Capital Correction
I enjoyed the article about the Gishes winning the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award (fall 2001 Colby). My mother and her family were from Kentucky and a favorite riddle was, "How do you pronounce the capital of Kentucky? Lou-a-ville, Louie-ville or Lua-vul?" The correct answer is Frankfort. You mentioned in your article that Tom Gish "showed proponents of the (UMU medical) clinics how to get their side of the issue heard in Louisville" and that "(t)he Kentucky legislature listened. . ." I assume that the legislature listened from afar in Frankfort or at a special hearing in Louisville.

Boyd "Byrd" Allen '75
Exeter, N.H.

Another Taboo
How courageous for an alumni publication to write a story on the widespread and deadly problem of eating disorders. Clearly, Colby magazine is willing to discuss the taboo, and ready to admit that life on campus does have its serious problems. I am deeply grateful for this.

For a future issue, I would like to suggest an article on depression. Like eating disorders, depression is a common and serious problem at Colby and other colleges that is rarely discussed due to the shame associated with it. No one wants to admit they need a psychiatrist during the greatest four years of their life. Yet, an important realization one makes during college is that some of the innumerable smiling faces they see everyday are actually masks.

Again, thank you for daring to tackle difficult stories. It is a comfort to know that Colby magazine is not only a booster publication, but a credible news source as well.

Michael Farrell '00
Billerica, Mass.

Westervelt's Legacy
I was very sorry to hear about Professor Westervelt's death (spring 2001 Colby). It was in his Classical Literature in translation classes that I learned how to read at much deeper and higher levels of intensity and comprehension. His commentaries on The Iliad in particular allowed me to visualize the patterns of the text in ways that still amaze me. Indeed the original insights I gained in his courses still inform my own work as a teacher and scholar.

Professor Westervelt's quiet passion about his work and about literature inspired me to read The Iliad eight times during the first semester I had him as a teacher. He told me that if I enjoyed the material in English, it would be even more astonishing in the original Greek. He was right about that, too. Even though languages were not my strength, I embarked on a study of ancient Greek with him and a few fellow students, and discovered new sounds, images and meanings. Although I had many fine teachers at Colby, some of whom I still have contact with, Mr. Westervelt touched me most deeply of all.

Martin Gliserman '67
New Brunswick, N.J.

Is That All There Is?
Regarding your topics in The Blue Light, if all Colby has to think about in times like these is the politically correct wording of the Alma Mater and "Kick Boxing", it has indeed been left in the millpond of oblivion.

David Lynn '52
Stamford, Ct.

A Disputable Caption
Your article on Hanna Roisman (fall '01 Colby) was engrossing. A caption, though, in an otherwise painstaking article could use a correction and a clarification.

First, it states that "the Dome of the Rock . . . is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims." Actually, the Dome of the Rock is sacred to Muslims only. It is the site of the Dome of the Rock--the Temple Mount--that is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Second, it states that "East Jerusalem was taken by Israel from Jordan." "Re-taken" is more accurate. As Paul Johnson writes in A History of the Jews, on May 15, 1948, "simultaneously, the last British left and the Arab armies invaded. They made little difference, except in one respect. [Jordan's] King Abdullah's Arab Legion took the Old City of Jerusalem for him, the Jews surrendering it on 28 May." Johnson goes on, "courage and providence at last restored it [the Temple Mount] to them, along with the rest of the Old City, during the Six Day War of 1967."

Ron Schwartz '73
New York, N.Y.