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Volume CXXI, No. 11
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Friday, March 1 2019
March 1, 2019
FREE
What Do We Learn from This?
Campus conversation probes path forward after Garthwait photo B y B enjamin P ontz E ditor -I n -C hief
"I think the further we go, the more layers of complexity emerge, and the more we're learning about our campus today." T h i s w a s President Janet Morgan Riggs' preliminary takeaway from an hourlong conversation in which numerous students shared raw, impassioned statements about their experiences as members of the Gettysburg College community. In an interview directly following the event, Riggs said that she needed time for further reflection before she could determine what the college's next step would be. More than 300 students, faculty, and staff members answered Riggs' invitation to join in dialogue, and they filled Mara Auditorium well beyond its seated capacity Thursday morning. About 20 more watched a live stream in an adjacent room as members of the campus community discussed moving forward after a photo of Bob Garthwait in the 1980 edition of the college's yearbook came to light, leading to his
swift resignation from the Board of Trustees. Riggs opened the conversation by stating that she had received more than 300 messages about the issue, many of which were personally disparaging or rested on misconceptions about what had happened, but that the most thoughtful conversations in which she had participated came on campus, which gave her confidence that the ensuing discourse would be fruitful. The event began with reflections from a panel of three faculty members: Dr. Steven Gimbel, Professor of Philosophy, Dr. Scott Hancock, Chair of the History Department and S t u d e n t s , f a c u l t y , a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n g a t h e r e d i n M a r a A u d i t o r i u m Associate Professor of to discuss the recent yearbook photo of Bob Garthwait (Photo Mary Frasier/The Gettysburgian) History and Africana S t u d i e s , a n d D r . D i n a like Nazis as part of a G i m b e l q u e s t i o n e d s o a f t e r a d o n o r c a m e and it is from this place L o w y , A s s o c i a t e legitimate joke. In the what the joke from the forward to fund it, and o f a l i e n a t i o n t h a t w e scene, dancers dressed Hogan's Heroes fraternity there have not been any m a k e m e a n i n g o f t h i s Professor of History. G i m b e l , w h o a s N a z i o f f i c e r s a n d party in 1979 meant and J e w i s h a d m i n i s t r a t o r s photograph." More important teaches a course on the marched in the shape of offered that answering in the academic division p h i l o s o p h y o f h u m o r , a swastika. He described t h a t q u e s t i o n r e q u i r e s i n h i s 2 5 y e a r s a t t h e t h a n B o b G a r t h w a i t , Gimbel argued, is the b e g a n h i s r e m a r k s i t a s " u p r o a r i o u s l y ascertaining the context college. "I'm not saying c o m m u n i t y ' s p o s t u r e w i t h a c a u t i o n a g a i n s t f u n n y " a n d a s s e r t e d i t of who made the joke, s u p p r e s s i n g o n e ' s w a s " o n e o f t h e m o s t to whom they made it, our community is overtly towards Judaism. "This is not about feelings to join a false i m p o r t a n t s c e n e s i n a n d w h a t t h e y m e a n t anti-Semitic, but these consensus for the sake Jewish cinematic history" b y i t . B y w a y o f t h a t e x a m p l e s - - a n d t h e r e a yearbook. This is not of community, and then b e c a u s e o f " w h a t t h a t c o n t e x t , h e a s s e r t e d a r e o t h e r s - - s p e a k t o about Bob Garthwait," he proceeded to discuss j o k e m e a n t … t o l o o k that, at Gettysburg, the the erasure of Judaism," he said. "This is about a scene from Mel Brooks' Hitler right in the eye and H e b r e w l a n g u a g e i s h e s a i d . " I t s p e a k s t o our community, and the m u s i c a l c o m e d y T h e say, 'You tried to kill us. not offered, the faculty w h y s o m a n y J e w s a t choice it's made about the P r o d u c e r s a s e v i d e n c e We're still here. We're rejected adding a Judaic G e t t y s b u r g k n o w t h a t place of Jewish members s t u d i e s p r o g r a m t h r e e they are not fully part t h a t i t i s p o s s i b l e , i n mocking you.'" -Continued on page 4 F r o m t h e r e , times before finally doing o f t h e c o m m u n i t y … his view, to dress up
Four Decades a Gettysburgian: JMR As a Student B y C ameron D’A mica and
P hoebe D oscher B e f o r e becoming the president of Gettysburg College, Janet Morgan Riggs was simply a first-year student in 1973 who had no idea what the future would hold and where her Gettysburg College education would take her. Reflecting on her very first moments as a student on the Gettysburg campus with clarity, Riggs explained, “I can still picture that moment. I moved into Huber Hall. It was a super hot day, and I was on the third floor, where it was even hotter. I remember standing on the steps watching my parents drive away.” Riggs vividly remembers feeling nervous to begin college, especially facing separation from home
Blasts from the past These archived “blasts from the past” were compiled by copyeditor Shannon Zeltmann utilizing Special Collections in Musselman Library.
for the first time. She quickly warmed up to campus after getting to know friends on her floor and developing a close relationship with her roommate. Her apprehensions quickly faded away, and she recalled, “Within days, I had felt like I’d been here forever.” The comfort she experienced on campus within a short time stemmed from her initial inclination to attend Gettysburg College. Coming from a large high school just outside of Philadelphia, Riggs was drawn to the small size of Gettysburg. A recommendation from a family friend, coupled with an extraordinary visit on a rainy October day solidified her choice to apply early decision. An integral part of Riggs’s extracurricular experience at Gettysburg
was her participation in the marching band. As a color guard captain during high school, Riggs continued her extracurricular leadership even further at Gettysburg, serving as co-captain during her sophomore and junior years and captain her senior year. She spoke fondly of the experience spent “twirling flags... rifles, and the whole deal.” She had a special bond with members of the band and recalls traveling on buses to perform at away games. In fact, Riggs was given a particularly special leadership position her senior year. Although we know her as our fearless leader at Gettysburg, Riggs remembers an early, poignant moment of responsibility when the band director asked her to write field shows for
the color guard. “That was a big responsibility to just hand to a student, and I was really into it. So, talk about nice leadership experience, that’s pretty big!” she exclaimed. Starting in the fall of her sophomore year, Riggs joined Chi Omega, and she fondly remembered her time in the sorority. “I really enjoyed it. It was a great way to make some friends, and we had a lot of good times together,” she said. At the time, a larger proportion of College President Janet Morgan Riggs Gettysburg students (Photo Mary Frasier/The Gettysburgian) participated in Greek life. Riggs personally b e n e f i t e d f r o m t h e This is the first article in a four-part connections made through series, recounting President Janet the organization but did Morgan Riggs’ ‘77 time as a student, not feel like it defined her professor, administrator, and president college identity. R i g g s a l s o in commemoration of her retirement at
-Continued on page 8-
the end of the academic year.
This week in 1924, the Gettysburg staff had their first ever banquet. It took place at the Battlefield Hotel. New staff were elected that night and there were several who were asked to be speakers for the evening. Also asked to attend were a member of the Harrisburg telegraph and several editors of local papers. They hoped this banquet would become a tradition for Gettysburg staff. This week in 1939, the place for the
annual planting of the ivy for Ivy Day was chosen to be the southeastern corner of Science Hall. Have you ever noticed the plaques throughout the campus about a class’s ivy day? Well, this is one of those events. Many graduating classes have planted ivy somewhere on campus, and a whole week is dedicated to the ivy. A marble brick was planned to be put by the ivy, with the inscription, “Ivy Day, Class of 1938.” Should we bring back ivy week to the campus?
This week in 1954, a popularity pole was taken by students and one person came on top—the postman! Mr. Deitch was the “most sought after, fought after man on campus.” The Gettysburgian interviewed him, to see what the daily life of a mailman was. He stated he enjoys delivering checks and love letters, because they are always alike, “except for the signatures” and “the most interesting ones are sealed.” Deitch stated that there were about 2000 mail
pieces for the area, with the college having the most mail. He said he was also a battlefield guide. Hopefully, everyone gets a letter every once in a blue moon to their Gettysburg Address! This week in 1989, two new art clubs were formed on campus—the comic art and graphic design club. They just started, but they already had big plans. They wanted to do several animated movie nights and have guest speakers in the field of graphic art. They were also planning
a possible comic strip by students to put in the Gettysburg Times, as well as editorial comics for The Gettysburgian. There also was the creation of the Art Society by art majors, but was open to anyone with an interest in art. They were planning to take a few trips to go to art museums in DC and have guest speakers. They also were given an area on the third floor of Schmucker to use as a gallery space.