| U of M Alumni Association | U of M Twin Cities |
 |
| ||
| |||
|
Thanks for Saluting Veterans I intended to write the magazine editors a note five months ago when, for your cover, you interviewed University of Minnesota students who are in the armed forces. But I did not get around to it. But today I received the alumni magazine and opened it up and saw a photo of more students in fatigues who are serving our nation. And I did not want to fail to write again. Thank you for focusing your attention on these men and women. The article I remember from last fall [“From Combat to Campus,” September-October 2008] seemed to me to tell a story we don’t often hear, about the abrupt changes these young people face. One day they are in combat or helping the wounded, and a week later they are surrounded by neighbors oblivious to the war and who are more concerned about their creature comforts. In the snapshot [“Honoring Student Veterans,” January-February], the students were in their camouflage and were smiling and laughing, and they looked like they fit in at the University. War veterans were common among the student body when I trod the campus grounds, but I know they are a rarity now. Thank you for reminding us of their service, and I hope to see more of their faces in your fine magazine. Evelyn Weston (B.A. ’50) Minneapolis Address MS I enjoyed reading about Susan Hagstrum, married to University President Bob Bruininks, in your recent issue [“A Tough Act to Follow,” January-February] and had no idea the U had such a high-caliber volunteer doing so many good things. My interest was piqued most, however, by her interest in creating a center to address multiple sclerosis (MS). My family is familiar with this devastating disease; the extended side of my family has three members who have been diagnosed with MS. We’ve often wondered why more resources have not been poured into finding a cure for this devastating disease, and we hope that the U will pick up the mantle. We are cheering Susan Hagstrum on. Pat Tetner (B.A. ’72) Minneapolis Is the Research Relevant? In your January-February issue, you covered two studies [“Discoveries”] that made me scratch my head. One told of a study of youth’s social networks that found that speaking Spanish is not significantly associated with substance abuse. My question: Why would anyone think language and substance abuse are connected? I see that this study debunks previous studies connecting Spanish with substance abuse. But aren’t we beyond such profiling? Another study claimed that infants can tell the difference between happy and sad music based on whether they looked at a face for three to four seconds. My question: And so what does this tell us that we didn’t already know about babies and happy music? The researchers could have simply asked new parents to find that out. I wish you or the researchers would explain why these kinds of studies are so important and should be continued. Jay Murphy (B.S. ’91) Eden Prairie, Minnesota To submit a letter, go to www.alumni.umn.edu/opinion or write to Letter to the Editor, Minnesota Magazine, McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak. St. SE, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Guidelines are at the Web address above. | |||||||||||||
|
Last modified on 3/19/2009 2:53:27 PM ©2009 by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association. The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is an equal opportunity educator and employer. | Trouble seeing the text? | Contact Alumni Association | Privacy |
Print View