Credit: Michele Bachmann
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) is the only one willing to call out Obama and the Democrats on their anti-Americanism, so I was thrilled to hear she might run for president. “I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter,” …

In general, Yale students pride themselves in their openness to learning about other beliefs and cultures. Ironically though, when it comes to religious beliefs, some students feel that more mainstream, familiar faiths are actually at a disadvantage when it comes to being understood. In our eagerness to learn about different traditons, are we overlooking details …

7
Number of spouses Elizabeth Taylor had in her life
8
Number of times she was married
2
Number of rows of eyelashes that Taylor had, thanks to a genetic mutation
3
Consecutive years Taylor was nominated for Best Actress, before winning in 1960
5
Number of times Taylor broke her back
27
Age at which Taylor converted from Christian Science to Judaism
15
Minutes Taylor’s wedding began …

Credit: Post-spring break lull
Not sure if anyone else had a similar experience, but my professors were all weirdly lenient this week. Only cause that stands to reason is that they all had two very relaxing weeks of non-student
interactions. That’s right, folks: while the rest of us were hard at work paying thousands of dollars to …

On Monday it was announced that two more schools are being ‘overturned’ as part of Mayor DeStefano’s education reform program. The schools, Wexler-Grant and Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy, have been designated “Tier III” schools. Yearly evaluations based on “absolute levels of achievement, annual levels of student growth and progress, and school learning climates” determine a …

Brian Loeb, SY ’14, had never given any thought to traveling to Israel—that is, until he saw a table in Commons advertising Yale Hillel’s Taglit-Birthright trip over spring break. Birthright provides free trips to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26. Birthright aims “to strengthen the sense of solidarity among world Jewry and …

Nepal, the strip of land squeezed for breath between the masses of China and India, is where thick-skinned elephants and the Himalayas run rampant. Even for those who know where it lies, Nepal is usually relegated to the realm of the indistinctly exotic—a vague otherworld surfacing sometimes in a travel magazine or as the answer …

In 2008, Andrew Emitt searched for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) scholarship opportunities on a computer at his high school in Knoxville, Tenn., only to discover that the websites he was looking for were blocked by his school’s filtering software. In 2009, lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union filed Franks v. Metropolitan Board …

Has Colin Powell read Sun Tzu?” John Negroponte, DC ’60, former Director of National Intelligence, wondered aloud one day last spring as the “Studies in Grand Strategy” seminar read the work of the Chinese strategist. By the end of the class, he had an answer: yes. Negroponte had texted the former Secretary of State during …

This past weekend, the Chaplain’s Office and the Interreligious Leadership Council (IRLC) hosted the first ever Interfaith Engagement Weekend, designed to bring together students of different religious backgrounds through service activities, texts studies, music, and mixers. These events highlighted a desire in the Yale religious community for closer engagement between faiths, an engagement that students …

A rabbi, a priest, and an imam huddled under umbrellas on a rainy sidewalk in Hamden, Conn.  Herbert Brockman, of Congregation Mishkan Israel, wore a light tan trench coat and wire-framed glasses as he stepped forward to speak. Behind him stood Imam Abdul-Majid Karim Hasan, imposing in a black coat and black kofia. To his …

To many Yale students, the meal swipe staff has become like family. Dining halls are places not only for daily oatmeal breakfast, but also for socializing, studying, and absorbing the news. Yale students who live on campus—the vast majority of students—are required to purchase Yale Dining meal plans. But of the 12 percent of students …

In 2008, when Eric Delgado, CC ’12, was a senior in high school, he won fifth place in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search. Delgado, lauded as one of the top emerging scientists in the country, received likely letters from both Yale and Princeton. In discussions with his Intel peers at competitions and awards ceremonies, …

Professor Amy Hungerford is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the English Department at Yale University. She teaches a graduate seminar in the fall, and “The American Novel Since 1945” in the spring. Professor Hungerford’s lectures on the American novel are online as part of the Hewlett Initiative, and her lecture on J.D. Salinger’s …

As students search for summer internships, uncertainty about the future of Bulldogs Across America (BAA) has caused concern. The summer internship program is unique because it provides paid internships and coordinated activities in under-the-radar cities,, has been under evaluation by Undergraduate Career Services. The evaluation process is in the exploratory phase, with UCS gathering information …

Credit: Carmelo getting traded
OMFG sports! This guy named Carmelo Anthony is getting traded to the New York Knicks, which is awesome because now they’re going to be a really good team. And honestly, it’s about time, because all sixteen of my fantasy basketball teams are suffering. Some people tell me that I follow sports too …

Last Saturday, a 45 year-old Bridgeport man was arrested for stealing 58 containers of deodorant by stuffing them down his pants. Though the suspicious employees of the Ocean State Job Lot failed to stop the fleeing suspect, he was later identified by video surveillance footage. His haul was valued at 188 dollars, though its potential …

 
On the third floor of 55 Whitney, students gather every day for scheduled appointments with fellowship advisers. With less than a week to go until Feb. 23, when the applications for Yale College Summer Fellowships are due, students and staff alike are well aware of the need for speed. The Yale Office of Fellowship Programs …

Kathryn Lofton is an associate professor of American Studies and Religious Studies. Her first book, Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon, is due out this year from the University of California Berkeley Press.
Yale Herald: What interests you most about studying the intersection of areas like religion, American history, and sexuality? 
Kathryn Lofton: It’s the intersection itself …

By Catherine Chen and Erin McDonogh
On Mon., Feb. 7, as the noon sun shone high above the Yale campus, Beinecke Plaza formed a brief, but significant, connection with Tahir Square. Members of the Yale community gathered together in a demonstration in support for the protests in Egypt that swept that country, the Middle East, and …