Letters - Fall 2016

I received my latest Terp (Fall 2016), and read the wonderful articles. I especially enjoyed the one on one of our alums, Michelle Singletary. I read her in The Washington Post, and especially enjoy her personal touch and her family stories. The article published in this edition shed a little more on her life and her philosophy, I enjoyed it very much.I hope you will continue to highlight our alums who manage to do well and praise their U of MD experience for all to appreciate.

Continued success and Go Terps!

Peter A. Mnatzakanian ’76, M.A. ’81

I would like to congratulate you on what I believe is the best issue of Terp that you have published recently. I say “recently” because I graduated in 1950 and surely there have been other excellent issues since then. I particularly enjoyed “Dishing on Dining”, “A Century of UMD Women,” “Class Act,” and the article on Joseph Weber was of particular interest as one grandson is getting his Ph.D. in physics. I also enjoyed “Change in Her Pocket,” “The Keys to the Community” and “The Thick Red Line.” Well done articles that were timely in their messages. I was a speech major so, of course, I appreciated reading about the acoustics of Shakespeare’s Globe theater.

Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!

Bettye W. Smith Kleovoulos ’50, M.A. ’52

Kudos to you and the entire editorial staff for the excellent articles in the Fall 2016 Terp magazine.

The most powerful piece was “The Thick Red Line,” which explained the process of “redlining,” which confined African Americans nationwide to specific neighborhoods outside the post-World War II housing boom. This is yet another example of the insidious nature of racism that has denied people of color the opportunity to share in the pride and prosperity of home ownership for themselves and their children. I hope that this article and the ensuing digital atlas will be publicized widely.

The next logical step is to harness the vast resources of the universities around the country to rectify the hurt and damage that has been caused. With the expertise and experience of the academic community, the intelligence and enthusiasm of the students and the endowments held by the universities, lasting change and some measure of recompense are possible. Please continue to report on this important initiative.

Margaret Kaplan ’75

I receive at least a half-dozen alumni mags including from Ivy League schools and yours is very good and has the best art/graphics/illustrations. My favorite column is always the archivist column, although I’m not wild about it being called “Ask Anne.” It does not tell the reader the subject of the column nor does the term “Class Act,” which puts me in the mind of class or alumni news.Please watch the sexist word choice used too often in the copy. Terppresented a fascinating story profiling Michelle Singletary who is described as “no-nonsense.” Other descriptions of her might be “practical,” “wise” or “economizing.” The cover, however, describes her as “Feisty Financial Columnist.” She does not seem “feisty” at all. This is an adjective applied only to women, as you’ll recognize. The word choice seems awfully sexist to me, and I noticed it immediately and took umbrage.

Also, although the story properly refers to Singletary by her surname, its sidebar uses her first name (“Michelle’s Financial Philosophy”) and a section break is headed “Michelle 2.0.” I’ve read lots of stories about people in finance, and all men are always referred to by the last names. Jeremy Siegel, a professor at UPenn’s Wharton School, gives investment advice from time to time, and his tips are never referred to as “Jeremy’s Stock Philosophy.”

Please avoid trivializing women. No writer or copy editor should be allowed to use sex-stereotyped phrases, especially when they inaccurately describe a woman.

I am now going to follow Singletary’s columns. Thank you for bringing her to our attention. What a talented and hard-working woman she is.

Jan Pottker M.A. ’71

Just got my most recent Terp and could not have been more delighted as I read “Changes in Opportunity.” I had no idea Maryland was on the cutting edge of respect for trans people. It makes me very, very proud to be a graduate of such a university. Keep up the great work of respecting ALL people and making life a little easier for trans people in transition. Bravo!

Pat Mail ’96

I just read the Fall issue of Terp. You do a really great job on this publication, and I always look forward to staying in touch with alumni news at UMD.

In many of your issues, you provide news of school building projects, as you have done again in the fall issue. You should know that there are many UMD graduates working on these projects. I am the COO of Ayers Saint Gross, Architects, with offices in Baltimore, Washington and Phoenix. I am also chairman of the Board of Visitors of the School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning.

My firm has designed the Edward St. John Learning Center and the master plan for the New Southern Gateway, both of which were mentioned in the fall issue. In addition, my firm has designed the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, the Eppley Recreation Center, the Ritchie Colosseum renovations and the Stadium Drive Parking Garage. At last count, my firm had 40+ UMD-trained architects working on these projects and more, around the world.

I just thought that you should know. Keep up the great work!

Glen Birx ’80

Just finished my Terp fall edition. Many thanks for all your hard work over the years! I have especially enjoyed the Campus Life and Ask Anne sections.

This fall marks the 50th anniversary of my husband and I meeting at a beer bash on Sept. 30, 1966. Not sure we will be attending the reunion events, but hope to tour campus around that time. Unbelievable the changes in College Park you have outlined over the years. We will never find anything familiar! Thank you again.

Jill Ashworth DeCesare ’69