The anchor . . .

By Daniel Price

The admissions office tells prospective students that Yale does not have a wall around it. Rather, they say, the school is integrated into New Haven and the rest of the world. With the possible exception of the day the O. J. Simpson verdict was announced and most of the school crammed into various TV rooms, however, this campus often seems entirely removed from the realm of current events.

Immersing ourselves in the intricacies of molecular biochemistry, Kant, and Shake-speare allows us to float infinitely far away from the rest of the country and world. We all know that when a political science or economics class requires a subscription to The New York Times it will only be treated as optional reading. Thus, only a minority of the class actually reads the paper.

Many seniors have noticed a curious question coming up in job interviews, however. Regardless of whether the questioner inquires about a specific issue or asks what publications you read, the question is the same: "Do you know what is going on around you?" Although four years of Yale exams have taught most of us how to dodge and fudge enough to keep our heads above water, the true answer is no.

But with the selection of Tom Brokaw as Class Day speaker, Yale is taking a big step towards bridging the gap between the classroom and a world which depends more on the front page of The New York Times for information than on page 732 of a course packet. The final lesson Yale will impart to this year's seniors before they grab their diplomas will come from a person whose job is to bring people news about the many parts of the world they cannot see through their window.

Brokaw is an excellent choice to impart Yale's final words to its graduates. His knowledge of the world is gained through first-hand experience. Whether he is reporting from New York or from thousands of miles away in Asia, he has taught millions of people about what is going on around them. It is a lesson sorely lacking in the Yale curriculum.

Brokaw may not be perfect, and I admit that I can think of speakers I would rather hear if I had my choice. Yale, however, acts with a tremendous level of arrogance by refusing to pay honoraria to speakers. In other words, the administration tells the nation's most demanded speakers that they should be so honored to speak at this great institution that things like money are just too trivial to consider.

We should remember that a Yale student cannot receive an A+. We are all very happy with an A in a course and Brokaw is a strong A. He will leave us with a vision of the world gained through years of practiced observation. It will be a valuable lecture indeed.

Daniel Price is a senior in Trumbull.

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