I have sent this letter to the chair of the Board and the Chair of the Finance Committee. I hope my classmates will keep up the pressure.

Dear Thomas Hartnett [Salem Schuchman]:

What will it take, I wonder, now that four million young people have marched to demand drastic action on the climate crisis, to convince the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College to do the right thing at last and divest all stocks in fossil fuel companies? Does the Board want the College to be the last investor in these greedy companies that are ruining our planet? For quite a few colleges, cities, unions, churches, and whole nations are already pulling their funds out, and at a growing pace. Three days ago the University of California system announced it will eliminate coal and oil from its $80 billion portfolio. Even the University of New Hampshire, where I taught for thirty years, has begun to cut back. What will it take? No more birds in Crum Woods? Parrish destroyed by a tropical storm? The College only operating in the winter months because of mosquitoes with deadly parasites? The total contempt of its students for the blindness of the Board?

I was very happy at Swarthmore, and gained the best of training there for my future as a professor. For years I was proud to have gone there, but now I feel embarrassed. It then stood for humane and liberal values—It was Quaker, for heaven’s sake!—but now its Board hides behind some easily refuted theory that investments are socially neutral and return on the dollar is the only reasonable standard. (I suppose tobacco, vaping devices, alcohol, firearms, and nuclear warheads are still acceptable in the College portfolio, too, since they are still profitable.) I used to give a modest sum to the College every year, but now I won’t give another cent to it, though I am in a position to give somewhat more than I did; and I know there are others in my class who have also stopped, or cut back, their giving.

What will it take? I am afraid I know the answer, since the Board has decided that only money talks: only when fossil fuel stocks lose their “buy” recommendations, only when they seem bad investments on strictly financial terms, will the Board begin to sell some of them. Well, that day is surely looming on the horizon, as “smart” money has already seen. But rather than bring up the rear, and look feckless and cowardly, Swarthmore could still stand for something more noble if it announced today that it will play its financial part in making the future livable for its own students.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Michael Ferber, class of 1966

Dear Classmates, please send me something for the alumni bulletin within the next two weeks. It could be a sentence telling four of your activities in a day/week/or year; your favorite books, music, places, etc.; or any news about your lives. You're increasingly precious. Jill Robinson Grubb

jillgrubb44@gmail.com

I saw an astounding performance in New York April 25 of WE Sinful Women,a dance suite choreographed by my former roommate Janaki Patrik -previously known as Wendy Hughes. It was a setting of Pakistani Urdu feminist poetry, danced with lithe beauty by Janaki's Kathak Ensemble and Friends. On April 1, my husband Steve Eisdorfer retired, and on May 7-23 we celebrated with a Road Scholar trip to Japan.Highlights: naked soak with five women from the trip in a hot spring pool at a traditional Japanese inn, walks through lovely Zen gardens, and a gourmet dinner and conversation via translator with women of a mountain farming village who formed a catering collective when their children moved to the city, leaving aging parents to farm their small rice paddies. We came back to find our 18-month-old grandson Jude covering ground amazingly fsst at a toddler's headlong pace and with an expanding vocabulary: uck=truck, unnel= tunnel, us=bus irkle=circle, and uncle=uncle=our son Ben. I'm still writing (or rather revising) and Steve is relearning math,this time with a goal of actually understanding his major.

Dear Classmates,
A friend of our classmate Judy Walenta posted some sad news on Facebook a couple of days ago. Judy has breast cancer that has metastasized. As of this weekend she was hospitalized in California in critical condition. Her daughter has come out from New York and hopes to bring her back there for hospice care. I'll paste in information from a friend of Judy's about support below.
Sincerely,
Daniel Pope

Judy's daughter Angola is going out to CA tomorrow & hoping to bring her back to a Hospice Facility in NYC & this is all going to cost in excess of $15k ~
Her friend has set up a Caring Bridge web-site: "www.caringbridge.org/visit/careforjudy" as a way to start a fund-raising campaign & this is now linked to a Gofundme web-site: "www.gofundme.com/care-for-judy" & donations can be made there ~ we would be so very grateful for whatever you are able to pitch-in to the campaign ~

Chester Children's Chorus Video

This link from the Swarthmore College Alumni Virtual Connection Facebook page is now live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NPMSvvfs5Q

Just click and you will see the video of the Chester Children's Chorus in action. This may be the video of the visuals that didn't show during the CCC's performance on Saturday afternoon (June 4, 2016).

Our reunion gift is going to support members of this chorus to learn about science in the Science for Kids summer program at the college.

Scott Arboretum Article

Here's a link to an article from the 5/25/16 Washington Post that may be of interest. The focus is on the Scott Arboretum -- there have been quite a number of changes since our days.

 

Reunion Schedule (June 2-5, 2016)

Thursday 

Noon: Class members attending the Barnes trip may store their luggage in Alice Paul Hall.

1PM Bus leaves for the Barnes Museum from Rose Garden Circle by Parrish.

3PM on: 50^th Reunion Check-in, Alice Paul Residence Hall

5 PM on drinks and informal gatherings before dinner at the dorm lounge

6 PM Class Dinner, Clothier Hall 2^nd Floor (Tarbles)

8 PM onwards: Informal gatherings in Alice Paul lounge, Drinks/munchies.

8 PM onwards: Folk singing and live music in David Kemp lounge

Friday

7-9 AM: Breakfast in Alice Paul lounge

9-10:20: Welcoming gathering, Kohlberg Hall, Scheuer Room

10:30-11:45: Panel of Former Faculty. Science Center, Chang Hou Hall (Room 101)

Faculty expected to participate:

            Bob Bannister
            Tom Blackburn
            Tom Bradley
            Chuck Gilbert
            Jean (Kopytoff) Herskovits
            Harry Pagliaro
            Frederic Pryor
            David Smith
            Pete Thompson

Noon to 1:45: Lunch with Former Faculty and President Valerie Smith

2-3:30: Class of ’66 Panel Discussion: “Civil Rights Work” with Cathy Wilkerson and Walter Popper led by Judy Richardson and Penny Patch: Science Center, Chang Hou Hall (Room 101)

3:45-4:30: Memorial recognition, Science Center patio

4:30PM on: All-Alumni Reception, Science Center Quad Tent

6 PM to 7:30: Dinner in Sharples

8-9 PM : SwatTalks- Introduced by President Smith, speakers are Syd Carpenter (art), Ayse Kaya (political science), Barry Schwartz (psychology)

9-10:30 PM: Freebo, Roger North, and band play in Lang Concert Hall, open to all alums

8 PM onwards: informal gathering in the dorm lounge with drinks and munchies

Saturday

7-9 AM: Breakfast in Sharples

9- noon: Parade to Amphitheater and Alumni Collection, including Class Gift. Collection speaker is Maurice Eldridge ‘61

Noon to 1:30 PM: Picnic lunch in Sharples tent

1:30-3PM: Class meeting: Topic(s) open for suggestions.

2:45-4:30PM: Practice time for singers in Alumni Choral Reading of Fauré Requiem with Chester Children's Chorus

3- 4:30 PM: List Gallery reception to see our classmates’ exhibits

4:30 PM: Alumni Choral Reading of Fauré Requiem with Chester Children's Chorus, who will close the performance with a 30-minute concert, Lang Concert Hall

6:15 PM Pre-dinner drinks, Science Center Quad Tent

7:15 PM Class Dinner, Clothier Hall 2^nd floor (Tarbles)

After dinner, many classmates will enjoy continuing to visit by moving from table to table in Tarbles.

9 PM onwards: Informal gatherings in the dorm lounge, singing and fun.

Sunday

8 AM to 11 AM: Brunch in Tarbles for those classmates who registered and paid for this meal. Breakfast is available in Sharples for those who did not pay for brunch.