The Week in Brief

MAC CAPLAN/YH As Congress debates emergency anti-terrorism legislation proposed by Attorney John Ashcroft, many fear that civil liberties will disapear in the coming battle with an unseen enemy. In a statement released to the Herald and published by the Los Angeles Times, Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale Law School, proposes a compromise.

"Any congressional enactment should come with a sunset provision, requiring the law to lapse after two years unless it is reenacted...Our tradition of civil liberties is being placed at risk, and a...two-year termination clause simply recognizes the proposal as an emergency measure that deserves sober second thought before it becomes a permanent part of our legal tradition. Caution also is required by the amorphous and open-ended character of the terrorist threat. Calling it a "war" diverts attention from a salient difference: When a classic war ends, Congress always embarks on a housecleaning effort to rid the statute books of wartime legislation that no longer makes sense in the new era of peace. But the war against terrorism will never come to such a definitive resolution...The rise of terrorism undoubtedly requires a serious debate over the proper balance between liberty and security in the 21st century. But Congress should not provide permanent answers when we have not even begun to ask the right questions."

Authorities explore terrorist Yale Med plot

According to a report published in Newsday last week, law enforcement authorities were investigating a connection between two men detained at a Veteran's Hospital in Brooklyn and a possible terrorist threat to Yale medical facilities ["FBI detains 2 found at VA facility," 9/23/01].

One of the detained men elicited suspicion after bypassing a hospital metal detector. When questioned by a hospital staff member, he said he was a doctor and showed a Connecticut driver's license. The FBI then detained him and the man accompanying him. Newsday reported that a search revealed the men were carrying maps of the Yale medical facility, Kennedy Airport, and Foxwoods Casino, as well as volunteer identification issued by Yale. The report also mentioned a concealed Egyptian passport on one of the men, along with maps of other Connecticut and New York facilities.

Yale security followed up on the report and determined that there was no threat to any Yale facility. The FBI and other investigative agencies assured the University that Newsday's report was largely false and exaggerated. In fact, the two men were released within two hours of their detention, after the FBI confirmed their identities.

"We were satisfied by the actions of law enforcement and assured that there was no threat to the University," Thomas Faeth, director of University Security Programs, said. "To our knowledge, there were in fact no schematics found on the men, no hidden papers, and it was something like a Yale shuttle bus schedule."

Anthony Nelson, the FBI's investigating agent, was unable to confirm the identity of the men and gave no comment except to say that there was "no threat" posed by the men. "It sounds like the people at VA [Veterans Administration] were nervous, saw an Arab-looking face, and overreacted," Faeth said.

When sked to comment this week, Yale President Richard Levin, GRD '74, said he had no knowledge of any investigation. "I haven't heard of it," he said. "That doesn't mean that our security people have not been contacted, but that's the first I've heard of this." The FBI is not releasing the names of anyone who has been detained in connection with possible terrorist activity, and there is no confirmation of a relationship between the detained men and Yale. 

— Ellen Thompson

Trustee kicks off Yale United Way Campaign

Kicking off the annual Yale United Way Campaign, Yale Corporation Trustee Benjamin Carson, DC '73, spoke about "the spirit of public service" to a crowd of about 40 at Luce Hall on Wed., Oct. 3.

Carson, an associate professor and head of the department of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University, has been recognized for his work both as a surgeon and as a role model for disadvantaged youth. His own organization, the U.S.A. Scholars Fund, tries to address problems faced by at-risk youth. The fund makes annual awards to students who have exhibited high academic achievement and a concern for others.

Laura Freebairn-Smith, Yale's United Way Campaign chair, said the University's goal this year is to raise $500,000, up from $342,000 last year.

Donations to the United Way support social service programs for children, the elderly, and other needy citizens in greater New Haven. 

—Suzy Khimm

UN lends flags to Yale for birthday fête

The United Nations (UN) has agreed to loan part of its world flag collection to Yale for the University's final tercentennial celebration this weekend. In all, Yale will borrow 97 national flags, nearly half of the UN's complete set of 189.

The flags are different from the familiar ones that fly outside of the UN's headquarters in New York City. The UN will lend Yale the "first rank" flags that are set aside for various special events. Each is 4'x 6'.

Typically, the UN does not loan its collection of flags to outside organizations. Fortunately for Yale, though, it makes allowances under special circumstances. O. Khan, officer in charge of supply at the UN, told the Herald that Yale's 300th birthday would be one such "exceptional case." The University will temporarily acquire the flags due to the efforts of Undersecretary General of the UN and former Ambassador to the UN Joseph Reed, SY '61. After receiving a call from Woolsey Hall, Reed made the special request to have the flags loaned to University.

Reed called the Tercentennial celebration "a brilliantly organized event. Each and every moving part [will have] significance, and those who [are going to] participate will have lifelong memories. On a scale of one to 10, the tercentennial is off the chart." 

—Phuoc La

Around the Ivies

Tired of boring, low-paying jobs? The Harvard Student Employment Office has found a solution. Recently, sperm donation was added to its list of job opportunities. With rates begining at $70 per donation, over 10 Harvard students have expressed interest in making a contribution to the New England Cryogenic Center, disproving the theory that Cantabs never have time to enjoy themselves.

Columbia

With possible implications for making sperm donation a more lucrative business, researchers at Columbia University announced the results of a study that shows prayer seems to increase the chances for successful in vitro fertilization. In the study, women for whom others prayed were twice as likely to become pregnant as women for whom no one prayed.

Cornell

Scientists at Cornell University have found that various food crop plants—unlike some Harvard students—show discretion as to where their "sperm" ends up. The Cornell researchers discovered that pollen from one plant is unable to produce pollen tube growth in another plant if the two are genetically related. The scientists attributed this mechanism for preventing germination to a self-incompatible reaction in the stigma of a plant.

Penn

Students at Penn made a major discovery this week: eating things without paying for them is illegal. Juniors Marc Fenichel and Peter Fuku-naga were arrested at a grocery store as they attempted to leave.

Allegedly, the duo had eaten sushi and then put the empty packages back on the shelf. Fenichel and Fukunaga claim that they intended to pay for the consumed goods before leaving the store.

—Compiled by Phuoc La from the Harvard Crimson, the Columbia University Record, the Cornell University News Service, and the Daily Pennsylvanian.

Heard

"The dildo is the mechanical phallus—it never fails." 

— Claude Rawson, Satire

"I hate the word `liberal' and I hate the word `conservative.' We need to think of a new language. Perhaps, for liberals, we could use the word `progressive,' and for conservatives, ah... `thoughtful.'" 

—Stanley Flink, Ethics and the Media

Index

2. Number of college Masters who will allow you to buy "costumes" with Sudler funds: 12

3.Price of two pairs of Camper shoes, in dollars: 258

4. Price of eight pairs of Diesel jeans, in dollars: 632

5. Price of Filipino mail-order bride, in dollars: 310 

6. Percentage of filmmakers with a "history": 85 

7. Number of history majors at Yale: 987 

8. Number of history majors who will talk your ear off: 982 

9. Number of film studies majors at Yale: 43

10. Number of film studies majors who will talk to you: 3 

11. Number of film studies majors with Sudler funds: 13 

12.Number of film studies majors with new threads: 12

13. Number of student films shown at Yale this semester: 1 

14. Number of unhappy Filipino women at Yale this semester: 10 

15. Percentage of filmmakers who are virgins: 10

Sources: 1, 2) 2001 Sudler application guidelines; 3, 4) Urban Outfitters; 5, 13, 14) Ross Wachsman, ES '02; 6) NYU Department of Abnormal Psychology; 7, 8, 11) a little bird; 9, 10) a bitter freshman; 12) the Fashionista 15) an evil genius.

—Compiled by Larkin Grimm

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