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Reflecting on Jonesboro Assistant Professor of Women's Studies Martha Ackmann's "viewpoint" essay in the Springfield Republican made the connection most media missed in the wake of the fatal shooting of schoolchildren in Jonesboro this spring. One of the alleged shooters, Mitchell Johnson, reportedly threatened to kill a girl who either refused to go out with him or broke up with him. This is the kind of behavior, Ackmann wrote, that in adults indicates domestic violence. "Violence against women can happen to girls too," Ackmann wrote. "When we dismiss Johnson's reaction as mere puppy love, we are missing the point that relationships between children mirror adult relationships and can be just as subject to power, control, revenge, and violence. Adults certainly need to be more aware of the warning signs of dating violence and educate our children as well so that these boys and girls who heard Johnson's threats could recognize them as more than swagger and get appropriate help."

"Small Fry" and Transplantings Professor of History Peter Viereck's poem "Small Fry" was published in the spring issue of Boston University's magazine. In the poem, Viereck writes in the persona of John Wilkes Booth, referring to "Oswald, Sirhan, McVeigh: my unhatched clones ahead." Oswald says, "In vain, in vain they'll hang me; how hang the never-dead? I'll live in schoolbooks where the sons--of sons of your sons--will read (It's what I really long for) the name of John Wilkes Booth."

Viereck also recently received a contract from Berghahn Books for his book Transplantings: Stefan George and Georg Heym, Englished and Analyzed, with Reflections on Modern Germany, Poetry, and the Art of Translation.

Colleges perfect for conferences An article in the publication Meeting News extolled the advantages for meeting planners of holding gatherings on college campuses. Not only is it a good move for the budget-conscious meeting planner, but "many colleges hold an edge regarding technology, which often hits college campuses before it comes to hotels," the article notes. "'Most college campuses are way ahead of hotels,' said Imad Zubi, director of conferences at Mount Holyoke College. 'Mount Holyoke has offered fiber-optic cable to conference participants for years. Down the road, I'm sure all hotels will have these Internet connections.' "