You Said: Fall 2022
Said on campus
“My hope is that your community will collectively … do hard things. One, engage meaningfully across differences. Two, maintain an attitude of gratitude daily. And three, develop a servant’s heart.”
Marylyn Scott, Assistant dean for student transitions at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa
Fall Opening Convocation speaker
Sky Room memories
Your photo of the Sky Room as it is now, and the description of it as “once a coveted dorm room”: Coveted is so right on! I lived in the Sky Room my senior year, 1963-64, with Penny Gilchrist Holliday ’64, Ginny Wright Boylls ’64, and Susan Hope Harris ’64. We were ecstatic when one of us was lucky enough to have number four for the draw for rooms. Other students, who had numbers one through three, wanted to be in the new building, Dows Hall, and so we were in! The room had plenty of windows, built-in bookshelves, a sink, and a skylight. It was the huge attic of Rood House. In my day, there were window seats built in under the windows and on one, I used to stretch out and read the Des Moines Register on lazy Sunday mornings, ’til Ed Gibbs ’64 got off work in the Bowman dining hall and we could meet up and have lunch together. The other window seat served as our “sofa,” in front of which was our coffee table—my dad’s World War II foot locker. We four spent many long hours drinking coffee and solving personal (boyfriends), campus (grades, courses, profs), national (JFK assassination), and worldwide problems. During graduation week, four close friends of ours, who were lucky enough to get the room for the following year, toilet-papered the entire room. Given that the room had a very high ceiling, it was an impressive feat.
Carol Wells Saberian ’64
Austin, Texas
TItle IX @ 50
I came to Cornell in the fall of 1971 from a very large high school where I had played competitive tennis. However, Cornell only had a men’s tennis team. I went out for the men’s team, but that did not work out well. I am happy to say Cornell developed a women’s tennis team, and I was able to play once again for my school. Shout out to some of my fellow players, including my doubles partner Vickie Anderson Stolte ’77.
Nancy Rawson ’75
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cannon vs canon
The article titled “Canons in King Chapel” in the current edition of the Cornell Report contains an interesting (and, to my ear, amusing) spelling error. It contains the words canon and cannon. It uses both words to mean a gun or guns. A cannon is a kind of gun. However, canon means something else. Because a canon is in one of its definitions a kind of music, we have an amusing pun. No doubt, students have over the years heard canons on the inside of King Chapel and cannon on the outside!
By the way, I learned when I checked the dictionary that the plural of cannon is cannon.
Professor of Computer Science Leon Tabak
Mount Vernon, Iowa
As we all know, a canon is a clergyman, usually of the Roman Catholic or Anglican church, who might be seen as an odd creature at Cornell and could very well have been locked up in a dungeon underneath King Chapel. But I’m quite sure it’s cannons as in heavy artillery pieces, that were stored under the Chapel.
Craig Kuehl ’66
New York City, New York
Responding to the announcement of President of the College Emeritus Les Garner’s pending retirement as president and CEO of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
Julie Bryant ’88: After having a positive impact on Cornell for many years, Les Garner went on to do great things for the Cedar Rapids community and surrounding areas. I wish him well in retirement.
Professor Emeritus Sue Astley: Congratulations on your second round of building up and supporting an Eastern Iowa institution! Happy retirement.
Professor Emeritus Diane Crowder: Retirement is wonderful! Congratulations on completing a productive and eminent career. You made everything better.
In response to a picture showing alumni parents with children starting at Cornell
Lisa Kay Fry Runkel ’02: Oh, gosh. Does it mean you’re old when people you went to school with are alumni parents? (Don’t answer that.)
Mike Khouri ’99: Love this pic and the continued family ties to the school.
In response to a photo of emeriti faculty celebrating the rev. richard thomas’ 92nd birthday
Peter S. Bryant: Happy Birthday Rev. Wonderful gathering of many special Cornellians. Wishing you all the best.
Amy Joan DeGroot-Hammer ’91: Happy birthday!!! What a wonderful group of life changers!!!
Mark D. Reed ’82: Appreciated his pre-marriage counseling!
In response to the post: Goodnight King Chapel, goodnight Ped Mall, goodnight to Rams one and all. Goodnight Iowa, goodnight purple rock, goodnight last day before the block.
Lam Jin ’85: Good morning King Chapel, Good morning Cornell … from me across the globe in Malaysia.
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