Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 18-25, 1999

Volume 28, Number 9

. . . In the News . . .

"If you sold your car and had to be liable for every traffic accident that happened afterward, would that be fair?"

-- Law School researcher John Lott, "Gunmakers Can Be Sued By Victims; State Court of Appeal Rules in 101 California St. Massacre Case," The San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 30, 1999.

"The difference between a moderate Republican and a moderate Democrat may not be that large in some domains, but at the [Supreme Court] it is very important. One justice could make a huge difference in affirmative action cases, gender relations, federalism, church-state disputes."

-- Law School professor Akhil Amar, "High Court to Tackle Key Social, Political Issues," The Washington Post, Oct. 4, 1999.

"To this day, when women have access to all types of information about their health, we need to make sure they are constantly informed about their contraceptive options."

-- School of Medicine professor Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, "Awareness of Birth Control Options Remains Low Despite New Methods," The Houston Chronicle, Oct. 6, 1999.

"What this shows is that animals can recognize risks in the environment and respond in ways that reduce that risk."

-- Ecology and evolutionary biology professor David Skelly, "Scientists Say Healthy Animals Naturally Avoid Sick Peers," The Associated Press, Oct. 4, 1999.

"[Bill Gates believes it's] a better thing to empower your employees to make their own philanthropic choices."

-- Senior research scholar Peter D. Hall, "Tech Community Shares Wealth With Charities," The Toronto Star, Oct. 1, 1999.

"We found more learning possibilities in the new ["Barney"] shows. Each show had over 100 teaching instances like manners, vocabulary, health, nutrition, safety, and going to the doctor."

-- Psychologist Dorothy Singer, "My Buddy Barney: For Kids of a Certain Age -- Say,
4 and Under," Austin American-Statesman, Sept. 30, 1999.

"[China's new rule of law is] imperfect, but it embodies the ideal -- which is not to be taken for granted in many parts of the world -- that the government is itself constrained by law."

-- School of Law professor Paul Gewirtz, "People's Republic, At 50, is Embracing Rule of Law; China: Ordinary Citizens Are Learning to Stand Up For Their Rights, Helping Transform a Nation Governed By Whim," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 1, 1999.

"I don't see that it will do any substantial good in terms of preventing sickos from shooting people."

-- School of Law professor Steven Duke, about a new gun seizure law in Connecticut, "Knocking Guns From Hands of Potential Killers," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 2, 1999.

"While I certainly support legislation that limits the unrestricted transfer and use of medical record information, I submit an even bigger problem is the loose lips of doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel."

-- Lecturer in epidemiology and public health Charles B. Inlander, in his article "From the Top; Privacy Starts in The Halls of Health Care," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 4, 1999.

"One of the dilemmas of the use of force against terrorism may be that of 'time-lag legitimacy' -- the limits on public proof of targeting decisions while the threat is unabated."

-- Law School professor Ruth Wedgwood, in her Letter to the Editor, U.S. News and World Report, Oct. 4, 1999.

"There's a myth that the image is burned in a witness's mind and never forgotten. In fact, science says just the opposite."

-- Visiting Law School lecturer Stephen Bright, "Innocent, After Proven Guilty," Time, Sept. 13, 1999.

"[Few foundations] are interested in informing their grant making through research. Most of them just give out the money in accordance with whatever agenda they have."

-- Senior research scholar Peter D. Hall, "Mellon Fund, From the Top Down, Conducts the 'R&D of Education,'" The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 1, 1999.

"I just get a little bit more worried [about stock market declines] in October. But I don't tell people to get out."

-- Yale School of Management professor Roger G. Ibbotson, "Dow Watchers' Alert: Here Comes October Dread," The New York Times, Oct. 3, 1999 and elsewhere.

"There are genetic homologies between us and the other species that build, no matter how distant from us they seem. Science writers are always calling the genome a blueprint; now I will call a blueprint a genome."

-- Art historian George Hersey, "Blueprints Built Into the Genes," The New York Times, Oct. 2, 1999.

"It sometimes seems as if there are two World Banks. There is the powerful vision from headquarters, and then there are the lending officers whose behavior is very slow to change."

-- Economist Gustav Ranis, as quoted by Yale School of Management Dean Jeffrey E. Garten, in his article "What Global Capitalism Needs Now: Less Red Tape," Business Week, Oct. 10, 1999.

"There's a collective public loss of willpower because of this terrible food environment that challenges us beyond what we can tolerate. One needs much more willpower now than ever before just to stay even."

-- Psychologist Dr. Kelly D. Brownell, "Scientists Unmask Diet Myth: Willpower," The New York Times, Oct. 5, 1999.

"A city is like a gigantic theatrical piece. It has to be staged. It has to be managed. It has to be continually re-rehearsed. You're going to get new actors coming in. You have to teach them the part. If you look at the big successful urban projects of our time, the public-private partnerships, it's a constant process of orchestration."

-- School of Architecture Dean Robert Stern, "New City, Old City: Can New Haven Be Both?" The New Haven Advocate, Sept. 30, 1999.

"We have a lot of alums in Southern California. [Yale and the University of San Diego] are very similar. We look for people with a similar philosophy in terms of how they approach athletic programs. We like to schedule those kinds of universities."

-- Athletic director Tom Beckett, "Yale-USD? It Makes Sense; Toreros Tackle Ivy League in Elis' First Trip to California," The San Diego Union-Tribune, Oct. 2, 1999.

"When states are looking to cut budgets, these crazy entomologists out there looking for mosquitoes are an easy target. You don't wait for bodies to start piling up before you start controlling mosquitoes."

-- Epidemiologist Durland Fish, "Common Insect Holds Key to Uncommon Disease," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 2, 1999.

"From the beginning, I knew [paraplegic Yale medical student Ryan Martin] would be a great doctor, a fabulous physician. He will understand what a patient may be experiencing in ways that no one else
could. What was fascinating was to see the level of commitment and to watch how intensely he focused. Watch this kid. This is no ordinary student. This isn't even an ordinary disabled student."

-- School of Medicine Dean David Kessler, "The Gift of Healing," The Washington Post, Oct. 1, 1999.

"While operators do make errors, the system should be designed to anticipate that and make it impossible or virtually impossible to make that kind of error. If the system does not catch these faults, the system is at fault. Not the broken pipe or failed computer chip."

-- Sociologist Charles Perrow, about the nuclear plant accident in Japan, "Human, Machine Errors Inevitable; Safety Nets Crucial to Sidestep Disaster," The Times-Picayune, Oct. 2, 1999.

"In America, health issues easily become moral issues, and once you've decided your opponent is morally bankrupt, and you get a political majority, why should you compromise?"

-- School of Medicine professor David F. Musto about the history of substance abuse in the United States, "The Futile Crackdown," Forbes, Oct. 18, 1999.

"As we move from the century of physical sciences to the century of life sciences, we have an opportunity to catch one of the tides of economic history. Through the creation of start-up companies, Yale hopes to be one of the engines of economic growth in Connecticut."

-- Vice President and Director of New Haven and State Affairs at Yale Bruce Alexander, "Harnessing Scientific Prowess and Entrepreneurial Spirit," Business Magazine, Sept./Oct. 1999.

"We've had 40 years to work on this, and we've done quite well."

-- Geologist/geophysicist Jeffrey Park, on seismic sensors' ability to distinguish between earthquakes and nuclear tests, "Washington War of Words on Policing Nuclear Tests," The New York Times,
Oct. 10, 1999.

"To demonstrate a point, the professor used a short clip from [my film] 'Romeo and Juliet.' I almost died.

-- Actress and Yale undergraduate Claire Danes, "Claire Danes Finds She's Studying Self in Yale Film Class," The Plain Dealer, Oct. 6, 1999.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

University Library begins major expansion of its Orbis database

'Communications mogul John Malone offers advice to students: 'Be willing to take risks'

Nursing School venture will help elderly residents to stay healthy

Shalala stresses importance of keeping Medicare healthy

Pataki applauds virtues of 'compassionate conservatism'

Serving society must be a central goal for universities, says Rodin

Edelman recalls mentors at Yale and elsewhere in new book

Student seeks to raise awareness about scoliosis through book

City and Yale managers learn new leadership skills in joint program

'Mesmerizing' drama about marital infidelity opens at the Rep

Drama School stages German play that has been likened to 'Hamlet'

Scientists' test screens for a newly discovered tick-borne disease

The 'amazing' human eye is the focus of the 'VISION' exhibit

Yale center testing drug to prevent cancer-causing infection

New test offered at Yale identifies women at risk for cervical cancer

Enhancements to Orbis-on-the-Web make it faster, more detailed

Exhibit traces the history and evolution of Yale library catalogs

Health students will describe their research overseas

Divinity School fellowships honor individuals' work for social justice

Campaign aims to reduce bike thefts

Engineering program honors John Malone and Robert Grober

Meeting to focus on libraries' future renovations

Union meetings for United Way

. . . In the News . . .

Campus Notes