Issue date: 10/13/06 Section: Letters to the editors

Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel shared a message of peace with the campus.

When I reserved my ticket for the President's Convocation honoring Elie Wiesel, I can honestly say that I didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into. It was not until the beginning of the week when the entire campus was in a hustle to prepare for the event that I realized the honor that Cabrini should and did feel for hosting such an event.

To be quite honest, I was a little excited and nervous at the same time to be attending a convocation for a man who survived the Holocaust. "He survived the Holocaust", was all I could think about. What did this man look like? Did he really survive? There were so many questions running through my mind that I couldn't wait to hear what he would have to say to our community. At first sight, I was amazed at Elie Wiesel. Just to see him you can tell that he is such a proud man and knowing what he has been through, how could he even find a smile?

When the convocation began with Valley Forge Military playing the trumpets, I was immediately moved by the environment. You could sense the anticipation, love and pain in the room. As Elie Wiesel began to speak to us, his voice was calm and friendly. Right away he answered the question that was running through most people's minds. Why aren't you mad at the world? His reason for not being mad at the world was as simple as four words. He said, "we have a right". The right to make decisions based on our experiences. You have the right to be mad or not to be mad. Wiesel has obviously chose to not be mad at the world but make the most of the world that he is fortunate to still be a part of.

Secondly, Wiesel spoke about the books that he has written. I have not read Night, however, I plan on reading this book in the near future. I love how he said that it is not a novel, but a memorial. He told us that every word on every page is true. Even the blank spaces between words are true. I think that is something to really think about. How often do you give the white space any significant meaning? I think that after that statement, I will notice the space between words as more then a blank space, but as having a part of the truth in the writing.

Wiesel finished his speech of hope and in the last sentence I held on to two words in particular. "Give back". I often find myself trying to do this anyway, but having heard it from someone who has had almost everything taken away from him in the most unimaginable and awful way possible, made me realize that it really is important and possible for everyone to do.

Continued...

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