Editorial
Hamilton comes together
By Editorial staff
May 1, 2015
Tough times make close friends; at least they did this week at Hamilton. Anyone who visited Commons in the last twenty years was greeted by the warm, motherly embrace of Marge Petteys. If you wanted to sum up the brightest part of someone’s time at Hamilton, we bet Marge would come in pretty high on everyone’s list. When it is raining Marge tells you to wear a jacket, when you are stressed Marge tells you to take it easy on yourself. She cares about every kid she sees, and she never lets a day go by without being one of the warmest members of campus. So when Amit Taneja started a fundraiser for Marge last weekend, it did not take long for the campus to reciprocate Marge’s love many times over.
If you do not know, Marge’s husband Herbie was very sick recently, and her family began struggling to pay for his medical care. To help alleviate the growing expenses, Amit Taneja began the fundraiser. It is difficult to think of a time when Hamilton banded together so quickly for one person or one cause. In a matter of hours the community raised over 5,000 dollars for Marge and her family, and the donations continued pouring in over the next couple of days. Comments on the donation page echoed the same thoughts: no one deserved this more than Marge. Students thanked her for being a parent in times of need; parents thanked her for being there when they could not.
Unfortunately, though, Marge’s husband passed away last Sunday, and now more than ever she needs Hamilton’s help. The fundraiser continued on to assist with funeral expenses, but now it is time for a new form of support. In times like these, when our friends on the Hill are struggling, we should try to exceed what we think is kind and surpass what we think is generous. Difficulty should embolden us to help each other more often and to appreciate each other more deeply. It is impossible to imagine how Marge feels right now, but it is easy to imagine what could help her. Mirror the kindness she has given all these years, and echo the warmth and family she has spun into all of our Hamilton experiences. We are a large family, but a close one.