Alumnae Making News... and Making History

As we were finishing this issue, we learned of two remarkable alumnae accomplishments.

On April 20, the Pulitzer Prize for public-service journalism was “[a]warded to the Las Vegas Sun, and notably the courageous reporting of Alexandra Berzon,” class of 2001, “for the exposure of the high death rate among construction workers on the Las Vegas strip amid lax enforcement of regulations, leading to changes in policy and improved safety conditions.” An urban studies major at Vassar, Berzon was co-news editor on the Misc with frequent VQ contributor Veronika Ruff ’01.

On May 8, Vicki Miles-LaGrange ’74 was formally recognized as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, the first African American to hold this position. Her investiture as judge follows a long line of other distinguished achievements, including her appointment by President Clinton as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, making her the first woman to hold that position. “She is tough as nails,” Richard Roberts ’74, U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia, told The Oklahoman, “but fair.” Congratulations to both!

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