Bostonia: The Alumni Magazine of Boston University

In "Crude Awakening" (Winter 2005-2006), Jean Hennelly Keith and her subjects have done the BU community a great service. The clear-eyed presentation of the work being done by CAS Professors Robert Kaufmann and Cutler Cleveland leaves little doubt that Americans have to change their profligate ways of consuming energy and must accelerate the up-till-now timid federal programs of finding ways to mitigate against the day when petroleum is simply too costly to maintain its position within our economy. The work of Kaufmann and Cleveland and others since the Arab oil embargo of 1973 cannot be ignored; we must conserve, and sooner rather than later we must find alternatives to oil.

Sadly, the role of nuclear power was glossed over without mentioning several important points. Nuclear waste disposal is hazardous, but we must acknowledge the danger of the present situation, with fuel rods being stored at reactor sites around the country, constantly exposed to natural disasters and possible terrorist attack. Even more important, the defense waste being stored in liquid form at the Department of Energy facility at Hanford, Washington, threatens the entire Columbia River basin and the health and well-being of the millions of residents in the West, as well as the national economy and security. The technology of reprocessing of nuclear waste is advancing, and electric generating plants utilizing this material could significantly reduce the problems of disposing of the residual waste.

It is regrettable that the professors resorted to political correctness in their statements about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Three billion barrels of oil is hardly "a drop in the bucket," especially since they clearly recognize the fungibility of oil. Clearly 1.4 million barrels of oil a day —more than 6 percent of national consumption —entering the market during a production outage anywhere in the world would significantly ease price pressures, particularly when coupled with a major release of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Texas and Louisiana. To forever leave three billion barrels of oil in the ground while the national economy makes the painful transition to alternative sources of energy would be folly.

William Brennan (CAS'59)
Annandale, Virginia

I occasionally read my wife's Bostonia, but the last issue, with that great picture and the clever title, I was sure to read. Thank you for this article and for featuring it on the cover. I think that the development of alternative sources of energy is the most important problem facing the United States and the world today. Think about it. We are totally

Lewis Pinch
Lynn, Massachusetts

I read your article with interest. However, I feel that you left out a couple of items concerning oil problems. First of all, I bought a Buick Skylark that advertised it got fifty-one miles a gallon in the early 1960s. I calculated that, in fact, it did on highways! A couple of years later I bought another Skylark. It only got twenty miles per gallon. What happened? Did the oil mongers pay off the company to make their motors less efficient? I think so. Today we continue to guzzle oil and gas. Corporate greed prevails and the multimillionaires are more concerned about their pocketbooks and wallets than the environment of our Earth. Do you remember gasohol (10 percent of alcohol was mixed with gasoline)? Corporate greed was more important than the protection of our own atmosphere.

Why do we allow this to happen? We can convert to alcohol engines. We are the country that creates more pollution than the rest of the world! Corporate greed is making it tougher and tougher for the poor in this country. The selfish millionaires just think only of themselves. They should be ashamed.

Charles A. Bartlett, Jr. (CAS'63)
Falmouth, Maine

Around sixty years ago I discovered Nancy Drew ("Nancy Drew and the Case of the Mysterious Authors," Winter 2005-2006) and began devouring all of my older sisters' books, then buying the latest ones — numbering around twenty-nine or so by the late 1940s.

Nancy Drew turned my life around: reading that series was a loss of innocence — an initiation into greater awareness from what must have been my previously rather sheltered existence. As adolescence set in, thanks to Nancy, I felt suddenly sophisticated, empowered, and enlightened as to the workings of the world. Perhaps that was because Nancy Drew helped me to discover the duality of our world and its constant struggles between the light and dark forces. I felt as though my eyes had suddenly been opened, and innocence forever lost, all within a very short time. Now the wonderful Harry Potter, Narnia, and "the Rings" series have picked up the standard of initiation for our youngsters. Thanks for the memories.

Rev. Noël Bausher Szundy (CAS'59)
Reading, Pennsylvania

Just a brief note to mention that the first wind farm off Cape Cod was in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, perhaps in the late seventies into the eighties. I’m not sure when it was sold.

F. James Corwin
Venice, Florida

Thanks for the article about the women's varsity hockey team ("Ice Breakers," Winter 2005-2006). I played hockey (goalie) at BU from 1974 through 1977 and was captain of the club team from 1975 through 1977. My teammates and I were the "pioneers" of BU women's hockey. To the best of my knowledge, the first team was formed in 1974. We were thrilled to be allowed to practice at 5:30 a.m. and ecstatic when we were finally given a locker room — a small closet under the bleachers that we shared with more than a few mice. We were governed by the Recreation Department. My old friend and mentor Warin Dexter helped us secure a coach, better ice time for games, and good-looking uniforms. We didn't play very well, but we loved it. Playing hockey at BU was one of the highlights of my college years.

I had the good fortune to return to my home state of Minnesota in 1979 and continued to play hockey in the Minnesota Women's Hockey League until 1995, when my twin sons were born. I'm happy to report that they are both hockey players, and I have been coaching their teams for the past five years.

Back in the seventies, we hoped, but didn't dare believe, that girls around the nation would play high school hockey, that women would play in the Olympics, and that BU would have a varsity team. I am delighted that all of these things have happened, and I wish the women's team the best of luck.

Joan G. Hallock (SED'77)
St. Paul, Minnesota

Thanks so much for keeping the flavor of BU alive and well around the country. I would like to counter some thoughts that Michael Feldman expressed in the last issue ("Letters," Winter 2005-2006), when he claimed "controlled tests have consistently failed to provide any evidence that either practice [feng shui and dowsing] actually works." Although our 145-acre mountain homeowners' association where I live has not served as an official testing site for either method, for us, dowsing as a tool has proved particularly productive. Admittedly, I am not a firm advocate or proponent of the method, but as an officer of the association I have witnessed its employment firsthand. Not only has our strongest and most reliable water well been located by this method, but its finder boasts a 92 percent success rate. In fact, most problems that we experience over our entire water system have been identified by another expert water system analyst who uses a mechanical dowser.

Don Sterrenburg (CFA'76)
Blue Jay, California

Forgive me for taking exception to Michael Feldman's letter in the last issue. Having dowsed on my own property in Reno, Nevada, and experiencing the very strong downward pull of a plain branch I used for dowsing, I can attest to the fact that it worked. I walked the acreage myself and marked the spot. My well driller dug and hit water. The water we tapped into was underground water from Lake Tahoe, which served ranches in the area for years.

The wise old-timers had their unscientific methods for many things. And they worked. Perhaps a little more field research is necessary to find there are facts to prove the viability of dowsing. I mean, what would a New York lawyer know about dowsing in the West anyway?

Barbara Davis (COM'83)
Las Vegas, Nevada

Thank you for your excellent article on the late Ernest Blaustein ("Obituaries," Winter 2005-2006). I was one of his many former military students (G.I. Bill). Like many ex-military, we had plenty of enthusiasm, but needed time to strengthen our academics. Professor Blaustein and the other professors at the General College offered plenty of patience, but also kept us focused on our scholastic objective. For me, successfully completing classes at the Copley Square college was an exhilarating experience. The General College was the right school at the right time for many ex-G.I.s, and thankfully the school possessed an extremely effective and caring academic staff. Thanks, BU and Professor Blaustein.

James C. Greenquist (SED'53)
Alexandria, Virginia

I was in one of Professor Blaustein's fifteen sections at the General College from 1948 to 1950. In biology I heard about the amoeba and paramecium for the first time. But physics left me cold. The engineering student I was dating (and later married) offered to tutor me. But I never did get it. I would certainly flunk physics. So Professor Blaustein tapped into his compassionate nature. He said an essay on Einstein would meet his requirement. Of course, I passed the course.

Joan Michelin Millman (DGE'50, SED'52)
Newton, Massachusetts

A recent issue of Newsweek reported that the deadly disease anorexia nervosa still afflicts many Americans and has now spread to preteens. In that light, the unqualified assertion in your article "Battling the Bulge" ("Explorations," Winter 2005-2006) that "A person with a BMI (body mass index) of less than twenty-five is of normal weight" is not only wrong, it is dangerously and irresponsibly wrong.

David Sobelsohn (LAW'77)
Washington, D.C.

I enjoy the features in Bostonia and always look forward to opening a new issue. Thanks especially for the "Alumni Books" section and for featuring works of art. The magazine is beautifully produced.

Elizabeth Knies Storm (GRS'99)
Kingston, New Hampshire

This was one of the best issues ever: the articles on our oil situation and Pakistan were excellent and timely. I would like to send to some families of Vermont National Guard individuals Ken Sinclair's Iraq e-mails ("Dispatches," Winter 2005-2006). As I am a chaplain in the Vermont State Guard, I am in close touch with many families who have loved ones deployed.

Rev. Martin Fors (STH'91)
Lyndon Center, Vermont

Bostonia is a magazine I have enjoyed reading these past nineteen years! Beyond my online listening to NPR programs or my casual surfing for U.S. news stories, every issue of Bostonia offers me a fabulous window on what's happening in the U.S. world of science, arts, and letters, not forgetting those engrossing stories, lovely photo images of anybody and everybody having his or her memorable ties with BU. I miss my good old BU and my good old Boston, a city to which I know a return visit is long overdue.

Bindu Adhikary (GRS'86)
Kathmandu, Nepal

I look forward to each issue of Bostonia. It continues to be one of the very best alumni publications I have ever encountered. Please keep up the good work!

Matt Smith (CAS'70, GSM'72)
Stamford, Connecticut

I read Bostonia with interest. It makes me feel connected to the University, and I learn something with every issue. I have been carrying around the article "Twice Upon a Time" from last winter's issue. I was an original member of the Medieval Re-Creation Society on campus. The article brought back great memories. I still retain some of those friends. Thank you for showing me that others still benefit and that the group still exists. Keep up the good work.

Mitchell Goldstein (CAS'93)
Glen Allen, Virgina

Regarding your story "Humanities vs. the Marketplace" ("Perspectives," Fall 2005), actually, what Keats said was: "'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' — that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

Hopefully one thing BU students will learn from their humanities courses is the importance of accurate quotation — or how to use an ellipsis.

Gwen Thompson (GRS'99)
Mountainside, New Jersey

Thank you to Natalie Jacobson McCracken for the tasteful obituary on Dean George Makechnie ("Obituaries," Summer 2005). One suggestion, though, regarding the misuse of Scotch to describe his heritage. Scotch is the whiskey; Scottish or Scotsman is the appropriate descriptor of heritage.

Sandy Lezberg (SAR'62)
Sharon, Massachusetts