April 18: Diane Schanzenbach *02 Defends SNAP Amid Crackdown

Former Purdue University president Mitch Daniels ’71 wrote in an op-ed that social media is a pandemic “wreaking proven, ruinous damage on the emotional health of children, the trust of Americans in their institutions...” and urged action. — The Washington Post
 
For the ninth time, Dan Feyer ’99 won the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament championship.— The Stamford Advocate
 
Laura Zagar ’99 described the moves Perkins Coie’s San Francisco office — where she’s managing partner — took to achieve a majority of women partners, which is rare in the legal field. — Bloomberg Law
 
UC San Diego School of Medicine professor Don Cleveland *77 showed in a recent study how the common Epstein-Barr virus targets DNA, triggering dysfunction associated with cancer. — UC San Diego Today

Anton Treuer ’91, a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, wrote that birchbark canoes played an enormous role in Indigenous economics and trade: “The fates of tribes and empires were determined by this vessel.” — American Craft
  
New York Times health and science writer Pam Belluck ’85 explained how the pharmaceutical industry is reacting to a federal judge’s decision on the abortion drug mifepristone. — Yahoo! Finance
 
Kathryn Foster *93 plans to step down after 11 years as president of The College of New Jersey and go back to teaching as a political science professor. — NJ.com
 
Actress Ellie Kemper ’02 is starring in Happiness for Beginners, a new Netflix film out in July about a divorced woman who goes on a backcountry survival course. — Yahoo!

“There are pockets where you are seeing a movement toward more restrictions to kick people off SNAP. But the SNAP program is really well-designed. It’s effective and efficient, and it does a tremendous amount of good. Generally, proposals to change it usually are going to make it worse.”

— Diane Schanzenbach *02, a professor at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, as Iowa cracks down on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. — The Washington Post

 A writer for Stars and Sticks made a case for why Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Jeff Halpern ’99 should be the next head coach of the Washington Capitals hockey team. — Stars and Sticks
 
A new biography of the late George P. Shultz ’42 details the diplomatic contributions that he made as secretary of state to ending the Cold War. — Foreign Policy
 
Economist Gregory Mankiw ’80 is among 50 members of Harvard’s new faculty-led Council on Academic Freedom created to protect free speech and expression of ideas. — The Wall Street Journal

Christian Post executive editor Richard Land ’69 won second place for editorial at the Evangelical Press Association Christian Media Convention for his op-ed, “The Will Smith event: Why it matters.” — The Christian Post
 
Longtime New Yorker film critic Richard Brody ’80 said the worst film he ever reviewed was Louis C.K.’s I Love You, Daddy: “Just to recall it is to feel that skin-crawling revulsion all over again; readers, consider yourselves lucky to have been spared.” — The News-Gazette

Get Alumni in the News in your inbox — subscribe at paw.princeton.edu/email.