Guest List: Today’s Newsmakers

Pat Yognpradit: The Springbrook High School computer-science teacher has come up with a novel way to engage his students with world affairs: He has them building games based on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, so characters have to figure out how to get medicine to pregnant women or keep pollution levels low. We’ll keep an eye out for the Apple and Android versions as a replacement for our Angry Birds addiction.

Kelly Mayfield: The artistic director of the Silver Spring-based Contradiction Dance company doesn’t limit herself to human movement when she’s thinking about choreography. Contradiction is currently presenting a new work, her second inspired by a Phillips Collection exhibit, influenced by a retrospective of sculptor David Smith’s work.

Portrait of Steven Knapp courtesy George Washington University.

Adam Jones: The next generation of the Washington Nationals has garnered reams of media stories. But up the road in Baltimore, Jones may be poised for a season that could put the Orioles back in contention and bring some good sports news to a region badly deprived of it. And even if the rest of the team can’t coalesce around him, his low-key, fan-friendly attitude (he has invited Twitter followers to come jet-skiing with him) is winning accolades in Baltimore.

Steven Knapp: The president of George Washington University just finished his latest round of what has to be one of the nation’s most thrilling recruiting strategies—turning college admissions into the equivalent of the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. Knapp showed up this week in DC public-school classrooms to offer full rides to GWU to nine students. Who knew the torturous process of applications and financial-aid requests could be so exciting?

Corey Stewart: You’d think an Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweep that picked up 130 people who are in the U.S. illegally—and who have been charged with other crimes—would make Stewart’s day. But the Prince William County Board Chairman, long a vocal critic of the Department of Homeland Security’s approach to enforcement, says it’s not enough to catch illegal aliens after they’re accused of wrongdoing. In a region with a growing immigrant population, the roundup and Stewart’s opinions on it are sure to touch raw spots.

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