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Commencement 2009
It was a graduation day for the times. Faculty checked their iPhones, federal agents came in with Hillary, and the president talked about alternative job sectors.
July/August 2009
Photographs
©Mark Ostow
You're
retired, aren’t you? What did you teach?
I
taught in the School of Forestry from 1955 until 1963 and then from 1988 until
1998. My most outstanding accomplishment was as a disobedient subject in
Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments.
At
what point in the experiment did you refuse to obey?
I
don’t know. When I asked him, he said, "I'm sorry, the records are sealed." I'm
waiting until 2075 and then I’ll find out.
Herbert
Winer
Berkeley
College Fellow
What
is it like to cook for commencement?
It’s
different cooking here from years ago, due to the fact that management and the
labor force are now communicating a little better. We’ve crossed that barrier
of the boss and the servant worker. We listen to them, and they listen to us.
They're not so stressed, and we're not so stressed. We’ve come a long way.
What's
for lunch today?
We're
doing a steak sitting on a bed of purple forbidden rice, accompanied by poblano
peppers and sweet potatoes. We have a spice rub for the cod—nice fresh Atlantic
cod. And we're doing vegan ravioli with a mushroom sauce.
What
about dessert?
Strawberry
shortcake. That’s the old favorite for commencement.
Frank
Douglass
Second
cook, Trumbull College
What
surprised you about Yale?
I
came from South Korea, so everything was new. I really liked the free spirit of
people and how the really prestigious professors and deans are so down to
earth. They really talked to you.
How
was it different from Korea?
This
sounds really generic, but there are a lot of differences cross-culturally in
what’s deemed right and wrong. For instance, in Korea, modesty would be an
important virtue, whereas here, confidence in your opinions is more important.
I remember having debates about a lot of stuff with my American friends.
What
will you do next year?
I'm
going to law school in New York—Columbia. I'm thinking international law, maybe
international commerce.
Regina
Kim
Timothy
Dwight, psychology
How
did you discover theater?
I
was in eighth grade. I didn’t want to take P.E., and I went in and told my
guidance counselor I had acute bronchitis and I needed something else. She said
the only thing open was drama. I said, "OK, I guess I’ll try out drama class.”
The
Drama School seems very demanding.
It
was arduous—we called it "Jale"—but it really paid off. I feel like I have the
stamina to succeed, not only the physical stamina, but the intellectual and
artistic stamina.
Are
you sad about leaving?
It’s
time to spread my wings and do my thing.
Have
you lined up any work?
Almost.
I have to fly back to L.A. for a pretty big audition.
Eddie
R. Brown III
MFA,
acting, School of Drama
What
is your field?
I'm
a Victorianist. I disliked my youthful academic experience so much that I kind
of hid out and read. I had one of those Great Books editions, and I ended up
reading my way through it while I was trying to avoid attending school.
My
father dropped out [of Yale] at the end of his freshman year to work for the
anti-Vietnam War movement. So he’s happy to see me get this degree.
Where
will you be next year?
I'm
already teaching at Masaryk University in Brno in the Czech Republic.
Bonita
Rhoads
PhD,
Comparative Literature
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