The Week in Brief

Hundreds gather to support unionzation

Although Local 35, which represents Yale Dining Hall workers, and Local 34, which represents Yale clerical and technical workers, are already organized, the University has strongly resisted any new attempts at unionization. Antonio Lopes, a member of Local 34, spoke for many when he explained the importance of organizing. "As goes the relationship between Yale and the unions, as goes New Haven's economy," he said. "Now that Yale accounts for over a quarter of New Haven's jobs, whatever Yale dictates is the way things will go for the city's workers."

Speaker after speaker, from State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) offered support. Perhaps the most moving message, however, came from Congressman John Louis (D-Ga.). In a speech delivered via telephone from Washington, DC, Louis—who was assaulted and beaten as a civil rights protestor in the 1960s—told the gathered crowd, "You must never, ever give in or give up and you will win! You are fighting for the future of our country. You must keep the faith."

—Zander Dryer

O.J. forensics expert talks shop with students

It is clear that Lee followed his own credo of hard work. He started as a police captain in Taiwan, moved to an entry-level position as a research technician at New York University Medical Center, and ended up as the commissioner of the Department of Public Safety for Connecticut.

Dr. Lee's talk was replete with humorous anecdotes. He engaged the audience in demonstrations, giving anyone who participated a commemorative police badge.

Surprisingly, Dr. Lee spent little time discussing the cases that brought him fame, though he did mention the famous ruler that was contested by the prosecution during the Simpson trial. "They did all this work trying to find out bad things about me," he laughed, "and all they could come up with was that my ruler was one one thousandth of an inch too short. They wanted to contest my entire testimony for this." At the end of the talk, Lee gave the ruler—for which he has received over a thousand monetary offers—to Saybrook Master Mary Miller.

—Anna Arkin-Gallagher

YHHAP brings Mayor in for panel discussion

According to Morand, Yale intends to generate economic opportunity and strengthen neighborhoods by improving public schools and by helping citizens find jobs and become homeowners. The plan also includes improving New Haven's downtown area to attract more investment.

"Why do poor people live in New Haven? It's because we're the only city that provides affordable housing, rehab, [and] daycare," DeStefano explained. He maintained that New Haven's most pressing burdens are lack of intra-city cooperation, limited funds, an extremely dense population, and language and culture barriers. DeStefano did express appreciation for the level of collaboration between New Haven and Yale.

The panel kicked off Homelessness and Poverty Awareness Week, organized every semester by Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project (YHHAP).

—Carol Huang

New book explores the mysteries of the harem

Yeazell, the Chace Family Professor of English, explores both verbal and visual artistic representations of the harem as mirrors of European culture. The vast majority of the artists inspired by the harem had never visited one, but according to Yeazell, "[as] imaginative projections, such harems tell us more about the Europeans than they do about the domestic reality of the East." Harems became, to the West, "structures of fantasy."

Beyond the male erotic fascination with harems, the idea of woman belonging to the private and not the public sphere appealed to Victorian sensibilities. Several Victorian ladies were actually intrigued by the degree of freedom accorded to the women. In many ways, Yeazell said, the woman in the harem was "queen of that space."

Yeazell's other works include books on Henry James, Alice James, and a study entitled Fictions of Modesty: Women and Courtship in the English Novel. Next semester she will be teaching a class on the Victorian novel.

—Kate Heinzelman

KATIE ALDRICH/YH Peter Beinart, BR '93. editor of the New Republic, came to Yale on Thurs., Oct. 19 to talk about the magazine as a Poynter Fellow in journalism.

HEARD

"I suffer from the handicap that if I'm not interested in the subject of a paper, I fall asleep. This is, needless to say, not to your advantage" —Cyrus Hamlin, Faust in its European Context "Here is my flat tire. And here are my nuts." —Cornelius Beausang, Physics 150, General Physics "Then Lawrence ran away with one of his professor's wives. I don't recommend this is something you try." —(once again) Bill Deresiewicz, Modern British Novel

Around The Globe

Foot in her mouth?

A Japanese religious cult leader who diagnosed her followers' serious illnesses following simple foot examinations and charged them "an arm and a leg" for it, was convicted this week of swindling millions of dollars since she began practicing in 1987. Michiko Ichinose, a leader of the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo (Flower of Law and Three Law Practice) received 18 months of suspended jail time on counts of defrauding some 30,000 people and, most recently, of telling two pregnant women after examining their feet that their children would die prematurely unless the women trained at the cult.

Fava beans and chianti

While doing time in a Philippine prison, Noberto Manero realized that he no longer had a taste for men of the cloth. Manero served a 12-year sentence for murdering and consuming an Italian priest, but, upon his release, he officially relinquished his cannibalistic desires in favor of the fine vegetarian food served in the jail. He also told reporters that after his release, he plans to relocate to an area where few priests live.

But those are for my brownies!

As any Berkeley College student can tell you, marijuana plants make for a pretty picture. But 38-year-old Brian Davis found himself in an Indiana court after dropping off a roll of film at the local supermarket. The photo processor on duty recognized what was a garden full of 39 marijuana plants in the developing images, and he promptly notified authorities who arrested Davis and charged him with a Class D felony: maintenance of a common nuisance. Soon after, college kids in the area started a demonstration to protest the classification of marijuana as "a nuisance."

—Compiled by Amsalu Dabela from Yahoo! News and Bizarre News.

YALE INDEX
1. Age of Yale University, in years:	300
2. Number of Handsome Dans in the past 300 years:	15
3. Number of Handsome Dans that were bitches:	1
4. Number of freshmen named Dan:	20
5. Number that are handsome:	11
6. Number that resemble Handsome Dan:	2
7. Number of handsome freshmen Dans I consider my bitches:	3
8. Age of Yale University, in dog years:	2,100
9. Age of Handsome Dan XV ("Louis"), in human years:	5
10. Age of Louis XV ("Le Bien-Aimé"), in dog years:	448
11. Number of Handsome Dans named Bingo:	1
12. Number of farmers with dogs named B-I-N-G-O:	1
13. Number of times I've bailed my grandmother out of jail after a night of glue-sniffing, rum-tum-tugging, and, of course, B-I-N-G-O:	13
14. Number of times my grandmother has invited me to a Handsome Dance:	1
15. Number of times my roommate has offered me a Dansome Handjob:	300

1) Office of Public Affairs; 2,3,9,11) Yale Athletic Department; 4,5,6) Freshman Facebook 7) Tally next to my bed 8,10) My TI-83 12) Was his name-o; 13,14, 15) my roommates

—Compiled by Zander Dryer

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