David Code Article in the Christian Science Monitor

David Code wrote in to announce that an essay he wrote appeared recently in The Christian Science Monitor:

"Wanted to share some happy news: I'm thrilled that my essay on how parents can raise citizens instead of consumers was published in "The Christian Science Monitor," and it is now Yahoo News' most popular opinion piece.

My article describes how we shoot ourselves (and our kids) in the foot by making our children the center of our universe. Child-centered families create anxious, exhausted parents and demanding, entitled kids who act out. As this self-absorbed generation enters the workplace, I believe America's global leadership and our ability to compete will be seriously compromised. Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/mp/1783

I hope you'll consider spreading the word by clicking on the "Email" link, and emailing my article to your friends or journalists you may know.

You can also listen to an audio interview with me at: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0826/p09s01-coop.html Look for the audio link at the beginning of my essay."

A little perspective

This weekend, the Class of 2012 will begin its time at Yale. For some perspective, here is what Beloit College explains will inform the mindset of the new crop of Yalies:

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.

Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.

They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.

GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.

Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.

Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.

Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.

Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce "tax revenue increases."

Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.

Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.

All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.

As a precursor to "whatever," they have recognized that some people "just don?t get it."

Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.

Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.

Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.

Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.

Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.

WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.

Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.

The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.

Students have always been "Rocking the Vote."

Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.

Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.

We have always known that "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."

There have always been gay rabbis.

Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.

College grads have always been able to Teach for America.

IBM has never made typewriters.

Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.

McDonald's and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.

They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.

There has always been Pearl Jam.

The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.

Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.

They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.

They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.

Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.

Lenin's name has never been on a major city in Russia.

Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.

Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.

Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.

Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.

Personal privacy has always been threatened.

Caller ID has always been available on phones.

Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.

The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.

They never heard an attendant ask "Want me to check under the hood?"

Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.

Soft drink refills have always been free.

They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about "nothing."

Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.

Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.

The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.

The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.

98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.

Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.

Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.

Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.

There have always been charter schools.

Students always had Goosebumps.

Catherine Foster

Catherine Foster wrote a nice note about her life in Palo Alto: "I can hardly believe I've been a Californian for 10 years. Still living in Palo Alto, with my hisband, Jon (Saybrook '85) and two boys. I've been running my own consulting business, doing policy and advocacy work for non-profits and foundations.

"It's a very exciting time doing this work, particularly with my recent focus on community organizing for education reform and health access. I've been fortunate to have classmate Deborah Yaffe's recent book on NJ education reform as a useful reference! (Go, Deborah!)

"Would love to see more Yalies out here -- I know you're here somewhere, but other than brief sightings of Dan Levy and a visiting Caroline Ewing, I haven't seen many of you. Wish I had made it to reunion."

Valerie Norton

Val Norton sent in a note recently. She says: "Just finished a 3 1/2 year term as medical director of the Emergency Department at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego. Highlights were giving a press conference with Governor Schwarzenegger about the crisis of ER overcrowding in our state and around the country."

News from Kinney Zalesne

Kinney Zalesne writes in that she gave birth to a book and a baby this year. The book is MICROTRENDS: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes, which she so-authored with Mark Penn. The baby is Gideon Zalesne Sigg, who joins big brother Matthew (5) and big sister Adina (3).

Tamar Szabo Gendler

Someone forwarded to me recently an announcement about a program called One Day University (www.onedayu.com) that is featuring a lecture by our classmate, Tamar Szabo Gendler. Tamar is a professor of philosophy and Chair of the Cognitive Science Program at Yale University where she teaches a popular freshman seminar entitled, "Life Lessons: What Philosophers Got Right about the Human Condition." In recognition of her teaching, Yale has awarded her a Paul Moore Fund Grant for Instructional Innovation. Her research ties together traditional philosophy with recent empirical work in developmental, cognitive and social psychology. Her contributions have been recognized by the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Collegium Budapest, all of whom have awarded her fellowships. In addition to her scholarly work, Tamar is also the editor of a major introductory philosophy textbook, The Elements of Philosophy: Readings from Past and Present, and author of the philosophy entries in the latest edition of the American Heritage Dictionary. You can read more about her upcoming lectures on the Events page of the class website.

News from Sarah (Hundley) Garcia

Sarah (Hundley) Garcia wrote in recently with the following:
"I am living in San Francisco with my husband, Jon. We love the Bay Area and our lives here. For the past 10 years, I have been helping companies in transition or turn around situations and am now with a private equity fund helping them with some of their portfolio companies. My work has involved significant travel throughout Asia and parts of Latin America (nothing glamorous - mostly remote places most sensible people would avoid). In addition, I work on the weekends as a hotline crisis counselor, primarily for victims of domestic violence but also for people in other emergency situations. As for my roommates- I may not be as update to date as I would like, but here it is: May Tao just moved to the Bay Area from LA with her husband and two kids to accept a high level management position with an exciting medical start up venture. Yuka Manabe has been teaching at Johns Hopkins Medical School but is currently in Uganda for several years (with her doctor husband Jimmy and their 4 kids) helping to run a program for people with HIV. Becky and Jordie Symons are living in Seattle and their daughter just completed her Bat Mitzvah (are we really that old??). Ellen Whalen and her husband Nicholas (yale 1988) are living in a NYC suburb where Ellen also works as an internist and balances life as a mother to two great kids. Catherine Slusar and her husband are in Philadelphia with their twin girls (adorable and budding thespians) and are very active in the theater community there. Karen Yashar and her husband and two children are living in Minneapolis and Karen has taken a brief sabbatical from law before immersing herself in the corporate world again. Caprice Young is living in LA with her husband and three daughters and is running a company there - or is she running LA? Not sure- knowing her, probably both."

News from Stuart Gaul

Stuart Gual writes in with the following e-mail: "I'm in Pittsburgh, my hometown, with my wife, Ann, and our daughters -- Elizabeth, who's three, and Joanna, who will be one at the end of July. They're tremendous. I'm a partner at Thorp Reed & Armstrong, where I share a secretary and an office wall with Dave White. On the roommate front, I made it to Chicago in January for Bob Dow's formal installation as a federal judge. Gary Feinerman and Lissa Dow both did great work with their introductory comments. Rob Raguso made the trip to Pittsburgh from Ithaca for a conference in March, and he filled us in on his family, their new surroundings and their semester in South Africa. Locally, I see Matt Meade, Steve Kline, Lisa Battat and Ken Lund from time to time. Rod Diaz's job brings him here from Harrisburg a couple of times each year, and we grab a meal.