PAGE 2
YALE DAILY NEWS · ALUMNI EDITION 2019 · yaledailynews.com
OPINION GUEST COLUMNISTS
GUEST COLUMNIST
E L I Z A B E T H T E R RY A N D E M I LY F OX
MELINDA BECK
Basking in reflected glory
The YDN, then and now
BY ELIZABETH TERRY AND EMILY FOX THE CLASS OF 1994
A
t our 20th reunion in 2014, newly appointed Yale President Peter Salovey accepted our invitation to give a brief talk to our class. Salovey was a beloved figure when we were undergraduates at Yale — a record number of students enrolled in his class “Psychology and Law,” forcing a venue change to the enormous Battell Chapel. When President Salovey arrived to speak to our class on the Friday of reunion, it was with all the star power of an NBA champion plus British royalty plus Tom Hanks. He walked into the room, and suddenly it felt like all of us were back in college, acolytes thoroughly enraptured by the cheerful wisdom of our guru, as luminaries of bygone days gazed down at us from their oil portraits on the walls of Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall. Salovey’s talk that day focused on a research interest of his called “Basking in Reflected Glory” or “BIRG-ing” — the psychological phenomenon that accounts for why we feel great when “our” team wins a championship or “our” candidate wins an election. We all like to feel affiliated with prestige, with power, with winners. But sometimes — especially for Yalies, especially at reunions — it’s hard not to look left and right, clock the success of your peers, and think: why them and not me? Instead, guru Salovey suggested, a class reunion is the ideal time to indulge in the positive effects of “BIRG-ing.” He advised us to sidestep the impulse to compare and contrast; instead, simply applaud the success of your classmates, and let them applaud you. Revel in your collective success and any lingering envy will melt away. Both of us have reflected often on that advice in the last five years. The mid-forties are… an adventure. The term “midlife crisis” may sound trite and overused, but it’s real and it’s a sucker punch — even though everyone told us it was coming. But we realized we’ve experienced a newfound peace, too, that comes from looking back over the last four decades and realizing that no one’s unscathed by now. Even the most successful of our peers, the ones with the highest profiles, awards on the mantle, more money in the bank than they could spend in a lifetime — all of us have lost loved ones, survived health crises or had major career setbacks. Marriages have imploded, our parents’ health has deteriorated, the economy has been a gut-churning rollercoaster, never mind the state of our democracy. Life is a great equalizer. No one’s unscathed, but we’re all in this together, so no one’s alone, either. When we let ourselves BIRG a little, we find so much to feel great about. We find true delight in our friends’ successes, big and small. We take enormous pride in the bond of friendship among our classmates
— some of whom we’ve known since the first day of college, some of whom we are now just meeting for the first time this weekend. We feel lucky to be here, and now more than ever, we feel lucky to be together.
MARRIAGES HAVE IMPLODED, OUR PARENTS’ HEALTH HAS DETERIORATED, THE ECONOMY HAS BEEN A GUT-CHURNING ROLLERCOASTER, NEVER MIND THE STATE OF OUR DEMOCRACY. Peter Salovey’s attendance record finally fell last year to Laurie Santos’ “Psychology and the Good Life,” which met in Woolsey Hall — even bigger than Battell. Her class explores research into the behaviors and practices that boost well-being. It’s heartening for us to see that young, vibrant, idealistic undergrads are interested in unlocking the secrets to happiness and mental health. It’s not just for grownups anymore. One of Santos’ assignments is to keep a gratitude journal, which experts say can be a very powerful happiness practice. We’re giving the Class of ‘94 that assignment too: one of the souvenirs for this 25th reunion is a small navy blue bound book in which we hope our classmates will note the things in life that they feel grateful for, the things that spark joy, that give them that unique BIRG glow. The two of us are thankful to have had the chance to burnish our 25+year friendship through months of Zoom video calls, random texts and pizza emojis as we planned this reunion. We’re thankful we had the chance to go to college at Yale, and to our families who made that possible. We’re thankful to the Alumni Association staff that works tirelessly on these reunions. We’re thankful the Yorkside menu hasn’t really changed since we last had a Greek salad there when we just couldn’t face the dining hall. And we’re truly thankful to every single classmate who decided to take the time and spend the energy to return to New Haven this weekend. We’re basking in reflected glory. Elizabeth Terry ’94 and Emily Fox ’94 are co-chairs of their 25th reunion committee. Terry is a writer and editor based in Washington, D.C. Fox is a TV producer and writer based in Los Angeles.
BY MELINDA BECK THE CLASS OF 1977
T
urn on a cable news show these days, read a top newspaper or listen to a political podcast. You’ll likely find a News alum breaking an important story. The current roster of top journalists from Yale includes The Washington Post’s White House Bureau Chief Philip Rucker ’06, its Deputy Editorial Page Editor Ruth Marcus ’80 and the host of its daily news podcast Martine Powers ’11. Michael Barbaro ‘02 hosts The New York Times’ daily podcast, and David Leonhardt ’94 is an op-ed columnist. Zeke Miller ’11 covers the White House for the Associated Press. Michael Crowley ’94 is the White House and national security editor for Politico. Isaac Arnsdorf ’11 covers the Trump administration for ProPublica, the award-winning investigative news organization founded by Paul Steiger ’64, after he served as The Wall Street Journal’s Managing Editor for 16 years. At a time when serious, factbased reporting is more essential than ever, the News continues to train some of the best journalists in the world, just as it did in the days of Briton Hadden and Henry Luce, both members of the Class of 1920. Last month, the Society of Professional Journalists named the News the best all-around student newspaper of 2018. The News also won the national prize for best breaking news reporting, and the Yale Daily News Magazine was a finalist in the best student magazine category. But the economics of college newspapers have changed drastically over those years, and News alumni have rallied to help. Older alums may remember a time when the News was so flush that when graduating editors split up the year’s profits, their share could cover the cost of a car, an engagement ring or a full year’s tuition. That was largely due to cigarette advertising, as rival tobacco companies aggressively promoted smoking among college students and competed to win their brand loyalty early on. In 1963, U.S. tobacco companies voluntarily agreed to stop advertising in college newspapers — eliminating about half of those papers’ national ad revenue overnight. Liquor and beer ads made up much of the remaining revenue, and those gradually dried up, too, leaving college newspapers, including the News barely profitable by the 1970s. The News also had another issue: its historic building at 202 York Street, built for the paper in 1932 without an endowment to maintain it, was in such bad shape that the University contemplated
taking it over and giving the space to the Art and Architecture building next door. In 1978, future-minded student editors, guided by former publisher Eric Nestler ’76, asked News alumni for help to pay for the building repairs and set up a retirement fund for Frances Donahue, a fixture at the paper for more than 50 years. That effort inspired a group of News alumni, led by Jim Ottoway ’60, Jonathan Rose ’63 and Joseph Lieberman ’64 LAW ‘67, to establish the Oldest College Daily Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that could solicit tax-deductible contributions to assist the newspaper they loved. The student-run Yale Daily News Publishing Co. also filed for not-for-profit status. In the subsequent years when the News made money, those profits were added to the foundation’s endowment to be available for future needs. In years when the News didn’t make money, the Foundation has provided a safety net and a way to fund major capital improvements. (Since 2003, the Foundation’s endowment has been invested along with Yale University’s endowment, which has greatly enhanced its returns.) Over the years, funds from the OCD Foundation (recently renamed the Yale Daily News Foundation) have helped the News launch its website and online publication, purchase state-of-theart software and other equipment and pay for repairs. Even before he graduated, Paul Needham ’11, now the Foundation’s vice president for development, raised over $600,000 to fund an extensive renovation of the building that was completed in 2010. From the start, the Foundation has left the daily business and editorial operation of the News to the students. (We all remember that making high-stakes decisions over coverage, trying to cut costs, making mistakes and facing the consequences were what made the News such a valuable experience — and also so much fun.) But Foundation members are available to give advice and expertise as needed. Board members over the years have included numerous lawyers, publishing executives and financiers, as well as working journalists. As part of its mission to support young journalists, the Foundation also helps pay for living expenses for News staffers working at low or unpaid summer journalism internships, a classic stepping-stone to a career. Since 1993, the Summer Fellowship program has helped some 300 Newsies take internships at over 100 media outlets, ranging from the Financial Times of London to the BBC in Kazakhstan and Vanity Fair. In recent years, the Foundation also heard growing concerns that
promising reporters and editors had quit the News because they couldn’t manage to work at a campus job (as required by their financial-aid package), keep up with their classes and devote 20 or 30 hours each week to producing the News. In 2016, after extensive debate, the Foundation began offering stipends of up to $3,000 a year to beat reporters and editors on financial aid to allow them to work fewer hours and devote more time to the News. (Many other Ivy League papers have similar programs.) The stipends have clearly helped individual students. One recipient wrote: “I am incredibly grateful for the stipend from the YDN Foundation. I can’t emphasize enough how much stress it has taken off my shoulders. This makes it possible for those of us with a [student-income requirement] to participate at the News with the same time commitment and intensity as everyone else on the board.” In a recent survey of News staffers and alumni in the classes of 2013 to 2021, 85 percent said it “very important” for the Foundation to provide some financial assistance to Newsies on financial aid. Meanwhile, the economics of publishing have taken an even more challenging turn. Print advertising for all newspapers and magazines has dropped precipitously in the internet age; web advertising hasn’t grown fast enough to take its place. Newspapers across the country have folded or cut back on production. Many college newspapers no longer publish every day; some no longer publish at all. The News remains marginally profitable—thanks in large part to student-led innovations. (Among them: a book coming out next summer profiling current Yale students and including their admissions essays to feed the insatiable hunger for advice on how to get into college.) But if current trends continue, the News will need to rely on its alumni more than ever for financial help in the coming years. For now, though, those of us on the Foundation mostly watch in awe as student journalists put out the News in print and online, with video reports, blog posts, podcasts, a daily headline service and other offerings we never dreamed of in our day, fully bringing the Oldest College Daily into the new media age. Come see for yourself. The News and the YDN Foundation are hosting a reunion open house for News alumni and friends on Saturday, May 25th and Saturday June 1, from 3:00 to 4:30pm. Melinda Beck ’77, a longtime Wall Street Journal editor and columnist, is the chair of the Yale Daily News Foundation.
ale daily news open house 202 york street may 23 and june 1st 3pm-4:30pm
YALE DAILY NEWS PUBLISHING CO., INC. 202 York Street, New Haven, CT 06511 (203) 432-2400 Editorial: (203) 432-2418 editor@yaledailynews.com Business: (203) 432-2424 business@yaledailynews.com
CULTURE Julia Carabatsos
DIR. OF OPERATIONS Hope Newberry
PHOTOGRAPHY Neehaar Gandhi Lucas Holter Madelyn Kumar Eric Wang Daniel Zhao
SPORTS Joey Kamm Caleb Rhodes
COPY Maddie Bender Alan Liu
ILLUSTRATIONS Keyi Cui Valerie Navarrete
WEEKEND Hana Davis Dustin Dunaway Annie Nields Talia Soglin
PRODUCTION & DESIGN Andre Costa Lauren Cueto Rebecca Goldberg Emily Lin Jesse Nadel Maggie Nolan Lauren Quintela Chris West Karena Zhao
WEB DEVELOPMENT Lenny Khazan Sara Lewis
EDITOR IN CHIEF & SCIENCE & PRESIDENT TECHNOLOGY Britton O’Daly Amy Xiong MANAGING EDITORS Adelaide Feibel Ashna Gupta PUBLISHER Eric Foster OPINION Katherine Hu Adrian Rivera
NEWS YTV Hailey Fuchs Anastasiia Posnova Daria Balaeskoul Michelle Li Neeraj Patel CITY Isabel Bysiewicz MAGAZINE Keshav Raghavan Jordan Cutler-Tietjen Liana Van Nostrand
EDITORIALS & ADS
The News’ View represents the opinion of the majority of the members of the Yale Daily News Managing Board of 2020. Other content on this page with bylines represents the opinions of those authors and not necessarily those of the Managing Board. Opinions set forth in ads do not necessarily reflect the views of the Managing Board. We reserve the right to refuse any ad for any reason and to delete or change any copy we consider objectionable, false or in poor taste. We do not verify the contents of any ad. The Yale Daily News Publishing Co., Inc. and its officers, employees and agents disclaim
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
DIR. OF FINANCE James Grad
any responsibility for all liabilities, injuries or damages arising from any ad. The Yale Daily News Publishing Co. ISSN 0890-2240
ADVERTISMENT
SUBMISSIONS
Direct all letters, columns, artwork and inquiries to: Katherine Hu and Adrian Rivera Opinion Editors opinion@yaledailynews.com
All letters submitted for publication must include the author’s name, phone number and description of Yale University affiliation. Please limit letters to 250 words and guest columns to 750. The Yale Daily News reserves the right to edit letters and columns before publication. E-mail is the preferred method of submission.
2-2424 (before 5 p.m.) 2-2400 (after 5 p.m.)
Direct all comments regarding the fairness or accuracy of stories to: Britton O’Daly Editor-in-Chief (203) 432-2418
COPYRIGHT 2019 — VOL. CXLII, NO. ##
YDN alumni and guests are invited to visit the renovated Briton Hadden Memorial Building and hear about the Oldest College Daily in the New Media Age. Brief presentation at 3:30.
EDITOR’S NOTE: THE NEW’S FIRST EVER ALUMNI REUNION ISSUE
For many years, the students and alumni of the Yale Daily News have discussed how our newspaper can better engage with the Yale alumni community. I and my fellow editors sincerely hope that this special issue of the News, written and edited specifically for this year’s alumni reunions, will help do just that. This “alumni reunion issue” is the first of its kind, and we eagerly anticipate any and all constructive criticism on what can be done better for next year. If you ever have any thoughts about the Oldest College Daily that you want to share with our editorial board, we can always be reached at editor@yaledailynews.com The alumni reunion issue is split into three parts. These comprise an opinion section authored by Yale alums, a suite of “articles from the archives” and a set of stories summa-
rizing the biggest news events that happened on campus this year. The articles from our archives are particularly special. Our reporters went through old issues of the News dating back to 1950 to dust off some of our most interesting stories that coincided with each reunion class’ time at Yale. They range from historically significant to outright quirky. Please do have a meaningful reunion this weekend. In the meantime, we at the News will be at 202 York Street, eagerly working to keep all of our readers informed about the nuances and developments of the Yale-New Haven community. I hope it makes a difference to you. Sincerely, Britton O’Daly Editor in Chief of the Yale Daily News