The Week in Brief

For Jeffrey Kittay, a former professor of French literature at Yale, last week marked the end of a quest to bring news of academia's private feuds and public controversies to mainstream society. Kittay's award-winning magazine, Lingua Franca—"the review of academic life"—announced it would cease publication after a primary financial backer withdrew his support. The magazine never turned a profit in its 11-year run and relied on the largesse of private donors to cover its losses.

To the magazine's roughly 15,000 subscribers, Lingua Franca was a refreshing journal that took novel approaches to seemingly ordinary topics. In 1997, it featured pieces like "Pornutopia," a scholarly yet fun look at pornography, and "The Women Warriors," an exploration of matriarchal societies throughout the ages. In its current and possibly final issue, the journal addresses the ties between "viable fundamentalist movements" and Islam.

Despite is modest circulation and limited subject, Lingua Franca made its mark well beyond the academic community. When David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, heard of Lingua Franca's fate, he told The New York Times, "That is terrible. I really enjoyed it—I always found something fascinating to read in that magazine, and not infrequently something that I wish we had had for The New Yorker." Lingua Franca's inventive style earned it four nominations for a National Magazine Award; it won in 1993.

While there is the possibility that Lingua Franca may resume publication, chances are it will not be in the near feature. "There have been a few people who expressed interest, but it's not going to happen soon," said Andrew Hearst, managing editor of the magazine. "A lot of bad things are going on," he added. "[Lingua Franca] is not the only important thing in the world, but it mattered to a few people." — Phuoc La

YNHH forced to turn away guests at party

Close to 1,300 people crammed Oakdale Theatre on Sun., Oct. 20, to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH). The event's planners expected approximately 800 people, according to Katie Krauss, the associate director of marketing and communications for the hospital. After admitting 1,280 guests, organizers were forced to turn away the rest.

The gala was held to raise money for the 175th Anniversary Clinical Innovation Fund, which will be directed toward the hospital's patients. "This money is not going into research, but toward improving patient care," Krauss said. The organizing committee hoped to raise $200,000 for the fund. The proceeds raised by the $200-per-plate dinner exceeded the goal, although the total profit is not yet known.

"One hundred and seventy-five years is a very significant period in the history of this great institution and we wanted to honor the institution but also throw a celebration for the community," YNHH Board of Directors Chairman Marvin Lender told the New Haven Register.

The YNHH's anniversary celebration will continue in November with a conference commemorating the Newborn Intensive Care Unit's 40th anniversary. Krauss added that the hospital also hopes to bury a time capsule, probably in the spring. A project called "Voices from Yale-New Haven" is also collecting personal stories related to the hospital. - Jen Heilbronner

After bitter campaign, Looney endorses mayor

Six weeks after losing a hotly contested mayoral primary to incumbent John DeStefano, Jr., State Senator Martin Looney officially endorsed the current mayor this week. "As stated prior to the primary, I will support the nominee of the Democratic party as determined by the primary, and that nominee is John DeStefano," Looney said in a statement released to the press on Wed., Oct. 24. DeStefano will face Republican challenger Joel Schiavone, SM '58, in the general election on Tues., Nov. 6.

While the Democratic stronghold on the city makes DeStefano's reelection all but certain, the lukewarm endorsement officially unifies the party after a particularly unpleasant primary campaign. Hostilities between the two campaigns boiled over in the days immediately following the primary when DeStefano campaign manager Julio Gonzalez, CC '99, called Looney's campaign "horrible, horrible, horrible," in an interview with the New Haven Register. Hearing of Gonzalez's comments, Looney Campaign Manager Jason Bartlett told the Herald at the time, "I don't think my response is fit for a newspaper." Taking a shot at Gonzalez, Bartlett continued, "Generally, people try to be gracious after an election. I certainly have tried to be gracious in defeat. I think Julio's comments are inaccurate, completely out of line, and inappropriate."

Looney's endorsement ensures the Democrats will be united not only in New Haven, but also at the state level as they work to secure funding and resources for the city.

— Ted Diskant

Around the Globe

In what appears to have been a politically motivated murder, human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa y Placido was shot in her Mexico City office on Fri., Oct. 19. A message found near her body attacked the human rights organization that employed Ochoa until last year.

The murder is a major blow in the move toward full democracy in Mexico. Ochoa spent her career defending political prisoners, including two ecologists, Zapatista rebels, and two men accused of bombing a bank for Marxist causes. Ochoa was kidnapped twice in the past and had bodyguards assigned from the Inter-American Human Rights Court. Last year she received the Enduring Spirit Award from Amnesty International.

Australia

Australia has formed an agreement with Papua New Guinea to hold 220 refugees, mostly Iraqi, on Manus Island north of the Papua New Guinea mainland. Australia is financing the cost of housing the immigrants, who will stay no more than six months.

This agreement is the latest move in a tough campaign against illegal immigration launched by conservative Prime Minister John Howard. In the past few years, Australia has faced large numbers of illegal immigrants who arrive by ferry from Indonesia.

China

AOL Time Warner inked a new deal with the Chinese government, earning the U.S. media giant the rights to broadcast a Mandarin-language television channel in the southern China province of Guangdong.

In the past, foreign stations have been allowed to broadcast only in hotels and foreign national residential areas in China. This is the first time a foreign television channel will be broadcast to the general public.

As part of the deal, some Time Warner cable systems will broadcast China's state-run English language network, China Central Television (CCTV). Foreign news websites, including BBC, Reuters, yaleherald.com, and CNN remain inaccessible in China.

— Compiled by Dan Kahn from Wire reports

Heard

Bob Dunne,

Legal Implications of Computing Technology

"My eighth-grade science teacher would be proud to hear me teaching this at Yale. Except she's dead." —

Adam Simon,

Politics and the Media

Index

3) Time I spend at my job each week, in hours: 10

4) Time needed to make a donation to NECC, in minutes: 3

5) Maximum time I can work at my job each week, in hours: 17

6) Maximum donations NECC will accept from a single person each month: 8

7) Maximum amount I can make each month working at my job, in dollars: 612

8) Maximum amount I can make each month "working" for the NECC, in dollars: 560

9) Time required for me to make $560 at work, in hours: 62.2

10) Time required for me to make $560 "working" at NECC, in hours: 2/5

11) Amount I would make if I "worked" 62.2 hours for the NECC, in dollars: 87,110.80

12) Time required for me to make $87,110.80 at work, in hours: 9,679

13) Number of times I've thought of "working" for the NECC: 568

Sources: 1, 3, 5, 7) personal knowledge; 2, 6) the Harvard Crimson; 4) reasonable estimation; 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) simple arithmetic; 13) conservative estimation. — Compiled by Phuoc La

Back to News...