Week in Brief

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Nigerian police arrested a real-life troll last month under a bridge in Lagos, while he was in the act of grilling the limbs of a woman. His humble abode was scattered with roasted human limbs and the bones of his former victims. "Some of the limbs and feet on the man's grill are believed to be those of a young woman," an official said.

Local residents reported they had long suspected the troll of killing people to sell their body parts for use in rituals, as tourist souvenirs, and to Western colleges.

How to eat Frank with beans

An alleged cannibal in Venezuela last month dished up much more than his favorite recipes of eyeball soup and tongue stew, by publicly describing his victims and methods. Dorangel Vargas, who claims to have eaten about 10 men in the last two years, has become the Julia Child of the intra-species culinary world.

"Anyone can eat human flesh, but you have to wash and garnish it well to avoid diseases," the hygienic gourmet explained. "I only eat the parts with muscles, particularly thighs and calves which are my favorite."

Local newspapers report Vargas "preyed on homeless men and laborers whom he clubbed to death with a metal tube." The police still doubt his claims due to the lack of evidence, and have not yet formally charged him.

The doggy-bag method

You can take it with you.

A Kazakhstan woman was arrested on Mon., Feb. 22, for mummifying her dead mother and three other relatives. The woman claims she could not afford the funeral costs, so she performed a do-it-yourself burial.

A police officer on a routine house call detected the predictably fierce odor of organic decay and followed the scent to find three bundled corpses sitting against a wall and another in a cardboard box.

Newspapers reported the woman, a non-practicing doctor, used a simple, easy-to-make alcohol-based solution to preserve the bodies, some of which had probably been in the house for several years.

--Compiled by Drew Swan
from Reuters.

Briefs

JULIA TIERNAN/YH SILENT SOLIDARITY: On Mon. Mar. 1, activists marched from Grand Avenue to the Women's table in memory of Malik Jones, who was shot on Grand by a police officer two years ago.

Breaking with traditional policy, Berkeley Dean Laurence Winnie sent an e-mail to the college's students on Wed., Mar. 3, announcing that the sophomore class will be annexed. "The class to be annexed, at least in part, is the Class of 2002," the e-mail stated. "Even if all seniors and juniors are housed in Berkeley, about a third of the class of 2002 will still be able to live in Berkeley."

These Berkeley sophomores will be housed in Durfee, where Berekley freshmen will also live. "We were extremely fortunate to get this space, right across from the dining hall," Winnie wrote.

The decision comes on the heels of a heated rooming meeting, where sophomores expressed anger at the prospect of living in Berkeley for only a year due to a space shortage in the renovated college. "I think this is a fair decision because it gives Berkeley juniors a chance to live in the college as long as the other classes," Roopa Kalya-namaran, BK '01, said.

--Liz Oliner

GESO protests use of casual labor

ZOE KONOVALOV/YH TO ARMS: At a rally on Wed., Mar. 3, GESO showed no signs of letting up.

On Wed., Mar. 3, about 400 graduate students and supporters showed up despite a rainy afternoon to march down Hillhouse Avenue to Commons chanting, "Hey ho! Casual labor's got to go!"

At the rally, sponsored by the Graduation Employees and Students Organization (GESO), David Montgomery, professor emeritus of labor history, headed off the series of speakers. He spoke of the increasing use of TAs instead of full-time teaching positions. He was followed by Sanjay Baliga, FES '04, who complained about the debt burden graduate students face. "The average student debt is $35,000--and the average annual salary after graduation is $31,000," he said.

Other speakers decried the lack of funding for graduate research, overcrowded and ineffective English as a Second Language programs, and even the quality of graduate housing. "I have a friend whose ceiling collapsed on him, yet unlike private sector landlords, Yale takes no responsibility," Richard Lofthouse, GRD '01, said.

GESO organizer Denise Bossy, GRD '03, said of the rally, "It was fantastic." She added, "GESO's really been gaining momentum throughout the year as we raise awareness of these issues. We are only disappointed that [Graduate School Dean Susan] Hockfield refused to come. She's the first dean who has refused to meet with us since 1992."

The graduate students signed a petition listing their grievances which was then delivered to Hockfield. "The only way to win these issues is to work together collectively," Bossy said. "All these different issues are structural problems. Yale shouldn't ignore them, but it's up to us to remind them of that."

--Zoe Konovalov

Morsels welcome new college Dean

After screening 48 candidates over the course of nine months, Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead, BR '68, GRD '72, announced on Mon., Mar. 1, to a crowded Morse dining hall that Morse Acting Dean Rosemary Jones will assume the post permanently. Jones, a former Morse writing tutor, has served as Acting Dean since the beginning of the school year following the departure of former Morse Dean Glenn Wallach last summer.

Brodhead's announcement was met with raucous applause and a standing ovation from the students. Jones said she is excited about her new position. " I was thrilled," she said. "I'm looking forward to working in Morse." A committee consisting of Morse students and Master Stan Wheeler worked on the selection process.

--Joey Ax

Spies and lies explored at Yale conference

On Fri., Feb. 26, members and aficionados of the mysterious world of intelligence operations invaded Yale for a two-day conference entitled "The Matter of Espionage." Featured speakers included intelligence historians and scholars and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials, including former CIA director John Deutch.

Participants discussed the historical, intellectual, and ethical aspects of espionage, as well as its role in today's world. "The study of espionage and intelligence is well on the way to making the transition from the realm of spy stories to that of serious historical scholarship," said History Professor Gaddis Smith, PC '54, GRD '61, one of the conference's organizers.

--Kris Siriratsivawong

Reps lend support to sweatshop activists

Some congresspersons have more on their minds than Monica Lewinsky. On Thurs., Feb. 25, 24 members of Congress sent a letter praising college students' protests against sweatshop manufacturing of university products, including sit-ins and rallies at Brown and Princeton and a recent Yale "knit-in." The letter, authored by Rep. George Miller (D-CA), read, "There will always be some people and certain companies that will try to get away with the weakest workforce protections they can. Today, we are again expressing our support for your actions to make sure that university codes of conduct are strong and effective."

Members of Students Against Sweatshops (SAS)--the Yale group that organized the knit-in on Cross Campus on Tues., Feb. 16--are encouraged by the letter. "We definitely appreciate the congressional support," SAS coordinator Jess Champagne, BK '01, said. "It's always good to see public figures taking a stand on an issue like this. I hope that this encourages the Yale Administration to take a stand for full public disclosure and an effective code, both publicly and in the Ivy working group meetings."

--Liz Oliner

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