Letters for Fall 2024
Letters for Fall 2024
FROM THE EDITOR
This summer, when my senior-year Terp contracted COVID-19 for the third time, he felt more frustrated than sick.
He quarantined in his room (again), missed an overnight trip to Ocean City with friends and didn’t get paid for shifts he couldn’t work at a local restaurant.
My son doesn’t know where he caught the virus, but he’s relatively lucky. COVID killed 75,000 people in the U.S. in 2023, while the flu was fatal to at least another 25,000 and sickened up to 65 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Figuring out how respiratory diseases spread is vital to saving lives—along with keeping society happily humming along.
That’s been the mission of Don Milton, a UMD professor of environmental health, since long before COVID struck. The pandemic exposed how little we know about this—remember wiping down our groceries before bringing them inside? It also brought to light how right he’d been all along in pointing to microscopic droplets that linger in the air as the likely culprit.
Years ago, Milton was ignored, even maligned for his theories. Now he’s running a five-year study with $20 million in federal and private funding in a historic Baltimore hotel and a research team tracking if and how volunteers with the flu give it to their healthy counterparts.
Writer Chris Carroll has been following its progress from the start for this issue’s cover story, which follows Milton’s trajectory toward scientific vindication and reports that, yes, there’s plenty of room at the “Hotel Influenza” this winter. (If you’d like to check in, turn to the story on page 18 to learn about becoming a paid study participant.)
For something completely different, turn to page 30 for Karen Shih’s profile of Connie Chung ’69 on the eve of her memoir’s publication. Candid, vulnerable and funny, Chung talks about the double dose of racism and sexism she fended off on her way to the top of broadcast journalism. The ending, in which Shih explores how Chung inspired so many other Asian Americans, is especially poignant.
Finally, as we unpacked our tailgating gear for football season, writer Annie Krakower unpacked what a decade in the Big Ten Conference has done for sports at UMD. We recall the uproar when the shift was announced, but you might be surprised to learn how well the Terps have performed, in every sense.
Now excuse me while I hunt for my red and white pom-pom. I’ve got a Family Weekend game to attend.
Lauren Brown
University Editor
Driving Home Pride
Our Spring 2024 cover story prompted many alums to share notes and photos of their Terp plates, which we’ve turned into this collage.
I have attached a photo of my tag (BIOTERP). We moved from Maryland to North Carolina in 2004 but have a significant family history associated with the university, including my wife, Nancy ’93 and daughters Noelle ’03 and Chelsea ’08. My wife and I have traveled back to College Park almost every year to attend the Homecoming football game. We have accumulated quite a treasure of memorabilia over the years, displayed in our “Terp Room,” including a basketball signed by Gary Williams in 2002, the year of the national championship, two 1984 football tickets with a picture of Boomer Esiason and a montage of campus photos taken by my wife, including a photo of Memorial Chapel, where we were married. Go Terps!
John Kapp ’70, M.S. ’74, PH.D. ’77, Concord, N.C.
Loved your article on the vanity plates. I’m a big Terp fan so when it came time to name my company I couldn’t resist. This wrap is on a 2017 VW beetle: s perfect turtle. There are three of these driving around the Baltimore Washington area. Go Terps!
Jack Miller, Crownsville, Md.
I may hold the record of being the farthest and oldest from College Park to have a Terp license plate: I live in a suburb of San Diego. It amazes me how many people have interacted with me in California upon seeing my plate, and many offer, "Maryland is such a great university.” There are over 3,400 Maryland graduates in San Diego County, and I find that to be astonishing. Go Terps!
Burt R. Bondy ’67, La Jolla, Calif.
Enjoyed your piece entitled "Driving Home Pride.” I've attached an old picture of my tag.
Warren Sparrow '72, Westminster, Md.
Great job by Maggie Haslam on the license plate article! I had TERP22 on my VA plates in 1987 in college and now have that for my motorcycle plates.
Tom Worstell ’88, Leesburg, Va.
I have Maryland plates: MRTERPS, as in M.R. Ducks, a nod to the Eastern Shore-themed apparel store, and 4x4TERP. Prior plates include 4 TERPS (Texas and Oregon) and CMTERPPS (as in C.M. Ducks), LIL TERP and 5 TERPS (all Maryland).
Dale Burns ’70, Centreville, Md.
I enjoyed reading the Driving Home Pride article. After retiring and moving to Delaware one of our first actions was to get our Terp license plates. It took a little effort, but we snagged two. I attached a couple of pictures to add to your collection. Go Terps!
Frank Ripkin '70, Millsboro, Del.
I am the original turtle doctor in Wilmington, N.C.
Ben Thompson ’76, Wilmington, N.C.
They missed my new plate (SCITRP): #1 Science Terp representing the University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences in Northern Virginia. Shark-infested waters among all those Cavalier, Hokie and Duke Dog alums.
Robert Infantino, Associate Dean, College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences, via LinkedIn
I lived in Maryland for 29 years and in several other states where I purchased Terp vanity plates. I gave one of each pair of plates to RJ Bentley’s in College Park: 1986 (Maryland): M TERPS; 1988 (Connecticut): TERPS; 1991 (Texas): TERPS; and 1992 (New York): TERPS.
I still have their mates. I would be glad to give them away to appropriate Terp supporters.
Mike Donaghue ’71, Chicago
A couple years ago I added a Terp plate to my electric vehicle (EV TERP). The article following this one was about EVs. Felt like both were written for me!
Joe Ober ’81, Silver Spring, Md.
Enclosed is a photo of our vanity tag, which we put on our first motorhome in 1992. Through three motorhomes, it has been to every state except Nebraska, Louisiana, Alaska and Hawaii and racked up 165,000 miles in travels. We sold our last motorhome four years ago, and now the tag is on our car. Keep up the good work.
Richard Heavner ’62, Cumberland, Md.
As much as I love a good custom license plate, I was sad to see all these Maryland-themed cars highlighted and think how my Miata had missed out on being in this article (if ever there was a car that screamed Maryland pride).
Though not originally from Maryland, I am a three-time alum, and one of my COVID art projects was painting a Miata. I brought it on campus last year for a faculty art show, but otherwise haven't shown it off much.
My dream would be to bring this to the attention of the right department at the university so that the car could roll out to the side of the field on Homecoming, drop the top down, and have Testudo hop out to run out into the stadium.
Isaac Leventon ’10, M.S. ’11, Ph.D. ’16
Correction: The Spring 2024 “Driving Home Pride” cover story failed to attribute a quote from Gretchen Ricks ‘98, who said she enjoys getting honks for her GOTERPS plate. We regret the error.