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The Student Newspaper of Worcester Polytechnic Institute

W e a t h e r ... Today: Partly sunny. High around 50. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy. High 55 to 60. Thursday: Partly cloudy. High around 50.

Tuesday, November 9, 1999

Volume Twenty-Seven, Number Twenty-One

Autocross Club pulls ahead of Brown FSAE at recent Horseneck Beach race by Kenneth Cho Class o f '00 H o rsen eck B each - T he W PI Autocross Club secured a l st place victory against Brown U niversity’s Form ula SAE (Society o f A utom o­ tive E ng in eers) Team . D espite W PI’s many unfortunate technical difficulties, the WPI AutoX Club relied on its racing and driver ex­ pertise to extract the first place tro­ phy. Brow n U niversity entered the SCCA SOLO event for its first time and brought its latest ’99 FSAE car to com pete with. Although WPI brought its ’96 and ’97 FSAE cars, the ’97 car suffered from engine problem s and could not be entered into competition, despite its advan­ tages in vehicle design and perfor­ mance. With competent skills and consistent lap times, Brown m an­ aged to maintain the lead in the first three o f four heats with a low lap time o f 52.020 seconds. During the third heat, WPI fresh­ man Chris Cam m ack, an ex p eri­ enced autocross driver, lost control of the car and landed in the hilly

A night at the Pops

sand dunes. The accident, which was caused by a faulty steering wheel attachm ent, caused heavy damage to the car bodywork, elec­ tronics, and front suspension link­ age. Quick teamwork in the pits re­ sulted in minimal downtime and the WPI car was again running strong with a new ly fitted main pow er sw itch and suspension rod end. However, the nose was dam aged beyond repair and the AutoX Club was forced to finish the com peti­ tion sans nose in the fourth heat. Still in the third heat, Brown suf­ fered from a gas leak at the fuel pres­ sure gauge. With the assistance o f its hired mechanic, Brown was back the race again. In the fourth heat and last heat, Brown still maintained the lead. How­ ever, W PI graduate student Eric Detmer managed to power a 51.911 second lap time from the handicapped ’96 WPI car and secured the best time in the FSAE division. A failure in the steering linkage prevented Brown from completing further lap times, leaving Detmer's coveted lap time to stand alone.

PHOTOS COURTESEY OF SARAH THEMM

Above: Members o f the African Percussion and Dance Ensemble groove to the beat of a different kind of drum. Left: Stage Band delights the audience with a variety of world sounds.

Concert anything but ordinary by Catherine Raposa Class o f '02

WOWI safety walk gives pointers on campus safety By Jennifer Scheipers Class o f '03 Last Tuesday, November 2,1999, WOWI (Women On W om en’s Is­ sues) and the Healthy Alternatives O ffice sponsored a cam pus-w ide safety walk open to males and fe­ males. The walk around the cam ­ p u s w as lead by O ffic e r R on M cKendrick, a state police trooper. The purpose of the walk was to pro­ mote awareness and help teach stu­ dents and faculty how to avoid dan­ gerous situ atio n s in w hich they might have to defend themselves. For those o f you who w eren’t able to attend, w e’d like to review a few key points that we discussed on the walk. Stay in well-lit areas. W hile this is not always going to protect you, it will help make it easier to see an attacker coming toward you. Stay alert. If you are looking around and making eye contact with the p eo p le you pass, you com e across as less o f a victim to attack­ ers and appear more aware o f your surroundings. Time is your ally. If you can take a safer path that might be longer or wait for a SNAP van to com e pick you up, that is probably a lot safer

C O N T E N T S... News ............................................2 Goat's Head .............................. J Arts & Entertainment...............4 Club Com er ............................ H Letters to the Editor................. 8 Movie Review........................... 9 Announcements.....................10 Classifieds..............................II Comics.................................... II Crossword Companion.......... II Police Log .............................. 12 What's Happening................ 12 — — — — — ........ ... ......................................... . ..

than laktng a path you are unfam il­ iar with or a path that may be dan­ gerous. Don't cut through parking lots. Not only can som eone be hiding behind cars, but they can be in them too. If you’re not parked in that lot, d o n ’t cut through it. If you are parked there, walk through the open areas (w here the cars norm ally drive) to your car. Though you need to watch for cars, it is actually safer to walk in the middle o f the driving lane than on the side. Walk in the middle o f an open­ ing or so that you can see around o b je c ts an d co rn ers better. As y o u ’re w alking around a corner, stay far from the building so you can see around it. If you’re exiting a passageway between two build­ ings, walk in the middle so that you can see around both sides o f the buildings more clearly. Always look fo r an escape route o r somewhere you could get help. Try not to walk through an area where all your escape routes can be easily blocked. B etw een two buildings, for instance, is easy to block off. Avoid bad areas. If you see a See Safety, continued to page 2

On Saturday night. Alden Memorial was filled with the sound o f wailing saxophones and thumping drums. It was the Annual Pops Concert presented by the WPI Concert, Stage and Jazz bands along with special guests the W orcester Youth Ballet and the Af rican Percussion and Dance Ensemble. Parents, students, and Worcester natives arrived to a night o f exciting music, from classi­ cal Jazz pieces to Star Wars: The Phantom Menace theme. Douglas Weeks, the Director o f the Concert Band, lead his large See Pops, continued on page 10

WPI devotes time, money to renovations Courtesy o f WPI Communications Group W ORCESTER, Mass. - The big­ gest ticket item involved an over­ haul and rehabilitation of Morgan Hall, a massive brick building on In­ stitute Road encompassing a resi­ dence facility, dining hall, meeting rooms and offices. That job alone cost W orcester Polytechnic Insti­ tute $4.1 million. Besides the M or­ gan renovation, WPI spent another $1.7 million keeping its plant and property in top shape this summer. “A busy summer,” John E. Miller, director o f W PI’s physical plant, said understatedly in a recent re­ port to President Edw ard Alton Parrish. “My people did a good job.” Here are a few of the jobs Miller and his people pulled off over the summer:

W hat's Inside... Meet the Goat Keepers J o e F itz p a tric k , K a tie A rch e r, Frederick John Tan, and Britt Noga keep the tradition alive.

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•New chemical engineering labs were added to Gtxldard Hall and Olin Hall. •An expanded biochemistry lab improved the Goddard Hall facili­ ties. •Three new faculty offices were constructed in Stratton Hall; 23 others were refurbished. •Classroom renovations (which are still going on) included: •Two new computer science labs in Fuller Laboratories. •New air conditioning, paint, fur­ niture, lighting, acoustic treatment and writing surfaces in Salisbury Laboratories’ room 11. •New projection screen, carpet, painting, ceiling, lighting, furniture, writing surfaces and window treat­ ment improved Kaven Hall, room 204. •New projection screen and new d ra p e s fo r a c o u stic p u rp o se s

Director visits WPI with film about African-American struggles in Japan "Global Affairs invited Harlem-born pro­ ducer/director Regge Life to W PI on Thurs, 28 O ct, w h ere he p re s e n te d h is film 'Struggle and S u c c e s s : The African Ameri­ can Experience in Japan'"

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spruced up Higgins Laboratories’ room 114. •New furniture and projection screen for Washburn Shops, room 323. Then there are the peripheral neig h b o rh o o d p ro p ertie s, often rented to faculty and sta ff or used as o ffice space. T hree o f these were repainted and three w ere re­ roofed The renovation of Morgan Hall is part o f a four-year, $14 million project to refurbish and modernize W PI’s residence facilities. Similar renovations have been com pleted on Daniels Hall, with other resi­ dence halls to follow. In all, during the sum m er of 1999, M iller and his people com pleted m ore than 20 major projects and 15 other minor ones. W ho says a univ ersity slow s down in the summer?

HIV Quiz How much do you really know about HIV and A ID S ? What you know could save your life...

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Penny W ars: A record breaking success by Jaseem Hasib _____________ Class o f '01_____________ Penny Wars, an annual fundraiser for the Delta Sigma Phi Chapter at Worcester Poly­ technic Institute in Worcester, MA, became the m ost su ccessfu l fu n d ra ise r in the chapter’s history. A grand total o f $3,500 was raised by the students .staff, and fac­ ulty o f WPI. This money was donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the na­ tional charity o f the Sorority Alpha Gamma Delta, th'e winning organization. The rule o f this charity is that any orga­ nization that w ants to participate gets a cup. For four days people on the WPI cam-

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pus put pennies into the cups to raise their point total and nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills in other organizations’ cups to decrease their totals. Each penny is one positive point, and all silver and green money are negative points equal to their face value (quarter=-25, dollar = -100). The most active participants are the 12 fraterni­ ties and 2 sororities on campus. The event was held this year during W PI’s Greek Week, September 19-25, and on the last day raised $3000 in the last hour alone. It’s a lot o f fun watching the friendly rivalries o f the many organizations on cam­ pus, and to watching them throw money at each other in the name o f charity.

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hunch of people standing along your path that you don’t want to walk near, take a different route. It’s okay to not want to walk past them; you may be putting your­ self in danger if you do. Take safety over pride. Trust your instincts. If it feels like there’s someone following you, turn around and look back. A cknowledging their presence can sometimes deter possible attackers. Or, at the very least, make you seem more in control to anyone watching you.

Don’t be afraid to scream and make noise. Screaming may be the only way to let some­ one know you’re in trouble. Giving instruc­ tions to bystanders can sometimes help too. Many people freeze in that type o f situation. Directions help snap them out o f it. “Help, go call the police,” usually sparks a reaction. Give yourself permission to be rude. If there’s som eone you don’t know well and don’t want to talk to, say “I ’ve got to go, sorry! I’ll see you tom orrow” as you walk away quickly. Leave your lights on. This is something most people d o n ’t think of. If that person you are trying to avoid (see number ten) decides to follow you, he can watch from outside the apartm ent building o r dorm to see where you live by what lights go on. By counting, he can at least get your room

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number and sometimes your phone num­ ber. (He can’t get your phone num ber at WPI, I checked.) Leaving your lights on outside or installing a motion detector is helpful too. That way you can see people who may be near your door when you ar­ rive home. There is safety in numbers. Traveling in groups doesn’t protect you totally, but it makes you much safer to begin with. Don't hunch over. If you do, you look like you aren’t paying attention. Even when the weather is bad, try to keep your head up and be looking around.

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Freshman class walks to achieve success, good grades in Aterm B ’s, 27% received C ’s, and 18% re­ ceived N R ’s. For those who received A P credit in high school and took MA 1023,19% received A’s, 40% received B ’s, 31% received C ’s, and 10% re­ ceived N R ’s. In the physics courses, 23% re ­ ceived A’s in PH 1110, 35% received B ’s, 26% received C ’s, and 16% re­ ceived NR’s. In PH 1111,32% received A’s, 22% received B ’s, 26% received C ’s, and 20% received N R’s. For you CS majors, 37% of students received A’s in CS 1005/X, 33% re­ ceived B’s, 18% received C ’s, and 12% received N R ’s. Last but not least, 36% o f students in CH 1010 received A’s, 35% received B’s, 20% received C’s, and 9% received N R ’s. Information on biology courses and humanities courses was not avail­ able at the forum. Overall, the grades were much bet­ ter than those o f any other class to com e through this university. T he freshman class is certainly living up to its promise as being a class with character (and brains for that matter).

By Phu Mai Class o f '03 Just yesterday it seemed as though the freshmen were just moving into their dorms. How time flies when you’re having fun (and studying, and going to crew practice, band rehearsal, MASH ses­ sions, etc.). It’s unbelievable that B Term has already gotten underway and that the academic year is already 25% complete. So how did the distinguished class of 2003 do? Ann Garvin and the Office o f Academic Advising recently hosted a forum detailing the freshman class grade distributions. According to G arvin, 27% o f the freshman class received A’s in both their math and science courses. 33% re­ ceived B ’s, 25% received C ’s, and 15% received N R ’s. That was the overall d is­ tribution o f grades. In the math department, 26% o f stu­ dents received A’s in MA 1021, 26% received B’s, 30% received C ’s, and 17% received N R ’s. In M A 1022, 20% of freshmen received A’s, 35% received

Be aware that wearing your backpack puts you off balance. All that weight on your back can give an attacker a large ad­ vantage. Attackers can use your backpack to help pull you to the ground. It’s easy to pull som eone down who is o ff balance; stairs or hills are higher risk areas. Wear non-restrictive clothing. Being able to run from an attacker is important. If you have to w ear heels, other tight shoes, or clothes that make it hard to run, try to wear sneakers and change inside the building to your usual shoes. C heck out w w w .w pi.edu/~police for more information about SNAP and other campus police programs. Be Safe!

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WPI Newspeak (ISSN 1093-0051) o f W orcester Polytechnic Institute, formerly the Tech News, has hecn published weekly during the academ ic year, except during college vacations, since 1909. Newspeak has been printed on recycled paper since January 1991, M asthead designed by Troy Thom pson lor Newspeak \ 21st anniversary. Newspeak is financed by SGA funds and advertising revenue O ffices arc located in Ihe basement o f Sanlord Riley Hall, west end (Riley 01). All articles should be typed and include the author's name and box number Copy may b e sent to Student Activities o r brought to the Newspeak office. A rticles may also he subm itted via e-m ail A ll copy is due by 5:00 pm on the Friday preceding publication Letters to the Editor must contain the prink’d name of the author as well as the author's signature, telephone num ber and box num ber for verification. Students submitting letters should pul their class after Iheir name Faculty and staff should include their full title. Letters deem ed libelous or irrelevant to Ihe WPI com m unity will nol be published. All C lub Com ers must b e submitted vi* e-mail and be 275 words or less. The editors reserve the right to edit all copy for correct punctuation and spelling as well as appropriate content. All ads are due by 5.0 0 pm on the Friday preceding publication. Late ads will nol be accepted Ad copy that is not proportional to its ad space will be charged an additional $15.00 fee Classified ads m ust be prepaid. The decision on whether a subm ission is a public service announcem ent or an advertisem ent lies with the editors. The editorial is written by a member or members of the Newspeak staff. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions o f Ihe entire Newipeak staff o r o f WPI. Signed editorials and articles represent Ihe opinions o f Ihe individual authors Newspeak is printed b y Saltus Press of Worcester, MA. First five copies free, additional copies $0 J O each. First class postage paid at Worcester. MA Subscription rale is (20.00 per academ ic year, single copies $0.75 within the conunenta! United Stales. M ake all checks payable to WPI Newspeak


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M eet th e G o a t K e e p e rs Name: Joe Fitzpatrick Class Year: 2003 Major: ECE Clubs: Novice Crew Team, Outing Club, Newman Club Interests: C om puter H ardw are, Back­ packing, Canoeing, Duct Tape, Scouting and the Order o f the Arrow. Best Goat’s Head Story: There is no need to dwell in the past. The best G oat’s Head story has not yet been written. The best is yet to come. Name: Katie Archer Class Year: 2002 Major: BBT Clubs: Masque Interests: Soccer, sleep, writing, movies Best Goat’s Head Story: Since I’ve never actually seen the g oat’s head personally, or had the Goat’s Head in my possession, I would say that the best (and worst) G oat’s Head story would be how we lost the rope pull when most o f our class dropped the rope to chase the goat. Name: Frederick John Tan Class Year: 2001 Major: BBT/CS C lubs: Student A lum ni Society, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Phi Omega, Crimson Key, Peddler, Newspeak, and Dance Club Interests: Ballroom dancing, photogra­ phy, cooking, and Counting Crows Best G oat’s H ead Story: Not really a specific event, not even a funny event, but more o f a m eaningful event. For the past tw o years w hen I w as a freshm an/ soph o m o re, the G o a t’s H ead trad itio n w a sn ’t that strong in my class. For a m ajority o f my class, having never even seen the Goat, it w as m ore of a m ystery than anything to us. However, when the

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infam ous G oat’s Head S cavenger Hunt cam e around (full with “interactive” web site), I feel that this was the tim e that our class felt strongest in our desires to pos­ sess the G oat. R unning through H iggin’s H ouse at eight o ’clock at night, explor­ ing (and signing our nam es) in Boynton Tower w ith a certain adm inistrator, flip­ p in g f u tilo u s ly ( s ic ) th r o u g h th e R eg istrar’s C D R forms, m any o f W PI’s little secrets hidden in the cro o k s and nannies ju s t w aiting to be d isco v ered were found. W ho can forget for those w ho w ere there, scouring B oynton with flashlights at m idnight? For those in­ volved, this som ew hat frustrating scav­ enger hunt actually raised the level o f interest and m otivated m em bers or our class to work together for a com m on goal. Though a few students becam e frustrated to the point o f estrangem ent, the overall effect w as a positive one bringing our class one step closer to holding that little bronzed beloved statue. Name: Britt Noga Class Year: 2000 Major: C E (concentration: Transporta­ tion) Clubs: SAS, LEAP, ASCE( I used to have a lot more, but you know how M Q P is!) Best G oat’s Head Story: I can’t rally pin point one down. But I would have to say that one o f the best things we have done was to take the goat during reunion week­ end and walk with him, showing the alumni. It brought back a lot o f memories for them. Most of them wanted to trade stories and basically see the goat’s new engravings. Some of them attended W PI during the years while he w as MIA. They had always heard the stories o f “the goat” and enjoyed seeing the real thing.

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Official goat's head rivalry rules 1. O fficia l R u les to o k e ffe c t on Septem ber 18, 1995, am ended as o f A u ­ gust 21, 1999. The G oat Head Trophy will be aw arded to the class w hich w ins the m ajority o f the Freshm an-Sophom ore Rivalry events o f the W PI academ ic year (Rope Pull, C elebrity Squares, E skim o Relay, Pennant Rush, and Pie Eating C on­ test). The T rophy w ill be aw arded after all five events have been com pleted. 2. The G o a t’s H ead m ust be d is­ played by the class in possession d u r­ ing H om ecom ing, F o u n d ers’ Day, W in­ ter C arn iv al, Q u a d fe st and T ra d itio n s Day. It m ust be seen by a m ajority o f students attending said events to be a c ­ know ledged. 3. The T rophy m ay not be taken beyond the borders set by the m ap given to each c lasses’ G oat K eeper and pub­ lished in N ew speak o f the academ ic year. The boundary shall b e set as o n e -h a lf mile (1/2 mile) from the W PI cam pus p e ­ rimeter. 4. T he G o a t’s H ea d C o m m itte e shall be m ade up o f th e follow ing indi­ viduals: a m em ber o f the Student A lum ni S o c ie ty (a p p o in te d w ith in ), a s e n io r m em ber o f SK U LL H onor Society (ap ­ pointed w ithin), a m em ber o f the Student G o v e rn m e n t A s s o c ia tio n (a p p o in te d w ithin), a m em ber ap p o in ted from the WPI Faculty, and the A ssistant D irector o f the W PI A lum ni O ffice. 5. T he G o a t’s H ea d C o m m itte e m ust know w here the T rophy is at A LL tim es including updated inform ation E V ­ ERY TIM E that the T rophy is m oved. T his m ust be com m unicated by em ailing goat@ w pi.edu. If it becom es necessary, W PI A dm inistration an d /o r C am pus P o­ lice will be notified o f the tro p h y ’s lo ca­ tions.

6. A t no tim e may any m em ber o f y o u r c la s s te a m v io la te a n y o f th e in stitu te’s conduct policies. (Please see “P o lic ie s” in your C am pus P lan n e r & R esource G uide.) 7. A c tio n s a s s o c ia te d w ith th is tradition m ust be conducted w ithin the guidelines o f the established rules. No bodily harm m ay be inflicted on any par­ ticipant in eith er procuring o r protecting the Goat. 8. If at any time any team m em ber o f your class violates one o f the contest rules, the trophy will be turned ov er to the G o at’s H ead Com m ittee. 9. T he G o a t’s H ead m ust be re­ turned to the G o a t’s H ead C om m ittee before the last week o f D -term . It w ill be returned to the possessing class in the following A-Term. 10. The Alumni Office will determine the authenticity o f the G o at’s H ead Tro­ phy. 11. A n y c la s s m ay p o s s e s s th e G oat, how ever, only the Freshm an and Sophom ore class rivalry events will de­ term ine the G oat H ead’s true ow ner. A plaque will be kept in Riley Com m ons and inscribed w ith the class year o f the w in­ ner o f each y e a r’s Rivalry Events follow ­ ing Q uad Fest. 12. The G oat cannot be defaced in any way and all engraving m ust be coor­ dinated with the W PI Alumni Office. The G oat may be engraved w ith class year num erals only and no engraving o f the goat should be larger than one h alf inch square (1/2 in 2). Any class that steals the goat may have the trophy inscribed by the A lum ni O ffice at no charge. 13. A n y d is c r e p a n c ie s o f th e s e rules will be reviewed by the G oat’s Head Committee.


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_________________________________________ A r t s & E n t e r t a i n m e n t _______________________ __________________

Black in Japan: Documentary offers view of African-Americans in Japan By Billy McGowan Director o f ESL Global Affairs invited Harlem-born pro­ ducer/director Regge Life to WPI on Thurs, October 28th, where he presented his film “Struggle and Success: The African Ameri­ can Experience in Japan” in Alden Hall, com plete with bagged lunches. Awarded a National Endowm ent for the Arts (NEA) Creative Artist Fellowship, he traveled to Japan and spent six m onths as a Hull lecturer, which led to this his first film work on Japan. “Struggle and Suc­ cess: The African American Experience in Jap an ” ch ro n icles the lives o f A frican Americans living in Japan. “ Struggle and Success” as a docum en­ tary is finely balanced and superbly in­ sightful in spite o f a few instances when some listeners had to strain to hear Ossie Davis’ voice over the music. The film in­ cludes notations o f now infam ous state­ ments by Japanese former Prime Minister Nakasone o f a decade ago, suggesting that African Americans have a tendency to com­ mit crime, which gave rise to the re-appearance o f stereotypical images o f and preju­ diced attitudes toward African Americans in Japan. “ S truggle and Success” looks at the lives o f African American men and women married to Japanese, som e who live and work in Japan and others who are stationed there in the military. All agreed that they had learned much about them selves and how to survive adversity while in Japan; most claimed that the level o f skill and pro­ fessional responsibility and reward given in Japan, either at US or Japanese com pa­ nies, were higher than they believed they would have received in the US. Some were concerned about the difficulty in finding services that the black consum er could use, while others had to deal with the painful

rejection that their children, in this case mostly biracial, experienced while living there. The point o f the film is that the Japanese people have tended to adopt the contem ­ porary attitude toward African Americans that have com e into Japan through the Am erican military and media. The Japa­ nese tend to behave toward African Ameri­ cans in the ways that popular culture o f the time reinforces. Principally, whites have tended to have power and blacks did not. Right now, it seems that African Ameri­ cans are “hot” in Japan. Images o f black models, sports figures, and especially enter­ tainers are presented to young Japanese in a

way that often causes them to imitate US blacks. Black figures are presented in elec­ tronic billboards and the image is definitely “cool” and som ething slick and inviting. There is even a beer called “Black” with the image o f a black entertainer on its label. Mr. Life picks no fight with the Japanese in his film. Instead he painstakingly al­ lows his characters to speak for themselves, and many of them like living there. The conclusion is that Japan is closed, not so much to blacks as to foreigners. After a warm and effusive welcome, all foreigners are finally marginalized when they over­ stay their welcome. Japan is for the Japa­ nese, and while alien elements of especially

American and European cultures m ight be “Japanized,” foreigners are expected to re­ turn to their own cultures. W hen they do not, it is then that the Japanese reject any intention— or at least make it difficult— to stay on. After the presentation o f the film , there was a brief question and answ er period, followed later in the afternoon at M organ Hall, where Mr. Life led an informal discus­ sion with students and staff. Currently, Mr. Life, whose credits in­ cluded “The Cosby Show” and “A D iffer­ ent World,” is directing “Sesame Street.” Mr. Life also has a second and a third work on Japan. He lives in upstate New York.

Interview with producer/director Reggie Life - part 1 Sarah Walkowiak Features Editor B efo re the presen tatio n o f his film , “Struggle and Success: The African Ameri­ can Experience in Japan,” on O ctober 26th, N ew speak had the opportunity to talk with the distinguished producer and director o f the film, Reggie Life. The following is a transcription o f the first half o f the inter­ view. The second half will appear in next w eeks’ issue o f Newspeak. SW : W hat initiated your interest in cre­ ating docum entary films as compared to your other film work? RL: I guess it all started when I finally got out o f graduate school - film school. You try to make a film about something you care about, that you’re interested in, and at that time, just prior to graduate school, I had been living in West Africa. I had fin­ ished my undergraduate work there so I still had a lot o f connection with West Af­ rica — that’s what I guess started that pro­ cess, I wanted to make films about where I’d been — the people and the places and

things — the easiest route to doing that was documentaries. So that’s where the documentary interest came in. SW : How has your work overseas influ­ enced your view o f racism in American culture? RL: It broadens your viewpoint, again, America is a very unique country in terms o f our preoccupation, our obsession with race. And the obsession is dehabilitating it doesn’t help our country at all the way we divide people up in the way we do and the way that we benignly neglect to do anything about it — so I think that’s prob­ ab ly w h a t o n e se e s w hen you le av e America, is that you realize that in the rest o f the world though there are racial issues, the racial issues don’t govern the way they do things as they govern the way they do things in America. Primarily most things in America happen because o f race. Race be­ comes the predominant factor and it’s an odd complication for how things get done, who gets to do them, why they get done. SW: Do you think it’s easier to look at racial issues in another country because

you’re removed from the Am erican view ­ point? RL: I think it’s easier for Am ericans to talk about race and to dialog about race if it’s regarding race in another country. In som e ways it’s like that old story if a per­ son has a problem they go tell somebody “Well I have this friend named Bob...” Bob and his problem — that indirect kind o f fashion — because it takes [away] some o f edge and the sting. Talking about race is difficult for Americans, it’s a dialog that m ost people d on’t want to have and so you start talking about it and people start getting nervous — “well I have som e­ thing to do,” “I hear my mommy calling me” kind o f thing. So I think that w hatever m ethods we need to use to address this need to be done. It’s obvious that for some people this has become a major issue. Bill Bradley, a presidential candidate... one o f his m ajor campaign [issues] is race rela­ tions and I think he’s taking a chance per­ haps, making that part o f his platform —

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No talking: Silent film theater reopens w ith Chaplin classic Courtesy of The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) _ The silent-film era flickers to life again Friday with the reopen­ ing o f the nation’s only cinem a devoted to B uster (Keaton, D ouglas Fairbanks and other legends o f Hollywood’s not-so-modem times. Refurbished and updated with such am enities as a cappuccino bar, the Silent M ovie Theatre begins its new run with Charlie Chaplin’s “Modem Times,” the last great silent film. The rebirth o f the m oviehouse comes nearly three years af­ ter the public slaying o f former proprietor Laurence A ustin. T he theater has been closed since Austin was gunned down in the lobby w hile movie-goers were watch­ ing a film in 1997. For a time, it looked as though the theater would rem ain closed because o f legal wrangling over ownership and in te re st by p o te n tia l b u y ers who wanted the site for other purposes. Charlie Lustman put together an investment group that bought the theater for $650,000 last spring to revive it as a silent movie house. He spent four months painting and redeco­ rating the 224-seat theater, converting an

upstairs apartment into a coffee bar and gallery for movie art and adding m em ora­ bilia from silent days. “These are the pio­ neers o f film. These are the people who built Los Angeles,” Lustman said, gestur­ ing at pictures o f Mary Pickford, Harold Lloyd and other silent stars that line the theater walls. “This is a shrine for these artists.” The theater was opened by John Hampton in 1942, 15 years after talkies en­ tered the picture. Hampton and his wife, Dorothy, closed it in 1979. It reopened in 1991 after Austin persuaded Mrs. Hamp­ ton, now a widow, to let him take over. Austin also coaxed Mrs. Hampton to sign the business over to him for free. In 1997, a 19-year-old gunman shot the 74-year-old Austin in the face at the theater’s candy counter, wounded a clerk and fled. When the gunman was caught weeks later, police learned that James Van Sickle, who was running the projector when the m urder happened, had paid to have Austin killed. Van Sickle was A ustin’s live-in lover and beneficiary o f his $1 million estate. The gunman and Van Sickle are serving life sen­ tences, and the estate reverted to A ustin’s heirs. The theater’s fate was tied up when

the Los Angeles County Public G uardian’s office stepped in to press an ow nership claim for Dorothy Hampton, now in a nurs­ ing home. The estate eventually w ent to A ustin’s family, with interest on the pro­ ceeds going to Mrs. Hampton for the rest o f her life. Lustm an’s group picked up the theater over competing parties interested in using the site for a parking lot or a Per­ sian rug showroom. “M odem Tim es” is running Friday and Saturday nights for invitation-only audiences and for the pub­ lic Sunday afternoon and evening. Start­ ing next week, the theater will run silent m ovies W ednesdays through S undays, with old talking pictures such as the Marx Brothers’ “Duck Soup” running on Tues­ days. Each show will include short features, cartoons and live musical accompaniment on organ or piano. Interest in silent mov­ ies is growing because o f efforts to pre­ serve old films and through videotape re­ leases o f work by such pre-talkie stars as Keaton, said Randy Haberkamp, chairman o f the Silent Society, which runs monthly silent film screenings at the Hollywood H eritage M useum . M ore young people have been tu rn in g o u t for the S ile n t

Society’s screenings in the last few years, he said. “People are looking at them as being kind of glamorous and exotic as op­ posed to old and nostalgic,” Haberkamp said. “It’s so far removed from their own experience that it becomes a style more than som ething old-fashioned, like swing danc­ ing. W hoever th o u g h t sw ing d an cin g would be back in style?”

Newspeak is looking for a few good writers email newspeak@wpi.edu

L ife continued from p g 4

C o n f u s e d about your m a j or? C om e and Join U s at the

W ednesday, N ovem b er 10, 1999 L ow er W edge 1 0 : 3 0 A M - 1:00PM Learn about W PI M ajors and Projects p

b u t I th in k h e ’s b a s ic a lly sa y in g so m eb o d y ’s go tta do som ething about this. SW : How do you feel about the portrayal o f racism in the media? R L : Well, the m edia is quite irrespon­ sible about it. Generally, the m edia, since i t ’s becom e a show, you know the new s is a show now as opposed to the new s. T hey have to get ratings and what m akes ratings happen are sensational tab lo id ­ like stories and race is an easy target. A ny news organization gets feeds from all over the A m erica, all over the w orld every day. They choose from those feeds what to tell A m ericans is the new s for today and if they can find any [stories] w here th )ere’s a racial angle, som ething to do w ith race, they know it’s an easy thing to stir apart. You can get people upset, angry, at each other over another racial issue and unfortunately, m ost o f the w ays these things are portrayed are portrayed I find, irresponsibly in a halfb ak ed fash io n so peo p le n ev er really know the real story from the onset and then rum orism sets in so by the time the story trickles dow n the story has been em bellished in all sorts o f ways. And then you finally get to the fact o f the m atter and people d o n ’t want the facts — the dam age has already been done. SW : What about other types o f media, like movies, TV shows or books? R L : Again like I said, racism is just a part o f the fabric o f America. There’s no place where racism doesn’t rule it’s ugly head, so it controls everything — it con­ trols the books we read, the movies that get made, the movies that d on’t get made — the kind of characters you see o f African-Am ericans Latino Americans AsianAm ericans is determ ined again by these sorts o f racial stereotypes. It never escapes us. That’s again why I say we at some point now have to confront these things head on.

Relax, don’t w ony, have a homebrew!

West Boylston

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T e c h T a lk W i t h A B o s e S e n i o r E n g i n e e r M o n d a y , N o v e m b e r 1 5 a t 7 P.M. Library A rch ives R o o m O n -C a m p u s I n te r v ie w s Tuesday, N o v e m b e r 1 6 C areer D e v e lo p m e n t C e n te r R egister a t w w w .j o b tr a k .c o m S en d Us Y our R esu m e E-mail: ly n _ v a n _ h u b e n Fax: 5 0 8 - 7 6 6 - 7 0 3 1

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O P P O R T U N IT IE S F O R E N G IN E E R S

ATBOSE n i o m a t t e r w h a t y o u r d i s c i p l i n e , lif e a t Bose®

ays involve systems.

is f u ll o f c h a l l e n g e s . C o n s i d e r t h e o n e b e l o w . If y o u 'r e i n t e r e s t e d in t h i n k i n g t h i s p r o b l e m t h r o u g h , w e w a n t t o k n o w h o w y o u 'd s o l v e it,

The concept: A n o is e c a n c e lin g a v ia tio n h e a d s e t u s in g a s p e a k e r a n d m i c r o p h o n e in t h e e a r c u p t o e l i m i n a t e a m b i e n t c o c k p i t n o i s e s o p i l o t s c a n h e a r c r u c ia l c o n t r o l t o w e r i n f o r m a t i o n c le a r ly .

The prob lem , p a rt 1: W h e n t h e e a r c u p is c l a m p e d t i g h t l y a g a i n s t t h e h e a d , t h e s p e a k e r is d r iv in g i n t o a h ig h ly r e s o n a n t s t r u c t u r e . ( T h e e a r c u p is s m a ll c o m p a r e d t o l o w - f r e q u e n c y w a v e le n g th s , y e t la rg e c o m p a r e d t o h ig h -fre q u e n c y w a v e l e n g t h s . S o t h e i m p e d a n c e vs. f r e q u e n c y s e e n b y t h e d r i v e r v a r i e s s u b s t a n t i a l l y in m a g n i t u d e a n d p h a s e .) T h e c o n tr o l s y s te m m u s t c o m p e n s a t e f o r t h e s e h i g h Q r e s o n a n c e s - a d if f i c u l t p r o b l e m in its e lf.

The problem, part 2: In p r a c tic e , t h e r e 's a lw a y s a le a k b e t w e e n t h e p e r s o n 's h e a d a n d t h e e a r c u p , w h ic h c h a n g e s t h e a c o u s tic t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n . T h e s iz e o f t h e l e a k v a r i e s w i t h t h e c l a m p i n g f o r c e a n d t h e s h a p e o f t h e w e a r e r 's h e a d .

The challenge: D e s ig n a h i g h - b a n d w i d t h , h ig h - g a in c o n tr o l lo o p t h a t 's s t a b l e e v e n w h e n t h e h ig h Q r e s o n a n c e s v a ry w i l d l y in f r e q u e n c y .

If this is the kind of challenge that interests you, let's talk. Share your thinking with us at these on-campus events: TechTalk with a Bose Senior Engineer M o n d a y , N o v e m b e r 1 5 a t 7 P.M . L ib r a r y A r c h i v e s R o o m

On-Campus Interviews: T u e s d a y , N o v e m b e r 16 C a re e r D e v e lo p m e n t C e n te r R e g is te r a t w w w .jo b tr a k .c o m

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Science Fiction Society Remember, Anime Fest is this weekend! W hat is Anime Fest, you might ask? Two days o f excellent Japanese animation on a big screen. Free and open to the entire cam pus. To find out more, see our ad, look at one o f our flyers, or com e to the weekly SFS meeting, Wednesday at 7 :12pm in Olin Hall room 107.

SGA SG A has been very active in the previ­ ous week. One o f the m ajor events this week was the election o f new executives. The change-over o f the senate and execu­ tive branches will occur at the end o f this year. The new officers will take office for the full year 2000, C and D terms o f this academ ic year and A and B terms o f next year. Senator elections are coming up soon. A nyone interested in running for the 2000 Senate should come to the SGA office as soon as possible to get a Senator petition. A nyone can run for Senate seats, and SGA definitely needs new people. So, if you are interested, stop by the SGA office and see what w e are all about! If you do decide to run for the Senate, please be aware that a Senate seat requires a commitment of about five hours per week. Meetings arc T ues­ days at 6 PM. If you can commit four hours per week plus a meeting o f about an hour at that time each week, SGA would love to have you on-board. M eetings are 6 PM in the Low er Wedge. We still have a lot o f work to do during B-Term, so come and see w hat we are all about!

Newman Club W hat a great start to B term w e’ve had. The board meeting brought up great ideas for the Newman Club. Be on the lookout for caroling at local retirement homes, be­ ing a part o f the APO service auction, M e rc y C e n te r u p d a te s, and R e fu g e e Apostolate. Last Friday the Newman Club had apples, pasta and video night. All had a good time, great food and a pretty nice m ovie. Keep up the prayers for Father Scanlon as he continues to recover and for Father Roberge as he helps out by cel­ ebrating mass with us.

Orthodox Christian Fellowship We, the W PI Orthodox Christian Fellow­ ship, would like to extend a warm welcome to all students as a newly formed student group. We welcome all students to our first m eeting which will be held within a week (announcem ent flyers will be placed in the m ailroom and other places very shortly). Fr. Patrick Tishel, an Orthodox priest from a local Orthodox Church, will be giving a talk at this meeting. He will introduce such topics as Orthodox spirituality, the chal­ lenge o f Christian life in modem times, and acquiring a patristic C hristian m indset. A fter this introductory m eeting, we are planning on holding weekly meetings on W ednesday evenings. We will have regu­ lar talks and lectures from Orthodox au­ thorities such as monks, nuns, and priests. All interested students are encouraged to com e and learn som ething about Jesus C hrist and His ancient and living Church. P lease contact me, Joshua R esnick, at seraphim@wpi.edu for more information on m eeting times or with questions concern­ ing the group.

Glee Club W elcome back! Great jo b at the Wells concert. It seemed like everyone had a good time, and we sounded pretty good, too. Hope everyone had a restful break, because we have a busy term ahead o f us. In D ecem ber we have Christmas concerts at Sm ith and in New York City, but first w e’ll be singing with Wellesley College. W e’ll be bussed there for rehearsal the night o f Thursday, Novem ber 11th, with a concert there on the 13th and again at the W orcester Art Museum on the 14th. W e’ll a ls o b e d o in g so m e le a f-ra k in g as a fundraiser. This will probably happen on a

few Saturdays and maybe a Wednesday; stay tuned for more details. Early reports indicate that glass rakes will not be allowed this year. Rehearsals are still every Tues­ day and Thursday night at 6:30 pm ET in the J.E. Room.

BiLaGA Hi all, The first meeting o f the term went well despite car problems. We are going to get together with Clark BiLaGA and hope­ fully co-sponsor a dance after NDOS. The agenda for regular meetings will be emailed out before the meetings, and minutes sent out soon afterward. The discussion topic for next week is Political Involvement; if you want to join the talk, come to the meet­ ing. No movie night this week; next week will be The Adventures of Priscilla Queen o f the Desert. For more information about BiLaGA, email bilaga@wpi.edu or sec http:/ / www.wpi.edu/~bilaga/ for more informa­ tion.

Christian Bible Fellowship This week in we will be holding Tuesday Night Prayer in Founders Hall at 9:30, and we will also be holding Friday Night Fel­ lowship in Founders Study at 7:00. If you are interested in either o f these activities, or have any questions about Christian Bible Fellowship or anything in this article, please e-mail cbf@ wpi.edu for more information. We would love to see you there. “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory o f G od.” Romans 3:23 (NIV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift o f God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 (NIV) For some people, these verses are hard to swallow. The truth often is, but it is cru­ cial that you do. If you do not recognize that you have sinned in some way or an­ other, and for that are not worthy to be in G od’s presence, then you are condemned to eternal separation from God when you die. But that is not all, you will still suffer the same fate if you do not accept G od’s gift o f eternal life. God gave his son Jesus Christ to die for your sins and those o f the whole world. All you have to do to accept his gift o f eternal life is pray to God telling him you recognize that you are a sinner and ask him to forgive you for your sins, and ask Jesus to com e into your heart. It is that sim ple. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Interstate 8 We w ould like to invite everyone to our seco n d an n u al A C a p p e lla Show “Road T rip ” at 7:00pm on Saturday, N o­ vem ber 20, in R iley C om m ons (doors open at 6:30). D on’t m iss out on som e aw esom e a cappella from W PI’s Sim ple H arm onic M otion, The Starving A rtists

from B randeis, C o rnell’s K ey Elem ents, T h e R u s ty P ip e s fro m R P I, T h e D artm outh Cords, and o f course all o f us lovely ladies! T ickets are only $3 for stu­ dents and $5 for anyone else, and will be sold N ovem ber 15-19. A lso, our first CD has com e out and can be purchased in the B ookstore for only $ 1 0 ...buy them soon to avoid those sold out blues!

L e t t e r s t o t h e Ed i t o r

"Jewish" is unnecessary description of Franklin Dear Editor, The “W hat’s Inside” box on the front page o f the Nov. 2 issue o f Newspeak describes Rosalind Franklin as “a Jewish biophysicist.” In his article on page 14, Garrett Sutton ’00 repeats the lead paragraph and goes on to inform us that although Franklin was a pioneer in the study o f DNA, her work was not recognized and she did not share in the Nobel Prize awarded to three other scientists for their work in this field. Because I was struck by the use o f the word “Jew ish” to describe Franklin, I visited the Web site you provided to learn if she was denied recognition because o f her religion. I saw no evidence o f that and, in fact, could not find anything that identified her as anything but British. Did I miss something? Should I have looked further? A colleague I contacted with my concern that this was an ill-chosen description responded as follows, “A Jewish writer might be described that way if they focused on Jewish themes. Clearly Jam es Baldwin is a black or Afro-American writer. But we rarely describe Einstein as a Jewish physicist.” There are many appropriate ways to describe someone. Had Franklin’s career been de­ fined or constrained by her religion, “Jewish biophysicist” would have been an apt choice o f words. In the context o f your article, the word “Jew ish” appears to be unnecessary and certainly inappropriate.

Thank you. By Bonnie Gelbwasser WPI Communications Group

Homosexuals "not fodder for team insults" Dear Editor, I’m writing in to express anger over what I saw on campus today. Most people will agree that on Friday morning one paused to read “Crash and Bum” or “Air Force will Die” chalkings. I believe that chalking “We love Bilaga” on the Air Force ROTC driveway was an example o f the A rm y’s attitude towards homosexuals. By making association with Bilaga represent an insult, the chalker has contributed to potential homophobia. The discrimination towards and exclusion of homosexuals from military organizations shouldn’t be fodder for petty team insults.

Thank You Alexander G. Haley WPI student

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Legal and Social Issues Group I t’s that tim e o f year ag ain — M ock Trial! First m eeting will be W ednesday, 6 pm in Morgan A. Everyone is welcome! We will be attem pting to m eet w ith Dt. Lt. Richard Lauria who can give us an interesting look into the world o f crim e and what he finds when he arrives at the crim e scene. We will also be attem pting to m eet with C onnie M orrison who will be speaking at the Chem and Biochem D epartm ents in early D ecem ber. She holds several degrees and works in edu­ cating and consulting various firms.

The Society for Medieval Arts and Sciences We started discussing our nifty nifty B-term activities, although we have not set any dates yet. Things on the agenda included: a H iggins Arm ory trip, serving at the A rm ory feast, C hristm as caroling, the H o lid ay E x tra v ag an za, e le c tio n s, m ovie nights, and the m edieval faire. We’ll be giving out more information about individual activities as they ap­ proach. Although we know B-term is usu­ ally busy, we need everyone’s input as we start some long-range planning. Meetings are Tuesday nights at 7pm in Founders basement. Fight practices are Monday and Thursday nights at 7:30pm in the lower w e d g e /g y m . E m ail the o ffic e rs (realm s@ wpi.edu) with any questions or

suggestions.

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Film review: ‘Being John Malkovich’ most distinctive movie of 1999 by Erin Podolsky Michigan Daily (U. Michigan) (U-W IRE) ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The title o f “B eing John M alkovich” is pretty self-explanatory, even if it does open up what one character calls as a philosophi­ cal can o f worm s regarding the n ature of the self. B ut it’s also pretty unnecessary, because “Being John M alkovich” is two w ords too long. For a m ovie that p reoc­ c u p ie s its e lf w ith the c o n stru c tio n o f identity - granted, this ex am in atio n is subm erged beneath ten layers o f quirky hilarity that the concept o f getting into John M alkovich’s head for 15 m inutes d o esn ’t even begin to hint a t -just plain old “B eing” might be a b etter name. That said, the full title is certainly the kind o f built-in advertising cam paign that gets people buying tickets. I t’s difficult to im agine m arketing a film titled, say, “Being M artin Hebrank” or “Being Janice S tem ple.” Yet that’s the exact question I found, m yself asking as I w alked o u t of th e th e a tr e : W o u ld “ B e in g J o h n M alkovich” have been a different m ovie if John M alkovich the character w asn ’t John M alkovich the actor (o r vice versa, as the film would have us believe)? I d o n ’t think so. T h ere’s enough to ponder here that even w ithout introducing the brain invasion plot, this inventive film is re­ freshingly com pelling. Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is an out o f work puppeteer who swallows his pride and resorts to the classified s for work.

H is wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), is an ani­ m al lo ver and w orks in a pet store; their apartm ent seem m ore like a zoo than a hom e, and w hen L otte asks Craig if h e ’d like to have a baby, it’s hard to know if sh e ’s serious - they already have several creatu re com panions with four legs and d iapers. But th e re ’s little out there for p uppeteers in “today’s w intry econom ic clim ate,” he blithely tells her, so with her encouragem ent he applies for a jo b that requires dextrous fingers. That jo b is w ith L estercorp, which is located on the seventh-and-a-half floor o f the M ertin-F lem m er building in N ew York C ity. T he floor, w hich can only be accessed by jam m in g the elevator be­ tw e e n flo o rs se v e n and eig h t, is so unique that it has its own prom otionalinstructional video that is shown to new resid ents during their orientation. O v er­ head is low, and so are the ceilings; ev­ e ry th in g is b u ilt to h alf-sc ale . S ound w eird? It gets weirder. One day, C raig discovers a m ysterious little d o o r behind a filing cabinet. The hum and flicker o f fluorescent lights and too-pure air conditioning om inously pre­ cede his investigation o f the door, w hich tu r n s o u t to be a p o r ta l in to - you guessed it - John M alkovich’s head. Craig “ sees w hat he sees, feels what he feels.” F o r the puppeteer it’s like the best, m ost lifelike control he’s ever had of a so-called inam inate object. M eanw hile, the m arried C raig is ch as­ in g lik e a d ro o lin g St. B ern ard a fte r

M axine (C atherine K eener), a hot career wom an w hose sex appeal is superceded only by her cruelly teasing attitude. In a pathetic attem pt to im press her, he tells her about the portal. “W ho the fuck is John M alkovich?” is M ax in e’s im m edi­ ate response; her second response is to market and sell tickets to M alkovich. The craziness o f such a schem e garners the pair $200 a pop, and m uch m ore: A love triangle for w hich the w ord bizarre was invented. W ho, what and how this triangle com es to be - and is resolved - occu p ies the rem ainder o f the film , w ith the only true v ictim b e in g M a lk o v ic h h im se lf. He d o e s n ’t re a lly a p p e a r u n til m id w a y through the film , but his presence is, as expected, inim itable, and if it w eren ’t so funny it w ould be sad to w atch his true personality get subverted to the repeated p en etratio n s into his m ind by various controllers. It takes a very talented actor to pull o ff pretending to be tw o people at the sa m e tim e ; N ic C a g e a n d Jo h n Travolta pulled it o ff in “ F ace/O ff,” and M alkovich su c ce ed s here as w ell. In ­ deed, the film ’s b ig g e st lau g h s com e when M alk o v ich p aro d ies M alkovich. There are few things m ore am using than w atching M a lk o v ich -as-C raig -co n tro lling-M alkovich snarl at h im self, “ Shut up, you overrated sack o f sh it!” “Being John M alkovich” is w ritten and d ire c te d by tw o firs t-tim e rs , C h a rlie Kaufm an and Spike Jonze, respectively. W hatever m ind-altering drugs K aufm an

Dr. Seuss tops list of guvs’ favorite children’s books Courtesy o f the Associated Press DALLAS (AP) - Jesse Ventura favors Louis L’Am our westerns. George Pataki likes “T he L ittle E ngine T hat C o u ld .” George W. Bush lists “James and the Giant Peach” and his brother Jeb “ G oodnight M oon.”

But it was the work o f Dr. Seuss, w hose real nam e was T heodor G eisel, that cam e up most on a prom otional survey of U.S. g o v ern o rs’ favorite c h ild re n ’s books. T he survey, co n d u cted as part o f a read in g in cen tiv e p ro g ram by D allasbased P izza H ut in conjunction with N a­ tional Young R ead er’s Day, found that

Dr. Seuss books w ere the favorite o f nine governors. T he Seuss favorite “G reen Eggs and Ham” was nam ed by five governors: Paul Cellucci o f M assachusetts, M el Carnahan of M issouri, Frank Keating o f O klahom a, Jim H odges o f South C arolina and Jam es Gilmore o f Virginia. Som e governors listed m uch headier fare: Tom R idge o f P e n n sy lv an ia and K enny G u in n of N evada s a id H em ingw ay’s classic “O ld M an and the Sea” was their favorite c h ild re n ’s book. W yom ing’s Jim G eringer listed the epic tale “M oby D ick.” Only tw o governors, W illiam Janklow of South D akota and Bill O w ens o f C olo­ rado, failed to list specific choices. Som e o th er top favorites w ere “The Liltle Engine That C ould” and “Treasure Island,” each listed by five governors.

w as u n d e r th e in flu e n c e o f w hen he birthed this script, h e re ’s hoping he em ­ braces th e jo y s o f addiction and starts pum ping out m ore like this one. Jonze, m eanw hile, giddily envisions this nutty w orld w here actors can becom e p u p p e­ teers in the blink o f an eye and w ooden puppets can seem far m ore vibrant than flesh and blood. The surreality o f the invasion o f the M alkovich snatchers is w hat m akes “B e­ ing John M alkovich” m ore than your runo f-the-m ill com edy. It has som e serious underpinnings hiding deep beneath the situational hilarity. It is, in som e w ays, a love conquers all m orality at work, a l­ though the parting w ords and shot o f the film are far m ore nightm arish than the d enouem ent initially purports to be. T hen again, m aybe it fits in perfectly with the dark, possessive com edy o f the film , a p la ce w here M alk o v ich is not M alkovich, w here m ovie stars who ro u ­ tinely m ake the heart beat faster look like they w e re beaten w ith an ugly stick , w here industry rookies take absurdity to an en tirely new level. T his is by far the m ost distin ctly original film o f the year; w here others have m ined fam iliar terri­ tory w ith a very pointed view to laughter and tears, “Being John M alkovich” jum ps all the way through the looking glass and com es out unscathed on the other side.

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Decem ber 2 Campus Interviews (For m ore inform ation, or to apply, contact the C a re e r D evelop m ent Center.) Everything about business is changing. Its pace, paradigms, strategies, global expectations, everyday challenges. T hat’s where you’ll com e in — with us. You’ll leverage the presence o f on e o f today’s leading global consulting firms, enabling clients to not only adapt to a radically changing w orld, but to flourish in it. You’ll be part of a team o f som e 5 ,0 0 0 Associates w h o provide custom ers (Fortune 100s, savvy start-ups, non-profits, etc.) with definitive expertise in key areas:

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Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Attn: John Veryzer, 80 William St., Wellesley Hills, MA 02481. E-mail: east_hr@watsonwyatt.com, or Fax: (781)283-9776.

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Visit us at: www.watsonwyatt.com D i d y o u k n o w ? W a t s o n W y a t t r a n k s # 1 in t h e c o n s u lt in g in d u s t r y f o r o v e r a ll r e p u t a t io n a n d d e liv e r in g v a lu e to c l ie n t s , a c c o r d in g to a n in d e p e n d e n t s u r v e y c o n d u c t e d b y t h e W a ll S t r e e t J o u r n a l a m o n g i t s s u b s c r i b e r s .

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Anime F e st Hours of Japanese Animation Nov 1 3 th A 1 4 th, Noon-Midnight in Newell Hall, Atwater-Kent

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and diverse group o f m usicians through an array o f twentieth century music. The dancers o f the W orcester Youth B allet, show cased their talents during Berceuse and Finale from Firebird Suite, by Igor Stravinsky, while the Trombone Ensemble d id th eir m oving rendition o f Muskrat Ramble (Ory). Next, the Stage band and Jazz En­ sem ble took the stage with Director Rich­ ard Falco. He led the group through cul­ tural pieces which explored the roots of Jazz and emphasized ethnic contributions to the genre. A fro-C uban, Indian, and Celtic measures em phasized the strength o f the group while the Brazilian Samba fo­ cused on the fiesta atm osphere o f Carni­ val (Lengyel). ' T h e A fric a n p e rc u s s io n and Dance Ensemble showcased fine rhythm skills as they offered both African singing and dancing, focusing on the Ewe people o f Ghana. The group, which meets on cam ­ pus every Tuesday, created a catchy beat and authentic tribal music. Joseph OwusuAnsah, a native of Ghana, lead the percus­ sion music while Brian 'ftagli, also of Ghana, choreographed African dances to fit the music, An excellent night for music, and by the large turnout, there were certainly enough people there to enjoy it. If you missed this concert, there are more to come!

W h at’s Your HIV IQ? The Crimson Clipboard

To find out, read the following statements about HIV (the AIDS virus) and decide w hether they are truths or myths. Write the correct answer on the line in front o f each statement. For the correct answers, come to the table in the Wedge on November 9 ,1 1 ,1 2 from 12-2pm. The answers will also be printed in the November 16th issue o f Newspeak. This HIV-Alcohol Awareness Event is spon­ sored by SA E and the Healthy Alternatives Office. ____ 1. Chlorine bleach can kill HIV outside the body.

Service Auction Every year APO puts on a one o f a kind event. Join your friends and SELL yourself for the benefit o f a charity. THE SERVICE AUCTION!!!!! W H O ? students, faculty, clubs, sp o rts tea m s, a c a p p e lla g ro u p s, YOU!!! WHAT? sign up to be auctioned off to your fellow students for baking cookies, cleaning, walking their pet chinchillas, anything you can think of! W HERE/W HEN? sign up in the wedge at lunch time: Monday, Novem­ ber 15 - Friday, November 19 The service auction will be at 7 :00pm in Riley Commons on Thursday, De­ cem ber 9th W HY?? The person(s) who raise the most money by putting themselves up for bid are not only the coolest people on cam pus, but they decide which charity all the money goes to !!! Participate in the service auction, either by signing up to have an auc­ tioneer sell you o ff to your friends, brothers, sisters, or community or go to the auction, buy these friends and get your m oney’s worth! G et your club/organization to raise the m ost money for your act o f service!!!

_2. You can get HIV from attending school w ith a classm ate w ho is infected. _3. You can get HIV from toilet seats. _4. Tears and saliva have slight traces o f HIV. _5. No known cases o f HTV infection have been transmitted through tears and saliva. _6 . You can get HIV in showers. _7. You can get HIV through kissing on the lips. _8 . You can get HIV from an infected person’s sneeze. _9. HIV can be transmitted by earwax. J O . You can get HIV drinking from som eone’s glass or from drinking faucets.

This weeks answers

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PART-TIME SALES REPS Excellent $$$ Boston based com pany looking for O utgo­ ing, reliable Sales Reps for All areas in MA. Speacial Events and D oor to D oor positions, Part-time, Flexible hours, Ex­ cellent $. Gain Some experience fo r your resu m e and G reat m oney for the holidays and Breaks. Experience is a plus. Call Toll free: 1-877-309-6600.

W anna m ake y o u r v o ice heard? Then run for SGA sena­ tor! Petitions are now avail­ able in the SGA office. Peti­ tions are due in the office by 5 p.m. Novem ber 12. Ballot lot­ tery will be held at 5:30 p.m. Elections are the week o f No­ vem ber 15. Any questions, e m ail jja c k @ w p i.e d u or mullen@wpi.edu. PROGRAMMER INTERN 5 min. walk from WPI. Work on Web sites and databases. 10 hours/week. Must be able to program . Great experience. Good pay. Work with leading software development team at A rtis C o rp o ra tio n . S ee www.ArtisCorp.com. Send re­ sum e to Dr. P eter G reen at pgreen@ artiscorp.com

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S P R IN G B R E A K 2 0 0 0 Studentcity.com is looking for Highly M otivated Stu­ d en ts to prom ote Spring B reak 2000! O rganize a sm a ll g ro u p an d tra v e l FREE!! Top campus reps can earn a Free Trips & over $10,000! Chose Cancun, Ja­ m aica, o r N assau! Book Trips On-Line Log In an win FREE stuff. Sign Up Now On L in e! h ttp :// www.StudentCity.com or 800/293-1443_____________ B ro w se ic p t.c o m for Springbreak 2000. All des­ tinations offered. Trip par­ ticipants, Student Orgs & Campus Sales Reps wanted. Fabulous parties, hotels & prices. Call Inter-Campus 800-327-6013_____________ STUDENTS NEEDED for IQP project sponsored by the City o f Worcester. In­ volves crosswalk button lo­ cator that activates the walk sign for the visually im ­ paired. Starting term nego­ tiable, all majors welcome. A ny in te re ste d stu d e n ts please contact: Professor

Newspeak will run classifieds free for all WPI students, faculty, and staff. Free classifieds are limited to six (6) lines. Ads of a commercial rwture and ads longer than sixlines must be paidfor at the off campus/commercial rate of $5.00forthe first sixlines and 50 cents per additional line. Classified ads must be paid for in advance. No information which, in the opinion of the Newspeak editors, would identify an individual to the community will be printed in a personal ad. The editors reserve the right to refuse any ad deemed to be in bad taste or many ads from one group or individual on one subject. The deadline for ads is noon on the Friday before publication. All classified ads mustbe on individual sheets of paperand must be accompanied by the writer's name, address and phone number.

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Allow only 30 characters per line

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P o l ic e L o g F riday, O cto b er 22,1999 6:30pm - Access: Stoddard ABC for C oke a Cola to stock new vending machines. Officer assists. 7:22pm - Alarm: Fire/sprinkler Fuller Apartment. 7:23pm - Students cooking set alarm off. 11:3 1pm - Lockout assist: Morgan S aturday, O cto b er 23,1999 6:52am - Suspicious person: Report o f subject in area of West. St. plaza attempting to gain entry to various buildings; Officer Mosley. 6:57am- Officer Mosley clear, subject identified as contractor working on campus. 9:47am - Vandalism: Higgins Labs first floor in front o f rm. 129 a display case was smashed open, no other information. 10:23am -Call-In: Professor Barnett coming in to assess dam age and to see if anything was stolen out o f the display case in Higgins Labs 9:(X)pm - Assist: Student in Ellsworth having problem with her lock; Off. Boulay 10:10pm - Lockout: Daniels 4lh 10:25pm - Lockout: Riley 3rd 11:13pm - W PD advises recovered stolen car belonging to WPI student on Clifton Street. Theft occurred from unknown location, has not yet been reported Sunday, O cto b er 24,1999 12:14am - Vehicle has been relocated to First Baptist Church lot and will be removed during the daytime. 12:25am - Disorderly persons: Officer Vandal reports spoke with subjects from function at Armenian Church hall urinating in library lot, also advises large amount o f trash and empty alcohol containers in lot from function attendees. 3:45am - Lockout assist: Stoddard A. 10:37am - Complaint: Stoddard B 2nd floor common bathroom has no hot water, student called it in. M onday, O ctober 25,1999 1:48am - Suspicious persons: Sgt. reports spoke with subjects on roller skates near Boynton Hall, identified as students. 1:55am - Alcohol violation: Officer out with subject on Institute Road. 3:00am - Trespass: Officer out in Wedge with 2 juveniles found sleeping within. 3:30am - WPD contacted concerning above juveniles. Sgt. assisting. 4:28am - Officers clear Wedge, juveniles released to their parents. 4:35pm - Vandalism: Students vehicle vandalized while parked by Founders on Boynton 7:48pm - Lockout: Daniels hall; Morgan hall. 11:22pm - Student into station to retrieve backpack found earlier. W ednesday, O c to b e r 27,1999 7:09pm - Report: Student throwing water balloons out the second floor window on West St. 7 : 13pm - Code 5: Officer reports that no contact could be made with the student throwing the water balloons out. T h u rsd ay , O cto b er 28,1999 9:26ain - Lockout: Riley Hall. 11:52am - Credit Card Vendor: In lower Wedge a re a , did not get clearance with student life. 5:04pm - Mv Listing: Daka employee has vehicle parked at the loading dock o f Morgan Hall, owner has been spoken to previously, Officer tagged vehicle and spoke to owner. Next lime will tow vehicle. 5:28pm - Lockout: Riley Hall 2nd floor. 6:00pm - Lockout: Founders 2nd. 7:58pm - Trespass: Male solicitor on Dean Street. Has been known to solicit money on campus before. H e’s well known but not wanted. 8 :1 lpm - O fficer advises trespasser was advised he was trespassing on WPI property and next time he will be arrested. 10:02pm - From WPD, the traffic officer had seen a white male with light pants fall down off his skate board and also had seen him looking in a van on campus. Officers are looking 11:59pm - Lockout assist: Morgan. Sunday, O cto b er 31,1999 1:01am - Possible drug violation: Daniels Hall dumpster area. 1:20am - Arrest: Daniels Hall, possession marijuana. Officers transporting student to WPD. 2:00am - Daylight savings time ends. Tim e is now 1:00 am. 2:20am - Disorderly persons/trespass: Reports o f 3 subjects in Riley Hall hallway harass­ ing students. Officers assist. 2:49am - Officers clear Riley Hall, subjects warned of trespass & removed from premises. 12:04pm - Medical: Daniels Hall 3rd floor, RA called, 18 y/o male, student vomiting. 12:13pm - Responding: AMR for medical transport to Memorial hospital. 12:32pm - Arrival: AMR in route to hospital. 12:42pm - Att. Call: On Call manager custodial services, for clean up from the medical in Daniels 3rd floor, could not get in touch so we went down the list and replacement is coming in.

Whats Happening: November 9-15 3:30pm - “Job Search Strategies O ld and New^’ AK 116 8:00pm - Coffeehouse. Jon Svetkey, Riley Commons 8:00pm - Language Cafe, International House

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10:30am - Majors Fair, Lower Wedge 4:30pm - Summer Internship Orientation, SL H 5 7:30pm - “The Antiquarian Society Presents," Antiquarian Hall, 185 Salisbury Street 8:00pm - ISC Tutoring Night, International House

9:00am - 5:00pm - “Sharpening the Focus, Women’s Studies Scholarship and Schol­ ars at Clark,” Higgins University Center, Clarjf / ' c % 1 6 :3 0 p m -IS C Coffee Hour, International H ouse '%/ 7:30pm - “Unseen Events - Indians/Native Americans o f W orcester and New En­ gland,” SL 115

y O # y" 'f \ 8:00pm - Entertainment Night, International House

TBA - W om en's/M en’s Cross Country N E D iv.II Championships @ Babson l :00pm - Football vs. Plymouth State

% " £ T f / l j f f J ' ' !? "% 1 11:00am & 5:30pm - Catholic Mass, Alden (am ),Founder's Study (pm) 6:30 & 9:30 - Film. “South Park ” FLAUD

2:25pm - Lecture. “Yiddish Film in the Soviet Union,” Clark, Jonas Clark Hall Room 206 4:00pm - Lecture. "Searching for the Disappeared Children o f Argentina: The Grand mothers o f the Plaza de M ayo.’* 7:00pm - Resume Writing W orkshop, HL 218

8:15pm - Suspicious Persons: Officer reports suspicious persons in area of Tennis Courts. 8 : 19pm - Clear: Tennis Courts, Subjects Gone on Arrival. 8:30pm - Noise Complaint: Boynton St. resident complaining about barking dog at neigh­ boring fraternity, Dog has been tied up all day and complainant is concerned about welfare o f dog. 8:36pm - MV Jumpstart: White M ercury Sable, Founders Hall Lot.

Monday, November 1,1999 6 :1 lpm - Suspicious Person: Last seen at the Fountain; person ran toward an employee. 6:59pm - Medical: Library lower parking lot on Boynton St. 21 y/o student injury to shoul­ der. 8:07pm - Complaint: Daniels entrance door not working, reported from the RA. 8 :14pm - Lockout: Elbridge. 9:42pm - Medical: Morgan Hall 18 year old male student with bleeding capillaries.

Tuesday, November 2,1999 1:29am - Lockout assist: Institute Hall. 5:43pm - Lockout: Schussler Road.

Wednesday, November 3 , 1999 4:43 am - Assist: Jump start on Institute Road behind Daniels Hall. 2:23 pm - Report: Radio Station property taken. 7:50 pm - Lockout: Stoddard C. 7:54 pm - Lockout: Founders. 11:19 pm - Parking Consideration: On West Street by Institute Road until PM 11/4/99 because vehicle is broken down. Thursday, November 4 , 1999 12:50am - Suspicious Person: Trow bridge and Institute. 7:46 pm - Report: No heat for three days in Founders Hall, from the RA on the fourth floor.

SocComm Presents

South Park Sunday November 13th, 1999 at 6:30 and 9:30 pm Perrealt Lecture Hall Admission: $2


Landmarks in WPI History Page 2 T

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WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, WORCESTER, MASS., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11,1999

A Brief History of WPI Editor’s Note: The following is the first in a series of articles edited by Jon Anderson from the TWO TOWERS, a history of WPI for sale in the bookstore. No, they didn’t want the school. The town was noisy enough, what with the hamm ering down at the tinshop m aking a rhythm to which Templeton had adjusted its pace for forty years. It w asn’t that the townsfolk were ungrateful to John Boynton or that th ey w ere u n sy m p a th etic 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 m echanics, or even farm ers, instead of lawyers, clergym en, 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. B oynton.' There was scarcely anyone in town to whom he had not loaned money at one tim e 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 p ieces of land. Mr. B oyn ton liv e d now in Leominster with relatives of his first w ife, but he often cam e back to visit the town which had, for him , “opened the door of op­ portunity.” Som etim es 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. T in w are had just b egu n to supersede crockery. This w as no light succession, for com pared to the thousands of ingenious articles used by the householder in the eighteenth century, the gadgetry of the twentieth seem s alm ost in­ consequential. Before 1820 the few p ieces of tinware in this country were co n sid er ed a s tr e a su r e s, high priced and highly prized. With the importation of cassiterite, the raw m aterial from which tinw are is m ade, and the discovery of a small quantity of it in this country, tin­ ware becam e 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 trem ely uncomplicated process, requiring no m ore than an anvil, ham m er, 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 w as possible to stamp out the pieces of tin (much as if m aking a b atch of c o o k ie s), production began to catch up with demand. Tinware becam e less costly, more d e c o r a tiv e , and John Boynton erected two shops, one for stam ­ ping out the tin and the other for adding color and design. Templeton becam e 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 a lm o st tw ic e a s m a n y m ill privileges as could W orcester. Moreover, there were many valuable by-products from the tin sh op . S co res of to w n sp eo p le worked in the shop itself, ham­ m ering, soldering, varnishing, and p o lish in g . T here w ere a lw a y s “ f lo a te r s ” who room ed and

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boarded in the big house on the corner of the Common. Then there w ere 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 a s far south as New York.

^

On Saturday nights the tincarts Otter River to pick up and deliver would rumble back into town fre ig h t, the tow nsfolk w ere dragging an unwieldy mowing rem inded of the change. Puffing machine or hay rake. There were into town with the steam engine sure to be several hens, a couple of there had come a new way of life. hound puppies, or a turkey gob­ People were moving about wit,h bler. T here w ere b u tter and great ease, not only because of cheese, eggs and maple syrup, railroads but also because of better butternuts and chestnuts, honey roads. Merchandising had been and sp ru ce gu m , hom espun revolutionized by m ail o rd e r woolgns, furs and mittens, hides houses such as the Salisbury store and yarns. One pedlar reported his in Worcester. And already there payment ran the gam ut from were signs that tinw are m ight not sewing needles to silos. Templeton always be so popular. Just as in an becam e a veritable merchandising earlier year, when tinw are had center, but the chief medium of pushed crockery and stoneware exchange for the Boynton carts into the background, it was now was rags and paper, alw ays in feeling the nudge from glass, from grea t dem and by paper steel and from other metals. manufacturers. Even the town of Templeton had For twenty years John Boynton’s not grown as had been expected. Of business prospered so handsomely all the towns in the County, Wor­ that he decided to retire in 1846. He c e s te r had tak en the lea d , relinquished the ownership of the becoming a City in 1848. Now it had shops, but never his interest. This as many as 25,000 persons. was not an awkward continuation, It was to this City of Worcester for the new owner was no one less that David Whitcomb moved in than h is own co u sin , D avid 1854, becoming a partner in a

T hese men w ere called “ pedlars,” a word which in a hundred years would change its spelling and lose much of its prestige. In the early eighteen h u n d red s, p ed lars w ere the p ro u d est men in thp land, resp o n sib le for m uch of the country’s distribution and com ­ munication. Sometimes pedlars a cte d as real e s ta te ag en ts, arranging for the sale of farm s, of livestock, and lumber lots. Pedlars were always welcome in New England. Never did they have to pay m ore for a night’s lodging than a tea kettle or a dishpan, and these were considered as gifts Whitcomb. rather than payment. The business By 1864 something w as distur­ ifself was negotiated with b arte r of bing the monopoly of the tinware every conceivable product that shop in Templeton. Every day, could be made or owned by a when the four-horse wagon with its householder. extended sides m ade its trips to

h a rd w a re b u sin ess w hich prospered in spectacular fashion during the Civil War. Now he was working hard to set up the un­ precedented m anufacture of en-

Continued to p g 4

O ur Founding Fathers Compiled by: Alison Keach Ichabod Washburn

John Bo ynt on

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

W ashburn, m uch 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. W hen he heard of the gift donated by Boynton he came up with his ow n proposal to construct a fully e q u ip p e d m achine shop w here young men would be trained as m echanics. Soon the ideas o f the tw o m en w ere c o m b in e d and W ash b u rn ’s m oney was put to­ w a rd s th e c o n s tru c tio n of W ashburn Shops. The contrast­ in g id e a s o f W ash b u rn and Boynton brought about the idea of using theory and practice in edu­ cation, which is still a fundamental part o f WPI. Like Boynton Washburn never saw the completion of his shops. A fter suffering a paralyzing stroke he died on December 31,1968 only o n e m o th a fte r the In s titu te opened. Now the two buildings stand atop tech hill with their backs to each other symbolizing Theory and Practice.

David Whitcomb Cousin o f John Boynton and supporter of Boynton’s dream for a sch o o l d esig n ed to train young men to be better manufac­ turers, mechanics or even farmers. After retiring from the tinware busi-

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

&

Seth Sweetser

Ichtibod Wushhurn

Sweetser was the first per­ son W hitcomb spoke with regard­ ing the sch o o l. S w e etser was W hitcomb’s pastor, a Reverend at the Calvinist Church in W orcester for 27 years. He was also a trustee of Leicester Academy along with three other prominent m em bers of the W orcester C om m unity who also soon became important factors in the development and completion o f W orcester Free Institute o f In­ dustrial Science. These other three men were Emory Washburn, Steven Salisbury, and Ichabod Washburn.

David Whitcomb

Emory W ashburn E m ory W ashburn m ost notably know as the former G over­ nor o f M assachusetts, w as also deeply concerned with the lack of industrial education in W orcester

Continued to p g 2


TECHNEWS

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11,1999

O ur Founding Fathers: The men who shaped WPI Continued from pg 1 tute as a legal corporation, and it cam e into formal existence.

George Frisbee Hoar

Seth Sweester County. The civil war had brought thousands of young men home to W orcester County, but all were u n ­ prepared for o ccu p atio n s in th e newly thriving m anufacturing city of Worcester. This worried Emory W ashburn and w as th e d riv in g force for his interest in the indus­ trial school. E m ory W ashburn along with Sw eetser did much o f the initial planning and develop­ ment for the school by involving co m m u n ity le a d e rs su c h as Salisbury. When they felt the com ­ m unity n e e d e d to h e a r o f th is school to d eterm in e its su p p o rt Sweetser and W ashburn sent a let­ ter to thirty men o f Worcester, one o f th e s e m en b e in g Ic h a b o d W ashburn.

Emory Washburn

The Goat’s Head In 1891, W PI’s class o f 1893 gave the charge of their mascot, a black goat, to a Japanese student by the name o f Gompei Kuwada. Difficul­ ties arose in taking care o f 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 ^tfteo b jecU jH u j^ ^

Hoar was one o f the busi­ est law yers in W orcester County. A m eeting 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 W orcester Palladium two days after this m eeting announc­ ing the generous gift o f $ 100,000 from an anonymous donor for the establishment o f a scientific school. The citizens were also notified that the one condition w as that they must furnish the buildings and land. On May 10, 1865, after the support o f more than 225 W orcester citizens and workers, the secretary o f the com m onwealth recorded the Insti­

Stephen Salisbury 11 The Salisbury name was sy n o n y m o u s w ith w e alth and pow er in the W orcester County. Stephen Salisbury II was a merchant and one o f the cities most promi­ nent citizens. Salisbury was the first president o f the board o f di­ recto rs and w hen a site for the school was needed he was the one to give five acres o f land and a sum o f m oney. T h ro u g h th e years S a lis b u ry c o n trib u te d o v e r $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

Prom inent People in W PI History Robert H. Goddard Eiwood Haynes

Class o f 1908 Father o f M odem Rocketry

Class o f 1881

Robert Goddard, often called the “F a th e r o f M o d ern R o ck etry ,” graduated from WPI in 1908, a gen­ eral science major. Even as an un­ d e rg ra d u a te s tu d e n t, G o d d ard dreamed o f space flight, submitting an article, “Possibility o f Investi­ gating Interplanetary Space,” to Scientific American in 1907. Also while an undergraduate, Goddard published an article in the W PI Journal, which at the time was de­ voted to technical literature. The Robert H. Goddard article dealt with the use o f the gy­ roscope in balancing and steering Magnetic Lab (now Skull Tomb). airplanes. Despite his scientific interests, Even here, neighbors complained Goddard seems to have been popu­ o f hearing loud noises. Goddard went on to lay the foun­ lar am o n g c la s s m a te s , b e in g elected class vice president and dations for the developm ents o f president and serving as editor of long range rockets, missiles, satel­ lites and spaceflight. He was the the class yearbook. A fte r g ra d u a tio n , first to use liquid propellants as Goddard served on W PI’s Physics rocket fuel, with the first success­ Department faculty for two years, ful launch o f a liquid fuel, with the and then did advanced study at first successful launch o f a liquidfueled rocket from Auburn, M as­ Clark University. During this time, he continued to use WPI facilities sachusetts, M arch 16, 1926. After for his experiments. Legend has it his teaching career at Clark ended in 1934, Goddard worked for the that while using a lab in Salisbury, U.S. government on rocket research explosions caused some damaged until his death in 1945. and he was then m oved to the bronze, the life -siz ed head was The winning class was then obliged given a disproportionately small to show the head once a year. This body and becam e know n as the gave the other class the opportu­ Goat’s Head.TVie Goat’s Head Com­ nity to capture the head for them ­ petition was organized around a selv es. Som e m ore m em o rab le point system and focused on the “show ings” included hanging the two youngest classes; points were G oat’s Head from a rope from a he­ awarded to the winners o f 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 T he G oat’s Head was presented out a window to those waiting out­ annually to the class that accumu- side, ___ _ k u e c n h e ja r g e ^

This re-creation o f Tech News was made possible through the efforts o f the 1998-1999 Newspeak staff in celebration o f Founder's Day. The staff would like to acknowledge the following sources: WPI Gordon Library Online Archives: http: //www. wpi. edu/A cademics/Library/A rchives/ 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, Eiwood Haynes was interested in metal alloys. His senior thesis, “The Effect o f Tung­ sten on Iron and Steel,” is said to have come about as a result o f his desire to find a material for razors that did not tarnish. After graduation from W PI 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 o f his horseless carriage on July 4,1894, in Kokomo, Indiana, qualified Haynes as the inventor o f the very first automobiles. Im ­ provements made in later years in­ clude successful carburetor and

Eiwood 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 M edal for his “d isc o v e rie s in sta in le ss steel, stellite, and chrom e-iron.” Haynes died in 1925.

Haynes 1894 automobile as depicted on the 1995 postage

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 Jon C. Strauss Edward A. Parrish

Traditional WPI Freshman-Sophomore Rope Pull, initiated in 1909


THURSDAY, NOVEM BER 11,1999

The mission itself takes one o f the largest crews on one o f the longest missions o f 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 dem on­ strating a fluid experiment for the South High students, who attend th e sam e sc h o o l th a t R o b e rt Goddard graduated from in 1904. This demonstration will take place on November 2nd at 1:10pm and

Sacco and the Shuttle by Brian Parker Editior-in-Chief, '95 O n O c to b e r 2 0 th , th e sp a c e shuttle Colum bia took off, after a record six scrubs, taking Professor A1 Sacco and the best w ishes o f 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. T he baseball analogy was carried

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TECHNEWS

farther when the crew o f STS-73 threw the ball out for the fifth game o f the World Series. If one had a w ell-trained eye, the WPI pennant could be seen over the shoulders o f the crew during the toss. Although it was somewhat dis­ h e a rte n in g to see th e m issio n scrubbed so many times, few could say that it was not better to play it safe and the m edia’s talk o f the ex­ pense o f scrubbing soon switched to a “better safe than sorry” tone.

Two Coeds Accepted by W PI T w o y o u n g w o m e n , M iss Lesley Sm all and M iss Jayn e R ossetti, h a v e been granted adm ission to W orcester T e c h , thus b reak in g a cen tu ry -o ld tra d itio n o f an all m a le u n d ergrad u ate student body at W P I. M iss S m all is a sen ior at D avid P routy H ig h School, S p e n ­ cer. M ass., and M iss R ossetti, a se n io r at H o p e d a le Jun ior-Senior H ig h School. B otli are N o. 1 in th eir g ra d u a tin g classes. T h e girls stated that they are a little scared an d nervous ab ou t e n te r in g a sch ool w hich was pre v io u sly all-m ale. B ut M iss S m all d id state that sh e has been in all m a le classes in h igh school so that it's really n o th in g new . D ean K en n eth N ou rse stated that both girls presented e x c e p ­ tio n a l q u a lifica tio n s, scholastically a n d in extra curricu lar activities. B oth are m em b ers o f the N a tio n a l H o n o r S ociety, their yearbook staffs, g lee clu b s, science clu bs, a n d variou s sports teams. M iss S m all h as a brother, Jam es W .. a sop h om ore C ivil E n g in eer­ in g m ajor at T e c h , and M iss R ossetti has a c o u sin at T e c h , so b o th had first han d k n ow led ge of th e history anti backgroun d o f the sch o o l. T h e girls p la n to m ajor in m ath em atics. M iss R ossetti feels she m ight lik e to no in to actuarial

work and M iss S m all isn ’t q u ite sure just w h at sh e w an ts to do, possibly teach. T h e y o u n g la d ies w ere o n ly on cam pus for ab ou t o n e h a lf an h o u r last w eek an d w ere already cau sin g com m otion . A ny stu d e n t that w e n t by w a n ted to k n ow , “W h o are the

girls?" T h is app ears to be som e­ th in g our “co-eds" w ill just have to g e t used to. M iss Sm all is the d au gh ter o f Mrs. E lean or B. Sm all o f Sp en sor an d M iss. R ossetti, th e d a u g h te r o f Mr. and Mrs. Josep h P. R ossetti o f H o p e d a le .

G o in g 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 communitv.

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

several m em bers o f the WPI com­ munity will go out to the school to take part, including Zeolite Crystal Growth team members Ipek Guray, Jac k F e rra ro , T erri S a c c o and Michelle M arceau. One o f the people who were lucky enough to see the actual liftoff was Professor Looft o f the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Professor Looft has been involved in W PI’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 w ork o f more than two h u n d re d u n d e rg ra d u a te s , w ho worked for six years developing experim ents for the Space Projects and R esearch C anister (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 N A S A e m p lo y e e , h av in g worked on the Atlas rockets that

G o in g

G o n e

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. Editorials 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

explaining things or defending them selves, (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!! I SCP GFP

I

D id you know that IS WPI men died in WWI and 43 WPI men died in WWII? D id you know that Professor Keil once appeared in the year­ book w earin g n oth in g b u t a bottle? Did you know that Clavert Vaux designed the landscape in Central Park as well as around Boynton Hall and Elm Park?

D id you know th a t in 1884 tw elve stu d en ts le d M ilton P. Higgins horse “Buckskin” to the chapel on the top floor o f Boynton Hall? 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 all was once a d o rm itory to house men in the V12 program during WWII? At the same time the area in Alumni Gym above the pool was used as a mess hall.

Did you know that the Magnet­ ics Laboratory (now Skull Tomb) once housed Robert Goddard's ex­ periment lab fo r liquid fu e l 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 an d Professor George Alden ran it?

Did you know that the WPI seal was designed by Professor Alanzo Kimball? Did you know that the quad area once was Bliss Field?

flew to the m oon am o n g other projects. Also, as a graduate stu­ dent the professor w orked on ex­ periments that went up in space and his inv o lv em en t in G A SC A N I b ro u g h t h im d o w n to C ape Kennedy. In fact it was work on the first zeolite experim ent 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 o f the scrubs, found out that he didn’t have time to go dow n for Friday the 20th, Looft jum ped at the chance. He and his tw e lv e y e a r o ld so n M att bought tickets on Wednesday and on T hursday they w ere at Cape Kennedy, getting oriented. Both were getting ready to watch their first space launch and there was a good am ount o f 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. T hey w ere ab le to w atch the liftoff from the V IP area, with other close friends and family o f the as­ tronauts, an exclusive party o f 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 o f a launch. Many in attendance had been there for all six scrubs. The wife o f shuttle commander Keith Bowersox sang a song: “God Bless Colum bia” a feeling that was in the hearts o f all the friends and family o f the crew. With one minute to go, the cro w d becam e quiet. With thirty seconds to launch, a cheer started to rise and at ten sec­ onds they started to countdow n. 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 w as a great crack­ ling roar and a trem endous vapor cloud obscured th e 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 o f 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. M att Looft took some incredible photographs o f the launch w hich are on display in the office o f the Secretary o f the Faculty, Joan S h an ah an (in the Project Center). When asked if he would like to be on the shuttle, Professor Looft laughed “I e-mailed A1 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 o f the first few days o f the m ission and according to the professor: “A1 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 w ere 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 o f a program being run by the W orcester Tele­ gram and Gazette, and the questions will be asked in a live interview on November 3rd.


TECHNEWS

PAGE 4

W PI Alma M ater

Founders’ Day 1999 Schedule

^ mUar(J Hedlund _________________________ Class of 1910______________________

L

Dear Worcester Tech, Our Worcester Tech; Our praises ring to the, To Alma Mater, good and true, We pledge our loyalty. Long have we felt thy guiding hand, They teachings broad and free; With praises loud in every land We’ll show our love for thee; (Chorus) Then here’s to good old Worcester Tech Come, fellow, join in our refrain, Wave high the colors, Crimson and Gray, For good Old Worcester Tech. r : W

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11,1999

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n. As years roll on and changes bring To all things great and small, We still with thee with rev’rence hold, We’ll great thee, one and all, In accents which no one may doubt, In terms so strong and bold, The world will know thy worth to us Increases many fold.

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“CALC” P ag e upon p ag e o f n u m b ers, R eam a fte r ream o f facts, T ons o f u n re a c h a b le lim its, T h e d ram a o f “ M in n ie and M ax .” Jarg o n in com p rehen sible, T h eo ry d e e p e r th an hell; T h e sev en ty -n th d eriv ativ e C a u se o n e ’s th in k -ta n k to sw ell. R ates th at S tate C o m m erce C om m issions C o u ld n ’t so lv e fo r a dam n; R ad ii o f cu rv a tu re n u m ero u s, A ll o f this ju n k on e m u st cram . I f th e T urk th in k s h e ’s g e ttin g in jerry, O r p e rh a p s th at h e ’s stirred up a fuss, L et h im bite o f f a tw e n ty -p a g e lesson NEWSPEAK ARCHIVE PHOTO

In D ifferen tial C alcu lu s.

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

-A.T.K.

Continued: WPI History Continued from p g 1 v e lo p e s . He h a d a r r a n g e d to fin a n ce a m a c h in e w h ich would not only cu t envelop e b la n k s but also fold an d glue th e m , a ll in one o p eratio n . But he h ad not yet d isp osed of the h a rd w a r e b u sin ess. It w a s in th is sto re on the c o rn e r of M ain and P e a r l S tre e ts that John Boynton found D a v id W hitcom b one d a y in the fall of 1864 So it w as. that fall d ay of 1864. when Jo hn Boynton c a m e to v isit D a v id W h itc o m b . He sp o k e m odestlv in te rm s of ‘a few thousand d o lla r s ,” an d he m e n ­ tioned T e m p leto n , or p e rh a p s even M ason. He could see the w isd o m of M r W hitco m b 's su g g estio n , ho w ev e r, that W o rce ste r m ight be a better location W o rce ste r w a s becom ing a c it y of m a n u f a c t u r in g a n d needed just the kind of school he had in m ind. But he m a d e two s tric t stip u la tio n s. F i r s t of a ll, h is p art of the p lan m u st be kept a s e c re t Se co n d ly, he w ould g ive the m oney “ fo r e n d o w m e n t a n d p erp etu al s u p p o rt” o n ly if the c i t i z e n s of W o r c e s t e r th o u g h t enough of the id ea to p ro v id e the lan d an d b u ild in g s for such a school.

h a ir enough, thought David Whitcomb It was a secret carefully guarded lor alm ost three years, until after John Boynton’s death. He never, knew that one day so many people would know

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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 ta s te ...a n d its cool, clean after-sense of complete refreshment. Thirst asks noth­ ing more. BO TTLED

U N D E R A U T H O R IT Y O F T H E C O C A - C O L A C O M P A N Y BY

C o c a - C o la Bottling C o m p an y of W o rce ste r

You trust its quality


PAGE 4

TECHNEWS

W PI Alma M ater

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11,1999

Founders’ Day 1999 Schedule

by Willard lledlund Class o f 1910

I. Dear Worcester Tech, Our Worcester Tech; Our praises ring to the, To Alma Mater, good and true, We pledge our loyalty. Long have we felt thy guiding hand, They teachings broad and free; * With praises loud in every land We’ll show our love for thee; (Chorus) Then here’s to good old Worcester Tech Come, fellow, join in our refrain, Wave high the colors, Crimson and Gray, For good Old Worcester Tech. II. As years roll on and changes bring To all things great and small, We still with thee with rev’rence hold, We’ll great thee, one and all, In accents which no one may doubt, In terms so strong and bold, The world will know thy worth to us Increases many fold.

8 a m -5 p m

R e a d in g s c la s s e s

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WPI h i s t o r y

in

1 0 a m -2 p m

F ou n d ers' '9 9 a ir e d

1 0 a m -2 p m

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1 1 a m -3 p m

L iv e g o a t le d o n t h e Q uad

1 1 a m -lp m

B i r t h d a y C a k e t o WPI i n t h e f o r th e f i r s t 400 p e o p le .

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F re sh m a n -S o p h m o re G o a t ' s H ead R i v a l r y E v e n t! !

“CALC” Page upon pag e o f n u m b ers, R eam a fte r ream o f facts, T ons o f u n re a c h a b le lim its, T h e d ram a o f “ M in n ie an d M ax .” Jargon inco m p reh en sib le, T h e o ry d e e p e r than hell; T he sev e n ty -n th d eriv ativ e C au se o n e ’s th in k -ta n k to sw ell. R ates th at S tate C o m m erce C om m issions C o u ld n ’t so lv e for a dam n ; R adii o f c u rv a tu re nu m ero u s, A ll o f this ju n k o n e m u st cram . I f the T urk th in k s h e ’s g e ttin g in jerry , O r p erh ap s th a t h e ’s stirred up a fuss, L et him bite o f f a tw en ty -p ag e lesson NEW SPEAK ARCH IV E PH O TO

In D ifferen tia l C alcu lu s.

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

-A .T .K .

Continued: WPI History Continued from pg I v e lo p e s . H e h a d a r r a n g e d to fin a n ce a m a c h in e w h ich w ould not only cu t envelop e b la n k s but also fold and g lu e th em , all in one o p eratio n . But he had not yet d isp o sed of the h a rd w a re b u sin ess. It w a s in th is sto re on the c o rn e r of

r a i r e n o u g h , th o u g h t D a v i d W hitco m b It w a s a se c re t c a re f u lly g uard ed ior a lm o st th re e y e a r s , until a fte r John B o y n to n 's death He n e v e r, knew that one d ay so m any people would know

M ain and P e a r l S tre e ts that John Boynton tound D a v id W hitco m b one d a y in the fall of 1864 So it w as. that fall day of 1864, when John Boynton c a m e to visit D a v id W h itc o m b He sp o k e m o destly in te rm s of “ a few thousand d o lla r s ." and he m en tioned T e m p leto n , or p e rh ap s even M ason. He could see the w isd om of Mr W h itc o m b s sug g estio n , h o w ev e r, that W o rce ste r m ight be a better location W o rce ste r w a s b ecom in g a c i t y of m a n u f a c t u r in g a n d needed just the kind of school he had in m ind. But he m ade two s tric t stip u latio n s. F ir s t of a ll. his p art of the p lan m u st be kept a s e c re t S e co n d ly, he w ould g iv e the m oney “ fo r e n d o w m e n t and p e rp e tu al s u p p o rt” only if the c i t i z e n s of W o r c e s t e r th o u g h t enough <f the idea to p rovide the lan d and b u ild in g s for su ch a school

■ ■ H I

Your pipe is welcom e eve\ w ith - f r ie n d ly

M i l 1 M .V

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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 ta ste__and its cool, clean after-sense of complete refreshment. Thirst asks noth­ ing more. BO TTLED

U N D E R A U T H O R IT Y O F T H E C O C A C O IA

CO M PAN Y

BY

C o c a - C o la Bottling C o m p a n y of W o rce ste r

You trust its quality


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