Letters

Sometimes you get a nice surprise when you learn that a person who you just met or are reading about [“Pony Up,” summer 2012] is an Emory alumnus, like Dolph Orthwein Jr. 68L, a real polo enthusiast for so many years. During my undergraduate and law school years I remember going to polo games near Atlanta not knowing Emory grads were playing. Over the last twenty years I have become a sports agent and immigration attorney for foreign polo players and equestrian competition riders coming to the US to compete in the major polo tournaments and equestrian dressage festivals.

—Chandler Finley 85C 88L, Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida

 I just read your story on the Good Hope equestrian program in Florida [“For Want of a Horse,” summer 2012]. I have been the director and therapist at Horse Time, an equine-facilitated health center in Covington, Georgia, for fifteen years. During nursing school at Emory I did not have a car so I took MARTA to Chastain Park to volunteer at their therapeutic horsemanship program, beginning in 1983. My nursing faculty were very supportive of this endeavor. In 1997 I partnered with psychologist Priscilla Faulkner to launch Horse Time, a nonprofit with the highest level of accreditation in therapeutic horsemanship, at her family farm. We have served hundreds of special needs individuals of all ages.

—Maureen Abbate Vidrine 85N,Monroe, Georgia

 As I opened my new issue of Emory Magazine today, I was very happy to see your article regarding the therapeutic work being done at the Good Hope Ranch. As a certified therapeutic riding instructor, I can fully understand the value that equines have in our lives. Being a longtime horse lover, rider, and later, devoted volunteer, I joined PATHI (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International) in 2006, and eventually became a registered instructor, and treasurer for PATHI of Georgia.

—Karolyn (Carr) Diamond-Jones 85N 95MPH, Milton, Georgia

 I read the article on “The Whole Globe Theater” in the latest issue [summer 2012] with great interest. One class at Emory accomplished this [cross-continent teaching] in 1998. In the spring semester, Professor Thomas S. Burns of the Department of History offered his regular seminar on the Early Roman Empire. It was shared by the Department of Ancient History at Augsburg University in Germany. Participants in both places were seen on a TV screen. An article ran about this in Augsburg’s main newspaper with a photo of me on the TV. That day the subject was the emperor Augustus, and I always spoke about him for Tom’s class. Tom had developed a very close relationship with the colleagues in Augsburg; there was a regular exchange of faculty.

—Professor Emeritus Herbert W. Benario, Atlanta

 My wife and I read the wonderful article in Emory Magazine on our daughter Kirsten [“American Beauty,” summer 2012]. You did an exceptional job of describing the issues, concerns, and problems that faced our daughter and of course our family; but also did it in a manner that demonstrated the positive effects of family values, support, and love. The writer certainly did her homework, and we appreciate the hard work that culminated in a wonderfully written article.

—Valdor Haglund Jr., Detroit, Michigan

 What a lovely article about Kirsten Haglund. So proud Emory has her among us.

—Julie Carroll, Emory Department of Psychology, Atlanta

 I was proud to read about various sustainability initiatives that my fellow alums have undertaken [“Living Lightly,” spring 2012]. My story is similar to that of Solazyme’s founders. Three and a half years ago my roommate at Emory, Justin Manger 01C, and I started a website dedicated to presenting pertinent information on sustainability and the clean energy economy. We look forward to more stories of change from Emory and its constituents.

—Eric Wilson 01C, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

 Thank you for a consistently fine magazine that is always a source of pleasure and information about Emory. I am, however, a bit astonished—and a tad miffed—that a university publication participates in the lamentable effort to reduce Homo sapiens to a single sex, often with ludicrous result. In the summer issue of Emory Magazine we are told that Anne Tatlock is a board chair. That this lady is a crude item of furniture made of undressed lumber I find hard to accept. We are also informed that Dr. [Fadlo] Khuri is a professor and chair. The photograph indicates that the good doctor is made of finer stuff. Actresses now call themselves actors; waitresses are now waiters, and waiters of both sexes sometimes identify themselves as, nauseatingly, waitpersons. In order to establish the commendable goal of gender equality is it necessary to neuter the species?