‘You Had a Feeling That You Could Change the World’

I was a senior in May 1970. As a resident assistant in Washington Hall, I watched tear gas drift over campus while surveillance helicopters illuminated students running across campus and through my dorm. For many of us, this was a moment when we discovered the lives of the Cleavers in “Leave it to Beaver” were gone. Naiveté ended during those days as we watched the activists and joined in the march on Washington. Perhaps the same thoughts have come to graduates in 2020.

David Tamanini ’70, Harrisburg, Pa.

I was a junior and lived in Calvert C dorm. I went out and got in the middle of the disturbance and took my Super 8 movie camera and captured some great footage of teargassing and police chasing students with clubs. Later, the Maryland adjutant general flew over with a bullhorn telling us to stay inside or be arrested.

David Deal ’72

As an alum and founding member of the Democratic Radical Union of Maryland (DRUM), I appreciate Terp looking at that era of some 50 years ago. There are too many uncomfortable parallels between those days and today. These events shaped our life stories, often more than our classroom experiences. Many combat veterans returning from Vietnam, like SGA President Jones, whose photo you showed, desperately tried to move an unbelieving campus. Thank you to all who helped me learn at the University of Maryland.

Gordon Glaser ’71, Anchorage, Alaska

Secrets, Satellites and Howard Stern

Your headline attracted me to this fascinating article. It’s good to know that my own career is owed to this ingenious man. I am a 2000 graduate of the College of Library and Information Science, as it was known at the time, and currently the director of library and archives for SiriusXM. I am a proud Terp and proud as well to work for a great company like SiriusXM. Thank you, Robert Briskman, and thanks for this great bio.

Jamie Bush M.L.S. ’00

I read with interest Chris Carroll’s article, which refers to “an audacious mission to dig a tunnel beneath the Berlin Wall” and states that work on the tunnel was approved in January 1954 and was completed in May 1955. Construction of the Berlin Wall did not begin until Aug. 13, 1961—more than five years after Soviet and East German soldiers “discovered” the tunnel on April 22, 1956. While the tunnel did extend into East Berlin, it was not dug beneath the Berlin Wall, it in fact preceded it.

Bob Baker ’55, Laurel, Del.

Editor’s Note: Great catch! It looks like one of us fell asleep in history class. We’ve corrected the story online.

Millions Gone, But Not Forgotten

The powerful imagery of the Holodomor memorial—thought-provoking wheat stalks disappearing into negative space—taught me about the politically engineered famine in Ukraine and gave me pause to consider lessons learned on what the effects can be of disinformation and misinformation in these COVID times today.

Mary Crissey ’88, San Antonio, Texas