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T H E O L D E ST C O L L E G E DA I LY · FO U N D E D 1 8 7 8

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 · VOL. CXXXVI, NO. 15 · yaledailynews.com

INSIDE THE NEWS MORNING EVENING

SUNNY SUNNY

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CROSS CAMPUS Message from Ronnell. In

an email to the University community on Sunday, Yale Police Chief Ronnell Higgins informed students that the department had received a report from a Quinnipiac student who reported being sexually assaulted by a Yale undergraduate. According to Higgins, the assault occurred on campus early Sunday morning.

Mommy friendly. For the

fourth time in a row, Yale has been recognized by “Working Mother” magazine as one of the top 100 companies for working mothers. Yale earned its top marks for representation of women in the workforce, access to scholarships, tuition reimbursement and company culture, among other reasons. Five of the University’s 10 officers — as well as the deans of Yale College, the School of Engineering & Applied Science and the Nursing School — are women.

The mystery continues. A

block of New Haven homes lost power for about two hours on Monday after an intrepid squirrel tripped on an electronic transformer above Bristol Street. The guilty rodent was found dead on a nearby curb. Looks like this lone warrior was yet another casualty of the allegedly rapidly diminishing squirrel population in New Haven.

WEIGHT BIAS OBESE PATIENTS FACE STEREOTYPES

FOREIGN RELATIONS

BUDGET SURPLUS

CROSS COUNTRY

Former U.S. special rep for Afghanistan and Pakistan talks Middle East

STATE SPENDING GROWTH LOWEST SINCE 2002

In the 100th Yale-Harvard dual meet, both the male and female Bulldogs fall

PAGES 6–7 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

PAGE 3 NEWS

PAGE 3 CITY

PAGE 12 SPORTS

Women in the humanities GRAPH HUMANITIES MAJORS IN STUDENT BODY, BY GENDER 60%

50%

BY MATTHEW LLOYD-THOMAS STAFF REPORTER

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Answering your questions.

In an effort to continue campus discussion about the University’s response to sexual misconduct, Deputy Provost Stephanie Spangler, UWC Chair Michael Della Rocca, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Melanie Boyd and University Vice President Kim Goff-Crews are inviting interested students to dinner conversations about the recently released sexual misconduct scenarios.

THIS DAY IN YALE HISTORY

1962 After undergoing a series of summer renovations, the Yale Bookstore — designed to resemble the nearby Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges — opens in a new facility designed by Eero Saarinen ARCH ’34. Renovations included constructing the ladies sportswear, musical record and luggage departments. Submit tips to Cross Campus

crosscampus@yaledailynews.com

ONLINE y MORE cc.yaledailynews.com

SEE HUMANITIES PAGE 6

SEE HARP PAGE 4

20%

Women

10%

Men 1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

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2005

2010

SOURCE: NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY ASSISTANT PROFESSOR BENJAMIN SCHMIDT

ALLEGED HUMANITIES DECLINE MAY BE LINKED TO FEMALE MIGRATION TO OTHER DISCIPLINES BY JANE DARBY MENTON STAFF REPORTER In June, New York Times columnist David Brooks sparked controversy and concern with his column decrying the death of the humanities in American institutions of higher learning. “The humanities are not only being bulldozed by an unforgiving

job market,” Brooks wrote. “They are committing suicide because many humanists have lost faith in their own enterprise.” Brooks — who is also a senior fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute of Global Affairs who teaches an undergraduate seminar — cited national statistics that show a 50 percent decline in the number of humanities majors in the past 50

Democracy in action.

The Yale College Council introduced the 24 newly elected YCC representatives as well as the three student chairs of the council’s management board, a newly created group focusing on academics, student life and University services. Exact voting percentages will be released Tuesday.

years. Academics and commentators across the country have cited these same figures as heralds of the impending collapse of the humanities disciplines, positing causes including the current state of the economy, a shift toward the sciences, the impracticality of studying ancient texts in a modern world, and as Brooks claimed, a loss of inspiration within the humanities disciplines themselves. But one researcher, Northeast-

The fault lines in this year’s mayoral election, already centered on the role of money in politics, crystallized even further this week over nine $1,000 donations to the campaign of Toni Harp ARC ’78. The donations all came from employees of Hamden-based Connecticut Orthopaedic Specialists, which previously held an $800,000 annual contract with New Haven. Under the contract, city workers in New Haven who sustained orthopaedic injuries while on the job were directed to COS doctors for treatment. However, the city discontinued its contract with the firm in late July, citing false information on a form filed by one of the group’s most prominent doctors, which excused a city employee from work. One day later, nine employees, including group CEO Glenn Elia, gave the maximum allowable amount to the Harp campaign. “They are interested in influencing City Hall,” mayoral candidate Justin Elicker FES ’10 SOM ’10 said of COS. “This type of pay to play politics is exactly what we’re trying to get away from in the city.” Elicker called on Harp to return the donations in a press conference at COS’ main officein Hamden Monday. In a press release issued shortly after, though, Harp said she plans on keeping the donations. “I fully understand Mr. Elicker’s frustration that his lack of experience is turning voters off,” Harp said, also emphasizing that Elicker had failed to keep his promise to run a positive campaign. “However,

30%

0%

Elicker challenges Harp funding

Historic boathouse to be rebuilt BY LORENZO LIGATO STAFF REPORTER Six years after the historic home of early 20th century Yale rowers was razed to the ground, a new boathouse will soon rise over the waters of the New Haven Harbor. City and state officials joined a group of construction workers Monday morning to break ground on a two-story, hurricane-tolerant community boathouse that will lie at the site of the former Canal Dock shipping pier, on the western edge of the city’s harbor. Entirely funded by the state and federal government, the brand-new $37-million facility will be a replica of the historic George Adee Memorial Boathouse, which was demolished in 2007 to allow for the expansion of Interstate 95 along the harbor. With new boating programs and historical exhibitions, the construction of the Boathouse at Canal Dock will help to revitalize the waterfront, Mayor John DeStefano Jr. said at Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “For over five decades our city has been cut off from one of its greatest natural resources, the New Haven Harbor,” DeStefano said. “The construction of the Boathouse at Canal Dock takes steps to remedy that.” Towering over the shores of the Quinnipiac River, the historic George Adee Memorial Boathouse was erected for the Yale rowing crew in 1911. For 12 years, collegiate rowers raced

Gingrich and Amar debate Constitution

out of the Tudor-style, brickwalled Geroge Adee boathouse, pushing their blades against the New Haven Harbor waters. After the crew team relocated to its current Derby location in 1923, the boathouse was sold and converted into office space for decades. After much debate, it was eventually razed in 2007 to accommodate the construction of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, a partially completed bridge that carries the I-95 over the mouth of the Quinnipiac River.

For over five decades our city has been cut off from one of its greatest natural resources. JOHN DESTEFANO JR. Mayor, New Haven As a mitigation for the loss of a historic structure, the Connecticut Department of Transportation agreed to pay up to $30 million to build a replica of the George Adee boathouse at the Canal Dock location, which functioned as a shipping pier until the 1940s. The remaining $7 million necessary to complete the project will come from federal funds. The construction of the new boathouse, DeStefano said, follows more than 15 years of discussions to attempt to reconnect New Haven resiSEE BOATHOUSE PAGE 4

JOYCE XI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich debated issues such as gun control and voting rights with Yale Law professor Akhil Amar ’80 LAW ’84 Monday evening. BY MATTHEW NUSSBAUM CONTRIBUTING REPORTER On the eve of “National Constitution Day,” a constitutional law expert debated one of the United States’ most accomplished legislators about lessons from the Founders. The debate, which was held in a packed Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, pitted Yale Law professor Akhil Amar ’80 LAW ’84 against former GOP Speaker of

the House and 2012 presidential contender Newt Gingrich. At the discussion, the two participants addressed issues such as gun control and voting rights. “How do we limit the government’s power? How do we protect the people?” Gingrich asked. Gingrich, who served in Congress for two decades and helped the Republican Party gain a majority in the House durSEE GINGRICH PAGE 5

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YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 · yaledailynews.com

OPINION

.COMMENT “He's speaking about them like they're baby mini-Yalies... this is mad creepy.”

yaledailynews.com/opinion

'KNICKERBOCKER ' ON 'ENGAGING THE TRAILBLAZERS AT YALE-NUS'

GUEST COLUMNIST SAM COHEN

G U E ST C O LU M N I ST J OA N NA Z H E N G

Ending the stigma

Pay your interns

O

ne week ago today was World Suicide Prevention Day. This year, the theme was “Stigma: A Major Barrier to Suicide Prevention.” And for one group disproportionately affected by suicide, this theme was especially timely. In the US military, suicide rates have been steadily increasing over the last decade. In the Army alone, the suicide rate tripled from 2001 to 2012. The reason for some of these military suicides is relatively clear: among troops who fought in Iraq during the brutal period between 2004 to 2007, the suicide rate was nearly doubled, though direct combat experiences are not necessarily linked to suicide. According to surveys, the reasons why active duty servicemembers and veterans consider suicide vary from combat trauma-related PTSD to romantic failure, long work hours, separation from family and friends, even drug abuse — all stressors that are especially relevant to those in the military. The truly disheartening aspect of this problem is that it continues despite a concerted effort by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to train soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to spot suicide warning signs. It also persists despite increased levels of support, from crisis intervention to long-term therapy for PTSD. Why do suicide rates among veterans remain high despite the best efforts of the US government? It is not for lack of resources: suicide prevention and awareness trainings are mandatory across the board at the DOD, and a quick Google search of lifelines for veterans brings up hundreds of resources, many of them DOD-sponsored. The military is also taking a number of steps to reduce the likelihood of contributing factors. In 2008, for example, the DOD changed a question on security clearance forms that unintentionally discouraged applicants from seeking mental help for fear of losing their clearance. The Navy, for example, has shortened the hours when alcohol can be sold on base — no longer can a sailor buy between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., a dark time of night when the dark thoughts can enter the mind. All branches should follow the Navy’s lead. The military could do more to crack down on unnecessary access to loaded guns (the key being unnecessary), since studies show that suicide is often a decision made from easy access. And if one good thing comes from our decade at war, perhaps it will be incredible advances in our knowledge of the brain. The DOD has made huge investments in brain research

because of the high numbers of returning servicemembers with brain trauma — perhaps their advances will be part of the solution. But the ultimate answer is that government policies alone cannot solve the problem — it takes all of society to clear the scourge of military suicide. This is where the theme of World Suicide Prevention Day 2013 becomes so important. Particularly in a military warrior culture, mental illness has for too long been considered a weakness. An attitude of man-up-machismo was the unstated undercurrent of military suicide prevention efforts. But that is fast-changing. Efforts begun during the Bush administration have been increased and enhanced by First Lady Michelle Obama’s and Second Lady Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative, which seeks to help find returning veterans good employment with private companies. And military officials, from the Commander-in-Chief down, have been working to undo the dangerous stigma associated with seeking help. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was explicit, saying that to seek mental health treatment is a “choice that embodies moral courage, honor and integrity.” The military is well equipped to combat the stigma of seeking treatment for mental health. Underlying almost everything our military does is a sense of teamwork and esprit de corps. No servicemember — no teammate — should feel that they have nowhere to turn for help, or that asking for help is a sign of weakness. If the military works to extend the idea of teamwork to the realm of suicide prevention, not just in trainings but in practice, then the ugly rate of military suicide will decrease. But this requires action from both the military and civilian worlds. It is not enough just to thank a soldier with a visible wound for his or her service — we must make the effort to seek out the warriors who face invisible internal battles. Writing letters, sending care packages, actively caring even after the Veterans Day parades have marched passed — these are all things everyone can do to make the transition home from war a little bit easier for our men and women in uniform. Doing something so simple and yet so selfless is a fitting tribute to the men and women who have served overseas. And you just might save a life. SAM COHEN is a junior in Calhoun College. This column expresses his personal views only and not the views Yale, Yale NROTC, the Department of Defense or any other entity. Contact him at samson.cohen@yale.edu.

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E

very summer, thousands of starry-eyed college students leave their dorm rooms and backpacks behind for the thrill of cramped apartments, cheap take-out, and chintzy suits and skirts. For the investment banking and consulting crowd, life will be exhausting, but well-paid. But for those in other industries, like public service, journalism and academic research, compensation can be meager — if it even exists at all. These kinds of experiences are common. According to a June 11 New York Times article, undergraduates fill over 1 million summer internship positions each year, half of which are unpaid. Many with unpaid positions rely on family support, financial or otherwise, or work other parttime jobs in order to support themselves. And while unpaid internships are common, they are by no means uncontroversial, and have been the subject of media attention and debate in recent years. This past June, a controversial Fox Searchlight Pictures ruling once again put the spotlight on unpaid interns. In the decision, the judge ruled that the entertainment con-

glomerate had violated minimum wage laws by failing to pay two production interns for their contributions during the summer. Why are we, as a society, willing to give unpaid internships the benefit of the doubt while fighting so hard to raise the minimum wage domestically or abolish sweatshops overseas? The difference, it seems, lies in the notion of “education.” Interns are learning valuable work and life skills, the story goes, that will allow them to land high-paying jobs later in life. But this attitude is problematic in that it implicitly cements existing social stratifications by disadvantaging students who can’t rely on wealthy families to support unpaid posts. A student who needs to work over the summer to pay off student loans, support herself or even support her family is out of the running before she can even say “interview.” As a result, privileged students inevitably find themselves in some of the most competitive internships — internships with legislators and policymakers, for example, that are crucial to entering the good graces of America’s political elite. In a system that is already rigged against the poor

and minority classes, adding even more distance between Washington, D.C., and the disadvantaged is as unsurprising as it is counterintuitive. And unpaid internships are exploitation, plain and simple. The idea that companies provide interns with experience commensurate to what they would have had to pay employees in salary is absurd. Most of the time, interns add real value to the company by doing work other employees would otherwise have had to do. And sure, the first few weeks of an unpaid internship might just be coffee runs, but any employee doomed to interact with an executive before her morning coffee can attest to the value of that particular service. In all seriousness, though, interns — many of them bright college students — are often integral to a company’s summer life. And many do end up learning from their jobs and come back with positive reviews of their summer. But this argument is not unique; the same thing can be said of any low-wage employee. Recent immigrants who take a job at McDonald’s, for example, are learning English language and

communication skills through their work. But can you imagine the public outrage that would occur if McDonald’s announced it was suddenly going to stop paying its ESL workers? Admittedly, Yale is among the better end of colleges doing its part to make all internships accessible to everyone. Residential college grants designed for the express purpose of allowing students to do things like trek across the Appalachians studying birdcalls for a summer are good steps on the way to internship equality. The Bulldogs Across America programs, which provide free housing for accepted students, foster supportive environments while still exposing undergraduates to the cultural and social nuances of a new American city. But these are only Band-Aid solutions to a larger problem. Society needs to acknowledge that interns are people too, and begin paying them the money they deserve — or at least enough to cover Thursday night take-out in their shoe-closet apartments. JOANNA ZHENG is a senior in Trumbull College. Contact her at joanna.zheng@yale.edu .

G U E S T C O L U M N I S T E M E FA A G A W U

It could be great S

o here’s the thing: there are a lot of problems in the world. Like, a million big scary problems. And I have read a million and one (very well-written) pleas to the best and brightest in our generation to answer the call and attend to the world’s hurts. I know very few who are arguing that the world is actually best served by incentivizing investments in male pattern baldness and iPhone apps to find hookup partners instead of eradicating malaria. Even so, it sometimes feels as though we are constantly being asked to choose between being good and virtuous and caring — a life of public service — and leading a “normal” life. But why can’t a normal life include a fair bit of being good and virtuous and caring? But just because it’s scary to care, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t even try. It doesn’t all have to be so overwhelming, it’s not all or nothing. Some issues are more terrifying than others — not all problems are created equal. There’s a scale of how depressing and complicated everything is. Syria? That’s com-

plicated. The dangers of religious extremism and spread of global terrorism? Pretty messy. Reforming public education in this country? Where do we even begin. But our mistake is assuming that all the problems in the world are equally headache-inducing. If you want to feel less overwhelmed, read about the incredible social and economic effects of making contraception widely available to poor women, or look at how crops fortified with Vitamin A can prevent blindness. There’s a long list of serious issues with tangible solutions, and if we don’t get to them, then maybe the older generation will be right about us after all. My dad loves to grumble about our generation and our lack of values, our inability to communicate outside of Facebook and our obsession with self-image. And underneath his complaints is a serious concern that we’re pretty much screwed. I think he’s dead wrong. With all the kind, passionate and hardworking people I have the pleasure of knowing, I’m sincerely optimistic about the ability of young minds and spirits to

haul us out of trouble and vault the world into safety, just in time. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have a backup plan. Even if we tap into all this potential, saving the world might be kind of a close shave. And with such high stakes, why not build a bigger army to fight the world’s fight? Maybe you’ve heard those stats about how doable it would be to put a huge dent in global poverty. Maybe you are convinced that a malaria-free or largely hungerfree world is within our grasp. Maybe something is stopping you from deciding to give money in the sustained manner that effects real change. Haven’t we had enough of pretending to be held captive by the thought, “well, how can I get the most bang for my philanthropic buck?” Or, “I’d give, but where’s my guarantee that this is the absolute best use of my time or money? What if — what if! — there’s a better charity out there? I’d better not risk it.” Don’t you see the problem? There’s a missing link, an intellectual disconnect here. Putting aside for one moment the spending we do on things we won’t

remember we paid for in a month, we often forget to employ this impossibly high standard of costeffectiveness in our lives. In fact, we’ve made it all overwhelming again. You try a new restaurant and pay for an entrée — it could be great, it could be so-so, it could be terrible. You buy a new album on iTunes — it could be great, it could be so-so, it could be terrible. You give blood at a Red Cross drive. You donate $20 to World Vision. You spend the summer after graduation tutoring middleschoolers. It could be great, or it could be great. Look, it’s not particularly helpful or fair to try to guilt ourselves out of certain lifestyle habits, so let’s just introduce some new ones. If you need a place to start, check out givewell.org. Start small and form the habit. It’s not all or nothing here. EMEFA AGAWU is a junior in Silliman College. Contact her at emefa.agawu@yale.edu .

GUEST COLUMNIST LEO KIM

Partying — such sweet sorrow A

s the chaos of Camp Yale and the opening weeks of school slowly recede into the past, I find myself left on a shore filled with empty red solo cups and stale beer. For many freshmen, the experience of partying is new, fresh, novel. Yet, for others, including myself, it’s been a mere extension of the past few years of our lives — but now I find a deep sense of emptiness as I stare down into the abyss of another shot of vodka. Around this time freshman year the routine is the same. You hunt for a pregame, do a meet and greet, learn and forget people’s names, go out to a frat house, go to another frat house, get late night pizza you really shouldn’t eat, stumble home, repeat. This is what college is supposed to be, right?: the girls, the partying, the alcohol. Yet, once the novelty fades away, what worthwhile substance are you left with? What personal growth truly comes from it? Nietzsche was fond of the saying “become what you are.” But as Camp Yale’s drunken revelries continue through September, I find myself constantly asking — who am I, and who are “we” sup-

posed to be? Before Yale we were valedictorians and published authors. But on coming to Yale we now find ourselves utterly dazed and completely normal in the company of equally capable peers. This new environment has its negatives, many of which I’ve personally felt: a feeling of loss, confusion, dejection, rejection. Yet many of us are soon liberated by the realization that we are, in fact, average. Our normalness seems to authorize and even obligate many to partake in the trappings of the “normal” college experience: heavy drinking, Toad’s and the occasional random hook up. There’s no such thing as being too nerdy to party in a school filled with ex-honor roll students. And as I see my once-inexperienced peers drink themselves to oblivion, I ask: why now? What has changed in that former straightedge, straight-A student? Yes, college is a time for new things, self-discovery and growth. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a time for learning the subtle distinctions between dark and light rum, or how to shotgun a beer.

That may be the best path for some, but there seems to be an overreaching on-campus atmosphere that preaches partying should be everyone’s path. It’s hard to stay in for a night finishing that essay when all of your friends are going to Woad’s. Yet, after 18 years, there’s no reason to abandon your principles (or even just your preferences) because it’s what you’re “supposed to do” in college. After the whirlpool of alcohol and inebriated dancing, all you’re left with are a hangover and a pocket filled with empty stories. It’s only after years of partying that I am beginning to see this reality. It’s only after countless half-remembered nights and toasts and booze runs that I wish I’d focused on something more meaningful over the past few years. That’s not to say parties should be avoided; in fact, they’re usually a fun and interesting way to socialize and meet new people. But they aren’t necessary. Partying should never be the thing keeping you from going to the meeting for the club you’re interested in, or writing the essay you need to finish or doing what you really want to be doing with

your friends. Find what you love, because that beer will only fill you up for a few hours, and on those dreary weekday afternoons when everyone has work, that spare handle you have sitting in your room won’t do you much. Find people with similar passions and interests that lie beyond mutual love for Jack Daniels. With the titan waves of liquor battering your every being left and right, it’s easy to forget these lessons. It’s easy to ditch your friends and go out for fear of missing out, it’s easy to alienate your suitemates by waking them up in the middle of the night with your drunken ramblings and it’s easy to forget that drinking isn’t the only thing to do with a Saturday night. But college isn’t about the easy way out. It’s about becoming what you are, and despite the temptation, another shot won’t help. And the moment that idea is forgotten is the moment you miss the shore and drown in the tormented ocean that’s known as freshman year. LEO KIM is a freshman in Trumbull College. Contact him at leo.kim@yale.edu .

YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 3

NEWS

“If the laws could speak for themselves, they would complain of the lawyers.” GEORGE SAVILE ENGLISH STATESMAN

CORRECTION MONDAY, SEPT. 16

The article “Climate panel focuses on local responses” mistakenly stated that U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has daughters, when in fact he has two sons.

Diplomat talks Afghan peace

State announces $400M surplus BY ELEANOR RUNDE CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The state of Connecticut reported a nearly $400 million budget surplus for the 2013 fiscal year early last week. The surplus, which represents approximately 2 percent of the state’s total budget for this year, is likely due to a combination of unexpectedly high tax revenues and low spending growth, according to a report filed by State Comptroller Kevin Lembo. The release stated that about $220 million of the surplus will be spent in future fiscal year activity, while the remainder will be channeled into the state’s Budget Reserve Fund. “The state’s surplus should be a sign of cautious optimism for the future — a good outcome, but potentially the result of one-time revenue windfalls,” Lembo said. He attributed the surplus mainly to the increase in the federal capital gains tax rate and strong stock market performance. Steve Lanza, a University of Connecticut economics professor, agreed that the increased capital gains tax enhanced revenues, but he added that the state inheritance and gift taxes also contributed to the revenue spike. Lanza stated that Connecticut’s substantial underlying economic growth boosted revenues as well. Job growth and stabilization in the Connecticut housing market could mean surpluses in years to come, Lanza said, but these positive signs do not guarantee future performance. Lanza added that economic momentum could be diminished this fall by a national partisan conflict over the debt ceiling. “[The allotment of funds to the Budget Reserve Fund] makes

a lot of sense in an environment that’s prone to being volatile,” Lanza said. The $180 million added to the Budget Reserve Fund will bring the total of the state’s reserve funds to $271.5 million, approximately 1.6 percent of the Connecticut operating budget for this year. Lembo said the state should aim to have approximately $3 billion in the Budget Reserve Fund order to fully protect taxpayers against future economic downturns. “While we’re pleased with the improvement over 2012, the economy still has a long way to go,” said Gian-Carl Casa, undersecretary for legislative affairs at the Office of Policy Management of the state of Connecticut. “We’ll keep working hard to support the businesses and individuals that are growing Connecticut’s economy.” Lembo reported that state spending growth was just 1.3 percent for the 2013 fiscal year. In contrast, the preceding 10 years’ average growth was 4.5 percent, and this year’s rate of spending growth is the lowest since 2002. “The average annual rate of expenditures in this administration is lower than the average rate under the previous two administrations,” Casa said. “Governor [Dannel] Malloy took prudent and necessary steps — such as mid-year budget cuts — to ensure that last year’s budget was balanced.” Connecticut legislatures passed a two-year, $37.6 billion budget in June 2013. Michelle Hackman contributed reporting. Contact ELEANOR RUNDE at eleanor.runde@yale.edu .

STATE OF CONNECTICUT

State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, above, attributed the budget surplus largely to the federal capital gains tax rate increase.

ALEX SCHMELING/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Former Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman shared his experiences during a lecture Monday evening. BY ADAM MAHLER CONTRIBUTING REPORTER The United States can make peace with its enemies by fostering economic development in the Middle East and Central Asia and facilitating dialogue within the region, according to Former Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman. Grossman, a current fellow in the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs who also served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey in the mid-1990s, shared his experience as a diplomat in volatile Middle Eastern countries at a lecture Monday evening. During the talk, he said the future of 21st century diplomacy depends on Middle Eastern countries becoming more economically and ideologically open. “Prosperity leads to reduction in radicalization,” Grossman said. “When people have a job, the less they are seduced by the Taliban.” The United States can only make peace with Afghanistan if the Taliban breaks its ties with Al Qaeda and respects others’ rights — particularly

women’s rights, he said. A key tenet of the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework, an international agreement to help fund Afghanistan’s economic development, dictates that the country’s human rights record must improve, Grossman added.

Prosperity leads to reduction in radicalization. When people have a job, the less they are seduced by the Taliban. MARC GROSSMAN Former Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan The U.S. government will greatly scale back military forces and financial investment in Afghanistan in the next few years, leading to negative economic consequences, Grossman said. He said a “New Silk Road” — an increase in eco-

nomic cooperation between Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Central Asia — could generate economic activity for the nation that would help it “invest in itself.” He added that he thinks connecting Afghanistan to these regions will help promote diplomacy in both Afghanistan and Pakistan more than the violent uprisings in Syria or Egypt. When dealing with the Taliban, the United States has had to carefully balance military force with diplomatic efforts, but “it’s hard to fight and talk at the same time.” Grossman said the increased number of Pakistani Fulbright scholars studying in the United States gives Pakistani citizens an opportunity to see and evaluate the United States for themselves. Max Cook ’17 said he enjoyed hearing about on-the-ground experiences from an accomplished government official. In 2004, Grossman was appointed career ambassador, the foreign service’s highest rank. Contact ADAM MAHLER at adam.mahler@yale.edu .

Law School clinic helps battle state over education funding BY MONICA DISARE AND POOJA SALHOTRA STAFF REPORTER AND CONTRIBUTING REPORTER A group of attorneys and Yale law students teamed up on Monday to battle the state over Connecticut’s education standards. The group, Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding, filed a case against the state in 2005 challenging the adequacy of Connecticut’s education system. The case has been dragged through the legal system for eight years and finally came before a judge at a hearing Monday, when the state attempted to have the case dismissed and to limit the scope of permissible evidence. At the end of the day, those defending CCJEF felt that they had competently answered the judge’s questions, and said they hope their arguments brought the case one step closer to trial.

“We felt really good after the hearing was over, and we are cautiously optimistic that the judge will rule in our favor,” executive director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Jim Finley said after Monday’s hearing. Finley recently filed an affidavit in support of CCJEF’s claims. When the case first began in 2005, it was ruled that CCJEF had no standing because there were no harmed parties filing the lawsuit. The team then regrouped and scored a victory in 2010 when the state decided that all public school students do have a right to an effective and meaningful education. The coalition now hopes to go to trial in order to prove that Connecticut’s education policies do not meet legal standards. On Monday, the state attempted to block that from happening by arguing that the case should be dismissed since the state’s education system is not the same as

the one that was originally challenged in 2005. The state also argued that the court should adopt the standards that Justice Palmer outlined in his 2010 opinion, which would limit the scope of evidence allowed in the trial.

We felt really good after the hearing was over, and we are cautiously optimistic that the judge will rule in our favor. JIM FINLEY Executive director, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Defending the state’s argument at the hearing on Monday was Darren Cunningham, the Connecticut assistant attorney

general. “The state’s duty to provide education is owed to the students and their parents standing in their shoes,” Cunningham said. “It’s not owed to the municipalities or boards of education or any of the other groups that are members of CJEFF.” But representatives from CCJEF said that the two motions rest on flawed arguments. “Multiple lawyers have told me that the procedural claims lack genuine legal merit. And as an educator I can tell you that that they certainly lack any substantive merit,” said CCJEF founder and project director Dianne deVries. The motion to dismiss was based on the claim that significant improvement has been made to the education system since the lawsuit was filed in 2005. But both deVries and Rachel Dempsey ’09 LAW ’15, a Yale Law School student working on the case, said that while

some money has been added to the state’s education budget, the additions are still far from adequate. The hearing on Monday, along with prior developments in the case in the past, have been heavily influenced by the work of students at Yale Law School, who established a state clinic in 2004 and agreed to represent the CCJEF v Rell case pro-bono. For the past nine years, over 200 Yale Law students have been involved in the case, in capacities ranging from researching to arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court. It was only last year that Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a law firm based in New York, joined the plaintiff team to help lead the case to trial. DeVries refers to the cohort of Yale Law Students and Debevoise attorneys as “The Dream Team,” and said that the partnership has created an unprecedented opportunity for mutual learning.

The plaintiffs’ ultimate goal at trial is to adequately and equitably fund Connecticut public schools and give all children equal access to educational opportunities. Currently, Dempsey said, there are significant problems with the education system resulting from a lack of adequate funding. Rachel said that she has visited public schools across Connecticut where textbooks are out of date and computers — that students are expected to use as learning tools — are not functional. “Students just don’t have the basic resources they need. These issues need to be addressed comprehensively in court,” she said. The trial is tentatively scheduled for July 2014. Contact MONICA DISARE at monica.disare@yale.edu . Contact POOJA SALHOTRA at pooja.salhotra@yale.edu .

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YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 · yaledailynews.com

FROM THE FRONT

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” NICK CARRAWAY NARRATOR OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD’S “THE GREAT GATSBY”

Harp to keep controversial campaign donations HARP FROM PAGE 1 what he is suggesting about me is ridiculous. I have a 26-yearold track record of public service and everyone knows that I treat everyone the same, fairly and equally.” In January 2012, COS doctor and founder Patrick Ruwe signed a form claiming a city public works employee could only work four to five hours per day. Ruwe’s actual medical evaluation, though, had suggested the employee could safely work eight hours per day, which in turn allowed the employee to wrongly receive paid leave from the city. The city employee asked Ruwe to sign the form so he could take a second job while still collecting worker’s compensation. Ruwe, who declined to comment when contacted, admitted in a July 2012 deposition that no medical reasoning lay behind his decision. The employee was also fired, although a city union appealed. Eventually, the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration upheld New Haven’s decision. After lobbying the city through the summer, Elia, the firm’s CEO, was able to have COS’ contract with the city reinstated in early September, under the condition that Ruwe not treat city employees. COS has benefitted enormously from the growth in the city’s worker’s compensation costs which, while down in the past two years, have nearly doubled over the past decade. Campaign finance has come to dominate the current mayoral race, with Elicker making transparent and public financing a cornerstone of his campaign. Harp, meanwhile, has portrayed public financing as a waste of taxpayer money that could be better spent on schools and public safety. At his press conference Monday with four media outlets and

eight supporters, Elicker took care to highlight a recent quote Harp gave to the New Haven Independent that he says suggests Harp’s City Hall would be less than transparent. “I think people who give don’t expect a quid pro quo,” Harp told the Independent. “They just want a meeting, maybe, to give their point of view. But they don’t expect you necessarily to go along with it or to give them any special favors.”

What he is suggesting about me is ridiculous. I have a 26-year-old track record of public service. TONI HARP ARC ’78 Mayoral candidate

MATTHEW LLOYD-THOMAS/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Justin Elicker FES ’10 SOM ’10, New Haven mayoral candidate, speaks to Fox News CT before resident supporters.

Elicker said that giving a meeting to a campaign donor itself constitutes a form of quid pro quo. He suggested that constituents unable to donate to Harp’s campaign would be unable to have access to her administration, should she win in the Nov. 5 general election. He added that he has made no effort to encourage bundling — a common campaign practice of making an individual responsible for garnering large donations from their friends, an example of which appears to be the COS contributions — during the campaign. Harp campaign manager Jason Bartlett declined to comment further on the issue. New Haven paid $9.6 million last year in worker’s compensation, down from the 2009-’10 fiscal year high of $11.4 million. Contact MATTHEW LLOYD-THOMAS at matthew.lloyd-thomas@yale.edu .

KATHRYN CRANDALL/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Toni Harp ARC ’78, New Haven mayoral candidate, refutes negative comments made by fellow candidate, Justin Elicker FES ’10 SOM ’10.

Boathouse to see renovation BOATHOUSE FROM PAGE 1 dents with the currently underused waterfront, a narrow patch of beachfront just a 20-minute walk from Yale’s central campus. “Good things sometime take a long time,” DeStefano said, adding that of the many improvements he has seen in his 20 years of service to the city, “this one holds special significance.” Echoing the mayor’s words, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro celebrated the groundbreaking of the new community boathouse — a project she said pays homage to the history of the New Haven Harbor and of the original George Adee boathouse. “I am so proud to see this

project taking shape,” DeLauro said. “It will strengthen our city and bond us together for decades to come.” The project — which has been designed by Gregg Wies & Gardner Architects in partnership with the city and the state’s Department of Transportation — will be developed in two phases. Construction has begun for a 48,000-square-feet platform that will be completed in approximately one year, said Sam Gardner ARC ’82, one of the architects working on the project. The full project, he said, will then be brought to completion by the end of 2015, when a 30,000-square-feet, two-story

building will be erected atop the platform. Gardner added that the building has been designed to reflect the original George Adhee boathouse, with original terracotta decorations, wooden plaques and other fragments of the historic boathouse incorporated into the exterior and the interior of the new facility. When fully completed, the upper story of the building will house meeting rooms, offices and locker rooms. The lower floor — which will be built above the flood elevation to protect the building from floods and hurricanes — will be used to store boats, kayaks and canoes ready to sprint out into the Quinnip-

iac River. City Hall spokeswoman Anna Mariotti said that the city is partnering with local and outof-state agencies to support an array of programs ranging from youth rowing lessons to marine education classes sponsored by the University of New Haven. “[The new boathouse] will provide a central facility in New Haven for water recreation,” Mariotti said. Yale University founded the first collegiate crew in the United States in 1843. Contact LORENZO LIGATO at lorenzo.ligato@yale.edu .

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YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 5

FROM THE FRONT

“Our culture is more shaped by the arts and humanities than it often is by politics.” JIM LEACH CHAIRMAN OF THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES

Decline of the humanities up for debate HUMANITIES FROM PAGE 1 ern University assistant professor Benjamin Schmidt, a Princeton Ph.D. candidate, felt that many studies on the humanities’ decline did not explain the statistics fully. Through research of his own, Schmidt discovered that the brunt of the national decrease in humanities majors was caused by the migration of female students to other disciplines that had traditionally been dominated by men. Schmidt said he feels his research provides an alternate explanation for the much-hyped “crisis” in the humanities, adding that he thinks humanities enrollment is unlikely to decline significantly more in the future. “I want to combat two things,” Schmidt said. “The first is the idea that people have gotten suddenly practical and stopped majoring in humanities, and then the other is that self-fulfilling prophecy that comes from people [thinking the humanities is impractical].” Though Schmidt’s research

has begun receiving attention among scholars of higher education, its broader applicability remains unclear. At Yale and the other Ivy League schools, Schmidt acknowledged that the story is more complex. Yale College did not open its doors to women until 1969 — after second-wave feminism began offering new career options to women.

[The professor] was trying to be nice, so pretty much every class he’d ask me what was the woman’s point of view. BARBARA BLAINE ’71 In 1971, the first year that women graduated from Yale, roughly 53 percent of female students majored in the humanities, compared to 37 percent of males.

For the class of 2013, those statistics stand at about 25 percent for females and 21 percent for males. Deputy Provost for the Arts and Humanities Emily Bakemeier said she thinks some students will always be interested in the humanities, but she added that the University has seen increased interest in fields outside the humanities, particularly in economics. When women were first admitted to Yale, the University was widely considered a citadel of the humanities. Ruth Jarmul ’71, who was a member of Yale’s first co-ed class, said the humanities departments — led by “god-like” professors such as Vincent Scully ’40 GRD ’49 and John Hersey ’36 — made up the essence of the University when she was there. “Yale was, as it continues to be, so strong in the humanities that people sort of expected to major in the humanities,” Jarmul said. “You could major in the sciences or something else, but it just wasn’t the focus of the Uni-

versity and it wasn’t the focus of society.” When she entered Yale, Barbara Blaine ’71, another member of the college’s first co-ed class, said she did not feel pressure to major in any given discipline because she was a woman. Still, Blaine acknowledged that certain courses were taken only by males. “The first year I was there, I was in a macroeconomics class, and I was the only woman in a class of about 60 to 70 people,” Blaine said. “The professor just really didn’t know what to do with me, but he was trying to be nice, so pretty much every class he’d ask me what was the woman’s point of view.” But Blaine said she does not think the dominance of humanities for Yale’s first women reflected a gendered choice, as most students at Yale, male and female alike, majored in the humanities. For almost 30 years, history reigned as the University’s most popular major for all undergraduates. But students today

are choosing to major in a more diverse range of disciplines — in 2010, history lost its spot at the top and was replaced by political science and economics. Over 40 percent of the Yale class of 2016 intends to major in a STEM field — making it the first class to reach the Admissions Office’s STEM recruiting goals. Though some have pointed to these changes as a sign of the humanities’ decline, administrators said the demand for humanities courses has remained consistently high. Growth in other fields, they said, does not necessarily mean interest in the humanities is declining. Yale College Dean Mary Miller said she thinks the strong teaching in Yale’s humanities departments will continue to attract students, regardless of their major. Miller added that she thinks that hype surrounding the “crisis” in humanities is a selffulfilling prophecy and encourages students, who are facing an uncertain job market, to view humanities majors as impractical.

“I think students feel pressure on many more dimensions than they did in the past,” Miller said. “We’re in the middle of a great recession, and there’s a lot more pressure on students and their families to have measurable, demonstrable success.” The exact reasons for the humanities’ decline cannot be simplified to one factor alone, but faculty and administrators said they have cause to believe that the humanities at Yale will remain strong. Classics professor Christina Kraus said she thinks the humanities crisis has been exaggerated, noting that enrollments in the humanities have fluctuated over time in response to numerous factors, including the economy. “I think we need to be more optimistic about it because I actually don’t think it’s as bad as everyone keeps telling us it is,” Kraus said. Contact JANE DARBY MENTON at jane.menton@yale.edu .

Former speaker and constitutional law professor face off GINGRICH FROM PAGE 1 ing the 1994 midterm elections, said the Constitution is an attempt by the Founders to establish order while avoiding dictatorship. The Constitution’s authors aimed to craft a government with enough checks — and inefficiencies — to avoid giving too much power to any single person or group, he said. Gingrich added that the checks are accomplished through separation of powers and corresponding limitations, which he thinks have been diminished in recent decades by “elite” federal judges. Amar, who teaches the popular undergraduate course “Constitutional Law,” said he thinks the Constitution is adaptable to different generations and is an “inter-generational project” that fosters a “national, liberal, egalitarian government.” “You want inefficiency, stick with the Articles of Confederation,” Amar said. “And a lot of traditionalists did. But not George Washington.” He said he disagrees with what he thinks is an assault by the Republican Party on minority voting rights. Amar pointed to June’s five-to-four Supreme Court decision striking down a crucial part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as well as a slew of recent legislation in Republican-controlled state governments to limit early voting and require government-issued photo identification to vote as examples of the trend. Amar called on Gingrich to “reclaim your party and set it right again” in the image of the Republican Party of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. But Gingrich said Amar’s point of view represents

an “assault” on the fairness of voting. “This is not 1965,” Gingrich said. “It is a new world with new problems.” Both speakers agreed on issues such as judicial restraint, the individual right to bear arms and the description of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “thug.” In an interview with the News, Gingrich said he thinks Amar is a “very unusual professor” for the breadth of historical knowledge he applies to his constitutional thinking and said he enjoyed debating such a formidable opponent.

You want inefficiency, stick with the Articles of Confederation. AKHIL AMAR ’80 LAW ’84 Professor, Yale Law School Jeremy Hutton ’15 said he was glad to see an attempt to reach consensus between people with significantly differing opinions. “I think that there is much more common ground between schools of Constitutional thought than there would be between schools of political thought,” Hutton said. Kelsey Miller ’16 said she was intrigued by the discussion between “an expert and an active participant” in the United States’ political sphere. Gingrich was the first speaker of the House to hold a Ph.D., which he received in education from Tulane in 1971. Contact MATTHEW NUSSBAUM at matthew.nussbaum@yale.edu .

JOYCE XI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Newt Gingrich and Akhil Amar ’80 LAW ’84 squared off in a debate on Monday to discuss constitutional issues on the eve of “National Constitution Day.”

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YALE DAILY NEWS · TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2013 · yaledailynews.com

PAGE 7

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

“HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it.” PRINCESS DIANA

Mental health’s weight bias BY PHOEBE KIMMELMAN CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

Minorities, women at higher risk for heart problems KAREN TIAN

BY ERMAL HAJRIZI CONTRIBUTING REPORTER A recent study conducted by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health shows that cardiac risk factors and prevention efforts differ significantly by characteristics such as age, sex and race, with black women falling under the category of most at-risk. The study followed 2,369 patients who had suffered acute myocardial infarction, colloquially known as a heart attack, and monitored the patients for hypertension, hypercholester-

olemia, diabetes, obesity and smoking habits. Researchers also observed the differences in secondary prevention efforts at and after hospital discharge, focusing on the prescription of certain medications such as antihypertensives, as well as counseling services designed to address issues like smoking or weight loss. The study, published in the Aug. 22 issue of the Journal of Women’s Health, found that a staggering 93 percent of patients exhibited at least one risk factor, with 40 percent showing signs of at least three.

Perhaps even more alarming is the fact that risk factors were significantly higher in African-American patients, regardless of age or sex. Black women in particular faced the most daunting set of risk factors, with 60 percent of black women aged 55 years or older demonstrating three or more risk factors. “Often people think of all patients with heart attacks as being the same and lump groups together,” said Judith Lichtman, the study’s senior author and associate professor of epidemiology at SPH. This study,

however, separated heart attack patient data by subgroups, suggesting that the health care system needs to attend to the underlying causes of these risk factor inconsistencies. The link between certain subgroups and the level of attention they receive in secondary prevention strategies seems just as deeply interwoven with the characteristics of age, sex and race. The study found that white patients received more counseling in smoking cessation than their black counterparts. Similarly, black youth were found to be pre-

scribed less medication than white youth, even though both groups faced the same risk factors. Associate research scientist in epidemiology and study coauthor Erica Leifheit-Limson expressed her surprise at the results. “[We] wouldn’t think that one subgroup would differ from another,” she said, especially since the study was conducted consistently for all patients. When asked about potential reasons for the discrepancies among subgroups, Lichtman was hesitant to pin down the

cause on one variable. However, she did say the study’s findings highlight potential discrepancies in the treatment people receive after their heart attacks. “From a clinical and public health perspective, we need to be more aggressive in ensuring equal secondary prevention for everyone,” Lichtman added. Robert Harrington, chairman of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University, echoed these sentiments in a Saturday email. These findings, he said, are “consistent” with observations from other research assessing

SIV, gut bacteria linked in Yale-led study

health care disparities. “Much work remains to be sure that we are offering equitable health care for all,” Harrington added. Researchers said the next step is to focus on improving risk factor modification to decrease medical issues in post-heart attack patients. The study was principally supported by CV Therapeutics, Inc., with funding for all analyses from CV Outcomes, Inc. Contact ERMAL HAJRIZI at ermal.hajrizi@yale.edu .

According to Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, mental health professionals treating patients with eating disorders are hardly immune to weight bias. Previous research teams have tackled the question of how mental health professionals view their obese patients. A 2003 study published in the journal Obesity Research used an Implicit Associations Test, or IAT — a timed association test that aims to uncover unconscious biases — to show that practitioners exhibited significant weight-related biases against their obese patients. The IAT was also used to show that doctors thought obese patients endorsed the implicit stereotypes associated with obesity such as “laziness, stupidity and worthlessness.” This new study, which can be found in the latest edition of the annual International Journal of Eating Disorders, takes a more specialized look at mental health practitioners’ biases 10 years later, in a world where obesity is more prevalent. Rudd Center Deputy Director and study coauthor Rebecca Puhl emphasized the current importance of studying this issue. “Given that many individuals who struggle with eating disorders also struggle with weight, and in light of research showing that individuals who experience weight stigma are at risk for developing symptoms of eating disorders, this is an important group of providers to be reaching,” Puhl said in a Thursday email. Researchers asked 329 mental health practicioners treating eating disorders about their perceptions of their patients and colleagues. Of the study’s participants, 42 percent believed that mental health professionals specializing in eating disorders often have negative weight biases against obese patients. Other results supported this finding — 56 percent of mental health professionals had heard colleagues make negative comments about patients’ obesity, 35 per-

KAREN TIAN

cent reported that their colleagues feel uncomfortable treating their obese patients and 64 percent believe that obese patients do not follow recommended courses of treatment. The professionals themselves also displayed a lack of faith in obese patients — 76 percent said they are not confident that obese patients can maintain weight loss, with 16 percent claiming that they think obese patients have “no willpower.” Even though 88 percent of professionals in the study reported that they feel “confident and professionally prepared” to treat obese patients, these results suggest a need for changes to the field. “Our hope is that these findings will help increase attention to the issue of weight bias and serve as the starting point for discussions on how to implement efforts to reduce stigma as part of training and clinical practice,” Puhl said. The research team has also laid out some more specific plans for how to fix the problem. According to the study, such measures are needed to ensure patients seek help and do not feel stigmatized by health professionals. “A first step is for clinicians to identify their personal attitudes or

assumptions about weight, as well as the language that they use when talking about weight, that might unintentionally interfere with their ability to effectively treat patients of diverse body sizes,” Puhl said. She added that she believes educational interventions highlighting obesity causes and challenging weight stereotypes could prove effective in reducing weight bias. Lewis Landsberg, Director of Northwestern University’s Comprehensive Center on Obesity, said he was “not at all surprised” by the study’s conclusions. “The obese are always stigmatized as having no self-discipline, no willpower, even when there are important biological differences between lean and obese people,” he said. “There is a whole trend in the field of obesity in getting away from thinking about obesity as a character flaw.” In addition to Puhl, the study was coauthored by associate professor of psychology Janet Latner of University of Hawaii, former Rudd Center research associate Kelly King and Rudd Center statistical consultant Joerg Luedicke. Contact PHOEBE KIMMELMAN at phoebe.kimmelman@yale.edu .

Peabody buzzes over cicadas

BY PIERRE ORTLIEB CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Simian immunodeficiency virus has detrimental implications on the stability of the gut microbiome of Tanzanian chimpanzees, a recent Yale-led study has shown. Led by former Yale ecology and evolutionary biology researcher Howard Ochman, the research team observed an increase in pathogenic bacteria in chimpanzees infected with the immunovirus SIV after the meticulous examination of years’ worth of their fecal samples at western Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park. This increase, in turn, overwhelmed chimpanzees’ already beleaguered immune systems in a lethal fashion, exacerbating a debilitating medical situation. The study was published on Sept. 11 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. “It’s very exciting,” said Chair of Duke University’s Department of Evolutionary Anthropology Anne Pusey, a co-author of the paper. “It’s an extraordinary system where we can study the disease, and apply [our findings] to humans.” Study co-author Megan Shilts, a former Yale researcher and current student at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, said this research could change the way doctors treat HIV and AIDS patients. “Soon, we will have a study with humans to see if it does the same thing,” she said. Though there is no guarantee of success, Shilts said it is very likely that attempts will soon be made to apply this newfound information to a clinical environment. By examining HIV patients, physicians could potentially identify similar gut bacteria and thus develop new techniques to slow the progression of the disease and keep people healthy longer, she added. The findings outlined in the study are a result of “years of diligent, long-term observation” of Gombe, the world’s only study site where SIV is present, said study co-author Elizabeth Lonsdorf, assistant professor of psychology at Franklin & Marshall College, in a Sunday email to the News.

TASNIM ELBOUTE/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

The Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History features a cicada exhibit every 17 years. BY STEPHANIE ROGERS CONTRIBUTING REPORTER

WILLIAM WARBY/CREATIVE COMMONS

Symptoms of simian immunodeficiency virus in Tanzanian chimpanzees have parallels to those in human AIDS patients. While the initial discovery of SIV amongst these primates was thought to be unfortunate, Pusey said the team of researchers leading the Tanzanian site slowly became cognizant of the sheer criticality of their finding. “After a few years of sampling, they were writing papers, and they saw that it [SIV] was pathogenic,” she said. “We said, ‘Hold on a minute, let’s look at this,’ and we found that … they

had depleted CD-4 cells and their spleens looked terrible, very much like human AIDS patients.” Many of her fellow researchers, she said, were surprised. Pusey added that researchers are now able to observe the same closed group of chimpanzees over an extended period of time — typically not possible in studies with human subjects. “It actually can show a pretty

direct influence of the virus [SIV] on the microbiome. For me, it’s very exciting,” she said, noting that the scrutiny of this collection of chimpanzees will continue. Yet in spite of the team’s optimism and excitement, Shilts pointed out that there are still several obstacles impeding the translation of their work on animals to human subjects. Researchers must obtain fecal

samples from before and after an individual becomes HIVpositive, she said, which is difficult to accomplish since the precise time of infection cannot be recorded or determined in humans. She added that certain technological limitations prevented the researchers from being able to completely determine the structure of the gut bacteria. In spite of this, Shilts said she

remains optimistic. “There will be a big push soon,” she said. “It’s very exciting.” The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Contact PIERRE ORTLIEB at pierre.ortlieb@yale.edu .

On May 1, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History opened its doors to a temporary exhibit — “Return of the 17-Year Cicadas.” The Peabody’s cicada exhibit, which the museum features every 17 years, re-opened this summer in response to the re-emergence of the Magicicada species of cicadas along the east coast. From Connecticut to North Carolina, thousands of cicadas emerged from their burrowed holes throughout May and June, laying their eggs and dying in the three months before the exhibition will close its doors Sept. 29. There are over 2,500 species of cicadas worldwide, but the exhibition highlights the differences between two cicada species found in the northeast. The exhibit highlights the Magicicada, which spends 17 years in the nymph stage underground near tree roots, its primary food source, before digging to the suface to mate and reproduce over a 10-week period. On the other hand,

the Tibicen cicadas, native to Connecticut, re-emerge every year and are more commonly recognized by their familiar buzz of late summer and early autumn — giving them the name “Dog-day” cicadas. “This exhibition has been occurring every 17 years along with the emergence of the cicadas — some cicada specimens were even recorded at Yale back in 1843,” Peabody entomologist Lawrence Gall said. The cicada display includes the first documented reference of cicadas in 1633 by William Bradford, governor of Plymouth Rock. While many people take the approach of merely ignoring the cicadas, others such as James Rennie venerated them through poetry in London in 1847, and even more people eat them in cuisines worldwide. Part of the museum’s goal is to correct the public’s misconceptions about cicadas as a parasitic creature, Gall said, adding that the exhibit has received “strong reactions” from visitors. To clear up these myths, the museum showed live specimens of cicadas to visitors earlier this sum-

mer and led tours to cicada colonies in Hammond, Conn. “I always thought the 17-year cicadas were an invasive species,” museum visitor Sammy Bensinger ’17 said. “But I found out that they rarely ever cause fatalities to trees and are in no way harmful to human beings.”

This exhibition has been occurring every 17 years along with the emergence of the cicadas. LAWRENCE GALL Peabody entomologist Her interest in cicadas, like that of many others, was sparked by the wide-ranging media coverage this summer. Indeed, Gall and other Peabody representatives worked closely with the media to educate the public about the cicada life cycle. “I was expecting to see many more

cicadas this summer because of how much the media hyped up the event,” museum visitor Jillian Horowitz ’17 said. “I guess, living in New York City, the urbanization destroyed a lot of the populations.” Horowitz added that she was “very enticed” by the idea of the exhibit but wished it were even larger and more informational. Despite some media coverage suggesting that cicada numbers were lower this year, there is no strong data to back up these claims, Gall said. He emphasized the need to protect these colonies, which are often disrupted through deforestation and urbanization. As the summer and the exhibit draw to a close, Gall said he is already looking forward to the next time the exhibit will open its doors again, in 2030. Cicadas are edible and can be prepared by removing wings and legs and boiling them for at least four minutes, according to the exhibit. Contact STEPHANIE ROGERS at stephanie.rogers@yale.edu .

SAHELI SADANAND

Voyager 1 joins the pantheon of great explorers The science world has of late seemed particularly gloomy. Thanks to sequestration and the dysfunctional nature of Congress, funding for the NIH and NASA — two major pillars of American science research — has either been cut or is facing cuts. But on Sept. 12 NASA officially declared an incredible scientific milestone: Voyager 1, a small, old spacecraft with a simple mission, became the first human-made object to leave the solar system. According to the article published in Science, Voyager 1’s actual departure occurred in August 2012, but determining that Voyager 1 had in fact left the solar system was not a trivial analysis. In fact, as recently as this past June, NASA scientists did not think Voyager 1 had made it out yet. It turns out the solar system is not, as many of us think, just our planets — defining its boundary is complicated since neither the Sun’s light nor gravity’s effects ever completely go away. Instead, NASA defines the solar system’s boundary as where the solar plasma, or ionized gas radiated from the sun, effectively ends. Voyager 1 is currently in interstellar space where the plasma is at a higher density than it would be in the heliosphere — a region of charged particles around the Sun that includes the planets. The heliosphere actually extends well beyond even the former furthest planet Pluto. The very edge of the heliosphere is known as the heliopause, where the effects of the plasma from the Sun finally end. Voyager 1 does not have a sensor for plasma, so NASA had to use a different strategy to determine the spacecraft’s actual position. A solar flare in March 2012 finally reached Voyager 1 in April 2013 and the ensuing oscillations of the plasma around the spacecraft indicated a higher gas density than would be found in the heliosphere, proving that Voyager 1 had in fact left our solar system. Voyager 1 and its sister space craft Voyager 2, the two longest continuously operated spacecraft, were both launched in 1977 — for those of us under age 36 looking for a relatable cultural reference, it was, appropriately, the same year that Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope opened. At the time, NASA was still in a Space Age high. Voyager 2 currently remains in the solar system but it too will eventually make it out (though in a different direction). The original purpose for the Voyager crafts was to roam around Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune for a few years taking photos. The Voyagers revealed that Jupiter has rings (not as impressive as those of Saturn, but still), that one of its moons, Io, had volcanoes and that Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, had an Earth-like atmosphere. Among the many famous images the Voyagers took of space, perhaps the best-known is “The Pale Blue Dot” — a photo of Earth taken by Voyager 1 when it was well past Pluto in the periphery of the solar system. That photo, part of a “Family Portrait” series of the solar system as Voyager 1 looked back on all the planets, inspired a book by the astronomer (and member of the Voyager team) Carl Sagan, who wrote “There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny planet.” In an age where we feel compelled to replace our laptops and smartphones every few years, it is impressive that the old-fashioned technology on the Voyagers is still working (maybe Apple can take some notes). NASA scientists predict that Voyager 1 will stop sending us information around 2025, when its power supply is expected to (finally) go kaput. They hope to learn more about interstellar space in the remaining years that Voyager 1 can communicate with us. But even after Voyager 1 stops transmitting messages to us, it can still serve a unique purpose, one that seems less laughable now than it might have in 1977: it contains a disc full of Earthling photos, greetings from world leaders and samples of our music so that E.T. can learn a little about us. Human history has seen many explorers, who we celebrate for their courage and determination. Voyager 1 and the team of scientists who have stuck by it deserve the same credit. SAHELI SADANAND is a graduate student in the immunobiology department. Contact her at saheli.sadanand@yale.edu .