{"id":628,"date":"2010-04-21T16:09:17","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T16:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hub-dev.bates.edu\/magazine\/?page_id=628"},"modified":"2017-09-06T11:38:45","modified_gmt":"2017-09-06T15:38:45","slug":"open-forum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/back-issues\/y2007\/summer07\/departments\/open-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Remembering Tom Doyle<\/h3>\n<p>Thanks to Neill Miner \u201971 for the much-appreciated sentiments in the obituary of Tom Patrick Doyle \u201970 (Spring 2007). Tom Doyle represented what was best in the youngsters we sent to Vietnam and what was right with America at the time: devotion to principle, ability to follow orders, and belief in a greater purpose. At Bates, in our debates with Tom, those of us who opposed the war were totally annoyed that he steadfastly believed in the rightness of his Vietnam service. Yet at the same time, our own belief in an evil military was shaken by knowing that this wonderful person, day after day, placed his life on the line for his country. At a time when we could not believe the news releases from Vietnam, when the war seemed like a TV show, Tom represented something real, authentic, and frightening. He had been there, lost friends, and done all that he could for our county, following orders. He told me that one night while on guard duty, he thought he saw a Viet Cong soldier in the shadows. After holding his weapon on trigger alert for the longest time, he relaxed. Then the shadow moved, and Tom collapsed, realizing that death had been an instant away. Perhaps that\u2019s why he and other veterans at Bates were able to sleep through the night only with military-prescribed medications, and why, when Walt Slovenski pushed him and the rest of us really hard in practice, Tom relished every moment.<\/p>\n<p>William F. Menke \u201969<br \/>\nSwarthmore, Pa.<\/p>\n<h3>Discussing Disgust<\/h3>\n<p>It is not, as Andrea Nightingale \u201989 says, \u201cdisgusting\u201d that J.J. Cummings \u201989 wrote the names of people killed on Sept. 11 onto the first bombs he dropped in Afghanistan (Open Forum, Spring 2007). Rather, Cummings claims he wrote the names on the bombs not for revenge but to let the families of the deceased know that \u201csomeone was thinking about them,\u201d so I tend to take him at his word. What he does to psyche himself up for his mission is his business.<\/p>\n<p>America\u2019s purpose in the bombings at Tora Bora was not to kill innocent civilians, but rather to draw the Taliban and al-Qaida out of the caves where they were hiding. There was no preponderance of innocent civilians milling about the caves in Tora Bora. And on what basis does Andrea claim the Afghanistan campaign is illegal? The United Nations passed no resolution to that effect, and most nations supported our search for al-Qaida members in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>True, there are other members of the Class of 1989 who have done noteworthy things, but I think that Cummings\u2019 career is noteworthy in many respects. He is serving in the U.S. military for less pay than he could garner in the private sector and has obviously risen through the ranks rapidly. He and his wife are raising a family.<\/p>\n<p>Nightingale also claims there are those who \u201cbetter represent the spirit and educational standards of Bates.\u201d I must take issue with this: Everyone in this country contributes something positive, including our military. So, a special thank-you to Sara \u201989 and J.J. Cummings and family. I hope you don\u2019t have to drop any more bombs.<\/p>\n<p>Louis Clarke \u201988<br \/>\nNew York, N.Y.<\/p>\n<p>What I find \u201cdisgusting\u201d is that while \u201cDoc\u201d Cummings is out there protecting America and its citizens, he gets maligned by a letter to the editor in his own college magazine (Open Forum, Spring 2007). I served in the Marines with J.J., and he is a selfless, honorable man who absolutely represents the \u201cspirit and educational standards of Bates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Charles Libby \u201993<br \/>\nWindham, Maine<\/p>\n<p>I found Andrea Nightingale\u2019s letter disappointing for its slander of the very instrument that allows us the freedom to voice such opinions. I am grateful every day that there are still enough men and women in this country with the courage and conviction to defend my voice and my freedoms. And if anyone disagrees with the methods that people like Cummings use to supply our freedoms, maybe they should just say \u201cthank you\u201d and go on their way. Otherwise, I suggest they pick up a weapon and stand a post, to paraphrase Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men.<\/p>\n<p>I shared four years with J.J. but never said two words to him. I\u2019d like to now: \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Using His Head<\/h3>\n<div style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin-left: 0px;margin-right: 0px;margin-top: 4px;margin-bottom: 4px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/Images\/Bates_Magazine\/2007-summer\/main\/openforum.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" hspace=\"0\" vspace=\"4\" width=\"400\" height=\"254\" align=\"middle\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Here\u2019s another perspective on the spectacular Hell Riders exhibition (\u201c1953: Mayoralty,\u201d Scene Again, Spring 2007). It\u2019s a split second before the intrepid rider\u2019s head poked through the fire wall, but his leg draped over the hood indicates his casual bravado. The Jolly Roger float seems tame in comparison!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>David Hough \u201989<br \/>\nEssex, Mass.<\/p>\n<p>Bill Thurston \u201953<br \/>\nTallahassee, Fla.<\/p>\n<p><em>Bill\u2019s letter and photograph (above) highlight a glaring omission from our article: failure to note that John Dalco \u201954\u00a0was lying headfirst atop the hood of that \u201936 Ford. Also, the sign on the Ford\u2019s door correctly reads \u201cHell Riders\u201d not \u201cHell Reuls,\u201d as we wrote last spring. On a sad note, this issue includes the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/x165037.xml\">obituary<\/a> for \u201953 Mayoralty candidate Cap\u2019n Walter Reuling \u201954. \u2014 Editor<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Greater Design<\/h3>\n<p>While bored this snowy evening at my home in South Bend, Ind., I began to Google names of friends from the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis. I entered the name \u201cEllen Seeling\u201d and learned of her death in 2003 when she was associate professor of theater at Bates (\u201cIf Memory Serves,\u201d Winter 2004). In school in the \u201970s, I marveled at her art and her constant sketching and watercolors of set designs. We would hang out on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and there she would be, doing ballet poses by the fountains. Once at a mall, Ellen was wearing this awful thrift-store coat with Cookie Monster blue fur. Suddenly, she jumped onto a children\u2019s merry-go-round. The ride\u2019s umbrella hid her head from view, so all you could see was a huge blue coat going around and around. For the school\u2019s annual Costume Ball one year, I was Cher while Ellen was a hooker or transvestite (or both), dressed in a bright red slip, wig, and heavy blue eye shadow. She taught me German phrases I could try on my boyfriends, such as \u201cNot tonight, I have a headache.\u201d I will always remember her love of ballet, her beautiful set designs, and her crazy, silly, happy grin. It pleases me to know that she ended up doing what she loved and sharing that love with her students and audiences.<\/p>\n<p>Mary Meehan Firtl<br \/>\nSouth Bend, Ind.<\/p>\n<h3>More than Frogs<\/h3>\n<p>The article on Taegan McMahon \u201907 (\u201cFrog in Her Heart,\u201d Spring 2007) was exquisite and captured the essence and passion of our daughter. You brought us and, perhaps surprisingly, others to tears with your poignant article, and we have received innumerable comments. Yes, we are proud parents. But we also believe the story captured what is special about the people Bates selects and about Bates\u2019 mission to give these people an opportunity to develop and explore their gifts and passions. For Taeg, her thesis is more than a science project. It is an extension of her life, her goals, and her passion for poison dart frogs and their habitats and environments.<\/p>\n<p>Mac McMahon and Diane Hitchcock P\u201905, P\u201907<br \/>\nNoank, Conn.<\/p>\n<h3>About letters<\/h3>\n<p><em>Bates Magazine<\/em> welcomes letters of 300 words or fewer. Letters will be edited and published based on\u00a0for style, grammar, length, clarity, and relevance to College issues and issues discussed in <em>Bates Magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:magazine@bates.edu\">E-mail<\/a> or mail\u00a0letters to <em>Bates Magazine<\/em>, Office of Communications and Media Relations, 141 Nichols St., Lewiston ME 04240.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Remembering Tom Doyle Thanks to Neill Miner \u201971 for the much-appreciated sentiments&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":0,"parent":619,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_dimp_site_id":"","_dimp_override_contact":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"class_list":["post-628","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=628"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11327,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/628\/revisions\/11327"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}