A Conversation That Anyone Can Join

On the North side of the Hofstra University campus, between Memorial and Hauser Hall, Greek philosophers Plato and Socrates hold a permanent conversation.

The sculpture, “Plato Having a Dialogue with Socrates” by Mihail Chemiakin, shows Plato seated on a low column table, having a conversation with Socrates. Next to the table is an empty seat. Between the seat and the low column table is ample room for persons with disabilities to sit comfortably. This was requested by the Yuker estate in memorial of Yuker’s desire to making Hofstra barrier free to disabled persons.

Yuker, who had cerebral palsy, was hired as a professor of psychology at the university in 1948. In the early 1960s Yuker began focusing his efforts on making the university more accessible for those with disabilities.

In 1963, the Program for the Higher Education of the Disabled began to install ramps, elevators, modified restrooms and water fountains throughout campus. By 1981 Yuker’s efforts had made Hofstra the first university in the country to be accessible to people regardless of their physical disposition.

Chemiakin's piece which was built in memory of Yuker's commitment to making Hofstra barrier-free is routinely misinterpreted.

"My professor told my class that the empty seat was there for the next great thinker to sit in, and that thinker could be any student in the class," said Matt Remis.

Senior Abbie Menard said she thought it a place where anyone can join in a conversation between two great philosophers.

The university is home to one of the largest collections of private art in the New York metropolitan area. The collection includes over 75 sculptures , many of which lack name plates.