UAlbany in the News
by Lisa James Goldsberry (October 8, 2004)
� The August 2004 issue of Audubon magazine featured
information about research done by Eric Block of
the Department of Chemistry. �A Case for Bad Breath�
focused on his research on garlic as a natural bird
repellent as published in the Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In the
article Block said that garlic can be used as a
nontoxic repellent, keeping birds away from valuable
crops and sensitive areas like airport runways.
Block�s research found that the more garlic added
to the bowls of caged European starlings, the less
the birds ate. �They just didn�t like it,� Block
was quoted as saying. They reacted in the same way
humans do when they eat hot peppers.
� The September 9 edition of the Chicago
Sun-Times featured quotes from Alan Chartock,
professor emeritus of political communication. �Kerry
Blasts Catastrophic Course in Iraq: Says $200 Billion
Spent on War Needed for Job Training, Other Programs�
focused on a Kerry speech in Ohio and remarks made
by Vice President Dick Cheney about Kerry�s ability
to lead the country. In the article, Chartock was
quoted as saying, �It�s obvious that these polls
showing Bush with a bump don�t mean that much and
in no time we�ll be back to 50-50.�
� The September 13 broadcast of National
Public Radio featured Judith Langer of the
School of Education. The program �Talk of the Nation�
focused on the subject of improving test scores.
Langer, the author of Getting
to Excellent: How to Create Better Schools,
was one of three featured guests on the popular
program.
� The September 20 issue of The
New York Times featured quotes from Robert
F. Wesser, an emeritus professor of history. �Guess
Who�s Not Coming to Dinner� discussed why President
George Bush and Senator John Kerry were not invited
to the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation
Dinner this year. According to the article, the
reason is believed to be the issue of abortion rights.
It questioned how Smith himself would have handled
the dinner. �I�ve gone through all of his papers
in Albany and never found anything on abortion,�
Wesser was quoted as saying. He added that if Smith
had a position on it, no one has found it. Smith
was governor in the 1920s and the first Roman Catholic
presidential nominee of a major party.
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