May-June 2005 | Harvard Magazine

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Editor’s Highlights Sign up to be notified of new issues. See a sample newsletter	Skip to primary navigation May-June 2005 Volume 107, Number 5 Jump to Section: Letters, Right Now, Essay, The Browser, Commencement and Reunion Guide, Features, John Harvard's Journal, The Alumni, The College Pump, Treasure Letters Cambridge 02138 Getting Social Security Right I appreciate Professor Jeffrey B. Liebman’s recognition (“Reforming Social Security,&rdquo… Right Now A Painting with "Legs" Like the poems Emily Dickinson stored in her attic, or John Steinbeck’s repeatedly rejected early manuscripts, one of America’s… Driving Birds Away If you were a bobolink thinking about breeding, you would avoid laying your eggs within three-quarters of a mile of either side of a busy… The Nocebo Effect If people expect to feel better from a pill or medical treatment, they just might, even if the pill is made of sugar or the treatment is a sham… Leaves That Lunch The most famous carnivore of the plant kingdom, the Venus flytrap, lures insects to its leafy green lips with a sweet-smelling scent, then snaps… Back to top Essay A Modest Generation So what do we call ourselves? As labels for a generation go, The Silent Generation always struck me as singularly stupid; I don’t think we… Back to top The Browser Wrangling about Reefs Tucked away at the periphery of the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) on Oxford Street in Cambridge, off to the side of the historic Hall… Off the Shelf Saving Higher Education in the Age of Money, by James Engell ’73, Ph.D. ’78, Gurney professor of English and professor of… The Allure of the Bad Boy The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism, by Megan Marshall ’77 (Houghton Mifflin, $28), is a delightful group… Chapter & Verse Alon Ferency requests the source of a quotation that runs, roughly, “Oh life! That we would die a little each day, rather than live all at… Back to top Commencement and Reunion Guide Kidding Around Marc Goldberg ’79 is treasurer of the Varsity Club, a trustee of the Harvard Yearbook, and a season-ticket holder of the Harvard football… The Dating Game Since 1978, thousands of people have streamed into Tercentenary Theatre on an early Thursday in June, looking forward to the University’s… Passing the Baton H. Holton Wood ’40 and some of his handmade batons (opposite) Photograph by Jim Harrison The distinctive top hats and tails worn by… Fare Thee Well Ever wonder why there are so few superlative Chinese restaurants in this country? Why all we expect is dependable, cheap food in nondescript… The Events of the Week The many rituals of graduation peak on Commencement day, which this year includes addresses by President Lawrence H. Summers and actor John A… A Special Notice Regarding Commencement Exercises Morning Exercises To accommodate the increasing number of those wishing to attend Harvard’s Commencement Exercises, the following… Renewed, and New The university is now clearly embarked on an historic spurt of physical growth and transformation. Even before a shovel of earth is turned in… Back to top Features Clearing the Air Every day, most of us get in a car and drive. We adjust the temperature, maybe turn on the radio, and flip on the fan, never considering that… Anne Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet’s poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” a favorite at weddings, is one of the most anthologized examples of… Literary Warrior The study where Mark Helprin writes his novels and short stories, essays, speeches, letters, and Wall Street Journal columns is a spectacular… Art of the Hunt A Persian prince of antiquity possessed hunting equipment of often inescapable effectiveness—a trained cheetah. See the manuscript painting… A Thumb on the Scale In February 2004, when Harvard allotted an additional $2 million per year in scholarship funds for undergraduates from families with incomes of… Back to top John Harvard's Journal At Odds University leaders had planned to chart many of Harvard’s future paths this spring. A revised College curriculum, reformulated during two… Jacqueline Bhabha Jacqueline Bhabha Photograph by Stu Rosner Even as a newborn in Bombay in 1951, Jacqueline Bhabha was involved in refugee issues: her… Yesterday's News 1925 The Associated Harvard Clubs’ Committee on Service to the University suggests that descendants of Harvard graduates be given… Auto PILOT Harvard’s payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to the City of Cambridge have been renegotiated to include an escalator that will increase the… Building Boom The University is on a building boom of sorts. The campus was transformed in the post-World War II era, extending itself outward and upward in… A Planner for GSD Had life gone according to his plan, Alan A. Altshuler would have spent one of the snowiest Cambridge winters on record in Singapore. Instead… Humanist at Harvard Finding Humanism listed among the 26 religions represented on the Board of Ministry at Harvard may seem curious, but Humanist chaplain Thomas… University People Garrett M. Graff Courtesy of Garrett M. Graff Susan Dackerman Justin Ide / Harvard News Office Crimson blogsphere. Two Harvard… Tenure Task Forces Addressing ambitious agendas and a May 1 deadline, the University’s twin task forces on women faculty and on women in science and… Brevia Commencement VoicesThe Harvard Alumni Association’s guest speaker on Commencement afternoon, June 9, will be actor John A. Lithgow… Ace Returner Few students can simultaneously attend their college graduation and their tenth class reunion. And it’s a rare undergraduate who has a… Pro Tennis at Harvard This summer, professional sports will return to campus for the first time since the Boston (now the New England) Patriots played at Harvard… Spectacular Swimming and Diving The men’s swimming and diving team (8-0) won the Ivy championship and their eighth EISL title in the last 10 years, beating Princeton… Working it Out The senior-year job hunt began as many do: with the purchasing of a suit at the end of the summer. Mine was a black, pinstripe ensemble that my… The Senior Marshals The senior marshals, looking ahead to Commencement 2005, are: (clockwise from top left) first marshal Caleb Franklin, of Leverett House and Los… Back to top The Alumni Chords of Revolution 037919-057443-732049 Fred Ho ’79 has never owned a car, nor is he “married with children.” No boss dictates his workday, and… Harvard@Home The University-wide on-line learning initiative, Harvard@Home, has released several new programs. “Living Healthier, Living Longer: Part… Your Vote Counts Alumni will choose five new Harvard Overseers and six new elected directors for the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) in annual elections this… Comings and Goings Harvard clubs host lectures, seminars, and social gatherings. Following is a partial list of Harvard-affiliated speakers appearing at local club… A Musical Education Harpsichordist Irma Rogell ’39 made her stage debut, in Boston’s Jordan Hall, at the age of 40. Her background, as the last pupil of… Canine Mouthpiece Interviewing dogs can be a challenge, but fortunately Watson and Cricket have e-mail. Q: If you were recuperating in a hospital, who would you… Scripted from Life For screenwriter Keir Pearson ’89, success and social consciousness have gone hand in hand. His first script, Hotel Rwanda, co-written… Educating Women In October, Thunder’s Mouth Press released Vaginas: An Owner’s Manual by Liz Topp ’98 and her mother… Back to top The College Pump Puritan Party Time "Your wooden arm you hold outstretched to shake with passers-by." Of making books about Harvard there is no end, and… Back to top Treasure Life in Shadows The Harvard Theater Collection has recently acquired from a London dealer a unique set of 124 miniature Indonesian shadow puppets and the gongs…

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