Brussels Fall 2007
Brussels, Belgium: the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), headquarters of the European Union institutions, and Cultural Capital
of Europe in the year of 2000. In November of 2007, alumni from Ohio
University added a fourth and possibly the most important title to it: Fall 2007
OU European Chapter meeting place
Saturday, November 10th, 2007
Flipping through a well-known travel guide, one comes across this sentence:
“Outsiders looking in often consider Belgians somewhat bizarre: A pissing boy and a
bowler hat are national symbols.” Sure enough, on the city map, all the usual sites
are there: the stock exchange, the Botanic Gardens, churches, monuments ñ and
then this little statue of a peeing kid called Manneke Pisî. The only explanation
offered is that its the ideal national symbol for a country that is also very small and
absurd, including having no government for months on end.
A small, more sensible group of people representing OUs Europe chapter network
recently met up for its Fall 2007 meeting: Regina Koech, Evelin Wright and chapter
president Mr. Mandry from Germany, Jerome Spaans from Belgium, and OU student
intern Erin Burney. Jerome had joined the chapter only a few months before and
volunteered to help organize the next get-together. With a little help from the chapter
president, a special visitor made arrangements to join us all the way from Athens:
OU history professor emeritus, Dr. Gifford Doxsee. The Chapter happily welcomed
Dr. Doxsee as our guest of honor and he returned the favor many times by offering
the group countless stories of his vast and varied experiences, many of them in
Europe, including his time as a prisoner of war in World War II.
Following the architectural and history class, Jerome took us to Le
Guignol restaurant where the Chapter received a welcome introduction to delicious
Belgian cuisine. It is clear why so many claim it to be second only to French cuisine,
while others (not just Belgians) claim it to be its equal!
Finally, the Fall 2007 Chapter meeting was archived on video for perhaps the first
time. Flemish students studying journalism at a college in nearby Ghent asked the
Chapter if they could film our tour and interview members of the group regarding the
As Chapter president, I extend my gratitude to Jerome for hosting the Fall 2007 event,
to Dr. Doxsee for gracing us with his presence despite the considerable distance, to
the Chapter members in attendance for their continued interest, and to the OU student
intern, Erin, for deciding to join us and furthering her education. As usual, we had a
memorable experience in yet another European city and hope that we can find new
ways to support our Alma Mater.
I hope to see as many chapter members as possible at our Spring meeting tentatively
scheduled for Summer somewhere in Germany.
