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alton — east st. louis — edwardsville
vol. LXXX no. XXVII
SIUE will not factor gun control protest suspensions into admissions
RYAN BIERI editor-in-chief
University Museum curator Erin Vigneau-Dimick shows prints of the original Richard Buckminster Fuller artwork presented to SIUE Feb. 15. I Photo by Alison Gregory / The Alestle
SIUE receives Buckminster Fuller print series CORINTHIA JORDAN reporter
In partnership with the University Museum and the SIUE Foundation, the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability recently received a collection of artworks from the Fuller Dome’s creator, Buckminster Fuller. Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was a dual professor at SIUE and SIUC. He is best known as an inventor, designer and author. His most notable invention is the geodesic dome, which was patented in 1954. The Buckminster Fuller Dome, which imitates natural growth structures, uses the least amount of building materials to enclose a volume of space. This increases sustainability on campus, according to creative consultant at the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability Benjamin Lowder. “That was his genius. He looked at the way things were headed in his days in the 1900s after World War I — he served in World War I — and determined if we continue on this path, we’re going to end up in a complete ecological crisis,” Lowder said. “We continued on that path and now we’re in an ecological crisis. He wanted to usher in a design science revolution that would, through our vehicles and houses and everything, we would avert the catastrophe that he predicted.” Juli Jacobson, business administrator of the Fuller Dome, believes the Fuller Dome represents the dual dynamic of spirituality and sustainability in the community. The dome’s unique design enforces his dymaxion philosophy of doing more with less. According to Jacobson, he’s one of her heroes.
“We’re here for the students, faculty and staff, but, we’re also here for the greater community because we’re trying to preserve this dome since it’s so unique,” Jacobson said. Lowder received the print series donation from Fuller’s daughter, Allegra Fuller Snyder. According to Lowder, these prints will enhance Fuller’s legacy at SIUE. Fuller’s print series documents 13 of his patents and inventions centered around efficiency. Some of his designs include dymaxion cars, bathrooms, and a 4-D house.
“It was his life’s goal that everyone could enjoy the same standard of living and abundance without offense to the planet.” BENJAMIN LOWDER creative consultant at the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability “It was his life’s goal that everyone could enjoy the same standard of living and abundance without offense to the planet. He felt like if we used our resources correctly then everyone could enjoy wealth and leisure,” Lowder said. Fuller’s prints were published by the Carl Solway Gallery. Other prints are held at The Whitney Museum. “Each of the 13 prints consists of two 30 by 40 [inch] screen-printed
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sheets, one of which illustrates drawings for a patent invention by Fuller, and the second sheet illustrates the realization of the concept,” according to the Carl Solway Gallery website. The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability partnered with the University Museum to use their resources and expertise to secure and store Fuller’s print designs. Erin Vigneau-Dimick, collections manager of the University Museum appreciates Fuller’s desire to incorporate art and science in his inventions and experiments. “When we talk about STEM to steam, this idea that the science, technology, engineering and math really needs to have the arts in it. He’s really one of the first people that really started to look at the idea of design and art and the way to think about things and merging them with engineering and math. He was a mathematician, but he thought in these really visual ways,” Vigneau-Dimick said. According to Lowder, some people thought Fuller’s inventions and his legacy failed because he didn’t change the world. However, Fuller viewed his life as a trim tab or the rudder of a ship that steers the ship in a certain direction. “Call me Trim Tab” is engraved into his headstone. “He saw himself as that small little piece, that trim tab, that would hopefully change the direction of the vessel, which was a metaphor for changing the direction of our global culture or society,” Lowder said. Fuller’s print series will be on display at the Fuller Dome in the fall.
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The gun control debate is currently being spearheaded by high school students, some of whom are being threatened with suspensions for participating in walkout protests during the school day. However, those punishments shouldn’t be much of a problem for prospective SIUE students. “SIUE has not considered a high school student’s suspension history as part of its admissions review practice and does not foresee altering that process,” Director of Marketing and Communications Doug McIlhagga said in a statement to The Alestle. Todd Burrell, director of Undergraduate Admissions, said that per university policy 1E1, only an applicant’s academic history is considered when they are applying. “We look at students’ test scores, whether that be SAT or ACT, we take either one, and that’s a composite score. Then we look at their high school GPA,” Burrell said Burrell explained that while SIUE does not check for an applicant’s disciplinary record when deciding on whether or not someone is admitted, some schools take a broader picture approach to admissions. “A lot of schools will use a holistic review,” Burrell said. “Institutions will do that where a student may have to submit an essay, resume or personal statement in addition to their transcripts and test scores, and then those schools will use everything there to make a determination.” While the university only factors GPA and test scores into their admissions decision, there are some students who will go through a more thorough review. “We come close to [a holistic review] when we review for the Meridian Scholarship,” Burrell said. “But, we’re not reviewing for admission because they have easily met our admission criteria.” However, Burrell said that even in the Meridian Scholarship review process, a student’s suspension history is not part of the decision. Although potential punishments from walkout protests may not be a problem for applicants at SIUE, some schools still take it into consideration. Despite that, some Metro East high school students aren’t concerned about disciplinary action if they decide to hold a protest during school hours. Marcus Daniel, an 18-year-old senior at O’Fallon Township High School in O’Fallon, Illinois, has been helping plan a march over gun control issues since the day after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 14. The event is planned for March 4. While he and his group of students are not planning on doing a walkout at this moment, they said they are not really worried about any backlash from the administrators. “We had a walkout last year before to protest our teachers and other activities being cut. We did a walkout, and our superintendent wasn’t really happy about it, so we decided we would not do one, but if it came to it and enough kids did it, that it would probably go on,” Daniel said. As of now, the group Daniel is a part of is considering participating in the April 20 national school walkouts, but have not decided if they will be participating yet. O’Fallon Township High School Superintendent Darcy Benway said that as of Monday, the school’s administrators had yet to decide whether or not there would be punishments given out to students who participate in walkout protests.
RYAN BIERI
650-3527 @rbieri_alestle rbieri@alestlelive.com
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