It’s fun and interesting to post photos from that long ago (“From the Archives,” Fall 2015). I am fairly sure that I attended that speech and I may be off to the back of the photo. But the date of the photo is very important as it was only a few days before the May 4 Kent State shootings. Senator McGovern was talking mostly about the Vietnam War and probably the expanded bombing in Cambodia. It was the end of the school year and everyone was trying to study for final exams (many of which were cancelled after Kent State). It was a very, very tumultuous time on campus. I was actually a little scared of the demonstrations. We had a lot of firebrands on campus, like Professor of Political Science Howard Zinn. Jason Sumner (CAS’73, GRS’76)

My friend Marc Posner (CAS’73) and I sat in the front row at this speech; Peter Nelson (CAS’73) is the person with curly hair and glasses seated between Marc and me. I don’t remember much of what Senator McGovern had to say that evening, other than stating his opposition to the Nixon administration for various things, especially the war in Vietnam. I went because I had attended his speech at the Boston Common antiwar rally the previous October, and knew that he had put in a late bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968 that had some appeal for a young person who opposed the war. I’m pretty sure he took questions, but I don’t think he worked anything like a rope line greeting us after his talk. The sad part is that barely a week later, four students were killed at Kent State in Ohio and two more at Jackson State in Mississippi, and BU cancelled finals and graduation and sent us all home. Larry Pryluck (COM’73)

I was a BU 1977 graduate and worked in the Massachusetts Archives as an intern. While I did not see Senator McGovern speak, I can attest to his popularity. It was my job to dust and protect the major documents, such as the state constitution and Declaration of Independence copy in their display cases. Right next to them was a display case with a bumper sticker that stated, “Don’t Blame Me I Voted for McGovern.” Massachusetts was the only state in the US that George McGovern carried in the presidential election. Dan Aschenbach (CAS’77)

In “Religion and Politics” (Fall 2015), Julie Butters states that “Christians of both parties believe in the idea of America as a special, ‘promised land’...” I would like to remind Ms. Butters that American Jews have also held this view of America as the “promised land.” I have read that Jews are only 4 percent of the American population, but vote in such large numbers that their influence is greater. There are three people of the Jewish faith currently on the Supreme Court. Phyllis Stern (CAS’60)

My sociology degree was bestirred by Julie Butters’ discussion of the only two socially forbidden topics: religion and politics. (My two favorite subjects: is anything else really worth discussing?) The Church referred to by our founding fathers was specifically the politicized Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, which they wisely wanted to separate from our government. That fact has been distorted, intentionally or from ignorance, by secularism, to remove God and prayer from public focus. Yes, Mr. Jefferson, many agree that religion is indeed a private matter between individuals and their Creator. The word “religion,” from Latin “to bind,” should itself be a dead giveaway. It is the human construct designed to bind and control people’s inherent connection with the Divine. How many are loyally “bound” (enslaved) to something they barely understand, yet vote accordingly? We see ambitious clergy and politicians become rabid (and clearly unspiritual), promoting divisive issues in their efforts to control the naive and fill their coffers. That sense of “binding” becomes (we are) Religious Right vs. (they are) Wrong. The Super Bowl winner/loser mentality that so pervades our world begins before kindergarten and sadly continues into each “sport” and two-party election. A multiparty system at least recognizes a healthy variety of choices and viewpoints. Spiritual teachings through the ages are consistent in urging unity and harmony among all of Creation while still honoring and respecting individual uniqueness. It is that universal honor and respect that we have yet to learn to create a peaceful world. Noël Bausher Szundy (CAS’59)

I want to congratulate Ms. Jones, who was featured in the Fall 2015 issue (“Brainiacs”). I’m very excited to hear of her research into “time cells” in the hippocampus, and hope there will be research building off of hers working with the altered time sense that affects people with ADHD. Keep up the great work! Poppy Casper Lochridge (CAS’98)

We welcome your letters, which will be edited for clarity and length for this publication. We also welcome your story ideas. Please email the Editor at thurston@bu.edu or write to the Editor, arts&sciences, Boston University, 985 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 105E, Boston, MA 02215. Please include your name, address, and BU school(s) and class year(s).