Meredith
September 17,2003
ULjei^ald
Volume XVVI, Issue-2' V
Nobel prize for peace recipient Elie
Wiesel addresses Mereditii toniglit
AMY KAY
NICKERSON
Staff Writer
Nobel Prize for
Peace recipient,
Elle Wiesel will
speak on campus
today. The speech Is
part of Meredith’s
convocation series
and the Summer
Reading Program.
Many students have
asked, "How did Meredith
College get such a promi
nent speaker like Dr. Elie
Wiesel?" The process all
started a year ago, with just
a "wouldn't it be neat" con«
versation between Friends
of the Library Board mem
ber Pat Stumpf and John
Kincheloe from Media
Services
Stumpf wrote to Wiesel,
a holocaust survivor,
author, and Nobel Laureate,
while Kincheloe talked to
various people, including
Sam Carothers, campus
minister; Lisa Fredenburgh,
Interim Director of
Convocations, and others
who have an influence on
convocation speakers.
Through their diligence and
determination, Wiesel is
here today.
Stiunpf, a local batik
artist, first picked up a
book by Wiesel in 1999.
“^// Rivers Run to the
Sea is one of the books 1
have read and re-read,"
Stiunpf said. "That first
time, I got to page 104,
about one-fifth of the way
through the
book, and my
heart ached. I
felt com
pelled to sit
down and
write to Mr.
Wiesel to tell
him how
sorry I was
and that what
happened to
him should
not happen to
any child.
Not only that,
but I also
wanted him
to know that
another
Christian
woman gen
uinely cared."
That day,
Stumpf began
a correspon
dence that
she has kept
up over the
past four
years.
"He
replied to me,
as I am sure
he would do
to anyone that
wrote to him, and I have
tried not to take advantage
of his friendliness," Stumpf
said. "I wrote to him twice
a year, sometimes three,
and each time I asked if he
would be interested in com
ing to Raleigh."
The idea got off the
ground three years later,
when the conversation took
place between Stumpf and
Kincheloe. After that con-
Dr. Elie Wiesel will address the Meredith
community tonight.
Photo couiiesy of Boston University website.
versation, according to
Stumpf, Kincheloe did a
great job of picking out
people who could make it
happen.
From Carothers to
Fredenburgh, the Raleigh-
Cary Jewish Federation, to
the North Carolina Council
on the Holocaust and final
ly to the Lillian Parker
Wallace Lecture Fund, the
idea bounced around, gain
ing momentum and support
at every turn.
"The funds
are set up to
bring in people
of international
influence, and
Wiesel certain
ly has that,”
Fredenburgh
said; "We also
wanted to cre
ate a liaison
between
Meredith and
ithe Jewish
community."
A small
exploratory
Iplanning group
including mem
bers of the
Convocation
Committee,
Carothers,
Friends of the
Library board
members, the
head of the
Raleigh-Cary
Jewish
Federation and
of the N.C.
Council on the
Holocaust, and
five Rabbis
from the local
Jewish community, formed
in the beginning to deter
mine the likelihood of Dr.
Wiesel's visit. After his ini
tial acceptance, the group
continued to meet once a
month throughout the sum
mer.
"Sometimes we talked
about him; sometimes we
just talked about life,"
Fredenburgh said concern
ing the group’s monthly
meetings. "It was really a
joy to meet with these men
and women.
Fredenburgh asserted
that the fimction of convo
cations is to raise the intel
lectual climate at Meredith.
"It is important that peo
ple think widely,"
Fredenburgh explained, "So
when smdents are sitting
together at lunch, we'd like
that instead of chatting
about what their plans are
for the weekend, for stu
dents to examine the merit
of Mr. Wiesel’s convocation
points, basically, get down
to the nitty-gritty."
Continued on Page 3
See Wiesel
On the inside:
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