Smith College Alumni

"I thought if I could talk to editors, if I could talk to s, if I could show them the kinds of things you could do if you were making use of the page rather than just using words, then people would understand there has to be a way of approaching a book more like a film. With film, yes, you start out with a , but the director is given resources with which to realize that film. And everybody understands you can’t know from the beginning what that film is going to be in the end. You are not expected to submit an already completed film in order to get funding. But that is the way publishing works. It’s constrained by a specific restricted idea of what text is, which is this: text is word. You hand in your text, and then it’s handed over to the designer, but you have no contact with that person. The is theirs, the s are theirs; they just do whatever they want, and you have no discussion with them about how the presentation actually relates to what the text is about."

"As it turns out, the is not remotely about Tom Cruise fighting alongside 19th-century Samurai in Japan. Rather, it follows the story of a woman named Sibylla raising her brilliant young son Ludo in in 1990s London. Unable to afford heat for their home, the two spend their days riding the . While the story is nominally centered around Ludo’s efforts to find his father, it is really about the pain and pleasure of integrating a unique mind into a world that values different things. Sibylla and Ludo both have excruciatingly high standards, the genius needed to attain them, and a near-total inability to tolerate compromise. Because most people’s lives are a series of compromises made bearable by self-delusion, Sibylla and Ludo are isolated, cut off from the outside world and outside relationships. The particular joy of the book, I think, is that the characters are so intensely and specifically themselves that it is impossible to imagine them working in a more conventional novel. But I believed in them completely — a testament to the strength of DeWitt’s writing."

"DeWitt has an insatiable mind and deep pockets of knowledge in disparate subjects; she went on tangents about strategies, the quirks of and her obsession with the , who inspired one of her many unfinished novels. She speaks French and German, can read Greek and Latin, and understands close to a dozen other languages with varying degrees of proficiency — among them Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hebrew and Japanese."

"The literary world does quite like the notion of genius, but it has no place for a Picasso."

"... was taught at the age of three. ... he had an extremely challenging early education. What would happen if you had a single mother who tried out the ? ... What if the mother would use ' to provide s for her fatherless boy?"

"1. The initial formation of the is indicated by a general swelling of the outer wall of the . 2. The swelling is produced if the physical resistance of the wall is overbalanced by the higher which is maintained on the inside of the wall. 3. Further swelling followed by growth takes place at the less resistant portion of the wall. 4. This region bears no relation to the position of the nucleus. 5. The wall of the root hair is composed of two parts, an inner membrane of cellulose and an outer membrane of calcium pectate. 6. The presence of this membrane, together with the fact that the soil particles are held to it by a pectin mucilage, accounts for the high efficiency of the root hair as an absorbing organ."

"The word “ecology” may seem to have rather suddenly intruded upon the world’s consciousness circa 1970, but at , Edith Adelaide Roberts, professor of plant science, was popularizing the term—and studying the interrelationship between organisms and their environment—half a century earlier. In addition, it was Roberts who proved (along with fellow Plant Science faculty member Mildred Southwick, in a 1948 paper presented to the ) that young green and yellow plants are the original source of . “This being so,” the New York Times reported, “fish livers can no longer be regarded as the main source of vitamin A.” Later generations who have been spared doses of , preferring instead to get this vital nutrient from carrots or , have reason to be grateful to Roberts."

"The students, working with a biology professor, Meg Ronsheim, were resurrecting a that was cultivated by botany professors and students in the 1920s, long before native species became a rage, and then forgotten for decades. The garden was the life’s passion of Edith A. Roberts, a professor of plant science who, after being hired by in 1919, set out to document every species of plant in . Over the next three decades, she and colleagues transformed the four-acre plot into what would be called the Dutchess County Outdoor Ecological Laboratory. Dr. Roberts, a farmer’s daughter from New Hampshire who earned a doctorate in botany from the , was in the forefront of a group of women who blazed trails in academia, just as the suffrage movement won them the right to vote."

"The idea of an out-of-door laboratory was conceived in response to the need, in the study of ecology, of bringing together the observations made in y carried out in a glass laboratory and observations made in the open. This required a laboratory with situations which would make available the plant associations of the surrounding territory and their transitions, and in which further studies could be made upon the plant members and the environmental factors. Such an out-of-door laboratory affords a place in which the results of the in-door laboratory can be checked, by experiment, against those prevailing under natural conditions. … President and the Board of Trustees of accepted this idea and granted to the Department of Botany,in 1920, the use of some four acres of land for this project. … It has since become popularly known to the students as the Dutchess County Ecological Laboratory."

"1. The region is a mountain range of . 2. The of the region is of the beech-maple-hemlock type. 3. The successions may be classified as: I. s: (I) trap slope successions; (2) trap cliff successions; (3) successions. II. s: (I) ravine successions; (2) brook successions. 4. The terms initial and repetitive seem to be better than primary and secondary in conveying the idea of often-repeated successions such as are found in a frequently deforested area. 5. The east-facing and the south-facing trap slopes have the same successions. seems to present a temporary climax. 6. The trap cliff doubtless presents an initial succession in which the east and north cliffs have similar first stages, but the second stage on the east is ' and ', while on the north it is '. 7. The combination of weathered rock with on the north talus slope affords a better opportunity for the climax formation than does rock alone on the talus east of . 8. Repeated deforestation has prevented all but a small area from reaching the climax."

"New Mexico has the distinction of being the first State in the Union from which bird notes were recorded by white men. These notes refer to birds seen on the in 1540, three hundred and eighty-eight years ago, eighty-two years before the first recorded birds were seen in New England (see 's New English Canaan, printed in 1637). The actual study of the birds of New Mexico has attracted naturalists from the the days of the earliest explorations that crossed parts of New Mexico, the first records being made on the . ... The systematic survey of New Mexico was definitely undertaken in 1903, under the direction of , then Chief of the Biological Survey; and , who had just completed a survey of the adjoining State of Texas, .. was put in charge of the work."

"A tribute to Florence Merriam Bailey (1863-1948), a passionate ornithologist who revolutionized the way scientists and general nature lovers study birds. Keating introduces Florence as a child who was delighted to sit patiently in the woods to watch birds and take careful notes on their features and behavior. As an adult, she is outraged by the fashion of and killing birds in order to study them. She popularized bird watching and promoted protective legislation. She turned her years of note taking into field guides for professionals and the general public alike."

"The amazing views of the naturally dominate and absorb the attention of the hurried visitor to the canyon rims, but between views the bird-minded may hear arresting songs and cath glimpses of feathered passers-by that will add intimate pleasures to the memories of the "great abyss." After a night in the familiar song of the may be heard on awakening, followed by the happy song of the rosy well associated with the sunshine of the Southwest. Then perhaps will come the coarse croak of the , adding a grateful bass note to the ."

"Even on the train we began to feel the grateful influence of restful country life. From the windows we watched the , the wayside flowers, and the , engaged in the surprising occupation of following the plow. At our station, a sang his sweet strain from a telegraph pole; we could hear s calling from the marshes. We took the only wagon that met the train, and drove through the village. It was a typical Mormon village, one of a line of closely connected settlements running along the valley between the and the ."

"Embodied the term “social justice warrior” in its truest form."

"She was not interested in the trappings of power"

"A lifelong advocate for the disenfranchised, Ackermann was driven by an unwavering conviction in equality for all, a notion spanning her political career."

"A savvy politician who could compromise but knew what she was aiming for and held to the path."

"She was indomitable."

"Her decades-long fight for social equality defined her life in public service and her reputation for never backing down truly qualified her for the title."

"Sometimes, I confess, Starlight seems too sharp, And like the moon I bend my face to the ground, To the small patch where each foot falls, Before it falls, And I forget to ask questions, And only count things."

"I think that there has been a real opportunity for me to be a champion for issues that I might not hear about if I only was going to the population centers of the state"

"The reauthorization is long overdue, and we want to make sure it keeps pace with the retirement of the baby boom generation"

"We were talking about, access for students who might be non-traditional students, mid-career, needing to close skills gaps to get 21st century manufacturing or advanced manufacturing jobs and how they're playing a key role in doing that"

"People are really sick of us going from fiscal crisis to fiscal crisis, and really want to see us getting back to a point where we look out over a year, or five years or ten years and plan in thoughtful way"

"If you think about the challenges our state is facing and the people of our state are facing... some of them are things that can be addressed in a short period of time, but most of them are things that take work and that will take time"

""I believe in fair play, and I believe that when people are struggling, you don't talk down to them, you help lift them up"."

""One of the most amazing experiences of my life has been the ability to work from within a legislative body to build majorities, to change minds and hearts, and to bring people to the place where they're proud to call themselves fighters for equity and equality"."

"Here are the facts that are important to me. Kyle Rittenhouse, who was a minor at the time, traveled from Illinois to Wisconsin, and picked up an assault rifle that was illegally purchased for him. He took the law into his own hands, killing two people and injuring another... I understand why people believe that justice was not served in this case, because I feel the same way. This ruling makes clear we have so much work to do to take on gun violence, and reform our broken criminal justice system so that it starts working equally and fairly for everyone. In Wisconsin, this judge has now ruled that it’s legal for a minor to walk the streets in Wisconsin with an assault weapon. If that is true, then our state legislature should take action now in a bipartisan way to change the law and make it illegal... To me that’s just common sense that most people in our state would agree with. The fact that some people are cheering a ruling that has allowed someone to take the law into his own hands and walk free from any accountability after shooting and killing two people is disrespectful to the lives that were lost, and I am deeply concerned that it will encourage more tragic gun violence from those like Kyle Rittenhouse who think they have a license to take the law into their own hands in a violent way."

"My own first reaction was this is absolutely unnecessary but if they want clarification in writing, OK, there's no harm to state the facts"

"Millions of same-sex and interracial couples made this moment possible by living openly as their authentic selves, changing the hearts and minds of people around them"

"This legislation will protect the hard-fought progress we’ve made on marriage equality and I look forward to the Respect for Marriage Act becoming the law of the land"

"Suicide prevention has been and should continue to be a nonpartisan issue, and I call on my Republican colleagues who have long supported this program to fight for these kids, too."

"Tammy did a great job of reaching out to the Democratic leadership, and emphasizing the importance, and helping to decide, some of the timing, such as waiting til after the election. Her leadership was critical"

"One thing about this (COVID-19) that's somewhat unprecedented is the speed at which new data is coming out and becoming available for mass consumption. In that article, there's not a lot of detail about when the initial patient returning to China became symptomatic. It's really hard to tell. People don't always accurately report. That's not on purpose or anything, but people aren't so self-aware that they're going to notice a single sneeze, or every little cough, or clearing their throat, or their nose is running and they think it's allergies. There are a lot of reasons why people might not necessarily recognize that they are symptomatic when they actually are."

"Situations that require a mask are when you are in a crowd ... or if you are caring for a sick person. If it makes you feel better, wear a surgical mask."

"jeśli zechcesz odejść ode mnie... nie zapominaj o uśmiechu możesz zapomnieć kapelusza rękawiczek notesu z ważnymi adresami czegokolwiek wreszczie -- po co musiałbyś wrócić wracając niespodzianie zobaczysz mnie w łzach i nie odejdziesz jeśli zechcesz pozostać nie zapominaj o uśmiechu wolno ci nie pamiętać daty moich urodzin ani miejsca naszego pierwszego pocałunku ani powodu naszej pierwszej sprzeczki jeśli jednak chcesz zostać nie czyń tego z westchnieniem ale z uśmiechem zostań"

"as we stagger toward the millenium, I can only hope that this modest oeuvre--as we often say in Amarillo will remind you that we need to stop and laugh along the way. We live in a Great Nation, but those who attempt to struggle through it unarmed with a sense of humor are apt to wind up in my Aunt Eula's Fort Worth Home for the Terminally Literal-Minded, gibbering like some demented neoconservative about the Decline of Civilization. Any nation that can survive what we have lately in the way of government is on the high road to permanent glory. So hang in there, keep fightin' for freedom, raise more hell, and don't forget to laugh, too. (Preface)"

"On a personal note: I have contracted an outstanding case of breast cancer, from which I intend to recover. I don’t need get-well cards, but I would like the beloved women readers to do something for me: Go. Get. The. Damn. Mammogram. Done."

"I believe all Southern liberals come from the same starting point-race. Once you figure out they are lying to you about race, you start to question everything. If you grew up white before the civil rights movement anywhere in the South, all grown-ups lied. They'd tell you stuff like, "Don't drink out of the colored fountain, dear, it's dirty." In the white part of town, the white fountain was always covered with chewing gum and the marks of grubby kids' paws, and the colored fountain was always clean. Children can be horribly logical. The first great political movement to come along in my lifetime was the civil rights movement, and I was for it. The second great question was the war in Vietnam, and I was against it. So they told me I was a double-dyed liberal. I said, "O.K." What did I know? Later on, people took to claiming it meant I was for big government, high taxes, and communism. That's when I learned never to let anyone else define my politics."

"All anyone needs to enjoy the state legislature is a strong stomach and a complete insensitivity to the needs of the people. As long as you don’t think about what that peculiar body should be doing and what it actually is doing to the quality of life in Texas, then it’s all marvelous fun."

"In my youth, I aspired to be a great journalist. George Orwell, Albert Camus, and I. F. Stone were my heroes. Great writers and intellectuals who helped illuminate their times. But look, God gave those guys fascism, communism, colonialism, and McCarthyism to struggle against. All I got was Lubbock. It's not my fault."

"There are two kinds of humor. One kind that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared humanity -- like what Garrison Keillor does. The other kind holds people up to public contempt and ridicule -- that's what I do. Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel -- it's vulgar. —quoted in People magazine interview, 1991."

"Populism is the simple premise that markets need to be restrained by society and by a democratic political system. We are not socialists or communists, we are proponents of regulated capitalism and, I might add, people who have read American history."

"Having breast cancer is massive amounts of no fun. First they mutilate you; then they poison you; then they burn you. I have been on blind dates better than that."

"My friend Mercedes Pena made me get in touch with my emotions just before I had a breast cut off. Just as I suspected, they were awful. "How do you Latinas do this—all the time in touch with your emotions?" I asked her. "That's why we take siestas," she replied."

"The next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please, pay attention. Bush was replaced by his exceedingly Lite Guv Rick Perry, who has really good hair. Governor Goodhair, or the Ken Doll (see, all Texans use nicknames—it's not that odd), is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But the chair of a major House committee says, "Goodhair is much more engaged as governor than Bush was." As the refrain of the country song goes, "O Please, Dear God, Not Another One.""

"I just finished with nine months of treatment for cancer. First they poison you, then they mutilate you, then they burn you. I've had more fun. And when it's over, you're so glad that you're grateful to absolutely everyone. And I am. The trouble is, I'm not a better person. I was in great hopes that confronting my own mortality would make me deeper, more thoughtful. Many lovely people sent books on how to find a more spiritual meaning in life. My response was, "Oh, hell, I can’t go on a spiritual journey—I'm constipated.""

"The trouble with blaming powerless people is that although it's not nearly as scary as blaming the powerful, it does miss the point. Poor people do not shut down factories. Poor people are not in charge of those mergers and acquisitions in which tens of thousands of people lose their jobs so a few people in top positions can make a killing on the stock market. Poor people did not decide to keep wages either steady or falling for the last twenty years. Poor people didn't decide to use 'contract employees' because they cost less and don't get any benefits. ("Wasting Perfectly Good Anger" 1997)"

"Listen to the people who are talking about how to fix what's wrong, not the ones who just work people into a snit over the problems. Listen to the people who have ideas about how to fix things, not the ones who just blame others. ("We're Talking About This Kind of People..." 1995)"