Elizabethtown College News 
Back to top 5/19/2009 CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2009! Celebrating Elizabethtown College's 106th Commencement Record Number of Graduates This Year at May 16th Commencement
 The "Serpentine Tradition" at E-town. Graduates Walk by Faculty and Staff, Congratulating Them on the Culmination of
The 2009 Board of Trustees at Alpha Hall. The Board waited until graduates walked past and gave them a standing ovation as they processed into the Dell.
 Chaplain Tracy Sadd gives invocation at 106th Commencement.  Chairman of the Board of Trustees David Hossler welcomes graduates and families  Graduating student Audra Farren, Communications Major, receiving her diploma from President Long. Over 500 students participated int he Commencement Ceremony this year.  Graduating senior, Jake Keeler, after receiving his diploma from President Long. Jake was a Communications major and a former "Mr. E-town." He has chosen to work in the Admissions field...at his alma mater, E-town. Back to top 5/18/2009 E-town Welcomes Class of '59 to Campus The class of 1959 celebrated its 50th reunion on May 16, Commencement Day at the College. A hardy group of 23 ’59 “youngsters” joined the Class of 2009 to process in the ceremony and walk to the graduation stage to have a special 50th reunion medallion conferred by President Ted Long. Afterwards they joined additional classmates – 65 in all – at a complimentary reunion luncheon staged by the Alumni Association on campus. The highlight of the event was the presentation of the Class of 1959 video, a sentimental trip down memory lane for the classmates. Those classmates who could not attend the festivities will be mailed a copy of the DVD compliments of the Alumni Association.  Members of the Class of '59 Wait to Greet Graduates of Class of '09  Class of '59 Celebrates on Campus  Provost Traverso, President Long and '59 Alumnus Dr. Edward C. Apple  President Long with '59 Alum and Board of Trustees Member Emeritus, Kenneth Bowers Back to top 5/18/2009 119 Continuing Education Students Graduate On Saturday, May 16th, 119 students graduated from Elizabethtown College through the Continuing Education Center, from three distinct campuses – Lancaster, York and Harrisburg. Elizabethtown College is dedicated to providing the most adult-friendly and convenient academic programs in the Central Pennsylvania region. Students can earn a bachelor or associate degree in a program designed for busy working professionals. Growth in the CCEDL program has been brisk as more students seek to finish a degree while maintaining a career and personal life - and in less time than they think! Continuing Ed Students Being Congratulated by Faculty and Staff The Edward R. Murphy Center for Continuing Education and Distance Learning at Elizabethtown College seeks to extend the boundaries of the College's learning community to include a wider and more diverse population. The Center expresses the values of the College's mission through a commitment to and advocacy of degree and non-degree academic programs for adult learners. In particular, the Center embraces the values of human dignity and social justice by widening access to quality higher education for adults. In its programs and outreach, the Center fosters a learner-centered academic culture that expresses the College's belief that learning is life-long and most noble when used to benefit others.  Proud Mama Graduate and Happy Kids on the Dell at Commencement (photo by Elizabeth Harvey/Marketing and Communications) Back to top 5/18/2009 Lancaster Sunday News Profiles Two Graduates Bravery and Determination Rewarded at Elizabethtown College Commencement On Saturday, May 16th, Rachel Rohland and Melvyn Moore were interviewed and photographed by Jo-Ann Greene of the Lancaster Sunday News. What made these two students special? They are good examples of students who face obstacles in pursuing their education, but rise above the difficulties to finish the race. Saturday, at Elizabethtown College's 106th Commencement, both Rachel and Melvyn crossed the finish line and received their diplomas, all captured by the reporter and the Lancaster Sunday News.  Class of '09 Graduates Melvyn Moore and Rachel Rohland (Photo: Vinnie Tennis/Sunday News) Back to top 5/16/2009 First Annual International Programs Photo Contest -- Winners The top winners of the very first Elizabethtown College Study Abroad Photo contest have been announced. The contest was run by the Center for Global Citizenship -- International Programs -- on the campus. In its first year, the Center received over 80 entries from 26 contestants. Both students and staff from the Center were the judges, awarding winners travel vouchers from Travel Time. In addition, winning photos will appear in Elizabethtown's Study Abroad calendar. For more information on the International Programs Calendar, call Dr. Amy Simes at 717-361-1347. With cultural boundaries blurring and the world becoming increasingly interconnected, Elizabethtown College Center for Global Citizenship brings the world to our students and our students to the world. To help our students develop an appreciation of our global culture, the Center encourages and facilitates study abroad experiences for our U.S. students and provides a support network for international students who elect to study here. Our International Programs provide students with opportunities that expand their worldview by immersing them in another culture. Study abroad is an eye-opening, life-changing experience for Elizabethtown students. Thanks to the efforts of faculty and staff members, increasing numbers of students are participating in the semester-long study abroad opportunities as well as in short-term faculty-led study. Typically, more than 200 Elizabethtown students go abroad annually to study in more than 2 dozen countries.  Grand Prize Winning Photo of the Galapagos Islands by Mark Heinbockel While Studying in Quito, Ecuador  Great Wall of China by Senior Brandon Stolar
Second Place Winner, Emily Grove, took this photo of Herstmonceux Castle (East Sussex, UK) while studying in England.  Kimberly Warriner Won Third Place with Her Photo of Venice While Traveling During Her Study Abroad semester in the U.K. Back to top 5/14/2009 May 28 William Klassen to Lecture on Pilgram Marpeck Pilgram Marpeck: Resisting Oppression from Within On Thursday, May 28, 2009, at 7:30 p.m., the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, will host a lecture by William Klassen, Ph.D. Klassen will discuss the life of Pilgram Marpeck, who was both a civic engineer and an Anabaptist theologian during the tumultuous years of the Reformation. Since the discovery of the “Kunstbuch,” a collection of works by Marpeck and his circle, there has been a major resurgence of interest in Marpeck in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. An early advocate for freedom of religion and separation of church and state, Marpeck helped lay the foundation of the believers’ church and was an important South German Anabaptist leader in the 16th century. This event is free and open to the public.  Klassen is the co-author, with Walter Klaassen, of a new biography,
"Marpeck: A Life of Dissent and Conformity." He has written 14
additional titles since 1962, including "The Contribution of Jewish
Scholars to the Quest for the Historical Jesus" and "Love of Enemies:
The Way to Peace." He is currently adjunct professor and principal
emeritus atSt. Paul’s United College, University of Waterloo, Ontario, and has been professor of New Testament and Peace Studies at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, the University of Manitoba, Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto and the École Biblique, Jerusalem. Klassen received his Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. A reception for Klassen will be held at 7:00 p.m., preceding the lecture. Back to top 5/12/2009 Students Travel to Washington for Hearing on Anti-Dumping Dr. Sylvester E. Williams IV, Professor of business and business law, took his BA 337 International Legal Environment of Business students to Washington, D.C., April 6, to attend an anti-dumping hearing at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC).  The hearing pertained to the final phase of a countervailing duty investigation and final phase of anti-dumping investigation to determine whether an industry in the U.S. is materially injured by subsidized imports from China and less-than-fair-value imports from Canada and China of citric acid and certain citrate salts. The students received a high-level briefing from the General Council of the ITC on presidential proclamations and the harmonized tariff schedule. Also, an industry analyst provided insight into the steps taken to find material injury. At the hearing, the chairman of the ITC recognized the group from Elizabethtown College. Every spring Dr. Williams takes this class to attend a hearing at the ITC to apply the principles of trade policy learned over the semester. Back to top 5/12/2009 Professor Milt Friedly's Work on Exhibition Through July 3 Milt Friedly, Professor of Art, had his etching “Jetty” selected for the juried exhibition “Make Your Mark,” hosted by the Whitaker Center for the Sciences and Arts, Harrisburg. The exhibition was organized by the Susquehanna Art Museum and runs through Friday, July 3. An opening reception is planned from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight, May 12, at the Whitaker Center. His digital photograph, “Bull Rider,” is part of the PA Arts Experience – The Susquehanna Valley Artists Trail exhibition which runs through June 18 at Lancaster Arts Hotel.hing selected for Make Your Mark exhibit, digital photo in Susquehanna Valley exhibit.  Back to top 5/12/2009 Commencement Speaker Mary Ellen McNish to Receive Honorary Degree Elizabethtown College’s 106th Commencement will be held Saturday, May 16, 2009, at 11 a.m. A record number of students, 524, will be participating in this year’s commencement, held in the Dell on the E-town campus. The event is the culmination of a week of special activities for seniors at Elizabethtown College. Ms. Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), will address this year’s graduates and receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the College. Mary Ellen McNish was appointed general secretary of the American Friends Service Committee by its board of directors in June 2000. In this position, she is responsible for the administration of programs and projects in more than 22 countries and nine regions in the United States. Before joining the Service Committee, Ms. McNish was executive director of development at Weil Medical College of Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, and the assistant vice president for development at Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University in Philadelphia, Pa.  She has more than 20 years of progressive responsibility in nonprofit management. Ms. McNish has worked for the Young Women’s Christian Association of Camden County (N.J.) and the Burlington County (N.J.) Community Action Agency. A former chief operating officer of Planned Parenthood of Maryland, Ms. McNish spent 13 years in several roles in the Friends General Conference, including assistant presiding clerk. She is an experienced public speaker and has particular strengths in strategic planning, fundraising, team building, operations and organizational development. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from East Stroudsburg University and a master’s degree in business from The Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), will address this year’s graduates. AFSC is a Quaker organization devoted to peace and justice in the U.S. and around the world. The organization is a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for its work in post-World War II Germany. A graduate of East Stroudsburg University and Johns Hopkins, Ms. McNish has served as General Secretary since 2000. During that time she has represented AFSC on peace delegations to North Korea, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, as well as at Nobel Peace Laureate Summits. During her tenure, the organization has been active in community building in Bosnia, enhancing the education system in Afghanistan, peace advocacy regarding the Iraq war, and flood relief in the gulf region, Honduras, and areas affected by the Tsunami. She oversees an array of ongoing programs, including those addressing economic and social justice, immigrant rights, African development, and Israeli-Palestinian peace. She is a frequent speaker on issues regarding human rights, economic justice and conflict transformation. Back to top 5/12/2009 Borough Manager, Pete Whipple, to Receive Honorary Degree at Commencement On Saturday, May 16 at 11:00 a.m. Elizabethtown College will hold its 106th Commencement. Peter Whipple, Borough Manager of Elizabethtown will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree that day. Whipple has served the Borough of Elizabethtown, Pa., for more than three decades. As borough manager, Mr. Whipple has been instrumental in several significant projects that have enhanced the financial health of the community and improved public services to its residents and businesses. Highlighting his tenure with the municipality are projects that raised funding and managed the acquisition of a privately-held water utility, upgraded and expanded the community’s wastewater treatment plant, and planned a $9-million intermodal transportation center renovation.  As a leader of a local task force, Mr. Whipple supported Elizabethtown’s economic growth through the development of a master plan for the borough’s downtown. He also coordinated a major industrial plant expansion in the downtown, which included a $3-million street relocation and extension, and facilitated a $14-million commercial and residential adaptive reuse project involving public and private participation. Reflective of his outstanding leadership and considerable efforts, Elizabethtown Borough was recognized in 2009 with the Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence. In addition to his work with the borough, Mr. Whipple is actively involved in his community. He is a board member and/or officer of a number of organizations, including the Susquehanna Municipal Trust, the Elizabethtown Fire Protection Endowment Fund, the Elizabethtown Area Regional Authority, and the Elizabethtown Industrial Development Authority. He also is a member of the Lancaster County (Pa.) Planning Commission’s Water Resources Advisory Committee and Economic Development Task Force, the International City/County Management Association, the Association for Pennsylvania Municipal Management, and the Friendship Fire and Hose Company No. 1. Mr. Whipple actively supports Elizabethtown College as one of our annual Homecoming parade judges and through his involvement with the Hillel student group. He earned a bachelor’s degree in government and law from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in public administration, with a concentration in local government, from Penn State. Back to top 5/11/2009 Randazzo Appointed to Board of Advisors Director of Admissions and Marketing for Continuing Ed to Advise Editor of Jossey Bass Publication Barbara Randazzo, Director of Admissions and Marketing for the Center for Continuing Education and Distance Learning at Elizabethtown College (CCEDL), has joined the Board of Advisors for Nontraditional Students Report. NSR is a national newsletter for higher education professionals serving adult students and advisory board members are chosen for their expertise in the area of adult education. Published monthly, it covers such topics as marketing strategies, accelerated learning, prior learning assessment, and many others. Jossey-Bass, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, is the publisher and Randazzo will serve in an advisory capacity to the editor.  Randazzo has tallied ten years in the dynamic field of Continuing Education, one of the fastest growing areas of higher education. She was a key member of the original task force for accelerated learning programs at Elizabethtown College. As Director of Admissions and Marketing for Elizabethtown CCEDL, she is responsible for marketing academic programs at multiple off campus locations including Lancaster, Harrisburg and the newly opened campus in York. She is responsible for strategic planning, identifying and seizing new growth opportunities, as well as enrollment management. Elizabethtown CCEDL enrollment has surged 92% in the past four years under hear marketing and enrollment leadership. Randazzo has an extensive background in progressively responsible Human Resources positions. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from St. Joseph’s University, and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Leadership and Business Ethics at Duquesne University. Randazzo lives in Lebanon, PA, with her family. Back to top 5/9/2009 K9 Club Pup-E-Palooza Holds Successful Puppy Party on Campus Ruffing it Pup-E-Palooza works to give every dog its day Intelligencer Journal by Jennifer Todd, Staff WriterPixie had one thing on her mind. As "OK, OK, be patient," Weidman said as she handed Pixie a recently purchased treat. "You can't tell she's spoiled, can you?" Weidman, of With the treat safely in her belly, Pixie tugged on her leash, ready to meet more canine friends at Pup-E-Palooza, held Sunday at Elizabethtown College's Brinser Field. Pup-E-Palooza, now in its fourth year, is organized by the school's K-9 Club. Sunday's event featured live music, face painting, demonstrations, raffles and games. "As a group, we volunteer at various rescue groups and attend animal-rights meetings," senior Jasmine Gollup, co-president of the K-9 Club, said Sunday. "This is our way of bringing attention to those things to our school and to the community. Some of these rescue groups need all the support they can get." About 22 vendors set up tents around Brinser Field Sunday and offered everything from stylish dog collars to gourmet treats and lush doggie beds — all the necessary tools for spoiling your pooch. And then there were some pooches who would give anything to be spoiled. Muffin, Lucky and Powder sprawled out on the cool grass under The Dogs' Den tent, just waiting for someone to come by and offer them a home. "It's been difficult with the poor economy," said Durkey said she has about 38 dogs in foster care who need homes. Muffin, Lucky and Powder were all surrendered by their owners, volunteer Proceeds from this year's Pup-E-Palooza benefited Brookline Labrador Retriever Rescue, Cocker Spaniel Adoption Center and Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue. ### The K9 Club at E-town is dedicated to the awareness that canines are loving, loyal, and intelligent animals that deserve a good home with a family willing to return the love. The club shall strive to raise money for non-profit animal rescue organizations and causes. Business professor Back to top 5/7/2009 Blue Jay Hall of Fame Inducts Seven Alums Elizabethtown College inducted seven new members into its Ira R. Herr Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, May 9 during the Blue Jay Athletics Alumni Reunion banquet. This year's inductees are W. Randall (Randy) Stauffer '76, a member of the men's tennis team, Jeffrey R. (Jeff) Stauffer '80, a member of the men's tennis team, Gary E. Scheib '80, a member of the wrestling team, Darcy (Hall) Thompson '89, a member of the volleyball team, Brad D. Hassinger '90, a member of the baseball team, Chris E. Morgan '91, a member of the men's soccer team, and Jaclyn (Zimmerman) Waldron '99, a member of the women's swimming team. In addition, former men's basketball and men's tennis coach Don Smith will receive the Joseph A. Whitmore Outstanding Service to Student Athletes Award, and the late Ray Diener '65 will be the posthumous recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award. Read More Back to top 5/7/2009 Golf Team Places 1st at Commonwealth Conference Championships The Elizabethtown College golf team won its second consecutive Commonwealth Conference championship by seven strokes over Albright College at Blue Ridge Country Club. Junior Kurt Amen (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown) became the first Blue Jay golfer since Ben Smith in 1995 to win a conference individual championship as he shot 156 over 36 holes for a one-stroke victory over teammate Nick Iacono (Hockessin, DE/Sanford School) and Erik Thorn of Albright. Amen was honored as the conference's Player of the Year while Iacono was recognized as Rookie of the Year as the top first-time performer at the conference meet. Elizabethtown head coach Keith Marks was named Coach of the Year for the second straight year for leading his team to back-to-back titles. With the conference championship, the Blue Jays earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Golf Championships to be held May 13-16 at the PGA Village at Port St. Lucie, Florida. After shooting 311 and holding a 16-stroke lead over Albright following Sunday's opening round, the Blue Jays turned in a 327 on Monday but the Lions could card no better than 318. Back to top 5/6/2009 Eight Blue Jays Names to All-MAC Women's Lacrosse ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Eight members of the Elizabethtown College women's lacrosse team have been named to the All-Middle Atlantic Conference team, the conference office announced Tuesday. Senior attack Katie Foley (Palmyra, NJ/Holy Cross) was honored for the second time in her career as MAC Player of the Year after setting school single-season records with 84 goals and 115 points, and was joined on the first team by senior midfielder Anna Ford (Salisbury, MD/Homeschooled). Earning second-team honors were junior attack Megan Byrnes (Lutherville, MD/Towson), junior midfielder Katie Caprinolo (Jarrettsville, MD/North Harford), sophomore midfielder Sarah Cullinan (West Chester, PA/West Chester East), senior defenders Lyndsey Reeve (Turnersville, NJ/Washington Township) and Dana Simmons (Flourtown, PA/Plymouth-Whitemarsh) and senior goalkeeper Jenn Hawkins (Havre de Grace, MD/Havre de Grace). As a group, they led the Blue Jays to a 16-3 overall record and a perfect 11-0 mark in MAC play. Elizabethtown was ranked as high as 16th in the IWLCA Division III poll and advanced to the MAC championship game for the second consecutive season. Back to top 5/6/2009 Senior Guzik Named to NCAA III Softball Third - Team All-Regional Marian Guzik Selected Third-Team All-Region in Softball ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College senior outfielder Marian Guzik (Greensburg, PA/Hempfield Area) was named third-team Division III All-East Region by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, the NFCA announced Tuesday. She is the first Elizabethtown player to be named All-Region since Kelli Thon was a second-team selection in 2007, and is the 10th different Blue Jay player to be an All-Region pick. Guzik, a first-team All-Commonwealth Conference selection, is ranked seventh in the conference in batting average at .385, and she led the Blue Jays in hits (45) and runs scored (20) while sharing the team lead in doubles with five. She led the Blue Jays with 13 multiple-hit games and had the team's longest hitting streak of the year at 11 games. For her career, Guzik finished with a .324 batting average in 115 games, and is tied for seventh on the school's career hits list with 111. The Blue Jays finished 11-25 overall and 4-8 in the Commonwealth Conference in 2009, playing a challenging scheduled that included six games against NCAA Division III tournament participants. Back to top 5/6/2009 "Pancake Prince of Hempfield H.S." to Attend E-town -- Class of '13 Princes of the Pancake Breakfast-loving wrestlers win Hempfield’s first-ever Student Chef competition By MARY BETH SCHWEIGERT, Staff Writer Lancaster Online Jordan Stepanchick isn't shy about sharing the "secret" behind his prize-winning pancakes. "Eggos," he says. The frozen favorites — warmed and topped with bananas, strawberries and blueberries — propelled Jordan and Ben Kramer to victory in Hempfield High School's first-ever Student Chef competition. Classmates chose the duo's Fruit-Topped Pancakes from original lunch entrees created by five student teams. The winning pancakes will appear in the school's 2009-10 menu cycle. Jordan and Ben, who celebrated their victory with high-fives, also won the title of "Hempfield Student Chef 2009" and chef's jackets embroidered with the Hempfield logo. The boys looked to their favorite meal — breakfast — to come up with Fruit-Topped Pancakes. "We're both wrestlers," says Ben, the son of Larry and Julie Kramer, Landisville. "We're always trying to lose weight for that. We thought we'd make something healthy." Jordan figures they won because the pancakes were different. Two of the other four contestants were wraps; two were pasta dishes. All five entrees were served in the school cafeteria the week of April 27. The May 1 vote was very close, district child nutrition department supervisor Joan L. Wheeler says, with 685 high schoolers casting ballots. Student Chef started as a way to solicit new menu ideas from students. The contest was so popular, Wheeler says, that more than one finalist may end up in next year's menu rotation. "(Students) know what they like and don't like," she says. "It's easier for them to tell us than for us to guess." Jordan, a senior, and Ben, a junior, entered the contest because, as Ben puts it, "It was something to do." "It was a good opportunity for the student body as a whole to try different lunches, instead of having the same thing day in and day out," says Jordan, the son of Gary and Karen Stepanchick, West Hempfield Township.” We got to try all-new things." When it comes to school lunches, teenagers tend to be brutally honest about their likes and dislikes. "Most of the time we hear they're tired of the same thing," Wheeler says. "I think that's (the) biggest complaint.” The high school offers six to 10 daily lunch-entree choices, in a menu cycle that repeats every five weeks. The stakes are high. About 1,950 high schoolers — or 85 percent — buy at least one school meal every day, Wheeler says. Student Chef, a joint venture between the district's child nutrition department and wellness council, was open to any student at the high school. Staff whittled 33 student teams down to six finalists. Recipes had to fit nutritional criteria, use common cafeteria ingredients — that would include Eggo pancakes — and be feasible to produce. (Only one or two entries were really off the wall, Wheeler says.) The six finalists prepared their dishes for Hempfield School Board members to sample and vote on at their April meeting. Monday, April 27, through Friday, May 1, cafeteria staff prepared and served between 734 and 840 portions of the board's top five vote getters. Hempfield plans a second Student Chef competition next year. Fruit-Topped Pancakes, which will be served with Canadian bacon or another meat for protein, may also appear on menus at the district's middle schools, Wheeler says. "I think (students) have a better understanding of what school lunch is — how hard it is to think up a product and put it out there," she says. Finalists Ryan Stadel and Christine Mavraganis say their Homemade Lasagna was inspired by the popularity of the cafeteria's pasta bar. "That is a big deal," Christine says, before last month's school board meeting. "It's pretty much a holiday at Hempfield." (Having sampled the lasagna, Jordan, who will study criminal justice at Elizabethtown College, expected it would be his stiffest competition.) But pasta and wraps proved no match for Jordan and Ben, who squashed the competition, well, like a pancake. Back to top 5/5/2009 Blue Jays Baseball Wins Conference Title
Only the ninth head coach in the history of the Elizabethtown College baseball program, he guided the team to its 1,000th all-time victory, a Commonwealth Conference title and an NCAA Division III tournament appearance in his first season at the Blue Jays' helm. Back to top 5/5/2009 Professor Gottfried on Obama's Approval Ratings Article by Professor Paul Gottfried, Ph.D. Obama's High Approval Ratings Could Change on a Dime Lancaster New Era Published: May 02, 2009 By PAUL E. GOTTFRIED Now that the controversy generated by the tea-party protests is fading into memory, it might be useful to measure their historic significance. If the president's opponents were hoping to display their numerical strength in the face of Democratic spending programs, the result of their efforts was quite modest. From what we can tell, the protests drew about 450,000 participants, at most, from across the country. No matter what excuses are given to explain these unimpressive numbers, be it rainy weather or hasty organization, the tea-party participants seemed relatively few in comparison to those millions who rallied in Washington, New York, San Francisco and other major cities last summer in defense of the "right" of illegal aliens to remain in the U.S. Even granting that illegals and their families were among these demonstrators, other groups also poured out for these rallies &tstr; such as social-service employees, teachers, clergy and loads of college students. It is unlikely this event did better than the tea parties because of greater media support. One could see on TV the relative numbers of both groups of demonstrators and, from the density of the crowds, it would seem that the amnesty rallies had far more mass support than the tea parties. What made the tea parties worth watching were the remarks of some of the protesters and the malicious coverage that came from network-news commentators. Some of the demonstrators expressed contempt for the two national parties and insisted that neither paid any real attention to the Constitution (strictly interpreted). Others were complaining that the current American administrative state had nothing to do with the principles for which the American Revolution had been fought, and that we were better off under George III, who for the most part left the American colonies alone. Network commentators, and especially those representing CNN, seemed genuinely belligerent toward the protesters. CNN contributor Paul Begala mouthed off famously against the lack of patriotism among the tea-party activists, who objected to paying what they regarded as exorbitant taxes. One CNN reporter began to rage on TV against a protester whom she was supposedly interviewing. Various entertainers stepped in to trash the demonstrators, perhaps most stupidly the actress Janeane Garofalo who opined: "It's about hating a black man in the White House. This is nothing but racism straight up and is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks." In view of the size of the crowds, the president's popularity, and Democratic control of the federal government (including presumably most of the federal bureaucracy), one wonders why the media assumed the role of thought police. Presumably the Hollywood types were doing nothing more interesting than flaunting the views they had picked up at disco clubs and their predictably poor English grammar. But why did CNN commentators like Begala and Anderson Cooper go ballistic, dumping on the demonstrators? Three explanations seem to hold true. One, the media commentators overestimated the strength of the resistance to a beloved chief executive. In all likelihood, they believed they were confronting a more numerous opposition than they actually met. I myself was struck by the meager turnouts, having believed from, among others, TV celebrity Glenn Beck, that the demonstrations would pull far many more sympathizers than they did. I recall meeting a Ron Paul activist a few weeks ago, who kept telling me, "We have them surrounded." He had heard that from Beck the day before. Explanation two, the media may be preparing to silence any real opposition to the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress. The controversial economic, social, and foreign policies pursued by the current administration could create noisy resistance, and the media came forth as diehard defenders of the Democrats, in order to let Obama's critics know what might await those who gripe. While the president and first lady continue to enjoy high popularity ratings, partly because of unrelenting media hype, this trend may change if the American economy goes further south. Obama's popularity rests on the perception of him as "someone who can be trusted" and as a celebrity whose image journalists, TV commentators and the entertainment industry are all working hard to keep intact. But what happens if the unemployment rate shoots up more and if American money is further devalued as a result of inflation caused by the recently passed stimulus programs? At that point, Obama's chief strength &tstr; which lies in the fact that the majority of Americans trust him as a leader, according to the latest Marist Poll &tstr; may be diminished. Note that, for his followers, Obama is not just an officeholder but someone destined to introduce significant change &tstr; such as nationalized health care, federal support for abortion rights and a hate-crime bill now sailing through the Democratic House. It is therefore imperative for the Obamaites to stifle opposition before it takes off. The tea parties were as good a time as any to start this work of dissuasion. --- Paul E. Gottfried is Raffensperger Professor of Humanities at Elizabethtown College. |
The Blue Jays (27-13 overall) won four elimination games in a span of 30 hours to win their third conference title in four years and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Baseball tournament, which begins May 13.
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