Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 9, 2001

Volume 30, Number 10

"[In medieval times] nobody worried about divorce because if you didn't like your spouse, one of you would be dead in 10 years anyhow."

-- Frederick W. Hilles Professor of English Lee Patterson on how things were different when lives were shorter and more brutal, "Back to the (Medieval) Future," Daily News (NY), Oct. 23, 2001.

"As a rule, you can count on a big event to spawn new opportunities for the government to encroach on the private sector."

-- Adjunct professor at the Yale School of Management David DeRosa in his article "One Attack or Two? Billions of Dollars Rest on the Answer," National Post, Oct. 26, 2001.

"Talk about intolerance as a symptom of fear. Knowledge goes out the window when you are scared."

-- Harris Associate Professor of Child Psychoanalysis Steven Marans on how to talk to youngsters about the inclination to target minorities in the wake of the terrorist attacks, "Youngsters Asking: 'When Will It Be Over?'," The Associated Press, Oct. 17, 2001.

"I like big things, big plays. I tend not to connect very well with the modernist tradition, the writers coming after Chekhov. But I'm working on it."

-- The incoming dean of the School of Drama James Bundy, "Dean Who? The New Artistic Director for the Yale Rep May Be Just the Right Bulldog for the Job," The New Haven Advocate, Oct. 17, 2001.

"Our imaginations have not been broad enough. When someone comes to the emergency room with something unusual, doctors must trust their instincts and sixth sense to make the pieces fit together."

-- Professor of internal medicine Dr. Frank Bia, "On Many Fronts, Experts Plan for the Unthinkable: Biowarfare," The New York Times, Oct. 23, 2001.

"It's difficult to maintain your poise in times of crisis. But that's when it's most important."

-- Professor of history Cynthia Russett, "Unity, Rights May Be Nicked by War," New Haven Register, Oct. 20, 2001.

"The portfolio should be rebalanced regularly to long-term targets. Rebalancing imposes a discipline that results in buying low, after a decline in an asset's relative price, and selling high, after a rise."

-- Chief investment officer David Swensen, "Taking a Long Look at Your Portfolio," The Toronto Sun, Oct. 26, 2001.

"By measuring a broader range of abilities, you would no longer need affirmative action. Some of the kids who grow up in culturally different environments have to develop creative and practical skills to survive. If you grow up in a white, upper-middle-class environment, you don't need those skills as much."

-- IBM Professor of Psychology and Education Robert Sternberg on how the SAT could be improved to measure creative and practical abilities, "The SATs Greatest Test; Social, Legal and Demographic Forces Threaten to Dethrone the Most Widely Used College-Entrance Exam," The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 26, 2001.

"These devices [such as remote-controlled surgical robots] don't make sense in today's battlefield, especially in rough or urban terrain. But telemedicine is here. It works. And it's just a question of whether and when we want to use it."

-- Professor of surgery Dr. Richard Satava, "Preparing for War's Casualties as U.S. Troops Move Into Afghanistan, Medics Prepare to 'Bring Good Medicine to Bad Places,'" The Boston Globe, Oct. 23, 2001.

"It takes a network to catch a network (and) I think, painfully, we are learning that."

-- Professor of Law Ruth Wedgwood, "Anti-Terror Bill Extends Government's Reach," USA Today, Oct. 25, 2001.

"[India and Pakistan] seem to want to have their own version of mutually assured destruction."

-- Director of the Center for the Study of Globalization Strobe Talbott, "Experts Say Nuclear Safeguards Necessary," New Haven Register, Oct. 25, 2001.

"Certainly a lot of people thought estrogen was a magic pill."

-- Research scientist Catherine Viscoli, "Estrogen Isn't the Magic Pill; Study Shows HRT Doesn't Help Women Avoid Stroke," USA Today, Oct. 25, 2001.

"Especially in some of the moderate Muslim countries, it's very important what the street thinks."

-- Frank Altschul Professor of International Economics Gustav Ranis, "Blair Tries to Bolster Support for Bombings in Britain, Opposition to Attacks on the Rise," New York Newsday, Oct. 31, 2001.

"My own view is that anything that looks like torture to the American people would not be permitted."

-- Gerard C. & Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law Harold H. Koh, "Trying to Define Limits of Interrogation; Wartime Can Change the Rules, But By How Much When Witnesses Stay Silent?" Sacramento Bee, Oct. 28, 2001.

"Everyone loves a good ghost story. But there aren't really haunted houses, there are only haunted people."

-- Assistant professor of neurology Dr. Steven Novella, "3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 1 Ghost; Houses Said to be Haunted, But Owners Remain Undaunted," The Hartford Courant, Oct. 28, 2001.

"If you teach those cases [about controversial corporate actions] only in courses on socially responsible marketing or non-profit management, you're preaching to the choir."

-- Professor at the Yale School of Management Ravi Dhar, "Corporations Still Put Profits First, But Social Concerns Gain Ground," The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 30, 2001.

"People generally recover from great shocks and do so in a reasonable amount of time."

-- William R. Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of Sociology & American Studies Kai Erikson, "Lessons From Abroad on Dealing With Anxiety," The New York Times, Oct. 28, 2001.

"The common stereotype of the average terrorist as a downtrodden refugee with few prospects and no hope collapses under the most cursory of examinations. . . . In fact, many activists in terror networks come from a privileged background and enjoy plenty of educational and professional opportunities, some of them in the West, but choose to devote their lives to terror nonetheless."

-- Graduate student in history Erez Manela in his article "Closer Look Shows Flaws in 'Plausible' Explanations," New Haven Register, Oct. 14, 2001.

"We do not insist that if cops find [a kidnapped] child in an unconstitutional search, they must give her back to her kidnapper, close their eyes, count to 20, and then start looking again. For similar reasons, government should constitutionally be allowed to use leads found in illegal searches to track down violent partners in crime, and to use all reliable evidence to put perpetrators behind bars, thereby protecting future victims."

-- Southmayd Professor of Law Akhil Reed Amar in his essay "Searching Questions -- The Fourth Amendment Does Not Say What Most Libertarians Or Judges Think It Does," The American Lawyer, Nov. 2001.

"The first month is kind of a patriotic time, and nobody wants to be dismal when they answer these questions. I think if the war wears on, confidence could fall."

-- Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics Robert J. Shiller, "The Con Game; Consumers Are Confident. No, Wait -- They're Not. What's With These Numbers?" The New York Times Magazine, Oct. 28, 2001.

"The World Wide Web is an extraordinarily convenient way to communicate with people. This gives students a way to access information at the time they need it."

-- Dean of undergraduate admissions & financial aid Richard Shaw, "Yale Going Online to Tell Applicants of Status," Connecticut Post, Oct. 31, 2001.

"Books about genes seem to have joined the ranks of cookbooks and doctor books in that there appears to be an insatiable market for them. But then, we live in an era of genes -- genes for happiness, genes for sadness, genes that can make us monsters, genes that shape our very culture. There is no shortage of authors anxious to explain, illuminate and guide us in our thinking about genes."

-- Professor of therapeutic radiology, professor of molecular biophysics & biochemistry and lecturer in history William C. Summers in his book review "Genes in Context; Three Books on Genes," American Scientist, Nov. 1, 2001.

"I can assure you that hospitals, their emergency rooms, doctors -- they've always had disaster plans. But they haven't had disaster plans with regard to biological attack. But they're getting up to speed. They're getting prepared. But the fact is, when it hits, you're going to learn more."

-- Dean of the School of Medicine Dr. David Kessler, "Dr. David Kessler Discusses the Preparedness of American Hospitals and Government to Deal With Biological Threats," "Saturday Today," NBC, Oct. 27, 2001.

"As we watched the horrors of Sept. 11 unfold in endless video replays, we were reminded of the thousands of individuals in psychological need who do not have access to organized, reimbursable mental health services. No event in recent memory points more emphatically to our universal psychological vulenerabilities and the necessity for services to help those most in need."

-- Associate professor of psychiatric mental health nursing Jeannie V. Pasacreta, associate professor of nursing Sally S. Cohen and lecturer at the School of Nursing Janine Cataldo in their letter to the editor "More Investment in Mental Health Services Needed," New Haven Register, Oct. 25, 2001.

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

F&ES launches a $60 million capital campaign

School of Management hailed for emphasis on teaching . . .

Iran is 'buckle' of 'terror belt,' warns exiled crown prince

Yale Books in Brief

For American architects, the sky is still the limit, says Stern

AIA to honor Stern for his contributions to the 'urban landscape'

Ireland's former prime minister to speak at YCIAS

DEA official and New Mexico's governor to discuss war on drugs

Show highlights painter John Singer Sargent's sculptural skills

Panel goes beyond fantasy and crisis to look at richness of Arab civilization

Yale has long history of teaching Arabic language

Conference on 'ideal' Native American school to include play, film . . .

Council on European Studies sponsoring conference . . .

Auction to raise funds to fight hunger and homelessness

Memorial service to honor Levi Jackson, . . .

Rescheduled talks to explore Sept. 11 events, evolution