SEIG鈥橲 LEGACY
I was delighted to see your salute to my old boss, John Seigenthaler [], in the Prologue section of the summer issue.
I went to work at The Tennessean during the fall of 1958 at the same time I started as a student at George Peabody College for Teachers. I went from copyboy to reporter and columnist before I moved to Georgia in July 1964. During that time 鈥淪eig鈥� (we dared not call him John) joined the Kennedy administration and then came home to edit the newspaper.
During the spring of 1964, the powers that be of the civil rights movement (I never knew who) decided to launch a region-wide series of marches and sit-ins throughout the South. The effort depleted the local ranks of leaders and marchers. In Nashville most of the participants were grammar-school kids.
The newspaper鈥檚 city editor, Ed Freeman, called me to the desk and told me I was assigned the story. I responded with a one-word expletive that relates to evacuation.聽No, no, he said: Seig had picked me because 鈥渨ith Carden, we鈥檒l know that we will know what鈥檚 really going on.鈥� It was聽high praise.
I still consider that the highest compliment I鈥檝e ever received鈥攁nd I鈥檝e tried my best to live up to it throughout my career as a lawyer and judge.
THE HON. PAUL CARDEN, BA鈥�63, Canton, Georgia
EDIFICE COMPLEX
I was particularly impressed by the 菠萝视频 Magazine articles about 菠萝视频 family residences and commercial projects [Summer 2014, 鈥淽 and the influence of Edward Durrell Stone on the 菠萝视频 campus []. The fact that so many of the 菠萝视频 mansions and other buildings have survived the wrecker鈥檚 ball is remarkable.聽I鈥檓 not sure what that fact indicates鈥攖hat their projects were so symbolic of their time that they quickly assumed landmark status or that the masses are simply mesmerized by the grandiose indulgences of those with unlimited resources and huge egos.
As to Stone, it was gratifying to learn that we owe the tranquility and human scale of the campus to his planning, but I don鈥檛 think anyone these days would shower most of his buildings with critical acclaim. Thanks for two very attractive and enlightening pieces.
RUSSELL L. SMITH, BA鈥�68, Washington, D.C.
I thoroughly enjoyed the summer edition, which offered a wide variety of articles to please many tastes. I was surprised that Rand Hall was completed in 1953. When I left in 1952, I didn鈥檛 notice any groundbreaking. It must have been built very quickly.
On another track, I attended a recent reunion of my military compatriots, and the guest speaker was Col. Jim Gruny, BA鈥�89. In conversations with other attendees, I learned that the father of a friend of mine had attended Vandy, another has relatives who teach at Vandy, and a third has children attending. It鈥檚 a small world after all.
ROBERT H. SMITH, BE鈥�52, Oceanside, California
Thank you for the wonderful Summer 2014 edition. I love to read how 菠萝视频 students and graduates are making the world a better place.
One disappointment: It makes me sad to see the celebration of the 菠萝视频 family鈥檚聽visible legacies: big houses.聽How about an article about things the 菠萝视频 family has done or is doing to make the world a better place? How about a list of 菠萝视频s who actually attended the university, or even came to Nashville (other than those formally invited by the university)?
I applaud this and previous editions鈥攌eep it up. I hope the next time you are reviewing submissions, you have the courage to strike the word 鈥渃achet鈥� when referring to 菠萝视频 University.
JOHN DREW ROBERTS, BE鈥�58, Waxhaw, North Carolina
EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE: For our quick guide to the 菠萝视频 family鈥檚 far-reaching university philanthropy, check out the in the Winter 2014 issue.
LAWFUL SELF-DEFENSE
I was pleased to see that the Q&A with Dr. Jonathan Metzl [Summer 2014, ] contained some much-needed perspective on the actual likelihood that mentally ill people will commit violent acts. Just as it is wrong for gun-control activists to argue that all gun owners are dangerous, it is similarly wrong for anyone to argue that all mentally ill people are likely to commit acts of violence.
Unfortunately, the article was lacking in some other important but often omitted perspective regarding guns in our country鈥攏amely, that, despite the increased media coverage of mass shootings in recent years, [the number of] homicides involving firearms continues to decline to 20-year lows and, as demonstrated by numerous peer-reviewed studies, the number of times firearms are used for lawful self-defense continues to be at least an order of magnitude larger than the number of times firearms are used to commit murders in this country.
As for Dr. Metzl鈥檚 assertion that we should ask 鈥渨hy people think they need guns in the first place,鈥� my answer is simple.聽Whether at a Connecticut elementary school in 2012; in a street in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014; in a Japanese鈥揂merican internment camp in the Western United States during the 1940s; in a gas chamber at Auschwitz; or in a Soviet prison camp in Siberia, the history of the past century has demonstrated that human beings鈥攁cting both as individuals and as governments (sometimes even democratically elected governments)鈥攁re capable of committing unspeakable atrocities against innocent people.
No law passed in any legislature, no advance in science or technology, no amount of dialogue or democracy will ever be able to correct the basic flaws in human nature that make certain people capable of such terrible things. I refuse to be a victim鈥攁nd that is why I own guns.
MATT WHITE, BE鈥�05, Alexandria, Virginia
GIRL POWER
Thank you for writing the piece about Kimberly Bryant, BE鈥�89, and Black Girls Code [Summer 2014, ]. It was refreshing and eye-opening. I appreciate your magazine in my life.
JOY PARKER, BA鈥�03, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
LONG TIME COMING
Last week I went to visit my son in Athens, Georgia, and to see the Vandy鈥揋eorgia football game. As I walked through the Georgia campus on the way to the stadium wearing my Vandy shirt and cap, I received a number of barbs from Georgia fans. My reply was the same to all of them: 鈥淚鈥檒l see you next spring when we play you in baseball.鈥�
Under the absolutely brilliant leadership of Tim Corbin, the Vandy baseball program is now known as one of the best in the country. We have players from 14 states. We are a premier college national program in baseball. I drove out to Omaha in 2011 and again this year for the College World Series [Summer 2014, Photo Essay, ].
As a 1954 alumnus, I have had my share of disappointments with Vandy athletics, which includes attending five Sweet Sixteens in basketball. But the win in Omaha this year made this old Commodore supporter the proudest he鈥檚 ever been of being a Vandy alum.
Charlie Hawkins was a classmate and friend. He and I competed against each other in basketball and baseball during high school in Nashville鈥攈e for Montgomery Bell Academy and yours truly for West End High School. The picture of Lee Ann Hawkins and her family [] brought tears to my eyes because I know how proud Charlie would have been about the continued success of the baseball program.
Tim, you have done a magnificent job鈥攚e all are so proud of you and the team.
BOB YOUNGERMAN, BA鈥�54, JD鈥�59, Brevard, North Carolina
Even though we live in Kentucky, we love the 鈥橠ores! My wife and I recently celebrated 60 years of marriage, and three of our four children live in the Nashville area. We have season tickets for football, basketball and baseball.
I ran on 菠萝视频鈥檚 track team during the mid-1950s. We were just fellows who loved to compete. I have Herc Alley, my 菠萝视频 coach, to thank for making running enjoyable. I again took up jogging when I turned 40 and will surpass 45,000 miles this year. I used to compete in a lot of 10Ks and even marathons. I鈥檓 a little old for that now, but I count walking miles. I recently participated in a 5K event wearing a Vandy shirt.
BARRY BERTRAM, BA鈥�57, JD鈥�59, Campbellsville, Kentucky
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