Professor of History Steve Morillo draws a weekly cartoon strip for The Bachelor student newspaper. His piece following the death of his colleague Bill Placher ’70 drew more reader comments from both on- and off-campus than any cartoon he’s penned during the past two decades.
WM asked him about the genesis of that cartoon:
I heard about Bill Placher’s death, along with the rest of the campus, first thing on a Monday morning. The news was too stunning to really sink in at first, and it simply sat in the back of my head somewhere for the rest of a typically busy end-of-the-semester day. And what a long, hard semester it had been.
That evening, I was getting ready to take a shower, not really thinking of anything, when I recalled the news about Bill. Almost instantly, this whole cartoon appeared in my head. It required no shaping. I did not need to make a note of it—I knew I’d remember it. The next morning, I came into the office, sat down, got out a template, and drew. There was no calculating. It flowed out onto the page.
It became the most commented-upon cartoon I’ve ever done. Not only by those on campus, face-to-face. Students currently overseas wrote me. Alums wrote me. And, in a moment that caught me by surprise and moved me quite deeply, Raymond Williams quoted the cartoon in his amazing eulogy for Bill, which led to an emotional and meaningful moment between myself and Raymond at the reception afterwards.
So I guess I did something right. But don’t ask me how. The anatomy of this cartoon remains hidden from me. All I can say is that it’s for Bill, and the Wabash community he loved.
From Professor Emeritus of Religion Raymond Williams’ eulogy for Bill Placher:
"Bill wrote in a letter to a former student, ‘…when we best articulate our ideas, we cannot escape the feeling that there was something there that we never quite capture. Our feeble deeds cannot create the city of God. Aspects of our common life seem seriously flawed, moving toward death rather than life. The whole creation groaning in travail!’
"Or, if you prefer The Bachelor cartoon panels: ‘Dear Santa, Please bring Wabash a new semester. The one we have now is broken. I don’t think it is fixable.’
"In the midst of it all, Bill lived joyfully and free as an unpretentious Christian, saved by grace, therefore full of grace. Free of mind in faith to think our best thoughts and to craft our best words as a theologian to lead us deeper into the mysteries of life. Free of heart in love to teach his students and colleagues and help us all live deeper, richer lives aimed toward life, not death."