Contents
In This Issue
Sour Economy Means More Students at the UW
University of Washington scholars have shined new light on one of the darkest chapters of Washington history—the days when the Ku Klux Klan was a temporary force in the state. It was a brief era when the Klan had tens of thousands of members. KKK rallies once drew crowds estimated at 50,000 as the Klan entered floats in parades, held weddings and Christmases and even published its own newspaper, The Watcher in the Tower, in Seattle. Historians have created a special section about KKK activities in the state during the 1920s as part of the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, headed by James Gregory, UW professor of history and director of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies. Read more... Also see: Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project site KIRO TV: "UW Scholars Find Previously Undocumented KKK Activity In State" School of Drama Peeks Behind the Iron Curtain with Powerful Comedy, "The Quick-Change Room" The UW School of Drama continues its 2008-09 season with The Quick-Change Room: Scenes from a Revolution, Nagle Jackson's hilarious and powerful backstage comedy about a Russian theater group transforming itself from the Communist economy to capitalism. The Quick Change Room previews Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 1 and 2, and opens Wednesday, Dec. 3. It runs through Dec. 14 in the Penthouse Theatre. The cast features the MFA Acting Class of 2010. Read more...
A quarter-million people were killed when a tsunami inundated Indian Ocean coastlines the day after Christmas in 2004. Now scientists have found evidence that the event was not a first-time occurrence. A team working on Phra Thong, a barrier island along the hard-hit west coast of Thailand, unearthed evidence of at least three previous major tsunamis in the preceding 2,800 years, the most recent from about 550 to 700 years ago. That team, led by Kruawun Jankaew of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, included Brian Atwater, a University of Washington affiliate professor of Earth and space sciences and a U.S. Geological Survey geologist. Read more... Also see: The Seattle Times: "Scientists discover a historical record of massive tsunamis" Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP): "Killer tsunami's lessons for the Northwest?"" Like Rest of Society, Doctors Implicitly Favor Whites Over Blacks In the first large study to explore possible unconscious bias among physicians, researchers have found that doctors mirror the attitudes of the majority in society and implicitly favor whites over blacks. "This supports speculation that subtle race bias may affect health care, but does not imply that it will," saiys University of Washington researcher Janice Sabin, who presented the study in San Diego Oct. 28 at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting. "This research is too preliminary to know if there is a direct relationship between physicians' implicit, or unconscious, racial attitudes and the quality of medical care." Read more... Also see: The New York Times: "In Bias Test, Shades of Gray" The Washington Post: "Doctors Show Bias Against Black Patients: Study" Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Study finds race bias among doctors"
If you've ever wondered what the heck a convergence zone is, what a rain shadow is or just where the Seattle area ranks in terms of annual rainfall, you'll find answers in a new book from a University of Washington expert on Pacific Northwest weather. The Weather of the Pacific Northwest, by UW Atmospheric Sciences Professor Cliff Mass, explains many weather phenomena of Washington and Oregon, from snowstorms that hit only a tiny area to powerful windstorms that have ripped through the entire region. Read more... Also see: Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "UW professor gives an illuminating lesson on the Northwest's complex weather"
It's a good thing UW Career Discovery Week is continuing to grow, because the economy certainly isn't. Now celebrating its 10th year, CDW has become the largest event of its kind in the country—a three-campus extravaganza with more than 150 workshops, panel presentations, networking events and fairs. And it's no longer merely a service to students, either. Alumni at all stages of their careers can attend sessions designed specifically for them, whether they're interested in learning where opportunities may lie, how to market themselves, how to make a mid-career transition in a tightening economy, or all of the above. Career Discovery Week runs from mid-January to mid-February, with the largest concentration of events coming Jan. 26-30. Find out more on the CDW Web site. Check It OutOffbeat and/or outstanding UW-related links:
December 2008 UW NewsLinks Trivia ContestOf the following people associated with the recent presidential campaign, which one briefly attended the UW?
2. Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr 3. Joe Wurzelbacher ("Joe the Plumber") 4. Michael Goldfarb, spokesman for John McCain 5. Madelyn Dunham, Barack Obama's recently deceased grandmother Answer this month's question Resources |
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