On the Big Stage
The 150th Lafayette-Lehigh game at Yankee Stadium Nov. 22 along with the events leading up to it (Lafayette, fall 2014) will be an exciting, satisfying, and unforgettable memory for myself and thousands of alumni and friends.
Almost a century ago, the first American troops arrived in France, and in the presence of George Pershing at the tomb of the Marquis, speaker Col. Charles Stanton declared, “Lafayette, we are here!” I was reminded of that phrase during Rivalry weekend. I sensed that the College was reaching out to a larger audience, including its own alumni and friends, to send the message that we have stepped onto a larger stage. We pulled our weight at Yankee Stadium, filling it to capacity, and that is no small credit to the enthusiastic and instinctive response of the many alumni who relished the opportunity to celebrate a great tradition that is part of the elegant formula defining a great college.
We all will have stored many impressions. For me the number one memory will be the Chant. It started after we were declared game winner, and it spread around the stadium: Lafayette. Lafayette. That shout, taken up by thousands, was a spontaneous and emotional outburst that also said, “We are here!” Those alumni shouted out what they already know: Lafayette College is here, on the big stage.
—Fran Mustaro ’72
Basking Ridge, N.J.
EEG Research: Then and Now
I read with great interest the article “Lateral Thinking” (Lafayette, fall 2014) about the collaboration among students, Lisa Gabel, and Yih-Choung Yu on a project to record EEG signals from humans and develop a way for the signals to control devices as a path toward artificially guided movements in patients.
I did my senior-year research on EEGs. At that time the technology was based on vacuum-tube electronics. The machines were very big and not easily accessible. I had to build an entire EEG machine from scratch, test it, and install it in the back room of a house on campus where the psychology department spent a year during renovations in Pardee Hall (photo right). The faculty supervisors were Burton H. Cohen and Howard Gallup. The experiments worked quite well.
The project kept me moving in the direction of what has become neuroscience, which has been my career since graduation. I work on the brains and sonar of bats, with valuable summer assistance from Lafayette students through LEARN (Lafayette Alumni Research Network).
—James A. Simmons ’65
Professor of Neuroscience,
Brown University
Providence, R.I.
Memories and Pride
I enjoyed the online edition of Lafayette (fall 2014). I felt nostalgic…and envious.
—Simon “Bud” Feder ’51
Verona, N.J.
CORRECTIONS
In “Commitment and Loyalty: Summary of Giving and Volunteer Participation 2013-14,” enclosed with the fall 2014 Lafayette, a few entries were inadvertently omitted or listed incorrectly. We make every effort to provide accurate information and apologize for these oversights.
MARQUIS FOUNDERS
Richard B. Tancer ’79
MARQUIS SOCIETY
Ian M. Ballard ’58
William W. Rockafellow ’14