Redesign sparks reader reaction
Redesign sparks reader reaction
Thanks to all of you who have written with reactions to our new design, which have ranged from "excellent" to "embarrassing." Our goal, as I noted in the last issue, was to better serve you, our readers, so we were disappointed to hear that some of you found the magazine harder to read, at least in places. We will continue to refine the design (as you can see in this issue), and I urge you to keep telling us what you like and don't like. Be specific—if you have problems with certain pages or sections, please say so. This will help us to make more adjustments. Direct your comments to me at jhr22@ cornell.edu. Thanks!
Jim Roberts '71
Editor & Publisher
True or False
There was at least one notable omission in the great article about fictional Cornell-ians written by Brad Herzog '90 ("Stranger Than Fiction," March/April 2008). In The Lost Weekend, Ray Mil-land—who won an Oscar for his work— played Don Birnam, an alcoholic writer (what else?) who went to Cornell. It's hard to pick up, but in one of the early scenes, set in a railroad waiting room, the actors playing Jane Wyman's parents are talking about Birnam, and the father mumbles that he went to Cornell. To some who remember Cornell in the late Forties and early Fifties, it's easy to see how Milland's character got that way.
Harvey Turner '52
Mendham, New Jersey
Brad Herzog's piece was great—I could spend years reading all the books and watching all the movies and TV shows about Cornell that he referenced. One notably missing book, however, was Richard Fariña's Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me. This was a classic about the late Fifties "Cornell" and its antiquated in loco parentis mores.
Lee Bender '84
Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Ed. Note: Brad Herzog excluded works with a fictionalized version of Cornell. The characters mentioned in his article were fictional, but they all referred to or were placed at the real Cornell. If you include fictionalized versions of Cornell— like English professor emerita Alison Lurie's "Corinth University"—the list of references gets very long.
The Old Boy Network
Dean of the faculty Charles Walcott, PhD '59, mentions the problem of "trailing spouses" as part of Cornell's faculty recruitment challenge, and this cries out for critical examination ("It's All Academic," Currents, March/April 2008). Favoring the spouses of desirable faculty discriminates against job candidates who lack this "credential." It is as unjust as the old policy of barring married couples. In fact, it is the spiffy new version of the old boy system where hiring is based on connections. What is particularly ludicrous is that favoring women who are married to powerful men has come to be regarded in certain circles as an enlightened feminist thing to do. Fairness requires that marital status be irrelevant to decisions about whom to hire.
Felicia Nimue Ackerman '68
Professor of Philosophy, Brown University
Providence, Rhode Island
Passing Grade
I enjoyed your story on grade inflation ("Gut Check," Currents, January/February 2008). However, I am writing to correct a mistake. You wrote that Cornell's policy of printing the median grade on transcripts starting in Fall 2008 "puts Cornell ahead of its Ivy League peers." At Dartmouth, we have been printing the median grade on transcripts since 1994 (see: www.dartmouth.edu/~reg/courses/medians/index.html). Cornell is not holding itself to a higher standard than its peers; it is joining Dartmouth in making it easier to see what a grade really means.
Mary Lou Guerinot '75
Professor of Biological Sciences
Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire