Letter from Alumnus

I graduated from Long Island University in 1985. Back then, we simply called it “CW Post.” While attending Post, I took a class in Political Science with Professor Stanley Jarolem. That class, along with others that I took with other professors at the campus, changed my life. Because of the enthusiasm with which those professors taught, my
interest in education skyrocketed.

I went from being a “C” student in high school to an “A” student in college. I went from having no idea what I wanted to do for a career to knowing that I wanted to become a lawyer (a decision I’ve never looked back on).

Several years ago, I returned to the campus to work from the library, as I still do today to break up the monotony of working from home. I reflected on my education I got at Post and how satisfied I was with it. In walking the campus and passing through Humanities Hall, however, I saw no portraits of Professor Jarolem, no photographs of him, no statutes of him, no Hall or classroom was named after him; not even a plaque on a bench bore his name.

It was as though he (and my other professors) never existed – disturbingly akin to the ending of the movie Titanic when Rose was talked about how Jack saved her in so many different ways, but how Jack existed only in her mind many years later.

That saddens me to no end. How could someone who made such a significant contribution to my life (and others) as well as the school’s reputation not be publicly acknowledged in any respect? As I looked around the campus, there was nothing anywhere to recognize any of the staff who taught at this school over the 50+ years it has been in existence. It was as though the school has no history to speak of.

That needs to be changed. If Post is to build upon the recentlyadopted initiatives by its administration, the administration (as the prior ones should have) need to acknowledge the history of the school and that classes and professors that came before the present ones. In that respect, the school needs to build upon its past, so it is not simply viewed as just another stop in the pursuit of one’s education.

Some acknowledgment of the school’s academic history is in order. There is, after all, a tradition of which to be proud. Otherwise, the school will be viewed as little more than an assembly line factory in the wheels of education. At least during the time I attended Post, certain professors I had were giants who deserve to be recognized for their academic contributions as well as the personal ones they made to the student
body.

Sincerely,
Mitchell Dranow
Class of ’85