Coming full circle after long-ago meeting with the Zinns
By Bryan Marquard, Globe Staff – February 5, 2010
When you move from state to state as often as I do, life doubles back in unanticipated ways. Nearly 30 years ago, when I met Howard and Roslyn Zinn, it goes without saying that none of us could imagine that someday I would write her obituary and contribute to his.
We didn’t meet at one of the protest marches where the Zinns participated in history, or in a Boston University classroom where Howard taught the subject. Our first encounter was in front of a hillside house in Hartland, Vt., that was home to the muckraking journalist George Seldes, then in his 90s.
A car pulled up and Howard unfolded his lanky frame from the driver’s side. Out the other door stepped Roslyn. Her smile enchanted. His famously wide grin seemed to stretch from Vermont’s Green Mountains to New Hampshire’s Presidential Range.
BU sophomore is found dead – Police say medical condition may have played a role
By Travis Andersen – Globe Staff / February 5, 2010
A Boston University sophomore was found dead yesterday in an off-campus residence, possibly from a preexisting medical condition, according to Boston police.
Police spokesman David Estrada said officers responded to an “unconscious person’’ call at a Gardner Street address around 8:30 a.m. Michael DeVito, 19, a mathematics major from Rye, N.Y., was transported to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, where he was pronounced dead, Estrada said.
Estrada said the police report indicated that a preexisting condition may have played a role in DeVito’s death. The report does not list the condition, he said, adding that police do not suspect foul play. The investigation remains open, pending an autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office.
DeVito lived on South Campus, university spokesman Colin Riley said. BU Today, an online newsletter published by the school’s public relations office, reported yesterday that 50 Gardner St., where DeVito was found, is occupied by members of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Riley, however, said the residence is not a fraternity house.
MIT students rally to help Haiti quake victims – Many raise funds on campus, one traveled to provide medical assistance
By Ziwei Hao/MIT TECH STAFF REPORTER – February 5, 2010
After the most powerful earthquake to hit Haiti in a century, more MIT students have raised their voices in response to the catastrophe and have held events to help with the Haiti earthquake relief. From video game marathons to prayers to collages, students have found new ways to engage the community in furthering efforts to help earthquake victims.
“I had just woken up from a nap on the day the earthquake occurred, and was quickly overwhelmed by the devastation it has caused,” said Edner Paul ’13, an international student from Haiti. “I could only hope for the best after desperately trying to get in touch with my father and a few of my old classmates studying in the capital. Fortunately, my close relatives were fine after they managed to get out of their house before it collapsed.”
Upon hearing the news of the earthquake from his aunt, Anthony P. Farrell ’12 quickly flew to the devastated country with a medical team.
“The main reason I went along at all is because I speak French, and so does a good-sized portion of the Haitian population,” Farrell said. “I guess the one thing that stuck with me is the fact that nearly every building had concrete walls with barbed wire or broken glass bottles set into the tops of them. The odd thing is, Haiti was like that before the earthquake.”
