The Week In Brief

In past years, the essays have asked applicants to first write on a topic of their choosing and then to describe an activity that has been important to them. On the new application, the second question has been replaced with, "Now write the essay you would have written if you were not trying so hard to say just the right thing to the Yale Admissions Committee. Perhaps you felt torn, wondering which of two topics to discuss. Regain your equanimity by writing about the one you didn't choose."

Explaining the changes, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Richard Shaw said, "We like to try different questions to unleash students' creativity...We want to hear from [the student's] pen and have them feel uninhibited. College applicants are often ridden with anxiety over the essay part of the application process."

Shaw added, "students often worry about what they perceive are our expectations. The Admissions Committee's goal is to ease [that] angst."

The change in application questions is the first since Shaw's arrival at Yale more than eight years ago.

—Benita Singh

Cemetery's dead rise—to landmark status

Saturday's ceremony included songs, speeches, and prayers. Mayor John DeStefano and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) spoke and were followed by remarks from distinguished Yale historians Howard R. Lamar and Robert J. Leeney. Leeney is an expert in New Haven community history. The 20-page report that justified the cemetary's designation as a National Historic Landmark pointed out that it is not just the famous Americans buried in the Grove Street Cemetery that make it so unique.

The other distinguishing feature of the cemetery dates back to its founding. Grove Street was created in 1796 as a progressive community institution that reserved plots for people from all sectors of society. Grove Street Cemetery's building, architecture, and landscape architecture were also highlighted in the report.

—Alyssa Frederick

Yale Press introduces friendlier format

The fall list includes Medicine's 10 Greatest Discoveries by Dr. Meyer Friedman and Dr. Gerald W. Friedland, and Paul Tillich's The Courage to Be, which was named one of the "Books of the Century" by the New York Public Library. Fifteen to 20 books are scheduled to be published every season under the new imprint.

According to Tina Weiner, YNB's Publishing Director, "We are highlighting books of broader interest. By reprinting some of our older titles, we want to introduce a more modern generation to these books."

YUP hopes that the low prices of the YNB books will positively influence sales. Weiner predicts that some of them will sell as many as 10,000 copies.

But the Press is not moving away from publishing more specialized academic books in place of more commercial ones. "Our list of titles is getting broader and deeper for both books of general and academic interest," Weiner said.

—Alexis Swerdloff

Yale grad student takes on arachnophobia

Through treatment with researchers in the Psychology Department, however, Lemm and others suffering from arachnophobia have conquered their fears. The program, which began last February, is run by Bethany Teachman, GRD '02, and Assistant Professor Sheila Woody.

The treatment is based on cognitive behavioral methods of fear reduction. Participants learn to expose themselves to their fears at an individualized and gradual pace. The early stages of therapy focus on making subjects feel at ease by looking at pictures of spiders, the participants eventually move on to interacting with four tarantulas— Wednesday, Rose, Wilbur, and Spike.

"When people feel in control [of the interaction], they are able to recognize that if they stay in that situation, they can reduce their fears," Teachman said. The treatment has a two-month follow-up, and so far, the success rate has been high.

Teachman said that it is important to do research on phobias because "they interfere with people's lives. They cause significant distress for people." She hopes that her research will show how fear can change over time.

Lemm, meanwhile, has found three spiders in her apartment. Each time she was able to calmly scoop the spider into a cup and dispose of it. But she still keeps the cup marked "spider cup" so that she won't accidentally drink out of it. "That would still be more than I can handle!" she said.

—Orianne Dutka

ERIC EAGAN/YH Organizers of Yale's annual Habitat for Humanity Bicycle Challenge presented a $150,000 check to Habitat for Humanity. The money was raised on last year's cross-country bike trek.

HEARD

"Have any of you ever read 'The History of the Codfish?'" —Paul Lilvoy, Race, Racism, and Social Theory "In case you haven't realized that I have designs on your soul yet, you should realize it now." —Bill Dereiscweicz, Modern British Novel "I feel like the bionic man—I'm shedding electrical appendages." —Vincent Scully, Introduction to the History of Art: Prehistory to the Renaissance

Ivy League Notebook

A robust economy led to a 32.2 percent increase in Harvard's endowment this year. The Cantabs' purse swelled to a record $19.2 billion. University administrators have not yet decided how much of that sum they will spend this year. However, some Harvardians are already clamoring to have the money divided equally among students so that they can all erect enormous monuments in honor of themselves.

Columbia In the wake of New York's summer West Nile virus scare, a concerted effort by Columbia's Facility Management Staff has resulted in a sharp decline in the university's mosquito population. As Columbia keeps up its crusade against the pest, the school's administration has assured students that they face little risk of being infected with the virus. But even though spraying pesticides has fended off mosquitoes, reports indicated that the number of crack dealers in Morningside Heights remains stable.

Cornell A computer scientist at Cornell recently published a study in the journal Nature that could revolutionize web browsers. He based his findings on the "Six Degrees of Separation" theory, which states that any person can be connected to anybody else through six other people. He envisions more efficient computer networks and web browsing linkages based on the Six Degrees hypothesis. Despite these improvements in networking, the changes will not bring Ithaca-bound students any closer to civilization.

—Compiled by Nishant Kumar and Amsalu Dabela from the Crimson, Columbia University Record, and the Cornell News Service.

YALE INDEX
1. Fraternities on High Street:	2
2. Fraternities on High Street that don't suck:	1
3. Singing groups Wednesday night at High Street gate:	15
4. Singing groups Wednesday night at High Street gate that don't suck:	0
5. Students in attendance at average SAE Late Night:	300
6. Students in attendance at average singing group Tap Night:	300
7. Percentage of students drinking at Late Night who are underage:	75
8. Percentage of students drinking at Tap Night who are underage:	75
9. Number of students arrested at last Thursday Late Night:	7
10. Number of students arrested at Wednesday Tap Night:	0
11. Number of noise violations handed out at Late Night:	1
12. Number of noise violations handed out at Tap Night:	0
13. Percent chance Late Night will continue as a Thursday night tradition:	10
14. Percent chance Tap Night will continue as a Yale tradition:	100

1, 2) An SAE brother; 3) Yale Daily News; 4) Non-singing group member survey; 5) Beer goggles; 6) Yale goggles; 7, 8) Educated guess; 9, 10, 11, 12) A little birdie; 13, 14) Vinny, my bookie.

—Compiled by Aaron Zamost

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