A plea to Chancellor Young for the art of consideration

A plea to Chancellor Young for the art of consideration

Remember Aaron Lesser, contribute to the children Camper Fund in
his name name

By Michelle E. Lesser

and Gershon M. Lesser

Oliver Wendell Holmes expressed that "Life is action and
passion. It is expected of a man that he share in the action and
passion of his time under penalty of being judged not to have
lived."

George Bernard Shaw, commenting on the art of living, expressed,
"I am convinced my life belongs to the whole community; and as long
as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can, for the
harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life. Life is no brief
candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I got hold of
for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible
before turning it over to future generations."

And John Tabb said, "Every year that I live I am more convinced
that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given, the
powers we have not used, the selfish prudence which will risk
nothing, and which, shirking pain misses happiness as well."

Your classmate of three years ago, Aaron David Lesser,
understood the momentum of the art of living very well. As lead
speaker in the UCLA debate team, he was caught up in the art of
debate. The tragedy of his intentions to represent UCLA well was
his untimely death as he returned with the team in a borrowed van
that the team used. The van’s blown-out tire and other factors
tumbled it over at 70 mph, tossing Aaron to his death.

He has been held by his classmates and team members to have been
a master at the art of living. He was clearly not a master of the
art of mastering fate. William Shakespeare commented, "There is a
tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to
fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows
and in miseries; and we must take the current when it serves, or
lose our ventures."

Thirty days after Aaron’s death, he was elected to mortar board.
He had been offered a potential partnership in an appeals law firm
if he were to successfully complete law school and pass the
bar.

On the fateful moment of his departure for UCLA, he left,
troubled by the reality that he would miss the opportunity to study
for major exams to take place on his return. His girlfriend asked
him not to go; we as his parents did the same. At school, he was
pressured into going. He went.

The motorcycle officer appeared at our home at 10:00 p.m. March
1, 1993 to inform us of our son’s death at 2:30 that afternoon. We
were advised that the chancellor’s office had known about its
occurrence. Since the chancellor did not phone us, we phoned the
chancellor to find out all that we could learn of this silent
tragedy. And that is what we received – silence. The chancellor was
unavailable.

And to this day, the chancellor has made no vocal contact with
this family. We often wonder if Aaron had been a member of the
football team, whether or not Chancellor Young would have
maintained radio silence. The only tears of pain we heard on the
phone were those of his coach.

The chancellor has decided to retire now. We have still not
spoken to the chancellor. At first we were told by outsiders
unconnected with UCLA that perhaps that was due to his concern for
legal liabilities. Then we were informed that he and the university
did not consider its debate team as a team, but as a club for which
they bore no responsibility. It matters not now.

Now beyond the statute of limitations, and having received
neither subpoena nor suit, the chancellor has still not phoned.
Problem is, Aaron is still dead.

We accept that for Aaron’s intuitive sense for the art of
living, we needed to use his lessons about living, even though we
came to excel in the art of suffering and the art of living when
life is difficult. Our charge was to find the lesson in adversity,
and the art of facing sorrow.

What was the chancellor’s interest in his student? Should
leaders of universities not be endowed with the power of truth, the
art of living in community, the teaching about that still small
voice within which must be recognized, then mastered?

Aaron’s birthday was Feb. 24. We still celebrate it. Strangely,
we have waited for a call from Chancellor Young. We know it will
not come, yet in our ongoing search for meaning, we feel its
absence signals a message of what UCLA students may be missing.

What art does Young teach that equates with the lessons Aaron
taught? Has he spent a moment recognizing that in the name of his
institution, a young man gave his life because his team demanded
his art for the sake of a school win? Or are we reaching beyond the
issues of process and simply wondering how in the course of things,
a leader has it so easy in his soul to remain so distant and
unavailable to the phone?

The chancellor need not be concerned about a lawsuit.
Nevertheless, a memorial fund was established in the name of Aaron
Lesser at the Westside YMCA camper department to send impoverished
children to a full summer camp who otherwise could afford nothing
more than trouble on the streets of Los Angeles.

Thus, we extend an opportunity to all who care about that search
for meaning which really must take hold of our educated people if,
in fact, we can remain free and grow. We ask all of you to consider
a donation to the Aaron D. Lesser Camper Fund for children to be
sent to the Westside YMCA not far from UCLA so that a child of any
race, any creed, any color who needs it … can receive a summer of
learning about the art of living and the blessings of
friendship.

We hope the debate team will consider a living gift. Chancellor,
would you care to offer your donation for a lesson to this
community of your concern for the art of work and deed?

Michelle and Gershon Lesser are the parents of Aaron D.
Lesser.Comments to [email protected]