Lawrence in the News: Fall 2003 and Winter 2004

A sampling of media clippings about Lawrence University, its faculty, students, and alumni from Fall 2003 and Winter 2004. For more clippings, see the Lawrence in the News index page.

Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
March 21, 2004
Headline: War with Iraq: One year later. A historian's judgment, "To make an omelet, you break eggs"
Byline: Vincent J Schodolski
Excerpt: To those who believe the war in Iraq was justified, weapons of mass destruction simply aren't the issue. Saddam Hussein and the fact that he is now gone are the issue. "I'll give you a historian's judgment," said Jerald Podair, a professor of American history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. "Think about what the Middle East would be in 20 years if Saddam Hussein still ruled Iraq. Now think of the region in 20 years now that he's gone. Which scenario is better? To make an omelet, you break eggs."

The Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
March 24, 2004
Headline: City native Tharp receives NCAA coaching honors
Byline: Sheboygan Press staff
Excerpt: Former Sheboygan North standout and current Lawrence University men's basketball coach John Tharp was named the NCAA Division III Midwest co-coach of the year, and the Midwest Conference coach of the year. Tharp guided the Vikings to a 24-5 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the Elite Eight before falling 82-81 to eventual national champion UW-Stevens Point. Tharp has a career record of 146-91, and needs only two more wins to become the school's all-time wins leader.

The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas
March 19, 2004
Headline: What in tarnation? Cussin' cowpokes on HBO's "Deadwood"
Byline: Bryan Woolley
Excerpt: Pilgrim, you might want to get the kids into bed and put out the cat before you click on the premiere episode of Deadwood tonight. You're about to see and hear the old West as the Duke and Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart never showed it. In the first hour of HBO's new 12-part series, the residents of the 19th-century Black Hills mining camp speak more than 80 obscene words and phrases, with the majority centering on the F-word. It's not as if you haven't heard so-called adult language on cable television before, especially on HBO, where Deadwood follows new episodes of The Sopranos. But Tony Soprano and Uncle Junior are 21st-century New Jersey mobsters. We don't expect such people to talk nice. In Deadwood, the foul language has a creepy strangeness to it, even to viewers grown numb to obscenity and violence in TV and movies. The hardy pioneers who conquered the West just didn't talk like that. Did they? Yes, says Deadwood producer and writer David Milch. Dirty is the way miners, gamblers, prostitutes and whoremasters talked in those days. According to The Oxford Dictionary of Slang, some of the obscenities in TV's Deadwood almost certainly were in use in 1876, when the mining camp sprang up. The venerable F-word first appeared in print as a verb around 1500 and as a noun about 1680. But the linguists find no printed evidence of its use as an adjective -- its most frequent use in Mr. Milch's series -- before 1890. Many of the epithets used in the show didn't even appear in print until the early to mid-20th century. That, of course, doesn't mean people weren't saying those words years earlier. In our own time, half a century of Western movies and TV shows peopled with clean-talking heroes and villains have shaped our image of the frontier. Hollywood cowboys rarely venture beyond "Consarn it!" "Tarnation!" "Great jumpin' Jehosaphat!" "Dadgummit!" "Dadburnit!" and "Goldang!" Verbal restraint has faded in today's revisionist Westerns, such as Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven and Pale Rider. But none has the overwhelming volume of Deadwood. "Victorian literary and propriety standards, followed by American movie and TV broadcast standards, have conditioned us to 19th-century folks with not much more than a 'damn' on their lips," says Rex Myers, who teaches the history of the American West at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. Dr. Myers says, in a phone interview, that that doesn't mean real Victorian Americans didn't talk dirty, especially in such cultural cesspools as Deadwood. "I've identified about 40 words for 'prostitute' out of the 19th century," he says. "None of them has the F-word as a part, but that's how they earned their living, and I suspect they talked about it. And if cowboys were talking among themselves about what they did in the whorehouse the night before, I doubt that they minced words."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
March 8, 2004
Headline: Next stop: Tacoma
Byline: Jeff Potrykus
Excerpt: Both the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Lawrence University scored impressive road victories Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament. Their reward? Another long trip. Point (25-5) and Lawrence (23-4) will travel to the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., for sectional semifinal games Friday night. Lawrence, ranked No. 23 nationally in the latest D3hoops.com poll, meets unranked Sul Ross State (21-8) of Alpine, Texas, at 8 p.m. (Milwaukee time). The semifinal winners meet Saturday night for a berth in the Final Four. Four players scored in double figures for Lawrence, which made 25 of 35 free throws in a 72-66 victory over Buena Vista in Storm Lake, Iowa. Sul Ross State surprised 12th-ranked Trinity, 74-72.

Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colorado
March 8, 2004
Headline: 'Benevolent sexism' a Cinderella bargain
Byline: Tina Griego
Excerpt: Why is it that so many people, including me, have decided, based upon no conclusive, independent evidence, who to believe and who to blame in the University of Colorado controversy? I'm talking specifically about the rape allegations. And "why" might not be the right question; "how" is more like it. As in: How do we reach our conclusions? It's clear that social groups, upbringing and value systems all play a role in how we interpret events. We all fill in the blanks in different ways, which inevitably leads to disagreements. But, let's go a little deeper into the realm of social psychology. Consider yourself warned. Let's take a test. Please answer the following questions. Your responses should range from strongly agree to strongly disagree. 1. No matter how accomplished he is, a man is not truly complete as a person unless he has the love of a woman. 2. In a disaster, women should be rescued before men. 3. Many women have a quality of purity that few men possess. 4. Women should be protected and cherished by men. I disagree with questions 1 and 3. But I agree with 2 and 4, and so do the aforementioned benevolent sexists, according to Lawrence University professor Peter Glick and Princeton professor Susan T. Fiske. Here's their argument: Sexism is about domination, justifying and defending man's higher status in society by keeping women in their "proper" places. Women who step out of those roles can face what the professors call hostile sexism. What most of us know as plain ol' sexism. The kind Katie Hnida no doubt faced because she wanted to be a place-kicker and not a cheerleader. But, the professors argue, there is another kind of sexism - benevolent sexism. It's born of the simple fact that it doesn't pay to be hostile to all women all the time. Men and women need each other. Men rely on women for sex, reproduction, labor. Benevolent sexists elevate women, making them more special than men, pure, in need of protection. A lot of people - a lot of women - wouldn't call this sexism at all. But Glick argues that benevolent sexism, like its hostile brother, implies women are weak and rewards submissive behavior. It's the man's job to protect and provide for the little lady. If hostile sexism is the stick that tries to force women into traditional roles, he says, benevolent sexism is the carrot that aims to keep them there. "Domination and affection can go together," Glick says. "I'm affectionate toward my cat, but I wouldn't let him be in charge."

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
March 7, 2004
Headline: Where's Jessica?
Excerpt: Here is "Where in Wisconsin" first lady Jessica Doyle tells us she is this week: Clue 1: The famous escape artist Harry Houdini spent his childhood in this city. Clue 2: This city boasts the largest and oldest Flag Day parade in the nation. Clue 3: This city is home to Lawrence University, an outstanding liberal arts college with a nationally recognized Conservatory of Music. Where in Wisconsin am I? Students ages 10 to 14 can enter the "Where in Wisconsin Is Jessica Doyle?" contest by logging on to whereisjessica.wi.gov. Students also can suggest their own mystery city and clues.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
March 5, 2004
Headline: Lawrence's defense stifles Lakeland
Byline: Jeff Potrykus
Excerpt: In a matter of a few minutes, a tension-filled, well-played game turned into a laugher. Lakeland College's upset hopes were crushed, its season was over. Lawrence University, meanwhile, was on its way to the second round of the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament with a stunningly lopsided 86-51 victory over the visiting Muskies Thursday night in Appleton. "I thought we really defended and wore them down," Lawrence coach John Tharp said after his team held Lakeland to 17.4% shooting in the second half and outscored Lakeland by 56-24 over the final 23 minutes 10 seconds. "That's what we do best. We defend and we challenge." Led by senior guard Chris MacGillis (18 points in 22 minutes), four players scored at least 14 points for No. 23 Lawrence, which will play at No. 15 Buena Vista (24-4) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Storm Lake, Iowa. Lakeland, which finished the season at 16-13, missed 15 consecutive shots and scored just four points during a brutal 14-minute stretch that began at the 1:32 mark of the first half and ended with 7:32 left in the second. "They are more impressive in person than on tape and they're impressive on tape, too," Lakeland coach Gary Grzesk said. "The intensity that they can play with (and) the number of players they play was simply overwhelming for us." When the Vikings outscored Lakeland by 11-0 in the first 3:03 of the second half, the lead was 22 and counting and the game was over. "I think we played about as well as we could play for about 17 minutes," Grzesk said. "And then it kind of unraveled in the last 3 minutes of the half. And the start of the second half was the end of the game."

Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
March 05, 2004
Headline: Lakeland ousted early
Byline: Gannett News Service
Excerpt: In the first NCAA basketball tournament game hosted at Lawrence University,the Vikings gave their home season a huge sendoff by demolishing Lakeland College 86-51 in the first round. LU (22-4) now heads to Storm Lake, Iowa, on Saturday to play Buena Vista University in the tournament's second round. "This is what you think about when you think about what March Madness is," said Vikings coach John Tharp, a former Sheboygan North standout. "Think about the excitement it's created for the team and our college, and you think that this is what these guys have deserved with how hard they've worked." The Muskies (16-13) entered Thursday's game having won their last five games, but they ended up being not much more than bait for Lawrence. The Vikings put on a suffocating display of defense and depth in front of 1,215 fans, running the team's homecourt winning streak to 17 games and finishing the season unbeaten at Alexander Gym. The Vikings vacuum wrapped and sealed the Muskies defensively, forcing top scorer Cory Nickel of New Holstein into constant motion and cutting off the inside game to massive 6-foot-8, 275-pound center Nick Zeck. "My hat's off to (LU guard) Rob Nenahlo. He played a brilliant game," said Nickel, who played in his final game, finishing with nine points, 11 under his season average. "It wasn't just him, either. They played flat-out good defense." The Muskies, who only used eight players, were visibly exhausted midway through the second half as they faced an LU lineup that went 10 deep.

Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
March 4, 2004
Headline: Local ties connect Lakeland, Lawrence
Byline: Pete Barth
Excerpt: It'll take place more than 60 miles away, but tonight's NCAA Division III men's basketball playoff game between Lakeland College and Lawrence University has a notably strong Sheboygan-area flavor. The visiting Muskies are the area's NCAA program. Not only that, they feature New Holstein's Cory Nickel, the Lake Michigan Conference Player of the Year. Lawrence, meanwhile, is coached by Sheboygan North product John Tharp. One of his assistants is former North standout JoJo DePagter. What's more, reserve guard Aaron Sorenson, the team's designated 3-point gunner, played at Sheboygan South. The Vikings are playing in the NCAA D3 tournament for the first time since 1997 and the second time ever. Parhaps the most impressive thing about the Lawrence program is its depth. Tharp said he'll go 11 deep in closely-contested games. That's an unusually large rotation. "It's amazing; it just takes your breath away," said Lakeland first-year head coach Gary Grzesk. "Not only their depth, but also their versatility."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
March 1, 2004
Headline: Three state teams head to Division III tourney
Byline: Jeff Potrykus
Excerpt: The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point tops a list of three state teams that received bids Sunday night to the 48-team NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament field. Lawrence University (21-4) and Lakeland College (16-12), the two other state schools that qualified for the 48-team field, will meet Thursday at Lawrence. The winners will play Saturday at Buena Vista University (24-4), located in Storm Lake, Iowa. Lawrence wins with tenacity on defense and balance on offense. The Vikings allow just 65.4 points per game and have three players averaging 11.5 points per game or better. However, in sophomore forward Chris Braier the Vikings also boast a player capable of taking over a game when necessary. Braier tallied 26 points, 15 rebounds and five steals in the Midwest Conference tournament finale against Carroll College.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 29, 2004
Headline: Lawrence completes its mission; Vikings earn berth in Division III tourney
Byline: Jeff Potrykus
Excerpt: The jolting contrast between triumph and a season-ending defeat was never more palpable than the scene that unfolded Saturday afternoon at Lawrence University. There at center court, Lawrence coach John Tharp and his players celebrated a hard-fought 82-71 victory over Carroll College in the Midwest Conference men's basketball tournament title game and just the second NCAA Division III tournament berth in school history. "Today . . . this year, our kids were on a mission," said Tharp, whose team beat Carroll three times this season. "I'm so proud of our guys. They were absolutely terrific tonight." Lawrence (21-4) secured a berth in the 48-team tournament field, which is to be announced late tonight, largely because Chris Braier stamped his will on the game over the final 8 minutes. The 6-foot-5 sophomore forward made 10 of 12 field-goal attempts and 4 of 5 free throws and finished with game highs in points (26), rebounds (15) and steals (five). "He put us on his back tonight," Tharp said. "We could have folded because they had tremendous momentum." With his team trailing, 49-47, Braier buried a fade-away jumper from the left wing to tie the game, 49-49, with 7 minutes 58 seconds. That sparked a run during which the Vikings scored at least two points on 11 of 12 possessions. Braier scored seven consecutive points and 12 overall in the 25-10 run as the Vikings built a 72-59 lead with 2:23 left. "I was just feeling it," Braier said. "I hit one, hit another one and kept going." Meanwhile, the Pioneers missed six of their eight field-goal attempts during Lawrence's run and never recovered.

KGET radio, Bakersfield, California
February 26, 2004
Show: Bakersfield's Morning News with Jeff Lemucchi
Excerpt: Lawrence University assistant professor of government Christian Grose was interviewed on the Democratic party primaries and the campaigns and fortunes of John Kerry and John Edwards.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 24, 2004
Headline: Waukesha soprano wins national honor
Byline: Associated Press
Excerpt: Waukesha native Heidi Stober has won the Houston Grand Opera's Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers. Stober, a soprano, received the $12,000 Scott F. Heumann Memorial Award for her first-place performance, given Feb. 12. Stober was one of 17 singers, selected from several hundred who participated in nationwide auditions, to be invited to Houston. She was one of seven to advance to the finals. Stober, 25, graduated from Waukesha West High School in 1996. She performed in Milwaukee Opera Theater's "La Sonnambula" in 2001, earned a bachelor of music degree in vocal performance from Lawrence University in 2000 and a master's from the New England Conservatory. She is the apprentice soprano in the Utah Symphony and Opera Ensemble Program in Salt Lake City.

Austin Daily Herald, Austin, Minnesota
February 24, 2004
Headline: Local musician brings talents to symphony
Byline: Lee Bonorden
Excerpt: It's another "local boy makes good" kind of story. If Horatio Alger could play the saxophone and was good at it, he might sound something like Brian Koser, an Austinite for the last 18 years. The Austin Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stephen J. Ramsey, will present "All That Jazz" Sunday afternoon. The concert features Koser and the music of Bernstein, William Grant Still and Mintzer with a medley of jazz numbers from the hit movie "Chicago" and finally Hoagy Carmichael's classic "Georgia On My Mind." Freelance soloist, recording artist, conductor and more, Koser has performed on the concert stage as a saxophonist and the Dakota Bar and Grill, where jazz riffs replaced concertos. Whatever the venue or music challenge, Koser's credentials are impeccable and his understanding unwavering of that American original, jazz, as an art form. Credentials Koser has degrees in music education and saxophone performance. He completed a graduate assistantship in a doctoral program with the University of Minnesota Bands. His teachers include Debra Richtmeyer, Steven Jordheim [Lawrence Conservatory of Music], Fred Hemke and Richard Dirlam. He has taught in high schools in Arkansas and Ellsworth, Wis. and since 1985, he has held all director of instrumental music positions in Austin Public Schools. Koser brings the cool sounds of jazz to hot summer nights at the Austin Bandshell Community Park and other venues. He has also enlivened the community's music life directing the Austin Community Band. He constantly sharpens his skills with music studies under such masters as Fred Sturm at Lawrence University and Don Owens at Northwestern University.

St. Paul Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minnesota
February 22, 2004
Headline: Wisconsin quiz. Star struck
Excerpt: You go to some neighbor's annual Oscar party in Osseo next Sunday night. People treat you hospitably but that's about it. This doesn't sit well with you because you secretly aspire to be the life of the party. Somewhere between the awards for Best Long Sequence in a Short Film and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Animal Stunts, you fill the void with an encyclopedic knowledge of Wisconsin's connection to Hollywood. And because of that command of Dairyland film factoids, you are a star! Better bone up. #5. The son of legendary actors Colleen Dewhurst and George C. Scott, he is a 1983 graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton and serves on the school's Board of Trustees. Taking after his famous parents, he has starred in numerous films, including "The Spanish Prisoner" and, most recently, "The Secret Lives of Dentists." [Campbell Scott]

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, DC
February 20, 2004
Headline: And the winner Is ...
Byline: Alyson Klein
Excerpt: What slogan helped the musician Frank Zappa win a poster contest for forest-fire prevention when he was in the ninth grade? That's one of the more than 350 questions asked last month in Lawrence University's annual "Great Midwest Trivia Contest," broadcast on the campus radio station, WLFM. According to Alfred T. Beattie, trivia grandmaster, that was among the most difficult questions, but nearly all were similarly esoteric. Mr. Beattie says he and 15 other students at Lawrence, a liberal-arts college in Appleton, Wis., hunkered down from September to January to read "millions and millions of books" and perform countless Google searches in pursuit of factoids to stump the contestants. Their work culminated in the 52-hour contest. Since 1966, teams as large as 100 people and from as far away as Japan have participated, some staying awake by their radios the entire weekend so as not to miss a single question. Mr. Beattie or another moderator reads each question on the air, then waits for someone to call in with the correct answer. Points are awarded based on difficulty. No points are subtracted for wrong answers. For many years, several bank employees from nearby Kaukauna, Wis., have rented out an office for the weekend and spent it in front of computers, wearing headphones, and listening to WLFM. They have won the contest three years in a row. This year their prize was a bathroom scale covered in shag carpeting. "This event has a real cult following," Mr. Beattie says. "People are really zealous about it." Zappa's slogan: "No picnic. Why? No woods. Prevent forest fires."

Madison Capital Times, Madison
February 18, 2004
Headline: Jazz galore. Weekend abounds with 3 mini-festivals
Byline: Kevin Lynch
Excerpt: The Madison jazz club scene may be in a deep freeze and local fans are concerned, as a strong response to a recent Rhythm section poll indicates. But for this weekend, don't sweat it. Jazz is a hearty winter crop that can survive under the cold, hard rocks of February, which lie strewn in the unlikeliest places. So look for jazz just about anywhere, because it's a music that traverses virtually all ages and social strata. There's plenty a-brewing, including three events that amount to mini-festivals. On Saturday, there is the 12th annual Sun Prairie JazzFest at Sun Prairie High School. This school just hosted a world-class concert exploring the classic legacy of Miles Davis. Now the students step up to the plate at Sun Prairie -- and bandleader Steve Sveum always has them ready. Their annual festival opens with professional clinicians performing with the school's several excellent festival bands. This year's clinicians include Fred Sturm and Jose Encarnacion of Lawrence University; saxophonist Dave Seiler from the University of New Hampshire; drummer Steve Zenz; pianist Scott Currier from St. Charles, Ill.; trumpeter Gil Wukitsch; and Madison trombonist Joel Adams. These guests will also perform in combo settings after intermission. On Friday, the Dave Douglas Quintet is at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel at Lawrence University in Appleton. This is the closest that the jazz world's leading Renaissance man has ever come to Madison with his own group except when he played here in 1999 with Myra Melford. As hot as he is now, Douglas is well worth the 100-mile drive upstate, especially if you want to be au courant in jazz circles. But the main reason to go is that Douglas is an amazing artist, an eclectic post-modern conceptualizer, and a superb trumpeter who leads about a half-dozen groups. Each is unique and their leader brilliantly reflects the amazing diversity of jazz today. In support of his new album "Strange Liberation," Douglas will bring one of his more straight-ahead ensembles to Wisconsin. Saxophonist Chris Potter is a bona fide master with rich echoes of the jazz tradition running throughout his playing. The band also includes bassist James Genus and drummer Clarence Penn. This is a major jazz event, any way you measure it.

Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California
February 18, 2004
Headline: Edwards takes a close second in Wisconsin
Byline: Mark Z. Barabak and Matea Gold
Excerpt: John F. Kerry scratched out a victory Tuesday in the Wisconsin primary, but John Edwards finished close enough to emerge as a serious challenger to the Democratic front-runner and to effectively boot Howard Dean from the race. Wisconsin was the first stand-alone primary since New Hampshire's vote three weeks ago, which is why candidates camped here for days and crossed paths on the campaign trail. Edwards, who boasts of being a strong closer, appeared to benefit from a well-reviewed performance in Sunday night's debate and an endorsement in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the largest newspaper in the state. (The same thing happened last month in Iowa, where a convincing debate performance and a Des Moines Register endorsement helped lift Edwards to a second-place finish.) Edwards' emphasis on jobs and the economy, which proved important issues here, seemed to fuel his appeal with Wisconsin voters, according to exit polls. "In Milwaukee, Green Bay, Sheboygan and a lot of small towns you've probably never heard of ... industries have just been moving out," said Christian Grose, an assistant political science professor at Appleton's Lawrence University. "Everything Edwards was saying completely fit in with those sorts of concerns." In TV spots and appearances across the state, Edwards repeatedly condemned the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, blaming the treaty -- as many here do -- for a significant loss of high-skilled, high-paying manufacturing jobs. Kerry supported NAFTA, which Edwards began pointing out with increased frequency after long refusing to compare himself with the front-runner. Edwards also began drawing a more personal contrast with Kerry and his privileged background by discussing his modest upbringing as the son of middle-class wage-earners. That also seemed to resonate in a state where many Democrats live in small towns and rural areas.

The Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts
February 18, 2004
Headline: Southerner hits chord with populist message
Byline: Raja Mishra
Excerpt: As Edwards stumped across this frigid state over the last seven days, visiting northern farm communities, eastern blue-collar towns, and black inner-city churches, he focused intently on the economy. He bashed free trade. He bashed off-shore outsourcing. He bashed President Bush's job-creation record. He bashed his rivals for supporting the North American Free Trade Agreement. And he constantly spoke about his modest working-class roots. Exit polls last night indicated the strategy paid off, with Edwards running well among all classes of voters in a state where three-fourths of residents blame free trade for their economic woes. Edwards won among those who rated the economy and jobs as their top issues, and was most popular with those who rated him higher on human qualities like caring about people. He also did exceptionally well among Republicans and independents, both of whom were allowed to vote in the ope n primary. "Clearly, the Democratic primary is not over," said Lawrence University professor Christian Grose. "Edwards won over swing voters in a swing state . . . It makes me wonder if Kerry's electability is as great as people think." Edwards still faces an uphill fight. With limited resources and still only one electoral win, in South Carolina, he must now campaign nationwide, with the Super Tuesday primary looming two weeks away. Advertising in the 10 far-flung states that vote on March 2 will be prohibitively costly for his campaign. He has already said he will rely primarily on the news media to spread his message. After yesterday, he is virtually guaranteed more coverage. Whether that will be enough to beat Kerry in enough of the big states that vote in March and overcome Kerry's lead in delegates are the key questions. At the least, Edwards's stunning Wisconsin showing effectively transformed the Democratic presidential race into a two-senator contest.

[The story went out on the Knight Ridder wire and was picked up by several papers. It appeared in the February 18 edition of the Miami Herald under the same headline.]

The Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts
February 18, 2004
Headline: Edwards angling for a 2-man race
Byline: Raja Mishra
Excerpt: For John Edwards, Wisconsin was where the Democratic primary needed to become a two-man contest. As results came in last night, Edwards was seeing that happen -- a development that was sure to energize his campaign. Edwards was running close to Democratic primary leader John F. Kerry, while Edwards's main rival for second place, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, was trailing far behind and looking increasingly like he was about to leave the race. Although Edwards, the North Carolina senator, had vowed to campaign into March regardless of the outcome of yesterday's primary, he was counting on Wisconsin to make him the clear alternative to Kerry. Edwards spent little time campaigning yesterday. After brief stops at a Milwaukee diner and a Madison college campus, he returned to his hotel to await results and plan his schedule. Edwards already has a fund-raiser in New York City tonight, followed by campaigning in New York, Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio that will take him into the weekend. Edwards has vowed to fight on to the March 2 Super Tuesday vote, though political specialists had warned that if he failed to do well in Wisconsin such persistence could backfire. "He does need to worry about looking like a loser, a consistent loser," said Lawrence University professor Christian Grose. "He'd no longer be the fresh young face of the Democratic Party." Absent the presidential nomination, Edwards's political future looks uncertain. His electoral performance thus far ensures he will give a high-profile address at the Democratic Convention in Boston this summer. But he has declared he will not seek reelection to the U.S. Senate. And while commentators and Democratic loyalists have been talking about a Kerry-Edwards ticket, the Kerry campaign so far has signaled that it is not interested in him as a vice-presidential candidate.

Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California
February 17, 2004
Headline: Kerry scatches out a victory in Wisconsin
Byline: Mark Z. Barabak
Excerpt: John F. Kerry scratched out a victory today in the Wisconsin primary, but John Edwards finished a close enough second to emerge as a clear alternative and extend the race into California and other big states March 2. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean came in a distant third and top strategists hoped to convince him to quit the race as early as Thursday. Edwards, who boasts of being a strong closer, appeared to benefit from a well-reviewed performance in Sunday night's debate and an endorsement in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the largest newspaper in the state. (The same thing happened last month in Iowa, where a convincing debate performance and a Des Moines Register endorsement helped lift Edwards to a second-place finish.) Edwards' emphasis on jobs and the economy, which proved important issues here, seemed to fuel his appeal with Wisconsin voters, according to exit polls. "In Milwaukee, Green Bay, Sheboygan and a lot of small towns you've probably never heard of ... industries have just been moving out," said Christian Grose, an assistant political science professor at Appleton's Lawrence University. "Everything Edwards was saying completely fit in with those sorts of concerns." In TV spots and appearances across the state, Edwards repeatedly condemned the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, blaming the treaty -- as many here do -- for a significant loss of high-skilled, high-paying manufacturing jobs.

WebMD.com
February 2004
Headline: Staying healthy a challenge for presidents. President Bush's excellent health contrasts with other U.S. presidents
Byline: John Casey
Excerpt: Americans may argue over his policies and tactics, but one thing about George W. Bush is inarguable: He is among the most fit and healthy presidents in our history. Not all presidents, however, have been able to make the same claim to good health and fitness. In honor of President's Day, WebMD looks at the health of our president and his predecessors. Whether you are thinking about Lincoln, Kennedy, Reagan, or William Henry Harrison, our presidents have been healthy. Only four have died in office from natural causes. And none has been forced from office due to ill health. Though maybe some of them should have been. "In the months prior to his resignation, Nixon was probably the closest we've come to having a president who needed to be removed from power because of ... health issues," says Jerald Podair, PhD, an associate professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Also in the running in this category, says Podair, are presidents Wilson, who was incapacitated by a stroke while in office; and Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose health was increasingly affected by the long-term problems of polio during his many years in office. "Some would say Reagan may have been experiencing early signs of Alzheimer's at the end of his second term, but we'll need much more time to pass before a measured assessement of his mental state can be made," says Podair. When assessing how presidential health issues may have affected history, according to Podair, it is important to consider the political leanings of the person who next took over. "When the person who succeeds you is very different politically, that is when you see that illness leads to significant change in history," says Podair. He cites the example of the moderate William Henry Harrison, who was succeeded by the pro-slavery Southerner John Tyler. "Tyler wanted to annex Texas as a slave state," says Podair. "He pushed many of the issues that became the focal point for problems that brought about the Civil War and may have indirectly helped bring about the war itself." This can lead to a great deal of "what-ifs." "Wilson's stroke came just as he was campaigning on behalf of the Treaty of Versailles, which was later voted down in Congress, and the League of Nations," says Podiar. "What would the world be like if he hadn't been ill and had been able to influence the issues that later led to World War II?" On the other hand, he added, some say Franklin Roosevelt might never have become the president that he was if he hadn't contracted polio. "Roosevelt became much more mature as a result of his polio, and it molded him into presidential material," says Podair. "He was more compassionate and more in touch with the masses and people's suffering. His long recuperation from polio may have in it much of the gestation of his later New Deal policies."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 15, 2004
Headline: A quick turnaround. Lawrence regroups, claims share of title
Byline: Jeff Potrykus
Excerpt: Only 72 hours earlier, Lawrence University appeared vulnerable. But on Saturday afternoon, with at least a share of the Midwest Conference men's basketball title and the No. 1 seeding for the post-season tournament on the line, Lawrence again resembled the best team in the league. Lawrence parlayed its typically stingy half-court defense and balanced offense to dismantle Carroll College, 76-63, in front of an overflow crowd of 1,392 fans at Alexander Gymnasium. "Against Ripon we were on our heels, not aggressive," said Lawrence coach John Tharp, whose team entered the week ranked No. 11 in the latest D3hoops.com national poll but suffered a stunning overtime loss Wednesday at Ripon. "I told the guys today that we had to be the aggressors." Tharp's players followed orders beautifully on both ends of the court. The Vikings (18-3, 12-2 Midwest) built a 15-point halftime lead, extended it to 24 in the second half and coasted home. Lawrence, which beat Carroll (14-7, 10-4) by just one point earlier this season, clinched at least a share of the title, its second in 10 seasons under Tharp. But since the Vikings own the head-to-head tie-breaker over Carroll, they will serve as host for the post-season tournament on Feb. 27 and 28. Lawrence got points from six different players during a 16-4 run over the final 6:30 of the first half to take a 40-25 lead into the locker room.

The Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida
February 15, 2004
Headline: JEA studies purchase of natural gas fields
Byline: Matt Galnor
Excerpt: In an effort to cut down on risk as natural gas prices fluctuate, JEA is considering purchasing natural gas fields in Western states to control costs. JEA is part of a consortium of about six to eight utilities in Georgia and Florida that may buy into about a half-dozen fields. Top JEA officials estimate the move could save about $1.5 million annually. The city-owned utility spent about $278 million on fuel last year -- about $45 million on natural gas, spokesman Ron Whittington said. If JEA bought into the fields, it would buy about 20 to 30 percent of the gas it would expect to use during the year, said Jim Dickenson, JEA's chief operating officer. JEA would not borrow any money to pay for the fields, and would instead look to other partners to pay much of the up-front costs. Another benefit of a consortium, Dickenson said, would be ithe increased likelihood that if JEA had enough gas, another partner could take more on, and vice versa. "They don't want to buy the lottery ticket, so they're buying some insurance," said Dan Alger, an associate professor of economics at Lawrence University in Wisconsin who studies the energy market. Alger, who previously worked for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, said buying the fields creates the physical equivalent of the futures market. By buying on the futures market -- or "hedging" prices -- utilities can lock in a fixed price for a year or for several years. Currently, JEA has futures contracts for about 15 percent of the natural gas it expects to use for the budget year ending Sept. 30, Dickenson said. If the price of gas goes up, the utility saves money, because it has already bought the gas at a lower price. If the price drops, JEA is stuck with the gas at the higher rate and can either eat the loss or try to minimize the loss by selling the gas for as much as it can.

Iowa City Press-Citizen, Iowa City, Iowa
February 13, 2004
Headline: Fearing Friday the 13th. Superstitions surround 'unlucky' day
Byline: Kristen Schorsch
Excerpt: For thousands of people nationwide, there is reason to be wary of today, of black cats, of ladders and sidewalk cracks. The first evidence that people feared Friday the 13th, deemed a day of bad omens and ill fortune, dates back to the 19th century when almanacs contained astrology, various superstitions and common beliefs. Historians also say Christian traditions explain the fear, particularly a New Testament passage that refers to Jesus' Last Supper, which takes place on a Thursday night with 13 people, said Edmund M. Kern, a history professor at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Only 12 at the Last Supper were chosen as disciples. One was left, and Jesus dubbed him unlucky. Jesus also was crucified on a Friday, according to tradition. "Lots of people will avoid beginning any endeavor (on Friday the 13th)," Kern said. "They believe something on that day will produce a bad outcome."

The Patriot News, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Friday, February 13, 2004
Headline: Word for fear of this day: paraskavedekatriaphobia
Byline: Barry Fox
Excerpt: If you're concerned about being weirded out by Friday the 13th, don't be. Experts tell us that leaning on superstitions is a common coping mechanism in our increasingly complicated and technological world. We might appear to be more cynical beings, but there is still comfort in relying on the unexplained as a valid explanation of why something is what it is. Knocking on wood, throwing salt over your shoulder, not walking under ladders is "a release from the pressure of reality," said Edmund Kern, an associate professor of history at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. Kern, who has studied witchcraft, superstition and paganism, reads his horoscope every morning. Whether the stars tell him he's about to have a good or bad day,"I take comfort in the fact that I've been warned," he said. With the convergence of two big fears, Friday the 13th is the Super Bowl of superstition with its own term for those who fear the day -- paraskavedekatriaphobes. The Friday the 13th story didn't start with Jason's shenanigans in the movies but dates to the Middle Ages and the story of the Last Supper and Jesus' crucifixion. Since then the thinking is that Friday is a tragic day and that 13 is a number attached to evil intent or bad luck. Put the two together and it's a phobia cocktail.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
February 10, 2004
Headline: Candidates' health care plans don't stray far. Universal insurance only a distant possibility even as costs continue to soar
Byline: Joe Manning
Excerpt: With health insurance costs rising at double-digit rates and the number of uninsured Americans at recent new highs, Democratic candidates for president are offering their own insurance proposals as health reform emerges as a major campaign issue. The leading candidates' plans are built around the existing health insurance system and do not attempt fundamental reforms aimed at extending health insurance to everyone as well as slowing soaring costs. With the disappearance of managed care and the failure of the Clinton administration's restrictive health care proposals of the early 1990s, there exist few restraints on health care providers to curb costs. Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards want to make sure every child in the country is covered by health care. Kerry claims his plan would cover 27 million uninsured while Edwards' plan would provide health care to 21 million uninsured. The candidates' proposals, including those of retired Gen. Wesley Clark, are a mixture of public-private efforts that offer tax credits for people and businesses with the aim of encouraging the purchase of health insurance. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean says he will pay for his wide- ranging health care plan by eliminating the Bush tax breaks. Kerry would pay for his health care reform by rolling back tax breaks for people making more than $200,000. The Democrats also say they want to reduce costs to make health care more affordable to employers and employees and improve the quality of health care. Quality measures, however, have yet to be well-defined in health care, and that's a major shortcoming of the so-called consumer-driven health plans that are growing in popularity as employers push more costs and decisions onto workers. "All of the (Democratic) plans are complex and, thus, unlikely to be implemented," said Merton Finkler, economics professor at Lawrence University in Appleton. Finkler termed the candidates' proposals fuzzy and lacking in detail and said it was "not clear how any of these (Democratic) programs will be paid for." The plans' cost-control mechanisms also need clarity, Finkler said. His analysis finds that the proposals assume either that consumers will make wise choices in purchasing health care or that increased bargaining power -- such as through forming employee insurance pools -- will yield savings. But neither is likely to be overwhelmingly successful, he said. All of the proposed programs increase tax subsidies for employer health insurance or expand federal programs, he said. Those expansions will lead to greater health care expenditures, Finkler said.

Discover Magazine, New York, New York
February 4, 2004
Headline: Uncovering America's pyramid builders. The grandest culture north of the Maya created a city of 20,000 people, built monuments rivaling Egypt's Great Pyramid, then vanished into oblivion
Byline: Karen Wright
Excerpt: Cahokia's downfall has been blamed on a variety of culprits. A corn-based, protein-poor diet might have sent urban dwellers west in search of buffalo. A centuries-long cold spell could have crippled the region's agricultural productivity. Deforestation of the uplands would have choked downstream water supplies with silt and exacerbated flooding. The cause of Cahokia's demise is no more certain, but at least one expert links it to the Toltec civilization of south-central Mexico some 1,400 miles away. Although no Mexican artifacts have ever been found at Cahokia, similarities in the monumental and ornamental styles are conspicuous and far from accidental, according to anthropologist Stephen Lekson of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Lekson and anthropologist Peter Peregrine of Lawrence University in Wisconsin believe that the mound cultures of the American East, the pueblo cultures of the American Southwest, and the pyramid cultures of the Mexican highlands were not only familiar but possibly even integrated with one another.

Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California
January 27, 2004
Headline: UCI's Beck takes top job at Lawrence
Byline: Times Staff
Excerpt: Jill Beck, UC Irvine professor of dance and former dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, has been named president of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., officials said Monday. Beck, 54, will assume office July 1 as the first female president in Lawrence's 158-year history, UCI said.

Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Worcester, Massachusetts
January 27, 2004
Headline: South High grad to head university. Lawrence's first woman president
Byline: Telegram and Gazette Staff
Excerpt: A graduate of South High Community School and Clark University has been named the first woman president in the 158-year history of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Jill Beck, 54, the daughter of Helen Lindberg of Worcester and the late John J. Lindberg, was named 15th president of Lawrence Friday. Ms. Beck graduated in 1966 from South High Community School in Worcester. In 1970 she earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy and art history from Clark. Ms. Beck received a master's degree from McGill University and a doctorate in theater history and criticism from City University of New York. An award-winning administrator and a nationally recognized arts innovator, Ms. Beck founded the ArtsBridge America program in 1996 and established the da Vinci Research Center for Learning Through the Arts in 2001 during her tenure (1995-2003) as the University of California - Irvine's dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Lawrence is a liberal arts and science university with a conservatory of music. The university, in the Fox River Valley in northeastern Wisconsin, has an enrollment of 1,300.

Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa, California
January 27, 2004
Headline: UCI dean named Lawrence president
Excerpt: UC Irvine professor Jill Beck will be Lawrence University's first woman president. Beck, 54, will start at the 158-year-old Appleton, Wis. university in July. She served as UCI's arts dean from 1995 to 2003 and founded two arts organizations during her tenure -- ArtsBridge America and the da Vinci Center for Learning Through the Arts. Beck has written broadly on issues of arts education. She was awarded the 2002 UCI Medal, the university's highest honor, and the Orange County Department of Education honored Beck with its outstanding Contributions to Education Award. Under her direction, the Donald R. and Joan F. Beall Center for Art and Technology -- the first of its kind in the UC system -- was established as a research and exhibition center that explores new relationships between the arts, sciences and engineering, promoting new forms of creation and expression using digital technologies. Beck was also instrumental in establishing the Claire Trevor professorships, funded by the prestigious Donald Bren endowment, which allow UCI to maintain a competitive edge in the recruitment and retention of leading faculty, such as award-winning professor of drama Robert Cohen and renowned choreographer and professor of dance Donald McKayle. Beck will succeed Richard Warch, who will retire June 30 after a 25-year tenure, the second longest presidency in Lawrence University history.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
January 26, 2004
Headline: Students' show of interest affecting college entry
Byline: Nahal Toosi
Excerpt: It's a fairly new and controversial realm of college admissions called "demonstrated interest," where admissions officers try gauging how interested a student is in their institution before deciding whether to admit the person. While usually not as important as grade point average or standardized test scores, demonstrated interest can serve as a critical swing factor, giving an edge to some students swimming in highly competitive, and increasingly deep, applicant pools. A soon-to-be released survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling tries to measure how common the practice is among admissions offices. Responding to one question, 33% of colleges said they consider demonstrated interest. When the survey asked schools to describe how important a factor it was, 30% said it was of "considerable" or "moderate" importance in the admissions process, while 26% said it was of "limited" importance. What counts as interest? The e-mails students send to admissions officers, the tours they take on campus, the amount of literature they request, and more. Thanks to special software, tracking the quantifiable information is simple. Also important are less numerical items, such as whether a student's essay focuses on the school. A classic display of interest is applying to a school through an early decision program. Such programs are binding, meaning if a student gets in to a school, they have to go there. But the whole idea of demonstrated interest -- also known as demonstrable or perceived interest -- has provoked plenty of anxiety in academic circles. For one thing, some say college rankings are the true driving force behind the growing use of demonstrated interest. The method is a way of ensuring higher yield -- the number of students accepted by a school who actually enroll. Yield has been a key factor considered by some outfits that rank universities. Plus, as more students catch on to the scheme, the admissions process gets more stressful and becomes more of a game. "It rewards strategizing," said Ted O'Neill, dean of undergraduate admissions at the University of Chicago, which he said doesn't use demonstrated interest in its decisions. "Once you start to strategize, who knows what's sincere?" Others in the field insist they are savvy enough to see through fake interest demonstrated by applicants and to take into account each student's circumstances, such as whether the student lives abroad and can't visit. "We never will choose not to admit someone that we otherwise would admit simply because they have no demonstrated level of interest," said Steve Syverson, dean of admissions and financial aid at Lawrence University in Appleton. Yet, it's something even cynical students and their high school counselors are less willing to ignore as college admissions get more competitive.

The National Geographic Channel, Washington, DC
January 26, 2004
Television Series: Taboo
Episode: Blood Bonds
Excerpt: In the "Blood Bonds" episode, the Taboo series examined unusual definitions of family, from northern India, where some women marry a man and his brothers -- to southern China, where a tribe has no formal marriage -- to South Africa, where hard-core street gangs serve as surrogate families. Lawrence University Assistant Professor of Anthropology Eileen Walsh was interviewed on the Mosuo people. The Mosuo are a non-Chinese ethnic minority living within the boundaries of China. Their homeland lies on the borders of Yuennan and Szetchuan provinces, not far from Tibet. The Mosuo are a matriarchal society and those that reside around the Lugu Lake and Yongning area still widely practice the traditional Axia system of marriage, otherwise known as a classic matriarchal visiting marriage. Biological fatherhood as a social or legal construct with the rights and responsibilities associated with that does not exist in the Western sense and the children of pairings belong exclusively to the mother and her clan. The brothers of the young women take care of the nieces and nephews, who are regarded as their children. Children that are born of visiting marriages belong exclusively to their mother's family and inherit their mother's surname. They don't know who is their father until they reach 13 years old and participate in a special "Adult Ceremony," signifying the transition to adulthood.

Madison Capital Times, Madison
January 24, 2004
Headline: Lawrence University names new president
Excerpt: Jill Beck, former dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California-Irvine, has been named the 15th president of Lawrence University. Beck will succeed Richard Warch, who is retiring June 30, and will assume office July 1 as the first woman president in Lawrence's 158-year history. Warch is completing a 25-year tenure, the second-longest presidency in Lawrence history. He is currently the longest-serving college president in Wisconsin. "I am delighted and honored for the opportunity to carry on Lawrence University's well-earned reputation as one of the country's finest liberal arts colleges," Beck said. Jeffrey D. Riester, who chairs the Lawrence University Board of Trustees, on Friday cited Beck's breadth of academic, administrative and fund-raising leadership, as well as her commitment to the liberal arts, as being among the attributes that led to her selection. During her tenure as UCI's dean of the School of the Arts from 1995 to 2003, Beck founded the ArtsBridge America program in 1996 and established The da Vinci Research Center for Learning Through the Arts in 2001. She currently serves as director of both programs and holds the rank of full professor in UCI's department of dance. A native of Worcester, Mass., Beck earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and art history at Clark University, a master of arts degree in history and music from McGill University in Montreal, and her doctorate in theater history and criticism in 1984 from City University of New York. During her career, she has been the assistant director of the dance division at the Julliard School and chaired the dance departments at City University of New York, Connecticut College and Southern Methodist University before being appointed dean at UCI. Lawrence University enrolls 1,300 undergraduates from 49 states and the District of Columbia as well as 45 other countries.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
January 24, 2004
Headline: Lawrence University names new president
Excerpt: Lawrence University in Appleton has named a former arts dean from California as its new president, the first new chief the private school has had in 25 years. Jill Beck, a Worcester, Mass., native who served as dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California- Irvine from 1995 to 2003, takes office July 1. She will be Lawrence's 15th president and the first woman to serve in the post, according to information from the university. Beck, 54, succeeds Richard Warch, whose 25-year tenure is among the country's longest for college presidents. During her time as a dean, Beck founded the award-winning ArtsBridge America program, which tries to advance educational arts partnerships between universities and K-12 institutions. She also established The da Vinci Research Center for Learning Through the Arts. Currently, she heads both programs. Beck has fund-raising experience, having overseen a $22 million capital campaign while dean and she established four $1 million endowed professorships. UC-Irvine gave Beck its top honor, the UCI Medal, in 2002. According to a Lawrence University news release, Beck received a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and art history at Clark University, a master of arts degree in history and music from McGill University and a doctorate in theater history and criticism from City University of New York. Her husband, Robert Beck, is a UC-Irvine professor of education.

Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota
January 24, 2004
Headline: California, Irvine administrator named to head university
Byline: The Associated Press
Excerpt: Jill Beck, former dean of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine, was named Friday to become president of Lawrence University. Beck, a native of Worcester, Mass., is to assume the office July 1 as the first woman president in Lawrence's 158-year history. She is to succeed Richard Warch, retiring June 30 after 25 years as Lawrence's president. While serving as arts dean from 1995-2003, Beck in 1996 founded the ArtsBridge America program, which develops partnerships between universities and school districts to provide arts instruction to children in urban and low-income areas. In 2001, she established the da Vinci Research Center for Learning Through the Arts. She now serves as director of both programs and also holds the rank of full professor in the department of dance. Lawrence is an undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences with a conservatory of music.

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
January 16, 2004
Headline: Setting it straight. Lawrence University president served longer
Excerpt: When James Ebben retires this summer from Edgewood College, he will not be the longest serving president of any public or private college in Wisconsin, as reported on Page 1 of the Local section Thursday. Richard Warch, the president of Lawrence University in Appleton, also will retire this summer after 25 years leading that institution. Ebben will have 17 years.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
January 9, 2004
Headline: U.S. health care cost $1.6 trillion in 2002. Higher spending blamed on hospital, drug costs
Byline: Associated Press
Excerpt: Health care spending in the United States reached $1.6 trillion in 2002, an annual increase of 9.3% fueled by rising hospital spending and prescription drugs costs, the federal government reported Thursday. The increase outstripped growth in the economy for the fourth consecutive year, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Early indications, however, are that spending slowed in 2003, according to the report, published in the journal Health Affairs. The annual Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report analyzes spending trends in the public and private health care sectors. The $1.6 trillion figure means that health care spending averaged about $5,440 per person in 2002. While the rate of growth on prescription drugs costs slowed in 2002 to 15.3%, drug spending remained the fastest-growing item in health care. That trend is expected to continue for the next 10 years. Hospital spending rose 9.5%, reflecting increasing use of hospital services, rising wages of hospital workers and hospitals' growing ability to negotiate prices with private insurance plans, the report says. The authors also took note of a significant increase in consumers' out-of-pocket spending due to increases in co-payments for drugs and services and in deductibles, the amount consumers must pay before insurance benefits begin. Economics professor Merton D. Finkler at Lawrence University in Appleton said the growth figures should be viewed in light of the fact that the economy did not grow much in 2002. As a result, the 14.9% of GDP that health care represented in 2002 is out of proportion to what it would have been had the economy been growing at a normal rate. Finkler said health care costs will continue to grow as long as purchasers of health care are unwilling "to be selective with whom they contract." Purchasers also have to shift more of the expense of health care to employees, he said. Also, purchasers have to "start buying value in health care and not just negotiate price," he said.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
January 9, 2004
Headline: The 20-20 club
Byline: Jeff Potrykus
Excerpt: No player in the Midwest Conference rebounds the ball quite like Chris Braier of Lawrence University. Braier, a 6-5 sophomore forward from Wauwatosa East High School, entered the week No. 1 in the conference and No. 2 in the nation in rebounding with an average of 13.6 per game, thanks in part to a pair of 20-rebound performances. His closest challenger among Midwest Conference players was Franklyn Beckford of Lake Forest College at 8.6 per game. "Not only is he relentless, but he understands where the ball is coming off the rim," said Lawrence coach John Tharp, whose team is 8- 1 overall, 2-0 in the Midwest Conference and ranked No. 17 nationally in the latest D3hoops.com poll. "He just has that knack. I wish I could take some credit for that, but unfortunately I can't." Braier led the conference with an average of 11.6 rebounds per game as a freshman last season. That was 3.1 better than the No. 2 player in the conference. In 33 games with Lawrence, Braier has led his team in rebounding 31 times. When Braier played at Wauwatosa East, he was somewhat overshadowed on the interior by 6-8 center Andy Freund, who is a redshirt freshman at Marquette. "He had to share some of those responsibilities in high school," Tharp said of Braier. "He has tremendously strong hands. If he does get his hands on the ball, he is usually coming up with it."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
January 8, 2004
Headline: Beger an educator, steward of land. He planted as many as 50,000 pine trees
Byline: Amy Rabideau Silvers
Excerpt: When Kenneth Howard Beger was ready to retire, he knew just where he wanted to live. Beger and his wife, Lucia, moved to the land he had long nurtured and where he had planted tens of thousands of trees. The 140-acre parcel in both Ozaukee and Washington counties -- called Die Heimat, or "The Homestead" -- was purchased in 1846 by his great- grandfather. The best guess is that Beger planted at least 40,000 to 50,000 white and red pines, many with the help of family and friends. Some were planted at a smaller cabin property near Waupaca. By the early 1980s, a state Department of Natural Resources official wrote to Beger, saying that he had the largest white pines in southeastern Wisconsin, said his son. Beger got to retire to his beloved land for more than 25 years before health issues required the couple to move. He died of natural causes Monday at a Cedarburg care facility. He was 96. "Ken was a true conservationist and a really nice guy," said Andy Holschbach, director of planning resources and land management for Ozaukee County. "He used to buy a lot of trees through our department. He was always proud of being a tree farmer." Kenneth Beger followed his father -- superintendent of Ozaukee County schools -- into education, graduating from Milwaukee State Teachers College and then earning a master's degree from Lawrence University in Appleton. Beger first taught social studies in Mishicot. He coached basketball and track, and helped organize the old Peninsula 4 Athletic Conference. He went on to positions with the Grafton, Neenah and Cedarburg school districts, including as a teacher, guidance counselor and director, and assistant principal. In 1939, he was involved in the creation of Badger Boys State, long remaining active with the group. Beger last worked for the Monona Grove School District in the Madison area, where he served as high school principal, district director of special services and special education.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
December 18, 2003
Headline: Teachers, parents back honor code. Waukesha schools have been discussing idea
Byline: Amy Hetzner
Excerpt: Teachers and parents have initially favored a School Board member's idea of instituting an honor code as a way to take a stronger stance on academic honesty, a district administrator said Wednesday. Principals and school site councils have discussed the proposal since it was first suggested by School Board member Joseph Como as a possible districtwide policy change. The proposal is still in its early stages, with the board exploring whether there's support for the school district to take a more forceful role when it comes to issues such as plagiarism and cheating. But Como said the district could end up going as far as having students submit a written pledge with every assignment they turn in attesting that it is their work. Honor councils also could be organized at schools to mete out punishment for students who violate the code, he said. Such measures were in place when he attended Lawrence University, Como said, and they reinforced the school's high standards on academic honesty. "To me, having an honor code and an honor council kind of kick it up a notch," he said. A 2001 Rutgers University study found that cheating was widespread among high school students, with nearly three-quarters of the students surveyed reporting serious cheating on tests and more than half copying sentences from Web sites without citing them as sources. An honor code could give schools a way to combat such activity and let students know it is wrong, board members said.

Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
December 10, 2003
Headline: A challenging time of year
Byline: Barbara Ballinger
Excerpt: Holiday wreaths, sugar plum fairies, sweets galore. The holiday season sends many people into overdrive, decorating, shopping and socializing from Thanksgiving through the New Year. But for those who suffer from depression--about 10 percent of the population, according to the National Institute of Mental Health--December can become a time to dread. Depression takes a greater toll on relationships than it does at other times of the year when it's easier to ignore celebratory hype. "One of the most important stressors during the holiday season is social conflict, especially with loved ones," says Gerald Metalsky, an associate professor of psychology at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. "Many people are at their best -- and worst -- around family members. They aren't used to spending so much concentrated time with extended family. So, the holidays offer ample opportunities to get triggered with anger," Metalsky says. Depression also creates repercussions for the non-depressed person. Non-depressed partners also may find they tire of coping with a partner who fights going to social events, refuses to go, or goes and acts annoyed about being there, Metalsky says.

Harvard Business Review, Boston, Massachusetts
December 2003
Title: How (un)ethical are you?
Byline: Mahzarin R. Banaji, Max H. Bazerman, and Dolly Chugh
Excerpt: Most of us believe that we are ethical and unbiased. We imagine we're good decision makers, able to objectively size up a job candidate or a venture deal and reach a fair and rational conclusion that's in our, and our organization's, best interests. But more than two decades of research confirms that, in reality, most of us fall woefully short of our inflated self-perception. Most fair-minded people strive to judge others according to their merits, but our research shows how often people instead judge according to unconscious stereotypes and attitudes, or "implicit prejudice." Bias are also likely to be costly. In controlled experiments, psychologists Laurie Rudman at Rutgers and Peter Glick at Lawrence University have studied how implicit biases may work to exclude qualified people from certain roles. One set of experiments examined the relationship between participants' implicit gender stereotypes and their hiring decisions. Those holding stronger implicit biases were less likely to select a qualified woman who exhibited stereotypically "masculine" personality qualities, such as ambition or independence, for a job requiring stereotypically "feminine" qualities, such as interpersonal skills. Yet they would select a qualified man exhibiting these same qualities. The hirers' biased perception was that the woman was less likely to be socially skilled than the man, though their qualifications were in fact the same. These results suggest that implicit biases may exact costs by subtly excluding qualified people from the very organizations that seek their talents.

San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, California
December 7, 2003
Headline: Americans continue to tap into history of Pearl Harbor
Byline: Peter Rowe
Excerpt: Risky business, predicting the future of the past. A decade ago, a University of Hawaii anthropologist named Geoffrey White took a fresh look at Dec. 7, 1941. His conclusion then: Like the battleship Arizona, our memories of Pearl Harbor were sinking. His conclusion now: How could he have been so wrong? "We are a pretty present-oriented culture," White said last week. "I used to believe that Pearl Harbor would fade, that it would become a static moment in the history textbooks. "But things keep happening to make it relevant." One thing, of course, was a second sneak attack on American soil. The parallels between Sept. 11, 2001, and Dec. 7, 1941, have been drawn by President Bush, editorial writers and countless others. But even before 9/11, Pearl Harbor had become a powerful, versatile symbol. This chapter from our national story is sometimes neglected, but more often it is recast and retold, each version tailored to inspire Americans to overcome the latest challenge. Will this process of reinterpretation ever end? Historians doubt it. During World War II, Pearl Harbor was drafted into the war effort. "Let's combine our Christmas gifts with support for our fighting men," urged an ad for Marston's department store, published by the San Diego Union on Dec. 7, 1943. "Let's make December 7th a real Christmas 'rush' to buy the present with a future ... WAR BONDS." Wartime passions also infused the story with strong racial elements. The attack, coming without a declaration of war, was seen as "a 'typically' duplicitous 'Asian' act," said Jerald Podar, a professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. In the immediate postwar era, when Japan was transformed into an ally in the struggle against communism, this plot line was downplayed. Besides, many Americans were eager to move beyond those years of ration books and casualty lists. Neglected, perhaps, but Pearl Harbor was not forgotten. Gradually, the tale re-emerged with its racial elements muted. In the Cold War, the events of Dec. 7, 1941, became a parable about the dangers of complacency in the face of any enemy. Japan's economy burst in the early 1990s, leading to recession in Japan and a cooling of American rhetoric. On the 50th anniversary of the signing of a mutual security pact between the United States and Japan, Secretary of State Colin Powell called Japan "our Pacific anchor." That was Sept. 8, 2001. Three days later, the U.S. was rocked by what many observers dubbed "the second Pearl Harbor."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
November 27, 2003
Headline: Moving pieces. Some art goodies get away, others stay
Byline: James Auer
Excerpt: Win a few, lose a few. That might well be the modern art-museum director's credo. For every valuable collection that a director manages to lure, others escape -- some diverted to rival institutions, some simply dispersed by owners at auction. It's a game that's watched carefully by boards of directors and often becomes a pawn in the ceaseless prestige competition that is today's art-museum world. Consider some examples on the local scene. Alfred Bader, the Milwaukee philanthropist, collector and art dealer, is in the process of giving his collection of Old Masters -- all except the two that are earmarked for his sons -- to his alma mater, Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. Recently, he gave the university's art gallery a Rembrandt portrait of an old man, valued by the Art Dealers Association at $10 million. Logically, that small but fine picture should have gone to a museum in Bader's hometown. But Bader decided differently. Years ago -- several management regimes ago, in fact -- he fell afoul of a Milwaukee museum director who preferred modern art to Old Masters. The die was cast, forever. The case of the Bader Rembrandt isn't unique. Half a century ago, the Milwaukee Art Center, as the museum was then known, lost another interesting body of work because it had irritated the prospective donor: a strong-willed world traveler named LaVera Pohl, who herself was a visual-arts administrator. As the story goes, Pohl was anxious to remain at the helm of the old Milwaukee Art Institute until the completion of its merger with the Layton Art Gallery into the Milwaukee Art Center. She lost out in the power struggle, and, forced to leave before she wished, she vowed that her personal collection of "degenerate" European art -- which included superb small works by everybody from Oskar Kokoschka to Wassily Kandinsky -- would not go to the Milwaukee Art Center as she had planned. Instead, she bequeathed it to Milwaukee Downer College for Women -- without suspecting that, a few decades later, Downer's trustees would vote to merge with Lawrence College, forming Lawrence University. As a result, the valuable trove of modernist images that Pohl had willed to Downer ended up being shipped 110 miles north to Appleton, becoming the crown jewel of Lawrence's brand-new Wriston Art Center. Those Kokoschkas and Kandinskys would have looked awfully good in the Milwaukee Art Museum's revamped European galleries.

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
November 22, 2003
Headline: Why America needs the grassy knoll
Byline: Jerald Podair
Caption: Podair is an associate professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton specializing in 20th-century American history.
Excerpt: I took a trip to Dallas last week and solved the mystery of the Kennedy assassination. It was simple. I just used my eyes, ears, and some common sense. I went to Dealey Plaza, the site of the murder, and stood where the man who took the famous home movie of the JFK shooting, Abraham Zapruder, stood Nov. 22, 1963. Then I looked to my right, toward the so-called "grassy knoll," the area from which generations of conspiracy theorists argue a second gunman fired at the presidential limousine. I had my answer. There was no second gunman. And anyone who thought there was one needed a reality check. So, case closed, right? No, because the American people have an insatiable appetite for the JFK assassination and its murky details, and, as the tidal wave of television retrospectives, investigative reports, and exposes of the last two weeks prove, we will never let it go. And that is the most important question of all about what happened in Dealey Plaza that day. Why do so many Americans believe either that Lee Harvey Oswald did not shoot John Kennedy, or that he did not act alone? Why do so many believe, however implausibly, that "the truth is out there," yet to be discovered? Why can't we just let this story come to an end? The truth is, Americans need this story, and others like it. During the 1960s we learned that televised news stories could be as entertaining as, well, entertainment. While media coverage of the Kennedy assassination itself and its immediate aftermath was measured and sober, the monumental television ratings generated that weekend made network executives want more news stories like it to reel in viewers who seemed eager to bite at anything dramatic. So the age of news as entertainment was born, abetted by the ubiquitous television newsmagazines, filled with unsolved mysteries, dramatic revelations, and surprise plot twists, all aimed at an American public ravenous for a good story, one "with legs." And, of course, as we are reminded every Nov. 22, the Kennedy assassination may be the ultimate American story with legs. It has everything we crave -- drama, violence, glamour, and a series of unanswered questions guaranteed to keep us coming back for more. But even if we could answer these questions, would we really want to? Of course not: that would ruin everything. In an American culture in which boredom, not terrorism, is the ultimate enemy, we need the grassy knoll and its shadowy occupants, because otherwise the story would end, and where would we be then?

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.
November 21, 2003
Headline: Real men don't do workshops
Byline: Paul M. Cohen
Caption: Paul M. Cohen is chairman of the history department at Lawrence University and the author, most recently, of Freedom's Moment: An Essay on the French Concept of Liberty From Rousseau to Foucault.
Excerpt: The culture wars on my campus, a liberal-arts college in the Midwest, had apparently been fading since the mid-1990s. As its membership (and collective hairline) began to recede over the past decade, the Old Guard had lost a series of battles over, among other archetypal flashpoints, extending the canon in our core curriculum beyond the white, the Western, and the male; establishing interdisciplinary majors in environmental and gender studies; and instituting "diversity" and "multicultural" requirements for graduation. But the Old Guard did not fade quietly. Over the past year or so, its lamentations over the direction of the college and its own marginalization had swelled into a campuswide din. At faculty meetings, Old Guardians, along with several younger (male) recruits, contested each initiative advanced by the administration. It would be easy to write off the resistance as class interest; for at one level, the Old Guard's views would appear transparently self-serving. The hue and cry over falling standards, bogus postmodernism, the barbarians inside the gates, and so forth, would seem barely to mask the desire of elders to regain academic turf they have lost. Howover, such a critique reduces the Old Guardians to unreflecting, two-dimensional caricatures and fails to take their powerful sense of rage and betrayal seriously. Surely, the Old Guard's narrative (to employ the postmodern term) of the culture wars is neither more nor less self-serving than that of the younger generation. Nor, come to think of it, is the younger generation always so young or the Old Guard so old. Not only have some Young Turks aligned with their elders, the "younger generation" is in fact populated in part by professors well past 40. In truth, perhaps our campus schism is less over class and generation, as I originally thought, than over gender. Or, to be more precise, over masculinity. As I revisited the Old Guard's narrative in these terms, everything suddenly seemed to fall into place. Workshops, in the Old Guard's narrative, appear to represent all that is intellectually flaccid, so to speak, in the academy. "Supportive" rather than combative, workshops bespeak a mutual dependency as opposed to the putative intellectual autonomy championed by the Old Guard. The proponents of workshops seek to relax standards as opposed to keeping them up; they flout the weighty, timeless truths discharged by the Western Canon through its "seminal" works in favor of the trendy, the lightweight, and the postmodern. They are inclined toward process as opposed to content, "skills" as opposed to knowledge. Indeed, they view knowledge as something created through egalitarian collaboration between professor and student rather than something imparted by the knowledgeable to the uninformed. They are, in a word, soft as opposed to hard. In fact, they tend to emerge from what many in the academy hold to be "soft" disciplines -- psychology, sociology, anthropology, the foreign languages -- as opposed to the "hard" sciences and the more rigorous (pre-postmodern) humanities and social sciences. I don't mean to suggest that the culture warriors scorn their female co-workers or would have them replaced with men. What they despise is not women per se, but rather what they instinctively deem effeminate; and they despise such effeminacy above all in men. In that light, I could easily imagine how our faculty must appear to such company. In one corner reside the standard-bearers of academic machismo: the hard-nosed male professors of math and physics, economics and politics, as well as those stout-hearted men in English, history, and philosophy who have fought the good fight. By their side stand several equally stalwart women -- the tough-minded, the blunt-spoken, the widely published; in short, the women "with balls." In the other corner reside "those people": the politically outspoken women -- feminists, multiculturalists, and the like -- in French and Spanish, psychology and anthropology, environmental and gender studies, who have dragged the campus into its current morass of soft, mushy interdisciplinarity (read "undisciplinarity") and -- workshops.

New York Times, New York, New York
November 13, 2003
Headline: Illinois Man Nominated India Ambassador
Byline: The Associated Press
Excerpt: An international businessman from Illinois, who has donated thousands of dollars to Republican candidates, is President Bush's nominee for ambassador to India. If approved by the Senate, David Campbell Mulford will replace Robert Blackwill, the former ambassador who is now a member of the White House National Security Council's staff working on postwar Iraq. Mulford, international chairman and member of the executive board for Credit Suisse First Boston in London, England, donated at least $225,000 to Republicans over the 2000 and 2002 election cycle, including $1,000 to Bush in 2000, campaign financial data shows. Mulford's government experience includes a stint as assistant secretary and then undersecretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department. He earned a bachelor's degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., a master's degree from Boston University and a doctorate from Oxford University.

[The Associated Press story also appeared in the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Newsday, Detroit Free Press, and virtually every other major newspaper in the country.]

India Abroad/Rediff.com
November 5, 2003
Headline: Mulford likely to be US envoy to India
Byline: Josy Joseph in New Delhi
Excerpt: David C Mulford, a seasoned but controversial dealmaker, is likely to take over as the next American ambassador to India. According to sources in New Delhi, India has okayed the appointment. The only formality now is his confirmation by the US senate. India Abroad, a community newspaper for the Indian-American community, owned by rediff.com, had first reported the news in August. A 1959 graduate of Lawrence University, Wisconsin, Mulford earned his Ph.D. from Oxford. He has authored two books on Africa. He is a financial expert with good connections in the US administration and corporations. A staunch Republican supporter, who has contributed handsomely to GOP coffers, he is a friend of the Bush family and has always been a much sought-after consultant on foreign debt. An investment banker of more than 30 years, he is more at home with economics than politics. He was the undersecretary of treasury from 1984 to 1992. In 2001, he was the US ambassador to Argentina when the country was passing through an economic crisis. A deal that he pushed through for debt-swap reportedly led to the collapse of the Argentine economy and government. Till recently, he was the chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston International.

Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina
November 4, 2003
Headline: Fan and foe deconstruct Harry Potter series. Opposing views of stories' social and spiritual message signify their staying power
Byline: Mark I. West, Special to The Observer
Excerpt: When J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" came out a few months ago, a reporter contacted me. He had heard that I teach courses on children's literature at UNC Charlotte, and he wanted to talk about the phenomenal popularity of the Potter books. Toward the end of the interview, he asked, "Are the Harry Potter books lasting literature?" Questions that involve predicting the future are hard to answer, so I gave a vague response. Nevertheless, the question intrigues me. Some popular children's books go on to become classics, while others go out of print within a decade. If a story can be read on different levels or interpreted in different ways, it has a better shot of surviving. When seen in this light, the almost simultaneous release of Edmund M. Kern's "The Wisdom of Harry Potter" and Suman Gupta's "Re-Reading Harry Potter" suggests the Potter books are going to be with us a long time. Kern, a professor at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, argues that the moral decisions Harry makes are consistent with values articulated by early Christian Stoics. He provides a brief history of Stoicism and shows how its principles govern Harry. He delves into Harry's tendency to break rules, and concludes that "most rule-breaking at Hogwarts serves to uphold, rather than subvert, important moral values." Kern balances his scholarly allusions with easy-to-understand interpretations of the Potter books. He doesn't try to hide that he is a Potter fan. It's his enthusiasm that makes his own book a pleasure to read.

Crain's Chicago Business, Chicago, Illinois
November 3, 2003
Headline: Crain's 2003 40 under 40. Chicago's rising stars
Byline: Margaret Littman
Excerpt: Introducing rising stars in local business, government, the arts and more.
Alice Peacock, 32, singer, songwriter
It would be easy to envy Alice Peacock [Lawrence University Class of 1992]. She's a beautiful blonde with a remarkable voice and a natural talent for writing lyrics that are smart and sentimental without being saccharine. In the last eight years, she's gone from being one of thousands of folk-inspired guitar players to singing "Pink Houses" on stage with John Mellencamp when she opened for him on his 2002 tour. Her works have been featured on TV soundtracks, including those for "Dawson's Creek" and "Smallville." Despite the calls from Los Angeles and New York, she plans to stay based in Chicago, where she can run to Lincoln Park Zoo on her days off. Longtime fans aren't surprised by Ms. Peacock's Midwestern ways. Both her first and second albums were self-produced. Only after the second one was released did Aware/Columbia Records pick it up and Mr. Mellencamp call. "She taught herself to play the piano and the guitar, so through hard work, she has become an instrumentalist as well as a songwriter," says Nick Miller, vice-president of club bookings for Chicago-based Jam Productions Ltd. "When you match up her natural gifts with a lot of hard work, it is hard not to be successful." Ms. Peacock moved to Chicago in the mid-1990s, at the height of the Smashing Pumpkins/Liz Phair mania that made the Windy City a first stop for all things musical. "There was a little bit of a lull (after that)," she says. Now, all sorts of interesting music is being made here ‹ urban, country, heavy metal."

USA Today
October 31, 2003
Headline: Year before election, many are undecided
Byline: Susan Page and Jill Lawrence
Excerpt: A year before the presidential election on Nov. 2, 2004, independent-minded "swing" voters say they aren't yet convinced that President Bush or his challengers have the answer they want. In interviews in the small cities of Wisconsin's Fox River Valley, swing voters say they're skeptical about Bush's decisions on the economy and Iraq. Some wonder whether the United States should have invaded Iraq. Almost all of them would like to see a new approach to creating jobs. But they don't know yet whether Democrats would do better on handling the economy or making the nation safe. Swing voters to whom national security issues are paramount tend to think Bush is doing a good job. But those more worried about the economy say he's focused on the wrong problems. One of them is Cara Helmke, 25, a special-events assistant and Web site designer at the Lawrence University alumni office in Appleton. "There's mounting job loss, and he hasn't made that a priority," says Helmke, who falls in the group of well-educated young people Claritas calls "Up-and-Comers." "He has made other things a priority, like going to war."

[Cara Helmke, Class of 2000, is Special Events Assistant in the Office of Alumni Relations. Her picture appeared on the front page of the October 31 edition of USA Today.]

The Detroit News, Detroit, Michigan
October 30, 2003
Headline: Communities scare up fun with Halloween traditions
Byline: Joel Kurth
Excerpt: Forgive the children of Northville if they lose sight of the true meaning of Halloween: candy. There's plenty to distract them. Costume contests are so competitive judges themselves wear disguises. Vaudeville revues on front lawns favor schtick and shuffling feet over trick or treat. City-sponsored pumpkin parties a week before Halloween sell out in hours. From hayrides in Milford and Armada to witch train tours in Walled Lake and booze bashes, costume parades and haunted houses everywhere in between, Halloween isn't about just the kids anymore. And it isn't about just one day. Targeted by social crusaders for the scrap heap 20 years ago, the holiday has grown so family friendly that it's now used by municipalities to foster a feeling of community among sometimes estranged neighbors. Beloved holiday Halloween has swung in and out of society's favor for about 150 years, but has become one of the nation's most beloved holidays within the past 20 years, said Edmund Kern, a Halloween expert and history professor at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Americans spend $6.9 billion on the holiday, second only to Christmas, said Riddle of American Greetings. It's the third-biggest adult holiday behind New Year's Eve and Super Bowl Sunday. It's the eighth most popular occasion to send greeting cards, Riddle said. The growth is fueled by a Halloween industry that takes its cue from nostalgic Baby Boomers. Plagued by bogus candy tampering scares and links to the occult in the 1970s and 1980s, Halloween roared back as Boomers settled down, Kern said. Presley, the 55-year-old behind Northville's "Ed Skullivan Show," can relate. "Do we want to get older? No. Do we want to turn back the clock? Yes, and this is one way to do it for at least one night," he said.

Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
October 30, 2003
Headline: Jazz celebration is worth trip to Appleton
Byline: Kevin Lynch
Excerpt: This is the weekend to head north to get your jazz fix. Lawrence University in Appleton is holding its Jazz Celebration Weekend with vocalist Kurt Elling performing at 7:30 p.m. Friday with the Lawrence Hobgood Trio, the Lawrence University Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Singers. Then the preternaturally precocious Lawrence ensemble will match up with no less than the Mingus Big Band at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Don't think that all those student musicians will cramp the style of the world-class headliners. The superbly trained Lawrence jazz ensemble did a stunning job a few years ago with composer/orchestra leader Maria Schneider's brilliant and difficult charts, to the amazement of Schneider herself, who was conducting them. Three-time Grammy nominee Elling has virtually redefined male jazz singing in recent years with his blend of hip romanticism, neo- beat poetic rants and soulful-suave vocals. The mighty Mingus Big Band played Madison several years back and continues to sustain the legacy of bassist-composer Charles Mingus, who should have had large ensembles of this caliber to work with whenever he wanted to during his storied career. Sadly, that's the jazz life, which often finds its greatest glory and fruition after a musician dies.

Pensacola News Journal, Pensacola, Florida
October 30, 2003
Headline: Curses reversed. Incantations help, but disbelief is better
Byline: Sonja Lewis
Excerpt: The season of curses is upon us. Only a few weeks ago, the legendary Curse of the Bambino was blamed for derailing a trip to the World Series for the Red Sox; diehard fans were quick to blame the fantastical Curse of the Billy Goat for the Chicago Cubs' flubbed shot at glory. Now Halloween approaches, and with it comes the risk that even the nonsporting among us could fall prey to someone's wrath. After all, remember what's behind "Trick or Treat?" "It's a veiled threat," said Lawrence University Professor Edmund M. Kern, an expert on superstitions and Halloween. "People who give out candy are trying to bribe the trick or treater so they'll be left alone." Ah, but before you bolt the door and quiver behind drawn curtains this Friday, we have experts to reassure you - and advise you on all things cursed. Long ago, curses were our way of explaining things we couldn't at the time, Kern said. People in the 1700s blamed a curse for the cow that wouldn't give milk, the barn roof that caught fire, the tornado that destroyed the crops. While science was in its infancy and could not explain disease, lightning or a tornado's mixing of warm and cool air, a curse could. "Usually, people didn't have to look too far for suspicious individuals," Kern said. "Or other people who bear some animosity toward them. It was easy to find people who would hold a grudge or have some vendetta to satisfy."

State Journal Register, Springfield, Illinois
October 26, 2003
Headline: Kern claims Harry Potter books teach moral behavior
Byline: David Bloomberg
Excerpt: The Harry Potter series has brought about not only new life for children's books but also plenty of people willing to either hop on -- or take potshots at -- the bandwagon. Besides the official books, there have been a number of others, from ultraconservative religious authors who say the Potter books support witchcraft to literary critics who say they are just plain bad for kids to read. Of course, there are other religious writers who counter that the books are morally sound and other literary critics who say that they are encouraging children to read, which can only be a good thing. One of the most recent additions to the unofficial books about the series is Edmund Kern's "The Wisdom of Harry Potter: What Our Favorite Hero Teaches Us about Moral Choices." An associate professor at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, Kern approaches the Potter stories from the perspective that, contrary to some allegations, the stories actually teach moral behavior. However, while the book addresses the concerns about witchcraft, it is not the main focus. Instead, Kern looks at how each book demonstrates an underlying value system. Kern notes that Potter is neither a social activist nor a teacher of religion, but that doesn't mean the stories are without ethical content. To the contrary, he believes the moral content is too consistent to be an accident on the part of Potter author J. K. Rowling. She has, he says, set up her main character with a Stoic ethical system. By this, he does not mean "stoic" as it often is used in speech today, to mean a person who doesn't show emotion. Instead, he reaches back to the original Stoic philosophy and explains how Potter's own actions correspond with it. Often we see Harry becoming emotional, but in the end he usually allows himself to rationally assess the situation and come up with a solution to the problem that faces him. Not always, of course, as he is human - and a human teenager at that. Because of the moral system that Kern finds in the books, he believes parents have a good opportunity to use the series' popularity to discuss such issues with their children. He further notes that the stories: spur imagination; show how Potter and his friends often have to think their way out of complex problems; and even though the characters sometimes break the rules, Potter and his friends always strive to work for good and against evil.

San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, California
October 26, 2003
Headline: Halloween still needed in today's scary world. We can conquer "artificial danger" created on holiday
Byline: Dru Sefton, Newhouse News Service
Excerpt: The threat of deadly terrorism constantly looms. Mysterious killer illnesses pop up, with ominous names like monkey pox and flesh-eating disease. Evildoers Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein lurk in the shadows. If the real world is such a scary place, why do we still revel in the fright fest that is Halloween? Experts say it's because the Oct. 31 kind of scary tickles the basic fears hard-wired into our brains, and we get a rush of pleasure when we emerge from the imaginary clutches of a haunted house or costumed monster. Halloween "provides a kind of catharsis, an artificial danger that can be easily dealt with," said Edmund M. Kern, an associate professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. "Order is easily restored; it's a clearly bounded period." Kern, an expert on the origins of the holiday, said the ghostly, frightening aspects of Halloween can be traced back to its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, during which participants lit bonfires and "believed the boundaries between the human and supernatural realms were particularly permeable."

Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts
October 9, 2003
Headline: Key figures in the Kobe Bryant case
Excerpt: Frederick Gannett, judge presiding over preliminary hearing. Born in 1953. Undergraduate degree from Lawrence University in Wisconsin, law degree from Willamette University in Oregon. Served as a Pitkin County sheriff's deputy, Basalt municipal judge and assistant municipal judge in Vail before being appointed Eagle County judge in 1987. In 1993, he returned to private law practice. Returned to the county court bench in 2002.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
October 7, 2003
Headline: Some state libraries purging records. Actions follow warning on Patriot Act
Byline: Lawrence Sussman
Excerpt: The Wisconsin Library Association has warned libraries about the new federal Patriot Act, leading some to purge circulation records to protect privacy, and others to begin warning patrons about the law's effects. The warning came last spring in the form of a sample policy for the association's member libraries to use to "protect against the unwarranted invasion of the personal privacy of library users." In recent months, the association has surveyed its members on what actions they've taken. Mark Corallo, a Justice Department spokesman in Washington, D.C., said last week that to get a search warrant under the Patriot Act, the FBI must show evidence to a federal judge that the records being sought would involve international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, which would be foreign spying. He said the libraries were not breaking any federal law by destroying their circulation records "under the misguided notion that the FBI is monitoring what people are reading. Nobody really cares." Last month, Attorney General John Ashcroft said the FBI had not yet obtained any library records, and that still is the case, Corallo said. "We're telling libraries to consult their local legal counsels, review their policies and know what their privacy and record retention policies are," said Peter Gilbert, state library association president and a reference librarian at Lawrence University in Appleton. Meanwhile, the library association is suggesting that its members ask: "Do you have a good reason to keep the records that you are keeping? If you don't, get rid of them."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
October 1, 2003
Headline: Commerce secretary knows the central city
Byline: Tannette Johnson-Elie
Excerpt: Cory Nettles sees potential in Milwaukee's central city, and one of his top priorities as state commerce secretary is to help minority-owned businesses get the capital they need to expand and create family sustaining jobs. Nettles is sensitive to the economic conditions in the central city because he spent much of his childhood on the edge of it, the son of a father who drove a truck and a mother who worked in an office. As commerce secretary, Nettles is responsible for all business and economic development in the state. He oversees a staff of 450 and a budget of more than $400 million. At 33, Nettles is one of the youngest members of Gov. Jim Doyle's cabinet and the first African-American ever to hold the office of commerce secretary. "I'm the hometown boy who made it," Nettles said. "The people in this community who know me know that I have their best interests at heart." Just eight months into the job, Nettles already is starting to make a difference. He was instrumental in establishing a Milwaukee-based venture capital fund that would raise $50 million in seed capital to be invested primarily in minority-owned businesses throughout southeastern Wisconsin. It illustrates what's possible when people of color are put in key positions where they have the power and influence to make a difference in their own communities. Nettles' qualifications for the job are unassailable. He was an attorney in the Milwaukee law firm of Quarles & Brady when Doyle plucked him to be a member of his cabinet. A graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton and the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, Nettles penetrated social and political circles in Milwaukee and connected with the power brokers in government and business. Among them was Doyle. "I met him several years ago when he was an attorney general," Nettles says. "He spoke of his plans to run for governor. He really persuaded many of us to come into public service. I wanted to serve in an administration that had values like mine and to participate in making things better."

City Newspaper, Rochester, New York
October 1, 2003
Headline: Bob feeds the elephant
Byline: Christine Carrie Fien
Excerpt: The Monroe County executive race is the single most important local election in recent memory. It comes at a crossroads in the county's history. Faced with large deficits, high taxes, youth flight, and a dearth of jobs and opportunity, the county has hit a fork in the road. Down one path lies prosperity and rebirth. Down the other, failure and ruin. The race is historic in another way that has gone largely unmentioned. That is, until a former local radio host opened his big mouth and out popped the elephant everybody pretended wasn't there. Some say race is a major factor in the county executive race. Others think race is one of many factors, but certainly not the primary one. Still others say race doesn't matter at all. Monroe County's population, according to census figures, is almost 80 percent white. The suburbs are more than 90 percent white. Whites are the single largest race in the city, but Rochester is a majority nonwhite city. What does that mean? "Given the stark segregation in residential patterns in the county and other indicators, race without question has some effect on politics and the behavior of whites in Monroe County," says Christian Grose, professor of political science at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Grose earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Rochester. He is a specialist in the study of race and politics and has been following the race for county executive. Grose is co-author of "Black Mayors, White Cities," a paper analyzing the extent of racial polarization in voting in the 1993 Rochester mayoral primary. Johnson, Grose concludes, has proven crossover appeal. In the 1993 Democratic primary, Johnson won a plurality of non-black votes, nearly 29 percent. At the time, Rochester was a majority white city. Overall, Johnson won 32.4 percent of the vote. "Johnson can win the county executive race if he can draw support from non-black voters, as he did in his first mayoral primary, and also count on black voter support," Grose says. "The question is, are white voters in the city of Rochester the same as white voters in the suburbs? I would say no." The fact that the suburbs have seen Johnson in a public leadership role helps him, Grose says. But suburbanites' lack of exposure and interaction with minorities allows underlying racial animosity some suburbanites might harbor to surface. "The bottom line is, the conservative white constituency is running someone [Republican candidate Maggie Brooks] who is popular and white," Grose says. "Any Democrat [in Monroe County] has an uphill battle. A black candidate has a particularly difficult battle."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
September 29, 2003
Headline: Campus visits are best test. Many students are set on -- or against -- a particular school until a tour changes their minds
Byline: Nahal Toosi
Excerpt: A campus visit can irreversibly damage the reputation of an institution in the eyes of a longtime admirer or lead to an affair with a student otherwise betrothed to another school. Whichever the case, many students consider tours vital to the search process and start visiting colleges well before their senior year of high school. Anecdotally, at least, colleges throughout Wisconsin and elsewhere are seeing more students check out their campuses before enrolling. That's partly because more people are applying to colleges nationwide and students today are far more knowledgeable about admissions. Visiting a campus may even give students an edge, however slight, in getting accepted to a school. Beloit College, Lawrence University and Mount Mary College are among the schools that will note if a student has visited when considering his or her application. This falls under an area called "demonstrable interest." Basically, it's one way a college gauges how serious a student really is about attending. "We're not real sure how widespread it is, but it does happen," said David Hawkins, director of public policy for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which plans to study the issue.

[The story also ran in the Chattanooga Times Free Press on October 27 under the headline "University life: Checking out a campus is a ritual that's on the rise" and in the October 15 edition of the ContraCosta Times in California as "College campus tours a popular ritual."]

NewMusicBox
The Web Magazine from the American Music Center
September 29, 2003
Headline: Two ASCAP/IAJE Commissions Honor Quincy Jones (and Jazz Education)
Byline: Amanda MacBlane
Excerpt: For the seventh time, the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) and the American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) have joined forces to commission new works for jazz ensemble, one by an established jazz composer and one by an emerging composer. The works are intended to honor an individual whose contributions to the field of jazz education have been outstanding and are premiered at the IAJE's annula conference. This year, the commissions were awarded to Fred Sturm in the established category and Pascal LeBoeuf in the emerging category (for composers under 35). "The ASCAP/IAJE Commission is the highest distinction I've received in my career as a composer/ arranger," relates Sturm, who is the Director of Jazz and Improvisational Music at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Wisconsin. In addition to the $7,500 commission, Sturm has been invited to conduct the piece at the IAJE conference in New York City in January. Sturm admits that he hasn't had a chance to get notes down on paper, as he finishes up a recording project with the Hessischer Rundfunk Big Band, of which he is the artistic director. While Quincy Jones may be this year's honoree, the true star of the show is jazz education. With works by one of the most highly-regarded educators in the country and the quintessential jazz "student," this year's commissioned works are a living testament to the importance of musical and jazz education.

Schnectady Gazette, Schnectady, New York
September 28, 2003
Headline: Voting options under review. Days of levers appear numbered amid technology
Byline: Katy Moeller
Excerpt: It all began with Florida's infamous "hanging chad" ballots in the 2000 presidential election. The difficulties Floridians had that year in casting and tallying their votes hung up a national election and led to a call for the overhaul of the nation's voting systems. The punch-card ballot method of voting -- the most common method of voting in the country and one of the least expensive ways to run an election -- was deemed antiquated by federal officials. So, too, were lever machines such as those used in New York state, though state and local elections officials have said that the old mechanical devices functioned well for many decades and would do so for the foreseeable future. Right now, the billion-dollar question is this: What'sgoing to replace the punch-card and lever voting systems at polling sites across the country, including New York state? Many jurisdictions in Wisconsin have tossed out punch-card balloting in recent years in favor of optical-scan balloting, according to Christian Grose, professor of government at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Voters use pencils to fill in ovals on paper ballots, which are counted with a scanning device. "Right now, most jurisdictions use optical scan ballots -- 87 percent of jurisdictions," Grose said via e-mail last week. The state of Georgia converted to electronic touch-screen voting machines after the 2000 election. This form of computerized voting allows voters to cast electronic votes at the touch of a finger.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
September 16, 2003
Headline: Librarians read riot act to Ashcroft. U.S. attorney general mocks libraries' opposition to Patriot Act in speeches
Byline: Don Behm and Megan Twohey
Excerpt: Wisconsin librarians joined counterparts across the U.S. Tuesday in questioning why Attorney General John Ashcroft repeatedly draws public attention to, and, they say, exaggerates their criticism of federal anti-terrorism powers that could invade the privacy of library users. Ashcroft's most recent comments, accusing the American Library Association of fueling a "baseless hysteria" among citizens about the Bush administration's desire to snoop on the reading habits of citizens, prompted librarians to ask Ashcroft to dampen his rhetoric. In a speech Monday before the American Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C., Ashcroft mocked and condemned the country's biggest library association for believing that the FBI wants to know "how far you have gotten on the latest Tom Clancy novel." The attorney general also said people are wrongly led to believe that libraries have been "surrounded by the FBI," with agents "dressed in raincoats, dark suits and sunglasses. They stop everyone and interrogate everyone like Joe Friday." Librarians said Tuesday that it is Ashcroft who is fanning the flames of this debate by focusing on the concerns only of librarians. "Mr. Ashcroft is fueling a fire that does not need to be fueled," said Peter Gilbert, a reference librarian at Lawrence University in Appleton and president of the Wisconsin Library Association. Many librarians have gone on record as opposed to the erosion of library patron privacy that is possible under just one provision of the USA Patriot Act, a sweeping counterterrorism law passed after the Sept. 11 attacks. The law gives federal authorities access to library, bookstore and other business records as part of terrorism investigations.

Belleville News-Democrat, Belleville, Illinois
September 14, 2003
Headline: A hole in her heart. Doctor's trained ear helped save Belleville girl's life
Byline: Maureen Houston
Excerpt: Four years ago, Gabrielle Jordan had open-heart surgery to repair a hole in her heart. Her parents didn't suspect their daughter had a problem until Dr. Stacie Laff, their Belleville pediatrician, detected a slight irregular sound at a checkup in February 1999. "There are heart murmurs that you hear that are normal," said Dr. Laff. "I hear those a lot. Hers didn't sound like a normal flow." An ultrasound revealed there was no wall between the left and right ventricle, the bottom two chambers in the heart. Gabrielle needed surgery. Gabrielle's heart, which had doubled in size from overwork, was back to normal size within two years. Crystal Jordan called Dr. Laff to thank her for finding the problem and learned the doctor was also a musician. "Because she majored in music, she has a very good ear for sound," said Crystal. The fine-tuned hearing enabled the doctor to hear a subtle abnormality. Dr. Laff was a clarinet performance major at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., where fine-tuned hearing was part of her education. Being thorough was another part. She learned in medical school that when you examine a patient, do it from head to toe. "If you can listen to 30 hearts and feel 30 tummies, you will have lots of data when you hear the abnormal," said Laff, who plays clarinet in the St. Louis Wind Symphony and the Washington University Orchestra.

Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minnesota
September 14, 2003
Headline: What does it mean to be liberal or conservative in politics today?
Byline: Art Coulson, Editorial Page Editor
Excerpt: Liberal. Conservative. The terms are tossed about like grenades in the current war for the soul of American politics. We in the newspaper business -- particularly those of us who speak as the institutional voices of our newspapers on the editorial pages -- are often labeled with these words by our readers. But what do these terms really mean? Just as two members of the same religion may hold very strong but opposite personal beliefs about certain tenets of their faith, so, too, may two conservatives or two liberals hold opposing views on hot-button issues. Over the next several months I will be trying to measure the balance of views expressed on our op-ed page and in our letters to the editor column. But to do that, I need your help in arriving at a consensus definition of our terms: What does it mean to be "liberal" in today's political arena? And what do we mean when we use the word "conservative"? Are these terms even applicable? Illuminating? Accurate? To salt the mines, I have asked several respected political scientists to give me their perspectives on these terms. Here is a sampling of their thoughtful responses: Christian Grose, professor of government at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., and a specialist in American politics, elections and Congress -- "Ideology in the contemporary U.S. can be summed up as two large dimensions or scales: an
economic left-right scale and a social left-right scale. Thus, you should also consider the bias on these two issue areas. … On economic issues, 'liberal' in contemporary terms is anything involving more government regulation of the economy while 'conservative' is less regulation of the economy. On social issues, however, the regulation tends to reverse (though not always): Contemporary 'liberals' favor less government intervention in the social realm while 'conservatives' are for government intervention socially."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
September 12, 2003
Headline: Appleton native makes the grade. Induction inspires Reppert to teach
Byline: Mark Stewart
Excerpt: The former Lawrence University star is one of four players in NCAA history to lead the nation in rushing three years in a row. He even got him a Heisman Trophy vote in 1982. Reppert was inducted into the Hall last month alongside the likes of Reggie White, Dan Marino and Ronnie Lott. The three-time All-American traded stories with coaching greats such as Earle Bruce and Harold "Tubby" Raymond. The experience was inspiring to the Appleton native who will be honored Saturday during halftime of Lawrence's home game against Illinois College. Reppert returned to his home in Rockford, Ill., refreshed his resume and prepared to leave his job as a manager at Aramark for a calling that has tugged at him for years. He wanted to coach and work in a school, perhaps as an administrator. "What the Hall of Fame experience did for me was made me realize the value I got out of my coaches, Paul Engen at Appleton West and coach (Ron) Roberts at Lawrence University in particular," said Reppert, who also acknowledged the role of his teammates in his success. "The impact those guys had on me as an adult is more evident than I realized." An Academic All-American, he earned a teaching degree but never used it. After getting cut by the Bears, he coached one year at Lawrence and another at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before playing two years professionally in London before a knee injured ended his career. During a visit to a Lawrence football practice last month, Reppert didn't like the intensity shown in a drill, so he asked a player for his helmet and ran the drill himself even though he had on no other equipment. That fire for the game made Reppert a great player. It could also make him a great coach. "What a more reputable job, an important job to have to make sure kids get started," Reppert said. "What a more important place to be than education." The College Football Hall of Fame Road Show, a 38-foot motor home, filled with memorabilia, will be at the game for fans to tour.

Long Island Press, Long Island, New York
September 11, 2003
Headline: 9/11 -- How will we remember?
Byline: Lauren E. Hill
Excerpt: Everyone has a personal tale to tell about historic events that occurred in their lifetime. Where they were when Kennedy was shot. How they heard about the Oklahoma City bombing. What they were doing on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. But memories fade. How will future generations view what now seems to many to be the most important moment in history? Many historians are confident that once we do get a little more perspective, 9/11 will indeed be seen as an event that sparked significant changes. "I think that Sept. 11 will be remembered, and taught, as the event that marked the end of the 20th century," says Jerald Podair, associate professor of history at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. "Although the Cold War ended in 1991, historians and teachers will most likely view Sept. 11, 2001 as the