Volume 92/Issue 12
THE
January 28th, 2019
ANCHOR
Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928
New organism growth laboratory, additions to biology lab set to take place
Tim Caplan News Editor
A genus of cyanobacteria called Gloeocpasa, Photo courtesy ric.edu
T
he Biology Department at Rhode Island College is getting ready to build a brand new organism growth laboratory with funds donated by the Champlin Foundation. According to a Jan. 10 press release from RIC Communications and Marketing, The Champlin Grant is worth just
over 250 thousand dollars and will provide the financial resources that will allow the RIC Biology Department to procure 48 new microscopes as well as additional renovations for the current lab at RIC. Over the past 12 years, The Champlin Foundation has donated over $2 million to RIC. The purpose of the new lab
will be to cultivate different life-forms like microorganisms, invertebrates, and plants throughout a series of tanks, each tailored to the natural environment of these life-forms. RIC Chair and Professor of Biology, Rebeka Merson, is very pleased that her students will be able to study and conduct research on these life-forms year round, and because they are not being shipped from afar as the current system operates, they have less of a likelihood of dying before students can conduct their work. Twenty-four of the new microscopes in the lab will be dissecting/stereo microscopes and 24 will be compound light microscopes. A dissecting/stereo microscope is a microscope that puts light on a specimen but the light doesn't pass through. A compound
light microscope has multiple lenses and provides its own source of light which is meant to allow the user to see inside of the specimen while the light passes through it. The laboratory preparation room, which has been a staple of the RIC Biology Department since it was first built in the 1970s, will receive thorough renovations including a new floor, new
paint job, new storage space along with workbenches and new furniture. The lab will also receive a Milli-Q/Reverse Osmosis, a machine which is used for the distilling of water, and an autoclave, which is a sterilization machine. As of now, the college has yet to announce when the construction and renovation process will begin.
Planaria flatworm commonly found in introductory Bio labs, Photo courtesy Owlcation
Raimondo announces food program geared towards assisting RI students Erica Clark Asistant News Editor
G
overnor Gina Raimondo set forth an initiative at the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast held in Cranston to honor recipients. Raimondo announced a program to end the streak of child hunger throughout Rhode Island. The program is referred to as “No Student Hungry,” and would use $300,000 in state money as part of her budget plan. This could bring in an estimate of $3 million more in federal money, Raimondo’s office said. Raimondo is insisting on requiring public schools to serve breakfast before the school day starts so more students are able to eat be-
fore going into the classroom. This would require certain public schools with high levels of students to receive free or reduced-priced lunches. Some public schools in low-income areas will even receive free breakfasts and lunches for all students. This program would also make it easier for low-income college students to qualify for SNAP benefits, also referred to as food stamps. “Right now, only about half of our kids in Rhode Island who are eligible for free or reduced breakfast actually get and eat that breakfast at school, and as many as half of all college students say they go to bed hungry,” Raimondo said. SNAP recipients who are students of the Community College of Rhode Island can
also get help paying for transportation, books, and childcare. “I've spent a lot of time at CCRI and RIC and URI - these kids are working hard,” Raimondo said. “You cannot expect them to
juggle jobs, to juggle family, to juggle course load, to do well if they're hungry.” This was the 36th Monday that The Martin Luther King Jr. speech was celebrated. Ten students were honored
for receiving Martin Luther King Jr. scholarships in an event organized by the Rhode Island Ministers Alliance.
Photo courtesy YouTube.com
Rhode Island College’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1928