Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 7, 2008|Volume 36, Number 21|Two-Week Issue

In the News

“People [who see a crime occur] actually care very often about other people first, and they think about their own safety second. And I think it’s an inspiring aspect of human nature.”

— John Dovidio, professor of psychology, “Will Eyewitnesses to a Crime Take Action?” ABCNews.com, Feb. 21, 2008.

“If we have a recession, even a mild and short one, the unemployment rate will be rising this fall. The Democratic candidate will be hammering on the economy and Republicans will be very much on the defensive.”

— Ray C. Fair, the John M. Musser Professor of Economics, “Recession Would Work in Democrats’ Favor,” The New York Times, Feb. 9, 2008.

“What happens is actually pretty simple. The administerer of the hickey applies lips to the neck and produces a vacuum. The little capillaries in the skin break and they cause what doctors call ecchymosis and what normal people call a bruise. This is really a little bit of blood deposited under the skin. … There are two ways of dealing with this. One is a very high collar. And the other is very good covering make-up.”

— Dr. Sydney Spiesel, associate clinical professor of pediatrics and clinical professor of nursing, “An Ode to Hickeys,” “Day to Day,” National Public Radio, Feb. 14, 2008.

“[I]t is said that the United States cannot just ‘walk away’ [from the war in Iraq]. There is a long list of supposed consequences that all seem plausible on the surface. One is that it would result in unconstrained civil war in Iraq. This may be true, although many Iraqis feel that they are already living in precisely such a civil war, even with U.S. troops on the scene.”

— Immanuel Wallerstein, senior research scientist in sociology, in his article, “Walking Away: The Least Bad Option,” Middle East Online (UK), Feb. 15, 2008.

“Without seeking the consent of Congress, [the Bush administration] is well on its way toward a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that threatens to deepen the American commitment without the congressional support the Constitution requires. ... No president has the unilateral power to impose broad international obligations on the nation without congressional support. But it is especially wrong for a lame-duck president to make such commitments about a controversial policy that is at the very center of the debate among the candidates vying to succeed him.”

— Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, and Oona Hathaway, associate professor of law, in their article, “An Agreement Without Agreement,” Washington Post, Feb. 16, 2008.

“I’ve argued that not since the Roman Empire has anyone had such extraordinary power as the United States after the Cold War. But all of the elements of our strength are now being challenged, and it’s perfectly possible that we are seeing a relative decline in U.S. power that will prove lasting.”

— Donald Kagan, Sterling Professor of Classics and History, “Can the U.S. Brace Its Fall?,” Liquid Africa, Feb. 17, 2008.

“I remember even the math problems were political [under Castro-led Cuba]. They would read, ‘Before the glorious revolution Mr. So-and-So used to pay $30 to his scumbag landlord for rent.’ I swear, it was like somebody trying to steal your soul.”

— Carlos Eire, the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies, “Cuba Libre? It’s Still Just A Hope,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb. 22, 2008.

“Fidel [Castro] has not appeared in public for 19 months. The whole idea that he would once again be elected by the national assembly to be president is just silly.”

— Lillian Guerra, assistant professor of history, on why the Cuban leader stepped down as president, “Fidel Castro Steps Down; Some Cynicism, Some Hope,” Hartford Courant, Feb. 20, 2008.

“There’s a competition among dueling idealisms [among college students who chose to support either a female presidential candidate or an African-American candidate]. Maybe idealism associated with race is more compelling, has more of a visceral appeal. We’re at a moment in our history where there’s cause for optimism about gender equality, but less cause for optimism about racial equality. And from [a college student’s] standpoint, the real inequality is likely to be racial or ethnic.”

— Donald Green, the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of Political Science and director of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, “No Candidate for Young Women,” New Republic (DC), Feb. 19, 2008.

“You can quibble about the critical side of the art, but the market is bearing out that yes, original children’s book artwork is getting out there and increasingly in demand. … These artists were in touch with their peers and influenced by them, even if person ‘A’ was doing kids’ books and person ‘B’ was doing adult stuff. You can often see the common influences if you compare pieces from the same period.”

— Timothy Young, associate curator of modern books and manuscripts at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Lbrary, “Picture This; Children’s Book Art Gains Mainstream Acclaim,” Connecticut Post, Feb. 23, 2008.

“If corporations don’t begin to open up and discuss compensation, we’re going to get a ‘say on pay’ law in the next administration.”

— Ira Millstein, the Eugene F. Williams Jr. Visiting Professor of Competitive Enterprise and Strategy, “Yalie to Investors: Reach Out or Pay,” TheDeal.com, Feb. 25, 2008.

“The work of nurturing a multi-faith community and helping people who come from varying backgrounds learn how to engage with each other and maybe even come to appreciate each other ... 9/11 brought it to the forefront. … We are all walking this path toward the future together. We walk at different paces, different gaits, but we are all together, so it is not a matter of unison, as much as acknowledgement that you are not alone.”

— Sharon Kugler, University chaplain, “New Yale Chaplain’s Office A ‘Port in the Storm,’” New Haven Register, Feb. 24, 2008.

“More Africans came to the New World between the 16th and 19th centuries than Europeans. Slavery was the engine of the empire, and the antislavery movement is the prototypical reform movement in the history of our country.”

— David Blight, director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition, and the Class of 1954 Professor of American History, “The Study of Slavery,” New Haven Register, Feb. 17, 2008.

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

Yale study offers revolutionary view of ecosystem ecology

USA Today honors students for their work ‘beyond the classroom’

Amar and Crothers cited for teaching and scholarship

Yale expert on elections helped to monitor ‘historic’ vote in Pakistan

Yale-developed artificial cell helps immune system fight cancer

Divinity School professor to head Union Theological Seminary

Lavik lauded for innovation, leadership

Liman Colloquium to examine public interest advocacy . . .

Library staff wins Noah Webster Award for . . .

Campus Notes