the articles that chronicle the travels of Professor Charlie Scaife and his ScienceMobile (see page forty-seven of the summer issue). I have a special interest in the topic, aside from having been one of Dr. Scaife's minions back in the fall of 1972.
I am the president of the Optimist Club of Westfield , N.J., a not-for-profit public service organization whose focus is on the youth of our community. Being located in the heart of “Bell Labs” country (now Lucent Technologies) and the center of the nation's pharmaceutical industry, many of our members are scientists and engineers. To help counter cuts in public funding, the Optimist Club started what has become one of our signature projects, an after-school enrichment program called, coincidentally, “Hands-On-Science.” The classes, which last year served more than 1,000 children in grades two through five, are taught by teachers from the elementary schools and run for an eight-week period in the spring.
Our only challenge is that the programs are so popular they fill up very quickly and some children are closed out. We would very much like to invite Professor Scaife to visit our schools and perhaps conduct a workshop for the instructors of next year's Hands-On-Science classes. Could you provide an e-mail or postal address?
Thank you for your help and for the continuing excellence of Union College.
Marty Silverman '76
Westfield, N.J.
Professor Scaife says he is happy to hear from alumni. His e-mail is scaifec@union.edu and his telephone number is 518-388-6341.
The moral dilemmas of governing
I greatly enjoyed the article in the summer issue about Professor Byron Nichols and his “Moral Dilemmas of Governing” class. I had to write, however, to challenge Professor Nichols's comment that impeachment of President Clinton was not justified.
The act itself, obviously Professor Nichols's focus, may well have been only a lapse of personal ethics, but it was the cover-up that followed that justified the impeachment, as in Watergate. The President was called into a civil trial by subpoena, affirmed by the Supreme Court, and he swore to tell the truth. He did not, and he perjured himself. At the very least, that is a misdemeanor, as in “high crime and misdemeanor,” but it may be a felony, which would certainly be enough to invoke the impeachment clause. Either, in my mind, qualify for impeachment.
William D. Ferguson '96
Plattsburgh, N.Y.
As usual, I enjoyed the current issue of the magazine with its stimulating mix of substantive articles, doings at the College, and alumni news. I write to correct a small error about the first course Union offered on Japan and China. It was not “nearly twenty-five years” ago, but nearly fifty. My old course bulletin for 1953-54 lists History 66 a,b, Modern and Contemporary East Asia, 1800 to the Present, a course I audited occasionally. It was taught by Professor James W. Morley. He was a popular lecturer, and I can still remember the swift and sure way he drew the curving coastline of China on the blackboard.
David C. Balderston '55
New York City
It was wonderful to read the article about the Moral Dilemmas class. I have very fond memories of that class, starting with the first day, when Professor Nichols thanked me for speaking up, thus demonstrating that class participation would not result in beheading, even if one didn't really know what one was talking about.
The introduction of discipline into our thought processes, especially the focus on how “facts” weren't always what they seemed, and how biases, assumptions, and personal experiences colored (often subconsciously) the development of strongly-held beliefs and opinions, was a real eye-opener. The skills Professor Nichols helped us develop were very important to me in law school and help me to this day in analyzing the motivations of people I need to influence, both inside my company and outside. The testimonials in the magazine article from other alumni are ample evidence of the enduring value of the course.
John Perlstein '74
Manchester, Conn.
Union on my mind
Since Union is very much on my mind as a result of my visit to ReUnion 2000, I have a suggestion I would like to make. I propose that you publish, in one form or another, a collection of some of the lighter memories of the Union experience. At Foulkeways Retirement Community, where I am residing, the regularly-scheduled “Remembering” programs are so popular and well attended that I can imagine the same sort of interest on the part of Union alumni.
As examples I am enclosing two of my own favorites; these are still very vivid even though I graduated sixty-five years ago.
Up and Away
One warm spring day as we were getting over a snow storm I was walking toward the chemistry building and noticed that a small, third-floor window, high up on the sloping roof of the lecture hall, was open. A student was sitting just in front of the window. Quickly picking up some snow, I made a snowball and threw it high up, just past this student. At lunchtime, I walked home with Professor Jerry Schmidt. He told me that partway through his organic chemistry lecture the class was startled when a snowball came in through the open window.
Early Morning Math
When I had an eight o'clock class in calculus I had trouble staying awake, and since I sat in the first row I was conspicuous. What I remember is not the calculus but the day when, as soon as I fell asleep and my head dropped, Professor Morse, standing in front of me, said, “Conlon, you only come to class once in a while, and when you do you fall asleep.” It happened so fast that I suspect Prof. Morse had his utterance al prepared and was waiting for my head to drop.
Dan Conlon '35
Gwynedd, Pa.
We think Mr. Conlon has a great idea. Do you have a favorite story that you'd be willing to share with our readers — a recollection of a favorite professor or other well-remembered figure from the past, or perhaps an anecdote from your out-of-classroom activities?
Please mail, fax, or e-mail your reminiscences to Union College. We'll use what you send us either as a letter to the editor or as raw material for a possible Union College article. We'd love to hear from you.
Our addresses are:
Mail: Office of Communications, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. 12308
Fax: 518-388-7092
E-mail: blankmap@union.edu
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