Winter 2009

Letters

“What a cover! They both look like angels. The entire issue was filled with decency and compassion, which is what I think of when I think of Emory.”

John Ingersoll

Former senior associate vice president

Emory University

Atlanta

I wanted to thank you for this inspirational article “Brave Hearts.” As a full-time, nontraditional student who is also the head of household and mother of two small children, this article awakened my desire to continue my education so that I may make a difference within my own community. No longer will I give audience to those that tell me that my goals are unattainable! This wonderful young lady should receive much more recognition, not only for her foresight and courage in opening the center in India but for realizing and integrating all aspects of the human condition that prevent children from thriving: lack of security, lack of health care, malnutrition, and the inability to dream of a better world for themselves. I am looking forward to hearing more about the young Ms. Sholtys in the coming years.

Veronica Linder

Internal Medicine Administration

Atlanta

The statement was made in the article “A United Front” that the 1965 event commemorating the winning of the Nobel Peace Prize was the first racially integrated banquet in the South. In the fall of 1959, Dr. King spoke at a meeting in the lobby of the theology student dorm, Wesley Hall. Several students from ITC-Gammon were there. I met two black students from Gammon who were from my hometown. We decided to organize a Mississippi theology student’s group, and we met across town at a black restaurant. There were no white restaurants that would allow us to meet. Of course, there were no dignitaries present, but it was the beginning of integration for a group of black and white Mississippians. Thought you would be interested to know of such “grassroots” movements.

William A. Pennington 62T

Cleveland, Mississippi

Thank you for Emory Magazine. It is always a delight to receive it. The autumn 2008 magazine has the same spectacular layout we have come to expect, including touching photos. This month you include a photo of Alysse Meyer, doing one of her killer spikes. While it is a great photo, we would like to point out that Alysse is a student in the nursing school, not the college. This remarkable young woman is, as pointed out in your caption, a leader of the volleyball squad and among the top ten Emory volleyball players of all time. But what your caption fails to capture is that she manages this while balancing an intense schedule here at the school including a full-time course load as well as nine hours of clinical each week. Alysse tempers the strength and attention she shows in your action-capturing photo with compassion when caring for patients. Her commitment for meeting obligations of school paired with her enthusiasm for learning in the clinical setting make Alysse a valued team player, student, and community member. We look forward to the winter edition!

Elizabeth A. Downes 04N 04MPH

Family Nurse Practitioner / Assistant Clinical Professor

Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Editor’s note: Alysse Meyer, featured on page 17 of our autumn issue, was identified as 10C; she is actually 10N. Many thanks to Ms. Downes and also to Assistant Professor Maeve Howett for pointing this out to us with exceptional grace.

Here I was thinking I should drop you a note to urge you to feature Coach Jenny McDowell’s volleyball team, now that they won the NCAA tournament. I’ve followed them for years, and they’ve just kept getting better. Then I get the latest copy of your magazine, and there’s a full-page action shot of Alysse Meyer. I saw her play in high school, and she was a very impressive player. She deserves all her accolades. I hope you’ll feature the team and their big win in a future issue. Coach McDowell has toiled for a dozen years, and it’s paid off handsomely. It occurs to me what a big change from my time it is for Emory women to be national champions in any sport. Granted, it’s a long time, but there was very little for women athletes then, mostly just the intersorority basketball league, if memory serves. As usual, I enjoyed my magazine. Thanks for all your good work.

Ed Martin 67Ox 68C

Nevada City, California

I just feel compelled to tell you how well done I found the summer 2008 article, “The Picture of Health.” On the surface, and from a distant perspective, it seems as if it would have been a heck of a challenge for any writer. You made it an easy read whether or not it was a challenge for you. Congratulations.

Patrick Kennedy

Suwanee, Georgia

Your article “Body of Knowledge” in the summer 2008 Emory Magazine was one of the best stories I’ve ever read on the subject of whole body donation. Your effort at humanizing what can be an uncomfortable subject for many people is to be commended. Likely, I will move to the Atlanta area early next year, and, after reading the piece online, I called the body donor program to request forms. Personally, I have been registered as a whole body donor in South Carolina for the past twenty years. If it comes time to become a donor at fifty-five, or ninety-five, it will be a tremendous honor for me to serve as a medical school cadaver in gross anatomy class alongside the remains of my fellow body donors. The body donors and “their” medical students profiled in the story reinforce my beliefs on this subject, and I hope to inspire others to donate their remains to medical schools, research tissue banks, and transplant centers in the future. Your efforts at public education are exemplary, and the sensitivity and social consciousness of Emory in dealing with this often-difficult subject is unequaled.

Keith F. West

Charleston, South Carolina

Write to us

Has something in Emory Magazine raised your consciousness—or your hackles? Write to the editors at Emory Magazine, 1762 Clifton Road, Plaza 1000, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, or via email at paige.parvin@emory.edu. We reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity. The views expressed by the writers do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the administrators of Emory University.