Unanswered
Questions
I do not understand the purpose of Noah Levitt’s eight-page article
in the Winter 2002 issue on the United Nations Racism Conference in South
Africa, in which he expresses some very personal views while leaving a
number of questions unanswered.
First of all, was this piece published for its literary value only or
was it supposed to give a one-sided picture with another to follow? There
are obviously different interpretations of what Leavitt calls the “violently
anti-Semitic and even more violently anti-Israel climate” of the
conference. What, for instance, made “leaders of the most prestigious
and high profile civil- and human-rights activists in the United States
today” chant (under a full moon, as he reports) “Stop U.S.
racism all over the world”?
I would
also like to know which organization Leavitt represented as a “white
Jewish man from the United States,” and whether there were any other
Haverford graduates attending. Finally: while in the introduction he states,
“I had seen Tutu’s daughter on my flight” without any
further reference in the text he recalls further down the unsavory detail
of an unnamed woman passenger throwing up on him. If that was her what
is it supposed to mean?
Hans
Janitschek ’54
New York, N.Y.
Hans Janitschek was senior advisor to the United Nations from 1977 to1994.
I would like to correct several errors—both factual and interpretive—in John Pfaltz’s letter (Haverford Magazine, Spring 2002) about my article on the honor code. I am only writing now because I was not given the opportunity to correct his mistakes before
his lengthy letter was published.
First, as I explained to John Pfaltz when he first inquired about my piece immediately after it appeared in the Washington Post (May 27, 2001), Professor Bloomfield did not create his anti-plagiarism software as an idle intellectual exercise. He did it because a student told him that cheating was rampant in his class, “How Things Work,” and he wanted to find out whether this was true. It was. After our e-mail exchange, Mr. Pfaltz verified this with Professor Bloomfield, and acknowledged that I was correct.
Second, I never intended to hold Haverford up as a sterling example of how well an honor code works. And I certainly didn’t intend to imply that the University of Virginia was any less of a school because of the nature of its honor code. I’d be an idiot to assume that nobody ever cheats at Haverford: I’m not, and I’m sure that they do.
The point of my piece—evidently lost on John Pfaltz—was not moralistic but philosophical. Honor codes shouldn’t be used as oversight mechanisms. To do so is not only futile, but a category mistake that misses the very purpose of such a code, which is to maintain a context of moral reflection and self-scrutiny.
I was not scolding Professor Bloomfield or the university, only pointing out that they were both perpetuating misguided concept of honor. I’m sorry if Mr. Pflatz misunderstood this.
Robert S. Boynton ’85
Brooklyn, N.Y.
This is not just another account of Steve Cary’s love for Haverford,
it is a call for reflection and action.
We all know how much Steve did for the College, both by his presence and
by his actions. Let me give an example. Some 20 years ago, Steve set out
to raise some money to refurbish the Strawbridge Observatory. He went
to see an alumnus of the College, and a member of the Strawbridge family,
Gordon, of the Class of ’23. Mr. Strawbridge agreed to donate a
$10,000 stock certificate, then asked Steve to come down to his bank while
he extracted it from his safe deposit box. As Steve looked on, Gordon
Strawbridge opened the box, only to reveal a substantial stack of these
$10,000 stock certificates. As Steve tells the story, he handed one to
Steve, who then said, “Come on, Gordie, give me another.”
Another was handed over. With a twinkle in his eye I’m sure you
can all imagine, Steve jostled Gordon Strawbridge with his elbow and said,
“Hey come on, how about another…?” And so it went until
Steve walked away with a stack of stock certificates, and much of the
cost of the refurbishment of the Observatory was in hand.
A person without Steve’s love of the College would not have tried
such a move. A person without Steve’s good spirit and sure personal
touch could not have pulled it off. Steve Cary, more than anyone I know,
was able to brighten “the light of God” in others, and to
kindle a love of Haverford wherever he went.
So, I would ask you, when you next consider a donation to Haverford College,
to imagine for a moment Steve Cary standing beside you cheerfully bumping
you with his elbow and saying, “Come on, give a little more!”
Bruce Partridge
Bettye and Howard Marshall Professor of Natural Sciences
From time
to time when I was at Haverford, people wondered aloud if Haverford’s
Quaker heritage still made much difference. I was a Haverford freshman
in 1972 and, with others, went out in the Atlantic Ocean in a canoe on
weekends to try to block the loading of the U.S.S. Nitro, which was taking
on ammunitions for use by aircraft carriers in Vietnam. Steve Cary was
among the contingent who blocked the railroad tracks and got arrested.
I wondered how the campus would react to the arrest of the College’s
vice president for fund-raising. On Monday morning, there was hardly any
reaction. No one was the least bit surprised that Steve had been arrested
in an anti-war protest. It was as if such an arrest were as much a part
of Steve's life and job as meeting a rich alum for dinner or sitting at
his desk. And that wasn't the way it was at other colleges in 1972.
Dave Wessel '75
Washington, D.C.