CU to honor 50th anniversary of JFK assassination

11/06/2013

Dr. Damon Eubank, left, Dr. Wendy Davis and John Chowning discuss the JFK assassination on  "Dialogue on Public Issues." (Campbellsville University Photo by Drew Tucker)

Dr. Damon Eubank, left, Dr. Wendy Davis and John Chowning discuss the JFK assassination on “Dialogue on Public Issues.” (Campbellsville University Photo by Drew Tucker)

Nov. 6, 2013
For Immediate Release

By Yvonne Matheas, student news writer

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Fifty years after the assassination of president John F. Kennedy, Campbellsville University's TV channel WLCU will air an interview with Dr. Damon Eubank, chair of the Division of Social Science and professor of history, and Dr. Wendy Davis, associate professor of History, about the assassination and its effect on America.

John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president, will host the interview.

“November 22, 1963 is among the strongest memories of my life - most of us old enough to remember recall where we were on that fateful day,” Chowning said.

“As the 50th anniversary of his tragic death nears, it is natural that we will have a flurry of discussion about President Kennedy's legacy and the circumstances surrounding his assassination,” Chowning said.

“For the past five decades, we have debated whether there was a conspiracy, if Lee Harvey Oswald was a lone gunman operating strictly on his own, and various theories on who might have been involved if there was a conspiracy.

“While we still do not have conclusive answers, there is evidence that there was a rush to create a historic narrative, deny any conspiracy, and legitimate questions remain unanswered by the official report of the Warren Commission. We explore many of these questions in this particular segment of ‘Dialogue on Public Issues.'”

During the interview, Eubank and Davis talk about the memories about this tragic day, debates about conspiracies and in what way this event affected the American nation.

“I think the assassination is one of those moments in our history that marked a change in America,” Davis said.

“His violent death shook everyone and made us, as a country, feel more vulnerable and weakened our belief in the American fairytale,” Davis said.

“One of my college professors said it best when he stated that the bullet not only killed our president, it killed our innocence,” Davis said.

The interview will be aired on Sunday, Nov. 17 at 8 a.m.; Monday, Nov. 18 at 1:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The show is aired on Campbellsville's cable channel 10 and is also aired on WLCU FM 88.7 at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.