For events as profoundly impactful as September 11 or the Holocaust, it’s important that the world remembers. Beyond acknowledging the causes and striving to prevent their recurrence, it is critical to honor the heroism and courage shown by its survivors and their helpers. On Thursday, April 18, Blair Academy is most excited to welcome the Holocaust Council’s Keeping the Stories Alive program to help the Blair community remember the stories of the survivors and their allies. 
A program created by the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, the Keeping the Stories Alive project has made a tremendous impact on thousands of individuals. The program consists of either a Holocaust survivor, or second or third generation survivor (children or grandchildren of survivors), along with a moderator, and together, they tell their stories in an interactive performance. 

All are welcome to join the daughter of Holocaust survivors, Betty Schwartz, in a conversation moderated by Lisa Friedman in the forum of the Chiang-Elghanayan Center for Innovation and Collaboration this Thursday at 7 p.m.

This event, graciously sponsored by the Alex “ARob” Roberts Forum on Holocaust Education, is part of an ongoing commitment to bringing impactful speakers to Blair on the subject of the Holocaust and is inspired by the legacy of Alexander Roberts ’18. 

History of Skeptics
 
The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program, which is funded in part by the Class of 1968 Society of Skeptics Endowment Fund, is an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon. ’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller and his successor, history department chair Jason Beck, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are thought-provoking, engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please visit Blair’s website.