On Tuesday evening, May 1st, over 80 members of our club turned out to hear the celebrated Yale Law Professor Amy Chua, often known as the “Tiger Mom,” in a wide-ranging talk at the Baltimore Country Club. Professor Chua, whose academic specialties include international business transactions, law and development, ethnic conflict, and globalization and the law, led off by discussing some of the key points from her latest book, Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations, which examines how ethnocultural and economically-based rivalries influence relations among ethnic groups both in other countries and within the United States as well. But Professor Chua, who displayed neither teeth nor claws during an engaging and free-wheeling discussion, also talked about the media firestorm surrounding her earlier 2011 book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which was triggered when an anonymous editorial editor for the Wall Street Journal retitled (without her knowledge) an op-ed piece based on the book to read “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” Professor Chua brought us up to date on how the two talented daughters she wrote about in that book are doing, and also discussed her role in encouraging Yale Law student J.D. Vance to write Hillybilly Elegy, his acclaimed memoir of growing up in Appalachia. Club members also enjoyed socializing with each other and Professor Chua at the cocktail hour in advance of her talk on a lovely spring evening in a beautiful setting.

On St. Patrick’s Day, some 35 Yale alumni and family members gathered just off the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to tour the National Cryptologic Museum, the National Security Agency’s (NSA) tribute to code-breaking and signals intelligence. We learned about the interception and decoding of Germany’s Zimmerman Telegram, which sought to bring Mexico into World War One against the United States; World War II’s famous German Enigma cipher machine and the three young Polish cryptanalysts who deciphered it; how the U.S. military broke the Japanese naval codes and used the resulting knowledge to win the critical battle of Midway; and the role that eavesdropping and high-level surveillance played during the Cold War. We saw a working Enigma code machine from World War II, a microphone the Soviets secretly installed in a wooden Great Seal in the U.S. mission at the U.N., and a fragment of the U-2 spy plane flown by Francis Gary Powers that was shot down in 1960 (part of the background to the movie Bridge of Spies). A huge thanks to the National Cryptologic Museum for the warm welcome and for sharing their knowledge!

 

What better way to brighten the dark days of February than with the time-honored Yale tradition of Feb Club? This year, we gathered at the Heavy Seas Brewery for a brewery tour, great conversation, and another round of Yale trivia. It was wonderful to see new friends be made as multiple generations of alumni mingled. See you next year!

This year’s holiday event was held at Cosima, a relative newcomer to Baltimore’s restaurant scene. The festive setting made for a cozy gathering of Yalies and other Ivy league alumni. What better way to recap the YAAM year than over delicious appetizers and drinks? The passing of Vincent Scully was another point of our discussions. Most but not all had taken his popular course, and we all held up a glass in remembrance and gratitude for the mark he left on countless students. Wishing everyone Happy
Holidays and a spectacular New Year! Boola Boola.

A large group of Yale alumni joined with family, friends, and military history buffs for an informative, inspiring, and memorable tour of the Maryland Museum of Natural History on the day of the 29th Infantry Division Annual Review – by all accounts, a spectacular display of military pomp and circumstance. The tour itself wove through chronologically-laid-out accounts of Maryland’s role in major military engagements dating back to the pre-Revolutionary era, with priceless artifacts and fascinating tales evinced along the way.
If you would like to schedule your own tour with the historian and curator, Joe Balkoski, you are highly encouraged to contact him via the information below. What a great way to show off the illustrious history of Maryland through a military lens to parents, children, and friends of all ages!
Contact information:
Joseph Balkoski
Historian, 29th Infantry Division

Maryland Yalies, friends, and family, joined peers from Harvard on Saturday, November 18th to celebrate a decisive 24-3 victory over the Crimson. The Bulldogs clinched the outright Ivy League championship for the first time in 37 years with the win, going 9-1 for the season. The Bulldogs’ incredible defense prevented any effective comeback by the Crimson after the decisive Yale lead in the first quarter. Those of us watching from afar at Lebanese Taverna were swept up in the joy of the win and the pride of our first winning streak in far too long.

The movie Shakespeare in Love brought to life Shakespeare’s England, making its romance, rivalries, and restrictions come to life. On October 21st, YAAM got to see Shakespeare in Love come to life at Center Stage, Maryland’s state theater. Shakespeare in Love  was the second Center Stage performance for YAAM members in the beautiful renovated theater and our third event partnering with Resident Dramaturg (and Yalie!) Gavin Witt. During a pre-show talk, Gavin explained how it took nearly 20 years to craft this show after the movie became such a huge hit, as well as some of the historical (in)accuracy of the film and show. He also hinted at some new twists that had been added. The staged performance of Shakespeare in Love did not disappoint, offering up classic moments from the film as well as new laughs.

A huge thank you to Gavin for sharing his knowledge with us, and to the amazing cast (including multiple Yalies!) for a night we are all sure to remember.

Between last-minute summer vacations and a day of drizzle, we weren’t sure what kind of turn out to expect at tonight’s all-Ivy happy hour, but the evening ended up being one to remember. Over 50 all-Ivy alumni came for the tacos, sangria, and some dangerously delicious guacamole and stayed for the great company. A huge thank you to everyone who came out for the fascinating conversation and for being so inspirational. It’s not every night that you can say you talked to new faculty at a local university, established lawyers, national security experts who play in bands in the evenings, programmers who volunteer at animal rescue organizations, public defenders, engineers working on cutting-edge designs, and students from many fields. Thank you to this rich community that makes a Tuesday evening into a night to remember.

Nearly three dozen Yalies and their families gathered earlier tonight to see the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s production of The Tempest. Set in the ruins of the Patapsco Female Institute in beautiful Ellicott City, there was a palpable sense of magic in the air – perfect for Shakespeare’s masterpiece combining fantasy, shipwreck, revenge, and several of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters – the exiled sorcerer Prospero, his brilliant daughter Miranda, the fairy sprite Ariel, and the monster Caliban. Our group was treated to a pre-show talk by Lesley Malin, the Managing Director and one of the founders of CSC, as we ate our picnic dinners. She discussed the founding of the CSC, the history of the Patapsco Female Institute, and the artistic decisions the CSC had made for the night’s production. The show itself was filled with color and laughter, with actors using the aisles to escape storms, seek their companions, or continue their drunken revelry. It was the perfect way to spend a beautiful summer evening.

Earlier today, our very own Barry Kessler led two dozen local alumni around historic Annapolis, helping us all to understand the important role this city has played in shaping the history of Maryland and the United States. It’s not every day that you stand in a former United States capital, or in the same room where George Washington resigned his commission as Commander in Chief of the army. Under a perfectly blue sky, our group wandered the city, learning about the history beneath our feet. On the steps of a centuries-old church, we learned how Annapolis was one of the first planned cities in the United States. As we meandered down alleyways, we heard about the beautiful architecture of the city and how the lines of the buildings and stories of their occupants reflect the history of the entire city. On the beautiful St. John’s campus, we learned about an alternate educational model known as the Great Books Program, where science and math are learned by reading the texts of Archimedes and Galileo, and homework includes the translation of Ancient Greek and French texts. A huge thank you to Barry for teaching us about the history and importance of this beautiful city.