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I learned a great deal at "Cosmo," but the most important thing I realized is that extreme nationalism is a poor foundation for the development of tolerance and that tolerance is necessary for all people and nations to get along. In short, I learned the meaning of the words, "Above all nations is humanity." -- Al Monstavicius B.S. '61, M.D. '64 |
I was born in Lithuania, lived in Germany during WW2 (my father was a political prisoner in Sachsenhausen K.Z. camp) and immigrated to the U.S. in 1949 after Berlin was blockaded by the Russians. Many refugees thought that this was the start of WW3. In short "we wanted to get out." We settled in Chicago's south side and I quickly became "Americanized." This was necessary in order to "survive" in the Irish Catholic neighborhood we lived in. Foreigners especially D.P.'s were not well-regarded at that time.
I went on to De La Salle High School and on to the U of I. My initial reason to move to "Cosmo" from Noble Hall was economic. I found out about it from people I met at Kam's (a then local campus" gliterati" hang-out) that was directly across the street . The house was run-down, had difficulty getting new members, had shortages of money, and was not well-regarded by the general student body. Mostly foreigners lived there. Despite this, I and my friend Ray moved in. I had a girlfriend next door at Palomar House (women's residence hall) who got us jobs as waiters. (I strongly urge all single males to get these jobs.) We got our meals, and our semester rent at "Cosmo" was only $100. With this move my monthly allowance became very adequate . I had plenty of money, no taxes, and the main campus was only 1 block away!
As it turned out, the economic benefit became least important over time. We had a large number of students (usually graduate level) from all over the world. These people had a variety of experiences (frequently difficult). They were very motivated and worked hard. In general , their performance level was exceptional. I was impressed and influenced. I began to study and work harder and my GPA improved significantly. I learned firsthand about Mahatma Gandhi (when he was not popular in the U.S. press ). We had a large number of students from India and Pakistan and being House manager for one semester, I learned firsthand about the India-Pakistan conflict.
I learned a great deal at "Cosmo," but the most important thing I realized is that extreme nationalism is a poor foundation for the development of tolerance and that tolerance is necessary for all people and nations to get along. In short, I learned the meaning of the words, "Above all nations is humanity."
I went on to the U of I Med. School and married my classmate Barbara Silvestri. We went on to the University of Iowa (I in general surgery, she in ophthalmology). I was drafted during the Vietnam conflict (Air Force). We eventually finished our training and settled in San Francisco. We have one son, Dion, who did his undergraduate studies at Stanford in Physics and recently has completed his Master's in electrical engineering, also at Stanford. We "retired" early because my wife developed a disability that prevented her from performing surgery. We now live in Incline Village, Nevada. Hopefully, this is not the end of the story.
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| Doctors Al and Barbara Monstavicius |