<p>In an interview this week, Elie Weisel shares his observations about the spirit and strength of Chapman University, where he is a Distinguished Presidential Fellow (five year stint underway). Worth a read...excerpts and link below. </p>
<p><<ORANGE – Many notable guest lecturers, speakers and teachers have visited Chapman University during its 150-year-plus history. </p>
<p>Q. What brought you to Chapman?</p>
<p>A. I am a teacher, which means that I am a good student. My permanent chair is at Boston University. I've been there for more than 40 years. I came here four years ago for a lecture, and then I came a second time. I found here tremendous faculty, first of all. ...</p>
<p>And then, Professor Marilyn Harran, who is so committed to Chapman and to the subject of Holocaust, she came and convinced me. In the beginning, she called me and I said, 'No' a few times. She came back and finally, I said, Yes.'</p>
<p>So I'm impressed with the faculty and the spirit in this place. The ambiance, as we say, is good. Students are so close to one another without any problem of jealousy or envy is good. And all that together appeals to me.</p>
<p>Q. In your book, "Night," and in a lecture, you examine the duality of hope being both good and bad. In today's political and social culture, where would you say hope is?</p>
<p>A. Hope is where ever men and women of all colors and all conditions realize that something is missing in their lives. That's when hope is the name that one invokes. Where is hope to be found? In my attempt to give an answer, hope is in the other. It's not in me, but in the other. It is the way I behave with and towards another.</p>
<p>If I see in the other an enemy, an adversary or a competitor ... the other must be my ally, possibly my friend. That helps both of us. It helps us because if I see in the other less than he or she deserves, then he or she is along and I am alone. That is really why I teach and I love teaching.</p>
<p>Full article: Nobel</a> laureate concerned about fanatics | questions, hope, don - News - The Orange County Register</p>