A sampling of media clippings about Lawrence University, its faculty, students, and alumni from Spring 2002 and Summer 2002. For more clippings, check out the Lawrence in the News index page.
Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsyvlania
September 13, 2002
Headline: Friday the 13th? No problem
Byline: Wendy Solomon
Excerpt: When a recipe calls for a dash of salt, chef Rachael Ray habitually
tosses a pinch over her left shoulder, too. "For luck," the host of
the Network's "30-Minute Meals" tells the viewers. Sure enough, Ray
gets her quick and easy dishes completed in time, every time.
Scholars categorize such actions as conversion superstitions or
reversals. The salt throw is intended to convert bad luck into good
luck. The same thinking applies to broken mirrors. The superstition is
that if you break a mirror you'll have seven years of bad luck unless you
collect all the pieces and throw them into running water.
Superstitious actions or beliefs are often learned in families and
repeated whether the doer believes in the efficacy or not, says Edmund
Kern, a professor of history at Lawrence University in Wisconsin who
studies the history of superstition. Kern says the salt throw may have
sprung up centuries ago in medieval European cultures where salt was a
rare and expensive commodity. Others say that throwing salt over the
left shoulder is significant because the left side is traditionally
associated with evil. Kern notes that while numerous examples of a
superstition can be documented, academics can only speculate on their
exact origin or source. Humans have used superstitions to explain
phenomena that couldn't be explained by reason or scientific
understanding, but in reality were the result of coincidence or the law
of probability. Kerns says superstitions exist in cultures that believe
in reason and rationality, with the understanding that reason cannot
always provide answers. "Reason itself suggests at times nothing can be
done, that our understandings are, at best, limited," he says.
"Superstition is a means of asserting some control over a life that is
highly uncertain or contingent. It's a way of ordering disorder. When
something bad happens to you or when you fear something bad is going to
happen, you do something about it." Also known as protective magic,
superstitions that ward off bad luck often include the use of amulets,
which are protective objects; talismans, which are objects inscribed
with words, and charms or spoken incantations, which include prayers,
blessings or adjurations. Other protective superstitions take the form
of actions or ritual, such as knocking on wood when you fear a negative
outcome or hope for a positive outcome. Others are expressed through
metaphorical gestures, in which an action stands for another action. In
Annie Proulx's novel "The Shipping News," for example, one of the
characters ties knots on a string to prevent misfortune, a superstition
found in late medieval times and in early modern times, Kerns says. "To
tie a knot is to tangle up, constrain or prevent something. You're
knotting the situation," he says.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
September 13, 2002
Headline: UW ranked No. 31 among doctoral universities.
Magazine also lists college among top in new category
Byline: Nahal Toosi
Excerpt: The University of Wisconsin-Madison moved up one notch to tie
for 31st among national doctoral institutions in this year's ranking of
colleges and universities by U.S. News & World Report. Many high school
seniors use the U.S. News rankings as a guide to choosing schools,
while many college administrators have long insisted that the magazine's
rankings are hogwash and its formulas unfair. To rank the schools, the
magazine considers factors such as SAT scores, alumni contribution rates
and ratings of schools by peer institutions. Among other Wisconsin
schools, Marquette University landed in the second tier of national
doctoral universities, while UW-Milwaukee rose from the fourth tier to
the third tier. Lawrence University was ranked 50th [first tier] in the
"best liberal arts colleges - bachelor's" category, which includes 217 institutions.
Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, Iowa
September 12, 2002
Headline: Starting anew carries mixed emotions; The Diary of a first-year college student
Byline: Sarah Driscoll
Excerpt: High school seemed endless. Looking back, those years feel more like hours. Graduation suddenly came and went. Now, as my senior summer draws to a close, college sits on the not-so-distant horizon. I remember, somewhat reluctantly, beginning my college search. After completing the overwhelming cycle of school visits and lengthy applications, I chose Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. I haven't doubted my decision since, but as I prepare to make the leap into freshman life once again, I realize more and more that I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. Being clueless as to what to expect is strangely exciting, too. I'm looking forward to a great sense of independence. With this newfound freedom comes the addition of a complete stranger to my living quarters. I can handle the living in a space that's roughly the size of four refrigerators, but the idea of a roommate is nerve-wracking. My school runs on trimesters which accounts for the late September start. Luckily, this has allowed me to live vicariously through my friends who are acclimating themselves to both dorm life and a college workload. I've heard atrocious tails about rude, loud roommates. There have been reports of bad music tastes, poor sleeping habits or just unpleasant personalities overall. I hope my roommate's an angel. What are the odds? Non-existent. Truth be told, I don't even know how to pronounce her name. On one hand, I feel so "adult," so very ready for change. On the other, it's truly sad to know I'm removing myself so easily from the only home I've ever known.
Underneath all of my sadness, frustration and anxiety, I know there's a little girl dying to get out of this town and experience something that's truly my own. Everything in college is up to me. It will probably fly by faster than high school.
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
September 10, 2002
Headline: Colleges adapt to help mentally ill students.
More aid offered as stigma wanes
Byline: Bonnie Miller Rubin and Robert Becker
Excerpt: As the academic year gets under way, colleges across the nation are dealing with more students with mental illnesses. A 2001 national survey of student counseling center directors by a University of Pittsburgh researcher disclosed that 85 percent reported an increase in students with severe emotional
disorders during the previous five years. But experts say the increase really
represents a triumph of sorts: The stigma of mental illness has lessened and
treatments have improved to the point where those afflicted are not only graduating from college but obtaining advanced degrees as well.
As recently as 15 years ago, providing the medical scaffolding for
students with serious emotional illnesses was not viewed as the
responsibility of an academic institution. Counseling centers kept
abbreviated hours and were staffed with part-time therapists -- enough
to handle distress over a break-up or the death of a grandparent.
Now colleges are being presented with an array of chronic emotional disorders
that, not long ago, would have kept students tethered to home.
Navigating the tricky emotional terrain of anorexia has been a fact of life for Molly Bartholomew, 21, a senior at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.
Her problem surfaced during her sophomore year at New Trier High School,
after she was cut from the badminton team. The following summer, her
weight fixation escalated to the point that during a family vacation in
Italy, Bartholomew was doing sit-ups in the car. Still, she thought she had the problem sufficiently under control to enroll at a liberal arts college in Ohio.
"But I felt like a failure because I just couldn't adjust," she said.
Once again she started exercising obsessively, running up and down the
dorm stairs. By the end of freshman year, her periods had stopped and
her hair was falling out. "When my parents came to pick me up, I was positively skeletal," said the Wilmette native, who at 5-foot-8 weighed only 100 pounds.
They enrolled her in the eating disorders program at Highland Park
Hospital. Slowly, Bartholomew gained 24 pounds. Her therapist, fearing a
relapse, advised against going away to school. The Bartholomews tried again anyway -- only this time she enrolled at Lawrence, four hours from her Wilmette home. She agreed to a weekly weigh-in and therapy sessions at the student health center. If the scale dipped below 120, she would have to return home.
"Everyone was very compassionate and committed," Bartholomew said. "You
have to choose the right environment ... but, to me, it should be a
college's responsibility to have resources for mental well-being."
San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas
September 8, 2002
Headline: Where are we now?
Byline: John MacCormack
Excerpt: As the anniversary of the terror attacks looms, life for most Americans -- on the surface, at least -- seems to have resumed old, familiar ways.
Airplanes again are full of passengers, security is more relaxed at public
buildings and military bases, and few people think twice before opening
their mail. But below the surface, American life has changed. Long an envied island of privilege, self-absorption and imagined invulnerability, America is now, at least for some, a place of introspection and unease. As the first lethal strikes against the American mainland in almost two centuries, the suicide airliner attacks jarred the nation's psyche. Most Americans were unaware they had such audacious, mortal enemies. "Americans have always lived in their own world culturally, and Americans have always believed, very sincerely, that its individualism, its democracy, its commitment to free enterprise and to personal freedom, was best," said Jerald Podair, a history professor at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. "We suddenly realized that not only do millions of people not want to be like us, but that they hate us for the very things that we are proudest of as Americans. It was a great shock for Americans to see people in the Middle East cheering after the attacks," Podair added. With the turning of the millennium, said historian Podair, America had felt
secure and confident. It seemed like another wonderful "American Century" was beginning right where the last one left off. "The Cold War was over. We had won. We were the only superpower left on earth, not just militarily, but politically, culturally and economically," he said. "And I think the American people had the sense that the rest of the world not only wanted to be just like us, but eventually would be." But then came Sept. 11, bringing death to thousands and horror to millions more, and the America that has emerged from the dust and smoke is in many ways a different place.
Boston Herald, Boston, Massachusetts
September 8, 2002
Headline: 9/11: One year Later. Epochal day changed us all
Byline: Tom Mashberg
Excerpt: Where will Sept. 11 stand in American history? Will posterity
record it as an essential turning point, or an exaggerated one? A fair
question for those who study history. Predictably, some who make a
science out of the past see a transformative moment, one that carries
all the freight of Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941), or July 4, 1776, or the
firing on Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861), which ignited the Civil War. In
other words, an authentic day of fame (and infamy), a pivot point in
modern history. The World Trade Center in New York City was no random
target. It reflected America's economic might, its global reach and its
internationalist nature. And the people working in it themselves
reflected "the idea of America" - the idea of a nation that can
attract, reflect and project all the world has to offer. And yet a May
poll of 1,000 Americans by Euro RSCG found that only 4 percent said they
felt "much more connected to the world outside the United States
compared with a year ago." So has Sept. 11 revised Americans' view of
the world - police it here, democratize it there? Or has it solidified
our isolationist resolve, reinforced that famous hankering for a
Fortress America? "Sept. 11 was a turning point for Americans in a most
basic way - it showed us, as no other event in our history has, that
millions of people around the world hate us," said Jerald Podair,
assistant professor of history at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc.
"And they hate us not only for the things we have done, but for the
very values - democracy, secularism, individualism - that we are most
proud of," he said.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.
September 6, 2002
Headline: Special Report: A professor tries to give
students a balanced picture of Islam
Byline: Catherine E. Shoichet
Excerpt: After the September 11 attacks, enrollment doubled in Kathryn
M. Kueny's courses on Islam at Lawrence University, in Appleton, Wis.
Now, the numbers are back to normal, but Ms. Kueny, an associate
professor of religious studies, says her work has changed.
Q. How do you approach the teaching of Islamic studies?
A. I'm a historian of religion. I've always taken a very critical approach to all religions. I kind of faced this dilemma with Islam. On the one hand, you don't want to be critical, and on the other hand, you don't want to be an apologist. I live in the Midwest, in northern Wisconsin. Most of my students are evangelical Christians. They have a lot of misconceptions about Islam. They don't really know its connections to Judaism or Christianity. They see it as an Eastern tradition. They see it as violent or hostile toward women. And it's hard to uproot those misconceptions as you go along.
Q. How do you attempt to dispel the stereotypes often associated with Islam?
A. By looking at primary sources or looking at specific examples. We read a lot of literature to try to show there are different views. I also use examples from other religions. We talk about people like David Koresh or Jim Jones or the Crusades to show how any religion can be manipulated. I tend to take a stance as one who is not a member of that tradition. We talk about how believers might view that source, but then we also talk about how scholars might view it as well.
Q. Has your work changed since September 11?
A. I've done a lot of outreach work, especially with churches and local organizations around Lawrence. It has made my work much less of an intellectual exercise and made it much more relevant to people's lives. Last year, my enrollment numbers probably doubled in a lot of my classes. Interestingly enough, this year, they're about where they were prior to September 11. But the community at large certainly has had a great interest. I've done a great deal of speaking engagements. Here, most people don't have regular contact with Muslims. All they get are the CNN reports. They just want some general information. I feel like I can play a role, directing them to sources, talking about their concerns and their prejudices.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
September 4, 2002
Headline: Same party? Democrats differ on priorities for leading Wisconsin.
Lawton, Shibilski square off in primary for lieutenant governor
Byline: Steve Schultze
Excerpt: Barbara Lawton and Kevin Shibilski offer a study in contrasts, as the two Democrats vying for endorsement for lieutenant governor in Tuesday's primary. He stakes out more moderate political ground, calling himself the candidate most likely to bring disaffected conservative Republicans back to the ranks of Democratic voters. She proclaims herself "progressive," code for what used to be called liberal. Lawton boasts a resume of civic activism and policy wonkishness, but she has never held public office. Shibilski has spent nearly his entire adult life in a local or state office. She quotes philosophers, pleads the case of university funding and slips easily into Spanish at a Hispanic campaign event in Milwaukee. He talks hunting and fishing, supports gun owners' rights and trumpets his blue-collar roots. As a woman running for high office in a Democratic primary, Lawton brings a key advantage for a party that prides itself on gender parity issues. "People looking at the ballot are going to see a male and a female. Democrats may decide on that," said David Littig, a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay political science professor. Lawton, 51, is making her second run at the state's No. 2 job. Her candidacy four years ago on Ed Garvey's losing gubernatorial ticket gave her statewide recognition Shibilski hopes to negate, in part with his superior campaign war chest. Lawton also lost a state Senate race in 1996. She champions some of the same issues she did in her 1998 race: reforming campaign finance, health care and criminal justice systems. She speaks passionately about the abstract idea of finding creative solutions to entrenched problems. Lawton grew up in rural Racine County and has lived in Green Bay all her adult life. She's participated in numerous community and state organizations, including foundations supporting local education, a state commission on campaign funding and Planned Parenthood's advisory board.
Barbara C. Lawton
Age: 51
Occupation: Consultant
Elective offices, other government experience: None. Ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor, 1998, and state Senate, 1996
Education: Graduate, Waterford Union High School, 1969; bachelor's degree, Lawrence University, 1987; master's degree, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991.
The Capital Times, Madison
September 3, 2002
Headline: Trying to reach those whose voice is denied. Dems race for Lieutenant Governor
Byline: Anita Weier
Excerpt: Can a woman without government or executive experience be elected lieutenant governor of Wisconsin? A full day with Barbara Lawton on the campaign trail provided some answers about the advantages of a candidate from Green Bay who at age 51 has devoted most of her adult life to community activism. Several people the Democrat encountered at various locations in Milwaukee praised her lack of insider status as a plus, given numerous accusations of corruption in state government and a huge budget deficit. Guided by state Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, one of 20 state legislators who asked Lawton to run after her Sept. 10 primary opponent, Sen. Kevin Shibilski of Stevens Point, voted with Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee on a budget deal, Lawton next went to the St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care. Fascinated during a tour of the center -- where children and elderly and disabled people are cared for with the help of community volunteers -- Lawton spent what she later conceded was far too much time in a place with few votes. But it was a natural tendency for someone who wants to learn about good solutions that could be multiplied across the state. Her final Milwaukee area stop for the day was the West Allis City Hall, where Mayor Jeannette Bell announced her support -- and the support of West Bend Mayor Mike Miller -- for Lawton. "Local elected officials have been searching for someone to help us achieve our goals. She is a person who would deliver. She responds directly and does not do subterfuge," Bell said. "I have a commitment to find our common ground again," Lawton said, referring to the anger aroused in municipal officials when McCallum tried to slash state revenue sharing and implied that they were big spenders. She said it was unconscionable for the governor to demonize local governments as a cover for the state's financial problems. During the weary rush hour drive back to Madison, where her campaign headquarters is located, Lawton assessed her chances of winning. She lost a bid for the post in 1998, when she and gubernatorial candidate Ed Garvey faced the Tommy Thompson re-election juggernaut that had then-Lieutenant Governor McCallum in tow. Lawton is encouraged by recent polls and reaction to her first TV ads, but she conceded that her opponent has raised a lot more money than she has in her much shorter campaign. "I'm putting a lot of emphasis on trying to reach a broad range of citizens whose voice is denied because they don't have money to lay down," she said. "Our election system has become a marketplace. I know this race will be a textbook case of a field campaign versus a half million dollars on TV. We will find out if you can buy the lieutenant governor's position."
Barbara Lawton
Age: 51 Home: Green Bay Job: Civic activist, consultant (worked as cross-cultural trainer for clients of Bennett & Associates of Chicago and organized a seminar on business opportunities in Chile and Argentina) Education: B.A. in Spanish from Lawrence University, M.A. in Spanish from UW-Madison. Public service: Helped found several community organizations, including the Greater Green Bay Area Community Foundation and Latinos Unidos, a nonprofit group that addresses issues facing the Hispanic community in northeastern Wisconsin. Served on the Heffernan Commission (citizens panel for a clean election option). Awards: Named 1999 Feminist of the Year by the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Organization of Women, Fort Howard Foundation's Humanitarian Award. Political activity: Ran for state Senate in 1996 and for lieutenant governor in 1998.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
August 4, 2002
Headline: A mesmerizing book offers fresh perspectives on race
Byline: Gregory Stanford
Excerpt: The subject is race, which you might think is turf too well
traveled to startle or delight any longer. A myth enjoying wide
circulation is that race no longer matters in America, that equality of
opportunities has arrived. So many books have echoed that theme that
they virtually form a genre unto themselves. But the writers reach into
the core of their beings for fresh, gripping takes on this weary topic.
The recently published book is "When Race Becomes Real: Black and White
Writers Confront Their Personal Histories," a collection of mostly
original essays edited by Bernestine Singley, a lawyer and writer. The
essays are refreshingly honest. I know, that may sound trite. But much
of what is said or written about race these days rings hollow. Writing
from the soul is tough any time. That difficulty quadruples when the
subject revolves around skin color. One of the book's contributors,
syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts, addresses the lack of candor among
whites about race in a powerful essay featuring a superb analysis of why
black people act paranoid sometimes. Milwaukee boasts a link to this
book -- in the person of Ira Jean Hadnot, a Brew City native and a
former editor at the Milwaukee Sentinel and, later, The Milwaukee
Journal. Hadnot, who now writes for The Dallas Morning News, shares her
race fatigue with readers in a well-written piece. Another Wisconsin
connection is Lucy Gibson, a political activist who grew up in Appleton
and who now lives in Madison. Her essay about her growth into
consciousness about race is moving. Editor Singley herself has a
Wisconsin tie: She graduated from Lawrence University in
Appleton. Pitts, Hadnot and Singley are black. Gibson is white. The
works of the white contributors riveted in part because they differed
from the norm, in which white writers deal with race by analyzing the
black condition. In contrast, the white contributors in "When Race
Becomes Real" analyze the white condition.
Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
July 28, 2002
Headline: Parents rethink college-stock funds
Byline: Valerie Strauss and Jay Mathews
Excerpt: Thousands of parents across the country have seen the decline of the once-mighty stock market wreak havoc with funds they had hoped would pay for their children's college tuition, and are now exploring how to emerge from the mess. Some families with children in college are scaling back household expenses; others are pleading with schools for help. The market troubles are coming at a time when more Americans are invested in the stock market than ever: Roughly half of all households owned equities directly or indirectly as of 1999, compared to 19 percent in 1983. Furthermore, the price of higher education is outpacing growth in family income and inflation. Some school officials believe too much is being made of the stock dive and its effect on tuition payments. "With my daughter starting college this year, I can relate to concerns about college funding, but the big hit I've taken from the stock market is in my retirement funds, and they really have little or no current impact in terms of paying for her education," said Steven T. Syverson, dean of admissions and financial aid at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. "My retirement funds have lost far more than her education will cost, but I couldn't have used them for her education anyway."
Business Week magazine
July 22, 2002
Headline: How does Harry do it? Baxter is
thriving as CEO Kraemer makes sure he and his employees have plenty of
time for family
Byline: Michael Arndt
Excerpt: It's late Tuesday afternoon and, as usual, Harry M. Jansen
Kraemer Jr., chairman and chief executive of Baxter International Inc.,
is awhirl. Since he was named chief executive of the medical-products
company in 1999, Baxter has become one of the industry's best and most
consistent growth machines, with revenue and operating profit rising by
double-digit rates. Its biosciences unit could soon rival Amgen Inc.,
thanks in part to recent breakthroughs in vaccine technology. And in
June, Baxter announced its fifth big acquisition in 16 months,
increasing its staff to more than 48,000. So what exactly is Kraemer
busy with? He has just settled his infant son, Daniel, in a portable
crib in the kitchen and is now hopping into his car to pick up daughter
Shannon, 8, from first-Communion practice. At the church, he bumps into
another dad, who is organizing a weekend camping trip that Kraemer has
been planning to take with Shannon. Back home, he checks in with his
oldest, 14-year-old Suzie, and then takes over from wife Julie in
supervising the other two kids -- Andrew, 11, and Diane, 4 -- who are
bouncing on a backyard trampoline he bought at Sam's Club. In a moment,
Kraemer, 47, is springing into the air, too. That's right. The chief
executive of a $ 7.66 billion company is at home on a workday with his
family. Want to know something else? He does this a lot. He even tells
employees to duck out as often as he does. ''Nothing is more important
than family,'' says Kraemer. At a time when executives are being
reprimanded, if not indicted, for putting their own interests first,
Kraemer represents a more broad-minded approach to leadership.
Certainly, he's not alone. But it's also true that at many companies
offering flexible schedules, the boss doesn't take the idea seriously --
which often means employees don't, either. ''People follow examples,''
says Carol Sladek, a work-life consultant at Hewitt Associates LLC, ''so
when a CEO like Harry Kraemer says, 'This is important to me,' you see a
real impact. That definitely is a rarity.'' Kraemer believes Corporate
America has it backward. By encouraging employees to adjust their
schedules to suit their needs -- starting later so they can get the kids
off to school or working one day a week from home -- Baxter can attract
and retain top-notch people, he argues. The company also ends up getting
more quality time from employees, he adds, because they are less
distracted while in the office by tugs from home. Indeed, Kraemer
believes the payback goes beyond good feelings. He points out that since
1993, when he became chief financial officer and began championing
work-life balance, Baxter has hit its earnings target every quarter even
as it has nearly doubled its profit goal, to a growth rate of 15%. In
2001, the company earned $ 612 million, after a one-time charge of $ 156
million, and its gross margin rose to a record 44.8%. Baxter's market
capitalization increased more than tenfold, to $ 35.7 billion, during
that same 8 1/2-year stretch. The company surprised its bigger
competitors last fall by winning a $ 428 million contract, along with
junior partner Acambis PLC, to produce 155 million doses of smallpox
vaccine. In the first quarter, Baxter's profit rose 18%, to $ 253
million, as sales grew 11%, to $ 1.95 billion, even while many rivals
fell flat. Kraemer says investors can expect similar increases into
2003. But even if he comes up short, Kraemer says there's no way he'll
abandon the flex-time. While proud of Baxter's financial success,
Kraemer says his motivation isn't just to make the numbers. He wants to
do right by his employees, too.
Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr. Born: January, 1955, New York City. Education: B.A., math and economics, Lawrence University, 1977; MBA, Northwestern's Kellogg School, 1979. Family: Married to Julie. They have five children: Suzie, 14; Andrew, 11; Shannon, 8; Diane, 4; and Daniel, five months. Jobs at Baxter: Became CFO in 1993; named CEO in 1999; chairman since 2000. Behind the Name: Jansen is his wife's maiden name. First Things First: No work calls after 6 p.m., says the coach of his daughter's softball team.
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
July 21, 2002
Headline: Mammoth bones challenge history. A 10-year-old find in Kenosha has even the skeptics rethinking when early humans arrived in America
Byline: Kathy Paur
Excerpt: Bones from two of the largest, most complete woolly mammoth skeletons ever found in North America have intrigued researchers since they were excavated from farmyards in Kenosha about 10 years ago. But they are increasingly fascinating to archeologists, not for the light they shed on woolly mammoth lineage, but for the secret they may hold about the earliest Americans. The bones are scored with cuts apparently made by humans who butchered the elephant cousins for food. And they are almost 15,000 years old--1,000 years earlier than the accepted presence of humans in the Americas. Since archeologists David Overstreet of Marquette University and Dan Joyce of the Kenosha Public Museum revealed the findings to a highly skeptical scientific community, the evidence has grown, and with it agreement from other researchers. Archeologist Ronald Mason of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., praised the careful excavation and analyses as "first-rate." One of many relenting skeptics, he said, "I am surprised at the antiquity of these finds Overstreet has made. I was very suspicious of them for a long time and had many an argument with him." Now he calls the mammoths a major archeological find. "I'm convinced Overstreet's really got something remarkable there," Mason said. "Now we just want to find some distinctive or diagnostic artifacts with those mammoths, and he hasn't done that yet."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
July 10, 2002
Headline: Environmental sculpture complete at Bjorklunden
Byline: James Auer
Excerpt: Roy F. Staab, a Milwaukee artist with a penchant for "drawing"
in branches on stretches of land and bodies of water, has completed an
environmental sculpture on the grounds of Bjorklunden, Lawrence
University's Door County campus at Baileys Harbor. The artwork is
Staab's response to Bjorklunden's cedar and birch filled forest along
Lake Michigan. Assisting Staab in executing the work, titled "Skog
Ring," were members of the Lawrence art faculty along with photographers
John Shimon and Julie Lindemann, sculptor Amy Hauber and six students.
The Grand Rapids Press, Grand Rapids, Michigan
July 7, 2002
Headline: About the essayist
Excerpt: Douglas H. Powell says he has been "interested in normalcy" his
entire life. While others may view psychology as dealing in abnormal
behavior, Powell said he is concerned with examining what constitutes
"normal" behavior. This study has produced four books for the Grand
Rapids South High School graduate. Powell, 68, grew up in Grand Rapids,
raised by a single mother with help from his aunts. He was an
accomplished distance runner, and might have earned a scholarship close
to home. But his mother decided he should leave the "giant matriarchy"
of home, and he attended his track coach's alma mater, Lawrence
University in Appleton, Wis. He majored in psychology and minored in
economics. From there, he went to Harvard University and continued his
psychology studies, entering the Air Force after earning his doctorate.
In the Air Force, he was part of a team that evaluated people for
"super-secret missions," such as piloting U-2 spy plane flights. He
helped evaluate the astronauts for the Gemini and Apollo programs. After
three years in the Air Force, he returned to Harvard. He is now, in
semi-retirement, "recycled" as a clinical instructor at Harvard.
Powell's first book came in 1983 -- a psychology textbook called
"Understanding Human Adjustment." His second project -- "Teenagers: When
to Worry and What to Do," published in 1986 -- lead to appearances on
the "Today" and "Oprah Winfrey" shows and in "People" magazine. His next
book resulted from a project on early detection of Alzheimer's disease,
a book he calls "absolutely incomprehensible." His latest is 1998's "The
Nine Myths of Aging." Last year, he completed work on a committee that
advised NASA on psychological and social factors in a possible mission
to Mars. That, too, may result in a book.
Viewpoints, Chicago, Illinois
[Viewpoints is a nationally syndicated 30-minute radio program
produced by Media Tracks Communications and aired by 140 stations]
June 29, 2002
Host: Christopher Michaels
Excerpt: Michaels: During this week most Americans will spend time away from work celebrating the 4th of July. There will be parades, picnics, fireworks
and maybe even a political speech or two. It's certainly our favorite
national holiday, and our most patriotic. Independence Day is, or at
least should be, a time to reflect our liberty and the meaning of
patriotism itself. What did the colonialists see in their land that
foreign traders and soldiers didn't? We asked Jerald Podair, assistant
professor of History at Lawrence University.
Podair: I think it was a combination of two things. It was what I'd call a "don't tread on me" mentality, and I think that's still the motto of the state of New Hampshire. The idea that the British government was infringing on their rights, not only as English colonies, but as time went on as human beings. Also, the developing idea that, in America, Americans were different from the British -- they were developed in a different tradition, with a different identity, and they were binding up that identity with ideas of a representative democracy, equality, and personal liberty. In other words, they were distinguishing themselves again as American experimenters in a new area. And this is what made them Americans -- that they were the first to say that all men are created equal, that they were the first to say that government rests only on the consent of the governed. These became American principles, and I think became bound up in American patriotism, because in a sense we brought them forth first.
Michaels: Although the seeds of patriotism were planted during the revolution, they didn't really come into full flower until the Civil War.
Podair: I think that the real crucible of American patriotism was the Civil War, because of the basic argument between two groups of Americans as to not only what an American was, but what equality was and what liberty was. And, in a sense, what representative democracy was, because one of the least publicized issues of the Civil War (but something that Lincoln articulated) is the idea that when you lose an election in a democracy you don't pick up your marbles and go home, you have to accept that and you have to work within the system. The Southern states wouldn't do that. They said if Lincoln is elected we will secede, and that's what they went about doing. The war was about that as well -- the idea that when you lose an election in a representative democracy, you stay with the system, and you stay inside of that. But more broadly it was an argument over what America would be like, what kind of county it would be like, what kind of principles it would have, and how it would try to make those principles a reality.
Michaels: The celebration of Independence Day in the past has been criticized for being just another day off from work to party, with little thought given to its real meaning. Jerald Podair, however, thinks this 4th of July will be a little different.
Podair: We're coming up to our first July 4th since September 11, so I have a feeling things will change a bit. I think they're going to be much more somber and we're going to spend more time on July 4th, not only recognizing the soldiers who have died in previous wars, like the Greatest Generation in World War II, but trying to understand a little more what being an American patriot is and what makes America unique -- its commitment to democracy, to equality, and to individual freedom.
WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee
June 4, 2002
Lead: New Berlin girl has had perfect attendance for entire education
Reporting: Vivian King
Excerpt: Janee Knapp, New Berlin West Senior, talking about her
attendance. In being awarded a clock from the high school, interviewee
Jane Vinson-Kafura, AP History Teacher, said "it's a good reminder about
what she has done." A senior trip to London almost put her record in
danger but, according to Kafura, the absence was excused. Knapp will
attend Lawrence University in Appleton.
Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque, New Mexico
June 2, 2002
Headline: Where are they now?
Byline: Bob Larkin
Excerpt: Two New Mexicans, Matt Smith and Michelle Milne, competed this
winter and spring at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. Smith,
a 1998 Highland grad, is a 6-foot, 180-pound senior center fielder and a
baseball captain for the Vikings. A biology/pre-med major who plans to
attend medical school, Smith started all 32 games this season. He batted
.253 (24 of 95) with 17 runs, three triples, one homer, eight RBI and
three steals in four attempts. Smith, who played two years of hockey at
Lawrence before giving up the sport because of shoulder injuries, is a
three-time academic all-MWC performer, including this season. Smith
recently was given the John Allen "Wally" Chambers Memorial Leadership
Award for his dedication, generosity, courage and commitment. Milne, a
2000 Sandia Prep grad, is a track-and-field athlete and one of 38
Vikings who earned academic all-conference honors in winter and spring
sports. The sophomore physics major helped Lawrence finish third in the
MWC indoor meet. Chartered in 1847 and among the nation's top 50
liberal-arts colleges, Lawrence has produced seven Rhodes Scholars.
The New York Times, New York
June 1, 2002
Headline: Graying now, McCarthyites keep the faith
Byline: David Oshinsky
Excerpt: For more years than he can remember, Jerome Flemming has been
coming to St. Mary Cemetery here every May for a memorial service at the
grave of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. Like others who make this
pilgrimage to McCarthy's birthplace and resting place, Mr. Flemming, 87,
was both a friend to the senator and a supporter of his cold war crusade
against what he called communist subversion in Washington. The service
lasts about an hour. With time to spare before the dinner, some people
head downtown to the Outagamie Museum and Houdini Historical Center,
where a new exhibition, "Joseph McCarthy: A Modern Tragedy," is on
display. It's the first time, museum officials say, that an exhibition
has been devoted to McCarthy in the United States, and Appleton is the
logical place. But producing it has been a chore. Historical memory is
often bitterly contested. Over the past decade, people have fought over
how to portray the settling of the West, the dropping of the atomic bomb
and Custer's last stand. Even when the historical verdict seems pretty
much settled, as with McCarthy, there will always be those who dispute
the accepted wisdom. Appleton itself has grappled with how to treat its
hometown boy. When McCarthy died in 1957 of liver failure, at age 48,
his Wisconsin neighbors took the news hard. Over time, opinion turned.
History books portrayed him as the nation's most dangerous modern
demagogue, a political con man devoid of principle who trampled on civil
liberties and destroyed hundreds of innocent lives. To many Americans,
he came to represent the insidious red scare that dominated national
politics in the early 1950's. In public, at least, Appleton turned its
back on its most famous native son. Today, there is no street or
building named for McCarthy, no sign commemorating his birthplace or
career. His likeness does not appear in a large mural of local
celebrities that hangs in the public library (and includes Harry
Houdini, the author Edna Ferber and John Bradley, one of the marines who
raised the flag at Iwo Jima). Even the bronze bust was moved from the
courthouse to the historical society after mild protests over the
indignity of seeing McCarthy's face in a hall of justice. Like a figure
from the Stalin era, he was airbrushed from history. So far, ''Joseph
McCarthy: A Modern Tragedy,'' which opened in January and is scheduled
to run for two years, has avoided the backlash that undermined other
recent exhibitions devoted to controversial subjects, like the National
Air and Space Museum's atomic bomb fiasco, ''Enola Gay.'' This may have
as much to do with Appleton's physical isolation as the exhibition's
remarkably evenhanded tone. The question, of course, is whether balance
leads to blandness, stripping both curator and subject of the power to
engage. Jerald Podair, who teaches American history at Lawrence
University in Appleton, considers the exhibition a success. "The museum
had a lot riding on this," he said, "McCarthy is more than a symbol in
this town -- he's a human being. There's always been a reservoir of
sympathy for him, even when he was publicly ignored. People here
expected a fair exhibit, and that's what they got."
American School & University magazine
May 2002
Headline: Signage
Byline: Mike Kennedy
Excerpt: A college campus can be an intimidating place for a new arrival.
Prospective students, parents, visitors and new employees must master a maze
of pathways, plazas and parking lots as they try to figure out where they
need to be. How well newcomers are able to learn the lay of the land will
depend on the quality of the signs on campus. Keeping signs current is critical.
But to be even more effective, a system of signs should involve more than
just sprinkling a few maps and guideposts around campus. Carrying out a
comprehensive plan for signs doesn't just help people get around campus.
It also can clearly define campus boundaries, establish a uniform look for a
campus, and enhance a school's identity. Lawrence University in
Appleton, Wis., decided that its signage needed upgrading and formed a project
team, says Steve Blodgett, director of public affairs at Lawrence and a member
of the project team. Lawrence hired Sasaki Associates to develop a
master plan for wayfinding and exterior signage. "Because we are a very
small college, there was an assumption that people knew how to get where
they were going," says Blodgett. "We needed to better establish the
physical identity of the college. We needed to delineate the campus from
downtown Appleton. Where do you park? Where do you begin when you arrive
on campus?" Going through the planning process gave the university a
better understanding of the importance of its signs. "We learned that it
can be an instrumental component in pedestrian safety," says Blodgett.
"It also can help us improve the accessibility of campus. We've done a good
job on ADA within our buildings. But we haven't done as good a
job externally." The master plan spells out guidelines for vehicular
wayfinding, building identification, pedestrian wayfinding, sign
size, placement and colors, and use of university symbols. The university
will carry out the plan when it finds funding for the project, says
Blodgett.
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois
May 30, 2002
Headline: Drama in Dairyland. Appleton, Wis., builds a huge arts center,
knowing that the shows will come. But what about the crowds? And what
about Green Bay?
Byline: Chris Jones
Excerpt: From Los Angeles to Miami, theaters are clamoring for the first
national tour of Mel Brooks' "The Producers," the biggest Broadway hit
in years. No Chicago-area theater has yet announced a booking, but it's
already on the 2002-03 slate for the new Broadway season in Appleton,
Wis. Appleton? Despite a population of only about 70,000, a downtown
struggling for life and a state government that has refused to help, a
coalition of corporate boosters from this little college town somehow
has managed to finance the kind of massive and opulent new downtown
performing arts center usually found only in large cities. Appleton, the
birthplace appropriated by Harry Houdini (who was actually born in
Europe), the burial ground of Joseph McCarthy and the hometown of
Lawrence University, will make a full frontal assault on Green
Bay's long-established role as the area's cultural headquarters when the
arts center opens this fall. The rivalry is evolving into a juicy drama
here, where the brutal winters make the population as passionate for the
arts as for the Green Bay Packers. The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
will seat more than 2,000 people and ultimately cost in excess of $45
million--$38 million of which has already been raisedthrough the
collaboration of a paper products company, a fraternal benefit society
and a car dealer, all eager for a cultural lure to attract and retain
employees. While most of the cultural facility development in downtown
Chicago has required taxpayer subsidy, Appleton's corporate leaders have
done it largely themselves. Philanthropy aside, Aid Assn. for Lutherans
and Kimberly-Clark, both big organizations with a major presence in
Appleton, had a specific reason for coming up with the money to get this
new building off the ground: the need to recruit and retain choosy
employees looking for nighttime activities during the long winter.
[The article was distributed nationally by Knight Ridder Tribune News Service under the headline "Houdini's appropriated hometown builds a massive arts center." It was reprinted in the Los Angeles Times on May 31 under the headline "Wisconsin's Tale of Two Performance Centers. Appleton's new complex is backed by Clear Channel's booking clout. So where will this leave Green Bay's? "]
St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, Florida
May 23, 2002
Headline: George Gershwin's rhythm
Byline: Robert Hicks
Excerpt: George Gershwin's romantic affair with Tin Pan Alley and
Broadway spanned two decades, from his vaudeville show Scandals of 1920
to his masterful opera Porgy & Bess. Along the way, he gave audiences
serious orchestral works, opera, popular song and Broadway musicals. His
musical legacy is truly reflective of the jazz, Yiddish theater,
classical and popular music that helped define the Roaring Twenties and
Jazz Age in America. Part of that legacy will be celebrated this weekend
when the Florida Orchestra, featuring pianist Michael Kim under guest
conductor Skitch Henderson, presents "Gershwin, By George." Kim, 34, an
assistant professor at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, is making his
Florida debut tonight. He first discovered Gershwin during his youth in
Calgary. He remembers hearing Rhapsody in Blue over the Canadian
Broadcasting Company. He bought the sheet music at a local music store,
but his teacher steered him instead to Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. Kim
later studied at the University of Calgary and Juilliard School of
Music. Finally, in 1996, he got his first opportunity to perform
Gershwin with the Boston Pops Orchestra. "I rank Gershwin as one of the
great geniuses of the 20th century," Kim said. "He really knew how to
write good music. "The classical music establishment has sometimes
turned their noses up at Gershwin. He wasn't a neoclassicist, nor was he
an avant- garde composer. In a way Rachmaninoff suffered from the same
kind of stigma. Rachmaninoff was another one who chose to write in his
own post-Romantic vein. He wrote music that was just straight from the
heart, and I think Gershwin was much the same way." Gershwin began
writing Rhapsody in Blue on Jan. 7, 1924, and it premiered Feb. 12 at
New York's Aeolian Hall. Well known for incorporating jazz idioms in his
music, Gershwin poses a unique challenge to classical pianists.
"Everybody has a different way of playing Rhapsody in Blue. I think
that's the great joy of it," Kim said. "When I first started playing it,
I really tried to make a lot out of the jazz idioms. As I played it more
and more, I realized it's a fairly classical piece. The great thing
about it is that Gershwin took a classical framework, not only in the
form of a rhapsody, but in the way he approached it. "If you treat it
somewhat classically and follow his markings, I think it comes off much
more effectively as a classical work rather than trying to make it into
a jazz piece. I think it's a classical work with jazz idioms. "So my
vantage on it is more classically oriented. That's not to say one
doesn't play around with it and have fun with it."
Portland Press Herald, Portland, Maine
May 8, 2002
Headline: College News
Excerpt: Bryan McLeod of Windham and Maria Woodbury of Portland,
students at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisc., participated in
an alternative spring break with the university's student chapter of
Habitat for Humanity. McLeod and Woodbury were among 27 students that
worked on five houses in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 4, 2002
Headline: Sisters Act: Getting to do what you love is the Baldwins' idea
of success. But getting to perform regularly on stage with your best
friend is even better
Byline: Kay Miller
Excerpt: The Baldwin sisters grew up sharing the same room, bed and
clothes. When one had a birthday, both got presents. One would tell the
other about a dream and soon neither could remember who actually dreamed
it. Or who drew the ballerina pictures. Or got sick on Jell- O cubes.
Jennifer Baldwin Peden, 29, and Christina Baldwin Fletcher, 27, are
still best friends. They share the same mentor, jokes and friends. Both
are classically trained singers with master's degrees in music from the
University of Minnesota. They live seven blocks apart in Minneapolis'
Seward neighborhood and carpool to work. And 13 times in the past five
years they have shared the same stage, playing sisters in five projects.
Their work was acclaimed in Theatre de la Jeune Lune's productions of
Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and "Cosi Fan Tutte." Now they're starring as
two of the three Andrews sisters in the Great American History Theatre's
"Sisters of Swing." The Baldwins grew up just outside Jordan in a big,
noisy, creative family that relished art, music, theater and practical
jokes. Their father, Herb Baldwin, is a landscape architect who, with
Guthrie designer Ralph Rapson, founded the Landscape Architecture
Department at the University of Minnesota. Their mother, Fern Baldwin,
sang and created fiber art. Jen was the quieter of the two, with a
delicate, lyrical soprano voice. Christina, the family clown, had a rich
mezzo soprano. They got degrees in music - Jen from DePaul University in
Chicago, and Christina from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. After
a brief stint in New York City, Christina returned to the Twin Cities to
study with Jen's mentor and voice professor, Larry Weller at the
University of Minnesota. Classical training equipped the Baldwins to
pursue everything from opera to edgy dramas and musical comedy.
The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, California
May 1, 2002
Headline: Arthur Gauerke, 107. County's oldest WWI vet
Byline: Jack Williams
Excerpt: Arthur Gauerke left his teaching job at a one-room schoolhouse
in 1918 to report for duty in the Army during World War I. Assigned to a
military post office at Camp Grant, Ill., he served from March until
December, a month after the armistice was signed to end the so-called
war to end all wars. He didn't see action overseas, he later recalled,
"because the postmaster wouldn't let me go." The Rev. Gauerke, a retired
minister believed to have been the oldest World War I veteran in San
Diego County, died in April. He was 107. For several years, Rev. Gauerke
served as the national chaplain of World War I veterans. He attended
national conventions for veterans well into his 90s and received a medal
commemorating the 75th anniversary of the war in 1993 in Oak Park, Ill.
Rev. Gauerke graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton,
Wis., in 1923. Fluent in German, a language he learned in his home as a
child, he accepted an invitation to serve parishes in western Canada
populated by European immigrants. He preached in Canada for 27 years
before returning to the Midwest, where the remaining 16 years of his
career were spread throughout Wisconsin in United Methodist churches.
The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon
April 25, 2002
Headline: School briefs
Byline: Vickie Kavanagh
Excerpt: The Mt. Hood Pops Orchestra is trying to entice more young
people to the orchestra scene. The annual "Young People's Concert" will
be at 3:30 p.m. Sunday in the Mt. Hood Community College theater. High
school seniors Adam Corzatt and Kim Reece, winners of the Pops' Youth
Soloist Competition, will be the featured musicians. Reece, a
saxophonist, will perform Robert Ward's "Concerto for Saxophone and
Orchestra." She won first place in the Oregon Music Educators
Association competition with this composition. Reece began studying
tenor sax in the fifth grade and later added clarinet and alto sax to
her skills. She plays in the All-Northwest Band and serves as a music
teacher to 10 students. In May, she will travel with three other Oregon
students to perform at Carnegie Hall. She plans to attend Lawrence
University School of Music in Wisconsin and hopes to spend her life
in music performance.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minneapolis, Minnesota
April 14, 2002
Headline: Med students bring hands-on science class to school
Byline: Associated Press
Excerpt: Lawrence University junior Adam Locke jumped at the chance to bring what he calls "real" science to Appleton's Classical Charter School in McKinley Elementary School. On a recent Monday, Locke, who is studying to become a physician, coached Shawn Ford's 26 fifth-graders through the first steps of a two-week experiment on how different colors of light affect plant growth. He returned to the classroom three times to gauge the pupils' progress in recording data and testing hypotheses. "I wanted to see how we could adapt the research we're doing in college" to the pupils' level, said Locke, whose co-teachers were fellow junior Jim Pfeiffelmann and Karen Nordell, an assistant professor of chemistry at Lawrence and the experiment's coordinator. "I don't think I had a lot of that until I got to middle school and high school." Nordell said the academic pairing of college students with younger pupils is an invaluable experience. "I find that when you teach a subject, you know it much better," she said. "And it might inspire the pupils to see where their studies might take them."
Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
April 4, 2002
Headline: Politics sullied job, ex-DNR chief says.
George Meyer, who is leaving the agency Friday, recalled political
pressure from Sen. Chuck Chvala.
Byline: Ron Seely
Excerpt: In his 32 years with the state Department of Natural Resources,
George Meyer -- who is leaving the agency Friday -- said one of the
strangest and most unsettling moments of his career came in the winter
of 1999 in a Madison hamburger restaurant. Over lunch at the now-defunct
Dotty Dumpling's Dowry, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison,
told Meyer, then DNR secretary, that he would hold up Meyer's Senate
reconfirmation unless the secretary found a way to deny permits for the
company trying to build a controversial zinc and copper mine near
Crandon. Meyer, who started at the DNR in April 1970 as a law clerk and
led the agency as secretary from 1993 until he was replaced in February
2001, plans to teach at Lawrence University in Appleton in the
fall. In an interview Wednesday, Meyer said the meeting with Chvala is
one of the most striking examples of how attempted political
manipulation of the environmental regulatory agency has become a
dangerous threat to the department's effectiveness. Meyer said the
incident worried him because it demonstrated how politicians are
increasingly trying to influence the environmental agency's regulatory
decisions. Such attempts at influence, he said, can come from either
party. He said he is particularly concerned about former Gov. Tommy
Thompson's decision to make the position a Cabinet post, subject to
appointment by the governor instead of the Natural Resources Board. In
1999, the proposed mine near Crandon -- being pursued then by Rio Algom
-- was in the news because of a controversial mining moratorium bill
that was eventually passed by the Legislature. The bill required the
state to deny mining permits to a company unless the company could cite
similar mines that had not damaged the environment. The Natural
Resources Board was under fire during the winter of 1999 for not writing
rules to implement the new law.
Madison Capital Times, Madison
April 3, 2002
Madison natives' road comedy explores hockey obsession, growing up
Byline: Rob Thomas
Excerpt: They accidentally left $50,000 worth of camera equipment by the
side of the road. When the script called for a frigid Wisconsin winter,
they got a balmy Indian summer. On the second day of shooting, the van
carrying their principal actors crashed on the Beltline. Welcome to the
world of independent filmmaking. But now comes the good part for the
homegrown makers of the road comedy "No Sleep 'Til Madison," which was
shot in and around town two years ago. They get to screen it for the
first time before a sold-out audience Thursday, part of the
opening-night events at this year's Wisconsin Film Festival. Midwest
audiences should warm to the film, which follows a group of
thirtysomething friends as they tour the state following the Wisconsin
high school hockey championships. The fact that the T- shirts they order
to commemorate the trip read "No Sheep 'Til Madison" should tip them off
that things won't go according to plan - by the end of the film they've
had to deal with a menacing trucker, suspicious hockey parents and the
temptations of Sheboygan women. "The movie isn't really about hockey or
an obsession with hockey," says co-writer Eric Moe. "It's about a guy at
a crossroads in his life who has not been able to move on where all his
friends have. He's not faced with any of these obstacles and he can't
relate. For the first time, their group is experiencing these growing
pains." Moe and Rudy say Fenby embodies their most juvenile qualities,
and their obsession with Wisconsin high school hockey. They were
teammates on the Edgewood High School hockey team and at Lawrence
University in Appleton. Even when they moved to California after
graduation - Moe to a development deal with Universal Pictures in Los
Angeles, Rudy to an advertising agency in San Francisco - they remained
obsessed, and would attend high school hockey playoffs when they
returned to town. Moe even started a surprisingly successful Wisconsin
high school hockey pool among his Los Angeles co-workers.
The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California
April 1, 2002
Headline: Standing up to the law. Library system director says the
Children's Internet Protection Act is folly
Byline: P.J. Huffstutter
Excerpt: It all started with a banned book. Peter Hamon remembers the
day "The FBI No One Knows" arrived in his hometown of Scottsbluff, Neb.
The book, which was critical of the federal agency, caused a brouhaha in
the 1950s among members of the John Birch Society, which pressed for
library records to identify anyone who had checked it out. Suddenly,
reading a book became a risk. "It was a terrible time of mind control,"
said Hamon, who now is director of the South Central Library System in
Wisconsin. The Wisconsin libraries are part of a group of plaintiffs
challenging the constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection
Act in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The
act requires libraries and schools that receive federal "e-rate" grants
to install filtering software to block access to pornography and other
material. The government contends that because printed pornographic
materials are not in many library collections, there is no reason online
obscenity should be available. But Hamon, who testified against the act
last week, said that using filtering software in public libraries is
just another form of censorship, not so different from the book
controversy of his childhood. "This case reminds me of those times,"
Hamon said. "It wasn't right back then, and it's not right now."
Q: Why fight the Children's Internet Protection Act? The federal government's position is that CIPA is designed to prevent kids from being exposed to sexually explicit material.
A: This law doesn't really protect kids. If they tried to pass a law that had to restrict access for just children, they might have succeeded. Of course, we will always try to protect children. If they insist on going to places [on the Internet] that are unacceptable, then we turn to their parents. We're not always going to be successful, to be honest. But we try our best. This law, though, is about restricting access for everyone, including adults. That's what we disagree with.
Q: Why not use filters?
A: They're technically ineffective. Even when sites are blocked, who makes the decision on what information to keep and what to block? People won't be able to get the information they need because they won't know what's been left out. There are a lot of kids who need to find out things. During the testimony in the trial, we learned about a girl who wanted to know about STDs [sexually transmitted diseases]. It was a case of her wanting to know, "If there's a rash and it looks like this, what could it be?" That happens all the time in libraries. People want their privacy. When you block information, they have to come ask someone instead of having the tools to do the research themselves. It's mortifying. If a group tells you what you can read and think, it's not right. It isn't up to the government to tell you what to think, and it isn't for me to tell you what to think. That's up to you.
At a glance: Peter Hamon. Age: 56. Title: Director of the South Central Library System in Wisconsin. Education: Undergraduate degree in anthropology from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., 1965; master's degree in library science from the University of Oklahoma, 1971.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee
March 22, 2002
Headline: Longley foretold chaotic election. Lawrence University
professor, author studied Electoral College in depth
Byline: Associated Press
Excerpt: Lawrence Longley, a Lawrence University expert on
presidential elections, critic of the Electoral College and longtime
member of the Democratic National Committee, has died at the age of 62.
Longley, who died Wednesday after a two-year battle with cancer, was a
member of the university's government department since 1965. He was
author or co-author of more than 100 books and studies. His book, "The
Electoral College Primer 2000," included a fictional opening chapter
called, "The Election of 2000 Is Not Quite Decided: A Fantasy." Though
written in the spring of 1999, it foretold a presidential election
crisis not unlike the real one that unfolded between George W. Bush and
AlGore in 2000. "His book on the Electoral College was really a
groundbreaking book, written before the electoral crisis in the
Bush-Gore race," said Claudena Skran, chairwoman of the Lawrence
government department. "Larry really predicted what had been a potential
problem for years. For a political scientist, that's a significant
achievement," she said. Longley's expertise on the Electoral College -
the procedure in which election results in each state are used to name
electors who, in turn, elect the U.S. president - earned him a
consultant's role to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in the 1970s
and 1990s. His calls for abolishing the college led to frequent
interviews by media outlets around the country, including C-SPAN,
National Public Radio, CNN and The New York Times. He also appeared in
the public television series "The Constitution: That Delicate Balance"
in the mid-1980s.
Associated Press National Wire
March 22, 2002
Headline: Domestic News
Excerpt: Lawrence Longley, a critic of the Electoral College and
longtime member of the Democratic National Committee, died Wednesday
after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 62. Longley, a member of
Lawrence University's government department since 1965, was
author or co-author of more than 100 books and studies. His book "The
Electoral College Primer 2000" included a fictional opening chapter
called, "The Election of 2000 is Not Quite Decided: A Fantasy."
Longley's expertise on the Electoral College earned him a consultant's
role to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in the 1970s and 1990s. His
calls for abolishing the college got him widespread attention from the
news media. He also appeared in the public television series, "The
Constitution: That Delicate Balance," which aired in the mid-1980s.
Longley served on the executive committee of the Democratic National
Committee from 1996 to 1997 and was an elector in the 1988 and 1992
presidential elections.