The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh was president of Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987. (Associated Press file)
Re: “Former Notre Dame president Hesburgh dies,” Feb. 28 news brief.
You reported last weekend on the death of Father Theodore Hesburgh, former president of Notre Dame. He was 97.
Father Ted, as he was affectionately called, was both an academic leader and an agent of social change in the U.S. during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. My best memory of his leadership was his ’10-minute rule’ during the height of the Vietnam War protests in 1970. We had 10 minutes to state our grievances about the war and then remove ourselves from blocking the administration building. His charisma made his words stick. However, just a few months later, on May 4, the president of Kent State University requested the governor to send for the Ohio National Guard, which killed four students and wounded nine.
Father Ted was a man ahead of his time. His memory will certainly live on.
Gregory Sullivan,Littleton
This letter was published in the March 7 edition.
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