10A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 15. 2008
OBITUARY
Writer David Wallace,46 commits suicide at home
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLAREMONT, Calif. — David Foster Wallace, the author best known for his 1996 novel "Infinite jest," was found dead in his home, according to police. He was 46.
Wallace's wife found her husband had hanged himself when she returned home about 9:30 p.m. Friday, said Jackie Morales, a records clerk with the Claremont Police Department.
Wallace taught creative writing and English at nearby Pomona College.
"He cared deeply for his students and transformed the lives of many young people," said Dean Gary Kates. "It's a great loss to our teaching faculty."
Wallace's first novel, "The Broom of the System," gained national attention in 1987 for its ambition and offbeat humor. The New York Times said the 24-year-old author "attempts to give us a portrait, through a combination of Joycean word games, literary parody and zany picasque adventure, of a contemporary America run amok."
Published in 1996, "Infinite Jest" cemented Wallace's reputation as a major American literary figure. The 1,000-plus-page tome, praised for its complexity and dark wit, topped many best-of lists. Time Magazine named "Infinite Jest" in its issue of the "100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005."
Wallace received a "genius
grant" from the MacArthur Foundation in 1997.
In 2002, Wallace was hired to teach at Pomona in a tenured English Department position endowed by Roy E. Disney. Kates said when the school began searching for the ideal candidate, Wallace was the first person considered.
"The committee said 'we need a person like David Foster Wallace.' They said that in the abstract," Kates said. "When he was approached and accepted, they were heads over heels. He was really the ideal person for the position."
Born in Ithaca, N.Y., Wallace attended Amherst College and the University of Arizona.
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Eyes to the sky
KU students enjoy watching a double rainbow on Daisy Hill on Saturday. The rainbow was a welcome addition to a rainy and sunny day.
Tyler Waugh/KANSAN
MEDIA
Luke Russert makes interviewing debut with presidential nominees
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The reporter who sat across from John McCain and Barack Obama for separate interviews that aired on NBC's "Today" show Friday was only 23.
Was he nervous?
"Not necessarily," Luke Russert said. "I had prior relationships with both of them."
He asked both Obama and McCain about whether community service should be mandatory for young people. They said no, but both presidential candidates said the United States missed a real opportunity to teach citizens about sacrifice following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Matt Lauer debriefed him about the interviews.
No one would have figured on seeing a Rusert on the "Today" show this political season following the shocking death of Luke's dad, Tim Rusert, of a heart attack on June 13.
Offered the chance to report on youth issues for NBC News, the gregarious young Russer dove into the assignment with gusto, toting a microphone backstage at the Democratic and Republican conventions. Many of his stories have appeared on the "Nightly News" Web site and he blogs about his experiences on iCue.com.
"He's one of the rookies of the year," said NBC News President Steve Capus. "Here's a man at the worst possible time in his life who stepped into the spotlight with great poise, strength and a sense of humor, with a love of politics and a love for NBC."
Would a young man at his age and with his credentials secure such a high-profile job if his last name wasn't Russer? Doubful, of course. But NBC News might be expected to act paternally toward a person its employees watched grow by the side of its beloved Washington bureau chief and
"Meet the Press" host.
He often accompanied his dad on assignments ("as a 10-year-old I was as tall as Ross Perot," he recalled), riding McCain's "Straight Talk Express" during the 2000 primary campaign and meeting Obama at a forum on public service in 2006.
But it's not as if Russert didn't bring something to the table. The recent Boston College graduate has worked in media since he was a teenager, co-hosting a sports talk show on XM satellite radio with political consultant James Carville. Before his father died, he had already lined up a job covering the presidential campaign for another XM station. He chose to go to NBC when it offered more exposure.
The Russert name also undoubtedly helped land last week's interviews with the two candidates, particularly important since many McCain supporters have been seething about NBC News.
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