Remembering:It is with regret that we report the passing on 11 April 2008 of Marc Arnold, a member of The SETI League's Board of Trustees since its inception, after a year-long battle with cancer.
Marc was an attorney. He was a Charter Member of The SETI League. He was also a smart guy with a great sense of humor. Marc was among the very first young people to become involved in non-violent demonstrations for civil rights and peace during the Viet Nam era, being one of a handful of students who participated in the historic 1968 "sit-in" within the president's office at Columbia University. He was one of the leaders of the Columbia University sit-in protesting the building of a gymnasium that would in essence have been segregated. Always on the forefront of important social movements, Marc spearheaded nuclear-free zone efforts in New Jersey, and mobilized grassroots political efforts lobbying for areas of the State, near New York City, to become an entirely "no-nukes" region. He remained open to, and interested in, the world's spiritual traditions. In the final days of his life, Marc was reading works by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
I met Marc around 1980 -- there was a band called Cries that played each Wednesday at Court Street, a bar in Hoboken. A bunch of us were regulars -- we'd hang out and dance. Later, Marc became involved with The SETI League as one of our trustees and as our Registered Agent with the state of NJ. He regularly came to our annual membership meetings and other events. Marc was a science fiction reader, and believed, as we do, that we are not alone in the universe. We shall miss Marc's wise counsel and his readiness to help. Even as a busy attorney, he would travel and spend his time pro bono on our behalf.
President Richard Factor and I learned of Marc's condition on Wednesday 9 April, and we each spoke to him in the hospice. He seemed quite cheerful. We visited him on Thursday evening, the night before he died, by which time he was very tired. He was being given oxygen to assist his breathing, but it did not seem to be enough. Although he was in no great pain, he did say that his back was bothering him. He mentioned how proud he was of his position at the SETI League and how he wished us all the best.
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