Volume 25 - Issue 1

ewourna Volwne 25, Nwnber 1

Inside: Muskets and Mortarboards Dixie Blues

The magazine about Yale and New Haven

September 4> 1992

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TheNewJournal Volume 25, Number 1

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The magazine about Yale and New Haven

STANDARDS --~------------------~--------5 About This Issue 6 NewsJournal Tennis, Everyone Lingua Franca London Calling 10 Between the Vines: Schoolhouse Rock. by Valerie Burgher.

FEATURES--------------------------------12

Landlords Take a Loss. by Joel Tesoro. housing hangs in th~ balanu.

Th~ fate

ofN~ Havm ssubsidized

16 Muskets and Mortarboards: A History of Yale-New Haven. by Charlotte Brooks. Todays town-gown squabbles sum lik~ childs play compared to th~ pitch~d battles ofyears past.

20

page26

September 4, 1992

Benno Schmidt's Troubled Tenure. by Erik Meen. Whm th~ Corporation tapped Bmno Schmidtfor Yaks presidmcy, they did not anticipate th~ controversy that th~ next 6 years would bring.

26 Lamar Rides Again. by Kathy Reich. An ~stum~dform" tkan and history professor performs one mor~ act ofurvice for Yak. 32 Women's Clinics in Crisis. by Sonya Joo. Plagued by the ejficts ofth~ Gag Rule and the r~cession, Conn~cticuts family planning clinics struggle to maintain quality care for all womm.

34 And Justice for All. by David Gerber. Th~ Law Schools Sch~ll Cmur for Human Rights vi~s liberti~s in th~ context of~conomics as w~ll as politics.

36 Dixie Blues. by Jay Porter. For many Southnn~ who com~ to Yak, th~ distance from Dixie to N~ Haven is m~asured in more than miles.

Cover Design by Annene IGrchner-Covcr Photos Counesy of Yale Office of Public AJfa.irs.

(Vol~ 25, Number I) TIN Nnv ]Drmw is publish~ fiv~ times during th~ ~ool year by Th~ New journal~~ Yal.,, l!'c.• P- ~ce Box 302 ~ak Station•. N~ Ha~, Cf ~?20.

9>J>yngln ~ 99~ by~" New journal at Yal~ Inc. All riltha ~· ~roductoon other in w!'ole or in part wothout wntttn ~n of the publ~ and ediroc-on-dlid' 11 prohlbi<ed..

n... ~"IS p~lish..d by Yak Coli~$~($, ana ya(., UnoVUS~rr IS no< =ponsible for liS con <en IS. ~ ~ copocs o( ~ - . . . . , diauibu~ ~ 10 mcmbas o( the Yal..

UnJWCSJty commun•ry. TIN Nnv f•~ is pnnt..d by Twiey PubliC2noros o( Palmu, MA. Boold<eq>in" and bilh01 ....,.c:a ""' provided by Colman ~i"' of N.,._ Haven, CT. Office address: 305 Crown Street, Office 312. Phone (203) <432-1957. Subocriptioros..., availabk <o ~ owsick 1M Yal.. community. R.ates: OM yar, $18. 'rwo yan. S30. TIN N,., ]t~ttnul~ latersro the ed11or and COCJUn""l on Yak and N.,.. Havm issua. Writ" <o Kathy Reich. Editorials. 302 Yak Station. N.,.. Hawn. CT 06520. All Iaten for public::aOoo miiSl indU<k addtess and sipc~. TIN N,., j . - 1 rcsava 1M rigb< <0 c:dit all laters for publication.

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he Chinese have a favorite curse: "May you live in interesting times." Those of us who study and teach at Yale right now can certainly appreciate the meaning of those words. All around us, the debate swirls about the future of the American university. How can Yale stay in the black, yet continue to offer a multifaceted education that tackles the problems of our constantly changing world? And who will lead us imo the 21st century?

In our special issue last February, The New Journal asked the question: "What does the future hold fo r Yale?" We examined the university's tenure and restructuring process, several of its academic departments, and its relations with New Haven. As the new semester begins, some of the turbulence is behind us. We have a new administration char intends to heal the rift berween community and Woodbridge Hall. In our kick-off issue of 1992-93, we try to illuminate these developments, and explore off-the-beaten-track aspects of campus life--everything from Southern students at Yale to the awakening band scene.

The New Journal's scope also encompasses the vibrant and complicated city in which we live. This month we tackle New Haven's low-income housing crisis, the funding crunch in women's health care, and the bloody history of town-gown relations.

You too can gee in the on the action. The New Journal is looking for writers, designers, photographers, artists, computer whizzes, and financial geniuses fo r our business staff. Join us at our organizational meeting on Tuesday, September 8 th at 8 p.m. in the Berkeley Common Room. We want to hear your ideas.

- The Editors.

Special Thanks To: Howard Altman Frank Alvarado Kathy and Tony Asmuth Senator David L. Boren Calhoun College Peter Cooper FOCUS on New Haven Jessica Gold man Tom Hammond Jack Hasegawa Richard Hegel Matthew Helmerich

Brett Hill Noah Landow Kristin Lewis Stephanie Lowell Yale Manuscripts and Archives Jean McAndrews Yogi N imura Yale Office of Public Affairs Matt Pilsbttry Tim~ Magazine Tompkins Environmental Corp.

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Tennis, Everyone?

As New Haven anticipated the arrival of professional tennis stars fo r the Volvo International Tournament, local youngsters geared up for an event of their own. In early July, dozens of New Haven kids gathered at the Yale Bowl itching to h i t the courts and compete against other budding young players from New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. The tournament, like the community clinic program that gave rhe kids playing time and instruction throughout the year, earned rave reviews from its young participants.

"This is only my second tournament," said Jason Diosa, who plays at a clinic at the Edgewood courts every summer morning. "I like the sport, and the coaches make it fun to go and learn strokes."

In 1990, Jewel Productions, which owns and operates the Volvo-sponsored pro tournament, moved the event from Vermont to New Haven.

To open the traditionally upper crust sport of tennis to youth in urban neighborhoods, they created the grassrootS tennis clinic program. "We want to see the city kids become as comfortable on the tennis court as they have been in the sandlot in years past," said Jean McAndrews, the program director. "We see tennis as a positive presence in the neighborhood that can give these kids something to be proud of."

Jewel Productions coordinates the program with the city of New Haven, the New Haven Recreational Department, the public school system, and the United States Tennis Association. To develop and refine the program so that it best meers the commun ity's need s, McAndrews works year-round with city and public school officials, New Haven recreation directors, and an advisory board put together by Mayor John Daniels.

Du ring the school year, the program focuses on local middle schools, training gym instructors to teach tennis 6 THÂŁ NÂŁw jouRNAL

alongside more traditional gym class sports like basketball and baseball. In addition, Volvo runs after-school clinics at eight locations in New Haven.

W inter after-school clinics take place once or twice a week in school gyms, where instructors lower volleyball nets and substitute Nerf balls for the traditional hard rubber variety. Summer weather allows the clinics to move outdoors to park courtS and school yards.

The program has grown steadily over the past three years. In 1990, summer clinics provided daily free

at the Yale Bowl's Center Court.

With the help of sponso rs that include Finast, SNET, Prince, Wilson, and Yale University, the grassroots program provides rackets, balls, and instructors free of charge. Kids bring only a pair of sneakers and a lot of energy. "We try to get a core group of players, but anyone can show up and play," said McAndrews. "Our policy is to never turn away a child."

The energy and excitement of the summer clinics peak in August with the Volvo International Tournament,

Kids learn th~ basics at a fr~~ clinic run by Nro~ Havm sgrassroots tmnis program. instruction to more than 400 New which draws top-notch professional H aven kids of all ages, offering a total competitors from around the world. of 850 free coaching hours. Last year Kids from the grassroots program get free admission to some of the tournathe program expanded to Bridgeport. ment's matches. Their game benefits It now reaches a total of 900 kids with 1,260 free hours of coaching. In addi- from more than just observation; some tion, more than 250 students partici- of the pros find rime between matches pate each week in the year-round mid- to hold clinics. In recent years, stars dle-school program. This summer the like Arthur Ashe, Stefan Edberg, Ivan program began sponsoring the Lend!, and MaliVai Washington have Governor's Cup, a full day of Davis donated their t_ime. Some pros also Cup-style team competition in mid- conduct clinics during th e year and August. Two boys and girls from each speak about how tennis can make kids of seven area cities compete, and final- winners not o nly as athletes, but also as ists receive fo rmal recognition by srudenrs and members of the commuConnecticut governor Lowell Weicker nity.

The program tries co recruit coaches from New Haven, and often taps local high school and college students. Instructor Tilden Lyons, who has worked at the program since its inception, sees his job as more chan teaching topspin. "It's more chan just exercise for these kids. You really gee to help them mature both on and off the court."

Because the program spans the su mmer, coaches and students have time to get to know each other.

"These kids are so much fun to teach," said coach Brett Demambro. "By the end of the summer they seem like family, not just kids you help with a few stro kes. We take them out to lunch after the clinic sometimes, or just sic and talk." The mentor aspect of the p rogram motivates Demambro to teach during hot and humid New H aven summers. "I probably won't turn anyone into a tennis superstar, b ut I definitely let the children know that there are people here for them, that they're not alone," she said.

Twelve-year old Lopez Williams enjoys the program for simpler reasons. "It's free!" he said, and then ad ded, "No, really, I just like being able to play."

translate for the two. After she explained the accident to the officer, she brought the shaken couple into the center for their weekly lesson.

ACS strives to prevent such situations by easing Asian immigrants' transition into the New Haven community. The service provides free English lessons every weekend at the Chicano/Asian American Cultural Center and refers clients to bilingual doctors, lawyers, and other social service providers. Nearly 50 volunteers from Yale and New Haven tutor Asian residents of the Elm C ity and nearby areas on a one-to-one basis.

Asian American Students' Association (AASA) co-moderato rs Mary Hsu and Alberta Wu founded ACS in 1979 as a branch of AASA, and it has since become an independent organization affiliated with Dwight Hall. Initially, the service primarily catered to immigrants from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. At the time, few teaching materials existed in the languages of those countries, so volunteers translated or created their own.

'!

-St~phani~ Low~lt

Lingua Franca T he police officer stood between the two cars with crushed bumpers as the couple from Hong Kong fumbled nervously through a stack of papers in search of their vehicle registration card. When they could not find it, they began to panic. Although they could speak in broken English, they lapsed into unintelligible spurts. The officer simply could not understand their account of the accident. Before the couple grew more exasperated, an Asian Community Services (ACS) volunteer inside Yale's Chicano/Asian American Cultural Center heard the commotion and stepped outside to SaPTEMBEit ... 1991

Usually m~n. they find that work is scarce in the metropolitan area, secure jobs in New Haven, and stay five or six days a week in apartments provided by their employers. Although they spend most of their time in New Haven, they maintain families in New York, which boasts a larger Asian community.

During a typical lesson for these students, ACS volunteers teach vocabu lary and basic reading skills. For more advanced pupils, tutors explain the complicated connotations and idioms of the English language. ACS instructs a growing number of such students, who hail most frequently from C hina, Japan, and Korea. They attend Yale graduate programs or do research for the Medical Schoo l as post-doctoral students, and already have a command of English. Some are renowned in their native countries and have even published journals in English. They attend ACS to perfect their conversational skills and to learn the subtleties of the language. Their spouses often come to classes as well.

ACS students are not the only ones to benefit from the service. ¡~ Tutors also appreciate the opportunity to interact with New Haven's diverse ¡r; and growing Asian population. "The ~ structure of the program lends itself to (3 speaking about two cultures," explains Jennifer Hock (SM '94), who tutored the wife of a graduate studen t. "We talked about aspects of American cuicure, aspects of Japanese culture, and those common to both. I found myself speaking about what it means to me to be an American."

-Rosita Choy

Today, more than 13 years after ACS's creation, families from Southeast Asia no longer dominate the clientele. Instead, many of the current students emigrated from Hong Kong or China years ago and work in businesses that require little knowledge of English, such as Chinese restaurants.

Some cooks and waiters at local establishments live in New York City.

London Calling On their first day in England, a group of Yale-in-London students went house-hunting. At one of the homes, th~ u.vner, an elderly art history professor, not only walked them through his house, but also took the rest of the day to show them the sights of the city. As he shepherded them Ttu: NEW jOURNAL 7

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from John Keats' house to Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill, the professor waxed eloquent about local lore and treated them to a typical pub lunch. "At first we were suspicious of his intentions, then astonished," said Janice Pomerance (CC '93). "We finally chalked it up to a lavish display of English hospitality."

Yale-in-London is the only overseas program that Yale sponsors.

ing distance, and most major London galleries nearby. Students and scholars here virtually breathe British culture."

Part of the curriculum involves visits to museums, London theaters, and a three-day excursion to the English countryside.

Participants appreciate the opportunity to enhance their understanding of Britain through the experience of living in London. "The theater trips ·~

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Industrialist Paul Mellon set up an endowment in 1981 to allow American students to experience British art and culture first- hand through the Paul Mellon Centre fo r Studies in British Art. The research-oriented Centre provides program participants with an excellent library on British art and a photographic archive of 75,000 prints and 20,000 negatives of British painting, sculpture, and drawing.

What students cannot find within the centre exists just beyond its walls.

London, with its museums, galleries, theaters, universities, and libraries, is a vast resource in itself. "Our central location in London has always been very important," said centre director Michael Kitson. "The British Museum and Reading Room are just down the road, the theater district within walk8 THE NEw joURNAL

were fantastic," said Yoji Nimura (CC '93), who attended the program last spring. "And getting the chance to study in a large international city like London was an essential part of the program."

Yale-in-London consists of four courses each semester on subjects ranging from art and art history to architecture, drama, and literature.

Since fewer than 15 students enroll in the program, they get the chance to work closely with professors. "We have the opportunity to get to know the students personally," said deputy director Brian Allen. N irnura appreciated the individual attention professors gave their students. "Having three professors teaching nine students in four seminars is something you'd never get at Yale," he said. "We would S EPTEMBER 4· 1992.

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Despite its attractions and initial popularity, Yale-in-London has suffered from a lack of student interest in recent years. The Gulf War and the recession have made students less enthusiastic about spending a semester or year in England. "I suspect that parems are thinking twice about sending their children overseas because of the expense," Kitson said.

In addition, most undergraduates know very little about Yale-i nLondon. Although the Paul Mellon Centre and the Yale Center for British Art (BAC) publicize the program through information sessions, brochures, and posters, most students who decide to attend hear of it through friends. "Students get so much mail that they probably throw away our brochure almost immediately," lamented Allen. "Our best recruitment has tended to be word-ofmouth, especially through our students and professors."

Kitson believes that the elimination of the British Studies program in 1986 cut off the most obvious channel for recruitment. And Yale's continued lack of encouragement for study abroad has dealt the London program a further blow. In Kitson's opinion, Yale departments should actively support the College's only overseas program by recommending it to students interested in British art, history, drama, or literature.

Although the Paul Mellon Centre does not depend financially on Yalein-London, Kitson and Allen fed concern for the program's future. "The problem is recruiting enough students to make the whole program economically viable," said Allen. "The other things we do on Yale's behalf-like promoting the study of British art as the sister institute to the BAG-are all very well. But we would like to continue this connection with Yale undergraduates."

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Schoolhouse Rock Valerie Burgher en you think "Yale," images of electric guitars, narc drums, and smoke-filled stages don't usually come to mind. But while the campus is no musical mecca, Yale did see the birth of several new groups in 1992, as some old favorites marched on. New Haven and Yale collaborations also helped resuscitate the oncefloundering music scene. "The stork of reason has delivered the brainchild of the Yale music scene," declared Austin Troy (PC '92), music junkie and bass guitarist.

Be wary of such optimism, considering that it comes from a performer who has been known to toss radishes into the audience during renditions of songs with titles like Cooki~ in th~ Middi~. Not all of us share Troy's opinion that Yale's music world is "ready to renaissance." Avoiding the same old same old of cover bands and their endless renditions of" Freebird" will take more student support and a little help from the Yale administration.

Magnolia Rifles, a country music band, braved the storm of the last couple of years, when a plethora of promising bands fizzled into nothing. The group's conception was a simple matter of aesthetics. "I went up to (vocalist) George Streeter (SY '94) at a literary magazine meeting, complimented him on his sideburns and asked if he liked Kris Kristofferson," explained mandolin player Dima Chapman (BR '94). That night they got together and learned "Night Moves," and after the first fateful jam session, the two crooned and strummed their way to country band-dom. When guitarists Cole Wicker (TC '94) and Geoffrey Boyd (TC '94) joined, the Rifles evolved into two guys with acoustics, a mandolin player, and a man with a mike ready to emote about wine, women, butterbeans, or possibly the plight of the Yale University Dining Hall¡ worker. The repertoire soon expanded to include covers of Neil Young and Jerry Jeff Walker, as well as the inevitable "Gambler" and the Dukes of Hazzard theme song.

Trumbull's Boiler Room became the Magnolia Rifles' home turf with many a cowboy hat in sight.

The Rifles don't get to play as often as they would like.

Student employment schedules have made practice and gig time almost as hard to come by as a Yale rap or hip-hop act {but that's another kettle of fish). And money for equipment rental is also a headache. Members hope that Sudler Fund money will soon pour in so that the Yale community will not be deprived of a show where fringed shirts and cowboy boots are the outfits of choice.

The band Schwa is looking for moral as well as monetary support. With guitarist Tim Power's {SM '94) riffs,

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Scott Foster's (SM '93) vocals, slapping bass by Marthane Sanders (SM '92), and solid accordion accompaniment from Joe Carroll (SM '92), the group offers up original songs with a distinctive sound. Even with the significant amount of recognition that Schwa enjoyed last year, the band sometimes met a tepid Yale reaction. "People still don't take bands seriously here," lamented Power. "Original music is just not that big a thing." Student apathy takes its toll, and when the band members outnumber the audience on occasion, potential new vitality sputters and dies.

T

he pitiful dearth of performance space at Yale also reflects student unwillingness to boogie out of the weenie bins and into the groove of live concerts.

Pierson College's B-11, which once hosted many a musical jam, fell victim to such indifference. Last year the college used it for storage instead of shows. Even when it was still an outlet for artistic expression, B-11 was too hot, in the wrong sense of the word. When BLA, Pierson's own basic rock cover band, played one of the last B-11 shows in January 1991, the oppressive heat drove audience members from the show before the end of the first set.

Most Bulldog bands now fight over the Trumbull Boiler Room, the Silliman Dramatic Attic, and residential college common rooms when they want to perform for more than just their closest friends. Some turn to the frat SEPTEMBER 4¡ 1991

parry scene: Red Herring, a variation of last year's Quick Brown Fox, appeared often at DKE last year. For less traditional bands, however, the parcy scene doesn't lend itself to performances. Members of Wrench, the Yale trio that was originally to be called Please Kill Yourself, complained that party audiences have short attention spans.

Apparently after a few kegs, partiers need the familiarity of Rolling Stones covers to orient themselves.

If it's hard to find a place to perform here, the search for a practice room taxes even the most resourceful.

Warehouse, known for .its original songs, soulful singing, and funky bass, struck a deal with Berkeley Master Harry Stout to use the college's practice room, but only' if the band included two Berkeley natives. So Warehouse tailored the band to include the correct numbe r of Bcrkeleyites, and they got the space they needed. If only the life of a Yale musician was always so simple.

Even the legitimate places to practice on campus leave much to be desired. Last year the Barnyard Blues Band tried to share practice space in Jonathan Edwards College with Monobrau, to the distress of all involved. "Trying to fit a drummer, two guitarists, a keyboard player, a singer, and a guy with a harmonica into that place ain't a piece of cake," moaned lead guitarist Thad Brown (SM '92). Since many practice rooms are far from sound- proof, Yale frowns on bands that dare to be non-a capella, or worseamplified. For now, bands can practice in Jonathan Edwards, but that privilege may not last forever. "I don't think the room is really soundproof- it's just that no one's been complaining lately, " said Master's assistant Barbara Goddard.

cured Yale bands Drastic Yellow Plastic, Schwa, and Magnolia Rifles, as well as New Haven's Blind Justice and C hildren of the Sun. PARTAY presented a wide array of music , from the limbo-inspiring African beats of C hildren of the Sun to the almost-heavy metal sound of Skorn Flakes.

At last May's Earth Week benefit, a smash hit by all

B

ig Drummer on Campus Steve Platt (ES '93), who plays with Notes From the Underground, one of the better known Yale rock cover bands, has a different kind of complaint. "Drummers and bassists are pretty hard to find," he said. Since the number of musicians on campus remains limited, Yale performers now collaborate with New Haven players to form bands like The Crossing and VMJ. Joint entertainment efforts that feature groups from Yale and New Haven, like the event in the Silliman Dramatic attic last year that featured the Gravel Pit, VMJ, and Drastic Yellow Plastic, herald a bright spot on the horizon for Yale's music scene.

April's PARTAY (Pierson Alcoholics Responsibly Trashed All Year) concert depended on a town-gown meeting of musical minds. The Old Campus jam fea-

Schwa jams at last Mays Earth ~t'k Bm4Jt jam. accounts, Tim Power pleaded with audience mempers to support local music. With a bit more effort on the part of the student body, perhaps Yale could make up for what it lacks in sex and drugs by offering some rock and roll.

181

Vakrit' Burgha. a junior in Pit'rson Colkgt', is tht' photography t'ditor oftht'TNJ. THÂŁ NEW JouRNAl. u

Landlords Take A Loss joel Tesoro ( ( T

hey're called professional housewreckers," said Tanya, as she stood in front of the burnt-out shell of the apartment building at 71 County Street. "They think the landlord's rich, so they tear his apartment up. They punch holes in the wall, clog pipes with diapers and cigarette butts, bust the windows, and change the locks so that even he can't get in." Tanya moved to another building after tenants in one unit started a fire that gutted 71 County Street. "It's total disrespect," she added, shaking her head.

New Haven's landlords face a crisis. Those who accept tenants on housing assistance and rent subsidies see growing numbers of people who neither maintain their apartments nor pay their rent. These landlords deal with a city administration unsympathetic to their needs and an economic environment that promises no return on their investment. Their dissatisfaction bodes ill for New Haven. Without the lowincome housing its landlords provide, the city will confront greater homelessness and a glut of empty buildings.

New Haven has over 10,000 units of subsidized housing, one of the highest concentrations of low-income housing of any American city. Because of the shortage of public housing, the government offers subsidies to entice private landlords to house low-income tenants at reduced rents.

"Landlords really work for the state," said Bruce Blair, director of development for Christian Community Action, a New Haven group that provides emergency shelter and housing assistance for the homeless. "They handle clients on rent assistance whom the state cannot otherwise house, essentially managing properties for the state without supervision or support."

A mix of full-paying and rent-subsidy tenants once allowed landlords to break even or turn a small profit. But, as the economy worsens, neighborhoods now contain more subsidized renters than ever before. As a result, landlords have lowered rents even further to accomodate the influx of welfare recipients. This in turn has driven away full-paying renters, and left many lessors dependent on subsidized rent.

"You have all these landlords who thought they were going to make millions," said Frank Alvarado, director of New Haven's Office of Building Inspection and Enforcement, the branch of the city administration that ensures that buildings are up to code. "But when the real estate market fell through, they were stuck with all these properties they can neither sell nor maintain., The cost of owning property in New Haven has sky12 THE

NI!W JouRNAL

rocketed: in the past few years, property taxes have risen over 100 percent:' "Taxes have taken away all incentive to invest in New Haven," said Kevin Skiest, vice president of the Greater New Haven Property Owners Association.

Because of the 1991 expansion of the sales tax, a landlord like James Rosenberry, head of Rosenberry Properties and one of the largest landlords in the city, must spend an extra $40,000 a year to cover the tax on services, like accounting, that he provides to his own partners. â&#x20AC;˘ While taxes increase, New Haven property values have declined. The net worth of Rosenberry's 78 buildings, which contain over 420 apartments, plummeted from $20 million to $6.8 million as the city's real estate market collapsed. Rosenberry Properties lost an average of $50,000 to $60,000 a month in 1991. "I'm now fighting a rearguard," Rosenberry said. "Two years from now, I'll be bankrupt."

'When the market fell through, landlords were left with all these properties they can neither sell nor maintain. " At the same time landlords struggle against a hostile economic environment, they must maintain disintegrating properties. Vandalism by violent or drug-addicted tenants has forced Rosenberry to double his spending for upkeep and repair in the past five years. "There are tenants out there whose lifestyle is destructive," Blair admitted. "How are you supposed to take care of buildings when the tenants themselves don't care?"

When New Haven landlord Toni Criscollo visited one of her apartments to investigate reports of child beating by a tenant, she found rotting food on the kitchen counters. This summer Rosenberry evicted one tenant, Christina, who stopped paying her rent in order ro support her drug habit. Gunfights, broken windows, and violent domestic squabbles between Christina and her boyfriend made Rosenberry's other tenants nervous.

Since her eviction, Christina has returned to emergency housing.

Se.PTEMBEll -4. 1991

Landlords also express frustration about coUecting rent tenants to live in my places in the city, I can't compete with checks from their subsidized tenants. "Getting that $50 to brand-new condos in the suburbs," she said. To make mat$70 out of them each month is like pulling teeth," said ters worse, there are no more new Section Eight certificates Criscollo. "If you don't hustle over there by the third or the available in New Haven. Because of budget constraints, the fourth of the month, the money's gone. The real good ten- current waiting list for the program is so long that prospecants will call and tell me, 'Come and get it ,.---..;;.___ _ _ _ __ _ ___ before I spend it."'

But most welfare recipients lack the money to cover food and living expenses, much less rent. "They get $314 a month," said Meir Lakein (JE ' 91) , a community organizer who works for the Homeless Persons Organization Project. " Rent is $325. Where are they going to get the extra $11 ?" As for the charges of tenant neglect, Lakein countered that landlords often ignore basic building maintenance and show up only to collect rent. cent policy changes by the city and tate regarding rent assistance have oth landlords and community advocates worried about the future of subsidized housing. A change in a legal requirement involving federal assistance has triggered a flight of reliable low-income tenants out of New Haven. Under Section Eight federal housing subsidy regulations, tenants on rent assistance set aside one-third of their income for rent and utilitites. The government then makes up the difference between the tenant's contribution and the "fair rent value." Before last year, the city's Section Eight recipients had to use their certificates in New Haven. In 1991 , however, the Department of Housing anc Urban Development began to permit tenants to use federal assistance anywhere in the state.

Many low-income tenants fled the city Tmants starud a fir~ that gumd th~ building at 71 County Strut. for the suburbs, where they could continue rive tenants must wait at least two years before the governpaying their third and live in a safer, more peaceful environment considers their application. ment. Because of the overconstruction of the '80s, a large A recent change in city welfare policy has further jeopnumber of suburban landlords saddled with unoccupied ardized the stability of the housing situation in New Haven. condominiums and apartments lowered their rents to cut Last June, the city welfare department stopped ~nding rent their losses. Criscollo has found it more difficult now to attract responsible tenants. "When I'm advertising for new assistance checks directly to the landlords, leaving the

lt

SUTE.MaER 4, r992

THÂŁ NEW JouRNAL 13

responsibility of rent payments to the tenants. "We're out of the rent business entirely," declared Raymond Lopes, director of the Welfare Department.

He cited the overload of paperwork as a main reason for the change in policy.

Since the new welfare policy wem into effect, o nly six of Rosenberry's 42 tenants who receive assistance from the city have paid their ren t. "We're going to end up evicting the rest," Rosenberry said. Lopes himself admits that evictions in New Haven have increased due to the new policy, but he also says that the new regulations affect only onefourth of the subsidized tenants in New Haven.

A bleak future for New Haven housing: abandoned buildings and vagrancy.

Landlords fault the city for its failure co adequately monitor tenants.

When Criscollo called the Department of C hild and Youth Services to report her tenant for child abuse, the city did not act. "They don't even want to go to the apartment and see for themselves," she said. "One of these days those kids are going to turn up dead."

Landlords complain that media coverage of exploitative landlords, like New Haven's Ali Antar, contributes to a general stereotype of urban landlords as slumlords. Listed under seven different aliases, nearly half of Antar's 18 properties failed to adhere to the housing code in 1990. While landlords concede that slumlords exist, they argue that the majority of landlords in the city are honest. Instead, they emphasize their tenants' own destructiveness.

"Antar may be bad news, but he's not the one who kicks out his windows or dumps his garbage in the backyard," said Rosenberry.

Lakein, however, maintains that landlords unfairly blame their tenant's 14 T HE NEW jOURNAL

S.I!PTEMIIÂŁ1 ~. 1991

More than a tobacco store lifesryles for the state of their properties. H e suggested that landlords may harbor racist hostiliry towards the lowincome tenants they house. "When these landlords talk about poor people tearing things up, sometimes the subtext there i~ that they mean 'black people,"' said Lakein.

Although training programs might h elp low-income tenants take better care of their homes, the steadily increasing numbers on rent subsidies make such programs nearly impossible to administer. B lair and Rosenberry envision a bleak future for New Haven housing: abandoned buildings and vagrancy like the crisis in Detroit.

Lakein, on the other hand, worries that the ciry will accede too readily to landlord demands. "We could do what the landlords want, which is to make sure that they get their rent money, " he said. "I n that case, we'd still have the landlords, but their properties and t heir tenants could go to hell for all they care."

Lakein proposes a more tenantfriendly approach. H e hopes to see the city become much stricter in enforcing laws that protect tenants from landlord mismanagement. And instead of a tenant training program, he suggests a course in money management for recipients of housing assistance. "If you haven't had a lot of money in your life, of course you're not going to know how to spend it or co save it," he said.

For now, landlords continue trying to make ends meet and hope they do not fall victim to foreclosure. "We just d on't pay the banks ," Rosenberry explained. "We pay the bills, and if a dollar is left, we send it to the banks," Roseberry said. "If $1 ,000 is left, we send it to the banks. The banks are not happy, but they haven't gotten to us yet."

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Muskets and Mortarboards: A History ofYale-New Haven Relations Charlotte Brooks

W

en Jonathan Einhorn challenged John Daniels n last year's mayoral race, he seemed to spend more time attadcing Yale's tax-free status than his opponent's shortcomings. While Einhorn lost the election, he followed a time-honored tradition of bashing Yale to gain voter support. Such rhetoric has always struck a nerve among New Haven voters. Still, considering that pitched battles and bloodshed once characterized town-gown disputes, today's relationship between Yale and New Haven is a bed of roses.

Unlike today's politicians, influential New Haven residents originally believed that a college would improve the economy, reputation, and culrurallife of their city. Many of 16 THE NEW jOURNAL

them strenuously lobbied the Colonial government to move the Collegiate School-which later became Yale-from Saybrook to the Elm City in 1715. But the towngown honeymoon ended only two decades after the first wagonload of books arrived in New Haven. Angered by tax privileges that Connecticut's charter granted the College, citizen pamphleteers of the 1740s accused school administrators of everything from mismanaging funds to instructing students in blasphemy. To make marrers worse, Yalies so often failed to pay their creditors at local businesses that the college president and council rightly regulated students' private spending.

Colonial-era quarrels between Yale men and "townies" SÂŁJ>TEMBER ... 1992.

..

remained mere wars of words, and at times the two groups even cooperated. In 1779, students fought side by side with the people of New Haven in an unsuccessful attempt co save the city from an advancing British army. Yet divisions existed even in the heat of battle: Colonel Edmund Fanning (Yale 1757), commander of the invading King's American Regiment of Foot, spared his alma mater while directing his men to burn many of the surrounding buildings. Years later, townsmen grumbled when the grateful college a~arded the Canadian officer an honorary degree. ale College grew in physical size after the Revolution, eventually pushing the town poorhouse, jail, and several taverns off the present-day Old Campus. As Anglicanism waned in America, New Haven citizens accused conservative Yale of religious bigotry and intolerance. The college and the cown seemed doomed to remain spiritually irreconciled, and city planners even laid out the new Grove Street Cemetery with separate plots for "Yale students, People of Color, and Strangers." In addition, the involvement ofYalies in local politics provoked a great deal of anger. New Haven's newspapers waged a continual campaign to either abolish the College's tax-exempt status or co ban students from holding office altogether.

Eventually the milder quarrels of the Colonial era exploded into a pitched battle. "We have had Considerable Bustle here two Saturday Evenings past between the Students in College and the Town Boys," wrote New Haven businessman Erastus Osborn in May 1812. "Last Sunday Evening the number on each side was said co be nearly 400. They attacked with Clubs, Knives, etc. The Sheriff and his Deputies and the Constables interfered, Commanded the Peace, etc., but to no effect." Unlike later riots, the fuse violent town-gown confrontation resulted in only a few injuries and the arrest of some Yalies.

Tension between students and "townies" grew after the 1812 incident. The port's sailors and idle young men took pride in their ability to taunt Yalies, whose wealth and snobbishness irritated them. In turn, the students enjoyed annoying townsfolk with their tiresome pranks, and at

Y

times the srolen signs and gates of neighboring houses lay in chick piles around the College yard. And since Yalies and local boys often vied for the attentions of the same young women, town socials turned into potentially explosive affairs.

The uneasy limbo of a dozen years finally gave way to violence after several Yale medical students stole a corpse from a West Haven graveyard. The body-snatching incident initiated a four-decade period of sporadic fighting between townspeople and students. By the lace 1820s, pitched battles had become a semi-institutionalized part of Yale. "Many years ago, there was a feud between students and townsmen: a sort of general ill-feeling which manifested itself in the lower classes of society in rudeness and insult," observed the snobbish hisrorian Ezekiel Porter

City planners laid out Grove Street Cemetery with separate plots for "Yale Students, People of Color, and , s.trangers.

Belden. "An organization in opposition followed , and a band of tipsy townsmen took the field, [were] repulsed , and a huge knotty club wrested from their leader." Until the faculty abolished the custom in the 1840s, Yale seniors proudly passed this "Bully Club" co an all-around leader in each class.

As the century progressed, Yale students destroyed the town's fire engine, killed a young New Haven man, and kept the perpetratOrs' identities secret-all in the n:l.{Tle of Bully loyalty. In 1845, the New Haven Common Council authorized the appointment of special watchmen to quell riots and suppress the problems arising from citizen-student strife.

By mid-century, tempers had worn so thin chat at times Yalies only ventured outside of the College in large groups. Wary of potential problems, the administration THE NEW jOURNAL

17

refused to allow students to attend community fun ctions. Ignoring the ban, about 70 Yalies attended a show at Homan's Theater one evening in 1851. Word spread quicldy through downtown, and an angry mob numbering in the thousands confronted the students as they left Homan's.

Sensing imminent danger, the policeescorted Yalies quic kly fled to the safety of the college's high walls.

From his office, Police Captain Lyman Bissell recognized a sound he had not heard since the Mexican War: the rattle of a cannon being positioned for anack. "The rioters loaded the piece to the muzzle with cannon balls, grape-shot, stones, pieces of brick, etc., and drew it up before South College," recalled witness H enry Howe . "All was made ready, the gun duly pointed, and the match lighted." Fortunately for Yale, the quick-witted Bissell joined the crowd in time to sabotage its gun.

The mob of disappointed townspeople dispersed after vowing to get even another day.

But many community members still felt that the University held itself aloof from the problems of the city.

George Dudley Seymour, presidenc of Yale during the first decade of the 20th century, attempted to sway citizens with "Cicy Beautiful" and "Save the Elms" campaigns. He even convinced College trustees to open the once-exclusive Peabody Museum,and Trumbull Art Gallery to the public on Sunday afternoons.

T

own-gown relations peaked during World War I, as both communities pulled together to ensure victory. "O n the home front the war effort was distinguished by a remarkable cooperatio n between

the cicy and the University," wrote historian Rollin Osterweis. "The 102nd Regiment was organized and rrained at the Yale Bowl; the great dining hall became t he workroom of the New Haven chapter of the Ame rican Red Cross; Woolsey Hall was the scene of a succession of meetings and concerts designed to keep the general morale at a high pitch. For its part, the city invited the Yale military units to use the Green for drilling and the docks for naval training."

But to New Haven residents, the opening of a few facilities during wartime did not change the fact that Yale still symbolized elitism, wealth, and privilege. During a May 1919 victory parade in the Downtown area,

W

en a similar altercation between students and firemen (without artillery) resulted in the death of a town volunteer in 1858, the angry townspeople almost rioted. But by 1863, the serious town-gown incidents which had plagued the Elm City since the 1820s came to an end. Years of civil wac had finally dulled the fighting spirit of the young men on both sides.

Post-wac battle weariness and the advent of tension-releasing college athletics produced a sort of d~tente in town-gown relations. As the College grew into a university, Yale and New Haven leaders tried to repair their frac tious relationship. In 1880 Yale donated 20 acres of land to enlarge the city's new East Rock Park, while New Haven's mayor appointed an official commit tee to participate in the University's 1901 bicentennial celebration.

18

THE NEW J OURNAL

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~pfes Pizza ~estaurant members of the 102nd Regiment and students, including many war veterans, exchanged insults. "At one o' clock a.m. the next morning about 400 soldiers and sailors went to the campus and invited the students out. Nothing but d eep silence on the students' part prevailed,'! reported the New Haven Union. "The soldiers formed a skirmish line and charged ... T hen came a shower of books, shoes, bottles, and bricks from the students., The fight broke up only after police arrived.

The 1919 affair was the last of the Yale-New Haven riots, but it also marked the e nd of two decades of remarkably cordial relations between the city and the college. By the early 1920s, the town-gown honeymoon had fizzled. And while New H aven slid into the Great Depression, Yale began building its ostentatious Gothic towers, symbolizing the ever-widening gulf between c ity and ivory tower.

"There are only a few Yale men so besotted that they see much beauty in the location of our college buildings," lamented Robert Dudley French ' 10 in 1929. "There is probably not one of us who does not think with some regret what Yale might have been, if foreseeing wisdom had been given to the directors of our destiny., But the lack of such "wisdom" has not prevented Yale and New Haven from maturing together throughout a

ccThere are only a few Yale men so besotted that they see much beauty in the location of our college buildings. " century in which both have experienced fundamental changes. In the 1960s, New Haven's Great Society programs and the emergence of a more socially-conscious and diverse university c reated two communities with SEPTEMBER 4· 1992.

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And despite Jonathan Einhorn's recent election rhetoric, graduate students, bursary students, and community members of Locals 34 and 35 cooperated in the 1992 winter strike against Yale itself. While the university administration may find such behavior irritating, the recent coalition shows that the people of Yale and New Haven may have finally buried the hatchet.

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19

Benno Schmidt's Troubled Tenure Erik M eers

M

any professors, students, and alums could scarcely and faculty alike mourned the loss of their native son: contain their glee at the news that Benno Giamatti had attended Yale graduate school and served as a Schmidt, Yale's 20th president, planned to resign. professor of Renaissance literature before becoming His abrupt decision last May came after a year of unprece- Presiderrt: in 1979. His experience as student and teacher }' dented turmoil and dissatisfaction with his leadership. gave him an understanding of both constituencies.

Although Schmidt accepted Yale's presidency as a rising When the search committee charged with replacing } national star and has since enjoyed significant successes, he Giamatti began to screen applicants, Schmidt, with his leaves the university with his stature diminished. Schmidt's · resume, rose to the to of the list. He early accomplishments in life provided him with a sterling resume bur did not train him in the nuances of consensusbuilding required to lead a university.

A history of Schmidt's early years reads like a caricature of Old Blue privilege. His father, Ben no Sr., earJ:?.ed a fortune as a founding partner in America's first venture capital firm, the J.H. Whitney Company. As a child, Benno Jr. attended an exclusive boy's grammar school in Manhattan and went on to Phillips Exeter Academy. Schmidt entered Yale as an undergraduate in 1959. In ~ those days Schmidt was, by his own "'-'Ch~ ~ admission, more interested in • 1 1/c.Lf. hockey than history, his undergraduate ., major.

Yet Schmidt blossomed academically at Yale Law School, and quickly rose to the top of his class. When he graduated in 1966 he won a law student's fantasy job-a clerkship with Earl Warren, then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. After his stint in Warren's office, Schmidt joined the faculty of Columbia Law School, where he became a full professor in just four years.

In the intellectual community, Schmidt's reputation flourished with the publication of his book Freedom ofthe Press vs. Public Access, still considered one of the most important works on the rights of the media. He gained national prominence as moderator of the PBS series The Constitution: That Delicate Balance. After law school faculty selected Schmidt as dean in 1984, he ~e worked tirelessly at fundraising, collect'"'(. ~ ' With A. Bartktt Giamatti in happi" days: Bmno Schmidt's iP ing a school record $9 million in just rwo years. ~ ... all of the qualities that the committee was looking for: he meteoric rise of a Yale alumnus did not escape the youth, academic background, and national prominence. He notice of the Yale Corporation. When A. Bartlett had another big advantage over the other candidates-his Giamatti announced his resignation as University reputation as an excellent fu.n draiser at Colu mbia. The President in 1986, Corporation members had Schmidt's money settled it: the Corporation offered Schmidt the presname on the tip of their collective tongue. Still, filling idency.

Giamatti's shoes promised to be a difficult task. Students Although he had aggressively pursued the job, Schmidt

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T 20

THE NEW jOURNAL

SEPTEMBEit

4·

1992

To further complicate matters, Schmidt's third wife, Helen Whitney, felt even more reluctant than her husband to leave New York, where she had a career as a documentary filmmaker. To help persuade Schmidt, the Corporation agreed that he could spend a substantial amount of time with his wife in New York. With this assurance in hand, Schmidt accepted the job, to the relief of the Corporation and the praise of the media. Time magazine hailed Schmidt's selection with the headline "Blue-Chip Choice."

I

n his September 1986 inaugural address, Schmidt ardently championed the need to protect freedom of expression. As he delivered his speech, 500 students outd,;::: . side Woolsey Hall took the new President at his word and ~.[..J:>.. ..... boisterously protested Yale's policy of partial investment in ~ South Africa. ~ >In his '86 address, Schmidt foreshadowed 8 '-( ../".:_ the media backlash against "political correctness" by several years. He argued against the adoption of university statutes banning hate speech-words like "nigger" and "fag." "People are saying that victimized groups require protection against such statements," Schmidt said. "[This creates] a new egalitarian threat â&#x20AC;˘ ÂŁ. . against freedom of expression."

1 \\ Free speech issues would ""-..1 e~ )....J dog Schmidt throughout his sixl.~ year tenure. Students constructed mock shanties outside the President's office at Woodbridge Hall to protest Yale's investments in South Africa. In the face of strong alumni disapproval, Schmidt maintained the right of students to protest.

When an angry alumnus torched the shanties, Schmidt condemned the action and allowed students to build a new monument.

Schmidt drew a distinction between free speech and obstruction, however, when he ordered the arrest of 21 antijgUration as Yaks 20th president. apartheid protestors occupying Yale's investment office.

Schmidt declared at the time: "No university can tolerate Dean Benno Schmidt of the Columbia Law School will the disruption of its functions." His patience eventually likely be Yale's next President. If he wants the job. It's paid off: students interest in South Africa waned, and the already been offered. The problem is, Dean Schmidt likes monument ceased to be an issue. A group of students quietNew York. To him New Haven is a great place to visit new ly disassembled the structure in 1991.

Schmidt's reputation for balance and sensitivity on shows, but he wouldn't want to live there." complex issues of free speech contrasted markedly with the high-handedness he showed during a crisis at the School of

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Organization and Management (SOM). When several tenured professors at SOM threatened to resign over philosophical differences about the curriculum, Schmidt responded by appointing a new dean , Michael Levine, whom he charged with changing the school's emphasis on non-profit management to a more traditional, corporate-oriented curriculum. ' Schmidt granted the new dean unlimited power to hire and fire nontenured faculty, and Levine summarily axed two of the school's major departments. Schmidt's authoritarian tactics shocked many faculty members and students, regardless of how they felt about the changes. Because SOM was founded in the late '70s, disgruntled alumni lacked the numbers to take the protest further.

Schmidt stirred further controversy when, on budgetary grounds, he shut down the Yal~ R~vi~. one of the oldest and most highly regarded literary journals in the country. As in the battle at SOM, many felt that Schmidt was allowing business concerns to supersede the scholarly mission of the university. But unlike SOM, the Review had a powerful constituencythe literati, headed by author George Plimpton. The group pressured Schmidt relentlessly and eventually forced him to reverse his decision. n contrast to the flak Schmidt took for his actions at SOM and the Yak Rroi~w, he received high praise in the Yale community for his dealings with New Haven's government. The signing of the Yale-New Haven agreement ranks foremost among his accomplishments. Under the agreement, Schmidt pledged that for the first time in its 291 year history, Yale would make payments to the city government in Heu of taxes. Other major universities had made such concessions to local governments long before.

Princeton gives $2 million annually to the municipal government, while

I

22 THE NEw jouRNAL

Stanford pays nearly $5 million for fire protection alone.

The deal almost collapsed when conservatives on the Board of Aldermen challenged the section of the agreement that gave Yale the right to close four blocks of High and Wall Streets to traffic in exchange for $1.1

uThe problem is, Dean Schmidt likes New York. To him New Haven is a great place to visit shows, but he wouldn't want to live there." million. But with concessions on all sides, the Board finally accepted Schmidt's package. "I think that he was more successful in improving Yale's relationship with the New Haven community than any of the three presidents who came before him," said Joseph LaPalombara, a political science professor.

As a fund raiser, Schmidt also beat out his predecessors. The numbers speak for themselves: $150 million raised last year alone as the nucleus for the upcoming capital campaign, a record yearly take for the university.

Like Giamatti, Schmidt improved alumni donations totals every year he held office.

Yale Presidents have been preoccupied withthe endowment ever since its real value collapsed after the failure of several risky investment during Kingman Brewster's administration.

Additionally, Brewster left Giamatti and Schmidt a decaying physical plant that would cost .a n estimated $1.2 billion to repair-Giamatti had once joked to The New York Tim~s that his presidency would be remembered only SEPTEMBER 4• 1992

Schmidt anga-d many on campus by living part-ti11U in Nnu York with his wift, for the "Giamacci Memorial Wiring System." To help offset the mounting costs of renovations, Schmidt began to travel extensively for a new capital campaign, the largest ever conducted by an American university. "The private part of a capital campaignsecuring a nucleus fund-requires the presence of the president," said Charles Pagnam, director of major

gifts.

But while Schmidt crisscrossed the globe as Yale's chief fund raiser, the taunt "Where's Benno?" grew more audible in New Haven. And Schmidt's low popularity benefitted little from the money pouring into the endowment, since most of the new funds had to pay for mundane items such as roof repairs and bathroom renovations.

Schmidt undermined his success at raising large amounts of money SEPTEMBER ... 1992.

H~kn

byalienating large numbers of active Yale alumni. His unpopularity stemmed from his emphasis on gaining large, high-profile donations like the $60 million given by the Bass fam-

(1 have to say I thought Benno Schmidt was one ofthe worst speakers I have ever heard. >> ily last year. Off the record, many attribute Schmidt's triumphs in chis area to his patrician upbringing: the Basses and the Whicneys were on Schmidt's Rolodex long before he became Yale's president. "I know, through officers in the university, that Schmidt saw no reason to be bothered

Whitnry.

by any dealings with alumni except for the true plutocrats,"' said William Henry III (BK '71), a theater critic for Tim~ magazine. "If you weren't talking about someone who could write at least a seven if not an eight figure check, he just didn't see any reason.

That could be handled by underlings in the Development Office."'

Schmidt's aloof personal manner offended many alumni audiences... He was essentially unwilling to mingle,,. said Henry. "Among alumni he was notorious for not being there even when he was there. He didn't take questions, he wouldn't engage in small talk, and he really didri't listen to anybody."

The speeches that Schmidt gave to Yale alumni meetings were widely derided by audiences as boring and ineffective. Andrea Dorfman (PC '84) THE

Nnv Jou~AL 2.3

three-day strike.

While labor troubles brewed, Schmidt, Yale College Dean Donald Kagan, and Provost Frank Turner interp reted the recurring debt as an indication that the university needed to concentrate its resources in fewer areas. Schmidt appointed a committee of professors to devise a plan to restructure the university's academic departments and slash the budget by 15 percent. "In my 28 years at Yale I had never known anything comparable to the degree of malaise this procedure created," said LaPalombara. "The process was si mply m ishandled. There was absolutely no finesse."

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recalls hearing Schmidt at the Yale Club in New York: " I have to say I thought Benno Schmidt was one of the worst speakers I have ever heard. I found him dull. I found that he didn't really have an understanding of the workings of a university."

Yale' lJ s easuy /Jeh

1992, Schmidt declared that the university was in fiscal crisis. At the same time, Yale was negotiating a new contract with the University's dining hall and custodial employees. Schmidt's administration claimed that the budget crisis made new concessions

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In his last year as president, Schmidt managed to alienate many studer\ts, university employees, and professors as well. After a series of annual budget deficits culminated in a projected $15 million shortfall for 24 THE NEw JouRNAL

W

en the committee finaly recommended an cross-the-board cut in faculty positions , as it axed two departments and emasculated several others, the faculty went into full revolt. Professors formed their own committee to evaluate the conclusions of the restructuring report, calling on Howard Lamar, the highly-respected former Dean of Yale College, to head the group. Lamar's review committee eventually found

Worry and Hope at Yale impossible. The unions joined forces with a group of graduate students to push for recognition of the Graduate Employee and Student Organization (GESO). When negotiations stalled, GESO and Locals 34 and 35 staged a

that the magnitude of the "budget crisis" had been exaggerated. The review committee offered several alternative plans to the one proposed by Schmidt's restructuring committee.

SEPTEMBER 4¡ '992

A Fascinating Excursion into the Orient is only minutes away at the In the face of the unprecedented rebuke by the faculty, Provost Turner quit last Ap ril. Later that month, Kagan resigned as Dean of Yale College to work on his latest book.

When Schmidt abruptly announced

ulfyou weren't talking about someone who could write at least a seven if not an eight figure check, he just didn't see any reason.

That could be handled by underlings in the development office" his decision to leave Yale for the Edison Project in May, he completed the swe~p of the triumvirate of top University officials.

After the beating Schmidt rece ived during the " budget crisis" debacle of last spring, Christopher Whittle's Edison Project provided an attractive and face-saving opportunity.

The media circus over the Edison Project, an effort to launch a national network of for-profit private schools, deflected critical attention from an evaluation of Schmidt's tenure at Yale.

Still, the events of last spring showed that Yale's top administrators had lost the confidence of much of the university community. With the appointment of Howard Lamar, the Corporation replaced Schmidt with a popular Acting President who could lead by consensus rather than decree.

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THE NEw jouRNAL

SEPTEMBEil 4. 1991

Lamar Rides Again Kathy Reich en Howard Lamar, a history professor and former dean of Yale College, appeared at a press onference to announce his appointment as interim president of Yale University, hundreds of people gave him a standing ovation. And another, and another, and another. "He wasn't prepared for the powerful reception he received," said history professor Cynthia Russett, who attended the June 17 announcement. "He was really overwhelmed."

To date, Lamar's appointment has generated almost universal jubilation on campus. After a year of budget batdes, stormy resignations, and growing bitterness among faculty and students (see related story page 20), many have heralded the history professor's appointment as the first step toward restoring Yale's tarnished reputation. "The mood on campus changed overnight," said Associate Provost Lloyd Suttle, whom Lamar tapped to serve as Advisor to the President.

Suttle and others caution against expecting miracles from Lamar's administration, which will last for about a year while the Yale Corporation chooses Benno Schmidt's permanent successor. Still, Lamar himself hopes that substantive and positive change will occur during his year at the helm. "My own goal will be to turn over my office to a successor with the condition that things are almost back to normal," he said.

all, he was not at a stage in his career where he was looking for another administrative challenge," Suttle said.

But the Corporation would not take no for an answer, and others urged Lamar to reconsider. "I felt tremendous pressure, not just from the Corporation committee, but from my colleagues in the history department and across the university," Lamar recalled. "I finally accepted the job because I love this place. It's given me a chance to do work that I love in a field that I love, and it's been supportive of my research and teaching and of the well-being of my family. I was very happy to perform this last act of service."

The Corporation was also happy-so happy that when Lamar called to accept the job, they serenaded him with a rendition of "Bright College Years." "It was· not concert quality, but it was heartfelt," said Boren. "Lamar's selection sent a strong message of respect for the faculty and communicated how strongly we wanted Yale to be one family."

T

Since Lamar took office on July 1, he has striven to set himself apart from Benno Schmidt in almost every wayalthough he is careful not to criticize his predecessor.

"Schmidt didn't articulate an educational vision, but he articulated a wish for Yale to continue to be a first-rate university," Lamar said. "He was very hard at work at his fiscal vision, and it's an important one."

Lamar's vision for Yale includes financial solvency; he will continue the $1.5 billion fundraising campaign that Schmidt launched. But he will refrain from the frequent fundraising junkets that marked Schmidt's administration.

"I will go on the road periodically, but not as much as Schmidt did," Lamar said. "I couldn't be visible around here and also travel a lot." , "Visible" and "accessible" have become the new catchwords at Woodbridge Hall. Unlike Schmidt, who split his time berween New York· and New Haven, Lamar actually lives in the Elm City. He plans to open up the administration's decision-making process by welcoming input from all

W:

he Corporation's selection committee chose Lamar for the presidency after a short but intensive search process that began immediately after Schmidt resigned on May 26. The committee contacted over 150 people, in addition to numerous students and faculty, and considered about a dozen candidates for the job. From the beginning Lamar was high on everyone's list. As a popular professor and a former dean, he could boast both administrative experience and warm relations with faculty, students and alumni. "Not a single person had a negative comment about him," said Senator David L. Boren (CC '63), a Democrat from Oklahoma and a Corporation member who served on the search committee. At a private two-day retreat, the Corporation voted unanimously to offer him the post.

At first, however, Lamar turned them down. Having just retired from a 40-year teaching career, he had several research projects in the works, and wanted to travel.

"Between his other commitments and the suddenness of it SEPTEMBER •• 1992

c'My own goal will be to turn over my office to a successor with the condition that things are almost back to normal.>>

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members of the community. This policy represents a return to the notion of a close-knit community that Yale cherished for decades-and a change from Schmidt's administration, which often weathered criticism for being closed to faculty and s tudent con cerns. "The faculty was demoralized," Professor Russett said of the days under Schmidt. " It was perceived as an U6 versus them situation. That was not the way this place had traditionally been run at all. " A long- time professor, Lamar enjoys cozy relations with the faculty.

H e has followed through on an early promise to consider faculty views on all major issues by establishing an informal, five-member faculty adviso-

When Lamar called to accept the job, the Corporation serenaded him with c'Bright College Years." ry committee. Faculty committees are also closely examining proposed budget cuts to academic depanmems and will report their findings m September. for improving student relaons, Lamar plans to eat eals in the colleges at least once a week, and will meet both formally and informally with student groups. "It's going to be nice to have a president who eats more meals in a college than he does at Mory's," said Suttle.

The new deans of the graduate and undergraduate schools have also adopted Lamar's accessible stance.

Both Yale College Acting Dean Donald Engleman and Graduate School Dean Richard Levin claim that they will consider student concerns when making their decisions.

Indeed, everyone on Lamar's administrative team has adopted a tone of approachabil ity and consensus. "I certainly hope we have a year where we begin to work together to solve our problems, in stead of having acrimonious debates," Engleman said. "We all have a common concern-the wellbeing of one of the world's great educational institutions."

D

espite the optimism and the budding sense of community on campus, Yale's problems linger. Faced with a $15 million deficit, the university has no choice but to tighten its budgetand this may lead to deep cuts in academics, even to the elimination of some departments. "Everybody now realizes that we do need to cut back," Lamar said. But he does not want academics. to bear the brunt of the budget difficulties. His administration is closely examining non-academic university operations, such as physical plant and renovation plans, for possible cuts. In the academic arena, Lamar may endorse some cuts in every department rather than major slashes in a few.

Surde points out that the budget mess will take years to resolve, a nd Lamar cautions that the $1.5 billion fundraising drive-which has raised $600 million to date--is not a panacea for Yale's fiscal woes.

"So much of the money that Schmidt raised is in the form of pledges, wills, and gifts of material objects," Lamar said. "So when someone says, 'You've already raised $600 million,' it doesn't really mean that. We do have to cut back in places. We do have to watch our pennies."

Lamar will also need to improve Yale's image in the local and national press-an image that took quite a beating last year when the Wall Str~~t journal bemoaned the decline of Old Yale and Th~ Nnu York Times SI!PTEMBEJI. ~. 1992

Magazin~ took aim at the university in a cover story. "Certain issues simply ballooned way beyond our expectations, and Yale was not prepared for this reaction," said Lamar. "We probably still have an elitist image in this country, and seeing the elite brought down is fun."

The new president is anxious to dispel this elitist image, in part by forging stronger ties between the university and New Haven. He served a term on the Board of Aldermen in the '50s, and repeatedly expresses his affection for the city. While Lamar credits Schmidt with improving the town-gown relationship, he believes that much remains to be done. He has already met with New Haven Mayor John Daniels, and claims that an announcement by the Corporation in September will lay the groundwork for a closer relationship with the city.

ike any new president, Lamar may encounter some rough spots in his administration as people adjust to the new order. To complicate matters, Engleman, Levin, and Provost Judith Rodin have all just assumed their posts, and Lamar and Engleman are temporary. "There's bound to be some confusion," said Kate Baicker (BK '93), Yale College Council President. "Building a relationship takes time."

But Levin points out that all members of Lamar's new team have served together in the past on university committees. "The idea that somehow this is a team that by virtue of being new, is in danger of making mistakes, is not valid at all," Engleman claimed. "We all have extensive administrative experience. Judy Rodin, Rick Levin and myself were on the restructuring committee, and we spent the better part of two years looking at every department in the university."

Lamar himself possesses more successful administrative experience than just about any of his colleagues.

Faculty members still fondly recall

L

In on~ ofhisfirst official duti~s. Howard LAmar gruud mnnh~ ofth~ class of'96.

THÂŁ NEW jOUilNAL

29

The~wJoumal Would like to thank the following TN] alumni for their generous gifts to our 25th Anniversary Capital Campaign:

Steve Ballou Barbara Burrell Cynthia Cameros Andy Court Rodney Green David Greenberg Stephen Hellmen Lawrence Lasker Augustus 0 liver Stuart Rohrer Pamela Steele Alan Wachtel Marguerite T. Yates William Yuen

To make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact Kathy Reich a (203) 436-1487, or write to The New Journal, P.O. Box 3432 Yale Station, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 30

THE NEW

jouRNAL

"Lamar is sort ofthe father ofa lot ofimportant ~stern historians," says one scholar.

1979 to 1985, when Lamar served as Dean of Yale College. "It's extremely rare for someone to emerge from the deanship and not have a single enemy in the place," Russett said. Under Lamar's leadership, Yale College stan ~ dardized irs tenure procedures, revamped the student disciplinary commjnee, and developed the Women's Studies and Studies in the Environment programs. Lamar lists the latter two programs as his greatest accomplishments while dean. "''d like to see a university that explores new ideas, that thinks the unthinkable, that anticipates what the major issues will be nor Just for the university, bur for society as a whole," he said. though Engleman jokes that many faculty wished Lama r ould have stayed dean forever, by 1985 Lamar wanted to return to his first loves, teaching and research. He carne to Yale in 1945 as a graduate stu~ dent, and except for a few fellowships, he has never left. For decades Lamar taught History of the American West, leaving his mark on the field through his writing and by guiding dozens of graduate students who went on to reinterpret the mythology of the West.

"Lamar is sort of the father of a lot of important Western historians," said Bryce Nelson, a scholar of the American West at the University of Southern California. "He taught them

to look at the non~ idyllic side of Western history. And besides being such a great figure, he's regarded as gra~ cious, warm and benevolent. He's out to help other people, not just himself, and that's not always common in academia."

Lamar's good pature may be severe~ ly tested in the coming year, as con~ srituencies compete for his attention and the university's budget woes con~ tinue. But for now he seems perfectly content in Woodbridge Hall, and the Corporation is in no hurry to replace him. " Having a person of Howard Lamar's ability serve as acting president means that there is no reason to rush into making a permanent selection until we have found the right person," said Boren. "The choice of the next permanent Yale president is a critical one that will in many ways determine Yale's place in the next century."

As the Corporation ponders the future , Lamar relishes the present.

"He's in incredibly good spirits," said Suttle of his old friend. 'This is his last contribution to a community he has been such a vital part of since 1945.

He's dedicated his life to the Yale and New Haven communities. He just cares so much for the place. " At least at this stage of his presidency, the feel~ ing is mutual. .-J Kathy &ich, a senior in Pierson Colkge, is editor~in~chiifofTNJ ¡ SePTEMBER ,., 1992

ewournal ~-. b.~~ .--:...~o. .,,.---.

.,.... _,_ ... ...........

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The New journal is the biggest and arguably (we have to say that to be modest) the best publication on campus. Two years ago the Columbia Scholastic Press Association ranked TN] among the top nine college magazines in America. Rolling Stone gave us the big-thumbs up, too. Last year, TN] writers won the two highest journalism prizes awarded at Yale. If you want to work in an environment where talent is appreciated and nurtured, TN] is for you. Maybe someday you'll follow in the footsteps of staff members like these: Jack Fuller, now editor of the Chicago Tribune; Anne Applebaum, now Warsaw bureau chief for the London Independant and the Economist magazine; and StephenWeisman, now Tokyo bureau chief of the New York Times. In the mean time, you'll have a blast.

COME TO THE ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING: DATE: Next Tuesday, September 8, 1992 TIME: 8p.m.

MANNER: off the wall and flamboyant PLACE: Berkelr. College Common Room Questions? Call Kathy at 6-1487 for all the answers.

Women's Clinics in Crisis Sonya]oo

T

h e "Gag Rule" has forced Planned Parenthood· of Connecticut (PPC) to reexamine its values. The 1987 federal regulation, upheld by the Supreme Court in 199 1; prevents government-funded health care professionals from discussing abortion with clients-an integral part of PPC's self-defined mission. The organization, which runs 20 clinics and treats 54,000 women each year, stands to lose $500,000 annually in federal funds. Yet despite the recession that has crippled the health care industry, PPC officials have decided to defY the government and remain true to the organization's pro-choice principles.

The disputed funds fall under the Family Planning Services and Population Research Act or Title X of the Public Health Service Act (1970), which subsidizes treatment for ~omen who can pay little or nothing for care. "Women who seek medical care at Title X clinics are women who, without subsidies, may do without care-and surely without birth control-if there is no food on the table at home," said Patricia Baker, executive director of PPC. Since PPC offers abortion counseling and procedures , it is now ineligible for Title X funds.

Although a last-minute modification of the Title X "Gag Rule" provision allows physicians to offer limited advice on abortion, Baker fears that the new law will still have disastrous consequences for lowincome women. "We will see a twotiered system of health care information in this country--one where pregnant women with the financial resources will continue to be fully

32.

THE

N£w JouRNAL

informed of all available alternatives stands to lose half of the $1.2 million while those who cannot afford private in Title X funds annually allocated to physicians will suffer," she said. the state.

Women's health organizations Jeanette Huettner, director of must fight the Bush Administration communications and development for and the religious right for every Federal , state, and local dollar.

According to a New Haven Advocate investigation, the major women's clinics in New HavenWomen's Health Services (WHS) and PPC-receive less in federal subsidies than neighborhood clinics that provide general care, although they treat comparable numbers of lowincome patients.

Government grants constitute 64 pe rcent of Hill Health Center revenue, while public dollars comprise only 21 percent of PPC and eight percent of WHS budgets.

Between 1980 and 1990, allotments in the federa l budget for Title X plunged by two-thirds, from $153 million to $51 million.

And because PPC and Hartford Hospital will not comply with the "Gag Though pigeonholed as an abortion clinic, Planned Rule," Connecticut Parenthood coven ail aspeccts ofwomen's health care.

SEPTEMBER 4· 1992

..

.

WH$, attributes the lack of federal supporr to the misperception that women's clinics primarily perform abortions. In reality, clinics like WHS and PPC offer a comprehensive reproductive health program, including contraceptive counseling and methods, pregnancy testing, sexually- transmitted disease testing, breast exams, annual pelvic exams, and Pap smears.

Although Connecticut, like most states, lacks the resources to replace lost federal dollars, state legislators have tried to pick up some of the slack.

In 1991 the state legislature approved half of the $500,000 that Governor Lowell Weicker originally proposed for family planning and also passed a law that codified a woman's right to privacy. Furthermore, nearly all members of the Connecticut congressional aelegation h~tve endorsed the federal Freedom of Choice Act, which would legalize the right to abortion.

To replace the rest of the Title X money, PPC and WHS have tried to tap the private resources of individuals, foundations, and corporations.

"We've received a good response to our fundraising campaign and will make ends meet this year," said Ilene Shub, a PPC spokesperson. "But now we need to worry about the following year and the year after that. It's a continual effort." Administrators will only consider raising medical fees as a last resort.

T

he rising cost of medication and supplies poses a further financial dilemma for PPC and WHS. Federal legislation that requires pharmaceutical companies to give rebates to state Medicaid programs forced these companies to cut back discounts traditionally granted

to subsidized health care providers.

Consequently, birth control prices have skyrocketed. From 1990 to 1991, the average cost of birth control pills rose by 35 percent-from $16.99 to $22.95 for a one-month supply.

New legislation also requires certification of lab technicians who read Pap smears. As a result, the cost of these cervical cancer tests has quadrupled, from $3 to $12.

P

atient fees constitute the backbone of PPC and WHS budgets, but the recession has driven more and more low-income patients to these clinics. Five years ago WHS treated about one-third full-paying, one-third Medicaid, and one-third sliding fee patients, but today the clinic sees fewer full-paying women than ever and 40 percent of its patients are on Medicaid. "Women come here who live in extreme poverty and in situations of real terror," said Bonnie Rapkin, a clinic social worker who is a therapist and abortion counselor at WHS. "They spend their days below windows to avoid random gunfire and occasionally venture outside with their infant child to get to the bus stop."

Although clinics like WHS focus on serving low-income patients, many women who can afford private care also patronize them. "We have always had a group of women who could afford care elsewhere," said Rapkin. "I see many college students, women from the surrounding suburbs, and powerful women from the corporate world. They come here because we provide a more woman-oriented environment where they are treated as people rather than as bodies rolling through."

As PPC and WHS attract more women, the clinics are developing services in areas other than gynecology.

"Many women feel comfortable with the health care professionals and counselors at the clinic, so they come here first with their health problems," said Ada Spann, site manager of PPC's Griswold-Buxton clinic in New Haven. "We try to make health care as accessible as possible and adapt to our patients' needs." WHS offers body image and eating disorder therapy along with psychotherapy. Certain PPC clinics offer screenings for diabetes, sickle-cell anemia, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

By broadening their original mission, PPC and WHS hope to change their public image and possibly win back federal funding. Spann predicts that PPC will expand women's health services beyond gynecology and perhaps embrace a more general healthcare role for all family members. A long-range planning committee at WHS is currently considering a move into primary health care for women.

In light of the new interest in women's health research, Huettner also believes that the clinics could grow by serving as a site for Yale research sponsored by government grants.

Although funding may be shaky, administrators see expansion as. a vital necessity. "Women teU me about trying to get health care in a private setting where they sense an uncaring and inattentive attitude," Rapkin said. "I think it's clear what women want. We a.s a society should be able to do better."

..

Sonya Joo, a sophomor~ in Silliman Co/kg~. is on th~ staffofTNJ. THB NEW jOURNAL 33

And Justice For All David Gerber uring a 1989 conference on the transition to democracy in Argentina, the Yale Law School's Orville H. Schell Jr. Center for International Human Rights expanded the traditional definition of human rights by including the country's economic situation in its discussions. The issue: Can there be protection for human rights when the economy is experiencing 1,000 percent inflation and people are breaking into supermarkets just to get enough food to survive? The question seemed worlds away from the standard concerns that most numan rights groups address-political persecution and imprisonment. Yet in the context of the Schell Center's conference on Argentina, economic well-being proved as crucial a right as free speech.

Schell Center founders Drew Days III and George Andreopoulos, both Yale Law School professors, seek to ensure that "second generation" human rights, such as the right to economic survival, are not forgotten in the quest for an international human rights standard. "If you want to understand human rights in a more compre- · hensive way, talk about the quality of life of the individual, not just whether the individual can be left free from persecution, arbitrary arrest, and torture," said Andreopoulos.

To address such issues, the Schell Center has adopted an interdisciplinary approach to the study of human rights. Center activities include conferences like the one on Argentina, student and faculty research, and publications. "Protection for individual rights and what we call human right$ can't really exist in a vacuum," said Days. "There has to be some sense of what the cultural context is, what historical problems exist,

D

ScheU Cmter co-fourukr Drew Days hopes to expand the current tkfinition ofhuman rights.

34 TH£ NEW jOURNAL

SEPTEMBER

4· 1992

what economic conditions are."

Establis¡hing this con text h as required close work with experrs ou tside the Law School-a unique practice among university-based, researchoriented human rights centers. The Schell Ce nter's advisory committee, which approves all m ajo r projects, draws its m embers not just from the Law School, but from the history and political science departments, the Divinity School, the Medical School, the School of Forestry and Environmenta l Studies, and the School of Epidemiology and Public Health. This year's upcoming conference on che transition to democracy in the Phi!ippines boasts a roster of over 20 speakers, including historians, constitutional theorists, military experts, political scientists, and economists.

Days and Andreopoulos gave though ~ao the potential for publication when they chose the Philippines as their topic. "UsuaJiy we don't get involved in a big project unless we have a pretty good feeling that it may result in a publication," said Andreopoulos. " Our first consid eration is, 'What are the chances we have som ething new to say?"' T he center's advisory committee believed that chis year's election in the Philippines provided such new material. The Middle East's recent turn in the media spotlight has earned Islam consideration as the topic of the Schell Center's second major conference this year.

The Schell Center sponsors ongoing, original research as well as events at Yale. To spark an interest in human rights among graduate students, the Center provides financial support for human rights-oriented research each summer. Recent projects have included studies of violence against women in South Africa and the economic SEPTEMBER 4¡ 1992.

plight of Palestinians in Israel's occupied territories. The latter resulted in the Schell Ce nter's first book, P/owshar~s and Swords: Th~ Economic Occupation in th~ Wt-st Bank. The center also spo nsors scholars from other institutions who wi sh to resea rc h human rights at Yale.

T

he Schell Center's rapid rise to prominence since its founding in 1989 has surpassed even the expectations of its directo rs. Its roots lie with Orville Schell, a New York City attorney who worked for the human rights organizations Helsinki Watch and Americas Watch. After Schell's d eath in 1987, a group of his friends and associates established the center in his memory. Days, an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights during the Caner administration, agreed to direct the center.

Andreopoulos, who came aboard as associate direc tor, brought personal experience to his post. As a child, he lived through a seven-year military dictatorship in Greece that practiced widespread torture and persecution.

Andreopoulos moved to the United States in 1973, where he joined the Committee for Freedom and Democracy in Greece.

Days and Andreopoulos tailored the center's goals to complement the work of the Lowenstein Project, a student group in the Law School that focuses on the legal aspects of human rights. But only in the past year has the Schell Center attracted attention from undergraduates. Days and Andreopoulos attribute the rise in interest to the new human rights course they te.ach at Yale College, and to recent cooperation between the center and the undergraduate Amnesty International chapter. The two groups co-

sponsored a successful con ference on human rights in China last April. Last semester also saw the first issue of the Ya/~ journal of Hu man Rights, an undergraduate publication that Andrepoulos ad vises. T his year, the Schell Center will sponsor a bi-weekly faculty seminar on redefining security.

Guest speakers will discuss the envi-

The Schell Center has adopted an interdisciplinary approach to the study of human rights. ronment, the economy, and other nonstandard human rights issues. "We're trying to move away from the military paradigm," said Days.

Although its present scope is considerable, the Schell Center seeks to broaden its influence. Although humanities specialists dominate audiences at its events, the center has begun to target the natural science departments and the Medical School. Two years ago the center sponsored a conference on medicine and torture, and it is planning one on organ transplants and human rights for later this year.

Expanding programs and growing audiences have not swayed the Schell Center from its original course. " It's really about making people aware, talking about interdisciplinary issues, and making scholars," said Days. "We're making discussion about human rights effective and intelligent instead of just rhetoric. " I&IJ

David G"bn-, a sophomor~ in Trumbull Co/kg~. is on th~ staffof TNJ. THE NEW j OURNAL

35

Dixie jay wonder why Northerners judge the South by standards they themselves fail to maintain. "I've seen a lot of racial tension in the North,.and it always confuses me why the South has such a bad reputation," said Cho. "Things don't seem much better here. Historically there have been lots of racial problems, but I think people in the South tend to be more honest about them." Deesha Philyaw (PC '93), an AfricanAmerican, did not find that Northern rhetoric about race

or the ten to fifteen per~ent of undergraduates wh~ hail from the southern United States, a Yale education includes a number of lessons that aren't listed in the Blue Book. For many, the real test comes not -in Intro Psych, but from the stereotypes fellow students carry about Southern culture and beliefs.

Mary Tobler (DC '95) of Richmond, Virginia found that many Yale students view "the South" as an unknown land somewhere in the boonies. Tobler spent much of her first year at Yale discussing Dixie with curious Yankees.

"For so many people up here my being from the South was such a rarity that I constantly found myself talking about it," she said.

Tobler found some outdated stereotypes almost laughable. ''A lot of people thought that I'd be sweet and demure, a belle who was easy to push around, and definitely not a feminist," she said. "It was surprising to a lot of people that I could speak articulately, and that I had deep thoughts."

Southerners can laugh off such flawed assumptions, but defusing peers' suspicions about racism proves a more daunting task. "I had a hard time with people freshman year because they had very strange ideas about the South," said Columbus, Georgia native Nam Cho (PC '93). "Some students thought Southerners were still lynching people. It made me mad because I was very open-minded about the North." Hyman Rubin III (SM '93) of South Carolina also found Yale rife with unfair generalizations. "Of course, people expect anybody from the South to be a racist," he said.

Southerners find Yankee gibes about the Civil War especially irksome. "I was made to feel ashamed of it, but on the other hand, I had nothing to do with it," said Tobler. "It's like bringing up the Revolutionary War to someone from Britain."

When discussions turn to history and race, Southerners

F

.. relations matched the reality. "The South has problems and prejudices, but it wasn't like this place was much warmer," she said. ican-American Southerners face a different kind of xperience at Yale. Philyaw found that exposure to ortherners changed her perceptions about the black community. "I learned that black people are not a monolith," she said. "It was great to see black people from other parts of the country who had other religions, or no religion at all, or who were from different countries."

Southerners of all races no~ice cultural gaps between New Haven and Dixie, especially when it comes to attitudes. Senator David L. Boren (CC '63), Democrat from Oklahoma and Yale Corporation Trustee, believes that SEPTEMBER 4. 1992

Blues Porter Southerners' small numbers can place them at a disadvantage. "At first the university has for most of us a cultural strangeness that can be intimidating,'' he said. Students must make a special effort to adjust. "People aren't as friendly here," said Philyaw. "There is a coldness, and I've had to steel myself against it."

Of all the Southern stereotypes, Southerners' fabled politeness rings most true. This can cause problems for some exiles in New Haven. "In the North it's no great sign of disrespect if you walk past someone and they don't say hello," said Rubin. "Whereas down South it means that they want to kill you." And some Southerners find the chilly Northern sryle downright offensive. "The women at Wawa really offended m e when I first got there-they threw my change at m e," Cho said. "I know it's a stereotype, but people are just more polite in Georgia."

6 r many Southern students who grow up far from the prep schools of the Northeast, the path to Yalt! is a long and uphill climb. ''I'd never heard of any Ivy League schools before my junior year," said Bob Battle (SY '92). "My parents got me to apply, but the more I read about it, the more I wanted to go. You can't pass up an opportunity to get the education you can get at Yale."

Battle dealt with Old Blue culture shock by taking action. Spurred by the idea that a support group could ease the transition to Yale, he ferreted out other undergraduates and graduate students from his home state and founded the Alabama Club. Originally, Battle envisioned the club mainly as a social group. "I thought it might be a nice idea to have a group that got together once a month to eat a few grits o r maybe talk in our Southern accents a little bit," he quipped.

Senator Boren never misses a chance to check on stud ents from Oklahoma when he comes to town for Corporation business. His visits provide the nucleus for a very informal "Oklahoma Club." Twice a year, Boren treats Oklahomans to an Old Blue tradition-lunch at Mory's.

"It's just fun to be with people who think it's perfectly normal to eat okra and be 'foon' to go to the library to study," explained Boren. "One nf the reasons why I keep up with the Oklahoma students is that I have never forgotten the feelings of insecurity and homesickness that I felt when I first came to Yale."

The Alabama Club goes further and recruits new members by writing to p rospective students from Alabama and

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SEPTEMBER 4¡ 1991.

offering to house them during their visits to Yale. The annual calendar includes a summer party to welcome incoming freshmen and a back-to-school parry in the fall.

Such events provide Southerners with a taste of home that many long for.

Alabama's negative image, based on lingering memories of the state's violent reaction to the civil rights movement, touches a nerve with Battle and other club members. Last year, the club set out to improve its state's reputation on campus. With donations from Alabaman alums, the club co-sponsored a Saybrook College Master's Tea with Federal District Judge Myron Thompson (Yale '69 Law '72). Battle saw Thompson, an Alabaman and an African-American, as the perfect choice "to talk about the changes that have taken place in the heart of Dixie." Over fifty people attended the function, and the club hopes to bring another prominent Alabaman to campus this year.

Alabama's image will acquire n ew luster this year in ocher ways as well. When the resignation of President Benno Schmidt left Yale rudderless, the Co rporation named history professor and native Alabaman Howard Lamar (see related story, p. 26) as Acting President. Amid

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The Alabama Club has taken on the mission of encouraging native sons and daughters to come home. "A lot of talented Southerners go up to Northeastern schools and then turn their backs on the South," said Battle.

"They make a fast buck and act kind of embarrassed about the history of the South. We hope to build some sort of camaraderie among the students from Alabama and make them feel like they should come back and help solve the problems of the state."

For most Southern students, however, the journey from home to Yale and back remains a long and winding road. "Of course your family worries that going North is going to change you," Philyaw said. "It's just worlds apart, and there's always the question of loyalcy."

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Lamar does not share o ther South erners' uneasiness with Yale.

"From the first moment I came here, I felt at home," he said. "A lot of fellow Southerners never felt co mfo rtable here, but I just responded to it." Not since the days ofJohn C. Calhoun and Eli Whitney has Dixie wielded such clout on campus.

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