Author Archives: Leah Libresco

It’s been a bad week for science. Senator Tom Coburn’s introduction of an amendment to prohibit the National Science Foundation from giving any grants to political scientists came hot on the heels of a front page example of scientific illiteracy. In a New York Times article, “Swine Flu Shots Revive a Debate About Vaccines,” (Oct. »

During Yale Summer Session, my “Epidemics in American Culture” class needed only two weeks to wipe out a good quarter of the earth’s population, and we were well on track to eliminate all but the most isolated tribes by the end of the month. Our final class project was a crisis simulation of a bioterror »

My 18-year-old brother, just about to start college, can’t get a credit card to save his life. He doesn’t have bad credit, but he’s never had any account in his own name, and, in this economy, no bank wants to take a risk. College freshmen may have no financial records, but, in an age of »

I am not working for, affiliated with or (since I’m registered at home) voting for any of the three candidates, and this column is not meant to rebuke the News for its endorsement of Mike Jones ’11 earlier this year. But after reading the endorsement, I was not sure what it was the paper endorsed. »

Yale just can’t trust straight students. It’s the only plausible explanation for the recent decision to keep gender-neutral housing on hold. One of the most frequently cited reasons to avoid gender-neutral housing is the possibility that mixed-gender couples will shack up. I leave aside the concerns of long-graduated alumni that this kind of arrangement might »