Field Work Picks Up

All pictures taken Thursday, May 18, 2006.

ESPN.com has a terribly sad but important story on Kyle Ambrogi, the University of Pennsylvania tailback to who took his own life last fall. It's an important story for what it can help us learn about depression and how to identify it. It's a sad story because Ambrogi really did have everything to live for and somehow it wasn't enough. And it's sad because friends and family tried to help him, and at the end of the day there was nothing they could do. There's a video component with the story and a sidebar as well.

Dartmouth alumni (and others) may find the NCAA's statement on the College of William & Mary's nickname/mascot/imagery interesting. From the NCAA statement:

The NCAA staff review committee has included the College of William and Mary on the list of colleges and universities subject to restrictions on the use of Native American mascots, names and imagery at NCAA championships.

The staff review committee reviewed the College of William and Mary’s institutional self study and corresponding documents and determined that, based on the use of Native American feather imagery in conjunction with the nickname “Tribe,” the College of William and Mary should be included on the list of colleges and universities subject to the provisions of the policy.

From an interesting AP story:

When Grant Cochran graduates Saturday, a family tradition that has stretched over 17 years will come to an end.

He's the sixth brother in his family to travel the 2,350 miles from Kent, Wash., to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute -- just across the Hudson River from Albany. Grant is also the last to play college football.

It's not about football and it's not about the Ivy League, but this Washington Post story about some of the nation's historically black colleges fielding baseball teams made up largely of white players is an interesting and provocative thought-provoking read. (Thanks to a subscriber for recommending it.) An accompanying graphic points out that 6.5 percent of students in the MEAC are white while 45 percent of the baseball players are white.