Apr 7, 2003 By Kris Schiffbauer 6 min read

A lady of the night steps from a doorway onto a cobbled street. A man dressed in a flowing cloak and top hat emerges from the mist and follows her. He has murder in mind.

The year is 1888. The place is the Whitechapel district of London.

The man is a shadowy figure, shrouded in mystery as much today as he was then, known for sure only by the name the media coined for him: Jack the Ripper.

Curiosity seekers, history buffs and scholars study the man and his crimes. Among them, a class of honor students at Penn State Fayette.

“We still don’t know who the murderer was and how many victims there were. There’s just a lot of different stories behind it, and there are hundreds of people thought to be Jack the Ripper,” said Nate Fullem.

He and 24 other students are enrolled this spring semester in a new class within the honors program at the local campus.

Dr. Beverly Peterson teaches “Science, Technology and Society in the Age of Jack the Ripper,” with guest lectures by faculty members from across the academic disciplines. Each explores the topic with the students from multiple perspectives. The purpose is to hone the students’ critical thinking skills, improve their communication skills and increase their knowledge of science, technology and society in Victorian London. Individual and group projects are part of the class, along with a trip to London.

During their London visit, they got a first-hand look at the places that were significant to London’s infamous serial killer, taking a nighttime walking tour with a noted “Ripperologist,” an expert on the subject. The students recently talked about the trip and what they’ve learned.

Kitty Georgiana said Ripperologist Donald Rumbelow had a manner of speaking that gave their studies immediacy.

“It was like you were witnessing it happening,” she said.

Peterson said it was creepy to be there, commenting on a tenement house where onlookers paid tenants for the chance to look out the window at the crime scene.

The students said they have realized during this class how much a figure of collective knowledge Jack the Ripper is, from his physical description to television programs that even just mention him.

“Everybody knows the name, maybe not the facts in the case,” said Dana Duncan.

She said each professor made the class aware of a different aspect of Jack the Ripper. Jen Dzadovsky said the topics ranged from forensic science, psychology and the insanity defense to media coverage of the murders and the semiotics of travel

The students said they also have studied the artworks of Walter Richard Sickert, the person some believe to be the leading suspect.

Jack the Ripper is known to have killed five prostitutes from August to November 1888 in the Whitechapel district of eastern London, although Dzadovsky said he was suspected of killing others. She said police had many suspects but were unable to prove a case against anyone.

“They didn’t even bother with blood,” Dan Tyger said of the police methods. “They would have cleaned up the crime scene.”

The trip to London was an obvious highlight of the class. Fifteen of the students, as well as eight faculty and staff members and two others, took time March 8-15 from spring break to go oversees. Their sightseeing included Bath and Stonehenge.

“The main thing that drew me to the class was the trip to London,” admitted Dan Reilly, saying he was amazed by the culture.

The group talked about some of the cultural differences and their favorite stops.

From Buckingham Palace to Kensington Palace, English instructor Lynn Petko said, they lost little time getting on a bus tour as soon as they got off the plane.

“We ran like crazy. We were pretty well exhausted. We tried to hit every place in London,” she said.

That was just the first day of the trip. They continued the educational holiday throughout the week, sometimes breaking into smaller groups to explore places of interest.

Duncan gave a lengthy list of some places they saw. She noticed the history of the sites date so much farther back than the United States.

“Walking the streets in parts of London, didn’t you have the feeling all of a sudden that you could be in the past?” associate professor of nursing Joan Clites asked the students, who nodded their agreement.

“The thing I appreciated was that you realize how young our country is. You go to a building there that is thousands of years old. We think something from the Civil War here is old,” said Kevin Maxwell, instructor of mathematics.

Michael Rosinski noted that Hyde Park gave anyone who was interested a chance to “stand on a soap box” and speak publicly about anything, but there are restrictions. The opportunity comes one day a week, on Sundays. The speaker has to be 1 foot off the ground and cannot start a riot.

“We are a country of free speech, but you can’t do that here,” Rosinski observed.

The students differed on whether the English were friendly to them as obvious Americans.

Fullem said he met two nice people, one from South Africa and the other from France. Several said they were treated rudely, but a few disagreed.

Melanie Thomas of the campus office of public information said she noticed surveillance cameras everywhere, but their presence was comforting.

“I felt safer in London than anywhere else,” Thomas said.

The students agreed the London trip was memorable, and some said they would like to return. But, they look forward to another highlight still to come.

Penn State Fayette will host a presentation by the author of a novel that Peterson used as a textbook for the class.

Recognized author Patricia Cornwell will speak on her recent novel, “Portrait of a Killer – Jack the Ripper: Case Closed” Thursday, April 17, at 6 p.m. in Swimmer Hall. The book addresses Jack the Ripper and Cornwell’s investigation into his identity.

The presentation and book signing are open to the public, and tickets are free; however, the audience is limited and anyone who is interested in attending must RSVP to 724-430-4199.

Peterson said she sent Cornwell the course syllabus and asked her to consider a conference call with the students.

“I invited her to come to campus but said we could not afford her speaker fees. She responded that she was eager to meet the students for free,” Peterson said.