The Week in Brief

At Harvard, it is nearly impossible to graduate without honors these days. According to a recent study, 91 percent of Harvard's senior class received honors at commencement last June.

"It's scandalous," Harvey Mansfield, professor of government at Harvard, commented. "It shows that Harvard is quite out of line with other Ivy League schools."

At Yale, honors are given on a set percentage basis, with exactly 30 percent receiving general honors. Further honors are also bestowed by each department.

Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead, BR '68, GRD '72, commented, "An honor is a sign of rarity, and so on the face of it, if everyone got honors, it wouldn't be an honor."

Receiving honors at Harvard is much easier—only a B-minus average is required to graduate cum laude. And with grade inflation, many schools' A-to-F grade range has shrunk an A-to-B-minus range. At Harvard, 51 percent of the grades given last year were either As or A-minuses.

Yale President Richard Levin, GRD '74, said grade inflation at Yale is not a problem. "It's never bothered me a great deal that most grades here are As and Bs because our student body is comprised of excellent students who work extremely hard," he said.

Mansfield has been an outspoken critic of grade inflation for years. In his government class, he gives students two grades: the inflated "Harvard grade" and another grade reflecting the true quality of their work. He does it, he says, to "protect his students" while giving them an accurate idea of where they stand. Mansfield adds, "It's not an honor to get honors at Harvard—it's a dishonor not to." 

—Aditi Sen

Med School requires drawing class

Are stick figures the extent of your artistic prowess? Do you ever find yourself thinking, "Who cares what Mona Lisa's smiling about?" Then forget about medical school.

Yale School of Medicine (YSM) students are now required to take an art class in which they study paintings at the Yale Center for British Art and then face quizzes on the details of the paintings. Dr. Irwin Braverman, one of the strongest proponents of the class, firmly believes that it hones students' observational skills in a world where medicine is increasingly dependent on technology as opposed to the five senses.

Dr. Herbert Chase, deputy dean of education at YSM, said, "[The class] trains the power of observation. The more observant, the better the doctor is."

Medical schools across the country are beginning to require their students to take fine arts classes. Dr. Robert Collins teaches a literature course at the UCLA School of Medicine where students study The Plague by Albert Camus, movies such as The Elephant Man and My Left Foot, and other literary works.

The objective of the course is to allow physicians to see medicine from another perspective—be it that of a nurse, a patient, or a patient's family. Collins believes his course helps students cope with the constant sorrow in medicine.

As one aspiring doctor said, "Any technique that will make me better able to diagnose or make me comfortable with the patient is worth a try." 

—Joanna Lim

At 300, rethinking Yale's curriculum

Over the next year, Yale will conduct an in-depth review of its curriculum. President Richard Levin, GRD '74, announced the plan in his Tercentennial Convocation address last weekend.

"I'm absolutely committed to maintaining our strength in the areas we've had historical advantages in—the humanities, certain sciences, the fine arts," he said.

"[But] I don't think that any university 50 years from now is going to rank in the top handful of universities worldwide unless it is also ranked in the top worldwide in the sciences," he added. "To maintain our excellent reputation we need to be one of the top universities worldwide in the sciences."

Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead, BR '68, GRD '72, will lead the review. Levin stressed that although the project is still in its early planning stages, he was certain that the review would not be just a small committee project, but rather a broad effort involving all the members of the Yale community.

"We really want to make this a thorough and comprehensive inquiry," Levin said. "We'll select faculty members, ask the YCC to help select student representatives, and of course Dean Brodhead will head the effort. We'll be laying out the details in the coming weeks."

Brodhead said he plans on holding town meetings to solicit input from students and faculty. He also hopes to get feedback from recent Yale graduates.

The University undertook a similar review 30 years ago, but as Levin noted, much has changed since then. The essential character of Yale remains the same, however.

"The faculty recognized—then as now—[that] the great object of human investigation should properly evolve over time," Levin said.

—Leela Yellesetty

Around the Globe

Bert, the puppet from popular children's television show Sesame Street, has appeared in strange places recently. Two independent sources have confirmed that Bert appeared next to terrorist Osama bin Laden on posters at a pro-bin Laden protest this week. The mysterious coupling of the American children's icon with the world's most wanted fugitive is puzzling to say the least. Bert's friend, Big Bird, made a guest appearance at the Tercentennial this past weekend. Bin Laden, needless to say, had no friends featured as guests at the Yale Bowl event. Big Bird and bin Laden were both unavailable for comment.

Tonga

The island nation of Tonga is now short $26 million after being defrauded by its court jester, American businessman Jesse Bogdonoff. Bogdonoff, whose duties as jester apparently included managing the nation's trust fund, invested the money in Millennium Asset Management. Now, both the jester and the cash are nowhere to be found.

Swaziland

In Swaziland, King Mswaiti III has outlawed sex for young women. Mswati, who recently married a 17-year-old girl, reimplemented this traditional law in order to curb the spread of HIV and AIDS. To ease the law's enforcement, virgins will be required to wear blue and yellow tassels with "Don't touch me" written on them. Men in violation of this newly revived decree will be fined $152.

Sweden

Last month, a pastry-wielding bandit attacked King Carl XVI Gustaf while the monarch was visiting a bird sanctuary. As Gustaf left the sanctuary, a 16-year-old boy rushed past the king's bodyguards and tossed a strawberry tart in his face. The boy, who was later tackled by Queen Silva and others surrounding the king, now faces six years in prison.

—Compiled by Phuoc La and Nicholas Zamiska from BBC News and FOX News

Heard

—Ben Polak, Game Theory

"I have a great respect for what goes on in people's beds." 

—Michael Roemer, American Comedy

Index

2. Number of women on Ramona, the Yale Women's Ultimate team: 17

3. Approximate number of Clinton fans attending speech: 8,000 

4. Number of Ramona fans attending the Williams tournament: 0

5. Number of Frisbee tournaments Clinton has won in past two weeks: 0 of 0

6. Number of tournaments Ramona has won in the last two weeks: 1 of 1

7. Percent chance that Clinton will be playing Frisbee this weekend: 0

8. Percent chance that both Yale Ultimate teams will play this weekend: 100 

9. Number of fans they expect: 3

10. Percent increase in fan support if Ramona had tossed a disc with Clinton: 2,666

11. Percent of Ultimate players who want a winner-take-all tourney with Dick L., Dick B., Linda Lorimer, Paul Simon, and Big Bird: 46

12. Percentage of team members that would pick George over Bill Clinton for the position of Celebrity Coach for the showdown: 87

Sources: 1, 3) yalestation.org; 2, 12) team rosters; 4, 6) You may not have been there, but someone else was; 5, 6) espn.com; 7) government spies; 8) tip from gargantuan inflatable dog at the Yale Bowl; 9) current trends; 10) differential equations; 11, 12) error-laden PowerPoint slides on the enormous screens at the Tercentennial gala.

—Compiled by Paige Atkinson

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