Correspondence

A Special Place

Loved the spring 2017 Bulletin. The lead article [When Lehigh Beat Duke] was fantastic—hearing the different perspectives over the course of time was a fantastic way to bring the story to life. I loved reading it. Really well done.

I also appreciated the article on the preceding page, A Surprising Star in the Making. While I’m excited that Maura Henderson ’19 has truly found her athletic passion, I greatly respect that the school was able to support her move from lacrosse to track. It’s stories like this that reinforce for alumni that Lehigh remains a place small enough to support individuals in meaningful ways but large enough for opportunities and experiences.

Lori Norian ’93

A Note of Thanks

Many people have decided to “write my story” and tell what’s happened to me, but yours really moved me. I appreciate greatly how you captured my transition of sports and for deciding to focus on me as an athlete for this piece. Great appreciations.

Maura Henderson ’19

The Peace Process

I am happy to have received the Lehigh Bulletin for spring 2017. I thank you most sincerely for keeping me connected with Lehigh in this manner.

I am writing to you after having read the article on page 34 titled A Prescription for Peace. In it, the author, Kurt Pfitzer, states that according to Norrin Ripsman, peace between, for example, the traditional archenemies France and Germany could be achieved only because of a top-down approach. Mr. Ripsman continues with the situation between Israel and Egypt and notes that the Camp David peace accord between the two countries and signed by Menachem Begin for Israel and Anwar Sadat for Egypt did not work, precisely because the “bottom” did not cooperate as expected by the leaders. The basis of the European peace process was provided exactly because of the slowly developing working and later also personal relationship of partners in these originally strained relations between the two populations!

I have two daughters who both work for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and have worked for the ICRC in many parts and countries in the world. I believe that they are fully aware of the difficulties in achieving peace in these particular situations. They are also aware that first of all the population in the concerned areas must try to change their attitudes toward their perceived enemies, which unfortunately is not an easy task.

Sebastian W. Bauer ’70

When Lehigh Beat Duke: Readers Respond

One thing that was not mentioned in the Lehigh basketball article (Act Like You’ve Been Here Before, spring Lehigh Bulletin) was the post-game interview with C.J. [McCollum] and Coach [Brett] Reed with the mayhem on the court behind them. They acted like you were having a cup of coffee with them. They were classy, articulate using no cliches, and referring to the team as family. Evidently toward the end of the game C.J. had cautioned the bench to “act like you’ve been here before,” giving Duke respect.

Lehigh proud!

Dick Bell ’68

A contingent of avid Lehigh wrestling fans, including Trustee Joe Perella and myself, was watching the Lehigh wrestling team at the NCAA championships in St. Louis. In our suite nestled in the corner of the Scottrade Complex, we had put the Lehigh-Duke game on television. We had the pleasure of watching our wrestlers live and the basketball game simultaneously.

My most vivid memory is that every time Lehigh made a basket or took the lead, our group of about 20 cheered with increasing resonance. We actually were so loud toward the end of the game that others in the arena kept looking up at our skybox, wondering what we were consistently cheering about, especially at times when no Lehigh wrestlers were on the mats.

That night our group had the ecstasy of witnessing Zach Rey beat number one seed [Ryan] Flores ... to earn an appearance in the finals plus Lehigh basketball arguably having its finest win in history. What a lifetime memory of a special night!

Mike Caruso ’67

Best sports article I’ve ever read! Thanks to you, Mary Ellen, Justin and Danny, for bringing back the memories. However, you missed one important item. We had to “endure” a half-hour of accolades for Duke’s 25th appearance in the NCAA Basketball Tournament prior to the game. It just made the win that much sweeter!

Rich Bradley ’61

Remembering the Engineers

With regard to the article Rivalry Earns a Historical Marker in the Spring 2017 edition of the Lehigh Bulletin, I have to point out your most significant factual mistake with the claim “Taylor Stadium, where Mountain Hawks played from 1914 to 1987.” The Mountain Hawks never set foot in Taylor Stadium! The Engineers played there. Neither have the Mountain Hawks played the Pards 152 times. Well, at least the marker is correct.
Dave Nyffenegger ’95G

Editor’s note: Yes, indeed! Lehigh’s athletic teams were known as the Engineers until the 1995-1996 academic year, after which the name change to Mountain Hawks occurred.

Correction: The last name of Emily Flanagan ’12 was misspelled in Chapter 8 of our 2017 Spring cover story, When Lehigh Beat Duke. Flanagan was among those who watched the win and celebrated back at campus. We regret the error.