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CAS Anthropology Professor Robert Hefner was the featured guest on the Voice of America's live morning television program Hello Indonesia on January 17. The weekly morning show features interviews and commentary on current events in the United States and Indonesia, followed by listener calls from across Indonesia. The January 17 show discussed the future of Indonesia's embattled president, Abdurrahman Wahid, who allegedly has been involved in two financial scandals. Responding to the outcries from Indonesians wanting Wahid to resign, Hefner said, "As his critics charge, President Wahid has, on occasion, acted inconsistently or in a manner that is perhaps too outspoken . . . But behind his actions, we see a man who is deeply committed to the ideals of Indonesia as an inclusive, plural society, and to a vision of Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance as opposed to self-appointed religious warriors."

In light of former President Ronald Reagan's recent hip operation, there has been discussion in the media about Alzheimer's disease. Doctors say that Alzheimer's disease patients run a greater risk of suffering hip fractures and are slower to recover from their injuries, but can heal with intensive and attentive care. In a January 21 Associated Press story, Dr. Thomas Einhorn, MED professor and chairman of orthopedic surgery, says, "Someone with Alzheimer's is less likely to remember where the rug is, is less likely to be globally cognizant, and is less likely to remember how to respond." Doctors will frequently order a regimented course of physical therapy for patients recovering from a hip fracture, but for patients suffering from Alzheimer's, inability to follow that course can slow recovery, which can make matters worse. Hip patients who remain in bed run the risk of developing blood clots, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia. A full 20 percent die within a year of their injuries. "Hip fractures are the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back," says Einhorn.

Inauguration festivities are over, and Laura Bush's blue suit and red ball gown have been thoroughly scrutinized by the press. The January 22 Boston Globe examines Americans' obsession with the image of First Ladies -- measuring Rosalynn Carter's humble fashion against that of Hollywood designer-loving Nancy Reagan. Shari Thurer, SAR adjunct associate rehabilitation counseling professor, says in the story, "We're way too hard on the First Lady. We project a lot of our wishes of perfection onto them. They're like our ego ideals. Some people want their First Ladies to be perfectly ladylike and genteel. Others want them to be feisty and have a sex drive. Others want them to be maternal and nurturing. It's impossible to please everyone."

Many parents are enrolling their children in schools with a dual-language program, which encourages foreign-born students to view their native tongues as something to share and treasure, rather than shed. The program also helps English-speaking students acquire a second language with relative ease and places equal value on languages and heritages, allowing students to explore different cultures from an early age. These programs differ from bilingual education, where students learn English for a single period a day while studying other subjects in their native language. SED Professor Charles Glenn says in the New York Times January 24 that he has sent five of his seven children through dual-language programs in Boston. While supportive of such programs, he says that from his experience, English-speaking children do not truly become bilingual. "They become much more proficient in Spanish than children in a Spanish-speaking class," Glenn says, "but they do not become bilingual. On the playground, you will hear English being used. I don't think that you can prevent that."

"In The News" is compiled by Mark Toth in the Office of Public Relations.

2 February 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations