What You Said About …

THE OLD WORLD ORDER

Readers praised Robert D. Kaplan’s March 31 analysis of Russia’s annexation of Crimea for its clarity and accessibility. The article “provided much needed sobriety for those of us intoxicated by promises of a technocentric, new world order,” wrote Sebastián Díaz of Bruceton Mills, W.Va. “These geographic forces will increasingly shape the intranational politics of the United States.” Jim Haas, a professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University, suggested that Russian cultural pride was also at play. “Russian expansion should be understood in the context of Putin’s purposeful fashioning of a culturally and institutionally unique and autonomous Russia.”

SEX EDUCATION

Camille Paglia’s essay on sex education in our March 24 Ideas issue raised the ire of many readers. Antioch University professor Scott McCann described as “unsound” and “unsafe” Paglia’s suggestions that schools should not discuss specific sexual acts, not provide condoms and remain “neutral” on homosexuality. “The idea that sex educators promote abortion is ridiculous … Making condoms available where kids are keeps down the rates of teen pregnancy and disease transmission,” added Lisa Fontes, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Others, like mother Lynne Fees of Omaha, found Paglia’s “honesty and courage” refreshing.

AN SAT REBOOT

The contention of Bard College president Leon Botstein in the March 24 issue that the SAT is “part hoax, part fraud” drew nods of agreement from educators like Myron Schwager, a professor emeritus at Hartt School of the University of Hartford, who found Botstein’s excoriation of the multiple-choice section “right on target.” Teacher Dina Schmidt of Chester Springs, Pa., thanked Botstein for stating “what many of us already knew. Glad someone of his distinction is speaking out.” Terry Newell of Florence, Ore., disagreed with Botstein’s points, citing what he called a “failure to understand that correlation (high income and high SAT scores) is not causation (ironically, one of the thinking skills assessed by the SAT).”

#EiffelTowerLIFE

LIFE.COM

To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the official opening of the Eiffel Tower–the Paris landmark, shown above in a 1948 image by Dmitri Kessel, was dedicated on March 31, 1889–LIFE is asking Instagram users to submit their personal photos of the tower, via #EiffelTowerLIFE. One picture, selected from all the submissions, will be featured on LIFE.com in tribute to the great, graceful wrought-iron emblem of the City of Light.

NOW ON TIME.COM

Forget March Madness. We ranked U.S. colleges by the influence of their alumni. By mining data from Wikipedia, we ranked more than 107,000 people and the hundreds of schools they attended. So how do some of the most famous American rivalries match up? To find out, visit time.com/collegerankings

Harvard University

2.03 times as influential as

Yale University

University of Michigan

2.7 times as influential as

Ohio State University

University of Alabama

1.7 times as influential as

Auburn University

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