The Week in Brief

Oh and Lee call for action at Law School talk

LIZ OLINER/YH Civil rights activist and attorney Angela Oh

Oh, one of seven advisors on the President's Initiative on Race, strayed somewhat off-topic in a fiery speech that canvassed her work on the President's commission and her experiences in Los Angeles. Ultimately, though, her message was one of action. "The terrible thing is that we get caught up in politics and campaigns that make you think that what your gut is telling you is off the mark," she explained. "Be introspective. Think about what it is that is at the core of your values."

Lee, the acting attorney general for civil rights and a former NAACP lawyer, focused more on Asian-American civil rights, relating how his experiences as the son of poor laundry operators drove him to pursue a career fighting for equal opportunity.

"What I remember as a child is discrimination and exclusion," Lee reflected. "I never thought of civil rights in black and white terms. I've learned that civil rights laws are designed for people on the margins--and it doesn't matter how they got there." Lee then switched gears and related "horrifying" cases of discrimination that he has encountered working for the Justice Deparment.

The audience acknowledged that the speakers didn't focus on the original topic, but most were satisfied nonetheless. "I guess it was really interesting to hear about Bill Lann Lee's backgound--I think that drew in listeners. I liked Oh's perspective on the L.A. riots," Judy Sue, SY '01, said.

--David Altschuler

Abdelnaby survives impeachment hearing

Although the members present voted 43-2 to impeach him, the motion failed because it did not have the support of at least three-fourths of the 133 recognized members of the General Board. General Manager Mike Corwin, SM '99, believes that the members who did not attend would have voted "no" on the motion to impeach. Other WYBC members claim, however, that many of 133 recognized voters are not legitimate members of the radio station.

Many student DJs maintain that Abdel-naby failed to keep explicit promises to maintain diverse programming. In response, Abdelnaby and Corwin claim that WYBC is responsible for accommodating the larger New Haven community with its
programming.

Many participants found the meeting frustrating. Marked by outbursts of dissatisfaction and occasional walkouts, the meeting, said one member, was like a church service that preached "the gospel according to Mike [Corwin]." Student DJ Jason Knight, ES '00, said Corwin and Abdelnaby "are playing a petty game of politics."

--Joshua Marks

Ex-'New Yorker' writer relates words of wisdom

Harris described herself part of the third generation of New Yorker writers, for whom "the interest of an article or story was created by the force of the writing." Today, Harris said, "speed and greed" characterize the magazine culture, since profit and popular culture have become the focus of many periodicals.

Harris, now a professor at the Columbia Graduate School of the Arts, advised future writers to respond to changes in the magizine world and head to graduate school to gain a competitive edge. She answered questions for over half an hour, much to the satisfaction of a curious audience. "Her stories were great, and her advice for getting ahead in the journalistic world is invaluable," Ben McGrath, SY '99, said.

--Michael Motto

Gatorade awards five internships to Yalies

Lauge Sokol-Hessner, JE '00, who will be studying muscle damage and micronutrients in a clinical trial study, said he was very excited and surprised to receive the internship. He learned about the program in his dean's office the day before the deadline. "When people find out about it, it's going to be real competitive," Sokol-Hessner said. Guillem Gonzalez-Lomas, BK '99, who will be doing neuromuscular research at the J.B. Pierce Laboratory at Yale, also said he found out about the internship from a poster.

The other three students selected were Laura Long, SY '99, E. Alex Hoffman, BK '00, and Alexa Romberg, JE '00.

--Joshua Marks

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