McKelvy House Scholars Will Host Dinner Discussion on Ghosts Today

The McKelvy House Scholars invite the campus to join a dinner discussion about ghosts and ghost stories today.

Dinner begins at 6 p.m. at McKelvy House, 200 High Street. Jesslyn Roebuck ’06 (Montgomery, N.Y.) will lead the discussion at 6:30 p.m.

“I studied abroad last semester. In each of the countries I traveled, stories of hauntings and ghosts represented defining cultural similarities,” says Roebuck, an double major in English and international affairs. “Ghost stories have this mesmerizing allure of both skepticism and believability. Some people are drawn into these stories, and other people seem very uncomfortable around them. Still others exhibit both forms of social interactions; they cannot help but be drawn into the story’s allure.”

She poses several questions for participants to consider before the discussion:

• What is the most precise definition of a ghost?
• What draws people to ghost stories and spiritual tales?
• Are ghosts just good fodder for story telling?
• Is it because of the “unknown” we feel we must rationalize and explain it to ourselves?
• Is it because at some point each one of us has connected with what believers say is a spirit?
• Are these spirits perhaps the fibers that weave all cultures into what we call humankind?
• Are we drawn to the idea and presence of spirits because we need to feel that we are not as alone as it sometimes seems?

As preparation for the discussion, Roebuck offers the following web sites:

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia’s definition of “ghost”
• A listing of “haunted” places across Pennsylvania
• An article about superstitions in Thailand that resulted from the tsunami

“McKelvy offers the intellectual outlet and discussion format that some students crave in both a formal and informal manner,” says Roebuck, a double major in English and international affairs. “I wanted to be a part of a group that considered themselves examples of the intellectual Lafayette community.”

Roebuck is editor-in-chief of the Marquis literary magazine and co-founder of the Literary Society. She is also a member of CHILL (Creating a Healthy, Interesting, Livable Lafayette) and a volunteer through Lafayette’s Landis Community Outreach Center. In addition, she has served as a writing associate, an event supervisor for Recreation Services, and vice president of International Affairs Club. She was one of two students to earn honorable mention in the Jean Corrie Poetry Competition and has participated in the annual European Union Simulation sponsored by the European American Institute.

She is one of several McKelvy residents who have participated in Lafayette’s EXCEL Scholars program, in which students collaborate with faculty on research while earning a stipend. Roebuck worked to collect and analyze data in studies of Burma, Afghanistan, Somalia, and the Indian state of Bihar, helping Neil Englehart, assistant professor of government and law, finish his book about human rights.

Since 1962, the McKelvy House Scholars program has brought together Lafayette students with a wide range of majors and interests to reside in a historic off-campus house and share in intellectual and social activities. Sunday dinner discussions that engage the students in debate and exchange of ideas are the hallmark of the program; several Wednesday discussions have been added this school year. Most members also contribute to the annual McKelvy Papers, written on a topic of each person’s choice. McKelvy Scholars participate in activities together such as field trips to plays, concerts, and exhibits, and sponsor events for the campus as well.

Previous discussions:
Feb. 2 – Death
Dec. 4 – Mind and brain
Nov. 21 – State of music industry
Nov. 14 – Consistent moral arguments
Nov. 7 – Privilege
Oct. 24 – Modern religion
Oct. 17 – Capital punishment
Oct. 3 – Revenge
Sept. 26 – Suicide
Sept. 22 – Sexual lust
Sept. 15 – Envy
Sept. 12 – Themes from A Clockwork Orange
Sept. 8 – Materialism, satisfaction, and poverty
Sept. 5 – Obesity in America

2003-04:
April 25 — Anti-foundationalist critique of philosophy
April 18 – Dark humor
April 11 — Cults
April 4 — Link between ethical behavior and intelligence
March 28 — Five Images of Man
March 7 — Idealized body forms
Feb. 22 — Countercultures
Feb. 15 — Eternity
Feb. 8 — Bisexuality
Dec. 7 — Anger toward computers and technology
Nov. 9 — “Unnecessary” crimes
Nov. 2 — Genetic alteration
Oct. 26 — Social construction of gender
Oct. 19 — Greed as an economic force
Sept. 28 — Value

Marquis Scholar Jesslyn Roebuck ’06 researched weak and failing states for a book on human rights after the Cold War with Neil Englehart, assistant professor of government and law.