“The Janitor and the Judge” in the April Bulletin reminds us how Aristotle was a “lover of wisdom,” or “philo sophia” in Greek. He believed humans could wisely govern their actions by using reason (logos), and this distinguished the human species, now called “Homo sapiens” using the Latin words for “wise man.” Aristotle also recognized [...]

I was saddened by the news of the death of Professor Philip Metzidakis last November (January Bulletin). I have him to thank for fueling my interest during the early 1970s in several of the “Generación del 98” Spanish literary figures, particularly Miguel de Unamuno—his favorite, mine, and the favorite of many. The article mentioned that [...]

It is curious that in the article “Inquiring Minds” (January Bulletin), you write that scientist John Seely Brown “observes that the teens’ attention span ranged between 30 seconds and five minutes, which [Brown writes] ‘parallels that of top managers who operate in a world of fast context switching. So the short attention span of [...]

In “Books & Arts” (January Bulletin), Justin Kramon’s [’02] book Finny was incorrectly described as a “young adult novel.” Random House published it an adult literary/mainstream novel.

Thank you for including the historic Dennis Farm in the thought-provoking October Swarthmore College Bulletin (“Rock and an Old Place”). When I was a student at the College, we talked a great deal about “consciousness raising” and now the Bulletin has helped raise the readers’ consciousness about urgent environmental justice issues. The environment is indeed [...]

I was pleased that there were three articles about justice and the environment in the October 2010 Bulletin. Peter Slavin’s “Activist on Coal River” and David Pacchioli’s “Rock and an Old Place” are vivid documents of people struggling with relentless fuel extraction.
Ian Barbour’s “Justice, Technology and the Environment” wrestles with global environmental justice with a [...]

I am writing in regard to the October 2009 Bulletin cover article, “In the Face of Genocide.” While I admire Mark Hanis’s [’05] hard work, dedication to human rights, and entrepreneurial spirit, the article—along with such organizations as Save Darfur and GI-Net, which have recently merged—raises some controversial issues. Let me begin with some facts.
In [...]

Hedi Schmid Randall ’53 says she was quite surprised when she turned to the opening page of the October Class Notes and saw a photo of a very young Charlie Randall ’51—then her fiancé, now her husband—and his roommate, the late Charlie Jeanne ’52, engaged in a tug-of-war along the Crum Creek. Burt Levering ’51 [...]

The sister of the late Elizabeth “Sis” Bassett, Kathryn Bassett, was misidentified as “Kate” (“Collection,” October 2010 Bulletin). Kathryn “Kay” Bassett ’35 passed away in 1986. Both sisters were longtime members of the College staff.

As a graduate of both Swarthmore and the University of Chicago Divinity School, I watched a Web video of President Chopp’s Q+A session at Alumni Weekend with real delight. I have always believed that the two pieces of my higher education fit together well, but when I heard the thoughtful tones of a [Chicago] Swift [...]