Lisa Portmess

Lisa Portmess

Professor of Philosophy

Class of 1972

"I was involved in anti-war activities on campus, and participated in several of the mass demonstrations that took place in Washington.  Large discussions with standing room only took place in Weidensall Lobby on the war and on corporate involvement, on the My Lai massacre, the use of napalm and Agent Orange, purposeful environmental destruction and the high casualty rates among civilians." 

"I remember the gravity of the pillars of the Chapel draped in black and the names of the war dead read aloud.  The mood of campus was intense and dramatic, with deep divisions between those sympathetic to the war protests and those who were not."

"The mood of the campus was intense and dramatic."

"My senior seminar focused on ethical questions and war; my senior thesis focused on war propaganda."

"I had my first full time position at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. When the time came for me to look for a position in the U.S., I wrote to the philosophy department at Gettysburg for advice and help in applying - something much harder to do from overseas before email existed, especially from a war zone."

"The Department happened to be in the midst of a search and the first choice candidate had declined the offer. I was interviewed by Chan Coulter and Richard Schubart by telephone (at midnight Lebanese time!) and offered the job.  That next fall I arrived to find several familiar faces among the faculty and a welcoming department."