Media Coverage of Lafayette: Sept. 12, 2005

The following is a selection of recent media coverage of Lafayette:

International, national, and regional media
The New York Times, Sept. 11:
Donald L. Miller, MacCracken Professor of History, is quoted in the cover story of the Week in Review section, titled “No Fixed Address.” The article looks at the massive number of displaced people due to Hurricane Katrina from a historical perspective.

“But the wreckage wrought by Katrina across the Gulf Coast is probably unprecedented in American historyThe United States, thanks to its resources, has largely been spared such dislocations. But not completely…The Chicago fire of 1871 left 100,000 residents, a third of the city, homeless.

“Donald L. Miller, professor of history at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and author of City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and the Making of America, said the 1871 fire, like Katrina, had a sudden and catastrophic impact, particularly on poor Irish immigrants.

“The federal government dispatched troops to keep order, but offered little direct assistance to victims. Churches, charities and business groups tried to fill the vacuum, but most of the displaced drifted into tent cities and shantytowns to fend for themselves, Professor Miller said.

“But if the fire offers few clear tips on how government should respond to Katrina, he said, it is instructive in one way: many of the evacuees stayed close to Chicago and helped rebuild it. By the late 1880’s, it was the fifth-largest city in the world, a commercial hub and birthplace of a new, more muscular — and more fireproof — architecture.

“‘I don’t understand the despair regarding New Orleans, ‘” he said. “‘We rebuilt Chicago. We rebuilt Berlin and Tokyo. We can do it again.'”

Sacramento Bee, Sept. 6; Scripps Howard News Service, July 17, June 21 and 6; MSNBC, May 19:
“Chief Justice Runs Court Systems, Guides Colleagues” (Sacramento Bee) includes comments by Bruce Allen Murphy, Fred Morgan Kirby Professor of Civil Rights, about the amount of power that John Roberts will possess if he becomes chief justice of the Supreme Court. “Though the title is exalted, the reality has sometimes frustrated the 16 men who have held the job since 1789. ‘Anybody who comes to that position from off the court will be severely challenged in their efforts to mass the court in one direction,” Bruce Murphy, a Supreme Court biographer and government professor at Lafayette College, said Monday. ‘It’s going to be difficult; there are so many land mines for any chief justice.’”

Murphy’s comments also are featured in “Filibuster Foes Argue Over ’68 Fortas Precedent” (MSNBC.com) and three articles on the Supreme Court, “Court Established Right to Privacy 40 Years Ago this Week” (June 6), “Speculation Mounts on Rehnquist Retirement” (June 21), and “Rehnquist Decision Raises Issue of Judges and Age” (July 17), provided by Scripps Howard to subscribing newspapers nationwide.

The New York Times, Sept. 4:
“On Moral Grounds, Some Judges Are Opting Out of Abortion Cases” includes comments by Helena Silverstein, associate professor of government and law, who has done extensive research on the implementation and impact of parental consent requirements on abortion. “‘If you require judges to hear these cases when they are morally and, maybe, religiously opposed to abortion,’” she said, “‘they are likely to impose their views on the minor. And that happens.’There is reason to think that judges in Alabama and Pennsylvania have also recused themselves from bypass proceedings on moral grounds, Professor Silverstein said.”

Princeton Review: Best 361 Colleges, Aug. 22:
“‘Lafayette’s small size and exclusively undergraduate population create tight bonds between professors and students and open the door for research opportunities,’ students at this small-but-mighty liberal arts school tell usStudents here benefit from a ‘strong emphasis on class discussion, individual attention from professors, [and] widely available internships and research opportunities with professors.’”

Reuters Television, Aug. 4 and 5:
Miller was featured on Reuters Television in two news reports. On a segment that aired Aug. 4, he was interviewed about the rising number of American military deaths in Iraq. The next day, a segment featured commentary by Miller on the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and the end of World War II. Reuters Television reports are distributed to broadcasters around the globe via the World News Service satellite system and also can be viewed online at Reuters.com

History Channel, July 24 and PBS, May 2:
D-Days in the Pacific, Miller’s latest book, is the companion volume to a three-hour History Channel series of the same name that debuted July 24. D-Days is a revised and expanded version of the Pacific chapters of Miller’s 2002 book The Story of World War II. The latter is a main source for the PBS American Experience program “Victory in the Pacific,” which debuted May 2 with Miller as an on-camera expert. D-Days was also favorably reviewed in the Washington Post.

Philadelphia Inquirer, July 13:
“A First-Time Novelist Turns Clichés Over” is a feature review of The Missing Person, a novel by Alix Ohlin, assistant professor of English. “Ohlin’s first work registers with a wise, accomplished and assured voice,” the article states. The book also received favorable reviews in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Montreal Gazette, and Buffalo News.

USA Today, May 19:
“10 Places to Have a Dam Good Time” features commentary by Donald C. Jackson, professor of history, on great dams of the United States. The country’s grand old dams “often today are portrayed as detrimental to the environment and especially to spawning fish,” notes Jackson in the article, but they “still play vital roles in municipal water supply, hydroelectric-power production, flood control, river navigation, irrigation, and lake-oriented irrigation.”

Spotlight on Students in Their Hometown Newspapers
Newton Tab (Mass.), Aug. 17:
Student researchers rarely see how their work affects society, but Marquis Scholar Briana Hecht ’08of Chestnut Hill will soon witness how her contributions tie into a product with far-reaching benefits. Along with two fellow women chemical engineering majors, Hecht is pursuing an EXCEL Scholars project aimed at developing technology to remove the contaminant perchlorate from water and destroy it. She is conducting experiments using bacteria to destroy the chemical after it has been removed.

News Gleaner (Philadelphia), Aug. 5, and Northeast Times, Aug. 4:
Maurice Bennett ’06 of Philadelphia (News Gleaner) “will be the senior team leader of Lafayette College’s football team this coming season. Bennett was recently named to the Preseason All-American Second Team, by The Sports Network, one of the national leaders in coverage of I-AA football. In addition, Bennett was tabbed as the fifth best linebacker on The Sports Network’s list of positional rankings…He was named as the Lafayette Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, after recording 119 tackles to lead the conference. Maurice was an All-Patriot League First-Team honoree, and was chosen to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. The Economics and Business major sports a 3.26 cumulative grade-point average.

“Academically, Bennett received the College’s inaugural Paul Robeson Humanitarian Award[He is serving an internship] in the New York Financial District. Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, the nation’s leading summer internship program, chose Maurice for a prestigious 10-week position for talented minority students.”

Call (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.), June 30:
While most college students were decompressing from classes or searching for summer work, Trustee Scholar Matthew Pennisi ’07 of Schuylkill Haven was conducting research for Divers Alert Network (DAN). Pennisi, a biology major and one of eight students in the world selected for the DAN internship, had one week after finals to prepare for his medical program. From May 23-Aug. 20, he collected data from project dive exploration and studied the effects of ear barotraumas and seasickness at Discovery Diving, Beaufort, N.C.

Daily Local News (West Chester, Pa.), June 23:
Chemistry graduate Katrin Przyuski ’05 of Glenmoore and other students in Lafayette’s Society of Environmental Engineers and Scientists won second place in a research competition hosted by the PA-American Water Works Association in Valley Forge. The research project was a technology and design for treating arsenic in drinking water for rural, isolated communities.

Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.), June 23:
Steven Presciutti ’05 of Plains Township earned academic honors in chemistry, his major field of study, by completing a yearlong research project on the microbial destruction of perchlorate in a bioreactor with the guidance of Steven Mylon, assistant professor of chemistry. Presciutti graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry.

Record Breeze (Blackwood, N.J.), June 16:
When Kristen Tull ’06of Sicklerville began studying environmental engineering at Lafayette, she set her sights on various internships that might further her education. But Tull didn’t imagine she would qualify to conduct graduate-level research on storm water practices via an Environmental Protection Agency fellowship. According to the EPA, her qualifications and applications surpassed those of graduate students who applied for the fellowship, which was awarded to just 12 percent of applicants.

In addition, Tull presented her research on a method to remove arsenic from drinking water at the American Water Works Association’s 124th annual national conference June 12-16 in San Francisco.

Courier News (Bridgewater, N.J.), June 15:
Jessica Merkel-Keller ’04 of Bridgewater, who graduated with a B.S. in neuroscience and an A.B. degree with a biomedical ethics major, received a graduate studies grant giving her the opportunity to work with leading medical researchers and government policy makers in Canada. Enrolled in a masters program in the department of experimental medicine at McGill University, Merkel-Keller was awarded the grant from Apogee-Net, a project funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, whose objective is the production of relevant, policy-oriented research in the area of genetics.

Quad Town Advisor (North Haven, Conn.), June 14:
Kevin Barry ’05 of North Haven earned academic honors in chemistry, his major field of study at Lafayette. To qualify for the accolade, he completed a yearlong research project in the field of electrochemistry with the guidance of Chip Nataro, assistant professor of chemistry.

Saratogian (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), June 12:
Casian Monaco ’07 of Saratoga Springs completed his sophomore year with a 4.0 and did graduate-level research this summer in the neurology department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

East Penn Press (Allentown, Pa.), June 1:
Civil engineering major and Trustee Scholar Chad Yaindl ’06 of Emmaus made a presentation about his research on the effects of agriculture on riparian zones – narrow strips of land that border creeks, rivers or other bodies of water – at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research, held April 20-23 in Lexington, Va. Yaindl did the research project with the guidance of Arthur Kney, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering.

York Daily Record (Pa.), May 30:
Neuroscience graduateAlyssa Picchini ’04of York is one of a handful of students worldwide to be awarded a National Institutes of Health-Cambridge University Scholarship in Biomedical Research. At the time of the announcement, she was serving a yearlong post-baccalaureate fellowship at NIH in the Laboratory of Molecular Pathophysiology of Mood and Anxiety Disorders.

Chemical engineering major graduate Gabriella Engelhart ’05 of York was awarded a three-year Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. Engelhart is pursuing a doctorate degree in chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. At the College’s All-College Honors Convocation April 17, she received the chemical engineering department’s Charles Duncan Fraser Prize and Dr. E.L. McMillen-K.K. Malhotra ’49 Prize.

Times News (Lehighton, Pa.), May 20:
Benji Berlow ’05, a double major in psychology and Jewish studies, received the College’s Reverend J.W. and R.S. Porter Bible Prize, awarded annually to students who demonstrate high proficiency in the study of religion, based on work done in their first and second years. A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Berlow did research on the Hebrew Bible with Robert Cohn, Berman Professor of Jewish Studies.

Haddon Herald (N.J.), May 19:
Neuroscience major Erin Wolfson ’05of Haddonfield made a presentation about her research on fruit flies and anti-epileptic drugs at the 81st annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science in Camp Hill, Pa. Wolfson conducted her research in collaboration with Elaine Reynolds, associate professor of biology.

Quad Town Advisor (Conn.), May 17:
Chemistry major Kevin Barry ’05of North Haven made a presentation about his research on chemical compounds of gold that work to battle cancer at the 229th national meeting of the American Chemical Society held in April in San Diego. Barry conducted his research in collaboration with Chip Nataro, assistant professor of chemistry.

Other
The Herald News (Joliet, Ill.), Aug. 3:
“Cicada killer wasps have invaded the Flint Hills Resources plant – giving Channahon a population that can compete with any in the world‘If you step on them or press them against your skin, then they will sting,’ said Charles Holliday, a biology professor at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, who is at the plant observing the insects.” He was part of a team that plans to continue its research at the site next year.