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turned to Atlanta for the beginning term, it means he has his legs ampu o f the P araly m pics. The tated below his knees. But this has Paralympics was the vision o f an never stopped him from realizing his English neurosurgeon. Sir Ludwig dreams of swimming. In fact, he is G u 11 m a n , so good at it who set up that he owns the Inter a world n a tio n a l record in the “/// fact, he is so good at it that he Wh e e l 400- meter owns a world record in the 400-meter C h a i r fr e e s ty le , freestyle, which he bettered in A tlan ta.." which he Games to bettered in c o in c id e with the A tla n ta . 1948 Lon This was his second time competing for the US don Olympics. The Games did not National Disabled Swim Team al the officially begin until 36 years ago Paralympics. He now owns two gold in Rome. This year marked the I Oth medals: one is from the Games in Paralympiad. Jason Wening is a BK amputee. Barcelona and one is from Atlanta. For those of you unfamiliar with this He also is a member and captain of
by Heather Mazzaccaro Sports Editor Many of us sat in front of our te le v is io n s this sum m er and watched world class athletes as tound us with their awesome feats of strength, speed, and skill. Many of us dreamed that we could run as fast as the man with the golden spikes who made Olympic history or crush opponents as Dream Team II did. We sat. Wc watched. We dreamed. One W'PI studeni did more than just dream. He was there in A t lanta, not to watch, hut to com pete. Two weeks after the flame was extinguished at the Centen nial Olympic Games, the light re
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the WPI swimming team led by coach Whit Griffith and is the coxswain of the Women’s Var sity Crew team. On behalf of his great accom plishments. there will be a recep tion for Jason today at 4:30 P.M.. at Higgins House. The entire WPI community is invited to at tend. There will be presentations made by President Parrish, Coach Griffith, and others will be called upon to make remarks and pre sentations. In our next issue of Newspeak we will highlight an interview with Jason and try to find out what it’s like to compete for your country and have a gold medal placed around your neck. PHOTO C O U R TESY WPI NEWS S E R V IC E
The Student Newspaper of Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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WPI formally opened its new Waltham campus on Aug. 22 with a grand opening and ribbon cut ting. The facility occupies a floorand-a-half in an office building located off Bear Hill Road near Route 128 and Interstate 495 and conveniently located near high tech industries. About 100 state and local officials toured the facility that will be used for W P I’ s con tinuing education and graduate education programs. “The Waltham campus brings the WPI tradition of education in novation to technical profession als and managers working and or living along Massachusetts’ tech nology h ighw ay" says Arlene
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by Alison Keach Newspeak staff The Freshman class had a great start to their year with a successful New Student Orientation. After the initial shocks of college life, including temporary triples in Daniels, Morgan, and Stoddard, they enthusiastically joined in on their group activities. The Class of 2000 participated in the usual icebreakers and scavenger hunt to get to know as many of their 700 class mates as possible and also introduce them to the WPI community. There were also some new additions to this year’s orientation, including a Casino night, intended to introduce new stu dents to Greek life at WPI, and a new egg catapult project. Once the projects got started the true colors and spirit of the new students came out and by presentation night the projects had gone far beyond a basic catapult. After having only two days to complete the project they showed up behind Olin Hall psyched to see their eggs fly. There were three winners in the com
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Lowenstein, director of continu ing education and Lisa Jernberg, director of graduate marketing and enrollment. “ It offers professional development and graduate pro grams to individuals and corpora tions for whom leading-edge tech nology and management education are of great importance. The stateof-the-art facility and outstanding faculty provide a comprehensive learning environment." The facility occupies 15,000 square feet of space and is equipped with the latest in computers. The facility is the second off-campus site opened by the university in recent years. In 1994 WPI opened a Technical Education Center in Westboro, a satellite facility that serves a high concentration of in formation system professionals in
Courtesy of WPI News Service
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s u c c e s s fu l petition: group 19, group 4, and group 21. Group 19, led by Wendy Pelletier, won for having their egg survive while sending it the furthest and racking up the most points. They showed their excitement by carrying Wendy on their shoulders and chant ing her name. Group 21, led by Kevin Doherty, won the all around competition and added a little twist to the standard presentation. The males in the group removed their shirts to reveal SPYDER (Steven Propelled Yolk Dispensing Egg Rifle) written across their chests and then proceeded to sing their own ver sion of “We Will Rock You” which they changed to “We Will Launch You”. Other groups showed their originality like Group 13 who showed their spirit by boasting signs and wearing funky costumes. All the groups ended up doing a great job, even if all the eggs didn’t go forward! (Sorry, Group 22) But most importantly the Class of 2000 and all the orientation leaders had a great time!
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W a lth a m the Greater Boston and Central Massachusetts areas. “Our initial offering, a certificate program in UNIX System and C Programming, has been a tremendous success,” says WPI President Edward A. Parrish. “Our experience there un derscored the demand for W PI's programs in this region.” The Waltham facility will offer a wide range of graduate and con tinuing education programs. “ In our first year we will offer 20 graduate courses in management and com p ute r sc ien ce," says Parrish. “Students can sign up for individual courses, enroll in a graduate certificate program, or work toward a master's degree. In all, we will have more than 70 hours of instruction a week in day, evening and weekend programs.”
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Worcester Polytechnic Institute’ s Excellence in Mathematics and Sci ence Program recently honored sev eral undergraduates at a banquet and reception. EMSEP was established in 1993 to attract and retain underrepresented students of color. Director of Minority Affairs Blanche D. Pringle, an EMSEP founder, pre sented awards to students in the fol lowing categories: Academics: Laurea Diaz ‘99, a civil engineering major from Las Cruces, N.Mex., who chairs the Institute’ s Women on the Move philanthropic group; Lisa Giassi ‘98, a chemical enginnering major from Auburn, Mass.; and Kenneth Music ‘97, a management infor m ation systems m ajor from Heredia, Costa Rica, who serves as class representative to the EM SEP Advisory Board. Leadership: Luigi Dominguez ‘99, and electrical engineering major from
Symposium invitations to the Student Life office today! Be at the most happening event of the year!
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Dignitaries cut the ribbon to formally open the Waltham campus on Aug. 22. From left State Education Commissioner Robert V. Antonucci; Arlene Lowenstein, W P I director of continuing education; Lisa Jernberg, WPI director of graduate marketing and enrollment; President Parrish; Associate Provost William Durgin; and Waltham Mayor William Stanley.
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Lawrence, Mass., president-elect of the Hispanic Student Association; Terri-Ann Kelly ‘97, a biotechnol ogy major from Springfield, Mass., who is the past president of the Na tional Association of the Society of Black Engineers and chairs the E M SE P Advisory Board; and Linnette Perales ‘98, a chemical en gineering major from Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, the vice president of the Society of Hispanic Professional En gineers. Community Service: Kimberly James ‘98, a computer science major from W illia m sb urg , V a.; Jose Martinez, a mechanical engineering major from New Haven, Conn., who is co-cordinator of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ after-school program with the John Laws Institute; and Jasmine Sarmiento ‘97, a biotechnology ma jor from Worcester. Personal Development: Maria Diaz ‘99, a biology major from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla , who is a represen tative to the EMSEP Advisory Board; Prudence Martin ‘98, a civil engi neering major from Acushnet, Mass., whoisaDJ with WPIR, the Institute's radio station; and Bernardo Vasquez ‘97, a computer science major from New York, N.Y. Vasquez, who was recently inducted into Skull, W PI’s senior honor society, is vice presi dent of the Society of Hispanic Pro
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News......................................................................... 2, 4, 6, 7 Sports................................................................................4, 9 Arts & Entertainment.......................................................... 4 Student Development and Counceling Center................... 6 Student Government Association........................................ 6 Admissions........................................................................... 6
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fessional Engineers. Honored as EMSEP Scholars of the Year were: Francesca Escoto ‘97, a science, technology and p olicy m ajor from Law rence, Mass., who is one of the founders of W P I’ s SHPE chapter and a newly inducted member of Skull; K im berly James of Williamsburg, Va.; and Tamara Samuels ‘99, a me chanical engineer from Hamden, Conn., who is the Class of I9 9 9 ’s representative to the EMSEP Ad visory Board. The following WPI faculty and administrators were also honored: Administrator of the Year: Ber nard H. Brown of Worcester. Faculty of the Year: Mustapha S. Fofana, visiting assistant pro fessor of mechanical engineering, who lives in Worcester and also maintains a residence in Ontario, Canada, and Arthur C. Heinricher of Rutland, Mass. EMSEP gave special recognition to Susan Ganter of Holden, Mass., who coordinated the program’s Sum mer Mathematics Collaborative, and to the following faculty who volun teered during the collaborative: Tho mas Keil of Worcester, professor and head of the Physics Department, Ruth Smith, associate professor of reli gion, and John Morris of South Lancaster, Mass., a part-time chem istry instructor.
C ontents Computing............................................................................7 Club Corner......................................................................... 8 Photo Section....................................................................... 9 Classifieds.......................................................................... II Comics................................................................................ II What’s Happening............................................................. 12