The letters we publish here are edited for space and are representative of those we receive. We print only those letters referring to an article in the most recent edition of the magazine, not those responding to letters or commenting on issues not addressed in the recent edition.
Cover to cover
I opened the winter issue of your magazine and read it practically from cover to cover. It was as though the issue was written specifically for me. Not only were the articles well-written, but the subjects were spot on. As an old alumnus who works with wood and has been connected with the Institute for Social Concerns, I often paused in my reading to quote from the articles to my wife, who was working in another room. This issue has made me feel closer to the University than ever before. I cannot thank you enough.
John L. “Jack” Neis ’63
Apple Valley, Minnesota
My father’s ‘Pavel’
My father, James O. Lang ’41, employed a “Pavel” (“The Handyman Can”). His name was Howard Metzger. He and my father had a very wide canvas. Our ancestral house was built in 1861 with one-foot brick walls, plaster and layers of wallpaper, intricate woodwork and a dirt basement of about six feet. Starting in 1957, the projects were unending. When I was in my teens, they modified my bedroom, adding a closet, bookshelves and a desk. Howard had a full-time job making toy furniture at a factory in Delphos, Ohio, our hometown. Most of the work was done on weekends or nights until 1984 when my father passed away. How grateful I am for Howard’s helping hands; in a small but significant way, they paved the way for me and three of my siblings to attend Notre Dame. I came to understand that working with your hands is a very special and meaningful endeavor, the results many times outlasting your own life.
Susan Lang ’79
Arlington, Virginia
Learning inside out
I just finished reading Connie Snyder Mick’s insightful article, “Letting the Light In.” What an innovative, profound learning opportunity for Mick and her “inside” and “outside” students. Her commitment and courage to better understand the cycle of poverty and injustice is admirable. I appreciate this topic being featured in the publication as it gives great insight to readers and students about “awareness of community beyond the campus boundary.”
Michele Whitty
Clive, Iowa
Professor Mick captures the essence of prison education programs and presents a persuasive case for their importance. Hopefully, this will influence readers to support these programs.
My wife and I have personal experience with prison education. A younger relative spent 20-plus years in the New York prison system. He was fortunate to be at a facility when Bard College started its prison education program there. The impact on our relative and the other participants was amazing. During visits, he would talk at length about the courses, the professors and his fellow students. You could virtually see his mind and his outlook on life, short and long term, expanding.
So many incarcerated people never had a chance at education — whether through their own fault or someone else’s, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that education allows them to grow and fulfill their potential. They view themselves and others in a different light. If they are released, recidivism numbers for the prison-educated are significantly lower than for others. Even if they’re not released, the education programs make their lives better. That’s Christianity.
Chris Lane ’63
Denver
Academic royalty
Thank you for the wonderful article on Marya Lieberman (“Studying the Scourge of Street Drugs”). I had the pleasure of meeting her when I visited my son, who is a Notre Dame student. I run a harm reduction program in Boulder, Colorado; we give out the lifesaving medication naloxone and we are trying to implement a drug checking program to save more lives.
I had very little time in South Bend, so Marya agreed to meet me on a Sunday morning and show me her lab and tell me about her work. She is nationally known in our field, and I felt like I was meeting academic royalty.
Georgia Babatsikos
Longmont, Colorado
Painting a picture
Thanks ever so much for drawing attention to the visual arts with the stunning painting of a Schmincke watercolor kit by the Maine artist Alan Magee. The cover image produced a lovely double take that warmed the heart during the winter months.
Timothy James Standring ’73
Denver
Keeping faith with Father Ed
Your recent obituary for Father Ed O’Connor (“Deaths in the Family”) noted that among the many accomplishments of his long and fruitful life was his leadership of the weekly Log Chapel Prayer Group, arguably the longest-running group of its kind at Notre Dame. This group still meets. When Father Ed could no longer manage it, he asked us to continue holding weekly meetings at a small house we own on Palmer Street. We have kept faith with his request. While participation has declined over time, we still combine prayer time with a light supper together. We have been especially encouraged over the last year as several student-led groups have been meeting at our “prayer house” as well.
Robert Smith ’72M.A., ’77Ph.D., and Teresa Smith
South Bend
The ultimate champion
Thank you for including the passing of Gerry Faust. I attended his funeral and burial. You may recognize the names of several pallbearers: Bob Crable ’82, D’Juan Francisco ’89, Hiawatha Francisco ’87, Mike Haywood ’86, Tim Koegel ’82, Steve Sylvester ’75 and Larry Williams ’85. They all played at Notre Dame, and many played for Gerry at Moeller High School, where he will go down as the greatest coach in the history of Ohio high school football. One of the eulogies was given by John Boehner, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, who played for Gerry at Moeller. These were his closing words: “He made everyone he coached — everyone he knew — better, helping them find their own path to heaven, to a chance for eternal life with our Creator. That’s the ultimate victory. And Gerry Faust is the ultimate champion.”
Paul Coppola ’78
Washington, D.C.
Gerry Faust’s “tribute” begins with a negative remembrance. This makes me sad. While we can’t ignore his ND football record, a kinder approach to his life would be to start with the last line: “the man himself remembered fondly for his character, which transcended victory or defeat.”
Joan Gallagher Richmond ’80MFA
Traverse City, Michigan
Descent into secularism
The obituary on Nathan Mitchell encapsulates everything wrong with the editors of this magazine and the University as a whole. Mitchell was a homosexual who somehow found himself teaching theology, of all things, at an allegedly Catholic university. However, instead of being condemned, his lifestyle and “marriage” to another male is celebrated. This is but more evidence that Our Lady’s University’s descent into the darkness of secularism continues to accelerate.
Joe Toddy ’79
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania