'Esteemed Liberal Lion' Todd Gitlin Honored During Memorial

Upper West Side NY

14 April, 2022

4:53 PM

Description

By Dylan Andres, Columbia Daily Spectator • April 13, 2022, 4:29 AM Friends, family, and colleagues of Todd Gitlin, chair of the Journalism School's doctoral communications program, gathered at Low Library on Saturday to mourn his death. Gitlin died at the age of 79 on Feb. 5 after spending over two decades at Columbia. The service, which was organized by his stepdaughter Shoshana Haulley, honored Gitlin's contributions to activism and academia and his impact on the lives of many who spoke. For more than half a century, Gitlin was a voice for the American left, describing himself as a "not very private intellectual." Since Gitlin's death, some students in the doctoral communications program have expressed concerns about the program's longevity. Those fears come amid an ongoing search for new leadership at the Journalism School following Dean Steve Coll's announcement in October that he would step down by the end of the academic year. Travis Mushett, a student of Gitlin's in the communications program, referred to Gitlin as an "esteemed liberal Lion." Speakers at the memorial said that Gitlin dedicated his life to making the world more democratic and peaceful, and that he fought for equality and decency, efforts which those at the service said they hope to continue in his spirit. Georgetown history professor Michael Kazin called Gitlin his "political big brother." "When Todd wrote about what was wrong in our country, and what we on the left could do about it, I either agreed with him immediately, or needed to understand why I didn't," Kazin said. "I always assumed he could persuade me to change my mind." Childhood friend and classmate Mike Bertin said "everybody knew" that Gitlin was the most intelligent student in their classes. In their junior high school yearbook, each student's picture was accompanied by a saying. Gitlin's picture said, "'He never argues; he's always right,'" according to Bertin. Gitlin went on to write 16 books and contribute to publications such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, and was awarded the Harold U. Ribalow Prize for writing fiction on Jewish themes. At the service, Heather Booth, a friend and self-proclaimed political partner of Gitlin, reflected on the memorial's location at Low Library as a reminder of Gitlin's contribution to activism at Columbia, particularly during the tumultuous year of 1968. She pointed to student demonstrations that overtook Low Library in protest of what she called "an administration that was collaborating in the war in Vietnam," referring to concerns about the University's entanglement with the national security apparatus at that time, as well as "urban removal of the community that lived here." Involvement in the 1968 protests marked the start of Gitlin's career of activism. In his role as the president of Students for a Democratic Society, he orchestrated one of the first national demonstrations against the Vietnam War, fought against South African apartheid, and advocated for a departure from Cold War politics. "Todd continued [these] struggle[s] in the modern and changing context over the next 60 years," Booth said. Although the service was a celebration of the life Gitlin lived, speakers at the service said it was also a commentary on the impact Gitlin's legacy will continue to have. "He was such a presence that one had the feeling he could never die. … He's still very much in me, it's what I call symbolic immortality," said Robert Jay Lifton, a friend of Gitlin's. Staff writer Dylan Andres can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @dyllandres. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.