"Quote.....Endquote"

"Because the mindset of Americans on Saturday is to do personal and family business, I’m not sure we know what to do after taking care of the chores. We may rest or watch TV, but is that leisure? No." Benjamin Hunnicutt, professor of sport, health, leisure, and physical studies, reflecting on what Americans do in their "free time" (Austin American-Statesman, Oct. 23.)

"I think we’re all using (the word ‘diversity’), and our heads all nod, but we don’t have an agreement about what it means to be committed in our daily lives." Diane Finnerty, Affirmative Action program associate, urging tolerance not only of diverse ethnic backgrounds but also of diverse values, opinions, and lifestyles (Iowa City Gazette, Oct. 29).

"Someone did this for me, and I am so glad to be able to return the favor." Melanie Dreher, dean of nursing, evening the score by saving the life of a colleague who suffered heart failure during a conference (Iowa City Gazette, Oct. 31).

"Our goal is to appeal to altruistic motivations." Jan Gerard, nurse coordinator of in-vitro fertilization, shying away from the practice of offering money to egg donors in advertisements (Des Moines Register, Nov. 6).

"The reason you had that one loss is so we can continue to call you coach and not God." Tom Vilsack, governor of Iowa, addressing fabled UI wrestling coach Dan Gable at a gala preview of the HBO documentary Freestyle: The Victories of Dan Gable (Iowa City Gazette, Nov. 8).

"If the findings show significant abuse of monopoly power, then the appropriate remedy is to break up the monopoly—not to hobble the company or try to regulate it." Herbert Hovenkamp, professor of law, advocating a Ma Bell-esque ending for the Microsoft trial (The New York Times, Nov. 10).

"These are local people. They couldn’t get away from me without moving." Dan Gable, former UI wrestling coach, explaining why he gave the producers of Freestyle access to his life for filming (USA Today, Nov. 11).

"If a big rock hits, it’ll be just like a Howitzer." Louis Frank, professor of physics and astronomy, describing why one of the lenses on the Polar spacecraft was turned away from the Leonid meteor shower (Iowa City Gazette, Nov. 18).

"Once he caught on to all my moves, he got better at it." Brian Steele, UIHC custodian, remembering the chess games he played during his work breaks and lunch hour with Nathan Cook, a 15-year-old cystic fibrosis patient. Cook died Oct. 29 (Iowa City Gazette, Nov. 19).

"If you don’t print something out, you can forget how long it is, because all you can see is what you see through the keyhole of the screen." Elizabeth McCracken, visiting professor in the Writers’ Workshop, sharing her secret for helping students combat wordiness when composing on a computer (Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 26).