From Our Readers

 

Further to the request in the Alumni Gazette about suggestions for Founder’s Day, I wish to say first that this is an excellent idea and should be both continued and extended.

 

Of course, it does reinforce our connection to Western. But I believe it strikes other equally important notes. Today’s students have never been more in need of historical context, the context that is essential in these tumultuous times. The students have a hunger for this historical background. As a professor of economics, I see this in my own classroom.

 

Moreover, we can use the Founder’s theme to highlight other founding accomplishments of Western’s alumni and faculty - founders of companies, charities, public policy initiatives and so on.

 

Now more than ever, we need to nurture the “founding mentality” in our students. In today’s environment, Western’s grads need to rise to higher challenges and none are higher than to found a business, institution or major initiative.

 

This could be a very robust theme and would relate to other elements of Western’s present direction.

LARRY SMITH, DIPED’69 (ALTHOUSE) ADJUNCT ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO 

Just read with great interest your article regarding alumni who were involved with the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. As an FYI you should know that probably the single most influential person in winter sport and the man responsible for spearheading the bid for Vancouver to get the Games is a UWO alumnus.

 

Robert Storey, BA’65, went on to have a successful career as a bobsledder and as a entrepreneur. Robert has been President of the International Bobsleigh Federation (FIBT) since 1994 and well respected in the sports world.

 

On a personal note I was responsible for what became the absolute “place to be” at the Games: Hockey House. Th e concept was the brainchild of my company’s based on my involvement and att endance at eight Olympic Games and a long history of involvement in hospitality, sports and entertainment. Our venue was not only the home to the hockey world but was the best spot in Canada to celebrate our country’s success in all sports.

 

As a side note I had the honour of carrying the Olympic Torch in Windsor on December 22.

JORDAN BITOVE, BA’87 (POLITICAL SCIENCE), MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS 

I am saddened by the change to an electronic format for the Alumni Gazette. I find it ironic that you announce this change in the same issue that you celebrate the history of the publication.

 

I usually read the magazine in bed prior to retiring for the night or while commuting to work. Using a laptop in bed or while standing on the subway is simply not feasible. Printing off sections or articles is wasteful and expensive -- not to mention bad for the environment.

 

I fully understand the cost implications; however, until portable reading devices like the Amazon Kindle are affordable and widely available, discontinuing the print edition is simply premature.

 

Steven Jordan, BA’88 

Although I use the Internet for many functions -- too numerous to mention -- reading magazines is not one. In fact, because I use the Internet and the computer for many hours a day each and every day of the week, I choose to read books, magazines and newspapers the good old-fashioned way. In fact, for reasons that could probably be the focus of a PhD thesis or two, there is something important about having the physical reading material in one’s hand. The Alumni Gazette has a place of honour in a magazine stand in my living room, where I refer to it many times over the course of several months.

Unfortunately, I will not persevere with the e-version. If there are others like me, and I suspect there are, there is a chunk of the demographic that will not be exposed to the messaging and content that you so carefully present.

Barbara Yates, BA’76 (Huron) 

My wife, Helen Elizabeth (nee Reid), BA’54, and I are proud members of a family now with a fourth generation student at Western, Mike Rogers, our grandson.

 

My father, Richard Charles Deakin,graduated in the 1940s (BA’45). My wife’s two sisters graduated in the 1950s-60s. Our son, George, graduated in 1978 (BSc’78, Geology). Our daughter, Catherine, graduated from Law in the 1980s.

 

I graduated in 1955 after playing on the Mustangs soccer team for two years, as well as being a member of the choir for two years.