Graphic Grandiosity
I am disappointed with the unfortunate
use of color in the January issue. The editors seem to be emphasizing graphics at the expense
of readability. They forget that the purpose of this magazine is to get
the alumni to increase their gifts to the university. If we don't read
it, an opportunity is lost. For example, when the magazine arrived I was
ready to trash it as another catalog. Then I saw the word "Northeastern"
hidden behind the dark red background. The article on the "Art of
Science" is another example of disruptive graphics. It may be a graphic
success but it gets a D-minus for legibility. As you look through the magazine,
you will find other examples.
Most of us get more newspapers, magazines, and
newsletters than we can possibly handle. Thus we are likely to skip material
that is difficult to read. This is particularly true for the over-forty,
bifocal crowd who probably accounts for the majority of the alumni giving.
I am not opposed to using color. The challenge is to use color to enhance
information-not detract from it.
Phil Goodman, E'43
Shelburne, Vermont
Praise . . .
Just received the January
issue. Great job. It's about the right size and
is visually appealing. I also appreciated the subtle feminist slant. I
look forward to a similar editing push toward N.U.'s various African American
and Latino studies programs and services. I'm also looking forward to receiving
my alumni card in the March issue. Keep up the good work.
Fred McGhee, AS'91
Austin, Texas
. . . & Complaint
Why is it necessary for Northeastern University
to have a Holocaust Awareness Committee [advertisement, January]? If we
want to examine the issue of man's inhumanity to man, why restrict the
identification of the issues to what happened in Europe? In this, Northeastern
seems to be following a long line of politically correct stances. Why not
use your own brain, rename the committee, and address wider issues: e.g.,
the inhumanity to Cambodians, Vietnamese, and Africans?
David Killam, LA'71
Moraga, California
Preserving Preeminent Programs
The cover/feature article on "The
Art of Science" [January] had an excellent
theme, combining an artistic presentation with outstanding fundamental
studies being conducted throughout N.U.'s research labs. Highlighting some
of the sponsored research and specific achievements by faculty gave added
beef to the article. I might add that I was privileged to participate in
a materials science contract that included chemistry professor David Budil
in his collaboration with an outstanding group at the Russian Academy of
Sciences. It's great to see N.U. profs involved in such international research
activities.
For upcoming issues of the magazine, two suggested
topics that I feel to be important: engineering departments and institutes,
and cooperative work education programs. The traditional strength of these
two programs certainly, in my mind, is the defining characteristic of N.U.
Recent growth-in breadth and depth-in the engineering programs takes on
added meaning when combined with their fundamental role in the early developing
years of Northeastern. Comprehensive coverage of the strong engineering
educational and research activities at N.U. would be a welcome topic in
the magazine. Likewise, N.U.'s track record as the preeminent leader of
cooperative work education must be highlighted in the midst of this growth.
Changes to meet the demands of business and industry are taking place.
But, hopefully, the identity of the traditional co-op work program will
endure, in title and in new, expanded content. I believe there is no new,
substitute terminology that has the same impact as "co-op education."
Shirley (Glazier) Liebman, LA'56
Holtwood, Pennsylvania
For the Commons Good
I was delighted to see the magazine write about
the university's outreach toward the Roxbury community [Talk of the Gown, January].
As a longtime supporter of these efforts in general, and as a participant
in professor Joseph Warren's current work with the community by means of
a HUD grant, I am very excited at the prospect of Northeastern and Roxbury
participating in a renaissance of this critical and historic part of Boston.
Because of my commitment to this goal, I would be disappointed for there
to be any misunderstanding of my brief remarks quoted in Bill Kirtz's column.
I think that the Davenport Commons project is a great boon to Roxbury,
as well as to the university. As Jane Holtz Kay says in Kirtz's piece,
Roxbury is in great need of "filling in [the] gaps in [its] open space."
The Davenport Commons project can serve as an example of how the simple
in-fill of vacant blocks can reconnect the fabric of community; something
that is good for both town and gown.
George Thrush
Ryder Hall
George Thrush is an associate professor and
head of the architecture program.
Alaskan Absorption
With deep interest, I read the article in the
November 1997 issue about Alaska's
"Legal Eagles." I spent two years in
Alaska while in the military, stationed in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and
my position allowed me to travel over most of the state. This was back
in the very early '60s before I attended Northeastern. I have always wanted
to go back with my family and show them this beautiful state.
My recollection of Nome is wooden sidewalks, dirt
roads, single-story buildings, "honey buckets," and staying in
the most modern facilities there at the time-the National Guard Armory.
It had running water and a sewer system. The surrounding countryside was
pockmarked with abandoned commercial gold dredges and, yes, was treeless
and flat. Being out in the bush was a delight in the summertime as we rented
riverboats and navigated upstream as far as the gas would allow. We ran
into grizzly bears, moose, caribou, beaver, and anything else the wilds
could dish out. There were abandoned cottages, survival cabins, and mosquitoes.
We fished for grayling and king salmon, and in the lakes, twenty-pound
lake trout. The winter was long and the skiing tremendous under the lights.
In six months we went from a sixty-below-zero temperature to ninety degrees
as days gained and lost an average of ten minutes of sunlight. In Fairbanks
it was the midnight baseball game with no artificial lights and in Anchorage
it was the midnight golf competition, where the party was before the game
started. It was the larger-than-average fruits and vegetables that grew
in the constant sunlight and very dainty carrots and potatoes that grew
in the cool ground. It was seeing the Northern lights and the sun not setting.
It all grows within you.
I only wish my pictures were as spectacular as
yours. Unfortunately, my camera was a Brownie Hawkeye and they sit in a
suitcase that occasionally gets opened. Like anybody else who has been
to Alaska for an extended stay, I could go on and on about this jewel of
the north. Maybe someday I will get back to see Alaska today, which is
nothing like the Alaska I left in the early '60s.
Albert E. Clark Jr., BA'68, MBA'85
Peabody, Massachusetts
I thoroughly enjoyed your article on N.U.'s "Legal Eagles."
Shortly after I received my teaching credentials and a master's degree
in 1976, I took a teaching position in Holy Cross, Alaska, on the Yukon
River. Like the graduates of the N.U. School of Law, I persevered in my
profession and rose to my current position as superintendent of the Chatham
School District, headquartered in Angoon, about forty miles south of Juneau.
In 1981 I ran my first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race. I believe that I am the first N.U. graduate to do so. I ran my second
Iditarod in 1984. I believe that I am the first N.U. graduate to have run
the race twice. As a veteran musher, I welcome Kirsten Bey to the Iditarod
fraternity. Anyone who runs the race is a hero. I look forward to the magazine's
next foray into "the Great Land" and I hope you will not forget
that it does not take a lawyer to succeed in Alaska.
Gordon E. Castanza, LA'73
Angoon, Alaska
David Chu Replies
I wish to reply to two
letters about me from fellow alumni Arthur Blair,
BA'50, and Laurence Tozier, ME'84, in your November 1997 edition. I will
ignore the personal jibes, which are understandable. Blair charges that,
in his words, I am the man "handpicked" for Hong Kong by "the
tyrants in Beijing," an accusation I think I must refute. With the
Cold War behind us now, it is no longer reasonable to think in terms of
"us versus them," which would only cause division and provoke
confrontation. In this world we have to work together on peace and prosperity.
This is why President Jiang Zemin and President Bill Clinton, who is to
visit China in the spring, cooperate without either compromising his principles.
This is why world leaders assemble in various conferences and send their
envoys to the United Nations. I can assure Blair that I am aiding the reform
of China in my way, just as he is striving for the same in his own style.
Our end-objects are the same. Tozier seems confused about what exactly
I did with my American passport. I gave up my citizenship in June 1994.
I did not do so out of disrespect for the United States that had given
me so much, for which I am eternally grateful. I remain indebted to the
U.S. and my children are Americans, born and bred. But for me to participate
fully in the public affairs of Hong Kong, I had to abide by the Chinese
constitution that, similar to the American covenant, does not countenance
dual citizenship. Two Hong Kong democrats, Christine Loh and Emily Lau,
in order to serve the community here, have also given up their British
citizenship recently without disrespect to the United Kingdom.
Over the past few years Hong Kong has heard many
prophecies of impending doom. Six months have gone by now since sovereignty
over Hong Kong was returned by Britain to China without any evident erosion
of rights and freedoms here. Even the inveterate skeptics in the foreign
media and British officials who know Hong Kong well have remarked how little
has changed, and what change there has been is perhaps for the better.
I hope that my fellow alumni will continue to have fond wishes for the
people of Hong Kong and support China's endeavor to modernize.
David Chu, E'66, MBA'68
Hong Kong
Objectionable Ad
I was very disheartened to see the ad for Suffolk
University's MBA program in the January issue. I understand the need for
sponsorship, but the alumni magazine should be promoting the MBA program
at Northeastern instead of a competitor school. Northeastern is an exceptional
university and should be proud of all of its colleges.
Kelly A. Higgins, CJ'81, MJ'85
Westford, Massachusetts
Out of Africa
I have long known of Northeastern University as
a leader in cooperative education. I even wrote your office of undergraduate
admissions a few years back when I was seeking admission to study in the
U.S. I couldn't apply, but N.U. made a great impression on me. I understand
you have a good number of Nigerian students and alumni.
A few days back, I stumbled on your magazine (May '97 issue)
and it was a great read. I was encouraged by Tim Sandler's write-up, "Re-Affirmative Action."
I don't really understand why this is generating so much debate in the
U.S., but it is comforting to know N.U. is still keen on campus diversity
and scholarships for minority students. "Getting
a Handle on Eddie Andelman," by Dan Kennedy,
also made an interesting read. Finally, "What's NU: A Report of the
Centennial Campaign" was a very informative piece, as you salute the
past and shape the future. I wish the Northeastern University community
a glorious year-long celebration as you commemorate a century of achievement
in respect and higher education. Keep up the splendid work.
Igbu Orobosa Harrison
Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria
We welcome your letters and reserve the right
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