In her biography it said she was a voracious book & newspaper reader, even as a child. Modeling the example of her teacher father, she enjoyed learning and current events.
reply from the author:
From: Abcarian, Robin
To: mel
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 2:41 PM
Subject: RE:
Thank you for writing. Here are citations for three stories that address Obama in college.
Best,
Robin Abcarian
Saturday January 27, 2007
Early on, Obama showed talent for bridging divisions
Home Edition, Main News, Page A-1
National Desk
31 inches; 1073 words
By Richard A. Serrano and David G. Savage, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama’s entry into politics came on a winter morning at the white-columned Harvard Law Review building when, about 2 a.m., a deeply divided editorial staff chose him as the first African American to lead the prestigious publication.
Monday January 29, 2007
Occidental recalls ‘Barry’ Obama
* The Eagle Rock liberal arts college is quick to claim the Illinois Democrat as an alum. He says he has ‘fond memories’ of the school.
Home Edition, California, Page B-1
Metro Desk
40 inches; 1321 words
By Larry Gordon, Times Staff Writer
Memories of 1980 at Occidental College’s Haines Hall have the standard fragments of the era: stereos blasting the B-52’s through the dorm, pot-fueled bull sessions about the revival of draft registration, late-night cramming for economics exams.
That otherwise private nostalgia took on public significance this month when a former Haines Hall resident from Hawaii known at the time as Barry announced that he was forming an exploratory committee to run for president of the United States.
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama is usually described as an alumnus of Columbia University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and of Harvard Law School.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
In search of identity
* Barack Obama, half black and half white, fights the undertow of race.
Home Edition, Main News, Page A-1
National Desk
97 inches; 4224 words
Type of Material: Profile
By Thomas Curwen, Times Staff Writer
Four years ago, Barack Obama introduced himself to America by painting a picture of a country that was united, somehow, in spite of itself.
The pundits, he said in the keynote address to the Democratic convention, like to “slice and dice” the country: red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats.
“But I’ve got news for them too: We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and yes, we’ve got some gay friends in the red states.”
His task that night was to ready the crowd for the presidential nominee, John F. Kerry, but in the end his words were most memorable for an argument that challenged the partisan divide and was built on the foundation of his own unique story. Since then, it’s become a familiar element of his speeches. His father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas.
But it’s more complicated than that.