Quotes, bon mots, and noteworthy utterances from the campus and beyond
01 May 2009
"This is not a complex message: Clean up after yourselves."
Professor of Law Robert Berring, in an e-mail to slovenly law students responsible for "seriously gross food messes" in the law library and student center that are "causing joy in the vermin community."
Abovethelaw.com, April 15
"I don’t know if it’s that grad students are more prone to remember trivia, more desperate for money, or both."
Larissa Kelly, grad student in history, noting the large proportion of her peers who participated in the TV quiz show Jeopardy’s recent Tournament of Champions. Kelly took second-place honors in this year’s tournament, walking away with $100,000. eGrad (the electronic newsletter of Berkeley’s Graduate Division), April 2009
"What would you do, Your Holiness, to democratize the UC Regents in a compassionate, courageous way?"
From a list of 10 questions for the Dalai Lama posted by Pancho Ramos-Stierle on the blog mettacenter.org, April 26
"The new gaggle of Democratic candidates needs to think long and hard about whether they are proposing sexy policy ideas or … recommending programs that will help lift children out of poverty."
Professor of Education and Public Policy Bruce Fuller, commenting on costly universal-preschool initiatives supported by all three Democratic candidates for Virginia governor. Research shows that low-income children benefit from preschooling more than middle-class and affluent students do.
Washington Post, April 23
"I am very sympathetic [to] the notion that they are kind of making this up as they go. Nobody has been here before."
Professor of Public Policy Robert Reich, on the Obama administration’s economic-recovery efforts. Asked to grade the administration on an A-to-F scale, Reich gave "Obamanomics" an F for its handling of the bank bailout.
CNN Newsroom, April 23
"If you think that crime in Oakland is impossible to stop, think again."
Berkeley Law student Darius Graham, on the success of the McCullum Youth Court, which handles certain youth-crime cases diverted from the traditional county justice system.
InsideBayArea.com, April 22
"Tenure is fast fading away in favor of a leaner, meaner business model that makes use of low-paid instructors who work part time, often without benefits."
Mary Ann Mason, co-director of the Berkeley Law Center on Health, Economic, and Family Security, adding that those part-time and non-tenure-track instructors are twice as likely to be women with children.
Chronicle of Higher Education, April 20
"One robin does not make a spring."
David Levine, professor of business administration, casting a skeptical eye on recent indications of possible economic recovery.
Los Angeles Times, April 16