Your Letters

Cheers to Unity

I was happy to read that students participated in a Unity Walk during the fall semester (“A Meaningful Mile,” fall 2017, p. 8). There was quite a bit of racial tension on campus between African-American and white students when I was at Utica College back in the day. Hopefully that was a period the College will never see again. I believe in inclusion for all people, regardless of race, color, or disability. I have the picture of the Unity Walk hanging on the wall in my office. It has really meant a lot to me, and I look at it every day.

Jim Moore ’75 Ardmore, Pa.

The Magazine’s Makeover

As an alumnus I thought I would offer a few comments on the new magazine. The name Utica is bold, fresh, and relevant. The design is clean and compelling.

As for the content, I could not stop reading it. I studied with Dr. Eugene Nassar (fall 2017, p. 20), and I knew Ray Simon (fall 2017, p. 1) so those articles were of great interest to me. However, the stories on Dr. Marijean Levering (fall 2017, p. 32) impressed me the most. All of the articles are interesting and convey a very positive impression of the College. As long as the magazine continues to celebrate the past, present, and future of Utica College, it will be a success.

William Weckesser ’71, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

My compliments on the fall 2017 issue of Utica. You all put in your time on the redesign, and it showed. My wife (Mary Scallon ’69) and I both read the magazine when it arrives, so this issue was quite a surprise. I was sad to see Dr. Nassar had passed. I only had him for one course, but his enthusiasm was truly infectious, and he was so welcoming to any comments we students would come up with.

“Making Headlines” (fall 2017, p. 26) was a real look back on how the Tangerine was run and what it faced. My wife and I were there in the mid-late ’60s—heady times, indeed. I was in the first wave of veterans coming out of the military and using the new G.I. Bill, and we truly felt we were in a different world from what we had been experiencing. It was a very difficult time (not unlike now), and we were all trying to make sense of it in our own way.

Keep up the good work.

Ken Scallon ’70, Nassau, N.Y.

I see no reason to change the name of The Pioneer to Utica except for your hubris. The list of donors should have been listed alphabetically by last name (“President’s Report,” fall 2017, p. 37). What you have is a useless group of names that is very confusing. Professor Simon would have been aghast.

Sandra Haponski ‘56, Lady Lake, Fla.

This photo from our spring 2018 issue jogged one reader's memory.

Familiar Faces

I enjoy reading Utica magazine to learn about what’s going on at UC, seldom expecting to find any relevance in Alumni News or Class Notes to my class and classmates of 1950, except the In Memoriam section. So imagine my surprise and joy to find a picture on page 37 (“Pioneer Past,” spring 2018) of people I knew. I believe it’s a picture of the members of Eta Mu Chapter, Alpha Phi Omega, the Service Fraternity. I recognize at the far left, Lyle (Jack) Howland from Rome, New York, who later worked in Finance at Griffiss Air Base, and Herbert B. Brown, fourth from the left, who I believe served as treasurer for Mohawk Airlines. I am pictured second from the right. I retired from E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company in 1985, moving from Manhattan to Prescott, Arizona, the “Cowboy Capital Of The American West.” I recognize many of the others pictured but, at 93, I can’t quite put a name with every face. Thanks so much, though, for making my day.

Frank Ockenfels ’50, Prescott, Ariz.

Jack Behrens in the classroom, circa 1968

CORRECTION:

Some happy news to report regarding an unfortunate error in the spring 2018 issue of Utica. In “Remembering Ray,” p. 25, an essay refers to “the late Jack Behrens.” The legendary UC journalism professor is very much alive and quite busy. In fact, he just published a memoir about his fascinating career as a lifelong journalist who has interviewed everyone from President Ronald Reagan to Walt Disney. We are deeply sorry for the mistake (one that Professor Behrens taught generations of UC students to avoid through careful editing and proofreading). For more info on Behrens’ latest book, visit his website at writerjackweb.com

Tell us what you think!

Send your thoughts on this issue to uticamag@utica.edu