Class Notes – Sep/Oct 2020

Class Notes – Sep/Oct 2020

Our class now has its own Class Colloquia on ZOOM! All classmates are welcome to attend the presentation, Q&A, and breakout sessions afterward. Our first presenter was Ken Davis, who gave us a full update on Covid-19 from Mt. Sinai Hospital. Our second presenter was John Yarmuth, (D-KY), who gave us his views on politics in Washington and the upcoming elections. Next up was Reed Hundt, former FCC chairman, who will talk about the “Future…

John Randolph Elliott, August 31, 2020

John Randolph Elliott, August 31, 2020

from: Erie Times News The Rev. John Randolph Elliott (“Randy”) was an extraordinary, ordinary man. Randy will be long remembered as a man of prayer with deep faith, warm spirit, unwavering integrity, rigorous self-discipline, large intellect, and contagious laughter most often heard with a big family that he loved and gave him great joy—a family eternally grateful for his presence in their lives. Indeed, he lived with eternity in his heart, and entered his heavenly…

My 12 Quake Books
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My 12 Quake Books

There have been 12 really influencial books in my life: The Magus by John Fowles.  I relate to it because Nicholas Urfe, the protagonist, became an English teacher abroad when he couldn’t think of anything else to do – just like me.   It’s essentially a lesson in learning to love and this is one of the most important lessons one can learn. Voices of the Old Sea by Normal Lewis.  Three successive summers on the…

David Harrison Idol II, August 22, 2020

David Harrison Idol II, August 22, 2020

David Harrison Idol II died Saturday, August 22, 2020 at his home on Hillcrest Dr. in High Point. He was 74 years old. David was born May 20, 1946 in High Point to Percy Cornelius Idol and Lillian Small Idol. He was educated at Woodberry Forest School, King’s College, Taunton, and Yale University, and he received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He began his law career…

What were YOUR “Quake Books?”
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What were YOUR “Quake Books?”

I was recently introduced to the concept of a “Quake book” — a book (or other work of art) that profoundly changed the way you look at things.   “Occasionally I stumble across something really wild. Gray matter lurches and heaves.  Neural pathways are destroyed and rebuilt.  When the tremors finally stop, nothing looks the same.”

What were YOUR quake books?   List yours here.  See what books “shook” your classmates … and why.   Who knows, you might see something you’ve been meaning to read!

The Tragedy of the Yale Commons

The Tragedy of the Yale Commons

Editor’s Note: In the Comment below the article, classmate Jim Sleeper announces his retirement from the Yale faculty, highlighting the times he’s criticized the University’s corporatism (and, in this Op-Ed from the New Republic, reminding us why he protested Steve Schwarzman’s speech at the Reunion).
When 18-year-old Stephen A. Schwarzman, the son of a Philadelphia dry-goods store owner, entered Yale in 1965, he took his meals, like all freshmen, in the Commons, a vast, baronial dining hall in a cluster of beaux-arts [,,,]

FDA approves COVID-19 saliva test developed at Yale

FDA approves COVID-19 saliva test developed at Yale

from USA Today FDA approves COVID-19 saliva test developed at Yale in partnership with the NBA, NBPA Jeff Zillgitt USA TODAY A saliva-based COVID-19 test developed by researchers at Yale in partnership and funding from the NBA and National Basketball Players Association was approved on Saturday for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Called SalivaDirect, the test uses saliva samples to detect COVID-19. SalivaDirect is non-invasive and requires just a small sample, reducing…

Dating After 70

Dating After 70

My wife of many years, whom I will call Alice in this piece, died when I was 69.

At the age of 70, I began dating for the first time since I was at Yale.  Dating at 70 is different from dating when you’re young, and a number of friends who have long been married are curious about what this experience is like.  A couple of them asked about that, and I thought some of my Yale classmates might share that curiosity. So I’ve written this account of what it was like.

Justice Dept. Accuses Yale of Discrimination in Application Process

Justice Dept. Accuses Yale of Discrimination in Application Process

from the New York Times Justice Dept. Accuses Yale of Discrimination in Application Process The Trump administration said the university discriminated against Asian-American and white applicants. Yale defended its practices and vowed to maintain them. by Anemona Hartocollis, Aug. 13, 2020 The Justice Department on Thursday accused Yale University of violating federal civil rights law by discriminating against Asian-American and white applicants, an escalation of the Trump administration’s moves against race-based admissions policies at elite…

Harvard, Yale enrollments down 20 percent after moving online

Harvard, Yale enrollments down 20 percent after moving online

from Campus Reform by Ben Zeisloft  Pennsylvania Senior Campus Correspondent on Aug 06, 2020 at 10:30 AM EDT One-fifth of Yale and Harvard students will not enroll for the fall semester. Universities across the United States are anticipating drops in enrollment. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, about 20 percent of Harvard and Yale University students will not re-enroll at the Ivy League schools this fall. An email sent to Harvard students from Dean of the Faculty of Arts…

Set Up YOUR Yale Group Email on Yale1969.org

Set Up YOUR Yale Group Email on Yale1969.org

OK, you are part of a group of Yalies, and you want to help them stay in touch.   The group might be composed of your roommates and neighbors from “back in the day.”  It might be your spook.  Or your sports team or another extracurricular activity. It could even be a “shared interest group” of classmates that you’d like to organize now, like Doug Leonard recently did. Your goal: to have an easy way for…

Class Colloquium 4: Michael Medved, A View From the Right; September 2nd,  7:30pm (EDT)

Class Colloquium 4: Michael Medved, A View From the Right; September 2nd, 7:30pm (EDT)

Michael Medved now contributes to the American cultural and political conversation as a radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic. His talk show, The Michael Medved Show, is syndicated to over 200 stations from his home in Seattle. Michael will speak to us privately about the current political situation, the Trump Presidency, and the upcoming election from an independent Conservative point of view.

Please register now for the event.

Deeper breathing can help reduce stress among college-goers, Yale researchers say

Deeper breathing can help reduce stress among college-goers, Yale researchers say

While institutions are being forced to put in place mental health awareness protocols, advisories, counselling centres and have full-time psychiatrists on campus, among other measures, a new study from researchers at Yale University has backed the multiple benefits of breath work in increasing mental well-being among students, in a short period of time. 

New Book: Beyond The 4th Door

New Book: Beyond The 4th Door

Richard Seltzer is accelerating his output of novels, having published Parallel Lives only 6 months ago.  (See our review of it — Richard Seltzer’s New Novel: Parallel Lives.). Rumor has it that he has two more novels accepted for publication and another under contract.  Can you say “prolific?”
Beyond The 4th Door is now available on Amazon, which describes the novel thusly:
Without knowing why or how, two college students wake up 50 years older than they were when they went to sleep and with no memo […]

Announcing Exciting New Features for Yale1969.org

Announcing Exciting New Features for Yale1969.org

Now that COVID constrains travel and large social events, your Class Council and Class leaders today announce some exciting new features supporting onlne sharing among classmates:
* New Home Page.  Check it out!
* Newsletter.  More frequent and simplified. 
* Class Colloquia.  These have been very popular; three more are coming in the Fall.

This is the first step in evolving this Yale1969.org website from a “magazine” format (mostly articles), to more of a “community center” where sub-groups of our Class can connect and extend/maintain […]

Have We Been Missing Some Troublesome Long-term Trends at Yale?
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Have We Been Missing Some Troublesome Long-term Trends at Yale?

I fear I have been blinded for a period of years by my institutional affection and great memories from noticing what appear to be some disturbing long-term trends at Yale. The much-publicized recent campus culture issue involving hate speech vs. freedom of speech and similar matters of a quasi-political nature are only marginally related, if at all, to these concerns. Pasted below (shaded area) is a piece put together last year by Yale Alumni For…