Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 12, 2004|Volume 33, Number 11

In the News
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"The Electoral College was designed at the founding of our country to help one group: white southern males. Under a direct national election system, northern voters would have outnumbered southerners. But under the Electoral College, the South was given extra clout thanks to its (nonvoting) slave population. Direct elections would still encourage candidates to focus on voters in all regions. If one person, one vote is the best way to pick governors, why not the country's President? The Electoral College was unfair at our nation's founding, and it still is. So why keep it?"

-- Akhil Reed Amar, the Southmayd Professor of Law, "The Votes That Count: Experts Debate the U.S. Election System," Time For Kids, Oct. 29, 2004.

"I think what American history shows us is that we can have great, fundamental, profound, political warfare and survive it as long as our trust in our institutions survives as well -- trust in the courts, trust in the Constitution, trust in the government, trust in the political process. Then it probably doesn't matter what we politically fight over."

-- David Blight, director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition, "David Blight Discusses Deep Divisions Over Presidential Elections in the Nation's History," National Public Radio, Oct. 30, 2004.

"To the people running the [new electronic] voting machines, if they don't crash there's no problem. For me, success is showing me that the machine has registered my vote. There was a decision made by someone that not all machines should have a paper trail and that is the Achilles heel of the voting machine."

-- Abraham Silberschatz, professor of computer science, "Voting Machine Age Will Soon Be Over in Connecticut," New Haven Register, Oct. 31, 2004.

"Supersizing is a great bargain. Many people pay 10 times as much money to lose weight that they gained at no extra charge. Hello? You almost want to slap people."

-- Dr. David Katz, associate clinical professor of epidemiology and public health, on the fact that people will eat more when offered larger portions at restaurants, "Unhealthy Appetites," Edmonton Sun (Alberta), Oct. 31, 2004.

"Women's worldwide cooperative efforts to achieve freedom, equality and social justice for women everywhere is one of the most dramatic, compelling and consequential social movements and visions of the future in today's world. Moreover, it affects us all, both men and women. For, if the role and status of women are changed, the role and status of men will be changed, too. This topic ranks right up there in importance with the future of war and peace, the environment, energy, the economy, and science and technology."

-- Wendell Bell, professor emeritus of sociology and senior research scientist in sociology, in his review of Edward Cornish's book "Futuring: The Exploration of the Future," "Perspectives of a Pioneering Futurist," The Futurist, Nov. 1, 2004.

"The skin on the back of hands and feet is thinner to begin with, so it doesn't take much for these changes [such as bulging veins and wrinkles] to appear."

-- Dr. Jeffrey Dover, associate clinical professor of dermatology, "Get Flawless Body Skin: It's Time To Take Your Beauty Routine Beyond Just Your Face and Neck," Shape, Nov. 1, 2004.

"Tipping seems like an unshakable norm that is expressly handed down from generation to generation. But in the early 20th century the act of tipping was often seen as degrading and corrupting, even un-American. The Anti-Tipping Society attracted 100,000 members, and seven states and the District of Columbia went so far as to outlaw various forms of
gratuities."

-- Ian Ayres, the William K. Townsend Professor of Law, and Barry Nalebuff, the Milton Steinbach Professor of Management, in their article, "Race, Tips and Economics," Forbes, Nov. 1, 2004.

"In the postwar years, when we were still imbued with the afterglow of the war, warriors were a lot more the focus of celebration and attention than the man in the gray flannel suit. 'Death of a Salesman,' 'The Organization Man' -- it's no accident that you had such a clustering in the literature that also reflects where society's fascination is."

-- Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean of the School of Management, "50 Years of the Fortune 500," Fortune, Nov. 1, 2004.

"Now in the U.S. children who weigh less than three pounds represent over two percent of all live births every year. The survival rate for this group of children is anywhere from 85 to 90 percent. So there are more preemies and there's more of them surviving, but if you consider the fact that half of them are in special education at age eight, in second or third grade, and one fifth of them have already repeated a grade in school, then preterm birth is really what we would consider a major pediatric public health problem."

-- Dr. Laura Ment, professor of pediatrics and neurology, "Preterm Babies," ScienCentralNews, Oct. 12, 2004.

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

Yale to pay fee for students seeking visas

Pagnam steps down as V.P. for Development

Reception for donors will feature prizes, departmental awards

In Focus: Yale Urban Design Workshop

Medical School welcomes new deputy dean: Jaclyne Boyden

YCIAS event will honor new Leitner Professor

New database has info on all grants at Yale

The presidential election is topic of Poynter Lecture by CNN anchor

Noted surgeon displays his artistic side in sculpture exhibit

Alumni to explore Asian Americans' new role 'in the spotlight'

Environmental experts will explore the effects of the U.S. elections

Exhibit illuminates architects' work with 'Light Structures'

First talk in new series to explore gender studies in global context

Study links low education level with impaired recovery from illness

Researcher's grants support the development of statistical methods

Study enhances understanding of enzyme's role in psychiatric illnesses

Study shows spinal cord nerves regenerate despite absence of NgR protein

Journal fostering international dialogue . . .

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes