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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Backward, March!

In connection with the article on Archie Roberts ’65 and the Harvard game in 1963 [November/December], let me add some items, as I was in the stadium that day. President Kennedy was indeed in attendance, but he left at halftime so he could visit the grave of his recently deceased infant son, Patrick. But not before he was serenaded by the Columbia band, which hilariously emulated Barry Goldwater by marching backward “into the 19th century.”

Ashbel Green ’50
New York City

Balancing Speakers

I have always felt that college should be a time for exploring new and different ideas. When President Lee C. Bollinger invited Iranian President Ahmadinejad to speak, it was in keeping with this philosophy. But when a speaker is controversial, as in this case or even in less striking instances, another speaker with the opposite opinion should be invited. This would help to avoid the critical reaction experienced and would guarantee that the subject would receive a wider discussion.

We do this with political speeches nationally and it seems to work.

Herb Sandick ’43, ’45 P&S
Bonita Springs, Fla.

Not Late

I’m pleased to see the praise Edward Kosberg ’63 gives to Bernard Wishy ’48, ’58 GSAS in his letter [November/December], but hasten to add that Bernard is not “late” but very much alive. I had a postcard from him today in the same mail that brought me Columbia College Today. The card comes from Germany, where Bernard is traveling, away from his current home in England near London.

My first acquaintance with Bernard was in a Colloquium class with Professors Jacques Barzun ’27 and Lionel Trilling ’25. (The class included another old friend, Irwin Nydick ’46, who I’m glad to see from the Class Notes is still flourishing.) But I came to know Bernard’s first-rate historian’s mind when we were drafted together in March 1944, and spent most of the next two years in the same U.S. Army outfits in the United States, England, France and Germany. He always was a stimulating and generous companion and friend, and it’s good to see his merits given their due recognition.

George T. Wright Jr. ’45, ’47 GSAS
Tucson

Non-Reply?

Professor [Gayatri] Spivak’s non-reply to the critique of Edward Alexander ’57 (November/December) ends so incoherently that it stands as a stunning affirmation of Alexander’s concerns. Is this what passes for incisive thinking and serious scholarship at Columbia these days?

Ira Weinryb ’61
Lower Gwynedd, Pa.

Hip-Hop Pioneer

Contrary to the assertion of Peter Nash ’89 [September/October] that he was the first to play hip-hop on WKCR, in summer 1986, that distinction belongs to Ovid Santoro ’86 GS, who not only aired rap and hip-hop records as early as 1984, but with the assistance of José Alfano ’86, ’89 Arch., Ethan Singer ’86, Henry Hollander ’86, Al Itzkoff ’86 and Andy Caploe ’84 brought artists such as the Cold Crush Brothers and Run-DMC to Ferris Booth Hall for live broadcasts.

Jonathan Gill ’86, ’92 GSAS,
’94 GSAS, ’99 GSAS
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Means of Protest

It no longer comes as a surprise to me that Columbia’s alma mater goes to the same tune as Deutschland Uber Alles. Every time I see pictures of students shouting speakers off platforms or demonstrating against invited guests, I hear the strains of the Horst Wessel Lied in the background. What next? Will we have book burnings of the works of Limbaugh and Hannity? Perhaps they can start the fire with a copy of the Bill of Rights!

Dr. Jack Wagner ’58
New Rochelle, N.Y.

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