Andrew Mangino, editor-in-chief for the Yale Daily News

This much is obvious: Tom Kaplan is a talented and prolific reporter. But it is his inventiveness -- that rare enterprising (and often humorous) spirit -- which impresses me most.  

Earlier this year, Yale fell victim to several acts of anonymous, vandalistic hate speech. As the administration's response played out, Yale Provost Andrew Hamilton suddenly sent out an e-mail condemning the acts -- strange because nary a single Yale student had ever heard about him. So Tom went right to work, standing in the center of campus interviewing students about Mr. Hamilton.

The resulting story was hysterical, a great read, but it also made two important points that many journalists would have struggled to convey with the right tone: first, that the real leader of Yale University was strangely invisible; and second, that many Yale students apparently think the name of one prominent U.S. Founding Father was Andrew Hamilton. The story of that particular story speaks, I believe, to Tom's versatility and ingenuity -- both gifts born of his passion for journalism and for engaging readers in unusual ways in order to bring them closer to the truth.

Tyler Hill, news editor for the Yale Daily News

I cannot be any more emphatic about this. Thomas Kaplan deserves to be on any ranking of journalists. Tom has the professional bearing, facility, intelligence and wit of any professional journalist anywhere -- not to mention a tremendous sense of humor. I predict he will someday rank high in the pantheon of stand-outs the Yale Daily News has produced during the last 130 years.

Most importantly, though, Tom sees journalism for what it is: a sophisticated, nuanced and compelling craft and a distinguished public service. He writes 10 articles a week because he truly thrives on reporting. It is inspiring to see how excited it makes him.

Source | New York Times
Because of an old quirk in Connecticut law, municipalities are responsible for collecting and storing tenants or homeowners’ leftover property after an eviction or an ejectment (as it is known after a foreclosure). Connecticut may be the only state in the country that places this obligation on municipalities instead of on typical alternatives like landlords, state marshals or sheriffs.

Source | The Yale Daily News
Fifteen years ago today, a 46-year-old economist put on a fine suit, tucked a speech in his pocket and headed to the Sterling Memorial Library. Richard Levin, the newly appointed dean of the Graduate School, was getting another promotion.

Source | The Yale Daily News
From the glassed-in esplanade encircling the fourth floor of Cesar Pelli’s new Malone Engineering Center on Prospect Street, the mid-afternoon bustle below is unmistakable. Students and faculty rush between labs and lectures. But after dusk, there is little more to see than darkness. Within a decade, if the University constructs two new residential colleges, that will all change.

Source | The Yale Daily News
Late one night this fall, University President Richard Levin sat at home with the telephone to his ear, talking to a News reporter about the prospect of building two new residential colleges behind the Grove Street Cemetery.