1998 v26 i22 by WPI Archives

L andm arks in W P I H istory Page 2 T

WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, WORCESTER, MASS., WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER 11,1998

A B r i e f H is t o r y o f W P I E d it o r ’s N ote: The fo llo w in g is the firs t in a series of a rtic le s e d ite d by J o n A n d e rso n fro m the TWO T O W E R S , a h is to ry of W P I fo r sale in th e bookstore.

No, they didn’t want the school. The town was noisy enough, what with the hammering down at the tinshop making a rhythm to which Templeton had adjusted its pace for forty years. It wasn’t that the townsfolk were ungrateful to John Boynton or that they were unsympathetic to education. They had supported a high school for several years, long before other towns of their size had voted such munificence. But there was now a rumor that Mr. Boynton intended to establish a special kind of school, different from the public schools, for boys who planned to be manufacturers and mechanics, or even farmers, instead of lawyers, clergymen, or physicians. No wonder the towns folk of Templeton declared it “all nonsense.” What was wrong with the old apprentice system that had served so long so well? No, they really didn’t want the school. But they might have to take it, because no one was in a position to refuse Mr. Boynton.' There was scarcely anyone in town to whom he had not loaned money at one time or another. Even the town had borrowed from him, and the State, and other towns, and other States. For two years he had been president of a bank. He was listed as owning more than one-eighth of the town property. And the books in the County Courthouse revealed him as being the grantor and grantee of nearly one hundred and fifty pieces of land. Mr. Boynton lived now in Leominster with relatives of his first wife, but he often came back io .visit the town which had, for him, “opened the door of op portunity.” Sometimes he traced the trail back to the day in 1825, when he had first arrived in

involved the manufacture of tin products and it involved peddling. Tinware had just begun to supersede crockery. This was no light succession, for compared to the thousands of ingenious articles used by the householder in the eighteenth century, the gadgetry of the twentieth seems almost in consequential. Before 1820 the few pieces of tinware in this country were considered as treasures, high priced and highly prized. With the importation of cassiterite, the raw material from which tinware is made, and the discovery of a small quantity of it in this country, tin ware became popular. Its shiny cleanness appealed to housewives who were tired of the drab pewter, black iron, and heavy crockery with which their buttery shelves had been burdened. Making tinware was an ex tremely uncomplicated process, requiring no more than an anvil, hammer, and a charcoal fire to heat the soldering iron, In fact, John Boynton had first set up a shop in his own room at the Templeton Tavern. When later a device was invented by which it was possible to stamp out the pieces of tin (much as if making a batch of cookies), production began to catch up with demand. Tinware became less costly, more decorative, and John Boynton erected two shops, one for stam ping out the tin and the other for adding color and design. Templeton became a prosperous town. It had no more people than did Worcester, the shire town of the County, but far greater promise, chiefly because it could boast of almost twice as many mill privileges as could Worcester. Moreover, there were many valuable by-products from the tin shop. Scores of townspeople worked in the shop itself, ham mering, soldering, varnishing, and polishing. There were always “ floaters” who roomed and

Ttl I 1;\ST1 I 1 I F. 1X 186* boarded in the big house on the corner of the Common. Then there were the carts, the harnesses, the horses — all necessary for the distribution of tinware — to say nothing of the occupation given to as many as a hundred men on the road, who traveled north to the Canadian line and as far south as New York. These men were called “pedlars,” a word which in a hundred years would change its spelling and lose much of its prestige. In the early eighteen hundreds, pedlars were the proudest men in thp land, responsible for much of the country’s distribution and com munication. Sometimes pedlars acted as real estate agents, arranging for the sale of farms, of livestock, and lumber lots. Pedlars were always welcome in New England. Never did they have to pay more for a night’s lodging than a tea kettle or a dishpan, and these were considered as gifts rather than payment. The business ifself was negotiated with barter of every conceivable product that could be made or owned by a householder.

On Saturday nights the tincarts would rumble back into town dragging an unwieldy mowing machine or hay rake. There were sure to be several hens, a couple of hound puppies, or a turkey gob bler. There were butter and cheese, eggs and maple syrup, butternuts and chestnuts, honey and spruce gum, homespun woolens, furs and mittens, hides and yarns. One pedlar reported his payment ran the gamut from sewing needles to silos. Templeton became a veritable merchandising center, but the chief medium of exchange for the Boynton carts was rags and paper, always in great demand by paper manufacturers. For twenty years John Boynton’s business prospered so handsomely that he decided to retire in 1846. He relinquished the ownership of the shops, but never his interest. This was not an awkward continuation, for the new owner was no one less than his own cousin, David Whitcomb. By 1864 something was distur bing the monopoly of the tinware shop in Templeton. Every day, when the four-horse wagon with its extended sides made its trips to

Otter River to pick up and deliver freight, the townsfolk were reminded of the change. Puffing into town with the steam engine there had come a new way of life. People were moving about with great ease, not only because of railroads but also because of better roads. Merchandising had been revolutionized by mail order houses such as the Salisbury store in Worcester. And already there were signs that tinware might not always be so popular. Just as in an earlier year, when tinware had pushed crockery and stoneware into the background, it was now feeling the nudge from glass, from steel and from other metals. Even the town of Templeton had not grown as had been expected. Of all the towns in the County, Wor cester had taken the lead, becoming a City in 1848. Now it had as many as 25,000 persons. It was to this City of Worcester that David Whitcomb moved in 1854, becoming a partner in a hardware business which prospered in spectacular fashion during the Civil War. Now he was working hard to set up the un precedented manufacture of en-

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Our Founding Fathers Compiled by: Alison Keach

John Boynton

Templeton. As miles go, the little town had not been far from his New Hampshire home in Mason or from New Ipswich, wh^re he first learned about making tinware. But it had been far enough away to give him, at thirty-four, a new start in life and to initiate many another future far off into other centuries. When John Boynton started his shop in Templeton, there was no more promising a business in America — for two reasons. It

Ichabod Washburn Washburn, much like Boynton, always had a desire to set up a school for young men. His dream, however, was to set up a vocational school for mechanics. When he heard of the gift donated by Boynton he came up with his own proposal to construct a fully equipped machine shop where young men would be trained as mechanics. Soon the ideas of the two men were combined and Washburn’s money was put to wards the construction of Washburn Shops. The contrast ing ideas of Washburn and Boynton brought about the idea of using theory and practice in edu cation, which is still a fundamental part of WPI. Like Boynton Washburn never saw the completion of his shops. After suffering a paralyzing stroke he died on December 31,1968 only one moth after the Institute opened. Now the two buildings stand atop tech hill with their backs to each other symbolizing Theory and Practice.

David Whitcomb Cousin of John Boynton and supporter of Boynton’s dream for a school designed to train young men to be better manufac turers, mechanics or even farmers. After retiring from the tinware busi-

Ichabod Washburn

ness Whitcomb designed a means for manufacturing envelopes in the thriving city of Worcester, MA. Whitcomb was the first to be con fided in about Boynton’s dream and soon became an integral part in the future of WPI. He was trusted to keep the donation of “a few thou sand dollars” for support of the school given by Boynton a secret. As it was until the unfortunate death of Boynton in 1867, before even one building had been erected atop Tech Hill.

Seth Sweetser Sweetser was the first per son Whitcomb spoke with regard ing the school. Sweetser was Whitcomb’s pastor, a Reverend at the Calvinist Church in Worcester for 27 years. He was also a trustee of Leicester Academy along with three other prominent members of the Worcester Community who also soon became important factors in the development and completion of Worcester Free Institute of In dustrial Science. These other three men were Emory Washburn, Steven Salisbury, and Ichabod Washburn.

David Whitcomb

Emory Washburn Emory Washburn most notably know as the former Gover nor of Massachusetts, was also deeply concerned with the lack of industrial education in Worcester

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W e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 11,1998

TECHNEWS

Our Founding Fathers: The men who shaped WPI Continuedfrom pg 1

Seth Sweester County. The civil war had brought thousands of young men home to Worcester County, but all were un prepared for occupations in the newly thriving manufacturing city of Worcester. This worried Emory Washburn and was the driving force for his. interest in the indus trial school. Emory Washburn along with Sweetser did much of the initial planning and develop ment for the school by involving community leaders such as Salisbury. When they felt the com munity needed to hear of this school to determine its support Sweetser and Washburn sent a let ter to thirty men of Worcester, one of these men being Ichabod Washburn.

Emory Washburn

The Goat’s Head In 1891, WPI’s class of 1893 gave the charge of their mascot, a black goat, to a Japanese student by the name of Gompei Kuwada. Difficul ties arose in taking care of it, so the goat was beheaded and mounted. Beginning with the class of 1928, it was decided that more school spirit would result if the head was made jh^o b je ^o ^cl^ssriv alry X asU n

tute as a legal corporation, and it came into formal existence.

George Frisbee Hoar Hoar was one of the busi est lawyers in Worcester County. A meeting was held in his office on March 27,1865. In attendance were the men who received the introduc tory letter about the school. George Hoar was named corporator of the contemplated legislation along with Seth Sweetser. They placed a no tice in the Worcester Palladium two days after this meeting announc ing the generous gift of $100,000 from an anonymous donor for the establishment of a scientific school. The citizens were also notified that the one condition was that they must furnish the buildings and land. On May 10, 1865, after the support of more than 225 Worcester citizens and workers, the secretary of the commonwealth recorded the Insti

Stephen Salisbury II The Salisbury name was synonymous with wealth and power in the Worcester County. Stephen Salisbury II was a merchant and one of the cities most promi nent citizens. Salisbury was the first president of the board of di rectors and when a site for the school was needed he was the one to give five acres of land and a sum of money. Through the years Salisbury contributed over $200,000 to the Institute and lead the trustees through the early years. The WPI campus and Institute Park today occupy the land that the gen erous Stephen Salisbury II gave to WPI. Stephen Salisbury II

George Frisbee Hoar

Prominent People in WPI History Robert H. Goddard Class of 1908 Father of Modem Rocketry

Elwood Haynes Class of 1881

Robert Goddard, often called the “Father of Modern Rocketry,” graduated from WPI in 1908, a gen eral science major. Even as an un dergraduate student, Goddard dreamed of space flight, submitting an article, “Possibility of Investi gating Interplanetary Space,” to Scientific American in 1907. Also while an undergraduate, Goddard published an article in the WPI Journal, which at the time was de voted to technical literature. The Robert H. Goddard article dealt with the use of the gy roscope in balancing and steering Magnetic Lab (now Skull Tomb). airplanes. Even here, neighbors complained Despite his scientific interests, Goddard seems to have been popu of hearing loud noises. Goddard went on to lay the foun lar among classmates, being elected class vice president and dations for the developments of president and serving as editor of long range rockets, missiles, satel lites and spaceflight. He was the the class yearbook. After graduation, first to use liquid propellants as Goddard served on WPI’s Physics rocket fuel, with the first success Department faculty for two years, ful launch of a liquid fuel, with the and then did advanced study at first successful launch of a liquidClark University. During this time, fueled rocket from Auburn, Mas he continued to use WPI facilities sachusetts, March 16, 1926. After for his experiments. Legend has it his teaching career at Clark ended that while using a lab in Salisbury, in 1934, Goddard worked for the explosions caused some damaged U.S. government on rocket research and he was then moved to the until his death in 1945. bronze, the life-sized head was The winning class was then obliged given a disproportionately small to show the head once a year. This body and became known as the gave the other class the opportu Goat’s Head.77ie Goat’s Head Com nity to capture the head for them petition was organized around a selves. Some more memorable point system and focused on the “showings” included hanging the two youngest classes; points were Goat’s Head from a rope from a he awarded to the winners of various licopter over a home football game, events such as sports events (foot dropping it from the Earle Bridge ball, basketball, track), the Tech into a moving convertible and hang Carnival, Paddle Rush and the ing it in Alumni Gym during a bas Rope Pull. ketball game where it was swung The Goat’s Head was presented out a window to those waiting outannually to the class that accumu side.___________________________ lated the loigest number of points.

This re-creation o f Tech News was made possible through the efforts of the 1998-1999 Newspeak staff in celebration of Founder's Day. The staff would like to acknowledge the following sources: WPI Gordon Library Online Archives: http://www.wpi. edu/A cademics/Library/Archives/ Worcester Tech Life, Edited by Kenneth J. Smith '25 Two Towers; The Story o f Worcester Tech 1865-1965, By Mildred McClary Tymeson The staff would like to thank: Lora Brueck Alison Keach

Even as early as his student days in the early 1880’s, Elwood Haynes was interested in metal alloys. His senior thesis, ‘The Effect of Tung sten on Iron and Steel,” is said to have come about as a result of his desire to find a material for razors that did not tarnish. After graduation from WPI and graduate studies at Johns Hopkins, Haynes returned to his native In diana where he supervised laying of natural gas lines to Chicago. He began experimenting on a carriage powered by an internal combustion engine to provide faster transpor tation over long distances than the horse drawn carriage. The first trial run of his horseless carriage on July 4, 1894, in Kokomo, Indiana, qualified Haynes as the inventor of the very first automobiles. Im provements made in later years in clude successful carburetor and

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Elwood Haynes the first muffler, and the use of alu minum in automobile engines. Haynes continued his research in metal alloys, producing a cobaltchromium alloy that would be used in dental and surgical instruments. In 1922, Haynes received the pres tigious John Scott Medal for his “discoveries in stainless steel, stellite, and chrome-iron.” Haynes died in 1925

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Haynes 1894 automobile as depicted on the 1995 postage stamp

WPI presidents Charles O . Thompson Homer T. Fuller Thomas C. Mendenhall Edmund A. Engler IraN. Hollis Ralph Earl Wat Tyler Cluverius Arthur B. Bromwell Alvin E. Cormeny Harry P. Storke George W. Hazzard Edmund T. Cranch Jo n C . Strauss Edward A. Parrish

Traditional WPI Freshman-Sophomore Rope Pull, initiated in 1909

W e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 11, 1998

Sacco and the Shuttle by Brian Parker Editior-in-Chief, '95 On October 20th, the space shuttle Columbia took off, after a record six scrubs, taking Professor Al Sacco and the best wishes of his friends and family along. The astronauts had all come out, ready for this seventh “inning” with their baseball caps on backwards, hop ing to rally their way to a launch. The baseball analogy was carried

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Techn ew s

farther when the crew of STS-73 threw the ball out for the fifth game of the World Series. If one had a well-trained eye, the WPI pennant could be seen over the shoulders of the crew during the toss. Although it was somewhat dis heartening to see the mission scrubbed so many times, few could say that it was not better to play it safe and the media’s talk of the ex pense of scrubbing soon switched to a “better safe than sorry” tone.

The mission itself takes one of the largest crews on one of the longest missions of the entire shuttle pro gram. The ambitious schedule in cludes several experiments and four interactive teaching sessions with high schools across the country, including South High in Worces ter. Professor Sacco will be demon strating a fluid experiment for the South High students, who attend the same school that Robert Goddard graduated from in 1904. This demonstration will take place on November 2nd at 1:10pm and

Two Coeds Accepted by WPI T w o y o un g w o m e n, Miss Lesley S m a ll a n d Miss Ja y n e Rossetti, have been g ran te d adm ission to W orcester T e ch, thus b re akin g a century-old tr a d itio n of an all m ale un d e rg ra d u a te student body at W P I . Miss S m a ll is a senior at D a v id I’routy H ig h School, S p e n cer, Mass., a n d Miss Rossetti, a senior at H o p e d a le Junior- Senior H ig h School. B o th are N o. 1 in th e ir g ra d u a tin g classes. T h e girls stated th at they are a little scared a n d nervous a b o u t e n te rin g a school w hich was pre viously all-male. B u t Miss S m a ll d id state that she has been in all m ale classes in h ig h school so th at it ’s really n o th in g new. D ean K e n n eth N'ourse stated that b o th girls presented excep tio n a l (ju a lific a tio n s , scholastically a n d in extra c u rric u la r activities. Both are m em bers o f the N a tio n a l H o n o r Society, th eir yearbook staffs, glee clubs, science clubs, a n d various sports teams. Miss S m all has a brother, Jam es \V„ a sophom ore C iv il Engineer-, in g m a jo r at T e c h, a n d Miss Rossetti has a cousin at T e ch, so b oth ha d first h a n d know ledge o f the history an ti b a c k g ro u n d o f the school. T h e girls m athem atics.

p la n Miss

to m a jo r in Rossetti feels

work a n d Miss S m a ll isn't q u ite sure just w hat she w ants to d o, possibly teach. T h e yo ung ladies were o n ly o n cam p us for a b out o ne h a lf an h o u r last week a n d were already causing c o m m o tio n . A ny student th a t w e n t by w anted to know , " W h o are the

Did you know that thefirst mem ber on the sophomore side o f the Freshman/Sophomore rope pull is always the youngest F iji sopho more? Did you know that the Worces ter Trolley was once controlled from Atwater Kent?

to get used to. Miss S m all is the d a u g h te r of Mrs. E le ano r B. S m a ll o f Spensor a n d Miss. Rossetti, the d a u g h te r of M r. a n d Mrs. Jo se p h P. Rossetti of H o pe d ale .

We’re changing our name and our stripes too!! We’re changing our name from the Tech News to WPI Newspeak in order to keep up with the times. The word Tech is simply outdated and we wanted our name to reflect the type of newspaper we will be publishing. The word Newspeak may be interpreted in many different ways, just as everything hap pening in today’s world may be interpreted in different ways. It can mean the news speaking, the peak of the news or maybe more importantly new speech. We intend the WPI Newspeak to be a campus oriented forum of both news and opinion. We plan to diversify and offer many different features that will interest different segments of the WPI community.

Did you know Milton P. Higgins who ran Washburn Shops was the inventor o f the hydraulic eleva tor? WPI students then began to manufacture the elevators and the first was installed in the Washburn and Moen Wire Company.

girls?" T h is appears to be some th in g o u r “co-eds” w ill just have

We will be offering feature stories about parts of the college that people see, and are involved in, but few know much about. An example of this type of story is the series of Food Service articles that have appeared for the last three weeks. Another example is the housing stories presented this week. There will be more coming. L’uitorials will be presented only when one of the Editors has something to say. There will be no more ‘say-nothing editorials’ just to put one on the second page. If no one has anything to say there will be no editorial. An editorial is only the opinion of those whose initials appear at the bottom. If it is signed ‘the Editors’ this means that 2/3’s of those editors present on Sunday agreed with it. If an editor does not come in on Sunday to read the editorials he forfeits his vote. Many editorials will be aimed at arousing controversy in order that a person or group will write letters

D id you know that 15 WPI men died in WWI and 43 WPI men died in WW1I? D id you know that Professor Keil once appeared in the year book wearing nothing but a bottle? D id you know that Clavert Vaux designed the landscape in Central Park as well as around Boynton H all and Elm Park?

several members of the WPI com munity will go out to the school to take part, including Zeolite Crystal Growth team members Ipek Guray, Jack Ferraro, Terri Sacco and Michelle Marceau. One of the people who were lucky enough to see the actual liftoff was Professor Looft of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Professor Looft has been involved in WPI’s space program since 1982, when WPI and MITRE reached an agreement for students to work on projects for space. As co-chair o f the program with Dean Durgin, he oversaw the work of more than two hundred undergraduates, who worked for six years developing experiments for the Space Projects and Research Canister (SPARC) which flew aboard Columbia in 1991. Another WPI based, zeolite experi ment flew in 1992 on USML-1 and a second WPI zeolite package flew on a 1993 mission. Professor Looft’s father was a life long NASA employee, having worked on the Atlas rockets that

explaining things or defending themselves, (i.e. WICN — editorial and letters on page 2) We would like to encourage all letters concerned with anything. Students, faculty, administration and staff all have important things to say and should feel free to write. Letters must be signed to be printed. If a person wishes his name withheld all he has to do is sign the letter and put a note on it asking us to withhold his name. In relevant cases letters will be an swered immediately following them on the same page. We’re changing our stripes by including many new columns starting with this issue. These columns will be aimed at various interests and hopefully will appeal to a large segment of the WPI community. We’ve changed our name, we’re on the move — watch us!!! SCP GFP

D id you know that in 1884 twelve students led M ilton P. Higgins horse “Buckskin ” to the chapel on the topfloor o f Boynton H all? Classes were suspended the next day while Buckskin had his feet tied, was wrapped in blankets, strapped to planks and slid down to the bottom floor. The entire class was suspended when no one would rat out the guilty party.

D id you know that Stoddard H a ll was once a dormitory to house men in the V12 program during W W II? At the same time the area in Alum ni Gym above the pool was used as a mess hall.

D id you know that the Magnet ics Laboratory (now Skull Tomb) once housed Robert Goddard’s ex periment lab fo r liquid fuel rock ets ? It also housed Tech News and The Pedler at one time.

D id you know that WPI once had a Hydraulics Laboratory in Holden and Professor George Alden ran it?

D id you know that the WPI seal was designed by Professor Alanzo K im ball? D id you know that the quad area once was Bliss Field?

flew to the moon among other projects. Also, as a graduate stu dent the professor worked on ex periments that went up in space and his involvement in GASCAN I brought him down to Cape Kennedy. In fact it was work on the first zeolite experiment for the first GASCAN that brought Looft into close contact with Sacco and they have been friends since -you may have seen them running to gether on occasion. So when Dean Durgin, who was in Florida for many of the scrubs, found out that he didn’t have time to go down for Friday the 20th, Looft jumped at the chance. He and his twelve year old son Matt bought tickets on Wednesday and on Thursday they were at Cape Kennedy, getting oriented. Both were getting ready to watch their first space launch and there was a good amount of nervous tension. Matt had a conversation with Sacco over e-mail the previous week and he also knows the professor from visits to his school. They were able to watch the liftoff from the VIP area, with other close friends and family of the as tronauts, an exclusive party of less than one hundred. Up until about twenty minutes before the launch, everyone felt that it would go, even though it had been raining less than one hour before. About five min utes before launch the sky started clearing up and the crowd was start ing to get more excited about the possibility of a launch. Many in attendance had been there for all six scrubs. The wife of shuttle commander Keith Bowersox sang a song: “God Bless Columbia” a feeling that was in the hearts of all the friends and family of the crew. With one minute to go, the crowd became quiet. With thirty seconds to launch, a cheer started to rise and at ten sec onds they started to countdown. At five seconds the main engines ignited, but with a subdued noise and an incredible light under the shuttle. Then the solid boosters fired and there was a great crack ling roar and a tremendous vapor cloud obscured the view o f the shuttle. The stands began to vi brate and they could all feel the ground moving under their feet. As the shuttle cleared the pad, spectators became caught up in the awesome display and could feel the presence of the rocket going up. It only lasted about ninety seconds, and all that was left was a vapor trail, but it was a sight you want to see again and again. Matt Looft took some incredible photographs of the launch which are on display in the office of the Secretary of the Faculty, Joan Shanahan (in the Project Center). When asked if he would like to be on the shuttle, Professor Looft laughed “I e-mailed Al and said that if he got the butterflies and didn’t want to go, I would be more than happy to take his place.” Because the cable in Florida car ried the NASA feed, the Loofts were able to watch much of the first few days of the mission and according • to the professor: “Al looked a little green around the gills and a little tired the first day, but by the sec ond and third day he and the entire crew looked like they were having a ball.” If anyone has a question for pro fessor Sacco you are invited to call CityLine at 792-9400 and enter 6272 (NASA). This is part of a program being run by the Worcester Tele gram and Gazette, and the questions will be asked in a live interview on November 3rd.

TECHNEWS

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Founders Day Schedule

W P I A lm a M a t e r by W illard Hedlund _____________________________ Class o f 1910_____________ I.

D e a r W o rcester Tech, O u r W o rc e ste r Tech; O u r praises r in g to the,

W e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 11,1998

9:55am

1lam-7pm Gallery o f Artifacts in the Great Hall o f Higgins House 11:30am

Ralphe Earle delivers his famous last speech in the Chapel o f Boynton Hall (3rd floor) and dies with thought only about a watch. D on’t miss seeing the famous watch.

11:45pm

Buckskin (Alden’s horse) climbs stairs up to the Chapel in Boynton Hall.

12:00pm

Rededication o f Boynton Hall Come jo in us for a ribbon cutting ceremony in honor o f W P I’s 130th birthday.

To A lm a M a te r, go o d a n d tru e , W e ple dg e o u r loyalty. L o n g ha v e w e fe lt th y g u id in g h a n d ,

Chamber Choir @ Fountain

T he y teaching s b r o a d a n d free; W it h praises lo u d in every la n d W e ’ ll sho w o u r love fo r thee;

12-2:00pm Rededication Reception in the Wedge. Birthday Cake served to the first 1000 people.

(C h o ru s) T h e n he re ’s to g o o d o ld W o rcester Tech C o m e , fellow, jo in in o u r re frain , W a v e h ig h the colors, C r im s o n a n d G ra y ,

12:15

Interstate 8 outside o f Alden Hall.

1-3:00pm

Gompei Kuwada and the Goat will be wandering the Quad. Come meet the real live Gompei and W P I’s first mascot.

1:00pm

Buckskin (Alden’s horse) climbs stairs up to the Chapel in Boynton Hall

1:25pm

Chamber Choir @ the Fountain

3:00pm

Ralphe Earle dies again delivering the famous speech in the Boynton Chapel (3rd floor).

8:30pm

Simple Harmonic Motion in Harrington.

F o r g o o d O ld W o rcester Tech, I I . A s years r o ll o n a n d changes b r in g To a ll th in g s g re at a n d s m a ll, W e still w ith thee w ith re v ’ rence h o ld , W e ’ ll g re at thee, one a n d a ll, I n accents w h ic h no one m a y d o u b t, I n te rm s so s tro n g a n d b o ld , T he w o r ld w ill k n o w thy w o rth to us

**Pop-up Video w ill appear a ll day on campus TV.

Increases m a n y fo ld .

“CALC” Page upon page o f numbers, Ream after ream of facts, Tons o f unreachable limits, The drama o f “Minnie and Max.” Jargon incomprehensible, Theory deeper than hell; The seventy-nth derivative Cause one’s think-tank to swell. Rates that State Commerce Commissions Couldn’t solve for a damn; Radii o f curvature numerous, A ll o f this junk one must cram.

NEWSPEAKARCHIVEPHOTO |Ma Fell, Cook for WPI's chapter of Alpha Tau Omega and the oldest |Homecoming Queen in America.___________________________________

I f the Turk thinks he’s getting in jerry, Or perhaps that he’s stirred up a fuss, Let him bite o ff a twenty-page lesson In Differential Calculus.

-A.T.K.

He could see the wisdom of Mr. Whitcomb's suggestion, however, that Worcester might be a better location. Worcester was becoming a city of manufacturing and needed just the kind of school he had in mind. But he made two strict stipulations. First of all. his part of the plan must be kept a secret. Secondly, he would give the money “ for endowment and perpetual support” only if the citizens of Worcester thought enough cf the idea to provide the land and buildings for such a school.

Kair enough, thought David Whitcomb. It was a secret carefully guarded ior almost three years, until after John- Boynton’s death. He never, knew that one day so many people would know. *

Your pipe is w e lc o m e

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avuuer' M IIIII.Y

P IP E

A R O M A T IC

M IX T U R E

The man's tob.acco that women cheer! r0l»CC0 CO. iM COrptflted, lOUISVIllE IT.

Experience proves that nothing takes the place of quality. You taste the quality of ice-cold Coca-Cola. Again and again you enjoy the charm of its delicious taste ...an d its cool, clean after-sense of complete refreshment. Thirst asks noth ing more. BOTTLED UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE COCA-COLA COMPANY BY C o c a - C o l a B o ttlin g C o m p a n y o f W o r c e s t e r

You trust its quality

TECHNEWS

Pa g e 4

Founders Day Schedule

W P I A lm a M a t e r by W illard Hedlund ____________________________ Class o f 1910___________________________ I,

D e a r W orcester Tech, O u r W o rcester Tech; O u r praises rin g to the,

W e d n e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 11,1998

9:55am

1lam-7pm Gallery o f Artifacts in the Great Hall o f Higgins House 11:30am

Ralphe Earle delivers his famous last speech in the Chapel of Boynton Hall (3rd floor) and dies with thought only about a watch. D on’t miss seeing the famous watch.

11:45pm

Buckskin (Alden’s horse) climbs stairs up to the Chapel in Boynton Hall.

12:00pm

Rededication o f Boynton Hall Come join us for a ribbon cutting ceremony in honor o f W P l’s 130th birthday.

To A lm a M a te r, good a n d tru e, W e ple dge o u r loyalty. L o n g have we felt th y g u id in g h a n d ,

Chamber Choir @ Fountain

T hey teachings b ro a d a n d free; W it h praises lo u d in every la n d W e ’ U show o u r love fo r thee;

12-2:00pm Rededication Reception in the Wedge. Birthday Cake served to the first 1000 people.

(C h orus) T hen he re ’s to good old W orcester Tech C o m e , fellow, jo in in o u r re frain , W a v e h ig h the colors, C r im s o n a n d G r a y ,

12:15

Interstate 8 outside o f Alden Hall.

1-3:00pm

Gompei Kuwada and the Goat will be wandering the Quad. Come meet the real live Gompei and W P I’s first mascot.

1:00pm

Buckskin (Alden’s horse) climbs stairs up to the Chapel in Boynton Hall

1:25pm

Chamber Choir @ the Fountain

3:00pm

Ralphe Earle dies again delivering the famous speech in the Boynton Chapel (3rd floor).

8:30pm

Simple Harmonic Motion in Harrington.

F o r good O ld W orcester Tech. II. A s years ro ll on a n d changes b r in g To all th in g s great a n d s m all, W e still w ith thee w ith re v’ rence h o ld , W e ’ ll g re at thee, one a n d all, In accents w hich no one m a y d o u b t, In term s so strong a n d b o ld , T he w o rld w ill k now thy w o rth to us

** Pop-up Video w ill appear a ll day on campus TV.

Increases m a n y fold .

“CALC” Page upon page o f numbers, Ream after ream o f facts, Tons of unreachable limits, The drama of “ Minnie and Max.” Jargon incomprehensible, Theory deeper than hell; The seventy-nth derivative Cause one’s think-tank to swell. Rates that State Commerce Commissions Couldn’t solve for a damn; Radii o f curvature numerous, A ll o f this junk one must cram.

NEWSPKAKARCHIVEPHOTO Fell, Cook for WPI's chapter of Alpha Tau Omega and the oldest Queen in America.__________________

If the Turk thinks he’s getting in jerry, Or perhaps that he’s stirred up a fuss, Let him bite off a twenty-page lesson In Differential Calculus.

-A.T.K.

Continued: WPI History Continuedfrom pg 1 v e lo p e s . He h a d a r r a n g e d to fin a n c e a m a c h in e w h ic h w ould not only cut envelope b la n k s but also fold an d g lue th e m , all in one o pe ra tio n . B ut he h a d not yet disposed of the h a r d w a re business It w as in this store on the corner of M a in and P e a rl Streets that Joh n Boynton tound D a v id W h itco m b one day in the fall of 1864 So it w as. th at fa ll day of 1864. w hen Jo h n B oynton c a m e to visit D a v id W h it c o m b He sp o k e m odestl> in te rm s of ‘a few th ou san d d o lla rs.'" a n d he m e n tioned T e m ple to n , or pe rha ps even M ason He could see the w isdom of M r W h itco m b 's sug ge stio n , how ever, that W orcester m ig h t be a better location W orcester w as beco m in g a c it y o f m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d needed just the k in d of school he h a d in m in d But he m a d e two s trict stip u la tio n s F irs t of a ll, his part of the p la n m u st be kept a secret. S econdly, he w ould give the m oney “ fo r e n d o w m e n t and p e rpe tual s u p p o r t" only if the c it iz e n s of W o r c e s te r th o u g h t enough r f the idea to provide the la n d a n d b u ild in g s for such a school

K a ir e n o u g h , W h itc o m b

th o u g h t

D a v id

It w as a secret c a re fu lly g u a rd e d tor a lm o s t three y e a rs , un til afte r Jo h n B oynton's d e a th He never, knew th a t one d ay so m a n y people w o u ld know '

MII.III.Y AROMATIC I* I P E M I X T U R E The mart’s to b.acco that women cheer! HSU

TOBACCO CO . Incapooled. lO illS V Ittf

It-

Experience proves that nothing takes the place of quality. You taste the quality of ice-cold Coca-Cola. Again and again you enjoy the charm of its delicious taste ...an d its cool, clean after-sense of complete refreshment. Thirst asks noth ing more. BOTTLED UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE COCA COIA COMPANY BY C o c a - C o la B o ttlin g C o m p a n y o f W o r c e s t e r

You tru st its q u a lity

The Student Newspaper of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

W e a t h e r ... Today: Possible rain with intermixed snow. Highs 50. Tomorrow and Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs 40 to 50.

T uesday, N o v e m b e r 17, 1 998

V olu m e T w en ty-six, N u m b e r T w e n ty -tw o

Stock holders to sue Boston U. by Dave Shaw The Daily Free Press (U-WIRE) BOSTON, Mass. — About 20 former Seragen investors are suing Boston University, claim ing that self-dealing transactions locked the biotechnology company under the university’s control for years. Thomas Griffin, a lawyer for the former shareholders, said he will file a class-action suit this week on be half of his clients, some of whom previously filed suit separately on similar grounds. “Through a variety of mecha nisms, BU and we believe princi pally Mr. Silber— despite their agreement with the attorney gen eral and what they were required to do under their consent agree ment— tried to maintain and in crease their control over Seragen,” Griffin said. In 1992, Attorney General Scott Harshbarger warned BU not to in vest any further in the start-up com pany, saying it was too risky. BU agreed, and to reduce its involve ment it sold Seragen stock for $ 12 a share in a public offering. In all, BU dumped about $85 mil

lion in the Hopkinton company, which was acquired in August for $30 million by Ligand Pharmaceu ticals, a San Diego biomedical company. BU Chancellor John Silber, one of Seragen’s biggest advocates, personally sank $1.7 million into the company in the early 1990s. Ligand develops drugs to fight cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a form of cancer and the same disease Seragen had targeted with its Interleukin-2, known by the com mercial name Ontak. Ligand officials expect the Food and Drug Administration to ap prove Ontak, and if it does, Ligand will pay former Seragen sharehold ers— BU included— an additional $37 million. Griffin said the class-action suit will name BU, John Silber, the Seragen-spinoff company Mara thon, former Seragen figures like Reed Prior and Jean Nichols, BU trustee Leon Hirsch, BU lobbyist Gerald S.J. Cassidy, BU treasurer Kenneth Condon and others. Hirsch, Condon, Cassidy and sev eral BU employees invested person ally in the company. Griffin said majority shareholders

and inside managers benefitted fi nancially and kept themselves in control of Seragen through a series of self-dealing transactions. ‘They entered into a variety of agreements that managed not only to maintain their control but lock in and prevent anyone else from get ting an interest in Seragen that would undermine BU’s and Mr. Silber’s control over the company,” Griffin said. For example, Seragen officials issued themselves preferred stock shares with conversion options, which allowed them to invest a certain amount of money and con vert it into shares after the stock price had fallen, Griffin said. As the price of the stock kept dropping— so low that it fell off the NASDAQ exchange about a year ago— the number of shares BU investors could grab rose, preventing other investors from getting a foothold, Griffin said. “Those structures drove down the market price of Seragen,” Grif fin said. “So it locks our guys in. If they want to realize the benefit of the Seragen technology, they’re locked in for the long haul, until this thing turns the corner,

-L, until Ontak is approved.” BU spokesman Kevin Carleton and officials at Ligand would not comment on the lawsuit. BU tried numerous ways to keep Seragen afloat. In 1995, investors affiliated with the school issued a $24 million loan to the company. And last year, BU bought Seragen’s manufacturing facilities for $5 million. Silber has argued that Harshbarger’s limits on the uni versity forced an early initial pub lic offering and handicapped both the university and the company. “Force majeure from the state attorney general forced the uni versity first to dilute its owner ship through a premature initial public offering, and then, when Seragen’s own financing ran out, to sell the company to Ligand,” Silber wrote in a letter to The New York Times earlier this month. Griffin tried unsuccessfully to stop the sale of Seragen in Au gust, but a judge would not issue an injunction to prevent share holders from approving the move. B U ’s remaining interest in Seragen now lies in Ligand shares.

All Aboard; Interstate 8’s “Road Trip” an exciting ride by Natalie Chin Newspeak Staff Friday night, Riley Commons was packed full of fans, old and new, all waiting for the first “Road Trip” of Interstate 8 to begin. The “Road

Trip” was an all out a cappella con cert full of energetic groups from well-known colleges in Massachu setts. The evening began with In terstate 8’s male counterparts, Simple Harmonic Motion. They started out with the song “It’s Still

Rock and Roll to Me” (Billy Joel), a track from their second CD, “Easy As Pi.” There was some ice on the road that caused a few slips, but in the end, the performance of SHM proved to be a memorable one with their comedic interludes in one of

On “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Alison Keach Features Editor What if you could win the woman of your dreams by hav ing the perfect name? John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff soon learn that only a name like Earnest could woo a woman in the Oscar Wilde play

The Importance o f Being Ear nest. Algernon and John go through much trouble to con vince their loves that they are truly “Earnest” only to find that

one of them really is. This quick moving play will keep you laugh ing at the inconsistencies of high society in London during the last decade of the 19lh century. Through Wilde’s vivid characters he pokes fun at the establishment’s ideas of morality, gentility, and good manners. Presently the Worcester Foot hills Theater Company is perform ing Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest starring Steve Dane as John Worthing, and Matthew Amory as Algernon Moncreiff.

The performance is excellent with great actors, great humor, and a great set. The Importance of be ing Earnest will run Wednesday through Sunday until the 29,h of November. The theater is only minutes away from WPI and rush seats are only $8.50. Rush seats are available with a student ID 15 minutes before curtain call. The Foothills Theater is located on the Foothills Courtyard, off Com mercial St., at the Worcester Com mon Fashion Outlets. Call 508754-3314 for more information.

Now playing at the Foothills Theatre is Matthew Armory in Oscar Wilde's The Importance ofBeing Earnest.

their songs and the spoof on The Wizard ofOz, where in the end, Toto saves the day. Next up was the Smiffenpoofs from Smith College, this all female group is the oldest female collegiate a cappella group in the nation. Some songs that they sang were “Sweet Jane” (Cowboy Junkies), “ B uildings & Bridges” (Ani DiFranco), “Tell Me” (by Groove Theory), “F in a lly ” (Ce Ce Peniston), “Crazy” (Seal), and “Landslide” (Fleetwood Mac). At times I found myself struggling to hear the soloist because the back ground was too strong in their rhythm and the microphones weren’t really picking up her voice, but in the end the Smiffenpoofs received an out standing support for their music from the audience. After a short intermission, The MIT-Wellesley Toons ran onto the stage with an energetic open ing song “P oison” (Bell Biv Devoe). They then sang many cover songs such as “Torn” (N atalie Im bruglia), “ Barely Breathing” (Duncan Sheik), “Col ors of the Wind” (Vanessa W ill iams), “Satellite” (Dave Matthews Band), and did a nice rendition of “Smooth Criminal” (Michael Jack son) to end their performance. Last but not least, Interstate 8 ended the concert with their per formance. Part of their repertoire consisted of songs such as “Sweet Dreams” (Eurythmics), “If I Ever Fall In Love” (Shai), and “ Dreams” (Cranberries). The group’s voice was full of musical talent and the powerful soloists’ voices were just sending out mass quantities of en ergy and excitement into the crowd. In the end, the whole room just got up from their seats and begged for an encore, in which Interstate 8 gladly honored. If you would like more informa tion on any of these groups their web pages are: www.wpi.edu/ -shm, www.smith.edu/smiffenpoofs, web.mit.edu/toons, www. wpi.edu/~i8.

Al & iEi

«t

<a> u

S p o r t s ...

•■

M e n's Cross C o u n try

M en’s cross country come in 11th out o f 33 teams at the EC A C Chamabout it in the W eekly Sports Update r Tv

T r a v e l ... R o ad Dispatches Ken and Steve go to the Deep South and visit neat things and places like the Chattanooga Choo Choo and the Grand O le’ Opry.

PglO

S t r e e t ... H ow do you relieve stress at W P I? There are many ways to relieve stress, here are some fe llo w students pS-2 stress relief m eth ods.

Police Log... Suspicious Person H ow ‘d that person get into Daniels?

Pg.7

ComENTS... Person on the Street....... ....... 2 ....... 2 SGA Agenda................ ....... 6 International House..... ....... 6 ....... 6 Arts& Entertainment..... .... 6,7 ....... 7 ....... 8 SGA Elections.............. ........ 8 ..... 10 ..... 10 Announcements............ ..... 11 ..... 11 ..... 11 .....12

Today: Possible rain with intermixed snow. Highs 50. Tomorrow and Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs 40 to 50.

Tuesday, N o vem b er

17, 1 99 8

V olum e Twenty-six, N u m ber T w en ty-tw o

Stock holders to sue Boston U. by Dave Shaw The Daily Free Press (U-WIRE) BOSTON, Mass. — About 20 former Seragen investors are suing Boston University, claim ing that self-dealing transactions locked the biotechnology company under the university’s control for years. Thomas Griffin, a lawyer for the former shareholders, said he will file a class-action suit this week on be half of his clients, some of whom previously filed suit separately on similar grounds. "Through a variety of mecha nisms, BU and we believe princi pally Mr. Silber— despite their agreement with ihe attorney gen eral and what they were required to do under their consent agree ment— tried lo maintain and in crease their control over Seragen,” Griffin said. In 1992. Attorney General Scott Harshbarger warned BU not to in vest any further in the start-up com pany. saying it was too risky. BU agreed, and to reduce its involve ment it sold Seragen stock for $ 12 a share in a public offering. In all. BU dumped about $85 mil

lion in the Hopkinton company, which was acquired in August lor $30 million by Ligand Pharmaceu ticals, a San Diego biomedical company. BU Chancellor John Silber. one of Seragen's biggest advocates, personally sank $1.7 million into the company in the early 1990s. Ligand develops drugs to fight cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a form of cancer and the same disease Seragen had targeted with its Interleukin-2, known by the com mercial name Ontak. Ligand officials expect the Food and Drug Administration to ap prove Ontak, and if it does, Ligand will pay former Seragen sharehold ers— BU included— an additional $37 million. Griffin said the class-action suit will name BU. John Silber. the Seragen-spinof! company Mara thon. former Seragen figures like Reed Prior and Jean Nichols, BU trustee Leon Hirsch, BU lobbyist Gerald S.J. Cassidy, BU treasurer Kenneth Condon and others. Hirsch. Condon. Cassidy anil sev eral BU employees invested person ally in the company. Griffin said majority shareholders

and inside managers benefitted fi until Ontak is approved.” nancially and kept themselves in BU spokesman Kevin Carleton control of Seragen llirough a series and officials at Ligand would not of self-dealing transactions. comment on the lawsuit. “They entered into a variety of BU tried numerous ways to keep agreements that managed not only Seragen afloat. In 1995, investors to maintain their control but lock in affiliated with the school issued a and prevent anyone else from get $24 million loan to the company. ting an interest in Seragen that And last year. BU bought would undermine BU’s and Mr. Seragen's manufacturing facilities Silber s control over the company,” for $5 million. Griffin said. Silber has argued that For example, Seragen officials Harshbarger’s limits on the uni issued themselves preferred stock versity forced an early initial pub shares with conversion options, lic offering and handicapped both which allowed them to invest a the university and the company. certain amount of money and con “Force majeure from the stale vert it into shares after the stock attorney general forced the uni price had fallen, Griffin said. versity first lo dilute its owner As the price of the stock kept ship ihrough a premature initial dropping— so low that it fell off public offering, and then, when the NASDAQ exchange about a Seragen's own financing ran out. year ago— the number of shares to sell ihe company to Ligand,” BU investors could grab rose, Silber wrote in a letter to The New preventing other investors from York Times earlier this month. getting a foothold. Griffin said. Griffin tried unsuccessfully to “Those structures drove down slop the sale of Seragen in Au the market price of Seragen.” Grif gust. bill a judge would not issue fin said. “So it locks our guys in. an injunction to prevent share If they want to realize the benefit holders from approving the move. o f the Seragen technology, BU's rem aining interest in they're locked in for the long haul, Seragen now lies in Ligand until this thing turns the corner. shares.

M eet Joe B la c k Maybe the movie isn’t as good as it’s cracked up to be, see what the Daily Texan thinks o f it.

Pg. 6 Bushido Blade 2 A Sequel to a Sony Playstation game that came out last year, it’s a little too easy in places.

Pg.4

M en's Cross C o u n try

Men’s cross country come in 11th out of 33 teamsat theECAC Cham pionship meet. Read more about it in the Weekly Sports Update Pg. 2

All Aboard: Interstate 8’s “Road Trip" an exciting ride by Natalie Chin Newspeak Staff Friday night. Riley Commons was packed full of fans, old and new, all waiting for the first “Road Trip” of Interstate 8 to begin. The “Road

Trip" was an all out a cappella con cert full of energetic groups from well-known colleges in Massachu setts. The evening began with In terstate 8’s male counterparts. Simple Harmonic Motion. They started out with the song “It's Still

Rock and Roll to Me” (Billy Joel), a track from their second CD. “Easy As Pi." There was some ice on the road that caused a few slips, but in the end, the performance of SHM proved to he a memorable one with iheir comedic inierludes in one of

On “The Importance of Being Earnest by Alison Reach Features Editor What if you could win Ihe woman of your dreams by hav ing the perfect name? John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff soon learn that only a name like Earnest could woo a woman in the Oscar Wilde play

The Importance of Being Ear nest. Algernon and John go through much trouble to con vince their loves that they are truly "Earnest” only to find that

one of them really is. This quick moving play will keep you laugh ing at the inconsistencies of high society in London during the last decade of ihe 19lh century. Through Wilde's vivid characters he pokes fun at the establishment's ideas of morality, gentility, and good manners. Presently the Worcester Foot hills Theater Company is perform ing Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest starring Steve Dane as John Worthing, and Matthew Amory as Algernon Moncreiff.

N ow playin g at the Foothills T heatre is M atthew A r m o r y in ( )scar W ild e 's

The performance is excellent w ith great actors, great humor, anil a great set. The Importance of be ing Earnest will run Wednesday through Sunday until the 29lh of November. The theater is only minutes away from WPI and rush seats are only $8.50. Rush seats are available with a student ID 15 minutes before curtain call. The Foothills Theater is located on the Foothills Courtyard, off Com mercial St., al the Worcester Com mon Fashion Outlets. Call 508754-3314 for more information.

The Importance of Being Earnest.

iheir songs and the spoof on The Wizard ofOz. where in the end, Toto saves the day. Next up was the Smiffcnpoofs from Smith College, this all female group is the oldest female collegiate a cappella group in the nation. Some songs that they sang were “Sweet Jane” (Cowboy Junkies), “B uildings & Bridges” (Ani DiFranco), “Tell Me” (by Groove Theory), “ F in a lly " (Ce Ce Peniston). “Crazy” (Seal), and "Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac). At times I found myself struggling to hear the soloist because the back ground was too strong in their rhythm and the microphones weren't really picking up her voice, but in the end the Smiffcnpoofs received an out standing support for their music from the audience. Alter a short intermission. The MIT-Wellesley Toons ran onto the stage with an energetic open ing song "P o iso n ” (Bell Biv Devoe). They then sang many cover songs such as “Torn" (Natalie Im brug lia). “ Barely Breathing" (Duncan Sheik), “Col ors of the Wind" (Vanessa W ill iams), "Satellite” (Dave Matthews Band), and did a nice rendition of “Smooth Criminal” (Michael Jack son) to end their performance. Last but not least. Interstate 8 ended the concert with iheir per formance. Part of iheir repertoire consisted of songs such as “Swecl I)reams"(Euryihmics), "ITI FverFall In Love" (Shai), and “Dreams" (Cranberries). The group's voice was full of musical laleni and Ihe powerful soloists' voices were just sending oul mass quantifies of en ergy and excitement into the crowd. In Ihe end. ihe whole room jusi got up from their seals and begged for an encore, in which Interstate 8 gladly honored. II you would like more informa tion on any of these groups iheir web pages are: www.wpi.edu/ -shin, www.smith.edu/smiflenpoofs, web.mil.edu/toons, www. wpi.edu/~i8.

R oad Dispatches

Ken and Steve go to the Deep South and visit neat things and places like the ChattanoogaChooChooand the Grand Ole’ Opry. Pg.10

H o w d o you relieve stress a t W P I ? There are many ways to relieve stress, here are some fellow students stress relief m eth ods.

Suspicious Person How’d that person get into Daniels?

Pg- 7

Person on the Street........ Sports.................................

a s f is f e a

2 2

........... ft International House...... ........... 6 ( omputing ....................... ........... ft \ rt \ct Entertainment..... ....... 6.7 Editorials.......................... ........... 7 ( lab ( 'timer.................... .......... X .......... S ( ommentary..................... ....... 10 Hoad Dispatches.............. .......to Announcements.............. ........ II ........ I I Comics............................... ........ / / Police iM g ........................ ......... 12 What's Happening......... ........ 12

T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 17, 1998

N ew speak

Pa g e 2

■ m

P e r s o n O n the S treet

■ .■ ><

Question: How do you relieve stress at WPI? by Lizabeth Amaral Newspeak Staff

“Going outdoors, like rockclimbing, re lieves my stress.” -Francis Houde

“I usually listen to music or play with the Jazz Band.” -Ben Nawrath

“I go to Higgins House and sit in the gardens.” -Amy Adams “I go to Higgins House or gardens. I like the architecture and the garden is re ally beautiful.” -Seth Flagg

“Singing with Interstate 8 relieves my stress because it’s fun!” -Heather McCusker

Sp o r t s

Weekly sports updates: Results from November 6th to November 12th by Geoff Hassard Sport Information Director Volleyball (19-9) The volleyball team was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the NEWMAC Tour nament as they lost to Springfield 0-3. Rachel Zimet (Trumansburg, N.Y.) had 12 kills and S digs. Kristin Blitsch (Princeton, II.) had 17 digs and 2 aces. Valerie Sanders (Largo, Md.) had 9 kills, 10 digs and 5 assists. Congratulations go out to Zimet who was selected as conference rookie of the year and also named to the New England Women’s Volleyball Association All-New England Team as an honorable mention. Zimet completed the best individual sea son of any WPI player in the 20 year his tory of the program. M en’s Cross Country The men’s team had a very strong showing at the ECAC Championship Meet placing 11th out of 33 teams. It was the team’s best finish since 1995 when it was 10th. The top five runners for WPI were; Lucas Churchill (New Gloucester, Maine), Justin Lutz (Walpole, Mass.), Alex Curry (Attleboro, Mass.), James Koniers (Stratford, Conn.) and Paul M uller (Wauseon, Ohio). Women’s Cross Country The women’s team placed 18th of 34

teams at the ECAC’s. Sue Shorrock (N. Smithfield, R.I.) led the way with a 22nd place finish overall of the over 200 entrants. Jessica King (Fayette, Maine), Kris Machon (W. Kingston, R.I.), Emily Reynolds (Tolland, Conn.) and Aimee Fitzpatrick (Gray, Maine) rounded out the top five finishers for WPI. M en’s Soccer (8-5-4, Final) The men’s soccer team’s quest for a conference championship ended in the semifinals when they lost to Wheaton 41. It was a 2-1 game with 20 minutes left until the Lyons put two more in for the final. The lone goal for WPI was scored by Jon Rich (Rockland, Mass.). Last Thursday WPI played their first postseason game since 1992 when they played in the NCAA tournament. This time they were playing in the ECAC tour nament against NEWMAC foe Wheaton who they had lost to just five days be fore. Wheaton had a 2-0 lead on one goal in the first half and another early in the sec ond before the Engineers mounted a late surge. Chris Prueher (Ellington, Conn.) got the comeback started with a blast by the Lyon keeper set up by Chris Bitzas (Agawam, Mass.) with 11 minutes left in the game. Five minutes later on a corner kick there was a scramble in front of the net and Bitzas banged one home to tie the game. The two teams finished the game tied 2-2 which would mean 30 min

utes of overtime. In the first overtime, a highly disputed non-call against Wheaton turned into a penalty shot for the Lyons who scored to take the 3-2 lead. The period would end with that score as WPI had 15 more minutes to get back into the game. Mid way through the second overtime period Wheaton scored two quick goals to put the game away 5-2. Football (4-4) The WPI defense stepped up and led the Engineers to a 26-2 victory over Free dom Football Conference foe Coast Guard today at Alumni Field. The Engineer de fense came up with three interceptions, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt on the day which led to two scores. WPI opened the scoring in the first quarter when Matt Seitz (Milford, Mass.) blocked a Tim Keyser punt at the Bears 20-yard line. Four plays later Nick Fluet (Leominster, Mass.) scored from 8 yards out. Early in the second quarter, after a Keyser 39 yard punt and an 8 yard return by Jared Lachapelle (Uxbridge, Mass.), WPI had the ball at the Coast Guard 32yard line. Fluet ended an 8 play drive with a 1 yard run to give the Engineers a two touchdown lead. WPI went ahead by three touchdowns when they took the ball 80 yards on 4 plays in the last 26 seconds of the half. Quarterback John Riccio (Southington, Conn.) took the ball over from the 1 yard line on a sneak.

Coast Guard scored their only points of the day when they returned the blocked extra point for two points. The last WPI score of the game came on a 4th-and-goal at the Coast Guard 26-yard line when Riccio hit Lachapelle with a pass who dove into the end zone for the score. Riccio completed 19 of 39 passes for 252 yards and one touchdown to lead W PI. Senior tight end Matt Surette (Spencer, Mass.) had a solid day with 10 catches for 101 yards for the Engineers. Field Hockey (11-9, Final) The field hockey team went to Worcester State to defend its M AIAW title from a year ago. The team entered as the 2nd seed. In the opening game for the Engineers they faced Framingham State. Jessica Hoepf (Hampstead, N.H.) led the way for WPI with two goals as they shutout the Rams 3-0. Jenn Statkus (Leicester, Mass.) had the final goal and Deb Vandenburgh (Walpole, Mass.) recorded the win. In the championship game WPI was matched up against Becker College. The Engineers scored three goals on their first three shots and won the game 3-1 to win the title. Statkus had two goals in the game and Lindsay Voss (N. Brookfield, Mass.) added the third goal. Hoepf, Statkus, Laura O rlandi (Walpole, Mass.) and Kristin Busby (Levittown, Pa.) were all selected to the All-Tournament Team.

N ew speak The Student Newspaper of Worcester Polytechnic Institute Editor in Chief________

OfficeManager

Graphics Staff

Edward J. Cameron Jr.

Vanessa Melanson

Richard Green Justin Greenough Sally House Eric Wilhelm

News Editor_________

PhotographyEditor

Justin 0. Greenough

Adam Young

Features Editor_______

CirculationManager

Photography Staff

Alison Keach

Jared Auclair

Jennifer Cooper

Sports Editor

WebDevelopment

Eric Wilhelm

Advertising Manager Brandon Ngo

Advertising Assistant Prashanth Ram

Business Manager Christopher Stank

Graphics Editor Jessica Morgan

Associate Editor Sarah Walkowiak

Justin 0. Greenough

Josh Millard Fredrick Tan Jess Weathers Natalie Chin

Typist____________ Mary Devlin

FacultyAdvisor John Trimbur

Writing Staff_______ Lizabeth Amaral Janelle Arthur Kerri Dagesse Ken Gagne Stacey Leisenfelder Matthew Lug Dave Mazzarelli Joshua Millard Adam Ross

c/o Student Activities Office 100 Institute Road Worcester, MA 01609 Phone: (508) 831-5464 Fax: (508) 831-5721 EmaH: newspeak@wpi.edu Homepage: http://www.wpi.edu/~neviffipeak

Nicole S. Rodriguez Her whole life ahead of her. But that’s behind her now. Killed by a drunk driver. July II, 1993 Cutler, CA

If you don’t stop someone from driving drunk, who will? Do whatever it takes. RIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS DRIVE DRUNK.

Pa g e 3

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T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 17, 1998

O U R E N G IN E E R S H AVE THE FR E E D O M T O D O A N Y T H IN G THEY W A N T , IN C L U D IN G W R IT IN G TH IS A D . A llo w in g o u r engineers a high degree o f la titu d e in th eir w o r k has p ro d u c e d n u m erou s patents , innovations a n d revolutionary technologies. M a n y engineers a t B ose ®consider this freed o m the b est p a rt o f their jo b , so its no surprise th a t th e y ’d w a n t to talk a b o u t it.

Dan Gauger BS,EE, MS,EE - MIT

Dan has been part of our pioneering effort in noise cancelling technology, leading to the development of Acoustic Noise Cancelling?’ headsets. Using feedback, they virtually eliminate harmful low-frequency noise. The headsets are used by civilian and military pilots, as well as army tank crews, to provide clearer communication and reduce hearing damage.

What’s refreshing about working here is the way people think about problems. That’s the big

Cancelling headsets. No one had done this before, there was nothing to use as a reference.

thing. You may not know a lot about an area, but if

We’ve pushed feedback beyond what the textbooks

you’re good at problem solving, you’re given the

teach. I’ve tackled things I had no real experience in -

opportunity to stretch your wings, to think, and find

understanding hearing loss or solving tough EMI

ways around barriers.

problems where I couldn’t

The headsets that were out

simply wrap a metal box

there didn’t work very well.

around a circuit. I’ve tested

They were uncomfortable,

headsets on tanks in Europe

couldn’t effectively block low-

and spent three weeks in a

frequency noise, and didn’t

hanger in the Mojave desert

provide enough hearing pro

working on the Voyager

tection.

project. Bose not only let

Bose was the first company

me do these things, they

to manufacture Acoustic Noise

encouraged it.

W HAT D O YO U W ANT TO D O ?

For m ore in fo rm a tio n fax or e-mail your resume to Lyn V an H u b e n , Bose C o rp o ra tio n , The M o u n ta in , F ram in g h am , M A 01701-9168. F A X : (508) 766-7031. E-mail: lyn_vanhuben@ bose.com Visit us a t w w w .bose.com

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N ew speak

S G A E l e c t io n s

Andrew Carruth SGA President My name is Andrew Carruth and I ’m running for the Student Government of fice of President. Over the last year and a half I’ve been actively involved in SGA. All Senators are required to join at least one SGA committee. I’ve currently on both the Committee on Public Relations and the Committee on Student Life Is sues as I have been for almost a year now. I serve as a liaison between SGA and Newspeak and I’m currently the head of the committee that is organizing the Holiday Extravaganza. I ’m running for President because this is a crucial time for SGA. Over the past year and a half the SGA has reached many of the goals that it’s been striving to ac complish for so long. We’ve developed better communications with the other student groups on this campus through our liaison program. We’ve made our voices as students heard by appointing people to the Institute Committee more carefully than in previous years. Most importantly we have supported events and activities which have increased a sense of unity on this campus, such as Quadfest. Without proper leadership next year many of the things that we’ve worked to accomplish may be forgotten. This is not the first year that SGA has tried to in crease communications, or increase our voice as students, or increase campus unity. SGA is the only group that does all of these things and 1 want us to con tinue to push towards these goals and to stay focused on our role on this cam pus. I can only do this if I ’m elected Presi dent. That’s why I would like you to vote for me, Andrew Carruth, for President during Elections Week. Thank you for your time and concern!

Anne-Marie Chouinard SGA President Hello, my name is Anne-Marie Chouinard and I am announcing my can didacy for SGA president. I have been involved in student government since freshman year when I was appointed to a senatorial office. During my senatorial office term I served on the Committee on Student Life Issues and the Appropria tions Committee. Sophomore yar I was given the opportunity to serve as interim Secretary while the then Secretary Reese completed her IQP out of slate B-term. Elections were held and you (the student body) voted me into the office of Secre tary for the next term. In addition to SGA I have been quite involved in other activities on campus, some of which include: crew, SAS, Crim son Key, Student/Trustee mentor pro gram, and Order of Omega. I have also been very involved in my sorority and have held the offices of Public Relations chair and Scholarship chair. Currently I am a Rho Chi (Rush Counselor) and the Secretary of W PI’s Panhellenic Council. Last year I was given the opportunity to represent Panhel on a committee to re vise the Relationshp Statement for the Greek system at WPI, which was pre sented at the Greek Convocation earlier this year. Recently I was chosen as a representative from SGA to interview the candidates for the Greek Advisor/Assis tant Director of Student Activities. Over the summer I attended a confer ence in A llerton, Illin ois called LeaderShape. This is a learning experi ence designed to build better leaders and give them an opportunity to develop a vision. The vision that I developed was to increase WPI pride through unity and history. Earlier this term SGA held a re treat at which my vision at which my vi sion was presented to the senate and time was allowed for feedback and brainstorm ing. If elected into office, I hope to con tinue on with this vision and with the backing of the senate and you (the stu dent body) to see my vision through to

M il completion. If elected President I will do my best to represent the students to the teachers, administration and the Worcester com munity. With my current offices and in volvement in school activities I feel that I have the experience needed for this position. Through my conference this summer I feel that I have developed a good vision to follow through in office and have gained the knowledge to do so effectively.

Robert A.F. Seneres SGA President

with some of the best students to be found anywhere. I would like the opportunity to make a positive difference for the student community as a whole and for later stu dents of this excellent institution. I have been involved in student government for several years, both in high school and on a college level. Here at WPI, I have served as a senator for one year. I have been on the SGA Committee on Academic Issues, and also a student representative to the Institute Committee on Academic Opera tions. I believe that I have the experience and the enthusiasm to perform the duties of the office of Secretary well. Thanks for reading this, and please consider me, Ernie DiMicco, when selecting the next Student Government Secretary.

Vickie J. Wu SGA Treasurer

I wish to serve as President of the Stu dent Government Association to take us into the millennium by committing to ac tive roles in the Campus Center, Parking Garage, the Academic Building and other further Capitol Campaigning Projects that would improve student life here at WPI. I also feel that Institute Pride, His tory and Tradition are very important in coming to a university to learn. Other wise, we wouldn’t have to come here in the first place and we could get the same education through long distant learning or “two dollars in late charges from the library.” (Good Will Hunting) However, we’re here, obtaining social and interper sonal skills required for success in the workplace. While we’re here we should have a positive outlook towards life be cause it makes dealing with V/PI’s Plan and culture a little easier. A negative outlook just makes it impossible for your self. As President of the Student Gov ernment I would do whatever I could to make the best of this campus for its stu dents.

Stu Clemons SGA Vice President I am running for Vice President of SGA. I have been involved with the student gov ernment for 2 years and want to continue working on what has been started, such as the campus enter plans. I am also involved in Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, was an orientation leader, and run track. Thanks for your vote.

Angela Malaquias SGA Vice President

“The Candidacy Speech I Should Have Given” Most of you out there don’t know ho I am, but that’s perfectly natural. It’s prob ably often that a freshman decides to run for an executive position in the SGA. Well, I ’m not known for following the norm so, here I am. Before anything else, allow me to briefly introduce myself: I hail from Brea, CA, about a hour south of Los Angeles. Things I think are cool include almost all types of music, sci-fi/fantasy, mIRC, IQC, Pez, duct tape, movies, and ballroom dancing. And that’s all I have to say bout that. Now, down to business. At this point, you’re probably wondering why I de cided to run for treasurer. Or maybe you’re wondering what in the world con vinced me that I ’d make a good treasurer. That’s an easy question. I’ll do my best to provide an easy answer. 1. I like power. Power is cool. It boosts your ego and lets you do neat things to benefit others if you so choose. It’s a delicate balance between productiv ity and corruption, but I like living on the edge, so there you go. 2. I’m competent. I was treasurer of the Speech and Debate team and Club Ja pan (a.k.a. cutsey Anime club) in my high school and while I know being SGA treasurer is quite a different story altogether, I can handle it. Challenges make thing interesting. I ’m also too stubborn to know when to quit. 3. I have the time to dedicate to the job. You see, I ’ m not to the point yet where I need to worry about Suff, IQP, MQP, or getting all my graduation re quirements in. This means I have time to sit and work on planning the bud get, managing funds, etc. You can be assured that what work I do will be quality stuff. And finally, the last and least influen tial reason I ’m running is... ...Amber McMillan suckered me into it. So please, consider Vickie Wu for trea surer when you vote, and if all goes well, I ’ ll do my best to keep everyone happy.. .and maybe Amber will stop bad gering me to get involved. Thank you.

ety. Currently I am the rush chairman of my fraternity Phi Gamma Delta. I am very enthusiastic to get involved in the student government here at WPI. As a Senator for the SGA I feel that I will be an asset to the student body.

Rachel Bowers, Senator Hi! My name is Rachel Bowers. I am announcing my candidacy for On-campus Senator. I am currently a Senator on SGA. I am an active member of several SGA com mittees, such as Committee on Student Life Issues, Committee on Elections, Commit tee on Policies & Procedures, and the Stu dent Organization Committee. Currently, I am working on the Holiday Extravaganza Committee. I am also involved in Alden Voices. If you vote for me I will voice the concerns of the WPI community to the best of my ability.

Brock Ehnert, Senator

My name is Brock Ehnert and I’m a jun ior majoring in Management Information Systens with a minor in Computer Science and German. I participate in varsity foot ball and track. I ’m also a member of Lead ership Education and Practice (LEAP) and a student representative for a few commit tees on campus. I am running for SGA because I feel I can come up with some new ideas for events on campus and I am very open minded so I would welcome any outside suggestions. If I feel an idea is solid and has merit, I will push to put it into action and help it grow. I believe I ’m very qualified for this position and I would do my best job as your senate representative. I ’d appreciate your vote for me when SGA elections roll around. Thanks!

Max C. Gomez, Senator

Nick Antonopoulos, Senator

Ernie DiMicco SGA Secretary Hello, my name is Ernie DiMicco, and I am running for the office of Student Gov ernment Secretary. I am currently a sopho more electrical engineering major, and in my time in this university I have seen many positive things about this school. WPI is one of the greatest colleges in the nation,

Hello, my name is Nick Antonopoulos and I am running for a senatorial position. I am a sophomore who’s major is chemical engineering. I am a brother of the ATO fraternity who enjoys playing soccer, bas ketball, and going to the gym. I believe that I would make an excellent Senator because I take my responsibilities serious and willing to work hard. I know how to work with people in getting the job done through my work experiences during the past few years. I will bring fresh ideas to the student body from my experiences, which will make the campus a better place. Thank you.

Jared Beres, Senator My name is Jared Beres and I am ajunior studying Mechanical Engineering and a member of the American Materials Soci-

My name is Max C. Gomez and I am hop ing to be voted in as a senator for the Stu dent Government Association. I am currenUy ajunior at WPI and am majoring in Industrial Engineering with a minor in MIS. I am a mem ber of the Varsity basketball team and I am also a member of Phi Gamma Delta (FUI). As a senator I will always have an open ear in order to voice my opinion about the student

Continued to page 5

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S G A E l e c t io n s Continued from page 4 body’s needs, by being committed to attend ing meetings and other functions. I hope that with this agenda of mine you can con firm that I am qualified for the position.

Syed Asif Iqbal, Senator

ing that vote me to power and give me a chance to prove myself. I’ ll make WPI a better place and I owe this to you.

James R. Konz, Senator

Dana Griffin, Senator

I am running for a senate position here ate WPI because I would like to become more involved with our school. I would like to bring changes by implementing new ideas and plans. Hopefully chang ing the school’s atmosphere to a more productive one. By creating more activi ties for campus residents or even mak ing campus a better place to spend your spare time. I believe our school lacks campus life and I would like to develop some sort of campus life, weekend ac tivities, etc.

Amber McMillan, Senator

My name is Dana Griffin and I am running for the position of Off-campus Senator of SGA. I am a Civil Engineering major with a minor in Management. Currently I am the House Manager of Phi Gamma Delta, a mem ber of ASCE, and a big brother in the Camp fire Mentor program. Playing on the Men’s Varsity Basketball team I am very familiar with a team-oriented scenario. I am very enthusi astic about being a Senator and look forward to help improve the campus and its events. With my strong work ethic I feel I can con tribute to both the school and SGA, all I need is the opportunity to do so.

Greg Halloran, Senator

My name is Greg Halloran and I am run ning for the position of Off-campus Sena tor of SGA. I am a Mechanical Engineer ing Major. I am currently the social chair man of Phi Gamma Delta. I am a member of the Men’s Varsity Basketball team and the rugby team. With my strong enthusiasm and motivation I will benefit SGA and the campus as a whole.

Michael Heylin, Senator Hello, my name is Michael Heylin and I am running for an On-campus Senator. I would like to help the school by using many assets that I have obtained my en tire life. I feel that I can do a good job and overall lift the Senator’s office to a higher level. Thank you for considering my vote and please keep me informed on future SGA activities.

Hi I am Jessica Hoepf and I am running for a position as a student Senator here at WPI. I am a member of the sophomore class as well as the varsity field hockey team. I feel that it is very important for a student to get involved and this is my way of do ing so. As a Senator I would do my best to represent the student body to the best of my abilities. I feel I posses strong leader ship skills and am a very good candidate for this position.

I bet you have heard all the candidates for the upcoming SGA election say that “I am gonna do this.. .1 am gonna do that”. But did they sound like they knew how they are going to go about doing it? Well I do! This is what I am going to do and how 1. Fraternities and Sororities are cool be cause they really give ample opportu nities for students to socialize in or der to get some of their academic pres sure off them. They shouldn’t be blamed if some students can’t take care of themselves. This is why pro motion of the Greek System in WPI is going to be one of my highest priori ties. H O W ? Since I will get to be a part of the SGA, I will make sure that Frat resi dential houses get adequately publi cized, as they are great places to live in. I hope the SGA and the fraterni ties will work together to give the fra ternities a better image on campus. 2. I want more activities going on cam pus and we need more parties too. H O W ? The public relation of the SGA will extend its contacts to other col leges on an official basis so that next time we go to a party we wont have to worry about not having enough girls! Now lets get down to something seri ous... 3. I strongly feel for those who like me have left their home and family behind to realize their dreams and mingle with the American culture. Believe me, it is not easy for an international stu dent to adjust to a new code^pf life. I will make sure that there is effective interaction between all the cultures of the world. H O W ? I am currently the International Club Coordinator of the International Student Council (ISC) and am work ing together with Jennifer Reese, the President of the Student Government Association (SGA) in creating a com munication network between all clubs and organizations on campus. I need to be a SGA senator to successfully establish this by the end of C term. This will also help the Americans in learning more about different cultures through the various activities set up through the network. 4. Since we are here to learn we cannot avoid the topic of academics. WPI is one of the most prestigious techno logical schools in the States and is committed to give its students a good education. In order to give the stu dents a better share of the available resources, the following steps need to be taken and as a senator I’ll sec to that these matters are given serious consideration. a. Give students more accessibility to the department buildings after regular hours. This can be done through digi tal security systems that accepts WPI IDs for entrance as Toh Yu-Ping, a WPI student, had suggested in an ar ticle that he wrote in Newspeak. b We want a library that is open 24 hours because most students study late into the night and “m idnight is just not late enough for WPI students” ! If I were to choose a candidate I would ask myself whether the candidate under consideration would work sincerely and commit himself to the cause of the SGA. Well I do promise you that I will do all that it takes to achieve the objectives I just mentioned. Let me conclude by say

As an Off-campus Senator represent ing the student body of WPI and as a fraternity member of Lambda Chi Alpha, I would like to promote the relationship between the students and the fraterni ties. It’s important that the student body knows that fraternities arc not all about partying, but are actually more focused on giving back to the community in the way of numerous philanthropic events such as food drives, penny wars, teeter totter-athons, etc. As senator of SGA, I would like to act as a liaison between the two parties, working diligently to im prove student involvement and maybe develop some joint programs where stu dents could work together with the fra ternities toward a common charitable goal. If these sound like good ideas to you, then please, vote for me. Thank you.

Eric Las, Senator

tiM

For those of you who don’t know me my name is Eric Las. I’m a junior pursu ing a degree in civil and environmental engineering. I ’m very involved in many on and off-campus activities. I am cur rently Vice President of the SCUBA Club, a member of the local and national chap ters of the American Society of Civil En gineer, Varsity Golf Team member. Envi ronmental Club member, brother at Lambda Chi Alpha, and am an applicant for the Order of Omega Greek honor so ciety. I feel I possess all the leadership and decision-making skills necessary to be a Senator. Friends think of me as being responsible, trustworthy and highly mo tivated. As a Senator, I would like to rep resent and work for the interests of all off-campus students. My goal is to break the deadlock, which occurs in the Sen ate concerning many issues and make real changes. The Senate needs fresh new ideas; I have them. It’s time for a change, please vote for me, it’s the best choice you can make.

Rachel Maltais, Senator

Howdy! I’m Amber McMillan from San Antonio, Texas. Currently I’m an EE and will graduate in 2000. You’ve probably seen me on campus, I’m the girl with the green cloak. I believe in Unity though cross membership. I am an active mem ber in 11 clubs and organizations includ ing: SocComm, IEEE, ACM, SFS (Science Fiction Society), SMAS (Society for Medieval Ans and Sciences), SWE (So ciety for Women Engineers), W ECE (Women in ECE), SHPE (Society of His panic Professional Engineers), HAS (His panic Student Association), Fencing and SGA. 1have worked for the improvement of WPI through SGA since A term of my freshman year, and hope to continue into my senior year. I hope that you too can become more involved with on-campus activities and chose to re-elect me as your senator.

Jeff Moore, Senator Hello. My name is Jeff Moore and I am running for re-election to the Senate in the Student Government Association. This past year, I have been actively in volved, organizing our school’s l sl Pep Rally in 60+ years as head of SGA’s Pub lic Relations Committee, working on the 2nd Annual Holiday Exlravaganza and helping to make our lives a little easier on the Committee on Student Life Issues. Besides also being on SGA’s Election Committee, I am in the LEAP program and a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fra ternity. I know the ropes and you know I ’ve put in the time and effort to represent us and W P I’s best interest. I ’ve helped you out before and I ’ll help you out again. Let’s stick with what works and vote me, Jeff Moore, back to the Senate. Make a difference...I will.

Kevin Mullin, Senator My name is Kevin Mullen. I am junior Chemical Engineering major with an En vironmental Concentration and am a brother of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Frater nity. I am presently serving SGA as an appointed member, and am running for an Off-campus Senatorial Position in the Student Government Association of WPI and it is my hope that you will consider me and support me with your vote. I feel that SGA is an important organi zation, which offers a lot to the students, faculty and administration of our school. There are many opportunities offered by SGA in which one may create positive change at WPI. These include support of various other student organizations, diiect ties with the faculty and residen tial services, and also the numerous sub committees within SGA itself. Within SGA, I currently sit on the Committee on Academic Issues (CAI) and am looking to get involved with the Appropriations Committee. CAI is an excellent opportu nity to address the needs of both stu dents and faculty while Appropriations would allow me to help fund worthy causes and organizations in need of our support, which has always been one of my favorite aspects of being involved with student government. Thus far SGA has been very pleasur able for me and has been an excellent op portunity for me to get involved and make a difference at WPI. Please help me to continue in this effort by extend ing me your vote.

See SGA Elections, continued to page 8

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Pag e 6

S t u d e n t G o v e r n m e n t A s s o c ia t io n

SGA Agenda for Tuesday, November 17th, 1998 I. Call to Order II. Roll Call III. Approval of Minutes IV. President’s Report V. Committee Reports CSLI (Committee on Student Life Issues) - Chair Carrie CAI (Committee on Academic Issues) - Chair Upton Committee on Appropriations

Chair cedures - Treasurer Winrow Tino W ORCESTER P O L Y T E C H N IC IN S T IT U T E Institute Committees Committee on Budget Development Public Rela and Advisory Coun tions - Chairs cil Moore and S T U D E N T G O V E R N M E N T A S S O C IA TIO N Committee on Aca Viveiros demic Operations Committee on Committee on Academic Policy Elections - Chair Szafarowicz Committee on Advising and Committee on Policies and Pro-

S -G -A

Student Life Planning Implementation Com mittee Student Organization Commit tee Web Design Committee Bookstore Advisory Commit tee Community Building Committee Clubs/Organizations

VI. Old Business VII. New Business VIII. Questions Comments and Ideas IX. Treasurer’s Report X. Secretary’s Report XI. Vice President’s Report XII. President’s Remarks XIII. Announcements XIV. Adjournment

society, values are placed in priori ties. In Korea, honesty is a value, but loyalty is a greater one. Using Underwood’s logic, the Korean stu dent probably felt obligated to help his friend. After all, what are friends for if you cannot count on them when the going gets tough? Ameri cans feel loyalty too, but honesty is supposedly a higher value. Like much of Asian, Korea is Con fucian, primarily a system of ethics, not religion; and even more than eth ics, Confucianism is a system of so cial relationships. At the very cen ter are the “Five Relationships” of “king to subject, father to son, elder brother to younger, husband to wife, and friend to friend. Most of these are hierarchical; even friends arc hi erarchical if these friends were not bom in the same year. The Confucian drive to education means one’s parents have inculcated the absolute importance of educa tion from birth. Most children aim to please parents, at least much of the time. And although it is best to have studied and to know the an swers, sometime for whatever rea son, this is not the case. But if one

does not know the answer, it would still be unacceptable to bring home a poor grade. So be ing a child who aims to please his parents, you ask your friend for help. The one value that summarizes the correct relationship between the pairs of the “Five Relation ships” is the one word which ex presses the most important ideal in most Asian societies; this word would be some version of “loyalty,” the way “love” is considered the ultimate ideal in western culture. This friend was showing loyalty to his friend, and this value de manded that the friend give his friend the answers on the test. The toughest element of any cultural conflict is not good against evil, but good versus another good. Any relationship between Americans and Asians would certainly do well to realize the deeper cultural reason why people act the way they do. The ESL teacher was just beginning to learn this important lesson and it was obviously going to take more than a year to do so.

color: Textronix Phaser 550 Color geolaser: GEO Lab HP Laser Printer geoline: GEO Lab Line Printer hp: HP LaserJet 5Mxsi hu: Humanities Printer (for HU use only) imc: IMC Printer (for IMC use only) lp: Line Printer lps20: Digital LPS17 mgt: Management Printer (for MG use only) mgtlab: Management Lab Printer physics: Physics Printer (for PH use only) physics2: Physics Printer (for PH use only) plotter: HP 7550Plus Plotter socsci: Social Science Printer (for SS use only) The above printers are available

as WresVPRINTERNAME (where PRINTERNAME is one of the above). This will allow you to use the UNIX printers when con figuring printers under Windows. Files copied to a UNIX directory will have permissions set so that the owner can read/write/execute and the group can read and execute (i.e. 0640 in numeric form). Another user cannot read or write to your files unless you give them permission to do so. By de fault, your permissions are set so that another user cannot get a list ing of the files in your directories. To allow other users to see what files you have, you must make the applicable directory world-readable (chmod o+r dimame).

W est S treet H o u se

Elements of the Confucian Society by Billy D. McGowan Director o f ESL While in the hotel lobby of an establishment in one of the hills surroundihg Seoul, I met an ESL teacher who had been in Korea for almost a year. Since we met by chance as we looked at some vivid artwork in the lobby, he commented that it was “Incredible!” Later on he pointed out that there were more of the huge murals on the floor below. We both wandered down and eventually, after pointing out which ones we liked best, he sug gested that we have some Korean ginseng tea. He was working for several of the many English lan guage institutes in and around Seoul. He had responded to an ad placed in the classified section of his hometown newspaper. I asked the inevitable question, “How do you like living here?” This led to a very interesting ex change. It was one that ultimately illuminated some of the ideas that a speaker, Horace Underwood of the American Education Commis sion, had iterated in a briefing

about Korean education trends. My friend’s answer was that some times he loved it and sometimes he hated it. Friends were “so nice and strangers were so nasty.” Underwood had said during the animated briefing that in Ko rea there are two sets of people— those you know and those you do not know. The former are ones you have a relationship with, and are obliged, very obliged, to treat politely, kindly, and with every courtesy. Those you don’t know do not exist; such people don’t count and get no special consider ation. Underwood talked about the friend who never allowed him to pay the bill, using courtesy as a means of putting him “in debt” (to them) and as an instrument of control. He contrasted this with the people on the street who he said would bump into him and never notice, nor say “excuse me.” My new acquaintance seemed to bear out Underwood’s assertions. Being an American and a teacher, I wondered how he was treated by his students. Underwood had as

serted that Koreans look at Ameri cans and admire our public behav ior: discipline in lines and in traf fic; no pushing; saying “thank you” every time you turn around and so on. But Koreans do not think much of reserved American hospitality. Koreans, he had as serted, would offer so much more in the name of hospitality to a friend. The ESL teacher thought Kore ans treated teachers with much more respect than offered in Ameri can schools. Teachers are ex pected to maintain a certain dig nity. And Koreans responded in kind in dealing with such teachers. The ESL teacher tended to have other problems though. Hedidnot understand how these same stu dents who treated him with such reverence could cheat so easily on tests. He seemed particularly irri tated with their lack of honesty, their unwillingness to play by the rules. Underwood remarked that Ko rean culture had a strong sense of honesty, but reminded us that there is a hierarchy of values. In every

COMPUTING

Mapping drives and Hie permissions by Debbie Babineau Computer Trainer Many questions come into the Helpdesk regarding mapping (mounting) drives on a PC to UNIX directories. Listed below are all the areas one can map to from a PC. In Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, and Windows NT users can mount their CCC Unix home directories using Windows file sharing. To accomplish this, use Map Network Drive in File Manager or Explorer and map a drive to \\www\www_docs This is the http://www.wpi.edu/

web tree area (/www/docs on the UNIX systems). We are making this available for those who main tain web pages in the main web tree. Currently, Wres and Wwww are the same host but this will be chang ing in the near future. Therefore, please use Wwww for the web area and Wres for other areas. Wres\cs_users This is the /cs/users area on CCC UNIX systems. Samba will auto matically use the username you are currently logged into Windows for mapping this directory to your proper /cs/users/USERNAME di rectory. WresMJSERNAME

This has always been available via Samba. USERNAME is the username of the user’s home direc tory you wish to mount as a s'h&red directory. Note that UNIX file ac cess remains in effect so you will only be able to read and write flies you would be able to read and write under UNIX. Wres\PRINTERNAME We now offer the UNIX printers as shared printers for Windows users: alp: Mechanical Engineering Printer (for ME use only) aptline: APT Lab Line Printer casablan: IMC MultiMedia Lab Printer

Raising community awareness of AUP by Chris Mangiarelli PC Network Support Supervisor Welcome to another edition of the CCC Newspeak article. The CCC wishes to bring two major issues to the attention of the WPI Community - “Back Orifice” and “AUP Violations”. Over the past few weeks, CCC has been made aware of various student computers serving illegal copyright material to the internet at large. Offering copyright mate rial is a violation of the WPI AUP and is also punishable by US Law. Students who engage in this prac tice run the risk of incriminating themselves and damage the repu tation of WPI. Students who en gage in these activities tend to “eat up” a large portion of W P I’s internet bandwidth that would be better used for academic interests. We encourage the WPI com munity to report any illegal use o f the W P I network to the helpdesk. The CCC cannot po lice everybody’s ports, so it

would help if the community at large could make us aware when there is a problem. Upon discov ery, the CCC will take swift and appropriate action against the offender. We thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Secondly, CCC has come across several outbreaks of the “Back Orifice” infection. Back Orifice is not a true virus (as it doesn’t replicate itself or infect other files), but a malicious ap plication that opens up serious security issues with a user’s pc. The Back Orifice program allows a person to remotely “spy” on your machine, control some of it’s functions, steal data/passwords, etc. In order to become “infected” with Back Orifice, the user must install the program’s files. Now, most users would not purposely infect their own systems, so people who want to spread this “infection” usually hide the ex ecutable in another (possibly le git) package, advertising it as another productive program you

might want to download and in stall on your pc. CCC’s advice to people who are concerned about the Back Orifice infection is to download software only from trusted sources on the internet. This would also be a good opportu nity to remind people that they should scan any program they download from the internet for viruses. WPI-CCC has a site li cense for N A I’ s McAfee VirusScan. McAfee VirusScan can indeed detect (with the new est DAT files) the Back Orifice in fection (and newer versions of the scanner can clean it). If you are interested in obtaining McAfee VirusScan for your PC, please contact the helpdesk for more information on installation. Well, thats it for now... we at the CCC would like to remind you that the helpdesk (helpdesk@wpi.edu or x5888) is here to try and answer your ques tions and solve any problems with the WPI-CCC network. Thank you.

A r t s & En t e r t a in m e n t

Impact of the commercial music industry: Ragtime

and the music business by Michael Piecuch VP ofJazzGroup Would you like to learn about ragtime music and about the im pact of the commercial music in dustry on the development of early 20lh century African Ameri can music? Professor Giacomo Oliva will be coming to the W PI campus to speak in a free lecture/ recital entitled “Ragtime and the M usic B u sin ess.” G ia co m o Oliva, a professor at the Univer sity of Florida, has been a con ductor and adjudicator in Missis sippi and New Jersey and has given lectures for organizations such as the College Music Soci ety, the Association of Teacher

Educators and the Interna tional Society for Music Edu cation. Professor Giacomo Oliva is also an accomplished pianist, playing in the classi cal and popular music tradi tions. He has conducted sev eral instrumental groups and for several years was a piano accompanist for the singer Connie Francis. Professor Giacom o O liva will have his free lecture/re cital, “Ragtime and the Music Business,” in the lower level of Alden Hall (Spaulding Re cital hall) on Friday, Nov. 20 at 2:30pm. Sponsored by the WPI Speakers fund.

T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 17, 1998

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Ed i t o r i a l

Bottle bill has worked for state, but ‘can’ be expanded (U-WIRE) EAST LANSING, Mich. — Twenty years af ter its inception, the Michigan bottle bill has dramatically impacted the state’s recycling efforts, but maybe it’s time to consider expanding the law. In December 1978, the Michigan Beverage Container Act, referred to as the Michigan bottle bill, was put into effect to reduce roadside litter and clean up the environ ment. People purchasing bottles and cans are required to pay an extra 10 cents bottle deposit, which may be claimed by simply returning the bottles and cans to a grocery store. Michigan has one of the largest bottle-return rates in the nation. Although the original purpose of the bill was to clean up dirty roadsides and not so much a proactive measure, the bill provides an incentive for people to recycle. The bill has placed Michigan in the top ranks for clean roads and

beaches. The bill should be expanded to include juice and other beverage containers. This would expand the number of bottles and cans that could be recycled in Michigan. Too often, we wait until environmental issues become a serious problem before we decide to deal with it. We are currently doing a good job recycling, but expanding the bill would help reduce waste further. Plastic containers, batteries, glass, paper, and other items are examples of items that can be recycled. If the recycling of other waste was this easy, then many people would take the time to recycle. This bill has proven that offering an incentive for recycling works. A trip to the store for can money has become a wellknown tradition to many Michigan residents, but with those trips come some frustrations. Many cans aren’t accepted at bottle-return centers.

Stores should accept non-refundable cans even though they are unable to offer money in return. Also, a lot of stores have improved the bottle-return pro cess by installing machines that collect and count bottles as well as print receipts for customers. It also has made the process more sanitary. Since people have to handle returns themselves, they are more apt to keep their bottles and cans clean. It just seems natural for most students to return cans and bottles to stores. Returning bottles and cans has become a part of this state’s culture. Can drives, bottle collectors around cam pus and spending can money on something frivolous are all experiences residents have grown up around. This law has forced people into caring about the environment. Or maybe they just want an extra 10 cents.

Staff Editorial The State News (Michigan State U.)

A r t s & En t e r t a in m e n t

The Sequel to Bushido Blade by Ken Gagne Newspeak Staff Name: BUSHIDO BLADE 2 Platform: Sony PlayStation Publisher: Square Electronic ArtsL.L.C. Rating: 7.5 Is the way of the samurai the way to a great game? Maybe, maybe not. It’s a love-hate situa tion for Bushido Blade 2, Squaresoft’s fighting game for the Sony PlayStation. On the ancient island of Kounoshima, off the sea of Setonaiki, wages an eight-hundred year war between the Narukagami and Shainto assassin schools. The time has come for the Shainto to end the battle; players decide the result of this final conflict. Bushido Blade 2 is a sequel to last year’s unique game which broke apart from the tired fighting mold. There are no life meters, time limits, or fatalities. Victory or de feat is realistically determined by a single stroke. Blows can be de flected, cause arms or legs to fall useless, or a well-placed attack to

the torso or head will end the match. Most special moves depend not on the character but the weapon the player chooses, such as the katana, broadsword, or nodachis. Attentive pairing of fighter and ar mament is essential; for example, it is foolish to give a slow weapon to an adroit combatant. There are six characters initially available (three from each school). Story Mode pits each character through a specific set of matches with some storyline thrown in; other characters may be playable through plot development. Victory in the final battle ensures contin ued availability of those fighters, driving the number of characters up by several. So far, so good, right? Realism, plot - all the makings of a great fighter. What about gameplay? This is Bushido Blade’s main fault: the one player mode is ter rible. The enemies are too easy, except for the final boss, who is too hard. The majority of battles are against endless numbers of nameless, faceless clones who are

defeated with one quick blow. There’s little strategy or excite ment. Battles occur in a musical void. Voice acting between matches is ridiculous in both performance, content, and even length. Notice able is the clashing sound effects of steel on steel. Moves are difficult to recall, as every character and every weapon has different moves, and each de pending on the stance -characters can position themselves to attack high, normal, or low, with two dif ferent attack buttons. Other con trol is fine, including jumping, side stepping, and dishonorable moves such as tossing dirt in the enemy’s face. Yet despite the game’s 3D fighting nature, there is no analog or shock support. Graphically, the arenas are dis played smaller than the original Bushido, as are the action figures. But up close, the characters look better and less polygonal than be fore. There is nothing astounding anywhere, though: settings are dark and quiet, and attacks are not extraordinary.

The only redeeming aspect of Bushido is the two-player mode. Despite all above flaws, the fastpaced matches are perfectly suited for exciting head-to-head competi tion. A variety of play combina tions ensures a long life of gameplay. As games and consoles become

more technologically advanced, it’s inevitable that genres will experi ence surges in realism. Bushido Blade 2 exemplifies why the fighting genre should not undergo such a change. It’s quick, boring, and frustrating, as far as solo play goes, and, quality-wise, more a prcquel than a sequel.

Video Game Releases This Week Nintendo 64: Tuesday: Buck Bumble, Superman: The Animated Series Wednes day: Extreme-G 2, Milo’s Astro Lanes Thursday: Fox Sports Col lege Hoops ’99 PlayStation: Tuesday: Centipede, Game of Life, Jeopardy!, Rugrats: Search for Reptar, Superman: The Animated Series, Tiny Tank: Up Your Ar senal, Tiny Toon Adventures: Revenge of the Beanstalk, Wheel of Fortune Wednesday: A Bug’s Life, Apocalypse, Assault: Retribution, For mula 1 ‘9, Hardball ’99, No One Can Stop Mr. Domino, Roll Away Thursday: Darkstalkers 3, Elmo’s Letter Journey, Street Fighter II Col lection Volume 2 Friday: MotorHead, Tomb Raider III: The Adventures of Lara Croft Saturday: Backstreet Billiards, Bust-A-Move4 Courtesy Scott McCall’s Guide 64 http://members.aol.com/capscott/

“Joe Black” avoids kiss of death by Bryan Stokes Daily Texan (U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas — Brad Pitt is golden again. He has left behind the weird facial ticks (Twelve Monkeys), greasy beards (Kalifornia) and bad skin (Sleep ers) and decided to be a sex sym bol once again. Shrugging off physical abnormalities for blonde hair and a buff body, Meet Joe Black finds Pitt returning to his roots, but it’s Anthony Hopkins who actually keeps the movie afloat. In the film Pitt plays Death it self. Bored with his job, Death decides to take a body and expe rience life instead of simply tak ing it away. He picks a wealthy businessman, W illiam Parrish (Hopkins), to serve as his guide in exchange for allowing Hopkins to live a little while longer. Hopkins agrees to this strange

arrangement, and soon Pitt is liv ing in his home, going to board meetings at the office and court ing Parrish’s daughter (Claire Forlani). The rest of the film ’s drama lies in the budding relation ship between Pitt and Forlani as big decisions must be made due to conflicts with Pitt’s line of work. Meet Joe Black is a frustrating picture to watch. The film does so many things right, but unfor tunately, its missteps are glaring and don’t allow for complete sat isfaction with the finished prod uct. At a running time of nearly three hours, the movie is way too long. The subject matter does not dictate such an excessive running time, and the editor seems to have fallen asleep during most of the process. Poignant scenes are often ex tended far too long, and the

WPI Newspeak(ISSN 1093-0051) of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, formerlytheTech News, has been publishedweeklyduring theacademicyear, except duringcollegevacations, since 1909. Newspeak hasbeen printedon recycledpaper sinceJanuary 1991. Masthead designed by TroyThompson for Newspeak's 21st anniversary. NewspeakisfinancedbySOAfundsandadvertisingrevenue. Officesarelocatedinthebasement of SanfordRileyHall, west end(Riley01). All articlesshouldbetypedandinclude theauthor's nameandboxnumber. Copy maybesent toStudent Activitiesorbrought toIheNewspeakoffice. Articlesmayalsobesubmittedviae-mail All copyisdueby5:00 pmontheFridayprecedingpublication. LetterstotheEditormustcontaintheprintednameof theauthoraswell astheauthor'ssignature, telephonenumberandboxnumberforverification Studentssubmittinglettersshould put their class after their name. Faculty and staff should include their full title. Lettersdeemed libelous or irrelevant toIheWPI communitywill not bepublished. All ClubComers must besubmittedviae-mail andhe 275wordsor less. Theeditorsreservetheright toedit all copyforcorrect punctuationandspellingaswell as appropriatecontent. AHadsaredueby5:00pmontheFridayprecedingpublication Lateadswill notbeaccepted. Adcopythat isnot proportional toitsadspacewill bechargedanadditional $15.00fee. Classifiedadsmustbeprepaid The decisiononwhetherasubmissionisapublicserviceannouncement or anadvertisement lieswiththeeditors. Theeditorial iswrittenbyamemberor membersof theNewspeakstaff. It doesnot necessarilyreflect the opinions of theentire Newspeakstaffor of WPI. Signededitorials andarticlesrepresent theopinions of the individual authors. NewspeakisprintedbySaltusPressof Worcester, MA First fivecopies free, spaakis additional copiesV0.50each Firstclasspostagepaidat Worcester, MA Subscrip f\Npew rintedonpartially tion rateis$20.00per academic year, single copies $0.75 within thecontinental r e c y cledpaper UnitedSlates. Makeall checkspayabletoWPI Newspeak

middle of the film is so slow that it almost brings the movie to a complete halt. This poor editing is truly unfortunate because the beginning and the conclusion are both very good. The first third of the film chronicles Pitt’s wonder at every thing human, and his enthusiasm for life is infectious. His amaze ment is completely believable, and it’s very funny watching someone get so much enjoyment from a simple pleasure like pea nut butter. Brad Pitt gives a toast to death in Meet Joe Black. The climax is also well done, as the movie concludes with a won derfully visual party that is both sad and joyous. With many ques tions lingering, the film almost nails a perfect ending — that is, until the filmmakers pander to the audience and beat them over the

head with the fact that everything will work out in the end. But despite some poor editing and a slightly flawed conclusion, the acting is first-rate. Pitt succeeds in his role by making Death charming and slightly vulnerable. This ap proach works well when Pitt is learning about the world, and only lets him down when he’s forced to get angry. Pitt’s por trayal is too affable at times of crisis, but his feelings come through clearly in every scene. Hopkins lends credibility to the film and turns in yet another good performance. His presence in the movie creates instant drama, and Hopkins does an excellent job of conveying his conflicted emo tions. The movie would have had major problems sustaining believability had Hopkins not been along for the ride, but his serious

nature keeps this fantasy firmly in check. Forlani (The Rock) matches Pitt in the looks department, and her acting is not too shabby either. She wears her emotions on her sleeve most of the film, but creates a very en dearing character. Despite its insistence on pan dering to the audience, the film still entertains. Though it would have been difficult to make a bad movie with the acting tal ent of Hopkins and the genetic talents of Pitt and Forlani, the film surpasses m ediocrity soundly. Meet Joe Black features a solid script and good perfor mances that turn this fantasyrich movie into an entertaining diversion. And even though this mirage lasts a little too long, it is definitely a trip worth taking.

Masque presents Bernard Shaw’s St. Joan by Alison Keach Features Editor It is 1429 - during the Hundred Years’ War. England is about to capture Orleans from France. The English are in power. Charles VII cannot yet be crowned King of France. The French need a miracle at this point. Enter Jeanne d’Arc, the 17-year-old “M aid” from Domremy who hears celestial voices sending her on a divine mis sion to save France.

Joan “spoke the truth whether it was in season or out of sea son.” She stands for faith and strength o f one’s convictions. Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan cap tures her spirit and courage, and W P I’s Masque Theatre brings this Nobel Prize winning work onto the stage. This comedic, yet poignant performance will cer tainly inspire you. St. Joan will be performed this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 19,20, and 21 in WPI’s

Alden Hall. The doors will open at 7:30 PM and the show starts at 8:00 PM. A cafe will be available for the audience’s enjoyment with coffee from the Bean Counter and fresh pastries. A l pha Psi Omega and Fiji are spon soring the cafe, with the theme of those who have died before their time. Tickets are on sale for $3 for WPI students and $5 for others. For information or to re serve tickets, please call 8315946.

T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 1 7 ,1 9 9 8

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Club C o rn e r

Christian Bible Fellowship

Newman Club

I hope the colder weather and the shorter days haven’t gotten people’s spirits down. This week we will be having Tuesday Night Prayer at 9:30 in Founders, and we will be having Friday Night Fellowship at 7:30 in Morgan A. Also this week, we will be hav ing the CBF dinner on Saturday night. Anyone interested in any of these activi ties can e-mail cbf@wpi.edu. “By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his in heritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country: he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foun dations, whose architect and builder is God.” Hebrews 11:8-10 (NIV) When was the last time you did some thing by faith? As Christians, we are called to live by faith. In the previous passage, there is a perfect example of how to live by faith. Abraham was a man who lived by faith. There are many examples throughout his life. Even though Abraham had never seen the place that God had called him to, through faith, he obeyed God and went. In our lives, when called by God to do things that we are unsure about, we should have faith and follow God. Only by this faith given through God’s grace can we truly follow Him.

Well this past Sunday we started our Christmas Tree Giving Project under the direction of Tom Pfeiffer. Names of the chil dren at Youville House will also be given out this coming Sunday at all Masses. Also this coming Sunday at Masses we will be signing up for our trip to Wright’s Chicken Farm on Friday night, Dec.6th. Newman will pay for the bus and all you have to do is pay for your meal. More details will be given out at Sunday Mass and also via email. Do not forget that our Christmas Mass is Sunday, Dec. 13th at 9:00 PM followed by our annual Christmas Party in the Reli gious Center. President Macleod promises it will be the best ever and he will even wear his new suit that Santa Claus deliv ered early to him. Fr.S’s suppers are in full swing so watch your e-mail for an invita tion. There will be no Masses on campus dur ing the Thanksgiving break. This weekend ( Nov. 22nd) we will have Masses at 11:30 AM in Alden and 5:00 PM in Founders. Hope to see you there.

Skeptical Chemists The Skeptical Chemists meet every Tues day at 7:00 p.m. in the lounge of Goddard Hall. Come join us to hear about upcom ing events, employment opportunities, and on-campus presentations sponsored by different companies. Tonight (Nov. 10)

there will be an information session on Careers in the Pulp and Paper Industry in GH 217 at 5:00 p.m. Pizza will be served. Enjoy free food and learn about chemistry and biochemistry opportunities in the pulp and paper industry. Last term the Skeptical Chemists orga nized weekly informal study sessions, where students discussed class lectures, assisted in problem solving, and prepared for exams in courses such as Chemical Thermodynamics and Quantum. If you would like to join a session, e-mail us at skeptical@wpi.edu or come to a Tuesday meeting. As always, please visit our web site at http://www.wpi.edu/~skepchem.

one to join in any and all of our activi ties. They are not limited to people in the club, and we encourage people to stop in and try out something new and different. Fight practices are Mondays and Thursdays at 7:30 (soon to be in doors), dance classes are on Wednes days at 7:30 and 2nd & 4th Tuesdays af ter the meeting at 7:30 in Founders Base ment. Field trips and events are also open to anyone interested. Email realms@wpi for more information.

Society for Medieval Arts

The last SGA meeting was held last Tues day evening at 6:00 p.m. in the GH227. In dividual 'committees are interested in your input with regard to ideas for projects to work on this term. Join one of the SGA committees and get involved in student government. You need not be a senator to help. If you are interested in finding out more about SGA at WPI please stop by the office and talk to one of the senators about how you can become more involved in campus life at WPI. Executive elections are this week so be sure to vote. If you are interested in receiving minutes and agen das via email or you want to help SGA out with the new vision please contact AnneMarie at teddy@wpi.edu. The next SGA meeting will be held Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. in the Lower Wedge. All are wel come to attend!

and Sciences We’ve started planning officially for our medieval faire in April. Committees have been formed, and we suggest that people sign up immediately if not sooner to help out. The committees are food, history, publicity, entertainment, armor, games, props, and prizes. Anyone can sign up for as many as they are interested in, that way everyone has a bit less work to do. We are also looking to do a fundraiser this year, if we can think up a creative idea. If you have one, we need it. There are a few suggestions floating around, but noth ing concrete yet, so we need everyone’s input to get this going. Once again we’d like to invite every-

Student Government Association

S G A El e c t io n s Continued from page 5

Robert Pantazelos, Senator Hi. My name is Robert Pantazelos and I would like to announce my candidacy for the position of On-campus Senator. I cur rently hold this position and hope to gain your vote to maintain my current office. I am currently on 4 SGA committees; Committee on Student Life Issues, Policy and Procedure, Elections Committee, and Assistant Treasurer for class 1 appropria tions. I take great pride in our school and our community and would appreciate your vote to continue to serve it to the best of my ability.

Brian Rouleau, Senator I am writing this letter to officially an nounce my candidacy for the position of Senator, having amassed the required 20 signatures needed for nomination, along with a photograph of myself, as requested in the bylaws of the election. I hope to see a good, clean election where the issues are put forth and the best candidate is declared the victor...as a wise man once said...’’Without reason, every thing is reduced.” Have a very good day, and a better election.

Beth Schweinsberg, Senator Hi, my name is Beth Schweinsberg and I am running for re-elections as an SGA Senator. I was appointed in the fall of 97 and was elected back for 1998. Since then I was chosen to be Assistant Treasurer for Class II, Club Sports. I over see the budget approvals for all the club sports. I am an active member of the Committee on Academic Issues. I also serve as SGA’s representative to SocComm, help ing to increase communication on cam pus. As a senator, I strive to educate the campus about important issues, such as the PIC proposal and elections. It shouldn’t be the 27 members of the sen ate that know about academic initiatives. SGA is the voice of the people. All you need to do is speak up.

Melissa St. Hilaire, Senator Hi! My name is Melissa St.Hilaire. I’m a freshman so you probably don’t know me, but I have 3 goals to accomplish in the next 4 years at WPI: 1. To become friends with each and every one of you.

2. To travel to mars and talk with the extra terrestrials. 3. To continue serving as an SGA Sena tor. Now, it seems like my first two goals are impossible. But with your help, I can ac complish my third goal. So vote for me!

Jeff Strekas, Senator My name is Jeff Strekas and I am run ning for the position of On-campus Sena tor. I wish to be a Senator so that I can help the school by taking up a leader ship position and helping to make im provements on the campus. I feel that I could do an excellent job as a Senator and helping to lead the student body into the next year. Thank you for con sidering my candidacy for the upcoming term.

Anthony Staffier, Senator Hello, my name is Anthony Staffier and I am running for the position of On-cam pus Senator. I would love to help the school by utilizing my skills which I have obtained throughout my 18 years of thriving on planet Earth. I feel that I can gain great skills by being a Senator, but also help WPI tremendously at the same time. Thank you very much for concidering me as a candidate. Please keep me informed on upcoming events.

Maureen L. Upton, Senator

cussions concerning academic issues for students. This position also lead to my appointment to the Committee on Aca demic Policy, which I will serve on until the next academic year. My role on that committee is to express student opinions on academic issues to the faculty and administration. These various positions have given me a deeper understanding of campus life and government. Working with SGA has truly been a great experience for me. Not only have I developed my organizational and leader ship skills but I have also opened my eyes to student issues. Since I became in volved in SGA, the senate has grown immensely. We have initiated numerous methods to pull the campus together. By creating open paths of communication between the student body and SGA, I believe that we can do a lot for this cam pus. Being a small part of the voice of the students is a demanding yet inspir ing job. I hope that you can have enough faith in my past accomplish ments on the senate and my motivation to take them even further to re-elect me for Off-campus Senator.

Meredith Viveiros, Senator My name is Meredith Viveiros and I have held a senatorial position in the Student Government since I was appointed last spring. This year I have been a co-chair of the Public Relations Committee and also a liaison for Bacchus to the Student Gov ernment. As Public Relations co-chair I have been in charge of advertising and publicizing all SGA activities, designing the bulletin board, and my biggest project was organizing the First Annual Spirit Week Pep Rally that was held on the Quad this past fall. I have enjoyed the experience so far, and would like to further my involvement if re-elected.

Hisham H. Zaid, Senator

Hello, my name is Maureen Upton and I am running for an Off-campus Senator position. Over the course of the past year and a half I have served on the sen ate holding such positions as Chairper son for Committee on Academic Issues (CAI) and liaison to Pathways. As chair of CAI I have organized and maintained the course reserves presently found in the office as well as conducted many dis-

“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” - Winston Churchill Probably the greatest tool given to stu dents around the world is their right to run an organization that represents them in issues concerning their interests di rectly. At WPI, like so many other col leges, the Student Government Associa tion is the main organization that coordi nates most of the other clubs and societ ies on campus. My name is Hisham Zaid and I would like to have the chance and

privilege to represent the students of WPI in our SGA. I’m an international freshman from Amman, Jordon where I attended the American Com m unity

School. During my last three years of high school, I represented my class in the school’s student council. In doing so I continually gained experience in the fundamentals of representation and the skills necessary to face obstacles pre sented by the council. Yet, one cannot simply stop learning and applying. For me, the SGA would be a continuation of two things I truly enjoy, student repre sentation and decision making. In college, the main issues of the stu dent governments differ somewhat from high school governments. The goal how ever is almost identical; the need to stand up for the students in that which con cerns them. As a senator I will take the responsibility to help the SGA in doing so and to aid in the decision making pro cess that will affect the majority of the students at WPI. My success is only then measured with what I’ve accom plished for the students through an open agenda that adapts and changes to ev ery problem faced at the SGA. I ’ve done my best only when I succeed in meeting that promise.

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"...

Pa g e 9

one of the most arresting lyricists in popular music.” Alexander Varty.

“...Fiercely inventive, confoundingly personal and often quite gorgeous...” Vancouver Magazine

D o n 't M is s It!! T h is T u e s d a u 11/17 in R iley C o m m o n s 8 :0 0 PM F r e e A d m is s io n : J u s t B r in g a M u g fo r

FREE CoFfEe And Free Food Too

T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 17, 1998

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P a g e 10

Com m entary

Are they always right? Does it even matter? by Kerri Dagesse Newspeak Staff "The customer is always right.” This is the assumed policy of any store. The per son who created this policy was obviously not in constant contact with said customer, though. In the minds of the typical em ployee, the customer is never right and having to follow this policy is torture. For anyone who has ever worked with the pub lic, specifically in a grocery store, you will know how frustrating and outright rude some people can be. Although the policies of the store may not be agreed with, em ployees wishing to keep their jobs follow them nonetheless. I personally have had to experience this for the past two years at my local grocery store. I (5an honestly say I have gotten something useful out my attempts at “ser vice with a smile”. Before I started work ing at the store, I was quite lacking in the department of patience. I soon learned I was going to have to change that if I wanted to keep my job. Yelling at ignorant custom ers was not an option. At first, this was really difficult to manage because some

people can be extremely rude. After a while, though, you build up a tolerance and be gin to not even care. So, at first it’s pa tience, then it basically evolves into indif ference. Getting a hang of the patience thing is torture. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I would never make any money without it. Any cashier will know what I’m talking about. Take for example, the customers who try to convince you that everything is on sale and you’re ringing it up wrong. They don’t understand that you have nothing to do with what the register says something costs. It’s still your fault any way. But since the customer is “right”, you smile and apologize while they yell at you for charging them the wrong price, and as you give them their item practi cally for free because that’s what they said it cost. The actual prices of things don’t matter anymore. Other things that are suddenly your fault are when your bagger messes up or when the electronic food stamp system (EBT) goes down. I have never understood ei ther one of these, but have always had to pretend the customer was being reason

able. They think I have control over whether the bagger puts cans on top of bread, so that must be the case. Also thought to be my fault is when the statewide EBT system malfunctions and customers can’t get food with food stamps. I have somehow be come the reason why the whole state can’t use food stamps. According to policy, this is nothing but true, but since I know that it is completely false, I have a hard time sym pathizing with these disgruntled custom ers. I ’ve become a good actress in the past two years, though, and deal with these people using this talent. I love it when angry customers threaten to go to another store. They think we actu ally care where they shop. The storeowner may, but the employees could care less. It has taken such restraint not to say this to these customers. They don’t understand that if they go to another store, it’s just less work and aggravation for us. O f course the customer is also right in making you feel like a complete imbecile, too. You’re “dumb” if you don’t know where something is, how much it costs, or what the Spanish name for it is. You’re “dumb” if you can’t understand the vari

ous foreign languages spoken to you, don’t know sign language, or won’t let a customer use a credit card because the store doesn’t accept them. If the store has run out of something, it’s your fault. If the computer won’t accept a customer’s check, it also has something to do with you. You also have control over what time the store closes every night and change it just to burden customers. On top of that, you are supposed to be able to read minds and just know that the cus tomer wanted paper and not plastic. Ev erything is your fault. You know none of this is true, but you still leave work feel ing a bit down on yourself. I used to let these people get to me, but after the first few months I basically ig nored the ranting and raving. I became patient and somewhat tolerant of the con stant complaints. This helps me to tell the customers what I really think inside my head and not out loud. So as I’m cursing at them and telling them how “dumb” they are inside, I am smiling and nodding my head on the outside. It’s an acquired tal ent. But it’s the only way to keep my san ity and my job at the same time.

R o a d D is p a t c h e s

Exploring the Mysteries of the Deep South by Ken Gagne Newspeak Staff Editor’s note: this is the seventh column in a series ofarticles written by Ken Gagne '01 as he and his brother Steve explored America this summer in a cross-country road trip. The roads of America had led my brother Steve and me to many places. As we en tered the final leg of the South, we also began travelling through history, to places before our times, and years remembered either well or with tears. Before leaving Dallas, we stopped at Dealey Plaza. It was at this site 35 years ago that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The location from which Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly fired the kill ing shot, the sixth floor of the book de pository, has been renovated into a mu seum dedicated to the life, times, and death of the young president. As my brother looked upon the infamous location, I could hear the political science major’s heart skip beat. I could not fully comprehend the consequences of the event, but the sto

ries, videos, and radio clips gave me some idea of what it meant to those who lived it. On the other end of the spectrum and not far off was Hope, Arkansas, boyhood home of William Clinton. He had occupied the house for three years, at which time he played with trains and tramped through the neighborhood in his cowboy costume. A place that he had lived for so short a time had become a monument; I wonder if he’s been able to turn anything else he’s briefly touched golden. In Memphis, Beale Street was a slice of New Orleans: a great place to eat, drink, and be merry. Yet just a few blocks away stands the somber Lorraine Motel, now a museum dedicated to the equal rights ac tivist who was slain there in 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. We passed by Graceland, so that we would not be tired of music history when we entered Nashville. There, the Country Music Hall of Fame pays tribute to the times and stars of this American-borne music, from the days of the Grand Ole Opry to today. Special at tention was paid to Elvis Presley and Hank

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Williams Jr. A scant few but impres sive displays were of Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, and Trisha Yearwood pieces; the following room held ev ery type of guitar imaginable, with out relating them to any specific per sonalities. I noticed that radio tells much about the areas we were in. Whereas Fitchburg and Chicago have one or two country stations, the middle of Kansas and Montana have no radio stations; Los Angeles’ dozens of stations were rap and ska, no coun try, whereas every other one in Nash ville spat out a song with twang. A brief layover in Atlanta ensued, during which we raided the pantry and unmade the beds of Mr. Daniel Gagne. My Christmas gift to my brother will have to be especially generous this year. Halfway up the East Coast, we landed along the shores of North Caro lina, in Kitty Hawk. It was here on De cember 17th, 1903, that Orville and Wilbur Wright performed the first suc cessful flight ever made in a self-propelled heavier-than-air machine. A PHOTOCOURTESYOFKENGAGNE ranger gave an engaging talk in front This is a picture of Ken's brother Steve standing in of a working replica of the original craft, complete with wax Wrights. Outside, front of the Chattanooga Choo Choo. markers indicated the times and lengths of the four flights made that crisp winter morn ton. I was surprised by the assortment and ing, anywhere from a few feet to a hundred display of agriculture; our president was yards. I was thrilled to be standing at the quite the horticulturist, maintaining and birthplace of aviation, and awed to think that experimenting with a variety of trees and these two brothers from Dayton, Ohio, had plants - including cherry trees. The rest of achieved the impossible. A memorial to their the sprawling estate was what one would genius and innovation stands on Kill Devil expect from a plantation: slave’s quarters, stables, wharf. Archaeologists continue Hill, a sandy mound now permanent, but blown hundreds of yards from its original to excavate a variety of artifacts from the location 95 years ago. trash-dumping grounds. We ignored all the usual monuments in The most exciting site on this leg of the our nation’s capital, and went 14 miles out trip was a colonial house owned by an side Washington, D.C., to Mount Vernon, unknown writer from this area. It was with home and burial site of George Washinggreat pleasure that I finally arrived home. SPRING BREAK ’99 Early Bird Special

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Order of Omega: Greek of the Term and her efforts have not gone unnoticed by the Greek com munity. Her position is one of importance to the future of the sororities here at WPI, and she has more than lived up to the responsibility of her office. We commend her hard work and dedication to helping make so rority rush a success this term. Thank you Chenoa!

Become A Web Celeb! by Alison Keach Features Editor Levi.com is combing the country for three brave college students who think they can survive an entire semester buy ing everything they will need online - from Twinkies and condoms to lava lamps and bike tires. In preparation for the grand opening on the Levi’sa Online Store in November, a semester Online search will uncover the savviest cyber shopping co-eds. WPI being known as one of the top wired schools in the country was hand picked by Levi’sa to hear about this contest first! Three lucky students will be chosen for the mission will score a weekly online shopping allowance of $500 and will showcase their cybershopping expertise via “live” program ming and an in-room webcam. Virtual voyeurs can see what they’re buying, how they look in their latest “Levi.com” threads and even what surprise “guests” drop by for web cam eos. WPI students that think

Newspeakwill runclassifiedsfreeforall WPI students, faculty, andstaff Freeclassifiedsarelimitedtosix(6)lines Ads of a commercial natureandadslongerthansixlinesmust bepaidforat theoff campus/commercial rateof $5.00forthefirst sixlinesand 50cents peradditional line Classifiedadsmust bepaidforinadvance Noinformationwhich, intheopinionoftheNewspeakeditors, wouldidentifyanindividual tothecommunitywill beprinted ina personal ad Theeditors reservetheright torefuseanyaddeemedtobeinbadtasteor many adsfromone groupor individual on onesubject. ThedeadlineforadsisnoonontheFridaybeforepublication. Allclassifiedadsmustbeonindividual sheetsofpaperandmustbeaccompaniedbythewnter'sname, addressandphone number

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A nnouncem ents Chenoa Lencewicz has been selected as Greek of the Term for A98. As VP Rush on the Panhellenic Council, Chenoa has been involved in coordi nating this fall’s sorority rush events. She has spent much time in planning for rush and working with Panhel and the rush counselors during all of A-term and still much of B-term,

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they’ve got what it takes to be one of the 1999’s hot webcelebs can log into www.levi.com between No vember 16-23 to enter. Stu dents should be registered and living on campus at a four-year college in the U.S., and will be asked to share the wackiest online purchase they’ve ever made. Levi’sa is celebrating the brand’s venture into the world of cy^er-shopping with this unprecedented experiment. With 79% of college students regularly surfing the Net and 60% spending at least an hour online every day, the Levi’sa brand thinks these cyber-stu dents can teach the rest of America a byte or two about the virtual world at their finger tips. This cyber-commerce ad venture will not only showcase for web-voyeurs the specific items that the Semester Online • cybershoppers dig up on the Web (like the random bonsai tree for Mom’s birthday), but will also answer the burning question of whether the future of everyday shopping revolves around the mighty mouse.

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J DO W N 1 Army Post Office (abbr.) 2 Equal 3 Gone by 4 W rap hay 5 Lyric poem 6 13th Greek letter 7 Stomach lesion 8 Halt 9 Charm against injury 10 Bad; wrong (pref.) 11 Brewed drink 16 Bed 18 Treadle 20 Restore service 21 Haley’s __ 22 Get up 23 Damage 25 Not tight 26 Come in 28 Evergreen 29 Bread roll 31 Devil 32 Ardent follower 35 Mexican food 37 Add to 39 Provide food 40 Standing room only (abbr.) 42 Payment for occupancy 43 Reed instrument 44 W a r prisoner (abbr.) 45 Untruth 46 Bowed; curved 47 Fish eggs 48 Beetle 51 Southern state (abbr.)

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T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 17, 1998

N ew speak

P a g e 12

P o l ic e L o g Thursday, November 5 11:1 lpm - EA Request: Becker PD request for an EA for an intoxicated female on Oak St.

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F riday, November 6 5:1 lpm - Alarm: Intrusion project Center. 7:46pm - Assist: In Daniels with intoxicated student. 11:33pm -Check on Welfare: Officer out with student at Highland & Schussler Rd. Saturday, November 7 12:25am - Suspicious Persons: Sargent out with subjects at Alumni Field entrance. 2:12am - Suspicious Activity: Drury Lane, checks OK. 11:39am - Medical: 20yo female patient, difficulty breathing, Fuller Apts. 4:06pm - Suspicious Person: In Daniels 3"1, harassing several students. 4:18pm - Code 5: Suspicious female unable to be found. 4:20pm- Water Problem: In Harrington locker room shower running unable to shut it off. 4:20pm - Heating: Not working properly in Alden Hall. They are having a concert tonight and building is too cold. 10:30pm - Access: Given to the lower wedge for ski swap students sleeping inside. 11:07pm - Assist/Incident Investigation: Officers assisting WPD at Einhorn Road regard ing incident investigation. 11:25pm - Officers clear Einhorn Road, investigation to continue. Sunday, November 8 1:15am - Suspicious Activity: Call from Stoddard RA re: suspicious activity. 1:26am - Officers clear suspicious activity complaint, checks OK. 1:28am - Malicious Mischief: Sargent reports Alumni Field pressbox found unsecure, rock had been placed on button activating buzzer continuously. 2:08am - Assist/Noise Complaint: Officers assisting WPD with complaint of loud groups at Salisbury Estates. 3:35am - Disorderly Persons: Officers re CALLTHERESTTHENCALLTHEBEST! port dispersing a disorderly group in front of Boynton Street fraternity. # £ * USA SPRING BREAK 1:03pm - Intrusion Alarm: Alden Hall sub basement, Lens ‘n Lights. 1:28pm - Medical: Male student with cut hand in Alden Hall stage room. 11:52pm - Trespass: 10 non-students re moved from Alumni Gym

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Monday, November 9 7:00pm- Fire: Alarm at Boynton Street fra ternity. 7:03pm-Code 5: Steam from shower. 7:09pm-Medical: Ellsworth, sprained ankle on female student. Tuesday, November 10 1:30am - Theft Alarm: Computer theft alarm, Goddard. 9:45pm - Possible Theft: Higgins Labs. 9:57pm - Medical: Alumni Gym, Male pa tient, possible broken finger.

3 & 8pm - Movie, The Truraan Show, Kimball Theater Holy Cross 7:30pm - Masque Production, St Joan, Alden Hall */ 7:30pm - Masque Production, St Joan, Alden Hgdl 8pm - Concert, Holy Cross Jazz Ensemble, Hogan Campus Center Ballroom Holy Cross § g i g jfj g \ / J I i \/ 9pm - Concert, The MidnightCreeps, Gilrein's Worcester

« 2 0 ifC Bid Night 7:30pm - Masque Production, St Jognv 8pm - Concert, Holy Cross Chamber Singers, Brooks Concert Hall holy Cross 10pm - Concert, Barrence Whitfield and the Movers, Gilrein’s Worcester

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2 2 11:30am- Catholic Mass, Alden Hall

■

2pm - The Artists Speak, Alfredo Jarr, Worcester Art Museum 5pm-Catholic Mass, Alden Hall ’’ / 7pm -Movie, The Truman Show, Kimball Theater Holy Cross 6:30 & 9:30pm - Movie, City of Angels, Perrault Hall

s__________________________________ _________________________________ Wednesday, November 11 12:55am - Malicious Mischief: Officer out with two subjects in Freeman Plaza area. 5:00pm - Report: Executive house called in complaint of unleashed dog possibly belonging to fraternity. 5:03pm - Follow-up: Fraternity contacted re: 1700, no member owns a dog. 9:55pm - Assist: Clearing out fraternity brothers from Riley Hall. Thursday, November 12 4:51 am - Assist: Dean Street fraternity, WFD reported a fire alarm. 4:55am - Library: Opened, alarms taken out of service. 5:04am - Clear: Dean Street fraternity, false alarm. 9:07pm - Report: President’s garage door slightly open. 10:25pm - Report: No hot water in Daniels Hall.

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The Student Newspaper of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

W e a t h e r ... Today: Breezy. High 50s. Outlook For Thanksgiving: Possible rain. High 40s.

T u esday ; N o v e m b e r

Volum e T w enty-six , N u m b er T w en ty-th ree

24, 1998

Voices from the Bell Tower: Masque presents St. Joan by Sarah Walkowiak Associate Editor Last week, Masque presented Bernard Shaw’s St. Joan, a lighter take on the story of Joan of Arc. Unique to this show was the use of simpler sets and expansion of the stage, focusing the audience more on the performers and Shaw’s words. The audience was literally drawn into the play, as the stage was extended to include the floor, and occasionally the aisles. For those unfamiliar with the story, period costumes gave the audience enough information about the historical setting and the roles of different characters. Great atten tion was paid to detail, from the scrolled programs to the checker board carpet under the seats -these wonderful little discoveries helped contribute to a more enjoyable ex

perience. The church bells even sounded a little familiar... There is a note in the program about “britches parts” which are male characters played by women. This practice has been used in vari ous theatre and film productions, in and outside of WPI. I found it ironically appropriate, as Joan’s character was often criticized for “dressing like a man.” There were several other mo ments of comic irony throughout the show, concluding with a Dixie version of “When the Saints go Marching In,” doubly appropriate, as Joan was declared a saint in 1920, and offering a subtle pun with the cities of New and “old” Orleans. Overall, the performance was a fun and humorous diversion from midterms. For those of you who were actually studying, you missed a great show.

PHOTO COURTESY OK WPI NEWS SERVICE

An action shot from a scene in "St. Joan". From left: Elliot Field, Joseph Romagnano, Steven Hocurscak, Ben Aldrich, Anna Lisa Matzal, Katie Horning, Jeffrey Alcorn, Joe Plunkett.

A & E . . .

S p o r t s ...

Brown bars student charged in poisoning from campus by Gregory Cooper Brown Daily Herald (Brown U.) (U-WIRE) PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Brown officially separated Cheng Gu - the pharmacology graduate student charged with poisoning his ex-girlfriend Yuanyuan Xiao and her roommate James O ’ Brien -from the University, suspending all his rights and privileges as a student. Executive Vice President of Pub lic Affairs and University Relations Laura Freid announced in a state ment yesterday that in addition to G u’s separation, he also received a notice of trespass,' which bars him from the Brown campus unless he makes prior arrangements with a dean. Gu was arrested by the Provi dence Police on Friday after it was discovered that he had delivered to Xiao a chicken and vegetable dish

he laced with iodine-125 - a radio active iodine isotope that he alleg edly stole from a Brown laboratory. The poisoning was first uncovered in a routine radiation test that Xiao, also a pharmacology graduate stu dent, took when entering a lab for an experiment. Gu is charged with five felonies: two counts of assault, two counts of poisoning, and one count of lar ceny greater than $500 for the $ 1,000 worth of radioactive iodine he al legedly stole from Brown. He has been arraigned in district court and was released on his own recogni zance. He will next appear before the court on February 8. The Separation According to Freid, Dean of the Graduate School Peder Estrup made the decision yesterday morning to separate Gu from Brown. This type of extreme action, Freid said, can

Lambda Chi Alpha exceeds food drive goal

be taken if the presence of a stu dent on campus poses a safety risk. “In emergency situations, the University’s senior officers can take immediate action to protect the health and welfare” of other stu dents, she said. Freid said that Gu’s separation effectively severs his ties with the University. He is no longer allowed on campus and loses all the privi leges and amenities provided to Brown students. “He is no longer a student at Brown,” Freid said, “and does not have any of the support mecha nisms of students.” Freid pointed out that the sepa ration is an emergency step and is not the same as expulsion or sus pension. She said that this type of action leaves open the future pos sibility of readmitting Gu. “Let’s say that this was all a big mistake and someone else did it,” she said. “The University could then re-evaluate” the situation. “This is not an indefinite suspen sion.”

Freid said that this Gu’s first se mester at Brown, having trans ferred from the University of Mas sachusetts at Amherst. This is also Xiao’s first semester here, but she and Gu knew each other in their native China. According to Freid, the couple broke up over the summer. As a graduate student, Gu was receiving a fellowship stipend from the University. Although his sepa ration entails the suspension of this fellowship. News Bureau Director Mark Nickel and Freid said that the University will continue to compen sate him for this lost stipend. “He has no other means of sup port,” Nickel said. “Our concern isn’tjust for the victims. It’s for him, too.” Freid emphasized that Gu has not been found guilty of the charges against him. The ongoing investi gation is in the hands of the Provi dence Police. Safety and Security According to Nickel, it is still

See Brown, continued on pg 2

APO involvement in the Worcester Community by Jon Barlow APO Publicity Chair

PHOTO COURTESY OF WPI NEWS SERVICE

Members of WPI's chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity display over 31,260 pounds of food which will be donated to charities in the Worcester community.

Courtesy of WPI News Service WPIs Lambda Chi Alpha Fra ternity exceeded their food drive goal this past Saturday with the collection of 31,260 pounds of food. This exceeded their goal of 15,001 and the 12,773 pounds they collected last year for the Worces ter community. The 61 brothers of the fraternity had earlier distrib uted bags with a letter to 15,000 residences in Worcester and West Boylston._____________________

The sixth annual food drive sup ports the Friendly House Neigh borhood Center of Worcester and the Worcester County Food Bank and will be distributed to neighbor hood centers and family shelters for families in need. Chapter presi dent Jeffrey Bayko reported that three trucks were needed on Sat urday when the brothers collected the food. “The initial truck bot tomed out with the weight, and we had to get the extra trucks,” he said. “Lambda Chi Alpha thanks the citizens who supported this effort.”

Last Saturday, November 14th, the WPI chapter of Alpha Phi Omega participated in the fraternity’s na tional service week. The current brothers and pledges of the Onicron Iota chapter joined together to help out two local shelters. At the PIP shelter in downtown Worcester, APO helped the staff prepare to paint some of the inter nal rooms of the building. This in volved cleaning and sanding the existing walls and cleaning pipes running through the rooms. The bathroom and showers were also cleaned and prepped for painting. Brothers also worked at the Crossroads Ministries. Here, the brotherhood refurbished the

ministry’s activities room. This in volved cleaning the entire room, and then painting everything in the room. Several brothers also built a new concrete wall for the ministry. Other parts of the building were also cleaned and painted. Along with brothers from WPI, several brothers from both UNH and UMass attended the events, as well as members of APO’s sectional staff and some WPI alumni. Broth ers worked in different shifts dur ing the day, beginning at 9am and finishing at 5pm. Over 200 hours of service were completed during the day’s events. Representatives from both shelters expressed gratitude and excitment about the work com pleted in their respective buildings, and future APO involvement with the shelters is a possibility.

Results of undergraduate election for Student Government Association Officers: President: Anne-Marie Chouinard Vice President: Angela Malaquias Secretary: Ernest D iM icco Treasurer: JeffBrownson

Road Dispatches Ken and Steve return home again and have many stories to share. Their trav els have come to an end. See what they have learned PglO

S t r e e t .. W h a t is y ou r favorite th in g about Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is here and many are already anxious for wonderful meals and seeing family. Here's what Pg. 4 some students look for ward to each year.

P o l i c e L o g .. Suspicious Person Who's the Canman? Pg- 12

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