November/December 2008

About Prejudice

Keep On Learning

Good For the Jews?

Glorifying Old Glory

Peace Now and Then

New York State of Mind

Science Luminary

Nice Work

History Lesson

In the News

Unlocking the Oars

When Lydia Boddie-Rice '76 took up rowing, she noticed that most of the crews were white. She set out to change that.

Our Man in Beijing

Meet the secret service agent who went with Nixon to China. PAUL KELLY '66

He’s Got Style

Donald E. Creamer '47 believes that today’s ads are garbage and that, thanks to the TV-series Mad Men, yesterday's ad men and women are misunderstood.

Progress

In 1908 the John Hay Library was still an architect's English Renaissance dream and a curiosity for streetcar riders.

Made to Order

In time for the holidays, the Brown Alumni Magazine’s second annual gift guide—a sampling of products designed and made by alumni. They’re a heartening reminder that work can be a passionate endeavor, and that labor really can be love.

O Pioneers!

Four alumnae—each more than 100 years old—reflect on life for women at Brown during the Roaring Twenties and describe full journey they’ve been on ever since.

Obituaries

Obituaries from the November/December 2008 issue.

Farewell

A farewell to Rhett Jones ’72 AM, ’76 PhD.

What Kind of Season Will It Be?

Last year men’s basketball finished second in the Ivy League. Can a new coach take them to first?

Game Day

Replay

The Bears celebrated defeating Harvard, 24–22, by stopping a Crimson two-point conversion with 1:03 remaining.

Up to the Test

After a year out with a leg injury, women’s soccer goalie Brenna Hogue ’10 is back. So is the team.

New Deal

A pair of legal scholars spar about the constitutional ramifications of the New Deal.

Phantom Art

The bronze statue of Caesar Augustus lost his right arm to the hurricane of 1938. This fall, an unidentified orthopedically minded visitor gave him a new limb.

Torture Watch

New Yorker staff writer Philip Gourevitch visited the Watson Institute to promote his new book, Standard Operating Procedure.

Post-Partisan Depression

Barney Frank on deregulation and trickle-down economics.

Free at Last

The first democratically elected female president on the African continent visits Brown.

Presidents

Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was not the only national president to visit Brown this fall. Leonel Fernandez,president of the Dominican Republic, sat down with associate professor of history James Green, and former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos Escobar.

Best Behavior

New buildings and infrastructure improvements bring lots of construction workers to campus, so officials have seen fit to remind them of how to behave.

Beyond Identity Politics

The advice at this year’s Opening Convocation? Enjoy the intellectual ride.

Music

The Ginger Ninjas pedalled into Providence with their instruments loaded onto their bikes. Then they invited the audience to help power the show.

Since Last Time

Feeling the Pinch

In the recession ahead, Brown's priorities will be financial aid, academics, research--and yes, growth.

Hip-Hop Humor

Improv artist Jon Mahone ’99, ’04 MAT channels the ghosts of Charlie Chaplin and Richard Pryor.

On Stage

Yaya DaCosta '04 made her New York stage debut this fall.

Late Bloomer

A post-college coming-of-age tale from Sarah Shun-lien Bynum ’95.

Fresh Ink

From Her Pencil to Your Closet

With her sophisticated sportswear, Lyn Devon ’02 aims to make women feel comfortable, confident, and beautiful.

A Killer in the Classroom

Writing classes can be deadly, and in this case that’s the literal truth.

The Art of War

To learn how troops are trained for Iraq, filmmaker Tony Gerber ’86 was embedded with an Army unit—at a simulated Iraqi village in California.

Treasure Boxes

How to protect precious items from you and me.

Fruit of the Mandarins

While living in Shanghai, a writer wondered where she’d ever feel at home.