Voices

By   |   April 27th 2012

 

YH: You say you want to get rid of bad writing in the world. What do you mean when you say that?
LB: In journalism, there’s a lot of sloppy writing—lack of fact-checking, lack of triple-sourcing, lack of due diligence. In academia, there’s a tendency to repeat yourself and write very long, and use 100 dollar …

By   |   April 20th 2012

I don’t have chlamydia. And since I have no desire to acquire it, it would seem strange, at least according to conventional wisdom, for me to have any interest in Quinnipiac University.” These are the opening words of Jeremy Kutner’s, BR ‘06, infamous op-ed, “The Road to Nowhere (aka Quinnipiac),” published in the Yale Daily …

boa
By   |   April 20th 2012

ACT I
Such a shy girl was I, but not in the theater. At seven, as Dirty Dan, I memorized lines backstage, at home, and in my friend Miranda’s room with my legs crossed on her pink carpet. Toward summer’s end, parents and grandparents filled the 68 seats at Main Street Theater, and Dirty Dan slouched …

By   |   April 20th 2012

Pek Shibao, DC ’15, spent two years serving in the Singaporean Army before coming to Yale. During this period of compulsory military service, he earned the rank of supply sergeant, an award for fitness, and a serious sense of discipline. Though he won’t choose a military career in the future, he believes his experience in …

candle
By   |   April 13th 2012

It’s cold out here. I wind my fingers tighter around a mug of green tea to keep them warm and pull my hat down another inch so it covers my ears. It takes a moment for my bleary eyes to adjust to the chilly March air. I’m not sure exactly what I’m waiting for, why …

By   |   April 13th 2012

Dr. James McPartland is an assistant professor of Child Psychiatry and Psychology at the Child Study Center, the associate director of the Developmental Electrophysiology Lab, the director of the Yale Developmental Disabilities Clinic, and DUS for the Child Study Center. This week, The Herald sat down with Dr. McPartland to discuss some of the recent …

duck
By   |   April 6th 2012

It’s around 11 on a Monday night. I’m in the library, looking for somewhere I can pretend to work. I’m nervous and fidgety and trying to keep my excitement in check. It’s the same as back in November, only with a different person: a coffee date yesterday, a homework session tonight. The first time, it …

By   |   April 6th 2012

Thomas Pogge, the Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs and the director of the Global Justice Program at Yale, brings ethics out of the ivory tower. He asks us to think about how we can be ethical citizens of the world. His controversial book, World Poverty and Human Rights, argues that our philanthropy and …

By   |   March 30th 2012

Lisa Gross, SM ’04, is an artist, environmentalist, feminist, food critic, and advocate of urban homesteading, a burgeoning movement designed to promote urban agriculture and sustainable urban living. She has dedicated much of her life to environmental social justice projects. As the chairman and founder of the Boston Tree Party, her latest project has been …

rsz_toolsbw
By   |   March 30th 2012

My dad is a handyman. He works for himself, fixes leaky roofs, and renovates bathrooms. He gets jobs by word of mouth because he does nice work and because people like him. He works on a small scale—he takes a look at the bathroom that needs renovating, helps his clients choose the right tiles and …

By   |   March 23rd 2012

Johnny Scafidi, TC ’01, program director and deputy director of Dwight Hall, became involved with community service as a Yale freshman more than a decade ago and hasn’t looked back since. He provides guidance and support to the dozens of service groups Dwight Hall comprises. The Herald sat down with Scafidi to share his experiences and …

rsz_fireflyship
By   |   March 23rd 2012

I had never before felt so compelled to call back customer service in order to apologize. After hanging up with Julie, the pleasant—but ultimately uninterested—voice at the other end of the Amtrak Customer Service line, I knew that I needed to explain myself, the rambling length of the conversation, and my panic—especially since my 148-minute …

lightbulb
By   |   March 1st 2012

Three years ago last week, I emailed my junior year English teacher, asking him if he’d gotten a chance to look at the start of an essay about Lolita that I had given him in class. He responded by laying out two options, one that he said he knew I would be good at—he would …

By   |   March 1st 2012

In just a few days, a group of Yale students will travel to Egypt on a spring break trip sponsored by the Yale International Relations Association (YIRA). The student-led trip aims to capture the experience of Egyptian youth in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. In light of the violent December protests and recent detainment …

coffee_color
By   |   February 24th 2012

Around 10 o’clock every morning, Krishna and I would go get coffee. After arriving at the campaign headquarters at nine, we’d spend an hour writing emails, organizing our desks, and reading the news. Without fail, between 9:50 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., one of us would casually saunter over to the other’s desk, ask how he …

Kellert1BW
By   |   February 24th 2012

Priscilla (“Cilla”)  Kellert is an outdoorswoman through and through: A summer camp devotee, a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), and a daily hiker. Kellert has brought this appreciation of anything and everything nature-related to Yale’s very own Freshmen Outdoor Orientation Trips (FOOT), which she has directed since its inception in 1985. We …

By   |   February 17th 2012

Just a week after New Year’s, I attended the second annual KIPP Alumni Summit. KIPP is an acronym for the Knowledge is Power Program, a network of public charter schools which, for nearly two decades, has been educating underserved youth in cities across the country. One of the most highly anticipated events of the Summit …

interviewee color
By   |   February 16th 2012

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy’s State of the State Address this week made an urgent call for education reform. (Check out Lucy’s Gubernick’s coverage of the proposals in the Features section.) Many Yalies have been involved in pushing for change in Connecticut schools, but, as of last year, they have one fewer way of actually working …

By   |   February 10th 2012

There were a lot of things that offended me about the True Love Week poster when it arrived in my inbox last Tuesday—Anthony Esolen, the vague and moralizing lecture titles, the very name “True Love Week”—and so it wasn’t until my third rereading that I noticed the pair of wedding rings. There was a casual …

married profs 2
By   |   February 10th 2012

Valentine’s Day brings with it candlelit dinners for some and hot dates with Ben and Jerry for others. Regardless, in light of the upcoming holiday spirit, the Herald sat down with a couple who have managed to work together and stay together: Robert Stepto, a professor of English, African American Studies and American Studies, and …