Page 27 - ThePhoenix1994-95

Cqp1meQtary Thursday, September 29,1994 Pa~e.3 • Perspective In Remembrance Of John Earle On July first John Earle died of through early December of last year, send him into a dark mood. He con- philosophy, and literature" fields cancer. He was just short of reach- at which time he was forced to with- fessed more than once that he was that had especially excited him here ing his twenty-second birthday. draw and take incomptetes in his sometimes afraid of his own anger at college and had begun to stretch Last November doctors discovered courses because of the seriousness and of the consequences it might his mind. He dreamed of being an three tumors in his chest cavity, and of his illness and the need for irnrne- bring. honor student and scholar, perhaps they were weJl advanced. From the diate treatment. He was both an ath- At the same time there was a becoming a teacher one day and, in- beginning the prognosis looked grim tete and a serious student. In the counterbalance to this side of John. deed, as Professor Valdez reminded and John knew that his chances of spring semester of his first year he He was also a poet, a thinker, an us, was already a teacher to many of survival were very slim. The weeks played on the lacrosse team, but he imagtner. The number of poems he us. He equally enjoyed talking and months that followed brought had already been lifting weights on wrote reached into the hundreds. about human relationships, their intensive doses of rudi ati on and che- a regular basis to stay in top shape. They were powerful in their direct- complexity, their hurts, their misun- motherapy and lengthy stays in the During his high school years he had ness and simplicity. Poetry was one derstandings, and especially the hospital. There were some weeks been a champion wrestler as well as of the avenues through which he was search for acceptance and affirma- when John felt well enough to move a lacrosse player. He thoroughly en- able to release some of the tension tion through others. about. He visited the campus last joyed physical sport and compeu- and anger within him. Many of his John suffered from what is known spring with friends, and he flew to tion. At the same time he was a writings had to do not only with his as a germ cell cancer. It turned out Arizona to stay a few days with his great lover of books, reading espe- own thoughts and feelings but also that he was born with a small cell sister. But the cancer was persistent cially in the fields of literature, po- with the relations be had with om- that lay dormant in him for many and, despite the slowing effects of etry, philosophy, and psychology, ers who deeply affected him in years and then, for some undeter- treatment, finally entered into his and be thrived on discussing ideas some way, and of the hurts, yearn- mined reason, erupted with a ven- vital organs and brain and took his and questions. Ings, and joys they produced'. geance. Johns death for many of life. Through the ordeal, in spite of While at college, however, There burned within John a us has raised once again all the hard some discouraging times, he man- John continued to wrestle with the strong desire to learn, something he questions about suffering and its ca- aged to maintain uncommon cour- inner divisions and turmoils that had mentioned on several occasions. pricious occurrence in our world. age, determination, and true grit, been with him most of his life. There Throughout the three semesters he That someone so young and so full of and to fight to the end. was a kind of spiritual malignancy was here John and I had many con- promise should be deprived of the fu- When John entered Western within, as he once called it, an an- versanons on every conceivable ture that most of us anticipate and take Maryland just two falls ago, he was ger, irrepressible and insistent, and subject. What emerged from them for granted - a future including love, starting out on a new odyssey. At the while it drove him forward to were his own keen and often remark- marriage, family, discovery, career, end of his junior year of high school achieve in his physical and tnteltec- able insights, a combination of the fulfilment of dreams and hopes - re- he dropped out to join the navy. He tual endeavors it also caused him intellectually sophisticated and a mains a mystery. There is a tragedy served for two years and called it a much inner turmoil. He was deeply kind of down-to-earth common here that gnaws away within. time of inner wandering and search. affected by events and circum- sense. We talked of T. S. Eliot and Nevertheless John's presence lin- He then completed his high school stances that had shaped his life, and, Ezra Pound the poets, Carl Jung the gers and stays among us, and will for education and came here at the age that caused much pain both to him- psychologist, Hemingway, some time to come. We shall not of twentv. He often referred to the self and to others. Because of that Lawrence, and Faulkner the novel- soon forget his laughter, his love college as his new home, a place pain he sought honesty and integrity Ists. and the various philosophical of fun and his quick sense of humor, where for the first time he felt free, above all else in those about him, be thinkers we were studying at the his direct, heart-felt way of speak- happy, and excited about the future. they teachers, friends, or family. lime. He found a particular affinity ing, and his final courage. We knew He began to enjoy academic suc- Whenever he encountered any kind with Dostoevsky's Brothers him so short a time. We miss him. cess here as he discovered new of untruthfulness, injustice, or Karamazov with its brilliant study of fields of interest and a new sense of abuse of others, he became dis- character and inner turmoil. His Submitted by Robert H. Hartman himself. traught. Sometimes his anger would interests were wide-ranging, and he Professor of Philosophy and Chairman John was a student for three se- strike out with physical force. Other spoke in turn of the possibility of of the Department of Philosophy and mesters at Western Maryland, times it would preoccupy him and majoring in biology, psychology, Religious Studies • Letter SGACalls Hate Mail Life's too short. !!~cceptable In response to the recent incident concerning the dissemination of hateful literature, the Student Government As- sembly would like to make the follow- ing statement of our position: The materials which contained ra- cially, ethnically, and religiously, objec- -uonablc comments were distributed both randomly in dorms and intention- ally placed to target select individuals. While the SGA supports free speech and open discussion of issues, the manner in which the materials were distributed to specific individuals is unacceptable and cannot be condoned. We regret that this incident has occurred and hope that in the future, individuals will take the ini- tiative to act responsibly and respect all Leadership Conference Education Fund, Inc. r!!I members of the college community. Sincerely, SGA