Life of Loevy
Dr. Loevy arrived at CC at the beginning of my senior year. Being a poli sci major, I signed up for his course teaching us how to program computers using BASIC. It was rare that computers were used by the social sciences, but I loved the course. During my second semester I was given permission to create an independent studies course supervised by Dr. Loevy, where I entered election results and coded the precincts in the Denver area so that future poli sci students could use the data for future work. It was lots of work, but I loved it — although I do remember going to his office to tell him I couldn’t solve a problem and he told me to, basically, suck it up and get to work. He made me so mad that of course I figured it out!
My best memory of Dr. Loevy was right before exam week (pre-Block Plan). I had all sorts of studying to do and papers to write, one of which was for Dr. Loevy. I was exhausted and stressed when I bumped into him between classes. He asked me what was wrong. After I explained my very full plate, he told me that he would not accept my paper the next day, that I should go home and get some sleep and that I had a mandatory three-day extension. I’ll never forget his kindness that day.
I was lucky to have so many wonderful poli sci professors during my time at CC — Brooks, Fuller, Finley, Mertz, Sondermann, and certainly Loevy. I thank them all.
Nicki Steel ’69
Thirty years ago I sat across the table from Professor Robert Loevy and regaled him with my knowledge of the meaning of good in Aristotle’s polis He listened attentively, then politely interrupted me to thank me for working so hard on my senior oral comps. And then he silenced me with this question: “You know all about Aristotle’s polis, but what do you think it will mean for you to live a good life?” Hardly a day has gone by when I haven’t thought about that question, perhaps the essential question of a liberal arts education. He was a remarkable teacher, then and now. Thank you for the terrific article in this latest Bulletin.
Kathy Davis Graves ’84
Photo Kudos
Great photo by Niyanta Khatri ’17
on page 10.
Bob Beck ’72
Geology Ph.D.s
Congratulations on the recent article in the Bulletin — most impressive figures re: Ph.D.s! There were not as many of us back in the ’40s, and some (like me) had their education interrupted by WWII, but a few of us did manage a Ph.D., with no small measure of thanks to Professor Don Gould.
John Coash ’47 (Class of ’44)
Reaction to Ferguson Essay
In your Letters to the Editor section of the April 15, 2015 Bulletin you published three letters finding fault with Colorado College as follows:
“That the college administration, faculty, and Bulletin editors approved publication of an article written by a dance instructor commenting on the Ferguson issue is appalling.” — Lawrence Waddington ’53
“It is disheartening that Assistant Professor of Dance Anusha Kedhar would be allowed to publish her “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!” article in the latest CC Bulletin.” — Craig Silverman ’78
“What has critical thinking at Colorado College come to?” — Jeff Seiler ’76
Each of the above individuals felt compelled to share their point of view concerning the article entitled “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!: Gesture, Choreography, and Protest in Ferguson,” a point of view piece by Anusha Kedhar. Their opinions were approved by the editing department and were printed in the Bulletin. The crux of the three opinions was to castigate the editors for printing a “point of view” piece by Anusha Kedhar, whose opinion also was approved by the editors for publication. I view Colorado College as genuine source for liberal arts thought and education. I expected opposing and even extreme opinions to be voiced and heard, written and read. It was that way when I attended.
Please do continue providing content that addresses the many and varied viewpoints and opinions of faculty, staff, administration, students, and alumni, and do not succumb to pressures for conformity and thought control. Please don’t take up the mantle of thought police.
Timothy H. Randles ’63
I would like to echo the sentiments of Judge Waddington, Mr. Silverman, and Mr. Seiler in the Letters to the Editor in the April CC Bulletin. I was, like Judge Waddington, appalled when I read the referenced article — by the content, by the fact that you published it, and especially by the fact that CC employs someone with so little ability and regard for intelligent thought and analysis.
She, and you, have done a great disservice to the reputation of a fine institution. I look forward with great anticipation to the Bulletins I get from the University of Puget Sound and from Stanford. I don’t look forward to yours so much anymore.
Anne Berry ’70
I am saddened that the Bulletin and Anusha Kedhar have received so much backlash for printing a most honest and accurate article about the criminalization of black bodies. I was so impressed with the insight and profundity of this article that I cut it out to show many of my friends and family members. I wish I had sent a letter weeks ago to give my thanks and praise for this article simply to counterbalance the negative comments which were bound to fly. Printing three of these negative letters was quite generous on the Bulletin’s part. It is quite telling that all of the negative letters about this article came from members of a generation whose time allotted to improve the plight of poor people in the world will soon expire. They fail to realize that police have volunteered and are paid to risk their lives. They tout a “justice system in this country where we don’t lynch people to avoid the inconvenience of trial,” but have apparently already forgotten that this is exactly what happened to Mike Brown, John Crawford, and a host of other, ordinary citizens, who have not volunteered to risk their lives, let alone forfeit their rights (i.e., to a trial), for simply being (black) in public.
Chris Ricci ’02
There is so much that bothers me about the Letters to the Editor page of your April edition that I am not sure where to start. Three of the four letters published in that edition attacked Dr. Anusha Kedhar’s article, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” calling it “appalling,” “disheartening,” and “outrageous tripe.”
First of all, I wonder why 75 percent of the letters you published are about this one article and all are negative. Was there a particularly high volume of letters about this article? Did you receive only negative feedback about it?
The letters dispute Professor Kedhar’s presentation of the events in Ferguson as contrary to the facts. I suggest that your readers Google “racism in Ferguson” and read a sample of the listings on the first two pages, then tell me where the facts are. Facts depend on who picks and presents them. Do lawyers and the law own the facts? Do the facts of the criminal justice system always produce truth and justice?
As to the content of the three letters, they seem to attack not just Professor Kedhar for presenting her scholarship, but Colorado College as well for providing a venue. This seems grotesquely vicious and contrary to the spirit of the liberal arts. Her article is not just about guilt and innocence in Ferguson, it is also about being in the world and the many ways we learn and look at things. As a scholar, teacher, dancer, and choreographer, Dr. Kedhar’s method of inquiry is about more than just hard facts; it brings a broad perspective to learning. This quote from President Tiefenthaler’s blog post from Oct. 27, 2014 supports my point of view: “Assembling a diverse campus community with many voices at the table and modeling how to consider the variety of viewpoints in the work respectfully is what a liberal arts education is all about.”
I think perhaps it is hard for some people to accept dance as a legitimate academic discipline. My son graduated from CC last year with a major in dance. It was part of my own education to watch him and discover the challenge and rigor of the field. The many skills and life lessons he gained in college are serving him well in the wide world.
I salute Professor Kedhar for her work on and off the stage and look forward to her continued contributions to the vibrant conversation at Colorado College.
Peter Ordway ’83, P’14
How discouraging to read three letters in the April Bulletin condemning Professor Kedhar’s article of the previous month about this past year’s tragic events in Ferguson, Missouri. All three writers claim superior factual knowledge of the case, and, even more confounding, assert or imply that racism was wrongly claimed by those outraged by Michael Brown’s death. However equivocal the precise events of Mr. Brown’s death might still be, the ensuing outrage was a result of years of entrenched racism by the Ferguson police and establishment (detailed by the Justice Department report), and decades of institutionalized racism by the government of Missouri, and all this, of course, in the context of an America that has yet to heal the echoing effects of centuries of slavery. They comment on the Ferguson events without a hint of acknowledgment that there are screamingly legitimate concerns about how young black men are treated by police and the justice system. This, the strong spin they put on their “facts” of the case, and the scarcely disguised vitriol in their comments (in spite of their insistences that truth and facts are paramount) made me sad that they seem to represent the CC alumni this month. I hope the burgeoning numbers of CC applicants noted later in the April issue can be assured that these writers’ self-blindered attitudes do not represent CC as it encounters the world today.
Tom Cramer ’89
I was deeply disturbed by the response to Professor Kedhar’s “Stand Up! Don’t Shoot!” article. After carefully reading her article, I was alarmed by the way three male alumni (Mr. Waddington, Mr. Silverman, and Mr. Seiler) nitpicked small details of Professor Kedhar’s article, while missing the greater and salient point: The politics of racism are embedded in black bodies and in the protest against police brutality.
Mr. Waddington’s letter, in particular, was loaded with racist undertones. He ignored the peaceful protests and only focused on the few riots that occurred, and confused George Zimmerman’s position as a “security guard,” when Zimmerman was simply a member of a neighborhood watch organization. Furthermore, Waddington insinuated that the “riots” that followed the killing of black men by white police officers were somehow unjustified, which perpetuates the myth of the violence of blackness.
Unlike Mr. Silverman, I thought it was brilliant that a Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies reflected on the bodily symbolism of the #blacklivesmatter movement. I applaud CC for publishing this article and am ashamed to share an alma mater with individuals who have such a misunderstanding of institutional racism.
Sophie Glass ’09
I would like to congratulate the Bulletin for having the courage to print the rebuttals to Ms. Kedhar’s rather ludicrous adherence to fancies and fallacies in her diatribe. The retired judge Mr. Waddington, Mr. Silverman, and Mr. Seiler should be awarded their due for telling it like it is. The dance instructor apparently believes that the press and TV do not lie while I suspect most of us actually suspect that getting the story and checking facts later and thus selling papers or air time are more important. We were in NYC in early December 2014 and witnessed the “die-ins” and peaceful demonstrations; there seemed to be a mutual respect between the protestors and the police and I believe that Dr. Martin Luther King would have been proud of their response. The violence of Ferguson with the people burning their neighbors’ businesses and homes turned an ugly situation into an even uglier one with a hostile crowd facing a police force which did not know what was going to happen. I think Dr. King would have been quite sad by that behavior.
W. Stanford Brechbuhler ’65
We would like to respond to the three letters to the editor in the April issue of the Colorado College Bulletin critiquing our colleague Anusha Kedhar’s piece (“Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!”). While others may wish to address the content of these letters, we will confine our remarks to their disturbing and inappropriate tone. The writers are certainly entitled to express their own opinions; we have no argument with that. However, two of them, Lawrence Waddington ’53 and Craig Silverman ’78, at times express their points in what we find to be a most uncivil manner. They either directly state, or insinuate that a dance instructor is not entitled or qualified to comment on a political issue, and Mr. Silverman attacks Professor Kedhar in a disrespectful way that verges on the personal, characterizing her article as “self-indulgent” and “outrageous tripe.”
Both of these writers maintain that Professor Kedhar should not have been “allowed” to publish her article in the CC Bulletin, in effect asking the magazine not to include controversial views. However, their own controversial views were published. As an academic institution, Colorado College encourages the expression of a wide range of beliefs and ideas and thus we are always vigilant in the defense of free speech and respect for our differences. We are surprised that Mr. Waddington, a retired civil court judge, does not acknowledge such a basic value.
As members of the CC community, we would like to convey to the writers of these letters our support of Professor Kedhar’s right to state her own point of view. Most importantly, we want to reaffirm emphatically the college’s commitment to the basic academic values of free-wheeling but always civil debate.
Signed by the following members of the Colorado College faculty & administration,
Daniel Arroyo-Rodriguez
Ryan Banagale
Tamara Bentley
Paul M. Buckley
Bruce Coriell
Owen Cramer
Michael Cucher
Helen Daly
Marie Davis-Green
Claire Oberon Garcia
Idris Goodwin
Neena Grover
Santiago Ivan Guerra
J
ean Gumpper
Sarah Hautzinger
Steven Hayward
Ruth Kolarik
Scott Krzych
Jonathan Lee
Victoria Levine
Heidi Lewis
Christina Leza
Tom Lindblade
Clara Lomas
Phoebe Lostroh
Genevieve Love
Dennis McEnnerney
Andreea Marinescu
David Mason
Purvi Metha
Douglas Monroy
Gail Murphy-Geiss
Gale Murray
Ryan Platt
Devaka Premawardhana
Bryant “Tip” Ragan
Jamal Ratchford
Pamela Reaves
Moctar Sakho
Tracy Santa
Barry Sarchett
Michael Sawyer
Adrienne Seward
Rashna Singh
Christiane Steckenbiller
Manya Whitaker
Barbara L. Whitten
Shawn Womack
Editor’s Note:
The Bulletin has published every signed letter sent to us for publication, both for and against, the “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!” article that appeared in the December 2014 issue. We encourage respectful dialogue and debate, and readers on all sides of any issue are welcome to submit letters to the editor. Any further letters received in response to the “Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!” article will run in the online Bulletin.
