Like most of the Yale community, I was shocked to awaken this past Wednesday to the news of Michele Dufault’s ’11 death. There are simply no words to describe the magnitude of this tragedy. Her contributions to Yale are numerous, and I came to know and admire her through just one of these. We were »
If there’s one thing Yale has too much of, it’s overbearing, sentimental moralizing. Which is why I’d like to commend James Mendelson for his emotionless, logical approach to abortion in his recent column, “Marching for Reason” (Feb. 6). As he rightly points out, “In all pregnancies, there exists an extraordinarily high likelihood of miscarriage.” The »
No doubt you’ve heard the stories. There’s a political storm is brewing, and it’s based on anger. They’ve taken over our primaries; they’ve overthrown the establishment; and they’re against civil rights. Yes, I write about nothing other than the Tea Party. The disdain felt for it is easy to spot. Inevitably, when the topic comes »
They’re coming for you. At least, the census coordinators are if you didn’t complete their form. They reached a 94.6 percent compliance rate, but they’re determined to have 100. Is it a matter of pride? No, it’s about money and power. Reading the advertisements, however, you’d think the census effort was nothing more than a »
The Issue In the wake of the failed Christmas Day terrorist attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, is stepping up airport security the best way to ensure that Americans are safe? Safety. At its most extreme, it’s an idea that few would oppose: freedom from harm. But in a world of trade-offs, it’s something that »
This weekend, world leaders are preparing to push for new regulatory policies to combat global warming at the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, all based upon the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. Its data, we have been told, is conclusive. The scientific consensus is clear. The hockey stick has spoken. Hollywood »
As a nation, we find ourselves lost in a stormy sea of doubt. As our troubles grow, we search for a captain capable of taking the helm to lead us clear of our troubles, into the clear skies and promised glory of yesteryear. But as we cast our gaze on a field of challengers to »
Many years ago, Henry Ford famously said that customers could have their cars painted any color they wanted so long as it was black. This sentiment, that the company should dictate the purchaser’s choice, seems absurd in today’s consumer-driven society. Unyielding industries like Detroit automakers and the record label owners are suffering from their foolish »
Just a couple of weeks ago, cartoonist Kurt Westergaard’s visit to campus for a Branford Master’s Tea ignited a fiery debate over the nature of free speech at Yale. For some, the cartoons and the man who drew them represent an attack on Islamic values that crosses the thin line between tasteless and hateful. To »
In New Haven there is a distinctive duality, a feeling that there exist here two very different cities, married by only by geographical proximity. It is a place of gates; it is a place of separation. On one side of the historic New Haven Green lie the gated and secured buildings of Yale’s majestic campus; »
I have a confession to make. I used to watch Fox News. I used to, that is, until I came to Yale and discovered that only the intellectually challenged watch Fox News. When even online commenters on the News’ articles about a student’s murder case call out Fox News and only Fox News for sensational »
As we face the beginning of a new school year, I cannot help but recall the words of former Yale President A. Bartlett Giametti that “Yale’s liberal education is … an education in the development of that most practical of human activities, which is thinking — analytically, creatively, humanely.” Why does this matter? Well, for »
