Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

Fiercely Proud

After reading the latest issue of the Wellesley magazine (fall ’16), I couldn’t be more fiercely proud of our alma mater. The inauguration coverage was stellar (“A Joyful Beginning”), and the alumnae profiles in “A Call to Teach” were inspiring. “Tell Me a Story” was a fascinating read (particularly since Susan Meyer is one of my former professors!). And then “For Our Old Ladies”—what a joy. Nothing could more perfectly capture the simple warmth and kindness of the Wellesley network. Thank you for delivering this reminder of Wellesley’s boundless reach and brilliance into my mailbox. I can’t wait for the next issue.

Shloka Ananthanarayanan ’08, New York, N.Y.


Great Job

Another wonderful Wellesley (fall ’16). Don’t know how you do it time after time! But great job.

Alice Chester Schwartz CE/DS ’79, Needham, Mass.


Celebrating KidLit

I just finished reading Catherine Grace’s article about children’s books and Wellesley authors (“Tell Me a Story,” fall ’16) and was surprised to find so many of us! And how interesting it was to read about how different our interests and backgrounds and books are. (I love Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin ’66, by the way. Not only are the illustrations beautiful, but the writing is clear and dry but emotive. It is a wonderful science children’s book.)

Thank you to Catherine for her writing, for the care and information she put into the article, and for her celebration of children’s books! Hooray for children’s books and children! And teachers of children’s books! And writers about them!

Molly Bang ’65, Falmouth, Mass.


On Election Night

Regrettably Wellesley mag’s post-election “Hillary victory celebration” party article embarrasses with its parochialism (“A Night to Remember,” fall ’16). Surely holding a gala to cheer the first Wellesley alumna president … sounds divisive in the school body. One imagines Republican-leaning students and faculty sensing they need not attend?That post-facto party sounded gushingly politically correct—but then I’m an alumna Trump supporter. Neither innocent, nor misled, Trumpian voters chose with eyes open: Hillary Rodham Clinton ’69 was the known quantity, having over a decade been a media favorite in news reportage. Trump was “the other” and not tested. So far he’s getting superlative daily press in the Wall Street Journal.

What were you thinking, dear editor? Why did you not stop the press, ditch the article, drop the contention—the fight is won. Do the healing thing like, “Some on this campus had hoped a Wellesley grad would be America’s first woman president. That opportunity comes every four years! Today, though, we join the country uniting behind President-elect Donald Trump and wish him and America well.”

Elly Hamilton Sienkiewicz ’64, Washington, D.C.


Hillary on the Back Cover

When I took the fall ’16 issue of Wellesley magazine out of the mailbox and saw the cropped photo of Hillary on the back cover, I cried. But I see it as an unfinished portrait. And I must believe that a full portrait of another woman will—soon—be on a magazine’s front cover. Another woman will make it because Hillary tried; she showed us honor and grit and decency. And intelligence … in spades.

I must also tell you I am awed by what you produced on deadline. Brilliant photography, writing, editing. You are a crack team, Wellesley magazine.

Barbara W. Carlson ’50, Branford, Conn.


Pained but Grateful

My copy of Wellesley (fall ’16) arrived last week. Seeing the picture of Hillary Rodham Clinton ’69 on the back cover took my breath away. It was painful to see, but I am grateful for it. As I wrote to friends, I can tell how big my heart is by the way that it breaks a little more every day. That breaking is going to be the size of my fight once I get some rest. Even as I continue to work every day for a better country and a better world, even as I continue to grieve what almost was, I am grateful to Secretary Clinton for all that she gives to this country and so grateful to Wellesley for all that it has given me and my powerful, wonderful sisters worldwide.

Anne Fernald ’88, South Orange, N.J.


Retooling a Career

I appreciated the article “On the Relaunch Pad” (summer ’16) as 25 years after my graduation, with seven children, a husband, and a farm, I re-entered Wellesley as a grad student at the “Chemistry Institute,” a program organized in the 1960s by Prof. Eleanor Webster to upgrade and retrain women chemists to fill a need, particularly in the field of education. This was a challenge to maintain high academic standards and to catch up in a field that had changed rapidly after World War II, although computers were not yet dominant in the field of education. I believe I received among the last master’s given by Wellesley.

I thoroughly enjoy reading Wellesley magazine and think you are doing a good job.

Betty Paul Dowse 42/M.A. ’69, Sherborn, Mass.


Editor’s Note

In the rush to make our delayed press date right after the U.S. presidential election, we neglected to give credit to our wonderful cover illustrator for the fall ’16 issue. He is Aad Goudappel from Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

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