New York Times Upfront articles from March 2000

New York Times Upfront archives from March 2000

letters.
March 13, 2000... Lessons from Liz The article about the formerly homeless Elizabeth Murray ("Liz's Story," 1/31/00) really moved me. I can identify with her struggles. For many years I was homeless, a "gutter punk" in San Francisco. Nobody seems to...

The Eyes Have It.
March 13, 2000... These eyes may look good, but they don't see too well. These acrylic (not glass) artificial eyes were hand-painted by New York City artisan Annette Kirszrot to match the ones they replace.

Sex-Free Zone.(high school club promoting tolerance of gays banned in Orange County)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... When gay students at El Modena High School in Orange County, California, decided to start a club to promote tolerance of homosexuals, school officials nixed the plan, saying that sexual topics are inappropriate for school clubs. School board...

Who Were Those Masked Hackers?(computer hackers attack web sites)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... The latest innovation in hacking gives major Web sites too much of what they usually crave: hits. In what appeared to be a coordinated attack last month, hackers crippled the world's largest e-commerce hang-outs--including Yahoo, Amazon, eBay,...

A French Twist for School Health Clinics.(school nurses to provide morning-after pill to students)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... High school and junior high girls in France now have a new--and controversial--reason to see the school nurse. These students, as young as 12, can obtain morning-after pills--pills taken the morning after sex to prevent pregnancy. In an...

Flagging Candidates.(presidential candidates offer opinions regarding South Carolina's confederate flag)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... Should it stay or should it go? The controversial Confederate battle flag flying over South Carolina's capitol building has the presidential candidates talking. Here's what they're saying: AL GORE: "The Confederate battle flag divides...

Japan's Killer New Fashion.(two deaths attributed to high-heel footwear)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... The phrase "fashion victim" has taken on new meaning in Japan, as the rage for extreme forms of platform shoes has resulted in two deaths. Tomomi Okawa recently crashed her car into a pole, killing a friend who was riding in the passenger...

Bad Hair Daze.(star of television's Felicity cuts hair and ratings drop)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... When Keri Russell, star of WB's Felicity, showed up on her series with a dramatically shorter hairstyle, fans of the show cut and ran. Producers were deluged with e-mails complaining about Russell's new do. Ratings nose-dived. "It's weird...

THE POWER OF THE PEN.(political cartoonists)
March 13, 2000... YOU MAY WANT TO DRAW AND QUARTER THEM, BUT THE BEST CARTOONISTS CAN MAKE YOU LAUGH AND THINK Take it from political cartoonists: A picture is worth more than a thousand words. It may add up to a few thousand votes, a political sea change,...

Show Me the Money!(attitudes of presidential candidates toward campaign reform)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES WANT TO TELL YOU ALL ABOUT THE EVILS OF MONEY IN POLITICS, BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM THEIR SPONSORS Campaign finance reform. If those three words make you want to drop your head on your desk for a short nap, try...

Seeds of Peace.(Arab and Israeli teens document their differences on film)
March 13, 2000... FOR A FEW WEEKS EACH SUMMER, A GROUP OF ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN TEENAGERS LEARN TO LIVE TOGETHER AT A CAMP IN MAINE. BUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM WHEN THEY GO HOME? Amer Kamal, a 17-year-old Palestinian from East Jerusalem, looks squarely into...

MIDEAST MUDDLE.(likelihood of peace between Israel and Palestinians looks dim)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... THE ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE REACHED A FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT BY NOW. INSTEAD, ALL BETS ARE OFF. When a group of Palestinian children released 12 doves as a symbol of peace during a celebration of the new millennium in...

The High School Hoops Factory.(high school basketball coach Stu Vetter)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... Coach Stu Vetter knows how to win--wherever he roams Wearing one of the Nike warm-up suits that seem to compose his entire wardrobe, a whistle hanging from his neck, coach Stu Vetter is watching what he calls his family--a group of...

After-School Special.(MTV vj Carson Daly)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... Carson Daly's biggest asset on MTV may be his likability--and what's wrong with that? Heather Purcell, 17, looks cool, calm and collected on a nippy, drizzly February afternoon in New York City's Times Square. She's one of 17 students from...

Quiz-Show Scandal.('Twenty-One')(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... Today's hit TV quiz shows have ancestors--with a dirty little secret When parents told their kids to be like Charles Van Doren, they didn't mean be a phony. In the winter of 1956-57, Van Doren, a handsome, learned Columbia University...

Let Gay Clubs Meet?(opinions about allowing clubs for gay high school students)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2000... Not in school, says one California district YES We oppose efforts of the Orange, California, school board to prevent the Gay-Straight Alliance of El Modena High School from meeting on school property. We believe that young people...

letters.
March 27, 2000... Seeking a Perfect Bod Your article on body images and the media ("Obsession for Men," 2/14/00) was a job well done. A lot of times, we may be influenced by ads, videos, and commercials to live up to the male ideal of perfection. It was...

Say Hello to Dog 1.0.(toy robot dog)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Does the world really need a $2,500 toy robot dog? Sony hopes so, because its AIBO ERS-110 is coming soon to a store near you. The bionic pooch can only perform a few tricks, like playing with a ball. But maybe future upgrades will do more...

Fabric That Makes No Scents.(French fabric maker creates odor-free underwear)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Hate to do the laundry? Get a load of this: the French have developed a fabric that can allegedly go unwashed day after day without getting stinky. Francital, a French textiler, says its cloth allows perspiration to move outward and evaporate...

And the Winners are ... Bill Bradley and John McCain.(teenage voter primary)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... For the TEEN PRIMARY 2000, The New York Times Upfront asked you to pick your favorite presidential candidate--and you did, in record numbers. More than 55,000 young people voted through paper ballots sent by snail mail and on our Web site. ...

Rock in a Hard Place.(Oregon Native Americans want meteorite back)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... It came from outer space. And, having landed in America, it wound up--where else?--in court. The 15-ton Willamette meteorite has a special place in the newly reopened Hayden Planetarium at New York City's American Museum of Natural...

Illinois Governor Kills Death Penalty.(Republican George Ryan puts moratorium on capital punishment)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Citing a "shameful record of convicting innocent people and putting them on death row," Governor George Ryan of Illinois has halted all executions in the state, the first such moratorium in the nation. A moderate Republican who supports...

Bringing Us to Our Census.(United States Census)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Right now, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the typical American is a woman named Lisa. She's between 25 and 34 years of age and living in a California suburb with her daughter, Emily (right). This statistical profile will change after...

CYBERPUNKS.(the new breed of computer hackers)
March 27, 2000... AT A TIME WHEN THE INTERNET IS BECOMING EVER MORE IMPORTANT, A NEW GENERATION OF HACKERS IS THREATENING TO BRING IT CRASHING DOWN David Brumley sees a lot of loose talk on the Internet. Part of his job, as a computer-security officer at...

Rebels With a Cause.(young Iranians are driving political change)
March 27, 2000... IRAN'S YOUNG PEOPLE ARE LEADING A MOVEMENT TO OVERTURN A HARD-LINE GOVERNMENT Wrapped in long black chadors, cloaks that cover their hair and the shape of their bodies--but with their sneakers peeking out impertinently from underneath--the...

ADIOS, SIESTA.(Spaniards are giving up their lunchtime napping)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... ECONOMIC PRESSURES THREATEN TO END A CHERISHED SPANISH TRADITION--THE AFTERNOON NAP In the historic district of Madrid, Spain, Florencio Cordoba, 46, closes his famous cape shop, Sesenin, at 2 p.m. each day and heads for home. Once there,...

Not Your Father's Prom.(clothing alternatives for the high school prom)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... Who says you have to show up in a tux or a long frilly dress? Prom night will be a night to remember... but how? High school's equivalent of the Oscars or the Grammys has always been the big night--a night to go all out and a time to...

Got Money?(campaign finance and Watergate)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2000... The scandal that drove President Nixon from office was also a campaign finance scandal On March 23,1971, a group of dairy-industry leaders met with White House officials to ask for an increase in the federally supported price of milk....

Has TV Gone Too Far?(Editorial)
March 27, 2000... Marrying millionaires--and other stupid people tricks YES It should not be too surprising that the marriage of two strangers on Fox's Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire? foundered before the honeymoon was over. After flying into the...