Yale is dead.

That, at least, is the conclusion reached by an article in this month's issue of GQ magazine.

The eight-page article, written by 1976 Harvard graduate John S. Sedgwick, alleges that Yale has lost much of its prestige.

While in the past Harvard and Yale were synonymous with each other--in greatness--this is no longer true, Sedgwick reports.

"By all accounts, Harvard now stands alone at the top," he writes.

The piece identifies a myriad of problems that currently beset Yale--including physical decay of the campus buildings and facilities, the deadly urban environment of New Haven and a faculty that is "gradually but surely losing its luster."

Understandably, Yalies were not happy about the article. The Yale Herald, a weekly students publication, satirized the article in its April Fools Day issue.

The mock article says that Yale administrators are considering moving the university out of New Haven and perhaps creating a "Euro-Yale."

"Yale to Leave New Haven Next Year" blares the fake headline. And a sidebar on the front page reports: "Yale buys out GQ."

The Harvard-educated Sedgwick has also been accused of bias because of his alma mater.

In a phone interview yesterday, Sedgwick called such allegations "about as silly as silly can be."

He pointed out that he also wrote the notorious, and highly critical, "Beirut on The Charles" piece about Harvard Law School. That article ran in the February 1993 issue of GQ.

Sedgwick said that the inspiration for his Yale article came from a women who rented a room in his house in Newton, Mass., but taught at Yale.

The woman, who is an assistant professor, commuted to Yale and stayed there a few days a week.

"I though that was pretty remarkable, that someone who teaches there...preferred to live three hours away," Sedgwick said.