WPI working to achieve campus unification by Brian Parker Features Editor For the third time in its history, WPI is considering closing W est Street betw een Institute Road and S alisb u ry S tre e t. W hile su ch a project w ould make the campus safer and more aesthetically pleasing, it would have to take our neighbors into account to be truly successful. WPI has offered similar propos als twice in the last twenty years. In 1972, the sch o o l petitioned the W orcester City Council seeking a 90-day, tem porary closing o f the street, to determ ine its impact ( Tech News vol. 64, no. 7). A study the previous spring had found out that over fifty percent o f the average daily flow of traffic on the street was cam pus-related. When this was factored along w ith the 10.7% grade near Alden Hall and over 8,000 pedes trian crossings per day, WPI felt it had a strong case for closing. Perm ission for temporary closing was granted, as long as em ergency
West Street, but would be elim i vehicles would be allowed passage October 5th of that year, supported if necessary. In the February 5,1 9 7 4 W PI’s petition to close West St. stat nated with its closing, was brought up. The best solution at the time was issue of Newspeak, Gardner Pierce ing that it was “ in public interest.” is noted for saying that many col the creation of remote parking lots The closing had reduced the num leges were turning to pedestrian with a shuttle service to the campus. ber of traffic accidents at the Insti But one student brought up the point malls to raise the quality of life; to tute and W est intersection and many allow all members of the community that with cars becom ing sm aller and residents were in favor of the peti to get more out of learning tion (including the W orces and living. (In d eed , in ter Fire Chief and the Police 1967 Clark University was D epartment). It seems that " W P I is totally d ep e n d en t on its ability to given permission to close the opposition came from the a ttra ct th e h ig h est qu a lity stu d en ts, fa c u lty a n d a section of W oodland n eig h b o rh o o d and m ight staff. . .this b en e fits th e city, by en h a n c in g its Street.) He also pointed out have been related to not only re p u ta tio n a n d a d d in g m o n e y to th e e c o n o m y. " that many of the buildings the closing of West St. but to on ca m p u s, w hen s u r construction projects which rounded by w all-to-w all also tied up traffic (these in •Steve H ebert asphalt are rem iniscent of cluded sew er construction Vice President o f A d m in istra tio n a 19th century rolling mill. and the moving of Rte. 9 The college is not here from Salisbury to Highland). more people car-pooling due to the merely to turn out educated tech The conclusions from this first energy crisis, the spots might not be nologists, but people with a sense of trial closing ranged from a consen needed. values and social resp o n sib ility , sus that West Street w as not vital to On April 16th, the street w as temw hich can be accom plished more traffic flow to a sense of a unified p o ra rily c lo se d and P re s id e n t easily on the cam pus’ (potentially) campus and fewer accidents during Hazzard was quoted as saying “this rolling hills and not in rolling mills. the closing. is the first time which WPI has expe In the February 19, 1974 issue of Over ten years later, WPI brought rienced a unified cam pus.” An edi N ew speak, the question of replacing up the proposal again. By bringing the parking spaces which were on torial in the W orcester Telegram on up the obvious econom ic impact
which WPI has on the city, President Strauss stated: “W hat’s good for WPI is good for W orcester.” Between the submission of the proposal in De cember of 1986 and the middle of February 1987, enough opposition from the community was felt to with draw the proposal. This was seen as a delay to the ultimate goal o f a unified campus, a delay which would last until WPI had improved its relations with the community and felt it could pro ceed. WPI has undertaken the neces sary traffic studies with the assis tance of Sasaki Associates, an engi neering firm which has worked with many colleges in the United States for various projects. Vice President o f A dm inistration, Steve Hebert, stated that although WPI is not at the point where it is ready to submit a petition to close the street, it is being seriously considered. The general feeling is that this project would improve the appearSee West St. continued on page 7
Interim President John Lott Brown arrives on campus by Tom Sico Associate Editor Imagine 50 years into the future you get a phone call from an old class mate and friend. You talk about fam ily and friends, and work. Then the friend asks you if you would be inter ested in becoming the interim presi dent of your alma mata. That’s what happened to Dr. John Lott Brown, the current Interim President of WPI, who says that he “wouldn’t have dreamed of [becoming the President of WPI] and would have told you you were crazy if you had suggested it.” Dr. Brown is not at all unfamiliar with WPI, having been a student here in the early 4 0 ’s and a trustee from
1971-1983. He attributes these rela tionships to WPI as being the main reasons he currently is our interim president. But as his Curriculum Vi tae shows, these are not the only rea sons that he was selected for the posi tion. Immediately prior to coming to WPI he was acting as the Interim Di rector of the Center for Microelec tronics Research at the University of Southern Florida. He has also held numerous academic positions at the University of Southern Florida, Uni versity of Rochester, Kansas State University, the University of Pennsyl vania, University of Freilberg, West Germany, and Columbia University, as well as administrative positions at Florida, Rochester, Kansas, Pennsyl
vania, Columbia, and the Naval Air Development Center. He has also served in numerous organizations and has been widely published. Speaking about his first week at WPI, Dr. Brown says “It’s been busy. I’ve had back to back meetings, and when I am not having meetings I am pretty buried in paperwork, trying to get up to speed with what is going on.” He has been meeting with the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff, and student leaders, discussing everything from how to keep the budget balanced to the Founder’s Dinner, held this past weekend. He is trying to scope out how various groups feel about the direction WPI is heading in, and where they would like to see it going. Dr.
Campus Center plans still in the works by Kristen Greene Graphics Editor Plans for the WPI Campus C en ter, which were begun last year, are still being developed. The Campus Center Com m ittee, consisting of a number of faculty, staff, and stu dents, are currently hard at work. F u n d ra isin g for th is im p o rta n t project is already taking place, and construction of the planned 39,545 square foot building is projected to begin as early as June of 1996. Original planning for the center be gan in September o f 1994, with visits by the Campus Center Committee to several area colleges in order to assess their campus centers. Visits were made to Amherst College, Wesleyan Col lege, and Bryant College. The pur pose of these visits was to get ideas for W PI’s Campus Center, as well as to learn from others’ mistakes. These ideas were incorporated with ideas from a number of focus groups, con sisting of individual students, student organizations, alumni, faculty and staff. In addition, surveys and meet ings with consultants took place. Lists of problems to be addressed with the
building of the campus center; as well as a number of goals of the campus center were developed in this stage. It is hoped that the construction of a campus center will address a num ber of problems that currently exist on campus. Among them are: an overall lack of center to the campus; lack of space for necessities such as campus programming, student ac tivities, storage and offices; inad equate meeting rooms; inefficient campus dining space and a lack of proximity between student service o ffices and student organization space. Presently, the entire campus is currently operated as a ’’campus center;” a problem that can be solved by the addition of a Campus Center to WPI. A number of goals for WPI’s Cam pus Center have been created. One goal is to provide a more friendly and open atmosphere for all community members, as well as a gathering place for the whole community. Another is to build a sense of community and pride. In addition, a campus center would have the ability to unify under graduate and graduate students in one setting, as well as offer a place where
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students and faculty could get together. According to Janet Richardson, As sistant Vice President for Student Af fairs, the center should be “a place where the campus can come together.” The proposed plans for the cam pus center include space for a num ber of essential services. There will be an arrival lobby and an inform a tion and reception area, which will provide an introduction to the center and would provide information about upcoming events on campus. The post office and student mailboxes, as well as the bookstore and conve nience store, would be moved from their present location of Daniels Hall into the new center. A food court, as well as a coffeehouse and a pub/ restaurant, will provide a large vari ety of dining options and different atm ospheres to students, faculty, staff and visitors. Conference rooms, with the possibility of sm aller, adja cent meeting rooms would serve the needs of many members of the WPI community. A number of lounges would be located around the build ing, and would include facilities such See Campus Center continued on page 2
Brown is assuming the responsibili ties formerly held by Jon Strauss, who left for a position with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His Tim e at Tech John Lott Brown arrived on the WPI campus as an electrical engineer ing student in the fall of 1942, less than a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor and with the country in the full flurry of war. He had registered for the Navy’s delayed entry program so that he could attend school. He describes himself at the time as being “imma ture, but mature for 17 years old, since my birthday was not until December.” While at WPI, he became a member of Phi Gam, played intercollegiate soc cer, and wrote a column covering WPI sports called ‘Sport’s Sidelights’ for the then student newspaper, The Tech News. When Dr. Brown entered WPI as a freshman, he was housed in ‘Sanford Riley, West End, North Corner.’ This is where he spent his first year, when
he wasn’t in class, that is. But when he came back for his sophomore year, he discovered the V -l 2 program had been initiated. This program allowed a student to begin in the Navy as an Apprentice Seaman, finish his (all stu dents at Tech then were male) school ing, and enter Midshipman’sTraining School. Brown says “apparently [the Navy] wanted good engineers and this was a way to get the best of both worlds.” Brown entered the program, and was no longer just a student living in Sanford Riley, but was an Apprentice Seaman in ‘Sanford Riley Barracks, First Floor.’ There were six people to a two person room. His classmates were fellow Navy recruits, civilians, and others. He says that he was “ lucky enough to get a break when, early in ‘44, I came down with Scarlet Fever and was sent to the Chelsea Naval Hospital for three months.” On his return to Tech, he says “The Lt. Com mander gave me my choices of places See Brown confined on page 2
NEWSPEAK STAFF PHOTO / JASON PHILBROOK
Interim President John Lott Brown is quickly making himself at home in his new office in Boynton Hall.
Table o f Contents N e w s .........................................................................................2, 7 Sports............................................................................................3 Community N ew s....................................................................... 3 A nn ouncem ents..........................................................................5 Commentary................................................................................ 6 Letters to the E d ito r...................................................................6
Club C o rn er................................................................................8 Greek C o rn er............................................................................. 9 Com m entary............................................................................. 10 Classifieds.................................................................................11 Police L o g .................................................................................12 W hat's H appening...................................................................12