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In the News
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26 June 1998 |
Vol. II, No. 1 |
In the News
Susan L. Mizruchi, CAS associate professor of English and American Studies, and her new book, The Science of Sacrifice: American Literature and Modern Social Theory, were featured in the June 12 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. The article discusses Mizruchi's findings that turn-of-the-century writers were preoccupied with the idea that there are those who must be abandoned for the good of society as a whole. "Sacrifice is necessary to the maintenance of social order, the achievement of a certain level of culture, and the perpetuation of a certain kind of economy," Mizruchi writes in the book. "Sacrifice, according to those authors, is not only necessary to modern Western society, it is basic; it makes society what it is."
Adil Najam, CAS assistant professor of international relations, discusses the tensions between India and Pakistan in a June 15 Boston Herald article. Najam was in Pakistan when India tested its first nuclear device on May 11 and witnessed the public demonstrations in Islamabad demanding that the Pakistani government conduct a test of its own. "The general opinion of the man on the street was, Pakistan must do the test to even the score," he says in the article. According to Najam, the crisis has brought Pakistani society closer together, but has destroyed any trust that existed between the young people of India and Pakistan. "There is no trust between the countries whatsoever, which is very unfortunate, because if you had asked me four months ago, I'd have said the trust was building," he says. "The danger of war is higher than ever . . . .The conflict could break out, not because they want it to, but because someone does something crazy."
"It's the right thing to do," says School of Law Professor Randy Barnett in a June 13 Boston Herald article on whether the Supreme Judicial Court will uphold the ruling of Superior Court Judge Isaac A. Borenstein ordering a new trial for Cheryl Amirault LeFave. "Deference is normally paid to trial court decisions, and I think the injustice of this entire episode is becoming known throughout the country, and it's becoming known to even the SJC. I think they'll be influenced by it," Barnett continues. LeFave, along with her late mother, Violet Amirault, and brother, Gerald Amirault, were convicted of sexually abusing children at Malden's Fells Acres Day School more than 10 years ago. If the SJC upholds Judge Borenstein's decision, it is unlikely that prosecutors will seek to try LeFave again because testimony by the Amiraults' alleged victims would be barred from trial. "If this is upheld, the order for a new trial is simply a prelude to a motion by the state to dismiss," Barnett says.
"In the News" is compiled by Laura Raichle, Office of Public Relations.