“Freedom and justice will never be achieved unless we strengthen our commitment to give voice to those who have been silenced
by racism. Now is the time to raise our voices and raise our issues and express our interests.”
— Khalilah Brown-Dean, assistant professor of political science
and of African-American studies, speaking to students on Martin Luther King
Day, “Community Effort on Race,” WSLS.com (VA), Jan. 19, 2008.
§
“Every time [the Democratic presidential candidates] open their mouths
and engage race, they are greasing the skids for the Republican Swift-boaters
and reminding voters of the Democrats’ indulgence of racial squabbling.”
— James Sleeper, lecturer in political science and ethics, “The
Racial Row That’s Dividing the Democrats; Clinton Backers’ Remarks
Become Issue,” The Washington Post, Jan. 15, 2008.
§
“If you are like most people, you have made New Year’s resolutions
in the past, and may well be making one or more this year. And again, if you
are like most people, as you look back on prior resolutions, you will have
to acknowledge that few if any have tended to stick. ... Resolutions are generally
about changing settled patterns of behavior, so the science of behavior modification
is clearly relevant. That science is extensive, and tells us that motivation
is not enough. We behave the way we do for a reason, and change requires overcoming
that reason, or reasons. Generally, that means barriers to change will be encountered.
... Anticipate the barriers you will likely encounter, and plan for them, and
the life expectancy of your resolution will certainly increase.”
— Dr. David L. Katz, associate professor adjunct in public health practice,
in his article, “Hold Fast to New Year Resolutions,” New Haven
Register, Dec. 31, 2007.
§
“You can’t test four-year-old kids — it’s unreliable.
Some of the kids’ response was to pee their pants. ... Taxpayers and
Congress have the fight to know whether [a Head Start program is] working.
But there can be good accountability and lousy accountability.”
— Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Psychology, on the National
Reporting System test for children in Head Start programs, part of President
Bush’s education reform measures, “Crayons Down! (Babes in Test
Land),” Mother Jones, January 1, 2008.
§
“So why would anyone have even thought to record anything about [Jesus’]
life as a teenager? … It’s certainly historically irresponsible
if [the makers of a film about the 17 unaccounted-for years in Jesus’ life]
are claiming that it’s something more than fiction. That’s not
just irresponsible; that's lying.”
— Dale Martin, the Woolsey Professor of Religious Studies, “For
17 Years, What Did Jesus Do?; New Film To Fill Gaps in ‘Missing Years,’” Minneapolis
Star Tribune, Jan. 5, 2008.
§
“Their experience tells [illegal aliens who have been put into forced
labor or sexually assaulted] that authorities are not to be trusted and that
pushes them further into the shadow. There is a real chilling effect of fear
that smugglers may come after them. This may or may not be real but the sense
of vulnerability is very big. ... Rape is such a stigmatized crime that people
who have been trafficked feel they cannot go back home because of their own
shame and fear of being ostracized. One woman I interviewed had been raped
and said to me she didn’t dare tell her husband because he would blame
her because she was wearing a skirt that day.”
— Alicia Schmidt Camacho, associate professor of American studies, “Long
List of Risks for Illegal Immigrants,” New Haven Register, Jan. 6, 2008.
§
“Most poor countries lack the laboratory capacity to conduct the necessary
blood tests to measure drug efficacy and monitor for resistance and side effects
[in AIDS patients]. Also, we have begun to recommend breast-feeding of infants
born to H.I.V.-infected mothers, even though breast milk is known to transmit
the infection. Sadly, formula-feeding is an even greater hazard because the
water needed to reconstitute the formula is filthy. Thus, death due to infectious
diarrhea is more certain than death due to H.I.V.”
— Dr. Warren Andiman, professor of pediatrics (infectious diseases) and
of epidemiology and public health, in his letter to the editor, “When
Illnesses Vie for Our Dollars,” The New York Times, Jan. 7, 2008.
§
“Postpartum anemia not only affects maternal mood, thinking and behavior — but
can also have adverse effects on the baby and has been shown to cause developmental
delay. … The good news is that anemia is treatable once it is diagnosed.”
— Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, “Women
with Postpartum Anemia,” HealthNewsDigest.com (NY), Jan. 11, 2008.
§
“Some members of the minority community may be less likely to trust physicians
and trust the health care system. This really could be a self-perpetuating
cycle — that racial disparities exist, and an African American might
think, ‘Well, I’ve been reading in the news for 20 years that there
are racial disparities. If I go to the doctor, will I get the care I need?’ And
maybe that will make some people less likely to seek care.”
— Dr. Cary Gross, associate professor of medicine, on a recent Yale study
showing that racial disparities continue to exist in cancer treatment, “Cancer
Treatment Distinguishes Between Black & White,” New Haven Independent,
Jan. 14, 2008.
§
“With tens of thousands of commercial flights carrying some 800 million
international passengers around the world each year, viruses have acquired
a velocity that they never had before. ... It is useful to recall that it was
the action of one man, ironically, a professor of medicine from the Chinese
city of Guangzhou, that enabled the lethal SARS virus to cross the Chinese
border and go global. Liu Jianlun, who had treated SARS patients in his hospital
and knew they were suffering from a highly contagious disease, nevertheless
decided to travel to Hong Kong to attend his nephew’s wedding. Several
guests staying on the same floor at the Metropole Hotel subsequently became
infected and left for Hanoi, Toronto and Singapore. By the time the pandemic
was finally stopped, it had taken over 800 lives in 32 countries around the
world.”
— Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online and director of publications
for the Center for the Study of Globalization, in his article, “Virus
on Jet Plane,” Businessworld (India), Jan. 18, 2008.
§
“People are fascinated by wealth. They enjoy watching the wealthy, savoring
the thought of their fine homes, luxurious vacations, fancy cars and gourmet
dining. But if you infer from this that people spend a lot of time planning
the lifetime accumulation of their own wealth, you would be wrong. Most people
do not seem to think very hard about how much to save from their income, or
about how big the differences in their wealth could be in their later years
if they just adjusted their saving rate today. Most people just pay off their
mortgage, make the mandatory contributions to their state or private pension
(if they have one), and keep some money for short-run contingencies. That’s
about it.”
— Robert J. Shiller, the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics, in
his article, “Automatic Savers,” Daily Times (Pakistan), Jan. 19,
2008.
§
“Prekindergarten and preschool programs are about school readiness, helping
children become ready for elementary school. If there was ever a child who
needed help becoming ready to succeed in elementary school, it’s a child
whose behavior problems are such that it would cause a teacher to no longer
want that child in his or her classroom.”
— Walter S. Gilliam, assistant professor of child psychiatry and psychology,
and director of the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy,
on a national study recommending ways to reduce the number of children expelled
from preschool, “Cutting Pre-K Expulsions,” Hartford Courant, Jan.
11, 2008.
§
“[W]hile U.S. relations with foreign governments have improved markedly,
foreign publics are less impressed. That is the dilemma facing U.S. public
diplomacy, and the many governments around the world that want to work closely
with the U.S.: close relations between democratic states cannot endure without
the support of the people. ... Today, the threat to continued co-operation
of the Western powers lies in the attitude of the European publics. It may
be that the spasm of hatred for the United States that reached a peak in Western
Europe in 2003 will come to be seen in 20 years time as simply being foolish.
... But right now, it is not easy to take the long view — and in any
case, the short run matters too.”
— Ted Bromund, associate director of International Security Studies and
lecturer in history, in his article, “Illusions of the People Who Love
To Hate America,” Yorkshire Post (U.K.), Jan. 14, 2008.
§
“Since the mid-1980s the world economy has been on steroids, resulting
in exceptional growth and wealth creation. Now governments are reacting against
the excesses of free markets. ... While prudent regulation in selected areas
can be justified, the new zeitgeist is likely to produce too much government
intervention, too fast.”
— Jeffrey Garten, the Juan Trippe Professor in the Practice of International
Trade, Finance and Business, in his article, “How To Live with the Reality
of State Capitalism,” Financial Times (U.K.), Jan. 16, 2008.
§
“Our automatic assumption [when concluding that today’s youngsters
are worse than previous generations] is something real has changed. It takes
extra thought to realize that something about your own perspective or the information
you’re receiving may have changed.”
— Richard P. Eibach, assistant professor of psychology, suggesting that
people’s internal changes are the real sources of their perceptions of
morale decline in others, “Generation Me vs. You Revisited,” The
New York Times, Jan. 17, 2008.
§
“Some things are OK to give for free, like kidneys, but you are not supposed
to give them for money. The biggest taboo is putting a dollar value on life.
This is difficult and repugnant.”
— Paul Bloom, professor of psychology, on suggestions that prospective
organ donors be rewarded financially, “Panel Debates Whether Paying Organ
Donors Would Save Lives,” Kansas City infoZine (MO), Jan. 19, 2008.
T H I S
IN MEMORIAM
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
University has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 17% . . .
New endowed chair honors Marie Borroff
Initiative to boost humanities-professional school interaction
Faculty survey to be starting point for ‘self-evaluation’
In Focus: Peking-Yale Joint Undergraduate Program
Forming bonds in China: Students hail their immersion experience
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPSYale Press to create digital edition of Soviet leader Stalin’s . . .
Switzerland tops experts’ index of global environmental leaders
Levin urges rededication to Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘dream’
Paula Vogel to head School of Drama’s playwriting department
Study shows elderly with low vitamin E levels are . . .
Researchers identify key factor in stress effects on the brain
Exhibits explore British artists’ images of the Middle East
Drama School stages Ibsen’s ‘Peer Gynt,’ an exploration of . . .
Poetry and visual arts are united in library exhibitions’ . . .
Teaching fellowship winners are urged to ‘create passion’
H. Bradford Westerfield: Intelligence expert, taught top leaders
Victor Erlich: Helped bring Slavic department to prominence
R. Lansing Hicks: Renowned at YDS for his teaching, integrity
Parker Po-Fei Huang: Poet and pioneer in Chinese . . .
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
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