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“It’s
my duty. It’s what Wabash calls being a responsible
citizen. I feel this is my way to show my responsibility.”
Jesus
Campos ’03 — U.S. Marine, called up
for duty in January
War and Rumors
of War
The impending war
in Iraq brought the national media spotlight to
Wabash when senior art major and Army reservist
Ron Kelsey appeared on the cover of The Chronicle
of Higher Education.
The national weekly
journal was interviewing college students with
military obligations as they faced the prospect
of fighting a war in Iraq—a dilemma faced
by thousands of students across the country who
had turned to military service as a way to pay
for college.
When war broke
out, Kelsey wasn’t called up. But classmate
Jesus Campos and his Kappa Sig fraternity brother
Nikeland Cooper ’05 were. The College allowed
Campos to take his senior comps early and, within
days, he’d left campus with hopes of completing
his degree next year.
But most Wabash
students experienced the war like much of America—on
television. Several students held a daily vigil
at the flagpole on the mall, a ritual reminiscent
of the vigils observed by English professors Bert
Stern and Don Baker during the Vietnam War. In
that spirit, a poetry reading and prayer vigil
was organized by Professor Marc Hudson.
History professor
Steve Morillo and his colleagues seized the opportunity
to discuss with students the issues behind the
conflict, arranging for 15 professors from various
disciplines to lead a week of informal sessions
covering everything from Middle Eastern and American
military history to the role of the United Nations
and the science behind chemical, biological, and
nuclear weapons.
Religion and philosophy
professor Bill Placher ’70 and history professor
Peter Frederick briefed current students on how
the Vietnam War affected campus when Placher was
a student—how much more immediate the threat
seemed when student protesters were shot by National
Guardsmen at Kent State.
At a final session
entitled “The Things We’re Carrying:
Personal Reflections on War and the Struggle for
Peace,” English professor Tobey Herzog confided
to students that coverage of the war evoked in
him the most disturbing images and emotions he’d
felt since his tour of duty in Vietnam.
“I find
myself conflicted as to what the country should
do,” Herzog admitted. “That a man
like Hussein could be so brutal to his own people
seems to call for action, but I’ve also
seen firsthand the cost of war. We need to keep
in mind those men and women fighting, living in
Iraq, those who are dying.”
He reminded students
that Wabash men—Philip Ducat ’62,
Randy Henze ’65, Michael Hall ’66,
Robert Bardach ’67—died in the Vietnam
War.
Talk turned to
Wabash Marines Campos and Cooper. Freshman Mike
Kresslein, also a Marine, spoke of his aspirations
to become an officer, to make the military his
career, “to make a difference in the world.”
“It puts
you on edge though, being on call like this,”
the 19-year-old said. “I try to take it
a day at a time, and stay focused on my studies.
I hope I don’t get called until the semester
is over, but when it’s time, I’ll
go.”
Kresslein was
called up for duty in May.
A Classical
Trifecta
The Wabash Classics
department was smiling proud at this year’s
meeting of the Indiana Classical Conference. First,
Lawrence Central Latin teacher Tom Davis ’83
was elected the Conference president. Then Crown
Point High School Latin instructor Jeremy Walker
was honored as the state’s high school teacher
of the year.
Not to be outdone
by his students, Wabash classics professor John
Fischer was then selected as outstanding professor
of the year by the Conference.
“It was
really an honor, and quite exciting,” says
Wabash classics professor and chair Leslie Day,
who was on hand to congratulate her colleague
and former students. “Nothing like this
has ever happened for one college at the Conference.”
Deja Lew by
Justin Lyon
Sometimes it takes
a while for things to come around full-circle
in the Wabash network.
After his graduation
in 1840, Lew Wallace became the College’s
best known alumnus of the 19th century and Crawfordsville’s
favorite son, serving as a general in the Civil
War and writing the classic Ben Hur. An adventurer
and traveler, he was also the minister for the
United States to Turkey from 1881 to 1885—the
first person to move into the new consulate building
in Istanbul.
One-hundred twenty-one
years later, another Crawfordsville native and
Wabash grad is closing the place down. David Arnett
’65, serving in the same post Wallace inaugurated
(now called “consul-general”), became
the last in the office to occupy the building,
as the entire consulate staff moved to a new building
better designed to survive terrorist attacks and
earthquakes, both real dangers in Istanbul.
Wabash College
students doing immersion study in Turkey last
March met with Arnett at the consulate, where
a photograph of Wallace still hangs. On the eve
of the Second Gulf War, conversation turned towards
the strained relationships between the “coalition
of the willing” and those opposed to war.
“Talk is
important. Diplomacy is important. Negotiations
are important,” Arnett told the students,
“But you reach a point where the talk has
to end. And we’re there. The French are
not, nor are the Germans.”
Two weeks later,
America attacked Iraq.
Students asked
how difficult it was for him to present proposals
that he disagreed with on a personal level.
“As a Foreign
Service officer, you represent the policies of
any administration that is in power at that time,”
Arnett said. “If you ever do come across
a policy that your conscience will not allow you
to support—that you are so totally convinced
is completely wrong—then you would be honor-bound
to resign the position.”
Arnett concluded
his time with students by encouraging them to
come to their own conclusions about the war and
other major issues.
“That’s
one of the great benefits of Wabash,” he
said. “You really are taught and encouraged
to look at all the different points of view, to
examine them intellectually and decide for yourself
what makes the most sense.”
Read
more about the immersion trip to Turkey at the
Wabash news site: www.wabash.edu/news/1066
A Window on
Two Cultures
A reinvigorated
Unidos por Sangre, the College’s Hispanic
service organization, staged one of the spring’s
brightest spectacles when its inaugural Latin
America festival brought together students, faculty,
and Crawfordsville’s growing Hispanic community
for a thought-provoking and joyous cultural celebration.
Organized by UpS
leaders Carlos Carillo and Juan Carlo Hernandez,
the fiesta included a talk on Mexican history
by history professor Rick Warner and concluded
with a variety of dances from throughout Mexico
performed the Mexican Folkloric Dance Company
of Chicago.
But Spanish professor
and Ecuadorian author Luis Aguilar-Monsalve offered
the most moving words of the evening.
“You and
I are a product of two cultures,” Monsalve
said. “We should never relinquish our beliefs,
our culture, our families—it is our obligation
to preserve them in a sacred place. But we must
also learn what the United States has to offer
to us. We have the responsibility to show and
to offer our culture as a contribution to the
United States, and we have the obligation to be
positive members of this progressive society.”
Then Aguilar-Monsalve
addressed the group in Spanish, causing many in
the crowd to lean forward with keen attention
as the professor’s expression and words
intensified, reaching into the hearts of the many
first and second generation Americans in the Salter
Hall audience.
Several students
listened to Aguilar-Monsalve’s hopeful words
with tears in their eyes. And for those of us
whose families immigrated here generations ago,
the moment was a window on the aspirations, fears,
and emotions or own forbears faced when they sought
to find a home and a place in a new country.
A Lady in
the Sphinx Club by Mark Shreve '04
What could possibly
make the Sphinx Club break with historical precedent
and induct its first woman member into the band
of brothers? Sphinx Club President Scott Medsker
’03 says Sherry Ross made it simple: “She
has a greater love for Wabash than almost anyone
that I know.”
The administrative
secretary to the dean of students office, Ross
can be seen at nearly every football and basketball
game, Medsker says. “This winter, she made
the trip to Colorado to support the Little Giant
basketball team, and she is genuinely interested
and concerned about students and about the school.”
For the Ross family,
this is nothing new. Ross’s son, Derrick
Stout ’94, earned his white pot while he
was a student. Ross’s husband, Gary, was
inducted as an honorary member in 1992.
“Gary and
I have always loved Wabash sports, and we’ve
been attending football and basketball games since
the mid-80s,” Ross says, “I'm very
proud to be an honorary member of the Sphinx Club.”
Read
more at The Bachelor Online: http://bachelor.wabash.edu/new/2003s/issue10.pdf
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