Harvard’s leading lady, Drew Gilpin Faust, answered 20 questions about her new book, “This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War,” at an event last Thursday. Unfortunately, FM couldn’t make it (and the questions were vetted in advance), but here are the 20 questions we would have liked her to answer.
1) Before we get started, we have a problem set to finish. So, what happens to investment in the U.S. if a report states that the government deficit for 2008 will be higher than anticipated?
2) On to more serious matters, boxers or briefs? Satin or cotton? Paper or plastic!?
3) Who’s the biggest PILF on campus? You know, Professor I’d Like to Fu… Fire.
4) Did you worry that the new alcohol policies will affect your approval rating?
5) What’s the meaning of life?
6) In your book, you state, “Guerillas ensnared women.” Could you teach me how to ensnare a woman?
7) Any wild stories from Bryn Mawr?
8) So, you want to move Quadlings to a new Allston Campus. Have you ever looked at a map? ’Cause that’s pretty damn far!
9) Why did the chicken cross the road?
10) Are you able to give presidential pardons for, say, four noise violations and two incidents of underage drinking?
11) How’d you get into the University president’s office? Like, what were your SAT scores? GPA? Extracurriculars?
12) Does endowment matter?
13) How are you feeling about being under all of those freshmen next year?
14) Have there been any stained blue dress incidents in Mass Hall?
15) How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie-Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
16) Why do you hate transfer students?
17) If you could select one undergrad to give you a deep tissue massage, who would it be?
18) Why does BusinessWeek hate you?
19) Truth or dare?
20) Would you like to play a game of Scrabble? No, Seriously. Play Scrabble with FM.