May 16, 2002
News Makers
TIME TO ACT: A UW animal behaviorist recently told Newsday that it’s time to intervene on behalf of the young killer whale that’s been swimming alone in central Puget Sound. Dave Bain, an affiliate faculty member in the UW psychology department, says the orca’s rehabilitation should begin immediately to increase the odds of successfully reuniting her with the A pod. “If what she has is curable and treatable her chances of reintegration (with her pod) go down the longer we wait.”
FILTHY BEGINNINGS: Don Brownlee, a UW astronomy professor, recently told the San Diego Union-Tribune the dirty truth about human beings. “We are made of stardust,” he said. “Before the sun and planets formed, most of the atoms in our bodies were carried in tiny bits of dust formed around other stars in our galaxy.”
GIRL POWER: Pepper Schwartz, a UW sociology professor, was in the spotlight again recently with relatively good news about the sexual practices of America’s girls. “Girls are not having less sex today, but they are insisting that they have it in a relationship,” she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The data Schwartz was referring to suggest that girls are getting the message about safe sex. Their parents, on the other hand, aren’t. “Parents don’t want to deal with sexuality in their children. Parents need to learn how to deal with information that may be hurtful to them so they can have dialogue with their children.”
Newsmakers is a periodic column reporting on coverage of the University of Washington by national press services.
