Comments for The Haverblog

Comment on De-Stress with Dogs by Stacey Gammon Pet Photography

Stacey Gammon Pet Photography — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:03:03 +0000

So cute, and great for the rescue dogs as well. Give the kid with the highest score on the test a dog to take home – both dog & kid win.

Comment on In Memoriam: Ronald F. Thiemann (1946-2012) by Bill Ridgway '82

Bill Ridgway '82 — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 04:09:43 +0000

When I think back now I am struck by the emotions I felt as a freshman meeting Ron Thiemann in September 1978. It filled me with hope to meet someone with such a powerful intellect, who cared about his students, and was dedicated to thinking through the hard questions while still defending his own point of view. Hope! He gave me hope. He was a sort of hero, fearlessly confronting the deep problems of evil, knowledge, meaning, truth. Thus began an intense relationship that centered on the intellect and its development but did not neglect the spirit.

Ron Thiemann taught me how to think analytically. He taught me that in order to criticize a text (or a whole intellectual position), you first had to delve deeply into that position and understand it. Isn’t that really the basis for tolerance? You need to give the text a deep and fair reading. You have to get into the text, live it, try on the ideas, and see how they compare to your own point of view. Then you analyze the weaknesses deep inside the structure. It turns out it is the same with people. You need to see things from their point of view, from their world view, and understand it. Once you do that, tolerance develops because people are no longer “other” or foreign.

What a tremendous contribution he made to my intellectual development. I am today in academic medicine, running a laboratory in Immunology– but the skill set enabling me to do this was developed at Haverford, and a big contribution to developing and homing my analytic skills was made by Ron. Now, when I write a paper or receive a grant or paper for review, I employ the same techniques that he taught.

I have been in academia for so long that I take some of these skills for granted. However, I have also been in academia long enough to be able to look back and marvel at the personal involvement, the commitment he made to his students. He cared about us and our progress, he cared deeply. He was passionate about us. And, this may have been his greatest gift to us, the one that lasts. To have a teacher believe in you…to encourage you, yes to challenge you to excellence…it is priceless. Thank you Ron and may you rest in peace.

Bill Ridgway Clss of 1982

Comment on Spring Has Sprung! Pinwheel Day 2013 by Stark G. Jones

Stark G. Jones — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 20:31:46 +0000

Stark G. Jones, 1961
I continue to be surprised and delighted by the creative force at Haverford, in both the whimsical and the profound. Thank you for Pinwheel Day, 2013, the existential launch of Spring at Haverford.

Comment on Spring Has Sprung! Pinwheel Day 2013 by Marilu Seijo '90

Marilu Seijo '90 — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:12:09 +0000

We didn’t have this tradition back in my day, but I’m glad it’s there now. What a curious and creative way to celebrate life! Sometimes I get somewhat nostalgic when I hear how some traditions change or fade away. However, the new ones are a sign of the times. Spin away!

Comment on Spring Has Sprung! Pinwheel Day 2013 by Roger W Chin

Roger W Chin — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:59:25 +0000

It is a wonderful thing that the young people of today are creative enough to still come up with new ways to celebrate the change of the season. I know that during my time at HFC this was never a thought. The pinwheels show that the wheels of change are still turning and that there are many different and new ways to make the world a better place.

Comment on In Memoriam: Ronald F. Thiemann (1946-2012) by Peter Leibold '85

Peter Leibold '85 — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:59:38 +0000

I just learned of Professor Thiemann’s passing. My condolences to his family and friends. I regret never having told him that his “Religion in the Third Reich” was the most challenging, intellectually stimulating class I took as a student. Students prepared well for every class. They read the texts carefully because they cared so much about the outcome of the discussions to be held. Professor Thiemann taught the class sensitively and passionately, knowing that many of our religious traditions would be rightfully called into question for their active and passive failures during that horrific time. My wife and I included a reading from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison at our wedding in large part because of the impact of that class. I am indebted to Dr. Thiemann. He was a huge part of my Haverford experience, and he will be missed.

Comment on James House Welcomes “Interpreting Displacement” by Pia

Pia — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 07:49:07 +0000

Thanks so much for the story! I had one correction, though.
The exhibition was a joint project of mine and Abby Fullem’s. Although I started out with the idea and made many of the curatorial decisions in terms of the wording of text, reaching out to artists, etc. we did most of the work together. She was the Managing/Logistics Director and I was the Curatorial Director. So, while I conceptualized the show she realized the space and directed me and others as we laid down flooring, ordered curtains, painted walls and whatever else was needed to make it look as fabulous as it does now.
-Pia Chakraverti-Wuerthwein

Comment on Andrew Sullivan: On Being Conservative, Christian and Gay by Chris O'Donnell '92

Chris O'Donnell '92 — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:40:32 +0000

Good for SCSS for inviting Andrew Sullivan. I can’t recall any conservative speakers during my four years at Haverford but I remember a lot of lip service to “listening to diverse viewpoints” and “tolerance.” Until, of course, someone actually presents the “community” with an idea that goes against liberal orthodoxy, then, well…

It’s so easy to dismiss people with really different views as naive, or better yet, evil. Given all the talk about tolerance and critical thinking in the brochures I expected more from Haverford. I was very disappointed by the school’s failure to live up to those stated ideals without a hint of acknowledgement about the utter hypocrisy of the PC movement, backed up by the Social Honor Code. I’m glad that today’s students, judging by the fact that the reporters described the audience as “attentive,” seem a little truer to the College’s stated ideals than those of my vintage.

Comment on Andrew Sullivan: On Being Conservative, Christian and Gay by Sean Kershaw

Sean Kershaw — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:58:20 +0000

Joan: I have several reactions to your comments.
* Most importantly, I’d urge you to read what Andrew Sullivan writes. I read him every day — religiously — and see no correlation between how you characterize what he stands for and what he actually says or argues. Your assumptions don’t match his words.
* As a Christian, I’m nervous whenever anyone claims to know “what Christianity truly means” and then essentially criticizes someone else for being a fundamentalist.

Andrew cuts against the orthodoxy of being gay, being Catholic, and being conservative. This form of rebellion is well-suited for Haverford and it’s Quaker and intellectual tradition.

Comment on Andrew Sullivan: On Being Conservative, Christian and Gay by Donna

Donna — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:44:56 +0000

Bob, you must be a conservative, since you are so absolutely certain you know what conservatives and very religious people are like.