Jeremiah

Emerson Mourns the Death of Faculty Member Alan Hankin

Alan was my favorite professor at Emerson. He was the first professor I encountered who cared about students outside of academia. He helped me so much last semester and I still cannot believe that he’s gone.

The most significant aspect about Alan was his faith. I am not talking about Christianity. Alan’s faith was science. He was the first atheist that I have ever adored. Alan’s connection with nature led him to believe that the rules of nature were the only applicable rules to anything, no acceptation to humans. The most humans could possibly do is explore and manipulate within those rules.

Alan taught that no respectable faith was exclusionary. Much discussion in my honors biological evolution class centered on religious faith and science. Alan’s only criticism of religious faiths was exclusivity to alternative thinking. Christianity and science did not have to be mutually exclusive. Each were respectable methods of looking at the world, so long as they didn’t exclude other methods. Often, different methods of looking at the world answers different questions and recognizing the answers each looking glass provides is just as important as having an open mind to look through each glass.

Beyond his classroom, Alan cared for me. Last semester was rough, to say the least. I struggled with many issues. The 3 AM IM conversations we would have will forever be cherished. The greatest thing is that all of Alan’s students related to him. We were all his “favorites” and he made all of us feel loved.

Alan was open about the meaning of his life and what death meant to him. His “hearts of stars” speech is at the forefront of my mind. Alan just completed his circle of life and the now he returns the dust and energy temporarily used to create him back to the universe.

Thanks Hankin for everything you taught me, even after your life.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005 at 1:29 and is tagged rationalist.