Skeptics Series Concludes April 28

Blair Academy’s weekly Society of Skeptics lecture series soon concludes, as the school year comes to a close in May. A final program occurs April 28, presented by a young man who has overcome several physical disabilities with his sense of humor intact (see details below). These Tuesday evening events (which have been in place weekly for over 30 years) are held in Cowan Auditorium/Bogle Hall, from 7-8 p.m. They are free of charge and open to the public.

Just recently, Jeff Lobach, Esq., of Barley Snyder LLC, presented an “Insider’s Story of the Golden Venture Saga” – an overview of the battle with the Justice Department over its handling of the Golden Venture refugees – passengers aboard a smuggling vessel that ran aground off the coast of Queens, N.Y., on June 6, 1993. The saga involved 70 pro bono lawyers, including Mr. Lobach, who is a lawyer from York, Pa. He and his wife, Cindy, showcased some of the artwork created by the passengers during their four-year incarceration; most were fashioned from paper products as simple as legal notepads and tissue. Footage from CBS-TV’s coverage of the saga added to the history lesson presented. The Lobachs’ nephew is Steve Hanzlik ’08, and their niece is Kelsey Hanzlik ’10, who helped arrange the Skeptics presentation.

Mr. Lobach has practiced law for 26 years with Barley Snyder, a firm of about 65 lawyers with five offices in Pennsylvania cities. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Lehigh University and received his law degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to beginning his law practice, he served as chief law clerk to Justices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Dr. Marty Miller, director of the Skeptics program, said, “Occasionally, the Lobachs’ professional interests, community leadership roles and charitable impulses intersect. We learned of one such instance on April 21.”

Follow this link to a recent story in the York, PA. Daily Record concerning this episode in history (York is where most of the detainees were imprisoned for over four years; finally released in 1997 during Clinton’s presidency): http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11766696

Above: In this 1997 file photo from the York Daily Record, Zheng Shi, Jr. is pictured at left after he was released from York County Prison with other Chinese refugees who traveled to the United States on the Golden Venture. Below: Artwork created by the Golden Venture refugees.

April 28, 7 pm
Marc Elliot
“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Noises”
Elliot has dealt with Tourette’s syndrome and an intestinal disorder which have taught him many lessons about tolerance.

Follow this link to a recent news article about Marc, which contains a YouTube video about him as well: http://www.jewishchronicle.org/article.php?article_id=11248

Photo by Lubavitch of Wisconsin

Updated 4/24/09

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