Letters
Readers write back
The New Face of Politics
Loved your cover story (“Not Politics as Usual,” Fall 2018). Very proud of BU. Don’t forget Lois Frankel (CAS’70), Democratic congresswoman from Florida, who was a student leader when I was a dorm director at 700 Comm Ave.
John Ingersoll (GRS’67)
Atlanta, Ga.
The author once again dredges up the tiresome us-versus-them tripe in the line “If you are a white male incumbent up for reelection soon, lookout.” The article turns the noteworthy participation in politics by historically underrepresented people into a tacit implication that if you’re white, well, time’s up, we’re coming for you. You’re simply replacing one kind of discriminatory language for another.
Andrew Sloan (CAS’92)
Lake Worth, Fla.
Appreciation for a Scholarship
Thank you for the article about the Benjamin F. Lambert Scholarship, established by Raymond L. Baubles Jr. in memory of his partner, Ben Lambert (“A Tale of Two Scholarships,” Fall 2018). I grew up in Lowell, Mass., at about the same time as Mr. Lambert. I sent the article to the Lowell superintendent of schools and to my sister, who spent her career as a public school teacher in the city. Mr. Lambert’s significant accomplishments should serve as a model for Lowell students. Thanks to Mr. Baubles for his generosity.
Brenda Murray (LAW’63)
Chevy Chase, Md.
Fond Memories of BU
The latest issue of Bostonia somehow prompted me into remembering and pondering the Boston University I attended and graduated from in the Class of 1951. As you can guess, that makes me 90 years old. As I riffed through Bostonia, I was seeing a thriving BU, with ongoing building plans and a seemingly endless number of schools or institutes covering just about everything imaginable to study and learn about for both undergraduate and graduate programs and world-class scientific research.
My BU experience began before I was born, so to speak, as the Methodist minister who married my parents was Daniel Marsh. By the time I was applying to BU, in 1947, Dr. Marsh was the president of BU. I joined the staff of the BU News as a sports reporter, and in my senior year I was the sports editor. Dr. Marsh retired in my senior year, and I wrote an article about his important involvement in BU athletics. As a family friend, I was treated to many dinners and visits at the mansion where the Marshes lived. I also did an article on Harry Agganis (Wheelock’54), the local football athlete who was our quarterback, graduated, [played for one season with] the Boston Red Sox, and then [during the second season] tragically died from a pulmonary embolism in June 1955.
I had a Methodist church scholarship to BU and worked at one of the residence hall kitchens to cover my expenses and tuition, which I seem to remember was around $480 a semester, if not a year. Graduate work took me to Indiana University, and I ended up beginning a career in higher education at Northeastern University in the field of counseling. In midlife, I moved to Wisconsin to finish my teaching career at University of Wisconsin-Stout.
BU was a great university, where I was happily educated those four years. Today, it seems like a huge, wealthy, and towering star among private American universities. You’ve come a long way, baby!
David R. Cook (Wheelock’51)
Menomonie, Wisc.
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