乐播传媒

Thank You, Elaine

Thank you, Elaine Tuttle Hansen, for a most informative final interview (鈥淎live to Change, Fall 2011) and for giving 乐播传媒 your best as our seventh president. The college has come into the next century able to cope, adapt and adjust while staying firm for what matters most: love of learning, embrace of diversity and the ability to cope, and as an institution, adding majors when relevant.

The Fall issue was my favorite. Of course, it has Peter Gomes 鈥�65 and Jim Carignan 鈥�61 in it, but maybe it also has to do with my 50th Reunion this year. I sent the article 鈥淐areer Intentions鈥� to my grandson, a senior at Roger Williams University; he came with me to our 40th Reunion a decade ago. Maybe I鈥檒l bring my 7-year-old granddaughter this year!

Sharon Fowler Kenrick 鈥�62

South Sutton, N.H.

Please Write! We love letters. Letters may be edited for length (300 words or fewer preferred), style, grammar, clarity and relevance to college issues and issues discussed in 乐播传媒 Magazine. Email your letter to: magazine@bates.edu Or post it to: 乐播传媒 Magazine 乐播传媒 Communications 141 Nichols St. Lewiston ME 04240

Living Proof

We鈥檝e all heard tales of seeing one鈥檚 own obituary in the newspaper. Well, you鈥檝e done it for me 鈥� almost.

After traveling in the South Pacific for five-plus weeks (Cook Islands, Tahiti, Marquesas), I鈥檓 finally reading the accumulated mail, including the Fall 2011 乐播传媒 Magazine. At my age, 84, I usually check out the obits first. Sure enough, there鈥檚 an obituary for my brother-in-law Weston Attwood Cate 鈥�43. The last sentence reads, 鈥淗is sister-in-law was the late Dorothy Stetson Conlon 鈥�50.鈥�

Wow!

Perhaps someone would be good enough to send me the details of my death so I could run an obit in the local paper, tell my lawyer and notify my beneficiaries 鈥� including 乐播传媒 College. Then I could continue my life of travel and adventure and writing under a pseudonym.

I would like to applaud 乐播传媒 on its route to multi-cultural engagement, as described in the Fall issue. As someone who has lived and traveled much of her life internationally, I can attest to the importance of exposing young people to a culture beyond their own. Keep it up, and expand the connection.

Dorothy Stetson Conlon 鈥�50
Sarasota, Fla.

A lifelong traveler and the author of At Home in the World: Memoirs of a Traveling Woman, Dorothy has a new memoir, Born with Wings: Experiencing Life in Exotic Lands, available through Amazon. Her website is dorothyconlon.com. 鈥� Editor

Finished Well

Just finished reading thoroughly the Fall issue of the magazine. Very good job. Much improved and worth reading.

Rob Wilson 鈥�51
Santa Fe, N.M.

We hope the redesign keeps the improvement going. 鈥� Editor

Nighty Night!

As mayor of Lewiston, I want to commend 乐播传媒 students Mikey Pasek 鈥�12 and Megan Murphy 鈥�13 for organizing 鈥淐ollege Night in Town鈥� on May 9. Due to their positive interaction with the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce, Lyceum Gallery and municipal departments, the event was an overwhelming success.

The Lewiston and Auburn downtowns were filled with hundreds of college students throughout the evening 鈥� visiting restaurants, enjoying more than 30 musical performances and networking. Indeed, students from 乐播传媒, Kaplan University, University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn College and Central Maine Community College seemed to have a very enjoyable time experiencing what Lewiston and Auburn have to offer.

It was a great event to strengthen the community-college connection, and it is my understanding that future events will occur. I certainly hope so, as 鈥淐ollege Night in Town鈥� stirred up great energy and enthusiasm about downtown hot spots in the Twin Cities.

In closing, I extend best wishes to all 乐播传媒 students and their families. I am very proud of 乐播传媒鈥� presence here in the community, and it鈥檚 nice to know that students like Mikey and Megan are excited about interacting with the community at large.

Robert E. Macdonald
Lewiston

Word Up

Can you stick with real words in the magazine? 鈥淓mbiggen鈥� (鈥淢eet Hedge and Roger Williams,鈥� Fall 2011) is a made-up word that adds nothing to the language since the concept it represents already has numerous options. Don鈥檛 add to the linguistics confusion.

Dan Isaac 鈥�77
Yarmouth, Maine

Danes Deserve No Disdain

I must take issue with Charles W. Radcliffe 鈥�50鈥檚 letter in the Fall issue of 乐播传媒 Magazine. Mr. Radcliffe鈥檚 characterization of the Danes during World War II is simplistic and unhistorical. While it is mostly correct to say that when the Nazis first occupied Denmark, in 1940, there was 鈥渙nly a murmur of resistance from the Danish population,鈥� there was a sensible reason for this behavior. Geographically and militarily it would have been foolish to resist openly the German troops. Only needless bloodshed and death would have resulted. Believe it or not, there are times when 鈥渢he better part of valor is discretion.鈥�

However, almost from the start a resistance movement grew. Publication of illegal underground newspapers became among the most extensive in occupied Europe. Sabotage raids against industrial sites began in 1942; in the first three months alone of 1943 the Danish Resistance
carried out 120 raids.

But clearly the bravest, most heroic and humane Danish resistance to the Nazi rule was the rescue
of the Danish Jews in October 1943 after the Germans decided to arrest all the Jews the country. At first the Danes, at risk of their own arrests, provided safe houses for their Jewish neighbors. Later in October the Danes smuggled most of their Jewish countrymen and -women to neutral Sweden. Out of approximately 8,000 Danish Jews, 7,220 got to Sweden. This operation was the largest mass rescue action of the war.

While Mr. Radcliffe champions 鈥淎merica鈥檚 competitive spirit,鈥� as especially manifested on Garcelon Field, he should also realize that competitiveness has many faces. During World War II, the Danes chose subtlety, subterfuge and, most important of all, humanity as their competitive face.

Long after the war, Adolf Eichmann lamented about Denmark, 鈥淭hat small country caused us more difficulties than anything else.鈥� The Danes must have been doing something right.

Frederik L. Rusch 鈥�62
New York, N.Y.