X
"Utopians are bothersome people. They trouble the water. They break the rules, disturb the peace, and
irk us out of complacency, forcing unwanted confrontations with the eternal conflict between the possible and ideal."
-- David Blight, the Class of 1954 Professor of
American History and director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition, about abolitionist William Lloyd
Garrison, "A Man Ahead of His Time,"
The Boston Globe, Aug. 8, 2005.
§
"Teachers and parents need to understand from the beginning that you don't yell at Johnny for doing something wrong, but teach him how to do it right. We have to focus on how to help children function, not on how they sometimes embarrass us or threaten our power. A lot of the bad behavior of children is calculated to reduce the disparity of power between them and us. But when you develop relationships so that they see you as their ally, they have less reason to battle with you."
-- Dr. James P. Comer, the Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry, "A Culture for Teaching," The Washington Post, July 18, 2005.
§
"One justice can have a humongous influence on the [Supreme] Court. With [nominee John] Roberts, it depends on what kind of justice, what kind of conservative he ends up being. Exactly how far will he push the court to the right. At this point, it's hard to know."
-- Oona Hathaway, associate professor at the Law School, "With New Justice, New Dynamic; Court Watch; Roberts Would Alter Alliances, Relationships on High Court," Legal Times, July 25, 2005.
§
"It's easier to connect with people because you can bring up all that imagery that is associated with music and the song that's hard to bring up otherwise."
-- Ravi Dhar, professor of marketing, on the role of music in politics, "Salsa Legend Pens Telephone Tune Praising 'Bloomberito,'" The New York Sun, Aug. 2, 2005.
§
"If you had a loose category called 'intelligent,' and it was understood to mean people who could do calculus well, then only
1 percent of Americans might be 'intelligent.' But if you changed the definition to include everyone who can carry on a decent conversation about politics, or everyone who can do algebra, then you'd diagnose a lot more people as 'intelligent.' That makes a disorder very different from a disease like cancer: You either have cancer or you don't, but autism isn't quite so clear-cut."
-- Fred Volkmar, the Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry and professor of pediatrics and psychology, arguing that the autism "epidemic" is a result of changes in the criteria for diagnosis, "Fear Not; Vaccinations Don't Give Children Autism. They Save Children From Disease," New Haven Advocate, Aug. 18, 2005.
§
"If you take your car to the mechanic, he has to identify the problem before he can fix it. This tells you what the problem [with treating brain disorders] is."
-- Shrikant Mane, director of the Affymetrix GeneChip Resource at the W.M. Keck Foundation Biotechnology Resource Laboratory, "Scientists Hope Gene Chips Hold Key to Solving Brain Disorders," Associated Press, Aug. 15, 2005.
§
"There's an assumption being made, that if you know that I am a good Christian then I am going to be an honest person, because my Christian teachings teach me not to lie, cheat or steal."
-- David Miller, executive director of the Center for Faith and Culture and adjunct assistant professor of business ethics at the Divinity School, on businesses that use Christianity to advertise secular products
or services, "More Christians Mixing Sales, Salvation," St. Petersburg Times (Florida),
Aug. 12, 2005.
§
"There's no substitute for sitting down with your adviser and having a conversation. I don't know that I would want to pass up the chance to sit down and talk to [students], as convenient as [a fully online registration system] would be."
-- Daria Vander Veer, associate registrar of Yale College, "Sign-In Process Moves Online," The Harvard Crimson, Aug. 12, 2005.
§
"As shown by last month's dramatic split within the AFL-CIO, this is a fear shared by many within American labor: not that unions are on the decline -- that's old news -- but that, in the not-too-distant future, they may simply cease to exist."
-- Beverly Gage, assistant professor of history, in her review of the books "Champion of American Labor" and "Labor Embattled," "Imperfect Unions," The Washington Post, Aug. 17, 2005.
§
"[H]istorically, denominations have long regulated the behavior of clergy. At least they have regulated the behavior of clergy by word. The difficulty is that most denominations ... haven't done a very good job of living up to the promise of regulating the behavior of clergy, and they have often treated these questions with embarrassment or they have wanted to shunt them aside."
-- Jon Butler, dean of the Graduate School and the Howard R. Lamar Professor of American Studies, History and Religious Studies, on the debates over gay marriage and gay clergy, "U.S. Lutherans Debate Homosexuality and the Church," "Talk
of the Nation," National Public Radio,
Aug. 11, 2005.
§
"[M]y colleague Geert Rouwenhorst found ... a bond that was issued in order to finance the reconstruction of a part of a canal in Holland in 1648. The canal still exists. It's right near the city of Utrecht. And the thing that's interesting about the bond is that it still continues to pay interest from 1648 to the present. When we were able to purchase it for Yale University my colleague went over, picked it up at the auction house, brought it over to the company that issued it, collected back interest for the last 20 or 30 years, and then brought it back to the United States and we put it into the Beinecke Rare Book Library. ... [The amount of the interest] didn't quite pay for the round-trip ticket."
-- William N. Goetzmann, the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies, "Interview: Professor William Goetzman of Yale University Discusses Economic Antiques," Minnesota Public Radio: Marketplace, Aug. 9, 2005.
§
"Many times, the urologists and gynecologists have the physiological training, but the taboos in sexuality extend to discussing it with patients. For example, many urologists don't feel comfortable talking about erectile dysfunction with their patients even in the post-Viagra era. ... It's similar for gynecologists. ..."
-- Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, "Dr. Ruth Makes Case for 'Over-the-Hill' Sex," Chicago Tribune, July 28, 2005.
§
"Most constitutional democracies -- Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Israel are examples -- provide that justices on their constitutional courts sit for fixed terms or have mandatory retirement ages, thereby ensuring turnover, reducing incentives for strategic retirements and disconnecting judicial tenure from the fortunes of parties in power."
-- Judith Resnik, the Arthur Liman Professor of Law, and Theodore Ruger, in their article "One Robe, Two Hats," The New York Times, July 17, 2005.
§
"Legal academia is increasingly pervaded by a deeply cynical mood. Legal theorists are reaping what they have sown: For decades, so-called realists have taught that judges make law, not follow it. But if legal judgments are not about applying law, it is an easy step to conclude that they must be about applying political preferences. Accordingly, many legal theorists now dismiss appeals to constitutional text or statutory law as subterfuge. In the end, they teach their students that there is no real basis for judgment except politics."
-- Joshua Hawley, student at the Law School, in his article "Neither Scary Nor Secret," Hartford Courant, Aug. 26, 2005.
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
University greets its newest freshmen
Freshman Address by President Richard C. Levin
Freshman Address by Yale College Dean Peter Salovey
President of China to speak at Yale Sept. 8
New dean to promote 'values' seminars at SOM
Scientists correct key error in measurement of global warming
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
Joel Podolny named Beinecke Professor of Management
Emilie Townes is appointed to Andrew Mellon Professorship
Thomas Troeger is designated as the Cox Lantz ProfessorGrant to support research into reducing pain of pediatric surgery
Invitation to Yale community: Meet the new World Fellows
University celebrates Sterling Library's 75th anniversary
Conference will focus on role of religion in public life
Yale engages in special community projects during 'Days of Caring'
Yale hockey star Helen Resor is picked for U.S. Women's National Team
Descendents of John Davenport to converge on campus
The Cinema at Whitney, a new film society, begins weekly screenings
Heart-attack patients seeking after-hours care . . .
While You Were Away: The Summer's Top Stories Revisited
Cell biologist named Bayer Fellow
IN MEMORIAM
Abraham Goldstein, former dean and criminal law scholar
John-Michael Montias, economist and expert on Vermeer
Drama school hosts a memorial tribute to . . . Benjamin MordecaiCampus Notes
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