One day in the summer of 1987 a young man walked in the office of The Daily Cardinal on the UW-Madison campus. I was there, alone, preparing for my new job as campus editor. On his shoulder he carried an overstuffed military-style canvas bag about as long as he was tall. He introduced himself, explained that he had just transferred to the university, and asked me if I could assign him a story. He had yet to even find an apartment. The man was Anthony Shadid. He died of an apparent asthma attack Thursday while on assignment in Syria for The New York Times. He was 43.