Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 19, 2001

Volume 30, Number 7

"It's not the people who are dyslexic, but Mitsubishi who got it backward."

-- Professor of pediatrics Dr. Sally Shaywitz about an ad for a Mitsubishi automobile with a $14,000 price tag that says "It must be dyslexic. It thinks it's a $41,000 car," "Critics Seek to Put Car Ad Into Reverse," latimes.com, Sept. 11, 2001.

"[Peru] is an incredibly rich universe. It has enormous time depth and tremendous diversity. No one can specialize in any one aspect."

-- Director of the Peabody Museum Richard Burger, "Piece by Piece," New Haven Register, Sept. 21, 2001.

"I think [protections for old-growth forests are] a good start at actually looking at what is being done by private citizens in terms of protecting a resource, in terms of large trees. And that's really all it's doing."

-- Lecturer at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Ann Elizabeth Camp, "Some Say Plan for Old Trees is Full of Holes," latimes.com, Sept. 11, 2001.

"Like other Americans, we feel the tragedy we all have experienced. But we also have an additional pain of fearing for our safety."

-- Professor of genetics Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, "In Pain, And In Fear," The Hartford Courant, Sept 13. 2001.

"To be honest, if the pilot told me that a plane were being hijacked and I should throw a blanket or a pillow on the hijacker, I don't know how reassuring I'd find that."

-- Associate professor of psychiatry Dr. Holly Gwen Prigerson, "Assessing the Psychological Fallout From the Terrorist Attack," National Public Radio, Sept. 20, 2001.

"From mice to men, that is a big jump. Until the trial is done with patients you can't be sure."

-- Professor of molecular biophysics & biochemistry Alan Garen, "Tests Find Molecule Can Kill Cancer," The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA), Oct. 2, 2001.

"We put too much emphasis on time instead of the teaching and learning process. Having a policy on how many minutes should be spent on homework is not the issue. You should spend time with teachers to make sure the assignment involves creative thinking."

-- IBM Professor of Psychology and Education Robert J. Sternberg, "Homework: How-To's And How Muches," The New York Times, Oct. 7, 2001.

"There are some people for whom food is a friend. For others, it's a way of escaping from the world. Some people report a tremendous feeling of calm when they eat."

-- Director of the Center for Eating & Weight Disorders Dr. Kelly Brownell, "Overeating is Common When Stress Stays Constant," USA Today, Oct. 4, 2001.

"[T]he pressure on professors is growing to incorporate a more entrepreneurial and technological edge in whatever they're teaching."

-- Dean of the Yale School of Management Jeffrey E. Garten, "Inside Track Business Education: Keeping the Faith With E-Commerce," ft.com, Sept. 10, 2001.

"The [computer] screen is an awful menace and threatens to take us back from the printed book to the scroll."

-- Sterling Professor of the Humanities Harold Bloom, "The Novel: Alive and Selling," The Hartford Courant, Oct. 6, 2001.

"Terror on this scale is hardly political discourse. Not only were the hijackers neither poor nor uneducated; they left no list of grievances or message detailing the logic behind their assault, and no terrorist organization has actually claimed responsibility for the attacks. One reason for this is that the attacks cannot be justified."

-- Assistant professor of comparative literature and French Catherine Labio in her article "Americans, Don't Blame Yourselves for Sept. 11," The Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 10, 2001.

"Before his push for autonomy, a toddler will cling to [one] parent. It's as though he needs to take a big step back in order to feel reassured enough to leap forward."

-- Clinical professor of psychiatry Dr. Kyle Pruett, "Toddler's Favoritism for 1 Parent is Normal," The Washington Times, Oct. 7, 2001.

"Medicine is a product of the culture in which we live."

-- Clinical professor of surgery Dr. Sherwin Nuland, "Science, Belief Systems are Historic Foes; Long Before Stem Cell Debate, Medical Advances Clashed With Religion," The Hartford Courant, Sept. 5, 2001.

"Beijing maintains a stagnant view of regional security issues, dredging up the specter of World War II to blunt Tokyo's attempts to play a larger international role within boundaries acceptable to America and other Asian nations."

-- Assistant professor of history Michael Auslin, "Japanese Premier Hopes Trip Will Ease Chinese Fears About Possible Military Role Against Terrorism," AP Worldstream, Oct. 6, 2001.

"The U.S. will strive to do what is right, and this is no empty promise. These are words imprinted in American blood across the whole 20th century, and now on the 21st too. A moment when we have suffered grievously for doing right is exactly the wrong moment to shrug our shoulders and blend into the crowd."

-- Professor of computer science David Gelernter in his article "They Hate Us Because They Hate Israel," The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 8, 2001.

"We have to make it clear that our commitment to a country like this is long term.... The young people of Afghanistan have to see that there's a greater future in being part of a global system than being part of a group that wants to destroy the great centers of world capitalism."

-- Gerard C. & Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law Harold Hongju Koh, "When U.S. Brings Down Taliban, New Issues Will Arise," New Haven Register, Oct. 9, 2001.

"[Osama] bin Laden and the fundamentalists' real enemies are conservative regimes in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Bin Laden is Saudi. He hates the Saudi government because it has allowed infidels -- American air bases, troop bases -- in Saudi Arabia. So, it is not just the American cultural threat, MTV and Madonna. It's American infidel presence in the holy land of Saudi Arabia."

-- J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History Paul Kennedy, "Threats in 21st Century Seen More Difficult to Deal With," The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo), Oct. 5, 2001.

"[The terrorist attack] was a very psychologically well-positioned attack. They're coming in after the bubble, coming in at a time of a worldwide recession, apparently, and then the psychological impact. All three of those together is quite a body blow. It's quite an unusual circumstance, and that's why it's very hard to use any statistical model to forecast. I think you have to start thinking about human psychology, and how are people going to react to this."

-- Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics Robert J. Shiller, "Behavioral Economics," "Venture," CBC TV, Sept. 30, 2001.

"[E]ven as we speak, members of bin Laden's network as well as senior members of the Taliban are scattering, going across the border into Tajikistan, even if they have to bribe a Russian border guard, going into Pakistan, into the Pashtun area.

-- Professor of law Ruth Wedgwood, "Law Professors Debate Issue of U.S. Government Giving Taliban Evidence Gathered Against Osama bin Laden," "All Things Considered," National Public Radio, Oct. 3, 2001.

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

Davies Mansion to be renovated, renamed

Yale-developed 'icon' molecule can target tumors for destruction

Curator 'sleuths' have reunited altarpiece panels

Ando describes dream of mixing nature in architecture

News reporters take on the role of teachers during campus visits . . .

'Post-Attack America' is topic of Poynter Lecture

Experts to discuss the hostile use of biotechnology

Yale Rep to present 'primer' by Tennessee Williams

Fair will feature special treasures of Yale libraries

Restoring garden to its 'glorious days' is ongoing effort

Artists will show off their work, studios in city-wide festival

Series explores implications of terrorist attacks

Curators to discuss museum's changing focus on Latin America

New Music New Haven to highlight works by Yale composer

Memorial Service

Campus Notes