American magazine, August 2014

UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE AUGUST 2014

TROUBLED TEENS FIND REDEMPTION p. 18

SOC’S MOST TELLING TALES p. 22

THE EVERGLADES IS THIRSTY FOR SURVIVAL p. 30

Myths and misconceptions about the Capital City (no, Washington wasn’t built on a swamp)

p. 12

An AU insider’s perspective on next page

Jason Gedeik SPA/MPP ’05

Marjorie Merriweather Post’s treasures include a diamond-studded crown, glistening chalices, ornate Fabergé eggs—and, of course, the sprawling, Georgian-style mansion that houses them. But the CROWN JEWEL of the Post cereal heiress’s collection may be the EXQUISITELY MANICURED GREENERY that surrounds her northwest D.C. estate. Forty years after Post’s death, master gardener Jason Gedeik has a hand—literally—in carrying on her LEGACY OF IMPECCABLE TASTE and affinity for flowers. As head of greenhouse and design operations at the Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens, Gedeik maintains 25 ACRES bursting with vibrant azaleas, roses, peonies, tulips, delphiniums, and POST’S BELOVED ORCHIDS. (Hillwood has more than 2,000 specimens and hundreds of varieties of the exotic flower.) Gedeik says the gardens, nestled near Rock Creek Park, were designed for spring and fall, when Post would host EXTRAVAGANT SOIRÉES for the who’s who of Washington—but the property is picturesque year-round. “I love creating beauty for our visitors and continuing to tell Mrs. Post’s story, which is one of GRACE AND CHARM in an era long since gone,” says Gedeik. “People don’t live this way anymore.”

30282218

Incarcerated D.C. youth are more than the sum of their rap sheets

Tools of the trade have changed, but SOC’s mission remains the same

Al-Qaeda to Zeta Function and 24 projects in between

Even gator-infested waters need a protector

16 Metrocentered

35 Your American Connect, engage, reminisce

1 POV

4 4400 Mass Ave Ideas, people, perspectives

End of WatchDuring my sophomore year of high school, I began working as a community columnist for my local paper, the Chandler Arizonan. I use the term “working” loosely, as I wasn’t paid for my prose. But the dozens of clips I collected were priceless. I was, by far, the youngest of the dozen or so columnists who worked for editor Susan Keaton, and my articles, while lively and technically proficient, were hardly hard-hitting. (Susan, with her friendly Southern drawl, would call them “charming.”) While my fellow columnists weighed in on immigration issues and the housing boom, I penned 400 words about such topics as my first fender-bender, which occurred, embarrassingly enough, in my parents’ garage. In August 1995, however, my column took a more serious turn when I chronicled the funeral for my dad’s friend and colleague, Arizona Highway Patrolman Bob Martin, who was gunned down during a traffic stop on a stretch of road my father also policed. I didn’t go to the service intending to write about it. My dad asked me to join him because, at 16, I was old enough to understand the danger of his job, to share in his grief. But the experience left me profoundly moved. My heart ached for Officer Martin’s family, but it also swelled with pride for my dad. Despite my teenage angst, I was always proud of him. I remember beaming when he brought his cruiser to my elementary school and passed out plastic badges to my classmates. But this was different. Sitting next to him in the pew, I realized that the world can be cruel and unforgiving and that it takes a special kind of person to run towards danger when my instinct—our instinct—is to run away from it. As a writer, you pore over every word, but you can never be sure if anyone will read it, or care. The job is a bit anticlimactic that way. But I know my dad read that column—and sometimes an audience of one is enough. That clip, now yellow with age, will always hold a special place in my heart. This issue, writer Mike Unger asked School of Communication professors, students, and alumni to share their most impactful stories to celebrate the school’s new home in the renovated McKinley Building. I think you’ll find their stories powerful and engrossing. Do you have a story of your own to share? Email me at [email protected]. And follow us on Twitter @au_americanmag.

Adrienne Frank Senior editor

AMERICANAmerican University magazine Vol. 65, No. 1

SENIOR EDITORAdrienne Frank, SPA/MS ’08

ASSOCIATE EDITORSSuzanne BechampsAmy BurroughsAli Kahn

STAFF WRITER Mike Unger

WRITERSAdrienne FrankAli KahnKerry O’Leary

ART DIRECTORMaria Jackson

PHOTOGRAPHERJeffrey Watts

CLASS NOTESTraci Crockett

VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONSTeresa Flannery

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT, CREATIVE SERVICESKevin Grasty

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, CONTENT STRATEGYLaura Garner

American is published three times a year by American University. With a circulation of 118,000, American is sent to alumni and other members of the university community. Copyright©2014.

An equal opportunity, affirmative action university. UP15-001

For information regarding the accreditation and state licensing of American University, please visit american.edu/academic.

on campus

NO CAMPUS GROUP IS CREATING A BIGGER BUZZ than the AU Beekeeping Society. Apologies for the pun, but as you’ll see, there are few things AU’s beekeepers appreciate more than a play on words. School of International Service professor Eve Bratman beegan the project in 2011 with one colony. Interest quickly beelooned, and now two hives on the roof of the Mary Graydon Center are tended to by dozens of students, staff, and faculty. “Bees are the most important pollinators, and without pollination, we wouldn’t have 75 percent of the food we eat on our tables,” Bratman says. “We don’t keep them on leashes, but we’re basically their landlord. We provide a safe and healthy home for the colony. We check the hives to make sure that the queen is alive and laying eggs, the bees are free from predators, and they have enough sugar syrup to have decent food supplies.”

BuzzworthyLast year, the group harvested 90 pounds of honey from the hives, and used some of it to make lip balm that proved so popular it sold out almost immediatebee. Lindsay Booth, SIS/MA ’14, was a beeliever in the group from the start. “There are so many interesting facts: A queen can lay about 1,500 eggs in a day. Each chamber in the comb is exactly the same measurement. The bees talk to each other through dance,” she says. “And then there are the puns. We named our first hive Beeyonce. Others have been Lord of Stings, Bee Arthur, and Obeewon. Bee people are weird, what can I say?”

ILLUSTRATION BY HEATHER HARDISON

4 AMERICAN MAGAZINE AUGUST 2014

expert

featured

on Seinfeld.

When a

show’s killed, the brands of places

can suffer. Similarly, if you watch a show

with other people, when it’s

cancelled you no longer

have that connection. We studied

a group of Sopranos fans who

would get together

religiously every

Sunday night. They

would have Italian

food and watch the

show. When it ended,

they had re-run marathons, but

it wasn’t the same. They tried to

find another show that would

give them that same kind of

connection, but they never did.

Now the friends no longer see

each other regularly.

It’s a lot easier to adjust if a

show ends well. If the storylines

are resolved and there’s narrative closure,

then people are more at peace

Cristel Russell Professor, Department of Marketing, Kogod School of Business

3 MINUTES ON . . . TV Series Finales

prepare themselves for the death of the show.

They were able to slowly disconnect. We call these shows narrative brands:

the story being told

is also a market

product. They’re

sold to the audience

for commercial time. Lots of

shows have product placements in them.

If there’s a brand connected

to a character that a lot of

people are influenced by, the

brand can suffer when the

show’s killed. The brands of places can also

be captured in shows.

There’s a TV show

made in New Zealand

called Outrageous

Fortune. It’s about a

family of criminals

trying to go clean. People want to

visit places on the show in

Auckland, just as they visited

New York to see sites

with the fact that it’s gone.

The Sopranos was completely

anti-climactic. There were

a lot of

unanswered

questions.

That’s never good—people want finality. Anecdotally, we do have

evidence that

people will buy

DVD box sets to

watch re-runs. Some buy it

as a memento, like a

tombstone, so that they remember

it, whether they watch it or not.

I think Breaking Bad was

everyone’s favorite finale. It had everything

you expected, and yet there were

a few surprises. You knew Walter

White was going

to die, you just

didn’t know how.

It tied all those loose ends and

provided narrative closure. It

was brilliant.

Everybody watches TV.

You sit next to somebody on a

plane and before you know it

you’re talking about the shows

you watch. But what happens

when a TV show ends?

Soap operas like General

Hospital and All My Children

aired for decades.

Every day people

would watch an

episode, sometimes

by themselves, but

sometimes with their moms or

grandmas. Viewers were devastated when the shows were cancelled.

Part of it was ‘what happened to

this character?’

They were in

mourning; they were grieving.

Other shows, like

Entourage, ended well in the

sense that people

knew it was

coming so they

were able to

FOLLOW US @AU_AMERICANMAG 5

While other rising seniors were basking on the beach, environmental studies major Daniel Pasquale spent his summer splashing around a different body of water. The recipient of the prestigious Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greater Research Opportunities Fellowship, which offers $50,000 for tuition and travel, Pasquale monitored bacteria levels in the Potomac River to determine the impact of combined sewer overflow events on the river’s health. It was a banner year for students and alumni of AU’s science programs. Pasquale and 15 others received prestigious

research awards, including Fulbright and National Science Foundation (NSF) grants and fellowships from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the EPA. Physics major Ben Derby traveled to Boulder, Colorado, on a National Institute of Standards and Technology fellowship to build a Raman spectrometer to measure grapheme, a newly discovered “wonder material,” while Ben Gamache, CAS/BS ’13, went to the Spanish National Cancer Research Center on a Fulbright to study how the enzyme telomerase relates to aging and cancer. “What makes this year so special is the range of recipients we had for prestigious science awards,” says Paula Warrick, director of the office of merit awards.

From the CIA to the FBI, a new master’s degree will groom students in the Department of Justice, Law and Criminology for careers fighting threats to homeland security. The School of Public Affairs (SPA) launches the master’s in terrorism and homeland security policy (american.edu/spa/protect) this fall. The program, which prepares students for careers in federal agencies and private firms, focuses on the sources of security threats and the development of domestic terrorists. The degree isn’t SPA’s only new offering. Busy practitioners can now pursue a master’s in public administration and policy online (programs.online.american.edu/mpaponline). The 36-credit program gives students a foundation in budgeting and public program evaluation. Across the quad, the School of Communication and College of Arts and Sciences are bolstering their persuasive play initiative with a new master’s in game design (american.edu/gamelab). The program, which welcomes its first cohort this fall, trains students in design and development, play theory, and engagement strategies. During their second year, students will intern at the AU Game Lab Studio, working on real-world projects for external clients.

Alyssa Frederick Braciszewski, CAS/BS ’12, received a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to study the nutritional physiology of marine organisms at the University of California, Irvine.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KIHO KIM

MOVIN’ ON UP

AU ranks No. 2 for Presidential Management Fellowship (PMF) finalists with 34—a new high. The program, which drew 7,000 applicants this year for 608 slots, grooms grad students for careers within the federal government. Last year AU was No. 3 with 19 finalists.

AMERICAN DREAM

SPA executive in residence Anita McBride received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition on May 10. The former chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush—honored alongside boxer Evander Holyfield, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), and Wall Street reporter Maria Bartiromo—was recognized for her contributions to the Italian American community.


news

AU has gotten one step closer to its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2020, signing an agreement with George Washington University and George Washington University Hospital to source 53 percent of its electricity from renewable power. The three institutions will buy 52 megawatts of solar photovoltaic power—enough electricity to light up 8,200 homes a year—from Charlotte-based Duke Energy Renewables at a fixed rate over the next 20 years. The project

Baseball is as American as apple pie, hot dogs, and wonks. Celebrate AU with Clawed, Screech, and your fellow Eagles during the third annual AU Night at Nationals Park, 7:05 p.m. on Friday, August 22, when the hometown sluggers take on the San Francisco Giants. AU’s female a cappella group, Treble in Paradise, will perform the national anthem. In 2012, AU entered into a strategic partnership with the Nats that includes AU advertising in the park as part of the wonk brand campaign.

Rising senior Caroline Brazill always knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. “There was a career fair in middle school where you had to dress up and make a poster,” recalls the Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, native. “The girl next to me was a professional ballerina in a tutu; the girl next to her was in scrubs. And I’m over there with a pantsuit and an American flag, saying I want to be a foreign service officer.” Brazill, an international studies major, and Eric Rodriguez, CAS/BA ’14, who worked for the Yakama Nation police department in Washington State before coming to AU to study anthropology, are among 59 Truman Scholars selected from a nationwide pool of 655 candidates. The prestigious award, established as a memorial to 33rd President Harry S. Truman, provides recipients with leadership training, internships, and up to $30,000 for graduate study leading to careers in government or the nonprofit sector. AU is one of only five institutions to have four finalists and one of only five to have two scholars. The university has produced 13 Truman Scholars since 2000—including 11 over the last decade.

During AU Night, fans will go fact to fact against the university’s people in the know, including School of Public Affairs professors Anita McBride, Jennifer Lawless, and Connie Morella and the College of Arts and Sciences’s U. J. Sofia, who’ll be featured in wonk challenges on the Jumbotron. The Washington-centric quizzes will focus on White House history, D.C. geography, baseball trivia, and more. Events also include a pre-game picnic overlooking right field and T-shirt giveaways. The AU community can enjoy discounted Nats tickets all season long. Visit nationals.com/wonk and use the coupon code “wonk.”

will supply the partners with 123 million kilowatt hours of emissions-free electricity per year, drawn from 243,000 solar panels at three sites in North Carolina. “AU is firmly on its way to achieving carbon neutrality by 2020,” says President Neil Kerwin. “We are home to the largest combined solar array in D.C., are resolved to growing green power through our purchase of renewable energy certificates, and are now a partner to the largest non-utility solar energy purchase in the U.S.” The project will eliminate 60,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year—the equivalent of plucking 12,500 cars off the road.

STRENGTH OF (140) CHARACTERS

#AmericanU is the seventh most influential college on Twitter, according to CollegeAtlas.com. AU scored points for using social media to highlight academic achievements and for being an early adopter. (AU joined the Twittersphere in 2009 and now has more than 21,000 followers.)

SUPREME IN COURT

The AU mock trial team enjoyed its best season yet, placing fourth in its division and eighth in the country at the national championships in April. More than 650 teams from 330 colleges competed at the Orlando tourney. Rising senior Iain Phillips also earned outstanding witness honors.


international

MEG FOWLER ’12 KNEW SHE WANTED TO JOIN THE PEACE CORPS after graduating with a dual major in international studies and economics. She packed off for Morocco, where she teaches high school students how to succeed in business, plant a community garden, and speak English. Ukraine volunteer Shelby Lane taught English, launched a newspaper for young readers, and

ran workshops on topics from HIV/AIDS awareness to the environment. That experience and a Coverdell fellowship led her to AU to pursue dual master’s degrees in international peace and conflict resolution and secondary education while leading the AU Peace Corps Community and Creative Peace Initiatives and volunteering with Little Friends for Peace. What do they have in common? An urge to serve and an AU connection. AU and the Peace Corps go back, all the way to 1961, when the first groups of volunteers took off for postings in places like Pakistan and the Philippines. Back in the day the

connection was simple and straight on: You go to college. You graduate. You join the Peace Corps.

Bringing It HomeToday, says Stephen Angelsmith, director of Peace Corps programs at AU’s School of International Service, the partnership has many moving parts, keeping students engaged in a cycle of service made possible by two Peace Corps–associated graduate programs: the Master’s International (MI) and the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows. MI students spend a year in the classroom and two years in the Peace Corps, for credit, after which they

return to campus to complete their graduate work. Coverdell fellows— all returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs)—receive scholarships for graduate studies that include an internship in an underserved U.S. community, an opportunity to teach Americans about the world beyond our borders. RPCVs may donate memorabilia to the Peace Corps Community Archive, a repository of living history curated by the AU library. “I’ve realized how important it is to be a role model,” says Lane. “I believe in and enjoy service, and have seen the power it has to inspire change.”

AU ALUMNI CURRENTLY IN PEACE CORPS SERVICE

AU VOLUNTEERS IN MORE THAN 100 COUNTRIES SINCE 1961 (SEE MAP)

OVERALL FOR MASTER’S INTERNATIONAL (NO. 10) AND COVERDELL FELLOWS (NO. 9) PROGRAMS

PRODUCER OF PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS AMONG MEDIUM-SIZE SCHOOLS


mastery

Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success offers a formula for success—being born at the right place and time and investing at least 10,000 hours in pursuit of your goal. For some, that goal emerges at an early age, and for others, like Kogod School of Business professor Casey Evans, it requires more exploration. Evans, 35, came to Washington to fight crime (“21 Jump Street was my favorite show growing up,” she recalls). After discovering an aptitude and affinity for numbers, however, she opted for a different sort of law enforcement career: chasing down white-collar criminals, calculator and spreadsheets in hand.

Left Arthur Andersen in the wake of the Enron scandal. “MY GROUP WAS ACQUIRED BY NAVIGANT CONSULTING, BUT I DECIDED TO START FRESH.”

Moved to Knoxville with boyfriend Le Evans, whom she met at AU in 1996 and who was accepted to law school at the University of Tennessee. Took a staff accountant job at McWilliams and Company doing audit and tax work.

After settling on a Florida university, the Orlando resident was accepted to AU. The allure of D.C. proved too powerful to resist. “I WENT FROM WANTING TO BE A POLICE OFFICER TO AN FBI AGENT.”

Sat for the CPA after five months of intensive study. “I WOULD DO FLASH CARDS AT STOPLIGHTS ON MY WAY TO WORK.” Licensed in 2003.

Earned the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) credential.

Transferred to McWilliams’ litigation consulting group and worked on first fraud investigation. Combed through a dentist office’s financials to discover the secretary had embezzled $150,000.

Helped lead the FTI team investigating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, one of the largest investor frauds in American history. Working alongside the FBI, “WE PIECED TOGETHER THE STORY USING DATA AND DOCUMENTS AS OUR STARTING POINT.”

Appointed Kogod executive in residence. “TEACHING WAS ALWAYS MY LONG-TERM GOAL.” The timing was serendipitous: The job came along just as the Madoff investigation was wrapping up.

Graduated from the Kogod School of Business. Immediately jumped into the master’s program in order to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, which requires 150 credit hours of course work.

Married Le.

Joined FTI Consulting’s forensic and litigation consulting practice in D.C. Specialized in forensic accounting and fraud investigations generated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice.

Earned a master’s in accounting from Kogod.

Accepted an auditing job with Arthur Andersen.

Interned at Arthur Andersen in Tysons Corner—at the time, one of the “big five” accounting firms.

Returned to Kogod as an adjunct professor, first teaching Principles of Financial Accounting—the same class she took nine years earlier. Also team-taught Kogod’s first Forensic Accounting course before taking it over in 2008.

Returned to D.C. Accepted a senior forensic accountant position at Dubinsky and Company in Bethesda, where she provided litigation support services in civil and criminal fraud cases.

Appointed program director of Kogod’s master’s in accounting program.

Received university-wide award for outstanding teaching in a term appointment.

Voted Kogod undergrad professor of the year again by students.

Created advanced forensic accounting class for grad students. Helped develop a graduate certificate in forensic accounting. Kogod’s program is unique: “OUR CUTTING-EDGE CURRICULUM GIVES STUDENTS SKILLS TO WORK IN THIS EXCITING FIELD.” Twenty students are already working toward the 12-credit certificate.

Son Oliver was born.

Voted Kogod undergrad professor of the year by students.

Switched majors from justice, law and society to accounting after taking Principles of Financial Accounting over the summer. “THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS RESONATED WITH ME LIKE NOTHING ELSE HAD.” Since AU didn’t yet have a forensic accounting track, took classes that would prepare her to investigate fraud and financial irregularities.

Tutored other accounting students.

ILLU

STRA

TION

BY

PETE

R HO

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play

“Our diverse campus is a wonderful thing,” says David Bierwirth, associate athletics director. “One thing that can bring everyone together is athletics.” After the seasons, nine women’s basketball players and five men were named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Men’s swimming and diving and women’s soccer earned

NCAA awards for posting perfect academic progress rates in 2012–13. It all made for a sweet rookie season for first-year AD Walker. “I want to make sure our athletes succeed in the classroom, compete on the field, are active in the community, and I want to make sure we’re having fun,” he says. Four out of four ain’t bad.

ON THE HEELS OF A BANNER YEAR that saw three AU teams capture Patriot League titles and the men’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams captivate the campus, not even the conclusion of on-the-field play could stop the Eagles from picking up victories. In June, Alexis Dobbs was nominated by the Patriot League for the 2014 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, and Darius “Pee Wee” Gardner was named the 2013–14 Patriot League Sportsmanship Award winner. “This year we built some momentum in the fall with field hockey, and then volleyball had a spectacular season,” says Billy Walker, director of athletics and recreation. “The new coaches in both basketball programs got people excited. The way the women started out, and when the men got into league play, everybody got pretty fired up.”

That’s an understatement. Throughout the year, more than 3,500 alumni—the most ever—attended athletics-sponsored events held from San Francisco to Milwaukee, where the men’s basketball team played in the NCAA Tournament, to New York. The Blue Crew student group has more than 3,000 members, also its high-water mark. “We want to do whatever we can do to make people feel like they’re part of the family,” says Walker, who came to AU from the U.S. Air Force Academy in February 2013. In November, the field hockey team shut out Boston University to capture its ninth Patriot League crown. A conference- best 18 players were named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. The volleyball team also won a conference championship, then proceeded to shock Georgia and Duke in the NCAAs. Winter saw the women’s basketball team, under the direction of first-year coach Megan Gebbia, earn a postseason tournament at-large berth for the first time. When the men’s team, led by first-year coach Mike Brennan, beat BU in Beantown to win the Patriot League title, students, faculty, and alumni who didn’t make the trip to Wisconsin were glued to their TVs watching the Eagles in the NCAA’s Big Dance.

Throughout the year, more than 3,500 alumni—the most ever—attended athletics-sponsored events held from San Francisco to Milwaukee.

VLAD MOST VALUABLE

Former men’s basketball standout Vlad Moldoveanu ’11 capped his third professional season overseas by leading his squad, Kalev/Cramo, to a sweep of the Estonia KML Finals, earning most valuable player honors during the playoffs. In the title-clinching game, Moldoveanu registered a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

TWITTER CHAMPS

Fans took to Twitter to show their love for AU field hockey, choosing the squad as the Patriot League Women’s Team of the Year. Using designated hashtags, fans cast their votes over 24 hours. The Eagles beat out six other squads to earn the honor.


news

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BUSY BODIES, SHARP MINDS

As physical education minutes increase, so do test scores. Stacey Snelling led a CAS team analyzing the impact of D.C.’s Healthy Schools Act, enacted in 2010 to reduce obesity. They found kids who got more physical activity performed better on the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System.

For two countries that officially share no diplomatic relations, the U.S. and Cuba sure like talking to each other. In the forthcoming book, Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana, School of Public Affairs professor William LeoGrande and his co-author, Peter Kornbluh, unveil the successes and failures of these often secretive meetings, and suggest 10 lessons for Americans who will consider how to engage with Cuba in the future. The authors visited Cuba about a dozen times over the course of the 10 years they spent on the project. They combed through

declassified documents, obtained others through Freedom of Information requests, and interviewed dozens of key players involved in the talks, including Fidel Castro, former president Jimmy Carter, and his national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski. “One of the things that makes this book unique is that we have accounts of these negotiations from the people who sat across the table from one another,” LeoGrande says. “Not surprisingly, they sometimes saw

what was happening very differently.” Every presidential administration since Eisenhower has held some form of talks with Cuba. In 1978, when U.S.-Cuban relations were strained because of Cuba’s involvement in conflicts in Angola and Ethiopia, a series

of secret negotiations known to only a handful of people in the U.S. government were held in Washington, New York, Atlanta, Mexico, and Havana. The Reagan administration dealt with the Cubans on migration, as did the Clinton administration in 1995. Those talks were so secretive that not even the State Department officials responsible for Cuba knew about them. Among the results of those negotiations was a provision calling for official talks between the two countries twice a year. Both nations now use them to discuss migration and other issues. “The two sides have to listen carefully to one another, because sometimes they talk in code and it’s easy for them to misunderstand each other,” LeoGrande says. “What the Cubans want more than anything is to be treated with respect, as a coequal sovereign country. That’s one of the hardest things for the United States to do, because we’re so much bigger, we’re so much more powerful, and they’ve defied us for so long.”

What happens to college graduates after they leave campus? What is the value of their college degree? Is it worth the investment? Thanks to its graduate census data, American University is uniquely positioned to know. In September a new website (american.edu/knowsuccess) will enable anyone to discover where AU graduates are working and their salary range. No other school of AU’s size (or larger) is accumulating data in such a manner. An impressive 81 percent of graduates from the Class of 2012 responded to the survey, which showed that nine out of 10 undergrads were employed, enrolled in graduate school, or both within six months of graduation. Ninety-two percent of new undergrads work in a position related to their degree or career objective. About half work for private companies, and more than a quarter work for nonprofits. Eighty-seven percent of master’s graduates were working within six months of earning their diploma, and almost half of those secured jobs prior to graduating. Furthermore, AU is drilling down to degree level, so visitors to the site can see where graduates are working, in what capacity, how much they make, or where they’re going to grad school. The site also will feature videos and stories about graduates and their paths to success.

U.S. Ambassador Philip W. Bonsal met Fidel Castro for the first time in 1959 outside Havana. Top: A 1977 presidential directive signed by Jimmy Carter instructs the U.S. to work toward normalization with Cuba.

MADE IN THE USA

The Ford F-Series pickup and the Chevrolet Corvette take the checkered flag in Kogod’s 2014 Made in America Auto Index (scoring 87.5 out of 100). Professor Frank DuBois maintains the index, which considers production factors overlooked by other indices. The Buick Enclave, Chevy Traverse, and GMC Acadia round out the top five.

DIVE INTO THE THINK TANK

Jennifer Lawless, director of SPA’s Women and Politics Institute, has joined more than 300 policy experts at the Brookings Institution. The Governance Studies fellow will examine gender and youth issues.


Record highsRed Line to the record book: Washingtonians needn’t travel far to traverse the longest set of single-span escalators in the Western Hemisphere. The Wheaton Metro station’s escalators are 230 feet long, with a vertical rise of 115 feet. From platform to street level, the trip takes 2 minutes and 45 seconds—longer, of course, if the escalator is out of service.

Ward’s last standAlthough AU students have feted their neighbor, Artemas Ward, with barbecues, concerts, and game shows, the Massachusetts general wasn’t always so welcome on Mass Ave. Members of the AU community and the surrounding neighborhood objected to Ward’s representation of military power—a distasteful image in the pacifist era of the 1930s, when the statue was erected. The Revolutionary War general wasn’t well- known in D.C., causing the Eagle editor to write in 1937, “At least so little is known about the man that his statue can have no evil effects on the minds of the young.”

Statue of limitationsHeard of the “hoof code”—the legend that the number of hooves in the air on equestrian statues indicates how the rider died? Well, it’s a bunch of horse hooey. Of the 30 equestrian statues in Washington, only 10 follow the code (one hoof raised, rider was wounded; two hoofs raised, rider died; all hoofs on the ground, rider was unharmed).

A sticky situationWhile it’s true that D.C. is the third worst city in America for mosquitoes (according to a 2013 report from pest control company Orkin), the Federal City wasn’t built on a swamp. When architect Pierre L’Enfant surveyed the city 200 years ago, he did discover wetlands near the rivers—however the majority of present-day D.C. was crop land, wooded slopes, and bluffs. In fact, historian Don Hawkins estimates that swamp lands covered only about 1 percent of the total area L’Enfant was tasked with designing. You can chalk up the muggy, swamp-like summers to Washington’s humid subtropical climate.

Can you spare a hand?Even sculptor Felix de Weldon, the artist behind the Marine Corps War Memorial, disputes the long-held myth that the statue, based on Joe Rosenthal’s iconic, Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, features a 13th hand among the jumble of mitts gripping the flagpole. (Some speculate the extra hand symbolizes the hand of God—or the Corps.) “Who needed 13 hands? Twelve were enough,” said the exasperated artist.

A tall taleWhen it was completed in 1883, the Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world, but it was eclipsed by the Eiffel Tower six years later. At 555 feet, it’s the tallest structure in D.C. but not the highest point (Washington National Cathedral, while only 301 feet tall, is perched on a hill, 676 feet above sea level). Despite popular belief, there’s no law that prohibits structures taller than the Washington Monument. While an 1899 cap was based on the height of the Capitol dome (289 feet), the Height of Buildings Act was amended in 1910 to limit a building’s height to 20 feet more than the width of the street that it faces—stunting the District’s skyline at about 13 stories.

Monumental mythThe Washington Monument, the tallest all-stone structure in the world (and the tallest obelisk), is two different colors—not because

BY ADRIENNE FRANK

Did you know that D.C. boasts one lawyer for every 12 residents or that more wine is consumed in the District—26 liters per person, per year—than any U.S. state? Did you know that the average annual rainfall for Washington is three inches more than that of Seattle? (The difference: it drizzles in the Emerald City and pours in the Capital City.) And did you know—despite D.C.’s infamously muggy summers—that the city wasn’t built on a swamp? Washington is home to 646,449 people, more than the populations of Wyoming and Vermont, and more Labrador retrievers than any other breed. Seventeen million tourists per year clog the sidewalks; 106 miles of Metrorail track crisscross the city; and 167,000 seats dot four sports venues. This great city and its suburbs are also home base for more than 40 percent of AU alumni, which means the trivia below will come in handy at your next cocktail party—where wine will undoubtedly be served.

of a great flood but because the Civil War caused an 18-year construction delay. When construction commenced, stone from the original quarry was no longer available.

The dark sideA grotesque of Darth Vader looms over the most unlikely of places. Washington National Cathedral held a decorative sculpture competition for children in the 1980s, in the midst of construction on the west towers. Nebraska native Christopher Rader took home third place with a drawing of the Star Wars villain who was to kids in 1983 what Frozen’s Elsa is to youngsters today. Sculpted by Jay Hall Carpenter, Darth Vader is located on the east face of the cathedral’s northwest tower along with other winning entries: a raccoon, a girl with ponytails and braces, and a man with an umbrella.

That’s what autocorrect is forAn engraver inadvertently carved an “E” instead of an “F” in Honest Abe’s second inaugural address, depicted on the Lincoln Memorial’s north wall. The typo was fixed by filling in a portion of the letter.


Face that launched a thousand mythsRumor has it that Daniel Chester French— a starving, Depression-era sculptor and Confederate sympathizer—carved Robert E. Lee’s face onto the back of Abraham Lincoln’s statue. Thousands of visitors to the Lincoln Memorial claim to see Lee, looking across the Potomac to his old home, Arlington House. But much like Virgin Mary sightings in toast, there’s no truth to this one. The “face” is nothing more than the viewer’s interpretation of Lincoln’s hair.

Site selectionHow the hulking Treasury Building, the third oldest federal structure in the city, came to sit on 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue is the subject of much speculation. Some theorize that President Andrew Jackson, whose relations with Congress were rocky, selected a swath of land immediately east of the White House so he couldn’t see the

Capitol out his window. Others say Jackson was out walking with his aides when the hotly debated locale of the new Treasury Building came up. Angry, he slammed down his walking cane and ordered, “Put it here!” Unfortunately, the truth is far less interesting: the building was erected on what was cheap government land.

Cracking the codeSculptor James Sanborn’s “Kryptos,” a 10-foot-tall copper installation that resembles paper emerging from a printer, has been teasing brains at the CIA’s Langley headquarters for 24 years. The sculpture—named for the Greek word for “hidden”—features an 865-character code. Three of the four encrypted messages, which include all 26 letters of the standard Latin alphabet, have been decoded (it took a CIA analyst eight years to crack the first three sections), but the fourth remains one of the most famous unsolved codes in the world. A Yahoo! Group with more than

2,000 active members has been trying to solve the riddle for more than a decade—but if the spies can’t solve it, is there any hope for the rest of us?

Street surrenderH, I, K, L: what about J? The omission of J Street on the downtown grid has puzzled Washingtonians and tourists alike for generations. Many believe the city’s architect, Pierre L’Enfant, held a grudge against the first Supreme Court justice, John Jay, and thus wiped J Street from the map. (L’Enfant was reportedly irked about the controversial Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation—otherwise known as the Jay Treaty—which was seen as more favorable to Brits than Americans.) The truth? The letters “I” and “J” were often indistinguishable, especially when handwritten. (Fun fact: Thomas Jefferson marked all his possessions with the initials “T. I.”) Having both I and J Streets would’ve been redundant and confusing.

Lobbying for answersUlysses S. Grant might have referred to the hangers-on who hounded him for favors and jobs in the lobby of the Willard as “those damn lobbyists,” but the 18th president, who frequented the downtown hotel for cigars and brandy, didn’t coin the term. It can be traced back to seventeenth-century England and the lobbies in the House of Commons, where powerbrokers mingled with the public. The verb “to lobby” appeared in print in the United States in the 1830s—three decades before Grant took office. (That’s not to deny the Willard’s storied history: Martin Luther King Jr. penned his “I Have a Dream” speech there, and Abraham Lincoln stayed in the hotel on the eve of his inauguration.)

CHECK OUT THE NOVEMBER ISSUE OF AMERICAN FOR MORE D.C.

TRIVIA AND THE CHANCE TO WIN YOUR OWN PRESIDENTIAL BOBBLEHEAD.

syllabus

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE 419Conflict Cuisine

The best way to win hearts and minds might be through the stomach. Last semester, 19 School of International Service students whet their intellectual appetites with a first-of-its-kind course on gastrodiplomacy: the use of food to foster cultural understanding. The undergrads munched their way across D.C. to learn how conflicts in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and El Salvador influenced local cuisine and the diaspora who prepare it. “Sitting around the table with the chef . . . who can explain the history of a cuisine or a specific regional dish is an invaluable way to understand the course of a nation’s history,” says scholar in residence Johanna Mendelson-Forman. SIS students aren’t the only ones taking a bite out of gastrodiplomacy. In 2012, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton organized a corps of 80 chef ambassadors who travel abroad on public diplomacy missions.

Next courseHEALTH AND FITNESS 535Global NutritionOn students’ plates: a survey of the nutrition-related aspects of infectious and chronic diseases in developing countries.

MANAGEMENT 596The Business of WaterKogod students are lapping up this class about the $450 billion water industry. Topics include regulation and sustainability.


wonk

“Public interest in space exploration has been fairly constant since the Apollo years: 30 to 40 percent of the population favors space exploration and an aggressive space program. It’s a sizable enough block to keep the government program for civil space alive at about $17 billion a year. Military spending for space is even greater than that.”

Q. Why is it important that humankind continue space exploration?

A. We don’t exist on the surface of the Earth anymore. We exist from the surface of the Earth about 25,000 miles out in geosynchronous orbit.

We keep our weather satellites and our communication, global positioning, and navigation systems in space. It’s as much a part of our existence as going to Chicago, only with Chicago you travel across the globe, and with space you go up.

Space exploration is important for commercial reasons, for scientific reasons, for national security, and for national prestige. We’d also like to diversify humanity onto more than one orb.

The big move for NASA right now is public-private partnerships. NASA has tried since 1972 to reduce the cost of space access and they haven’t yet been successful. The new technique is to farm it out to entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Richard Branson. SpaceX has already successfully docked cargo carriers with the International Space Station.

Out of that hopefully will come technological breakthroughs that conquer the money barrier in space. It costs about $10,000 to launch a pound of material into space—we need to be able to move large structures into space less expensively.

The prestige of the space program is still terribly important in the geopolitical forum. A great nation, a great economy, it is thought, has to be a space-faring nation. You can see this in China, Russia, and other nations that are coming up like Brazil and Thailand. One of the amazing things about the Air Malaysia loss is that it caused a lot of nations that you didn’t think had space assets to reveal them.

It’s a club, and if you’re going to be a major world power, you want to be a leader in the club.

HOWARD MCCURDYSchool of Public Affairs professor and winner of the American Astronautical Society’s 2013 John F. Kennedy Astronautics Award


WORK-Breanna Bock-Nielsen, BA/SPA ’10, MS/SPA ’12Director of government affairs, National Sheriffs’ Association, Duke Street between Peyton and West Streets

WORK-Sarah McElveen, WCL/JD ’04Attorney, Wade, Friedman and Sutter, P.C., Washington Street between Wythe and Pendleton Streets, and president, Alexandria Bar Association

WORK-Elliot Bell-Krasner, SPA/MPP ’12Youngest-ever member of the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission, which meets monthly at the Lloyd House, Washington and Queen Streets

CHRONICLE-Michael Pope, WAMU 88.5 reporterOld Town resident and author, Hidden History of Alexandria and Ghosts of Alexandria

WORK- Simone Echeverri-Gent, CAS/BA ’08Director of strategic alliances, Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Montgomery Street between Pitt and St. Asaph Streets

An urban playground. A laboratory for learning. A professional hub. A vibrant collection of neighborhoods—and neighbors. Washington’s got it all. And for our alumni, students, and faculty, Metro is their ticket to ride, connect, and explore AU’s backyard. Which Metro stop is the center of your world? Share your story: [email protected].

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exclusively from Students United. (Over the last nine years, Mentoring Today has matched 58 mentors with 64 mentees.) “I remember we were walking the halls of Oak Hill one day [as law students], watching the mentors and mentees work together, and I said to Whitney, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if this was our job?’” says Spain. The goldfish finally had something to sink their teeth in.

ACCORDING TO A 2010 REPORT by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 67 percent of incarcerated youth (roughly 70,000 kids nationwide) reported having witnessed someone severely injured or killed. Twenty-two percent had attempted suicide, and 30 percent (five times the rate for all kids) had dabbled with crack or cocaine. Locally, 70 percent of the approximately 1,000 juveniles arrested annually in the District grew up east of the Anacostia River in Wards 5, 7, and 8—communities marred by poverty, high unemployment, and dismal high school graduation rates. Fifty to 80 percent of the young men who churn through New Beginnings, which opened in 2009, have also cycled in and out of Washington’s child abuse and neglect system. Some are homeless; many wrestle with mental health issues, drug problems, or post traumatic stress disorder. Nearly all come from fatherless homes. Given the complexity of the juveniles’ issues, the first rule Spain and Louchheim share with Mentoring Today volunteers is a surprisingly simple one: show up.

Pennsylvania, during their first day of orientation at the Washington College of Law (WCL). The women chatted for hours after their serendipitous meeting, swapping stories about their childhoods, their spirituality, and their desire to use their law degrees for good—whatever that might look like. A budding interest in juvenile justice solidified their bond. “The summer after my first year of law school, I shadowed a public defender at Oak Hill Youth Center and was blown away by the conditions,” says Spain of the violent, crumbling facility, which preceded New Beginnings. “It broke my heart that we were treating kids like this in America.” Struck by the shortcomings of the juvenile justice system—the rats and roaches that roamed Oak Hill, the mountains of case files that littered social workers’ desks, the racial disparity among D.C.’s juvenile offenders—she knew she’d found her calling. In fall 2003, Spain and Louchheim, who clerked for a magistrate judge in D.C. Superior Court’s child abuse and neglect division, founded Students United, pairing WCL student mentors with 16- to 21-year-old inmates at Oak Hill. The goal: to help the young men successfully reintegrate into their neighborhoods and empower them to become productive members of society. Today, Mentoring Today draws its corps of volunteers

DEALERS, DOPERS, DROPOUTS, DELINQUENTS. They wear the labels given them by teachers, peers, family, and society, which has turned its back on them—or never had much hope for them to begin with. Trouble finds them, or they find trouble, and they’re plucked off the streets to spend six months, maybe 12 or 18, in the District’s optimistically named New Beginnings, a $46 million juvenile detention center tucked away in Laurel, Maryland. But to Whitney Louchheim, WCL/JD ’05, and Penelope Spain, WCL/JD ’05, these thieves and thugs, corner boys and bangers, are more than the sum of their rap sheets. These young men, nearly all of them D.C. born and raised, are children deprived of a childhood, troubled souls in need of an advocate, a confidante, a mentor, a North Star.

SPAIN AND LOUCHHEIM WEAR LABELS OF

THEIR OWN: do-gooders, bleeding hearts, idealists. But just like the juvenile offenders with whom they work at Mentoring Today, the nonprofit they founded in 2005, they aren’t so easily categorized. “One of the kids once said, ‘Y’all are like goldfish that bite,’” laughs Louchheim, 35. “They look friendly enough, but don’t mess with them.” In truth, the pair are idealists. Like generations of American University students before them and waves still to come, Spain and Louchheim came to Washington in fall 2002 “to make a difference.” “We just needed to define it,” recalls Spain, 38. A native of Napa, California—a community of vineyard owners and the migrant workers who labor in their fields—Spain’s family constantly teetered on the poverty line. She met Louchheim, who came from a liberal, human rights–focused family in Gettysburg,

“ONE OF THE KIDS ONCE SAID, ‘Y,ALL ARE LIKE GOLDFISH THAT BITE.’THEY LOOK FRIENDLY ENOUGH, BUT DON’T MESS WITH THEM.”- WHITNEY LOUCHHEIM

WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW ALUMNI WHITNEY LOUCHHEIM AND PENELOPE SPAIN HELP INCARCERATED D.C. YOUTH REWRITE THEIR FUTURES


first seven matches inside Oak Hill. Mentoring Today was up and running.

WHEN THEY FIRST MEET UNDER THE HARSH

LIGHTS of the New Beginnings cafeteria, the mentees don’t tell their new mentors what landed them under the supervision of D.C.’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). The details will emerge eventually, but up to this point the youth have been defined by their crimes: drug slinger, auto thief, disturber of the peace. For the first time in a long time, the kids have a clean slate. “We want them to lead with their goals, to focus on the future,” Louchheim says. There are games and food—carefully laid out on the same tables each week, as structure and routine are important—to help the pairs get to know one another in a relaxed, nonthreatening environment. Though they receive 10 hours of training, the mentors, who are recruited every September, don’t come in with an agenda for those first few 90-minute sessions. “We want them to develop a level of comfort and understanding with the mentees,” Louchheim says. “We don’t want them to get too deep, too fast.” Early on, the mentors’ job is to encourage the young offenders to take accountability for the choices that landed them behind bars and challenge them to imagine a life outside the watchful, unblinking eye of the criminal justice system. As the final months of the juveniles’ sentences begin to tick away, the mentors switch into advocacy mode, sitting in on meetings with DYRS and social service officials to hash out the terms of release and ensure housing, education, mental health, and employment needs are addressed. That’s where the volunteers’ legal training comes into play. “The academic lessons I learned in the classroom felt incomplete without seeing their practical effect,” says Marquis’s mentor, Claire Grandison. “Mentoring provided a window through which I was able to learn about the intricacies of the juvenile and criminal justice systems and see how they function in practice. “Addressing issues in a piecemeal fashion is often ineffective because housing, employment, education, safety, and other factors are all connected, and a deficiency in one area threatens security in all.” When juveniles are released from New Beginnings, they’re assigned to one of a dozen group homes scattered across the District for 30 to 90 days. They’re fitted with GPS monitoring

“These kids are used to empty promises, so they don’t expect much,” Louchheim says. “The first step to building trust is showing up every week.” D.C. native Marquis was used to being left. His mother went to prison when he was eight, and he bounced around the foster care system until her release, seven years later. Marquis was arrested for the first time at age 12 for stealing a car; he was wrapping up a nearly two-year stint at New Beginnings for drug charges in 2010 when he was matched with mentor Claire Grandison, WCL/JD ’14. “I think we’ve been to every restaurant, library, and museum in the city. I also call her with my lady problems,” says Marquis, now 22, with a gentle laugh. Grandison, who will work at Philadelphia’s Community Legal Services starting next year, helped Marquis with everything from his Spanish homework to job and college applications to apartment searches. “She taught me how to advocate for myself—how to properly ask for what I need—and to be a productive, positive person,” says Marquis, a polite young man with a charismatic smile, who greets everyone with a hug. Grandison is gratified to have witnessed Marquis’s transformation from lost boy to a mentor himself. “Despite confronting so many obstacles, he remains a constant optimist who never ceases to develop creative goals to improve himself and his community. It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch Marquis work hard to get the jobs he wanted, continue his education and training, and advocate on behalf of himself and others in the juvenile justice system.” Today, Marquis works as a youth leader with FREE Project, a group founded by Mentoring Today mentees that advocates for education and employment opportunities for kids caught up in D.C.’s criminal justice system. In June, he collected the Coalition for Juvenile Justice’s prestigious Spirit of Youth Award during the nonprofit’s annual conference—with Grandison proudly looking on from the audience. “She’s not just my mentor, she’s my friend,” Marquis says. “Anything I need, I know she’s always going to answer my calls. She’ll always be there—and you can’t say that about many people.”

THE SUMMER BEFORE HER THIRD YEAR

OF LAW SCHOOL, Spain did something unprecedented: she took time off.

She retreated to Venezuela, where she once worked for the Carter Center, to undertake a silent meditation and pen a business plan for Mentoring Today. She envisioned an organization where volunteers would serve not only as mentors but also as legal advocates, helping juveniles—who opt into the program—navigate the murky reentry process. Unlike other programs, which connect mentors with kids after they return home, Spain wanted to begin building relationships with the juveniles four to six months before their release. “There’s this really rich moment where the kids are literally a captive audience,” she says. “If you wait until they come home, they quickly get sucked back into their old lives, and you’ve lost that window of opportunity.” Louchheim, meanwhile, took crash courses in grant writing, website development, and fund raising—all while studying for her last round of finals. “I was researching things like insurance—we couldn’t pay for it just yet, but I knew what we needed.”

In October 2005, a month after they sat for the bar exam, Spain and Louchheim—who also work as defense attorneys, representing young, lower-level offenders in delinquency court—got their nonprofit status. Soon after, they found space in a warehouse near Marvin Gaye Park in northeast D.C. Calling it an “office” might be too generous; the converted closet had lights and a small desk, but no heat, air conditioning, or windows. (The space was, however, great for fund raising. “Donors would say, ‘We’ll give you money just to get out of here,’” laughs Louchheim.) “We were escorted to work every day by the drug dealers from D.C.’s largest open-air heroin market,” Spain recalls. Staff retreats consisted of snacking on ice cream sandwiches and strolling through the park. And they couldn’t have been happier, she says. In July 2006, the women received a $45,000 award from D.C.’s Justice Grants Administration. Weeks later, they made their

“WE WERE ESCORTED TO WORK EVERY DAY BY THE DRUG DEALERS FROM D.C.

,S

LARGEST OPEN-AIR HEROIN MARKET.” - PENELOPE SPAIN


bracelets, which must be charged for one hour, twice a day. They submit to weekly or twice-weekly drug tests, counseling, and substance abuse treatment and must attend school, work, or both. They have multiple—often conflicting—curfews and daily appointments that can take them to opposite ends of the city. (A frequent question for mentors: How do I pay for $12 a day in Metro fare?) And as their lives get more complicated postrelease, so do the juveniles’ relationships with their mentors.

DESPITE THE RIGOROUS TERMS OF THEIR

RELEASE, the youth enjoy more freedom on the outside. It’s easy to slip into old habits; temptation seemingly lingers on every corner. “Kids get out and they’re looking over their shoulders. They can become more guarded, they’re easily derailed,” Louchheim says. “In some ways, mentors have to start all over.” Some juveniles see the mentoring relationship as an escape—from their group home, at the very least. Others fall off the radar but reemerge when a crisis arises and leads them back to their mentor for help. “Kids know they can come to us with anything,” Spain says. Whether they stick together from the start or reconnect down the road, most of Mentoring Today’s pairs weather the storm of reentry.

Nationally, 45 percent of mentoring relationships last 12 months. Twice as many of Mentoring Today’s matches—90 percent—hit the year mark and, in fact, most pairs work together for about two and a half years. Under the guidance of the WCL students, 97 percent of youth active in Mentoring Today enroll in school or a GED or vocational program upon their release—compared to only 57 percent of juvenile offenders nationwide. Many go on to college. Seventy-one percent also obtain part- or full-time employment. Often, as is the case with Marquis and his mentor, Claire Grandison, they stay in touch even after the mentor collects her law degree and takes a job outside of the D.C. area. It’s at that point that a different kind of relationship emerges. “The kids have learned to advocate for themselves, but they still want someone to talk to,” Louchheim says. “In the end, it’s a friendship that remains.”

LOUCHHEIM, A SELF-PROFESSED DATA

WONK, is always quick with a statistic. You have to be when you’re accountable to donors and funding agencies. But asked for evidence that the Mentoring Today model works, Louchheim—a mother of two young sons, whose instinct to nurture, encourage, and protect extends to her other kids—offers an anecdote.

“When we go to New Beginnings, I hug all of our mentees—that’s powerful. These kids are more childlike than they appear, and they just want to be loved. For them, our meetings are a very bright spot in a rough week, a rough month.” A rough life.

Spain says it’s easy to get discouraged. “Kids are still coming through our program in dire straits. Have we eradicated the need for a program like Mentoring Today? No. Will we ever? I’m not sure.” The mother of a nearly two-year-old son, Spain says she finds encouragement in the “ripple effect.” “Some of our mentees are having kids themselves. One of them said to me, ‘I never had a father figure, but I’m going to do things differently for my daughter.’ That gives me hope.” Spoken like a true idealist.

Whitney Louchheim, left, and Penelope Spain in the H Street Corridor, blocks from the Mentoring Today office in Northeast Washington

“KIDS GET OUT AND THEY

,RE

LOOKING OVER THEIR SHOULDERS. THEY CAN BECOME MORE GUARDED, THEY

,RE

EASILY DERAILED.”- WHITNEY LOUCHHEIM


ungerby mike

this is a story about

by mike

From Aristotelian times to the age of Twitter, people have educated, entertained, and enlightened humankind through stories. American University began teaching journalism in the 1920s, when pen, paper, and film were the primary tools of the trade. Nearly a century later, the School of Communication’s new home in the McKinley Building features mind-blowing technology like a Sony 4K cinema projector (one of only five deployed in North America) in the 144-seat Michael Forman Theatre and state-of-the-art television and audio studios in a gleaming 2,500-square-foot media innovation lab. You can’t walk through the halls without seeing students pecking at their phones or swiping pages on their tablets. Laptops are rendering desktops obsolete, and digital cameras have made darkrooms feel like relics of the dark ages. In the world of communication, technology seems to evolve as quickly as breaking news. But yet, at its core, SOC’s mission hasn’t wavered.

this is a story about “Things change all the time, but for us, what has been fairly solid is good storytelling,” says professor John Douglass, director of the film and media arts division. He’s been at AU since 1978. “How you use [technology] really depends on your vision and the stories you’re telling. We need to prepare our students to tell their stories in whatever medium is best suited for the story and for the audience that they’re reaching out to.” But stories don’t exist in a vacuum. Like a tree falling in that hard-to-wrap-your-head-around forest with no one in it, they must be heard (or read or seen) to exist at all. “Story is a platform for engagement,” Dean Jeffrey Rutenbeck says. “It’s a construct, a narrative strategy. Engagement is ultimately the concept that unites all the pieces of the school. We are engaging people through the journalism that we do, through the films we make, the campaigns we develop, and eventually the games we make. We’re not just telling stories to do one thing. We seek not just to entertain but to inform, to transform; we seek to revise, to reinforce. There are a lot of verbs that come along with storytelling.” SOC’s January move into historic McKinley, whose cornerstone was laid by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, is the latest chapter in SOC’s story. Ever since being granted independence in 1984 (prior to that it was housed in the College of Arts and Sciences), it’s been a nomadic unit, its faculty, classrooms, and centers headquartered on the cramped third floor of the Mary Graydon Center but also scattered throughout campus. The relocation to McKinley, which underwent a $24 million renovation that preserved its classic architecture while adding a sleek, modern expansion, was in one sense a reunification.

“By occupying such a prominent, historic place on campus, it reaffirms the role that communication plays in the structure and life of the university,” Rutenbeck says. “It’s a promotion of sorts. You go from a smattering of spaces and places to a powerful physical presence.”

To celebrate SOC’s new home—and to contextualize it—we asked faculty, alumni, and current students to share with us a story that impacted them in some meaningful way.It didn’t have to be an article that won a Pulitzer or a film that took home an Oscar (though an Oscar winner is among our storytellers), we said, rather, just a tale that for some reason made a lasting difference in your life. In The Art of Storytelling, Nancy Mellon writes that “because there is a natural storytelling urge and ability in all human beings, even just a little nurturing of this impulse can bring about astonishing and delightful results.” We think she’s right. We hope you do, too.


American Film Institute’s (AFI) directing program. As luck would have it, the same day I got a rejection letter from AFI, the U.S. government sent me a nice tax return. So I took a 90-day leave of absence and went to L.A. I didn’t see her again for 17 years. The night before I won Oscar No. 2 for Dances with Wolves, she was at a black-tie dinner. When I got to the lectern, I looked out at the audience and saw her. I said, “You probably don’t remember me, Ms. Angelou, but I took your advice.” That was an omen—I felt I would win.

Leena JayaswalSOC, CAS/BA ’94, professor, film and media arts

The summer after my first year of grad school, I cold-called Mary Ellen Mark, a photographer who shot for Life magazine and still shoots for Rolling Stone. A lot of her photos focus on India, where my family’s from, so I’d always been attracted to her work. I called her New York studio and said, “Can I work for you?” I got the job. One day she was shooting the “Women in Rock” issue for Rolling Stone, which included a photo of Yoko Ono. It was exciting to see Mary Ellen so nervous on set, because she had been doing this for 40-some years. She was published in every major magazine, so to watch her get nervous about shooting somebody was a real lesson to me: you always have to be humble, you have to keep yourself grounded.

I got to be Yoko Ono’s stand-in while they were organizing the lights, because I was about the same height. When Yoko Ono came out, I was standing between her and Mary Ellen Mark thinking, how is this my life? Here I am with these two amazing women artists. It was one of those defining moments that made me think anything is possible for me in this career.

I was 21 years old and had never met anyone who was later brutally murdered. The U.S. destabilization of Allende and the assassination of Letelier were defining moments for me. From then on, there could be no higher calling for me than exposing abuses of government, corporate, or other power, through tenacious, tough, but fair investigative reporting.

Jeffrey RutenbeckSOC dean

I went to the University of Missouri to become a journalist. I was in the journalism library late at night, looking for a book in the stacks.

A book fell off the shelf and hit me in the head. It was called Existential Journalism by a guy named John Calhoun Merrill, who actually was a faculty member at Missouri. It was maybe 150 pages. I sat down and read it immediately, and reading that book changed my mind about becoming a journalist. I decided to become a scholar of journalism.

Russell Williams SOC/BA ’74, distinguished artist in residence

When I was still a student at AU, I cohosted a Saturday afternoon radio program. One day I was watching local news, and there was a story about Maya Angelou being in town for a book signing. I thought, we’re just a little college radio show, but maybe if we go down there and beg and plead, we might get an interview. She was staying at the Madison Hotel, and she sat down and gave me an interview like I was somebody from 60 Minutes. She talked about how she pulled herself up out of the South and went to Europe, and about how disappointed she was at the youth of the time who seemed reluctant to take an educated risk, a risk that would eventually pay big dividends. After we played that on the air, I would periodically go back and revisit her comments. After I graduated I said, if I don’t go out to L.A. I’m always going to be saying “what if.” I had applied to the

Charles Lewis professor and executive editor, Investigative Reporting Workshop

Forty years ago, while doing my undergraduate senior thesis research about the U.S. destabilization of Chile, I met and talked with Pulitzer Prize–winner Seymour Hersh at the New York Times’s Washington bureau. Months earlier, he had broken the story about the Nixon administration’s successful, covert efforts to topple the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allende. That same remarkable day, I interviewed Orlando Letelier, the former Chilean defense minister under Allende who had been granted asylum in the U.S. and was teaching at AU’s School of International Service.

Letelier told me that the U.S. had illegally wiretapped the Chilean embassy in Washington, which later was revealed to be one of the Watergate “plumbers’” illegal break-ins. He also showed me secret Chilean intelligence cables in Spanish indicating that, at the exact time of the coup d’état that led to Allende’s death and the brutal new regime of President Augusto Pinochet, U.S. naval forces had been nearby, just off the coast of Santiago. Letelier was deeply suspicious, and he certainly did not believe that was coincidental. I left his Bethesda home that day stunned by what I had heard. A year and a half later, in September 1975, I was in a grad school class when I heard constant and very loud sirens. A few blocks away, on Sheridan Circle, Letelier had been assassinated by killers specifically sent to Washington by President Pinochet. In the dead of night, they had placed a radio-detonated bomb beneath his car parked in that same cul-de-sac in Bethesda where I had driven and parked the year before. It was and remains the first and only time a foreign head of state ordered a known political assassination on the streets of Washington.


stickers. I reported back that the coalition had two groups with incredibly powerful stories to tell, yet neither had a voice. The two were the universe of exonerates and murder victims’ families for reconciliation. After analyzing their literature and messages, I helped reframe the debate. It boiled down to this question: is the death penalty a deterrent to violent crime? I looked at studies that went both ways and thought, if you ask the wrong question, you won’t get the right answer.

I thought that if we’re going to move the debate forward, we’ve got to change the question. The new question I was part of developing was, “Can we trust our government to make such irreversible life and death decisions when it makes so many mistakes?” No matter how ultraconservative the political point of view, the execution of an innocent person destroys the credibility of the system. Now conservatives no longer use the deterrence argument. It’s been discredited by and large. Along with several other people, I was part of a group that changed the debate on the death penalty. If I’ve got any contribution that I’m proudest of, it’s this little nugget.

Amy Eismanprofessor and director, Media Entrepreneurship and Interactive Journalism

As a young reporter, I covered the family of a young man who had been taken hostage in Iran during the 444 days in captivity known as the hostage crisis. The parents at first refused to talk to journalists, but I sat outside the father’s Baltimore office—he was a professor—until they would talk. He said I reminded him of a student. I ended up covering the family rather closely, sleeping several times at their eventual home in Memphis—I guess I was an early embed—and driving my rental car to a pay phone so I could file my stories to rewrite at the News American in Baltimore.

for a beer. The bar hung balloons near the mugs; you could toss a tiny pen knife, and if you popped the balloon, you got a free beer.

In a one-in-a-billion, freak accident, the knife one friend threw ricocheted off a glass and slit his friend’s jugular vein. He bled out in minutes. We covered the story about the horror of killing your best friend. The police came and took the guy home. Eighteen months later, we got another story about two cousins riding the subway back to Jersey from lower Manhattan, where they were watching Kung Fu movies. They were pantomiming the fights when one guy hit the glass, fell onto the tracks, and died. The cousin who kicked the other one was taken out in handcuffs and charged with involuntary manslaughter. I looked at the story: legally, it was identical to the story in Bayonne. Why was this guy being charged? He’s black. That’s the only difference I could see. Our front-page story compared the cases: this one was facing a felony indictment and this one never even went to the police station. The next morning the prosecutor dropped the charges.

Richard Stack professor, public communication

Seventeen years ago my daughter was born 15 minutes into my first sabbatical. I had a baby to play with in the morning, a three-year-old to play with in the afternoon, and a little time on my hands. One day I watched Dead Man Walking, and later I read the book. I was so inspired by it. One of the footnotes led me to Steve Hawkins, the executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. I told him, “I have time on my hands, motivation, a legal background, and the resources of terrific students. What can I do?” He asked me to take a look at the organization’s reading room. It was a small, dinky space, and I examined their books, videos, posters, and bumper

Eric Vignola CAS/BA, BS ’17

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved playing video games. My earliest memory with them is of my cousin, my uncle, and myself all crowded around a small television screen playing a game called Mega Man X. It was also during this time that my father introduced my brother and me to football. As time went on, I found that I didn’t enjoy playing football quite as much as my brother, but it soon became apparent that football was a source of bonding for my brother and father. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to share a common interest with my father like my brother did.

A game console called the Super Nintendo helped to build a bridge between my father and me. Some of my fondest memories are sitting next to him, ducking my head under a blanket because I was afraid of the zombies we fought together. I may have been scared, but I always knew my old man was there to protect me. Not only did we spend time actually playing the games, but we also enjoyed many conversations about them as well. In the years that followed, I bonded with many new people over video games. They helped me through moving, helped me make friends in school, and continue to shape my life. I attend AU on the Frederick Douglass Distinguished Scholars scholarship. My fellow scholars and I have made the decision to dedicate our careers to helping others, and I believe that video games are the way to do it. I hope that the games I make can educate, help others through tough times, or create bonds in the same way they did for me.

John Watson professor and director, journalism division

I was working at the Jersey Journal, a small newspaper in northern New Jersey with a circulation of 100,000. One day, two longtime friends went to a bar in Bayonne after work


I was part of the first wave of helicopters that flew into Iraq from Saudi Arabia. These guys had to fly about 100 feet off the ground at 100 miles an hour so that they wouldn’t be detected. On the morning of the invasion, I and a few other journalists were spread out among the helicopters, which were sitting like giant insects with their blades drooping down. I was standing out on the tarmac with American forces, the sun coming up, and one of the commanders was listening to BBC on a small radio. It was an intense scene—some of the soldiers were openly praying, making the sign of the cross. No one knew what to expect. In a thick British accent, the BBC announcer said, “And the onslaught has begun.” They had word that the first ground troops had moved in. “And the onslaught has begun.” I’ll never forget it—it still sends chills up my neck. It occurred to me at that time, what an extraordinary opportunity it was for me to witness and participate in these historic events. To me that’s one of the most powerful draws of journalism.

Brigitta Blair CAS/BA ’16

Journey is unlike any video game I have ever played. I discovered it through Flower, a video game in which you pick up flower petals by controlling the wind. Flower was shown at the Smithsonian’s The Art of Video Games exhibit in 2012 and instantly caught my eye. After doing some research, I discovered Journey was made by the same company as Flower, and within the next few days, I bought a PS3 to play for myself. The objective of Journey is to get to a mountain far in the distance without any knowledge of why you need to get there. Your character, a genderless cloaked creature with black pointy legs and a scarf, appears to be the only creature of its kind in what starts out as a desert. After exploring for a while, you eventually encounter another character who looks just like you. This character isn’t just another character in the game, though—it’s an anonymous player. Your experience in this world is affected by how you interact with this other player. Working together can lead you to new areas and regenerate health,

In the meantime, using data we gathered from the Chicago Police Department, Tom taught me how to analyze data using FoxPro for DOS. It was a revelation to see how one reporter with the right tools could produce such a detailed and revealing analysis. Public reaction to the story and the failure to track crimes was strong, and I was asked to appear on an hour-long drive-time show on Chicago’s public radio affiliate. U.S. senator Paul Simon, who had sponsored a federal law mandating collection (a separate state law mandated the state police to collect the data), weighed in to lament his state’s performance. Local papers published blurbs about the story, and soon the state police vowed to gather the statistics on hate crimes. I realized then the power of the press to set right a wrong. I saw firsthand how powerful data-driven stories could be. The next year I set off for the University of Missouri and the National Institute for Computer–Assisted Reporting. I’m still amazed at the power reporters have to force leaders and the public to confront the failings of government to protect the most vulnerable. It’s the most rewarding job there is. I suspected it then, but I know it now.

Bill Gentile journalist in residence and director, Backpack Journalism Project

I worked as a photographer for Newsweek for quite a few years. When the Persian Gulf War started, they sent me to the region on two occasions for about two months apiece. At the time of the U.S. invasion, I was in a pool with the 101st Airborne Division, whose mission at the onset of the war was to fly into Iraq and cut off Saddam Hussein’s troops, who would flee from Kuwait back into Iraq.

I have a picture of me, sitting on the sofa with them, watching the scratchy TV news as their son was freed. I also was mentioned in a New York Times story about media, noting how I was describing phone calls that came in before dawn. I used to ask the parents why they talked; the families just wanted their stories told, to keep their relatives front and center. They grew bolder as time wore on. Mostly I wrote about everything they tossed into keepsake boxes for their son’s return—cards, news clippings, political flyers, pictures, knickknacks the neighbors left. I guess what I wrote was in there, too. This was before cellphones, social media, and the world online. For a while we sent holiday cards but eventually lost touch. Then the parents and I reunited several years ago after finding each other on Facebook. We giggled like relatives, and I was glad I had treated them with respect so long ago.

John Sullivan journalist in residence and Washington Post reporter

I got hooked on investigative reporting in 1995. I had recently quit my job selling title insurance to banks and was working for free at the Chicago Reporter. After a few months, my editor, Tom Corfman, assigned me to gather data for a story on hate crimes, an annual roundup of reported bias-motivated crimes throughout the city and suburbs. As I set out to gather the data,

I discovered that the Illinois State Police officers were breaking the law by failing to track hate crimes. The new computer system they had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on was plagued by glitches that made electronic collection of the data impossible. But instead of reverting to the old paper system, state police just ignored them.


Sydney was my first impromptu interview. I didn’t know her, I hadn’t meticulously mapped out my questions. I only knew that I wanted to learn more about her. Talking to her showed me that there are so many amazing stories unfolding around us every day.

Dan Merica SOC/MA ’11, CNN associate producer

While I was a student at AU, I covered a story at D.C. Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that, among other things, trains former inmates and homeless people to get their food handler’s license. I went to cover the program but quickly realized an abundance of other stories in the kitchen. One such story was Dawain Arrington, a kitchen manager and graduate of the program who had served time in jail for murder. I was fascinated by his story. He’s a tall, good-looking guy, who was 38 years old at the time. He had a presence in the room and a good relationship with all the people there. So I came back and spent the day with him. He took me to a crime-ridden neighborhood called Eastgate in D.C., where he grew up. He showed me the place where he sold drugs for the first time and where he was arrested when he was 14. He then told me what landed him in jail. Standing at the scene of the crime, Arrington told me about how he was at the parking lot where a young man was killed. He was charged with the murder. He got out at the age of 32 on a technicality, and at that moment he turned his life around. He struggled, at first, with life on the outside. And then he found D.C. Central Kitchen. I could tell it meant a lot to him to tell his story, and it was very moving for me. It showed me that stories aren’t just about people who are powerful or people you know by name. Some amazing stories are about people you’ve never heard of, and Arrington was a perfect example.

the Wendish language, though recordings allow people to hear it. Traditions, however, remain alive. I learned that certain egg noodles, Easter egg decorating techniques, and other traditions can be traced back to the Wends. When I was able to place an article in the Hill Country Sun telling the story of the Texas Wends and the heritage society’s efforts to spread awareness, I, and they, were thrilled. I’ve told many stories over the years, but few have evolved as organically and touched me as personally as the story of this hidden gem in my own backyard.

Lillian Skye Noble SOC/BA ’16

My first year on staff with tb two, a newspaper for high school students published by the Tampa Bay Times, I was attending an annual music festival called Next Big Thing. While I was there representing the paper and inviting attendees to stop by our booth, I also walked around, listening to music and visiting different vendors. There was a booth near ours called To Write Love on Her Arms, which is a nonprofit that helps people struggling with depression. Inside the tent was a wall where people anonymously jotted down their fears and dreams. Some of the fears included codependent relationships, and some of the dreams were graduating high school, loving your body, inspiring others. As I was reading them, I realized that everything on that wall had a story behind it. I decided to talk to one of the girls who had just finished posting on the wall. I explained that I wrote for the local paper, and she opened up about her life. Her name was Sydney, and

her greatest fear was relapsing into what she used to be—someone without hope. She had thoughts of suicide. She had a tattoo on her wrist of the word “love,” to remind her that she was loved and she should love herself. It also was a reminder for her to stay strong, even when her life gets difficult. Her greatest dream was to tell her life story to keep other people alive.

while turning your back can leave you more vulnerable to enemy attacks.

Journey was the first video game that showed me how gameplay didn’t have to involve violence and the first game that moved me without the use of written text. Instead, Journey uses visuals, sounds, and interactions. This was the game that sparked my interest in games that tell stories. So many game designers rely heavily on written text above other methods to communicate their message. Although it’s by no means a bad thing, it’s not the only way to get an idea across. Body language, images, color, size, style—they all tell stories in their own way.

Rachel BoehmSOC/MA ’11, communications manager, Consumer Specialty Products Association

In 2008 I stumbled across a magazine article on dying languages. One of the languages listed, Wendish, is connected with Serbin, Texas, an unincorporated town not too far from Austin, where I am from and where I was living at the time.

I love languages and words; I’ve been a storyteller my entire life. I also love history and culture, so I was amazed that I had never heard of the Texas Wends or their efforts to preserve their language and culture. The word “Serbin” means Wendish land, and the town was founded in 1855 by a group of about 500 Wends who fled their native Lusatia to escape Germanification and religious persecution. Their settlement flourished for a time, but eventually the Texas Wends were absorbed into the German Texan culture. At the time I interviewed volunteers of the Texas Wendish Heritage Society, few if any descendants remained who could speak

FOR MORE SOC STORIES, VISIT OUR BLOG, SIDEBAR, AT AMERICANMAG.BLOGS.AMERICAN.EDU.


A N A B EC E DA RY O F

HONORS CAPSTONESFOR THE MORE THAN 200 GRADUATING SENIORS WHO COMPLETED HONORS CAPSTONES THIS YEAR, THE PROJECT MARKS AN END AND A BEGINNING: THE

CULMINATION OF FOUR YEARS OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES AND A LAUNCHING PAD FOR THE FUTURE. WHETHER IT’S A 50-PAGE MISSIVE (SOMETIMES WRITTEN IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE), A FILM, PHOTOGRAPHS, OR A PLAY, THE CAPSTONE ENCAPSULATES STUDENTS’ INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY—AND CREATIVITY.

E. COLI A bio wonk fascinated by molecular genetics, Sneh Hanspal worked with biology professor David Carlini and his research team to explore the evolutionary effect of codon bias on Escherichia coli, harmful strains of which can cause food poisoning.

Public health major Emily

Brincka—who interned at a women’s halfway house in northeast D.C.—used her research on the disproportionate effect of the War on Drugs on female offenders to create educational materials about HIV, women’s health, and nutrition.

FEMALE OFFENDERS

AL-QAEDA The Boston Marathon bombings were the impetus for Kevin Iannone’s research on the rise of homegrown

terrorists. The international studies scholar, who minored in Arabic, explored how al-Qaeda uses the Internet to attract, radicalize, and train lone wolfs like the Tsarnaev brothers and Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan.

BIRTH RATES As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Nallely Mejia is intrigued by the

intersection of immigration and health. A sociology and international studies double major, she analyzed the fertility patterns of Hispanic women in the United States and their implications for the country’s racial composition. DEGENERATE

ARTSparked by a stint at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, art history major Madeline Ullrich delved into the life of female German painter Käthe Kollwitz, deemed a degenerate artist by Adolf Hitler only to have her work eventually used as Nazi propaganda.

Ironically, killer apps can save lives. Originally defined

as a valuable computer program, “killer app” now refers to six key tools that have led to Western economic prosperity over the last several centuries. Business administration major Nick Linsmayer explored how two killer apps—utilitarian giving and leapfrog technologies—help nonprofits combat global poverty.

SPA’s Zoé Orfanos—who volunteers as a poetry teacher at the Montgomery County Correction Facility—penned An Elegy for Old Terrors, verse about the penal system. The collection was published by advisor Robert Johnson’s press, BleakHouse Publishing.

INTERSTELLAR EXTINCTION Under the guidance of astrophysicist U. J. Sofia, Dhanesh Krishnarao explored the prominence of sulfur—one of the most copious elements in the universe— in interstellar dust and its impact on extinction. The math and physics major’s research utilized spectroscopic data from the Hubble Space Telescope.

GRAPHIC DESIGNPublic health meets graphic design in Ada Thomas’s capstone, which explored how visual communication can promote nutrition and food access in low-income neighborhoods across D.C. The graphic design major used maps and graphs to convey the scope of the problem and created a cohesive brand identity for the nonprofit Fruit and Veggie Alliance.

International studies major Nicole Atallah examined the official narratives of Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines to determine if their historical memory colors present-day relations with Japan. Atallah’s research question blossomed during her study abroad experience at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan.

LIVE SOUND Jamie Darken looked beyond academic journals for his capstone, experimenting with different live sound settings at a punk show, open mic night, and open DJ night. The music major worked with an advisor from AU’s top-rated audio tech program.

KILLER APPS

BY ADRIENNE FRANK

Is Chinglish—English influenced by the Chinese language, often ungrammatical or nonsensical—a perversion of the English language or legitimate dialect? International studies and Chinese double major Alexandra Vanier argued the latter in her capstone, written entirely in Mandarin.


MUSLIM GRANADAWritten entirely in Spanish, Emma Maher Horvath’s capstone drew on architecture and narrative accounts to chronicle 14 centuries of Muslim Granada’s history. Horvath graduated with dual degrees in anthropology and Spanish and Latin American studies.

NUDES Playing with dramatic studio lighting and using a large-format camera, Rebecca Zisser explored the similarities and differences between the male and female form. The journalism and graphic design major’s capstone features eight nudes.

OYSTERS In Harbor Heroes, SOC documentarians Jaclyn Yeary and Taryn Stansbury detailed how, in the wake of 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, New Yorkers are looking to oysters to create a natural wave barrier against future storms and restore the health of the harbor waters. The storm pummelled the Big Apple with 25-foot waves and caused $50 billion in damage.

PR FLOPS Public communications grad Emily Hawk analyzed three poor presidential communication plans, including Herbert Hoover’s unsuccessful reelection bid in 1932, and offered lessons learned for future commanders in chief. Also under Hawk’s microscope: FDR and Jimmy Carter.

QUESTIONS PONDEREDWhat’s in a hyphen? Julian Chehirian’s capstone, “Intersubjectivity, not Inter-Subjectivity,” explored origins of human intersubjective experience through the lens of Western psycho-developmental discourse. A 2014–2015 Fulbright Scholar, Chehirian is studying the social history of Bulgarian psychiatry.

REALITY TV Sociology student Nicole Piquant trained her eye on Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta to determine how the “Black Barbies” featured on the reality show shaped black, college-educated women’s perceptions of friendship and beauty. Her conclusion: a great body trumps talent or a pretty face. Women also felt pressured to put more effort into their looks.

THEATRE Anna Kark’s capstone, PIG, is a modern comedy based on Moliere’s classic farce, The Misanthrope. The international relations major and former member of the Rude Mechanicals, AU’s Shakespeare theatre group, staged a reading of her play and even designed costumes.

UNLIKELY UNIONS Mollie Wagoner’s internship with the BlueGreen Alliance inspired her capstone about the

ways in which environmental groups and labor unions can team up on sustainability issues. She offered two case studies: the Timber Wars, which represent a failure to work together, and the 1999 Battle in Seattle, which demonstrates cooperation.

ZETA FUNCTIONAndreas Wiede offered a computational analysis of the Riemann Zeta Function, first introduced by Leonhard Euler in the eighteenth century to solve his equation in the real plane when evaluated at even natural numbers. The applied mathematics major’s capstone only gets more complicated from there.

VOTER MOBILIZATIONPoli sci major Emma Lydon took the fall 2012 semester off to support California Democrat Ami Bera’s congressional run. The experience inspired her capstone about how campaigns use academic research on voter mobilization to get out the vote.

Computer science major Michael Egan used WebGL, or Web Graphics Library—rather than traditional, proprietary software—to create a graphical simulation of the Northern Lights that’s compatible with any JavaScript API web browser.

XXXI SUMMER OLYMPICSThe World Health Organization deemed Dengue Fever the most important vector-borne, viral disease in the world—and named Brazil a hotbed for the disease. Public health major Alexandra France detailed risks related to the XXXI Summer Olympics, to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Her research spawned AU’s first Global Health Case Competition.

YOGA Aspiring magazine editor Emma Gray, who recalled waiting by the mailbox in anticipation of the latest issue of American

Girl as a child, created her own 44-page publication, Gates Ajar Magazine, which focuses on issues of spirituality. The journalism and religious studies major’s inaugural cover story: the ancient tradition of yoga.

SCHOOLS UNDER SIEGEHistory views the crack epidemic in D.C. as a problem that lingered on street corners— but what of the playgrounds? History major Kathryn Gillon combed through newspaper clippings, school board minutes, and oral histories to understand how youngsters were both involved in and affected by the crack epidemic of the late ’80s and early ’90s.


THE EVERGLADES SPANS TWO MILLION SQUARE ACRES IN FLORIDA. IT’S HOME TO MORE THAN

900 TYPES OF FISH AND CRUSTACEANS, 830 VARIETIES OF PLANTS, 250 SPECIES OF BIRDS,

65 DIFFERENT REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS, 40 SPECIES OF MAMMALS, AND A WHOLE LOT

OF INSECTS. ONE MAN LEADS THE ORGANIZATION THAT’S ITS BEST HOPE FOR SURVIVAL.

WILL ERIC EIKENBERG, SPA/BA ‘98, SUCCEED?

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BY MIKE UNGER

In the Everglades, where water seemingly engulfs everything and everyone in a mucky, haunting landscape the size of New Jersey and Connecticut, Eric Eikenberg sees a thirsty ecosystem. On this breezy

and surprisingly pleasant-for-Florida mid-May day, the CEO of the Everglades Foundation sits atop an airboat’s three tiers of benches pointing out signs that the largest subtropical wetlands in North America is critically wounded—and slowly being revived. “In January or even February this is about three feet of water,” he says as the boat floats in six inches of muddy water known as slough. “When the water flowed naturally, you would have enough here during this part of the dry season. You have eight million people who rely on this ecosystem for drinking water. But if we don’t engineer this correctly, you’re going to lose habitat for this national treasure. It’s a complex balancing act, both scientifically and politically.” Eikenberg, SPA/BA ’98, has been a lead player in this delicate dance since being tapped in 2012 to head the country’s most prominent Everglades advocacy organization. A former political operative and lobbyist, he now fights for reptiles with the same fervor he once did for Republicans. He takes off his Nikes and white socks, rolls up his khakis, and hops off the boat onto one of the thousands of tiny islands in this 50-mile-wide, 125-mile-long slowly flowing river. “This is what my kids think I do all day,”


its headwaters at Shingle Creek in Orlando, through Lake Okeechobee, into Florida Bay. After a massive hurricane—the second-

most deadly in American history— killed more than 2,500 people in 1928, President Herbert Hoover ordered construction of a flood-protection dike in Lake Okeechobee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers then connected canals that enabled it to empty water from the lake both west into the Gulf of Mexico and east into the Atlantic Ocean. Perhaps no year has been as important to the Everglades as 1947, when Everglades National Park formally opened and Congress formed the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project, which built 1,400 miles of canals, levees, and water control devices. That same year Marjory Stoneman Douglas, an

activist and writer, published The Everglades: River of Grass. The book remains highly influential and is credited with popularizing

Complicating matters is the reality that restoring the Everglades, the largest and most expensive environmental project in history, is about much more than just the environment. Like the plants and animals here (some of which don’t live anywhere else on Earth), human beings have an insatiable appetite for the Everglades’ chief resource—water. “Water is the new oil,” Eikenberg says. “The minute you lose control of it, you’re finished.”

Not long after Florida achieved statehood in 1845, its newly minted legislature concluded that the Everglades needed

to be drained. Politicians haven’t stopped fiddling with it since. Over the next century, a series of dikes and canals built to enable agricultural and residential development artificially altered its natural flow, which runs southwesterly from

jokes Eikenberg, who spends most of his time wearing a suit and working on dry land. Standing on a swath of soggy soil the size of a pitching mound, he’s surrounded by saw grass that reaches above his knees. “If there were high levels of phosphorous, fertilizers, or pollutants in this water, it would change the entire dynamic of what we’re seeing right here,” Eikenberg, 38, says. “All this saw grass would turn into cattails. Cattails are the tombstone of the Everglades, because they thrive off phosphorous. When we see too many cattails we know there’s too much pollution in the water. These saw grasses demonstrate a healthy part of the system. When we see this, you know the restoration efforts are succeeding.” Environmental rehabilitation is not a field for those inclined toward instant gratification. Progress in the Everglades has been marked for years by tiny victories that pale in comparison to bureaucratic delays and inaction. It’s a one-step-forward, two-steps-back process, the pace of which can seem as sluggish as the flow of the river itself.

“WATER IS THE NEW OIL.THE MINUTE YOU LOSE CONTROL OF IT, YOU’RE FINISHED.”


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Formed 20 years ago by hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones and the late developer George Barley, the private nonprofit Everglades Foundation is not a typical environmental group. Its board members, who include singer Jimmy Buffett and golfing icon Jack Nicklaus, hail from throughout the country and harbor views across the political spectrum. The foundation raises nearly $7 million annually, employs five scientists (including hydrologists, wetlands ecologists, and environmental engineers), lobbies politicians on behalf of the ecosystem, and aims to increase education and awareness about the issues surrounding it. “Eric impressed us from the first moment we met,” Jones said when Eikenberg was hired. “He has a deep understanding of what it takes to achieve success both in Washington and Tallahassee and he has the leadership skills that will help the foundation continue to be at the forefront of Everglades restoration.”

In the summer of 2013, nasty blue-green toxic algae began bubbling to the surface in several central Florida waterways. This picture is not the postcard that masses of chapped-lipped northerners have in mind

when they migrate south for a brief vacation or a permanent one from winter. “Who wants to buy a million-dollar home with smelly, toxic algae in the water?” Eikenberg asks rhetorically.

Shaw. When the receptionist took a leave of absence, he was hired, and after a later stint in Tallahassee with the state Republican Party, he ran Shaw’s 2000 re-election campaign. It was a razor-close race, one slightly overshadowed by another election being

contested that year in Florida. After a two-week recount (hanging chads and all), Shaw won by 539 votes. At the age of 26, Eikenberg moved back to Washington, where he served as Shaw’s chief of staff until the 13-term congressman was voted out of office in 2006. Next it was back to Tallahassee to serve in the administration of then-governor Charlie Crist, for whom he was chief of staff from 2008 to 2009. He was working as a lobbyist when the Everglades Foundation called in 2012. “You may ask, why the Everglades?” he asks from behind his desk. His office is on the sixth floor of the former Burger King corporate headquarters, which overlooks picturesque Biscayne Bay south of Miami. Two pairs of binoculars, for bird watching, rest on a window sill. “The policies of

preserving this ecosystem are all very much intertwined in the politics. Clay Shaw was the author of the House’s comprehensive Everglades restoration plan that Bill Clinton signed in 2000. In a weird way I’ve [always] been around this Everglades issue.”

the term “river of grass,” which had been used by Native Americans indigenous to the area for years. (Much of the Everglades is still in Miccosukee and Seminole Indian territory.) Douglas, who died in 1998 at the age of 108, is a folk hero to many environmentalists, and parks, statues, and schools are dedicated in her honor. It was from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Broward County that Eric Eikenberg graduated in 1994. “You could see the Everglades in the outfield,” says Eikenberg, a baseball player who moved to south Florida from his native Long Island after ninth grade. But Eikenberg, intrigued by a school assignment to follow the 1992 Bush-Clinton presidential election, found politics more fascinating than environmentalism. So he headed to AU for college, where he immersed himself in the Washington culture by interning each semester in a variety of roles. In the office of House majority leader Dick Armey he studied the Contract with America. He worked at the Heritage Foundation think tank and at a lobbying firm. As an intern in Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s office he was taught how to make Cuban coffee. Prior to his junior year, he served as a page at the 1996 Republican Convention in San Diego. It was a thorough, only-in-D.C. education that cemented his interest in politics. When Eikenberg’s friend, future U.S. senator George LeMieux, asked him to run his campaign for the Florida statehouse immediately after graduation, he jumped at the chance. “That previous December I did the two-week [School of Public Affairs’s] Campaign Management Institute, and we were assigned Jim Bunning, who was a member of the House running for Senate,” Eikenberg says. “All those consultants, all those experts came in during a condensed, intense period of time to explain the nuts and bolts of campaigning. Being able to carry that out six months later in an actual state legislature race was exciting.” LeMieux came up short, but Eikenberg’s behind-the-scenes political career was off and running. Because five college internships weren’t enough, he spent his summers in the Fort Lauderdale office of Rep. Clay

“THE POLICIES OF PRESERVING THIS ECOSYSTEM ARE ALL VERY MUCH

INTER-TWINED IN THE POLITICS.”


says he’d like to run for office one day), he’s used to navigating in the political muck. But his patience is not perpetual. “Everglades restoration and protection is a nonpartisan issue,” he says. “This is not a regional issue, it’s not even a state issue. It’s not the Florida Everglades. I avoid that term as much as I can. This is America’s

Everglades. It’s a natural treasure in the same breath as the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, Mount Rushmore. “Quite frankly the general public doesn’t even know why this is important. If it was a mountain range, people would be in awe because you’d see it, but it’s a mosquito-ridden, alligator-infested [ecosystem]. But it is the lifeblood of south Florida.” In 2013, Everglades National Park drew just more than one million visitors, ranking it 19th among the 59 national parks. (Great Smoky Mountains was tops with 9.3 million.) Those who do go are treated to a landscape breathtaking in its vastness, made even more remarkable considering that the Everglades is now just half its original four million acres. Over the deafening blare of the airboat’s propeller, Eikenberg points out a soaring snail kite, one of 67 threatened or endangered animals in the Everglades. A large alligator, its eyes and snout poking above the water, glides gracefully through the slough. This is the only place in the world where gators and crocodiles coexist. “That’s what this is all about, making sure we hold as much water as we can in the core part of the system so we avoid impacting the ecology and preserve the water supply for eight million people,” he says.

Back at the dock the puffy white clouds are quickly replaced by ominous gray ones. Seconds later the sky opens and rain begins to pour. There’s no escaping the water—it’s everywhere.

dam. By doing so, water will again flow south, instead of being diverted by a canal to the east. The first mile recently was completed—25 years after it was authorized, but not funded. Earlier this year Florida governor Rick Scott committed $90 million in state funds toward completing the next 5.5 miles. He praises the foundation’s advocacy. “The Everglades Foundation and Eric Eikenberg play a large role in protecting Florida’s natural treasures and ensuring the necessary steps are taken to be good stewards of Florida’s environment,” Governor Scott says. “The health of the Everglades is critical to our communities . . . plays a major role in attracting tourists to our state, and is essential to continuing our efforts to create more jobs and opportunities for Florida families. That’s why this year we worked to invest more than $250 million towards Everglades restoration. I look forward to continuing to work with Eric to ensure that Florida’s natural treasures are protected.”

Still, setbacks are numerous. In April, the Army Corps of Engineers delayed a key decision on the Central Everglades Planning

Project, an important step in the restoration plan that would send Lake Okeechobee water south into the central Everglades. The project, which requires Congressional authorization, is critical because it provides the necessary infrastructure to move water south, thus reducing the harmful discharges of polluted water east and west. The delay left Eikenberg as testy as a hungry gator. “This means Congress will be unable to act on [the plan] for years,” he told the media. “Once again, the Corps is bogged down in its own bureaucracy, stumbling past important deadlines, showing an unwillingness to be creative, and determined to follow a trail of red tape that leads to public frustration.” After a career spent in the political arena (and perhaps a future in it—Eikenberg, who has four children from ages seven to three,

The impact of Everglades restoration on the state’s economy is never far from his mind. In 2010 the foundation commissioned a study by Mather Economics that reported the project would create nearly half a million jobs and generate four dollars for every dollar it invested over a 50-year period. The biggest benefit would be in real estate, the study showed, where property values would jump 35 percent due to increased quality of drinking and recreational water. Cutting down on water purification methods, like desalination facilities, would result in a 28 percent economic gain. Tourism, boating, fishing, and hunting are other industries that would benefit from a clean Everglades, both the report and Eikenberg say. That’s not inconsequential considering that Florida should pass New York as the country’s third most populous state late this year or next, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Thanks to decades of manmade engineering, each day 1.7 billion gallons of water are dumped in the gulf and the ocean. Worse, that water is largely polluted, which harms fish and reefs in the estuaries. Runoff from increasing residential and commercial development and fertilizers from agriculture south of Lake Okeechobee (much of it from sugar farming) creates harmful nutrients in the water, which destroy mats of composite algae called periphyton. “It looks like a bunch of oatmeal on top of the water,” says Eikenberg, pointing to the brown slop. “It’s made up of all kinds of organisms that birds and fish feed off of. The fish are food for the birds, the birds are food for the alligators. Periphyton is gone when you have high nutrients.” Florida spends billions of dollars each year to clean the water in natural wetlands, in large part because its average citizen uses 180 gallons of water per day, according to the foundation. There are a lot of swimming pools to fill in the Sunshine State. “It’s water quantity and water quality,” Eikenberg says of the twin goals of restoration. “Instead of wasting billions of gallons by putting it out to sea, we want to direct more clean water to the central part of the Everglades.” That’s why the foundation has strongly supported projects like raising a stretch of the Tamiami Trail, a road that runs straight through the Everglades and now acts as a

“IT’S WATER QUANTITY AND WATER QUALITY.INSTEAD OF WASTING BILLIONS OF GALLONS BY PUTTING IT OUT TO SEA, WE WANT TO DIRECT MORE CLEAN WATER TO THE CENTRAL PART OF THE EVERGLADES.”


AMERICAN.EDU/ALUMNI 35

Forget flowers. More than 3,500 students gave their moms the best Mother’s Day gift of all, collecting their diplomas and joining the ranks of AU alumni. Traditionally held on the second weekend in May, the 128th commencement events kicked off on Saturday, May 10, in Bender Arena and continued on Sunday, May 18, with the Washington College of Law ceremony.

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Ohio, a freestanding academic health science center. Winkler is also one of four editors of A Community of Scholars: Recollections of the Early Years of the Medical College of Ohio, which was published in 2011.

Noah Hanft, SPA/BA ’73, was appointed president and CEO of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution.

Janet Janjigian, SOC/MA ’73, and Danielle Gelber, SIS/MA ’82, hosted the Lupus L.A. Hollywood Bag Ladies Lunch on November 15, 2013. The annual event, which

Dennis Lucey, Kogod/MBA ’72, cochaired the American-Ireland National Gala on March 13, honoring Vice President Joseph Biden. The event raised more than $1 million for peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education, and community development programs in Ireland.

Michael Mercer, CAS/BA ’72, is author of Hire the Best and Avoid the Rest, now in its 13th edition. Companies across North America assess job applicants using Mercer’s three pre-

employment tests.

James Winkler, SOC/BA ’72, is

editor of Creating the Future, a collection of University of Toledo (UT)

president Lloyd Jacobs’ writings

and addresses. Jacobs was a driving

force behind the 2006 merger of UT and Medical University of

Esther Greenfield, CAS/BA ’65, authored the forthcoming Tough Men in Hard Places, a collection of rare black-and-white photos from the Western Colorado Power Company that chronicles the story of the men who brought electricity to rural areas of the state. Published by West Winds Press/Graphic Arts Books, the book is due on shelves September 2.

1970sMaria Tadd, CAS/BA ’70, wrote Happiness Is Growing Old at Home, a resource for seniors and those with aging loved ones. The book has been endorsed by gerontologists Christiane Northrup, Larry Dossey, and Norman Shealy. agingathome.info

1960sRobert Angle, Kogod/BS ’65, and Hu Di, SIS/MS ’11, met at a volunteer service program in Beard’s Fork, Virginia, and discovered their AU connection over dinner. They were pleased to find that two alumni separated by half a century shared the same passion for volunteerism and global citizenship.

-1964-

TIMECAPSULES

TOP TUNE:“I Want to Hold Your Hand,” the Beatles

TOP-GROSSING FLICKGoldfinger

IN THE NEWSActivist Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment in South Africa;

three civil rights workers are murdered in Mississippi; The Beatles appear

on The Ed Sullivan Show

FROM THE AU ARCHIVESStudents are outraged when Cleaves

Cafeteria hikes prices for milk, apples, hard-boiled eggs, and

other snack favorites to 15 cents. The stomach ache-inducing beef

goulash also draws ire.

AT THE HELMBarry Yeskel was 1964–1965

Student Association president; he’s now a real estate broker in

New York and New Jersey.

-1974-

TIMECAPSULES

TOP-GROSSING FLICKThe Towering Inferno

IN THE NEWSRichard Nixon becomes the first

American president to resign; People magazine debuts with Mia Farrow on

the cover; Patty Hearst is kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army

FROM THE AU ARCHIVESAU installs parking meters behind the

Letts-Anderson complex. Students complain that they now must shell out

a dime per hour to park—on top of $20 for an annual permit.

AT THE HELMRick Baker was 1974–1975 Student

Confederation president; he’s now senior vice president of Regions Bank

in Memphis, Tennessee.

UPDATEYOUR EMAIL ADDRESS AT

ALUMNIASSOCIATION.AMERICAN.EDU/ UPDATEEMAIL.

“Sharon Stone, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and many more donated more than 300 handbags, making this our most successful year ever.”—Janet Janjigian, SOC/MA ’73, on the 11th annual Lupus L.A. Hollywood Bag Ladies Lunch, which raised more than $400,000 for patient advocacy programs and research



class notes

Circle, a D.C. nonprofit that helps impoverished families furnish their homes, was named a 2014 CNN Hero.

1990sMehrzad Boroujerdi, SIS/PhD ’90, associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, is among four recipients of the O’Hanley Scholars Award. She will receive three years’ worth of supplemental financial support for teaching and research.

Michael Lally, SIS/BA ’90, a career senior foreign service officer, was promoted to minister counselor in the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Global Markets Division. He and his family are currently assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. In summer 2014, he will be the department’s executive deputy assistant secretary for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, based in

Guy Enderle, Kogod/BSBA ’85, gathered with eight AU alumni for a five-day trip down the Grand Canyon over Labor Day 2013. The group included alumni from the classes of ’85, ’86, and ’87.

Benjamin McCarty, SIS/BA ’86, and his legal support team received the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of General Counsel Excellence Award for legal assistance in the response to Hurricane Sandy. McCarty is an attorney with the U.S. Coast Guard First District in Boston.

Mark Bergel, CAS/MS ’87, CAS/PhD ’96, founder of A Wider

features an auction of celebrity handbags, raises awareness and money for lupus research.

John Schalestock, CAS/BA ’74, was a finalist in the 2013 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. Dark Swans and Painted Faces: A Tale of the Vietnam War is about a Marine Force Recon team’s secret assassination mission. tatepublishing.com/bookstore

David Nolan, SPA/MPA ’75, coauthored Quest for Freedom: The Scots-Irish Presbyterian Rebellions for Political and Religious Freedom.

Chuck Wheeler, SPA/BA ’79, was elected treasurer of the McHenry County Republican Party Central Committee in Illinois.

1980sKimberly Willson-St. Clair, CAS/MA ’80, and three other librarians won the Association of College and Research Libraries’ 2014 Instruction Section Innovation Award for their work on the software Library DIY.

Glen Bolger, SPA/BS ’85, reunited with other alumni to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the AU-Leeds exchange program with the University of Leeds. In attendance were Stephen Daoust, SPA/BA ’85, Josefina DeVarona O’Sullivan, SPA/BS ’85, and Mary Hoffman Holtschneider, SPA/BS ’85, SPA/MPA ’86.

Dawn Du Verney, SPA/BA ’85, was appointed cochair of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation’s Criminal Litigation Committee.

Washington, D.C. [email protected]

Jose Negron Fernandez, Kogod/BSBA ’92, was appointed secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of Puerto Rico in January.

Devorah Rosenzweig, CAS/BA ’93, and her husband Monte

Rosenzweig had their 10th child. She

divides her time between raising her children, working part- time with her husband in his

insurance office on Long Island, and

volunteering at one of her kids’ schools.

Emilie Cortes, Kogod/BSBA ’96, has received lots of press for her new endeavor, Call of the Wild Adventures for women. In January, Cortes and Call of the Wild were featured in the Bend, Oregon, TV show myWindow. In February, she was interviewed for a new online course at Stanford University. In March, Cortes was nominated as a local MUSE for the 2014 MUSE Conference in Bend.

-1989-

TIMECAPSULES

TOP TUNE “Look Away,” Chicago

TOP-GROSSING FLICKIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade

IN THE NEWSIslamic militants put a price on Salman

Rushdie’s head after the publication of Satanic Verses; the Berlin Wall falls; ruptured tanker Exxon Valdez sends

11 million gallons of crude oil gushing into Alaska’s Prince William Sound

FROM THE AU ARCHIVESFifteen members of AU for Choice

stage a rush-hour rally outside Domino’s Pizza in Dupont Circle to protest the company’s contributions to Operation

Rescue, an antiabortion group.

AT THE HELMJim Akers was 1989–1990

Student Confederation president; he’s now the vice president and

global head of indirect procurement at Teva Pharmaceuticals in

New York City.

KNOW ABOUT UPCOMING

EVENTS. VISIT AMERICAN.EDU/ ALUMNI/EVENTS.

“Our goal is to end poverty, to go out of business. We owe it to people who are born into poverty to make this the social movement that ending slavery was.”—Mark Bergel, CAS/MS ’87, CAS/PhD ’96, founder of A Wider Circle, who vowed never to sleep on a bed again (opting for the couch or floor instead) until every poor person in the country has one too

GIVING TO ONE’S ALMA MATER does more than demonstrate gratitude, an ongoing connection to the institution, and a commitment to the educational values of the university. It’s also a sign of community. Toby McChesney, SPA/BA ’02, generously gave $25,000 in the hope of challenging his fellow alumni to join him in making a gift by the end of the academic year. When we were approaching our goal of 1,000 donors, alumnus Rajiv “RJ” Narang, SPA/BA ’02, stepped up and gave a gift of $5,000 to extend the challenge for an additional 500 donors. We reached 1,575 donors in all. Alumni answered the call. They met and surpassed both goals. In fact, during the fiscal year, thousands of donors gave more than $1.9 million to our annual funds, providing financial aid for students and money that provides the lifeblood for much of AU. This says a lot about AU community and AU pride. Giving is a personal endorsement of the university and the experiences alumni have here, and it helps solidify AU’s prominence. But giving is just one demonstration of AU pride. Another indicator is the personal time alumni offer to the AU community. Just last year, there were more than 13,000 contacts between alumni and students, and more than 1,200 alumni volunteers involved in the life of the university. Nearly 1,000 people participated in activities tied to the men’s basketball team’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Alumni also rallied around the women’s basketball team, which received an at-large bid to a postseason tournament for the first time ever. And the women’s volleyball team not only went to the NCAA Tournament but also beat Georgia and Duke to make it to the Sweet 16, its best showing ever. As we prepare to welcome an unprecedented number of freshmen this fall, now is the time for alumni to demonstrate to those new students their commitment to AU. That will instill in these freshmen—and those in future classes behind them— a similar lifelong commitment to the university. We work hard to nurture that kind of engagement, and I know that we’ll continue to do that very well. Alumni are a critical part of our success. Giving is something we can do together—as a community—to demonstrate our strength, and further strengthen, American University.

Sincerely,

Thomas J. Minar, PhD Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations

Giving is a personal

endorsement of

the university and

the experiences

alumni have here,

and it helps solidify

AU’s prominence.



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TOBY MCCHESNEY, SPA/BA ‘02, ISSUED A CHALLENGE and nearly 1,600 people stepped up, making a gift to AU during the last two weeks before commencement. This demonstration by alumni of their commitment to the university set a great example for the Class of 2014.

MEANINGFUL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS AND ALUMNI inspire learning and foster lasting relationships. The Alumni Association hosts a variety of events that bring students and alumni together. Students benefit from the advice and guidance of experienced, professional alumni, who continue to be a vital part of the AU community.

FROM REUNION PLANNING AND RECRUITING TO CHAPTER PROGRAMMING and more, alumni volunteers are the lifeblood of the university. Whether you’re an active chapter leader, a student mentor, or a school-based volunteer, there’s a plethora of ways to give back. Visit american.edu/alumni/volunteer.

AU WILL WELCOME A FRESHMAN CLASS this fall that’s just as strong and talented as prior crops of students. Early decision applicants, those who declared AU as their first choice, numbered 950—the largest in AU history. Early decision applicants will constitute more than one-third of the Class of 2018.

WHETHER YOU’RE STROLLING THE QUAD or attending an athletics event, art exhibit, or alumni gathering, you’re always welcome back on campus. Enjoy free parking on campus after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends, as well as a free shuttle from the Tenleytown Metro station every day. Also, join the record number of alumni who return to AU every fall to celebrate All-American Weekend.

ALUMNI CELEBRATED EAGLE PRIDE IN DROVES this year. The men’s basketball team’s appearance in the 2014 NCAA Tournament sparked spirited watch parties around the world. Alumni also cheered the women’s basketball squad on to its first-ever postseason tournament. And the women’s volleyball team made it all the way to the Sweet 16—its best showing ever.

class notes

LIKE Facebook.com/ AmericanUAlum

FOLLOW Twitter.com/AmericanUAlum

VIEW Flickr.com/photos/ AmericanUAlum

CONNECT alumniassociation.american.edu

Sharon Foster, SOC/MA ’02, published her first e-book, Live Lightly: A Summer of Poetry, in April. The poetry in this collection is grouped into seven sections: change, inspiration, love lost, love found, the streets, humanity, and beauty.

Michael Lamm, SIS/BA ’02, celebrated the first anniversary of his company, Corporate Advisory Solutions LLC, on May 1. The

-2004-

TIMECAPSULES

TOP TUNE“Yeah!,” Usher featuring

Lil Jon and Ludacris

TOP-GROSSING FLICKShrek 2

IN THE NEWSTsunami kills more than 200,000 in Asia; Massachusetts becomes the

first state to legalize gay marriage; graphic images of Iraqi prisoners at

Abu Ghraib prison go public

FROM THE AU ARCHIVESThe Eagle spotlights students residing in the “unluckiest rooms” on campus, including Anderson’s “Satan room.”

“My roommates and I are from religious families,” says Deanna Niles. “We thought it would be funny to have

mail sent to room 666.”

AT THE HELMNick Terzulli was 2004–2005 Student

Confederation president; he’s now the director of business development at the Nassau County Industrial

Development Agency.

merchant bank, headquartered in Philadelphia, focuses on outsourced business services.

L. Trenton Marsh, Kogod/BSBA ’02, won first place in New York University’s eighth annual MLK Oratorical Contest on February 3. Marsh’s original speech was titled “The Courage to Dream.” A PhD candidate studying social-psychology and urban education, Marsh is on an educational leave of absence from IBM Corporation, where he is a managing business consultant.

Pamela Martin, SOC/BA ’03, and Joseph Popiolkowski, SPA/BA ’05, welcomed their first child, Evelyn, in November.

Kerri Anderson-Czerkas, SOC/BA ’04, joined Keres Consulting Inc., a Native American–owned firm, to assist with the Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program.

Mark Overman, SIS/MA ’05, and AU adjunct professor Sherry Mueller published the second edition of Working World: Careers in International Education, Exchange, and Development.

Forrest Dunbar, SIS/BA, ’06, is running for congress in Alaska’s at-large congressional district.

Nicole Zangara, CAS/BA ’06, author of Surviving Female

Friendships, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, was quoted on WebMD.com and allparenting.com.

Caitlin McCann, SIS/BA ’07, and several AU alumni

living in Buenos Aires volunteered with

an organization called TECHO to build a house for a needy family.

They raised the money to pay for

the house, tools, and transportation

and spent a weekend in a shantytown along with other volunteers.

Kimberly Meyer, SIS/BA ’08, has been promoted to executive assistant at Avison Young in Boston.

Courtney Curatolo, SPA/BA ’99, was appointed director of public affairs and education at Planned Parenthood of Collier County. Curatolo is responsible for building community support for the organization through public affairs, advocacy, education, community outreach, and volunteer engagement.

Evan Glass, SOC/BA ’99, was a candidate for the Montgomery County Council in Maryland’s Democratic primary on June 24, 2014.

David Rosen, SPA/BA ’99, joined Bleacher Report in San Francisco as senior director of marketing.

2000sKatherine Belinski, SIS/BA ’01, was elected partner at the law firm of Nossaman LLP in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Moss, SOC/BA ’01, is creator of the 2014 State of the Union bingo card, featured on the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog. She lives in Denver and manages community, legislative, and communications outreach for the Denver Fire Department.

Tara Castillo, SIS/BA ’02, WCL/JD ’07, moderated a panel, “Key Policy and Operational Challenges to Outstanding RMBS,” at the annual American Securitization Forum Conference in Las Vegas on January 28, 2014.

KEEP YOUR FRIENDS IN

THE LOOP. SEND

YOUR UPDATES TO

CLASSNOTES@

AMERICAN.EDU.

“Letting go—especially of a longtime friend—can be difficult. But it will leave more room in your life for people who are supportive and caring.”—Nicole Zangara, CAS/BA ’06, on the ebbs and flows of female friendships



teamwork

They met on the steps of Mary Graydon Center on MAY 15, 1964, to arrange a carpool to a dance. She was being courted by his Zeta Beta Tau brother, and he had a date of his own. BUT SPARKS FLEW. “For some reason, I said, ‘Would you like to dance?’ And we’ve been dancing ever since,” Gerry says. Two days after their first spin around the dance floor, Gerry called Joni on the McDowell Hall lobby’s shared phone to ask for a date. The smitten twosome enjoyed evenings at the Marshall Hall amusement park on the Potomac River and dinners at the Charcoal Hearth on Wisconsin Avenue. They threw pennies in the fountain at the newly opened Dulles International Airport. “IT WAS A DESTINATION DATE,” Gerry says. When Gerry took evening classes at AU’s downtown campus, he used a CB radio to get in touch with Joni, and the two would grab a late-night bite at Hot Shoppes. HE POPPED THE QUESTION on Joni’s 21st birthday. “He gave me four boxes,” she recalls. “I kept opening the boxes, and at the very end, there was an engagement ring.” The Sommers settled in the Washington area, where he worked as a labor attorney for more than 40 years and she as an elementary school teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland. MARRIED FOR 47 YEARS, they have two daughters and four grandchildren. AND THEY’RE STILL DANCING.

Joni Palew Sommer, CAS/BA ’67 + Gerry Sommer, CAS/BA ’66

SOMMER LOVE

class notes

S. Barton Gephart, CAS/BA ’50, WCL/JD ’66, November 30, 2013, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Margaret Graham Kranking, CAS/BA ’52, November 26, 2013, Chevy Chase, Maryland

William Jones, CAS/BA ’64, March 12, 2014, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Kenneth Cook, CAS/PhD ’67, October 28, 2013, Arlington, Virginia

Frank Spillman, SIS/BA ’67, March 18, 2014, San Francisco, California

Shawn Kuykendall, SOC/BA ’05, March 12, 2014, Washington, D.C.

Emily Willard, SIS/BA ’08, SIS/MA ’09, was named a Rotary Peace Fellow. She is one of the youngest ever selected for the program.

Michaela McGill, SOC/BA ’09, and Andrew Beideman, SIS/BA ’09, were married on December 31, 2013, in Omaha, Nebraska. Many AU alumni attended the wedding. The wedding party included Elizabeth Prevou, CAS/BA ’09; Benjamin Kern,

SIS/BA ’08; Griffin Greenberg, SPA/BA ’08; Michael Kerman, SPA/BA ’09, WCL/JD ’12; and Ritesh Patel, Kogod/BSBA ’09.

Jesika (Pufnock) Steuerwalt, SPA/BA ’09, married Benjamin Steuerwalt on July 19, 2013, on the lawn of Wagner Vineyards in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The wedding party included American University field hockey alumna Katie Turner, Kogod/BSBA ’09. Several AU alumni were in attendance.

2010sMelissa Gang, SIS/MA ’10, and Sara Cady, SIS/MA ’12, each had a paper published in the winter 2013-2014 issue of Peace and Conflict Review, a journal published by the University of Peace in Costa Rica.

Andrew Clark, SIS/MA ’11, has been published on EcoMENA.org, a highly influential knowledge bank on sustainability in the Middle East and North Africa.

Will Hubbard, SIS/BA ’11, accepted a position with the Student Veterans of America national organization as the vice president of external affairs.

Aaron Sutch, SIS/MA, ’11, coauthored a paper outlining the potential economic and energy benefits of a solar industry in West Virginia.

Elliot Bell-Krasner, SPA/MPP ’12, was unanimously approved by the Alexandria City Council for his first civic office. Bell-Krasner is now a member-at-large for the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission.

Tangela D. Richardson, SOC/MA ’13, was awarded a Social Security Administration Commissioner’s Citation for her work involving African American national outreach.

-2009-

TIMECAPSULES

TOP TUNE“Boom Boom Pow,” The Black Eyed Peas

TOP-GROSSING FLICKAvatar

IN THE NEWSChesley “Sully” Sullenberger lands a

U.S. Airways plane in the Hudson River after striking a flock of geese; Michael

Jackson dies at age 50; Air France flight 447 disappears off the coast of Brazil

with 228 on board

FROM THE AU ARCHIVESLines snake around the Student

Health Center as more than 2,000 AU community members wait for the H1N1—

or swine flu—vaccination.

AT THE HELMAndrew MacCracken was 2009–2010 Student Confederation president; he’s now executive director of the

National Campus Leadership Council in Washington, D.C..

EMAIL [email protected]

VISIT american.edu/alumni/connected

WRITE Office of Alumni Relations

American University 4400 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20016-8002

To update your address

Five plaid-clad, pickax-packing coeds pitch in to build a new stone walk on campus during AU’s Arbor Day celebration, April 14, 1937. They are, from left: Ella Harllee, Margaret Snavely, Margaret Warthen, Florence Yeager, and Ruth Hudson. Green thumbs gathered every year for AU’s Arbor Day festivities from 1933 to 1945; students got the day off from classes to help build bridges, fireplaces, and walkways.

“Thailand’s ruling military junta has a midnight to 4 a.m. curfew. It hasn’t had a big impact on my life, but it’s been problematic for people who want to watch the World Cup.”—Emily Willard, SIS/BA ’08, SIS/MA ’09, one of 20 Rotary Peace Fellows, on adjusting to life in Bangkok



memories

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Excerpts from the Eagle archives at theeagleonline.com

REMEMBER when David Bromberg headlined orientation

weekend ’74? Share your memories:

email magazine@ american.edu.

1968Though some griped that the Student Union Board shelled out $10,000 to lure the Godfather of Soul to AU (papa got a brand-new

bag), James Brown’s May 11 show at the Leonard Center was the highlight of spring weekend for 3,500 sweaty, cramped concertgoers (the baseball field, which would’ve allowed more elbow room, was rained out). After the show, Mayor Walter Washington presented Brown with the key to the city as thanks for helping to “cool down” riots in D.C. after the April assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

1974Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band treated 1,200 lucky concertgoers to four hours of tunes, November 16 in the Leonard Gym. The

marathon show was one of the earliest stops on the Jersey-based band’s years-long, multicontinent, seven-leg, Born to Run tour. The setlist included “Jungleland” and “She’s the One,” songs that would appear the following year on the Boss’s third album, Born to Run (considered by many to be his mainstream breakthrough). Tickets were free to students, included in their $27 activity fee.

1986Slam dancing, fistfights, and flying beer cans: the crowd at the Ramones’ October 24 show in the Tavern was anything but

sedated. During its hour long set, the New York punk band—which toured virtually nonstop for 22 years—treated 1,000 rowdy fans (250 over capacity for the Tavern, which contributed to the chaos) to such hits as “Rock and Roll High School” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.” “I flipped out when I saw [frontman] Joey Ramone,” junior Melissa Rubenstein told the Eagle. “He is so hot.”

1993The announcement came moments before Nirvana took the stage at Bender Arena, November 13: “Please do not throw shoes on

stage or Kurt will walk away.” (Cobain was clocked in the nose by a shoe earlier that year.) The Seattle trio served up the hits, including “Come As You Are” and grunge anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” before a crowd of 1,000 flannel-clad fans. The show was something to tell the grandkids about: it was Cobain’s last Washington concert, as he committed suicide just five months later.

Pearl Jam, the Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, the Roots, Joan Jett, Moby—what band rocked your world? Email your favorite concert memory or a photo of your ticket stub to [email protected].

NESTLED ALONG THE COLORADO RIVER, SMACK DAB IN THE CENTER OF THE LONE STAR STATE, Austin is an incubator of small, independent businesses; an emerging hub for pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms; and the live music capital of the world. The birthplace of Whole Foods, Dell, and South by Southwest, the city features a diverse mix of professors and students, musicians and artists, tech wonks and blue-collar workers. Texas’s eclectic capital city is also home to 317 AU alumni, who are among the nearly 900,000 Austinites keeping it weird. What besides a charming Texas twang and a relaxed, urban sophistication do these Austin Eagles share? The insider’s knowledge of Washington, D.C., gained while studying at AU. Get to know some of our Texas transplants here.

“Our goal is to un-salon the salon,” says Jayson Rapaport. He’s talking about Birds Barbershop, his and business partner Michael Portman’s Austin-based chain of six modern-yet-nostalgic hair cutteries that are redefining the neighborhood barbershop. The laid-back locale of South Lamar, where honky-tonks and taxidermy shops rub shoulders with hip eateries and boutiques, saw the opening of the first Birds in 2006. The approachable, low-key SoLa vibe was

a mirror for the Birds brand, with spaces varying in design from one site to the next but consistently focused on being an all-inclusive place to get an honest, dependable cut. “It’s a twenty-first-century shop; we welcome everyone and want them to feel comfortable.” Clients won’t forget they’re in Austin, though. The city’s ubiquitous alternative vibe sets the stage for the Birds experience. Services include a Shiner beer and

meticulously curated music. Vintage arcade games and murals by hometown artists adorn each waiting area. “Austin is a small town, but an important town,” Rapaport says. “The neighborhoods have strong identities. They give the local guy the first opportunity.” Birds continues to turn heads in the city that bucks convention, and new ventures for the Texas natives include a product line, Verb, and a seventh location in the works.

JAYSON RAPAPORT, KOGOD/BSBA ’97COFOUNDER, BIRDS BARBERSHOP

GORGEOUS MILLIE

Laura Jacks, Kogod/BSBA ’92, cofounder. The mediator, former judge, and mother of two boys created the teacher-led playgroup to give moms a place to sip lattes and chat while their youngsters enjoy educational activities.

THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN

Maggie McGrath, SOC/BA ’09, art school registration coordinator. The Art School at Laguna Gloria, which offers classes in painting, drawing, wheel throwing, mosaics, photography, glass, metal, and more, just celebrated its 50th anniversary.

OUT OF BOUNDS COMEDY FESTIVAL

Dave Buckman, CAS/BA ’94, producer. The Second City alum has produced the laugh fest since 2010. By day, the actor and funny man works as membership relations manager with the Austin Chamber of Commerce.



where we are

Working for one of the world’s most famous tennis players sounds like a grand slam gig. Turns out it’s even more rewarding when that athlete is working just as hard as you to improve the lives of thousands of children. Since becoming CEO of the Andy Roddick Foundation in July 2013, Richard Tagle has helped shepherd the organization’s grants, programs, and partnerships. Founded by the 2003 U.S. Open champion nearly 15 years ago, the organization—which supports after-school and summer programs for students across Austin—has raised about $12 million since its inception. It focuses on out-of-school time, the hours when students are at risk of losing academic skills, being a victim of violent crime, gaining weight by not being physically active, and engaging in risky behaviors. “The foundation’s mission is to create opportunities for young people to succeed and thrive,” says Tagle. In 2012 alone, the foundation provided 165,579 hours of care, tutoring, sports camps, and education; 7,700 school uniforms; and 4,292 meals and snacks. Next year, it will open the Sports and Learning Center to give youngsters a safe space to learn and play. Born and raised in the Philippines, Tagle came to the United States when he was 16. In Washington he served as CEO of Higher Achievement, an academic program for middle school kids designed to get them on a college track. He loved the job, but after a total of 27 years in Washington, he was ready for a change. “Austin is exciting, dynamic, and growing,” he says. “It’s trying to be a social entrepreneurship capital in additional to being the live music capital of the world.”With about 6,000 nonprofits in the area—and at least as many musicians—it’s coming up aces.

Richard TagleCAS/BA ’94, CAS/MA ’96CEO, ANDY RODDICK FOUNDATION

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Hailey Woldt, SIS alumna, research analyst. The former 2008–2009 Ibn Khaldun research fellow works on the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, created in 2005 by Governor Rick Perry to foster innovation and development.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

MeLisa Creamer, CAS/BA ’06, doctoral candidate, School of Public Health. A Michael and Susan Dell Health Scholar, she worked on the 2012 surgeon general’s report on preventing tobacco use among youth.

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Ada Ortega, SOC/BA ’12, regional press secretary and Latino media coordinator. The broadcast journalism major manages ¡Pa’delante Tejas!, an online campaign aimed at Hispanic voters—a group key to turning Texas blue.

vision + planning = legacy

WAMU 88.5 is as vital to Virginia “Ginny” McArthur’s day as her morning cup of coffee. A noted Washington trusts and estates attorney, she tunes into AU’s public radio station—D.C.’s leading NPR affiliate—to keep abreast of current events. McArthur settled in D.C. after serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia from 1964 to 1966. In 1992, she founded an estate planning practice as a solo practitioner; McArthur Franklin PLLC has since grown to four attorneys. A longtime member of WAMU, McArthur leverages her expertise for the station’s benefit as a member of WAMU’s development advisory council, on which she’s served as vice chair since 2010. “It’s been a great way to get to know other supporters who are passionate about WAMU and to better understand the inner workings of the station,” she says. When working with clients, McArthur stresses the importance of preparing for the future and providing for the people and organizations that matter most. In 2012, she established the Virginia A. McArthur Endowed Fund at WAMU to support the station’s operations, and she has named WAMU among the beneficiaries of her estate. “WAMU is such a vital part of my day-to-day life,” McArthur says. “How could I not support its future?”

For information about how your vision and charitable estate planning can create a legacy at American University, contact Kara Barnes, director of planned giving, at 202-885-5914 or [email protected], or visit american.edu/plannedgiving.

Attorney, public radio lover, and longtime supporter of WAMU 88.5


top picks


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Patalsky’s tips for styling plate pics:1. TOUCH OF TEALEveryone should have a signature color—mine’s aqua or light teal. It’s my favorite color; I use it for plates, napkins, wood boards, and glasses.

2. MIND THE SCALERegular-sized flatware can overpower a shot. I always use salad forks and dainty appetizer spoons and forks when need be.

3. SET THE SCENEDon’t just photograph food, photograph a scene. If you’re snapping a picture of a doughnut, add a coffee mug, a fruit salad, or the corner of the Sunday paper.

4. GO NATURALI never use a flash for food photos. Manipulating natural sunlight is a skill learned through practice, practice, practice. The light is always changing; you have to learn to adapt.

5. THE CRAVE-IT TESTYou haven’t done your job unless the food looks delicious. Unusual shots like a cookie torn in half with melting chocolate chips will leave your audience craving more.

6. PORTION CONTROL Less is more when it comes to serving sizes in photos. If you want to feature a larger serving, add a second dish instead of piling on more food.

7. SIMPLE IS BETTERUse patterns sparingly. Busy napkins, place mats, and dishes distract from your subject matter: the food.

8. GO PRO If you’re serious about food photography, save up for a professional SLR camera and a few different lenses. I use a 6D Canon body with a 100 mm macro lens and a 50 mm 1.2 fixed lens.

9. WHITE OUTWhite is a food photographer’s best friend. White studio walls, curtains, tabletops, reflection boards, and plates allow colorful food to pop.

10. TASTE THE RAINBOWEmbrace colorful foods. Using a few bright, complementary colors will make your photos sing.

Vegan blogger Kathy Patalsky, CAS/BS ’05, started Happy. Healthy. Life. in 2007 with a philosophy as simple as the ingredients in her first recipe for green tea: “Good food was meant to be shared.”Seven years later, the health promotion major has traded her point-and-shoot camera for a professional Canon, and her site, lunchboxbunch.com, attracts as many as 1.8 million unique visitors per month. A second, recipe-swapping site, findingvegan.com, has gotten 300,000 “likes” on Facebook.

The fit foodie, who calls sunny SoCal home, whips up all her recipes from scratch (pumpkin pistachio kale fried rice with maple tofu cubes, anyone?) and shoots her own mouth-watering photos. “Some girls buy shoes, I buy berries,” says Patalsky.

Though her repertoire ranges from pastries to pasta, Patalsky has a special place in her healthy heart for smoothies. Last year she released 365 Vegan Smoothies; a second cookbook, Happy, Healthy Vegan Kitchen, is in the works.

must haves

Photographed at Sugarloaf Mountain, Dickerson, Maryland

*Mountaineer and PhD candidate, American Politics and Public Policy, School of Public Affairs

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10. My Black Diamond 55L climbing pack is durable and lightweight. When I went to Alaska, I had 60 to 70 pounds of gear, food, and fuel split between a pack and a sled towed behind me. The goal is to be prepared—but to carry as little as possible.

11. I used to carry a guide book, camera, journal, and GPS—now I can do it all on my iPhone (very compact solar panels keep it charged). But you never want to depend on something that might break, so I still carry a compass and map.

lose your appetite at high altitudes, so you should carry high-calorie food you want to eat. Dried fruit and chocolate-covered almonds are my favorites. You melt snow for drinking water or treat water with chemicals or filters.

8. There’s lots of sun at high altitudes, so you have to protect your skin and eyes.

9. Your rope connects you to your partner or climbing team. My dynamic, nylon Mammut Glacier Line is 8.3 mm thick and 40 m long, and it can stretch to absorb the impact if I fall.

4. My Petzl Elios helmet protects me from falls, rocks, and icefall. I’ve never been hit by rock or ice, but I often see it as I climb.

5. Black Diamond Sabretooth crampons attach to my boots and help me keep my footing.

6. My Petzl Summit ice ax is my connection to the mountain—and what I use to catch myself if I fall.

7. Climbing can burn as many as 5,000–8,000 calories a day. You can

1. Alaska is one of the coldest places to climb; when I was in Denali in May 2013, it was 20 degrees in the sun during the day, but it got down to -40 at night. Down is the best insulator.

2. Good boots, gloves, and a parka keep you alive. My Scarpa Phantom 6000 double boots are waterproof and warm.

3. In mountaineering, an “alpine start” means you begin climbing well before dawn, when ice and rocks are more stable. My Black Diamond Storm headlamp is essential at night.


Enjoy a weekend of fun with friends, old and new.

#AllAUWeekend

THIS YEAR WE WILL CELEBRATE THE CLASSES OF 1964, 2004, AND 2009 AS WELL AS THE

SECOND ANNUAL MULTICULTURAL ALUMNI REUNION.

WASHINGTON, DC 20016-8002

Address Service Requested

For information regarding the accreditation and state licensing of

American University, please visit american.edu/academics.

NON-PROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE PAID

BURLINGTON, VT 05401

PERMIT NO. 604

Go fact to fact WITH AU’S PEOPLE IN THE KNOW AT

AMERICANWONKS.COM/QUIZZES.

THE BACKGROUNDPublic health problems span the history of human civilization: Water pollution spawned the spread of communicable diseases among early civilizations. The Romans wrestled with waste disposal. Fourteenth-century Europeans contended with a plague propagated by rodent-borne fleas. Centuries later the issues have changed (from smallpox to sugary soda), but the demand for innovative solutions is greater than ever. Public health is one of the hottest disciplines in higher ed: the Association of Schools of Public Health estimates that 250,000 new health workers will be needed by 2020. Causes, cures, and disease prevention extend beyond biological complexity to dozens of disciplines, including one of professor Blake Bennett’s areas of study: the built environment. Assistant director of AU’s Public Health Scholars, an intensive, three-year bachelor’s program that will graduate its first cohort in 2015, Bennett teaches Urbanization and Public Health, a course that explores urban design, environmental science, and public health to understand how neighborhood walkability and mixed-use development affect residents’ quality of life.

THE CHALLENGETo reduce obesity and air pollution, Healthville, USA, wants to promote walking, biking, and mass transportation among its citizenry. Drawing on concepts of urban design, land use, and housing density, offer suggestions to get residents out of their cars and onto bikes and buses. (Hint: think about sidewalks and green space, the cost and availability of parking, and traffic patterns.)

THE DETAILS Submit suggestions to [email protected] by September 15 to be entered to win a six-month subscription to Politics and Prose Bookstore’s Book-a-Month Gift Program.

Congratulations to George Siehl, CAS/MS ’62, who aced last issue’s final exam.

American magazine, August 2014

Documents

Transcript of American magazine, August 2014