Thank you, Dr. Zwier

In 1968 I graduated with a math major; in 1995 my daughter graduated with a double major which included math. Both of us arranged our schedules to include as many courses with Dr. Zwier () as we could, and he was her faculty adviser. This is a belated thank you to an outstanding educator.

Tom Posthumus ’68
London, Ont.

Stephanie Posthumus ’95
Dundas, Ont.

Sharing a gem

If not for my love of fiction writing (winter 2014, “”), I never would have stumbled upon this gem of great writing, found in the novel Odd Hours by Dean Koontz:

“Loss is the hardest thing. But it’s also the teacher that’s the most difficult to ignore... . Grief can destroy you—or focus you. You can decide a relationship was all for nothing if it had to end in death, and you alone. Or you can realize that every moment of it had more meaning than you dared to recognize at the time, so much meaning it scared you, so you just lived, just took for granted the love and laughter of each day, and didn’t allow yourself to consider the sacredness of it. But when it’s over and you’re alone, you begin to see it wasn’t just a movie and a dinner together, not just watching sunsets together, not just scrubbing a floor or washing dishes together or worrying over a high electric bill. It was everything, it was the why of life, every event and precious moment of it. The answer to the mystery of existence is the love you shared sometimes so imperfectly, and when the loss wakes you to the deeper beauty of it, to the sanctity of it, you can’t get off your knees for a long time, you’re driven to your knees not by the weight of the loss but by gratitude for what preceded the loss. And the ache is always there, but one day not the emptiness, because to nurture the emptiness, to take solace in it, is to disrespect the gift of life.”

Thank you, Lord, for talented writing.

Melanie F. Fisher ’85
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Cover photo offensive

As someone who is interested in birds and enjoys bird-watching, I really appreciate the cover story of your winter 2014 issue, “.” However, including a caricature of a Native American man on the cover shows a profound lack of discernment and cultural sensitivity. I trust this was an oversight, or does the Calvin Spark consider this image suitable for publication and distribution?

Johan de Zoete ’03
Hamilton, Ont.

I am writing to express my disappointment at the choice of photos for the cover the winter issue of the Spark. There is not much Calvin College can do about some Christian school’s insistence on retaining an offensive racist caricature of a Native American as a mascot, but I expect more from my alma mater than to have chosen a cover photo for the alumni magazine that feature said mascot on a student’s T-shirt.

Noah Kruis ’03
Grand Rapids, Mich.

Editor’s note: The inclusion of a photo which contained a Native American caricature on the sweatshirt of a student was an oversight. We do not consider this image suitable for publication and sincerely apologize to our Native American alumni and to all who were offended by our error.

Al Gebben’s legacy

Some readers may wonder why professor emeritus Al Gebben is pictured with the story about the Calvin woodlot (winter 2014, “Tree census reveals much about woodlot”). In 1974 Al had a vision for what would become the Calvin Ecosystem Preserve and obtained a grant to do the survey described in the article. He asked a skinny, long-haired kid, whom he hoped would become a botanist, but didn’t, to help him measure trees in the woods for a few weeks, and 40 years later Al’s database is still being used. The is a wonderful resource not only for Calvin students, but for the entire community. Thanks, Al, for having such an important and beautiful idea for the study of God’s good Creation. It is a legacy that will continue for many, many more years.

John L. Ubels ’74
Calvin biology professor