observer the
volume xliv, issue 3
friday, 09/07/12
School year commences with Fall Convocation >>brianSHERMAN campus.eventsREPORTER<<
Last Wednesday, Case Western Reserve University officially began the 2012-2013 school year with the convocation ceremony in Severance Hall. Convocation is an annual academic ceremony that serves as a bookend to commencement in the spring. It serves as a university’s way to formally welcome students back for another school year. After warm welcomes and best wishes from CWRU president Barbara Snyder and Undergraduate Student Government president James Hale, five professors from the university were given the title of Distinguished University Professor, the highest honor given to professors at CWRU. James Anderson, a professor of pathology, macromolecular science, and biomedical engineering, has taught at CWRU for 44 years and has been instrumental in the collaboration between the School of Medicine and the Case School of Engineering. Claudia Coulton, the Lillian F. Harris Professor of Urban Social Research at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, is well known for conducting research to identify and solve issues in urban areas. Eva Kahana is internationally known for her longitudinal research on elderly care. Chung-Chiun Liu, an alumnus of CWRU and the Wallace R. Persons Professor of Sensor Technology, serves as the direc-
>>gregBOKAR newsEDITOR<<
austin sting/observer Case Western Reserve University convocation took place on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at Severance Hall. tor of the Electronic Design Center and has mentored countless students throughout his career. The Henry Eldridge Bourne Professor of History, Alan Rocke, is well known internationally as a historian of science. After these awards were given out, Snyder presented the University Medal to Elaine Hadden, who established the Elaine G. Hadden Distinguished Visiting Author Fund so that each year’s common reading author
can visit CWRU. This year’s author was William Kamkwamba, writer of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Kamkwamba is a self-taught inventor, best known for building a wind turbine from ordinary junk found discarded in his village in Malawi. He eventually became well known internationally. Kamkwamba has appeared on shows such as Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. In addition, he spoke at a TED conference in 2007 and
is currently a student at Dartmouth College. Kamkwamba spoke about the book, supplementing his speech with a slide show of pictures from his village. He told students to trust themselves and to persevere. “The challenges are not there to stop me from achieving what I want to achieve,” he said. “Challenges strengthen me to achieve what I want to achieve. I encourage you not to give up on yourselves.”
Moving Uptown part 2: Uptown ushers in new age of business in University Circle >>sageSCHAFF newsEDITOR<<
Although most current Case Western Reserve University students probably first heard about the momentous Uptown project about two years ago, the construction along Euclid Ave. is only part of a much larger concept hatched almost a decade ago. Uptown isn’t just a regal name that hints at New York high society. It’s not so much about creation and expansion as it is about a total reinvention of Cleveland’s image. In the first half of the 20th century, when Cleveland was a leading American city in both commerce and population, downtown flourished. Since then, too many businesses have closed and too many people have moved away for it to recapture the powerful attitude it once had.
CWRU campus wirelessly diconnected
Rather than teach an old dog new tricks, city leaders decided to take Cleveland, quite literally, in a new direction with the new millennium. The first major segment of the Uptown plan was the Healthline, a fresh take on public transit that allows people to travel seamlessly between downtown and University Circle, the hub of the east side. Creating this special bus line necessitated a massive renovation of Euclid Ave., which finished in 2008. Upon the opening of the Healthline, the first phase was done. Clevelanders now had quick and easy access to a growing part of the city. But University Circle was still too scattered. Most people didn’t have compelling reasons to choose University Circle over downtown. Now they do. For the vast majority of new CWRU students from outside
shannon snyder/observer Chipotle is just one of the several new restaurants and businesses that are now part of bustling University Circle. Cleveland, it may be difficult to picture the campus and its surrounding area any differently. Where the bookstore is, imagine a hideous gravel parking lot. On the other side of the street, picture a drab storefront housing a handful of businesses, the most prestigious of which being the UPS Store.
Late in the spring semester of this year, the new Barnes & Noble bookstore opened, helping to actualize the rebranding toward which CWRU has been moving. A new Verizon Wireless location soon followed. The grandest opening came
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The beginning of the academic year often includes a period of time in which the final touches are still being put on various new programs across campus. This year, students came back to campus with what many would describe as a recurring issue – problems with wireless connectivity across the Case Western Reserve University campus. On campus, two main wireless logins allow students, faculty, and visitors to access the Internet on their computers, tablets, and cell phones. CaseWireless is the service that connects the internal CWRU community members to the Internet wirelessly. The service requires users to log in using their CWRU Network IDs and passwords to connect to the internet as registered users. CaseGuest, which used to be CWRU’s main wireless network, still allows those on campus to connect to the Internet. Its main function now is to permit those without CWRU usernames and passwords to access the internet. Since the beginning of the semester, individuals across campus have spoken out about their dissatisfaction with the services, particularly during peak usage hours at night in residence halls.
ITS encourages students to use
their Ethernet connection in their residence hall rooms to access the Internet.
According to the CWRU Information Technology Services (ITS) website, help.case.edu, CaseWireless is an encrypted and safe service, as compared to CaseGuest, which is unprotected. In addition, the website also says that “using the CaseWireless network ensures your ability to reach secure resources such as the Software Center and library databases.” Nevertheless, those on campus often find themselves switching between networks depending on which appears to be running faster at any given time, leaving many people frustrated and dissatisfied with the service. In response to poor Internet connections, ITS has encouraged students to use their Ethernet
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