Elie Wiesel’s currency was memory. So it is more than somewhat ironic that I don’t have specific memories of my time in his class more than 20 years ago, but I do have many, many lasting impressions and images. I remember the whole class being enthralled as he spoke. I remember the power of silences in his classroom. I remember his charisma. I remember feeling massively humbled as detail after detail of his story unraveled. I remember understanding that I was under the spell of a powerful thinker. I remember thinking that you can’t really teach bravery. I remember feeling grateful for all of it.
—Charlotte Butzin Beal ’95
