Tragedy in Charlottesville

Terrible news out of the University of Virginia and particularly the highly-regarded Virginia Quarterly Review. The ugly, sad story involves a suicide, allegations of professional bullying, and possibly the end of one of the country's best literary journals.

[Hat Tip. Ralph Luker and I both have had some connection with VQR -- his more significant than mine, as I mostly got to know it through my affiliation with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and have written a couple of short reviews for them -- and I think we are both mystified by the recent events.]

Life Trumps Sports

The Boston Globe has a long, disturbing feature on Hank Hendricks, the backup quarterback from the University of New Hampshire and protege of Doug Flutie who now faces murder charges for his role in beating a student to death in his upscale hometown of La Jolla, California. Hendricks was not one of the aggressors, but he was there when the fight and death happened and took a few steps that could be construed as leading to a coverup. Flutie continues to vouch for the young man and expects his exoneration.