When I was in my freshman year of college, I was friends with Oren Bauman. He was the resident optimist in our group of friends. In a table full of people who are jaded in only the way that intellectuals in their late teens can be, he made the case for the good in humanity. He wanted to be a rabbi and for some reason, he thought that attending Bard would be a logical step along that path. We used to debate a lot about the relative importance between math and religion; I suspect you can guess which side I took.
I remember one particular conversation that happened right before Spring Break. We started telling him all of the ills of the world (corruption, pollution, Ronald Reagan) and how they were destroying everything. He kept explaining that things would get better. "In 20 years," we said, "we'll tell you that we told you so."
"No, I'll be telling you guys that I told you so."
It was a normal Bard time wasting conversation. We went back to our rooms and then left for vacation the next morning. Oren went back to Miami to visit his family. On March 31, he drove to a gathering of his high school friends. On his way back home he was sitting at a red light, when some teens who had just robbed a convenience store came running down the street. He was first at the light so they ran into the car, killed him, and dumped his body on the side of the road.
A cop a block back heard the gun shot and they were stopped almost immediately. Oren was dead for no reason than being stuck at a light.
The news got to Bard the next day. It's weird being told about the murder of a friend on April Fool's Day. It gives you a false hope. There's already a natural tendency to believe that news like this is fake after all. Unfortunately, no evidence of this being a sick joke has ever materialized.
I'll never understand why the optimist had to go. We cynics are all still around and kicking and the one who actually thought he could improve the world has been dead for decades. Rest in peace Oren. I gave Obama a donation in your honor today. You would have liked him. He speaks a lot like you, about hope and being able to improve the human condition. I could see you working for him. Instead, the world has just moved on and you continue to be gone.
Here's hoping that your beliefs were right and that you're continuing to go on in some form. I still have my doubts, but, like with everything, I always wanted you to be right. You were one of the good ones and deserved a much better fate. To Oren, may you somehow, somewhere, be finding a way to promote your optimism.