Author Archives: Steven Starr

Three weeks ago Governor James McGreevey of New Jersey announced that he was gay, that he had engaged in an extramarital affair with another man, and that he would resign his post as governor on Nov. 15 of this year. For the majority of McGreevey’s six-minute speech, he described the difficult personal journey that had »

In the eternal words of the American Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among »

The Federal Communications Commission, spurred by the shocking “wardrobe malfunction” exposing Janet Jackson’s breast during this year’s Super Bowl, has handed down several rulings tightening restrictions on the media. On March 18 the FCC reversed a previous ruling absolving NBC of responsibility for a vulgarity used by U2 lead singer Bono during last year’s Golden »

One of the central issues in this year’s presidential election is education and opportunity. John Kerry, the now all-but-certain Democratic nominee, insists on the need for equality of opportunity for all Americans. According to his campaign Web site, “every student should have the opportunity to prepare for, pay for, and complete four years of college. »

Last Thursday, President Levin announced that the term bill for the 2004-05 academic year would increase by five percent, from $37,000 to $38,850. Multiply this new tuition payment by four and you’ll find that over 155 thousand dollars will migrate from your parents’ pockets to Yale’s budget during your college career (or a lesser –yet »

In her Tuesday column (“Martha Stewart does not deserve our derision,” 2/3), Helen Vera argues that the prosecution of Martha Stewart on charges stemming from Stewart’s alleged insider trading of ImClone stock is “more for the sake of putting Martha Stewart on trial than for the sake of the eternal preservation of truth and justice.” »

The beginning of a semester is often a time for reflection, a chance to think about the purposes and priorities of a college education. Why is it that we spend four years at this University, and for what future is our education intended to prepare us? Fortunately, the Report on Yale College Education offers an »

In his Oct. 31 speech at Woolsey Hall, former President Bill Clinton expressed his support for international trade, insisting, “America has greater obligations to open up borders and to invest more in development in poor countries.” While terms like “open borders” and “development in poor countries” sound inviting, there is a darker side to utopian »

Our judicial system needs more respect. Like it or not, in the United States many criminals believe that they can commit crimes and get away with them. They believe that they can effectively argue their innocence at trial, even if they are, in fact, guilty. Where did they get this idea? Though our judicial system »

Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola was the quintessential Renaissance humanist. By the age of 24, he had mastered Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Arabic, reading all the great works of these literary traditions. In the year 1486, Pico summoned the noteworthy scholars of his time to Rome for a public debate of 986 theses on philosophy, theology, »